Trump wanted military to take aggressive action against George Floyd protesters: report

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Former President Donald Trump wanted the military to take aggressive action against protesters following the disturbing death of George Floyd. A new book documents the former president’s disturbing demands to quell protests. 

In the new book, “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,” Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender details the series of events that led to Trump’s downfall. At one point in the book, he also discusses the nationwide protests that erupted following Floyd’s death. According to Bender, Trump allegedly wanted physical harm to be brought against protesters and even suggested that they be shot.

Although the vast majority of protests were non-violent and peaceful, Trump still demanded to see law enforcement take physical action. “That’s how you’re supposed to handle these people,” Trump told his administrative officials, according to Bender’s reporting. “Crack their skulls!” Continue reading.

Poll: Almost Half Of GOP Voters Want Legislators Enabled To Overturn Election Results

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A study published on Thursday of support for the “Stop the Steal” movement found nearly half of Republican voters believe their state legislatures should simply be able to overturn the results of elections.

The report, published by the Voter Study Group research collaborative, finds 46 percent of Republican voters believing “that it was appropriate for ‘Republican legislators in states won by Joe Biden to try to assign their state’s electoral votes to Donald Trump.'”

However, just 23 percent of Americans overall believe lawmakers should have the power to overturn an election, a dichotomy the report’s author, Lee Drutman, says could pose a challenge for Republicans in future elections. Continue reading.

Trump insurrectionist files hilarious court document in effort to replace 2 of 3 branches of government

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An attorney in Texas who lost his job as associate general counsel of an insurance company after traveling to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally that immediately preceded Trump’s insurrection has filed a new document as he continues his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Paul M. Davis was visited by the FBI about his role in the January 6th insurrection.

“Ever since footage of him outside of the U.S. Capitol went viral on the day of the Jan. 6th siege, Texas-based lawyer Paul M. Davis has embarked upon a self-styled quest of J.R.R. Tolkien-esque proportions. Davis filed a federal lawsuit asking nothing less than the wholesale replacement of two branches of the U.S. federal government. He said the FBI visited his home to ask him for his statement, and a federal judge referred him to the Disciplinary Committee for the Western District of Texas,” Law & Crime reported in February. Continue reading.

Minnesota House approves compromise HHS budget with historic investments in Minnesotans’ health and wellbeing

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Saturday, the Minnesota House approved the compromise Health and Human Services (HHS) budget following a bipartisan agreement with the Senate. The budget includes significant advancements to protect Minnesotans’ health and wellbeing after the COVID-19 pandemic, with investments and solutions to strengthen public health, enhance economic security for Minnesotans, close health inequities, and expand access to affordable child care.

“The COVID-19 pandemic created a crisis unlike anything Minnesotans have ever experienced. To help Minnesotans recover and to rebuild our health system after the past year’s profound challenges, we’ve assembled the most robust HHS budget bill in a generation,” said Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), chair of the House Health Committee. “The budget includes a wide variety of investments to secure a healthier future for Minnesotans in every community. I’m excited for our legislation to receive the governor’s signature and once it’s law, to see the many ways we are able to help Minnesotans.”

After an unprecedented reliance on public health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the HHS budget significantly increases investments to strengthen public health throughout the state. The budget includes $15 million for local public health grants and $15 million under a new local public health funding distribution framework. Through solutions such as expanded Medical Assistance coverage for postpartum care, services for children with asthma, and periodontal dental services, the budget tackles a variety of Minnesota’s persistent health inequities. The budget also fixes the so-called “family glitch,” under which Minnesotans are unable to enroll in MinnesotaCare because they have access to employer coverage through a family member, even though the coverage is unaffordable. To increase cultural and ethnic diversity within Minnesota’s mental health workforce, the bill includes a variety of provisions to attract more Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to the field. After many Minnesotans found telehealth valuable during the pandemic, the budget agreement expands many of these services.

Continue reading “Minnesota House approves compromise HHS budget with historic investments in Minnesotans’ health and wellbeing”

Mike Pence breaks with Trump, wants GOP to be ‘the party of the Constitution’

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As Donald Trump continues to push baseless conspiracy theories and refuses to concede that he lost the 2020 presidential election, his former vice president urged Republicans to back the Constitution.

During a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Pence said he was proud to certify the election results that showed the GOP ticket lost by seven million votes.

“You know, every office holder in this country takes the same oath, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Pence noted. “I took that oath as vice president — on President Ronald Reagan’s Bible.” Continue reading.

Lawmakers come to bipartisan framework agreement on police reform

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The three chief negotiators on a police reform package announced Thursday they had reached a bipartisan agreement on the issue. 

“After months of working in good faith, we have reached an agreement on a framework addressing the major issues for bipartisan police reform,” Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said in a joint statement Thursday afternoon.

“There is still more work to be done on the final bill, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. Over the next few weeks we look forward to continuing our work toward getting a finalized proposal across the finish line.”  Continue reading.

Investors press firms on donations as political spending jumps

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One focus is on lawmakers who opposed certifying 2020 election results

Democratic state treasurers and social issue-focused investment funds are pressing 82 corporations to be transparent about donations to candidates and causes as contributions resume after a pause in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

More than 125 groups managing over $1.5 trillion in invested assets recently wrote to board members who oversee political spending at some of the largest U.S. public companies, including Walmart, Amazon and Exxon Mobil Corp., urging more disclosure of political spending. The message comes as shareholder proposals on the issue are gaining momentum and as spending by corporate political action committees picks up.

“We are facing an existential threat to the election system in the U.S. which poses substantial systemic risk to long-term investors’ portfolios,” the investors said in the June 16 letter led by the Service Employees International Union, a labor group that frequently presses companies through stock holdings, and Majority Action, a nonprofit that coordinates shareholder campaigns on environmental, social and governance issues. Continue reading.

DHS is concerned about Trump reinstatement conspiracy theory, top official says

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DHS’s top counterterrorism official told members of Congress about the department’s concerns in a private briefing.

The conspiracy theory that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president in August has sparked concerns at the Department of Homeland Security, a top official there told members of Congress on Wednesday. 

The exchange came in a members-only briefing that John Cohen, the department’s top counterterrorism official, gave to the House Committee on Homeland Security. Three people familiar with the briefing described it to POLITICO. They requested anonymity to discuss the private conversation.

In the briefing, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) asked Cohen how DHS is following the spread of disinformation and conspiracy theories, as well as the way that discourse can fuel violence. She specifically brought up the conspiracy theory claiming Trump will be reinstated as president in August — a theory Trump himself has reportedly promoted. Continue reading.

Minnesota House Approves E-12 Education Budget

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved the E-12 Education Budget  on a vote of 105-20. The legislation makes the strongest level of investment in public schools in 15 years, preserves 4,000 pre-K slots set to expire without action, makes historic investments in increasing the number of teachers of color and Indigenous teachers in Minnesota, and holds down special education and English Language Learner budget shortfalls.

“This compromise was a hard-fought win for Minnesota students and families, especially after an unprecedented year of COVID-19,” said House Education Finance Chair Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis). “Despite being the only divided state legislature in the country, House Democrats fended off harmful private school vouchers and secured the strongest state investments in public education in 15 years. We’re making progress in closing the opportunity gap by hiring and retaining more teachers of color and Indigenous teachers to better reflect our student population. Our education budget delivers students and families the tools they need to recover from the pandemic challenges and thrive well into the future.” 

Due to the diligence of House DFLers, “Education Savings Accounts” were not included in the final education budget, which would create a voucher-type program where parents could withdraw their child from the public system and take the state funding with them to a nonpublic school. Instead, the compromise bill includes the strongest level of investment in public education in 15 years with a 2.45% increase to the general formula in 2022, and another 2% in 2023.

Continue reading “Minnesota House Approves E-12 Education Budget”

Georgia judge dismisses most of lawsuit that alleged fraudulent absentee ballots in Fulton County

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A Georgia judge on Thursday dismissed most of a lawsuit that alleged there were fraudulent mail-in ballots in Fulton County from the 2020 presidential election, dealing a potential blow to a group of local voters that has pushed to inspect all 147,000 absentee ballots cast in the state’s largest county last November.

Superior Court Judge Brian Amero on Thursday dismissed seven of the lawsuit’s nine claims against Fulton County officials on the basis of Georgia’s sovereign immunity laws. Amero did not dismiss two counts in the lawsuit that sought digital images of the mail-in ballots through the state’s open records law.

Fulton County election officials and local representatives have repeatedly asserted that there has been no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, a claim perpetuated by former president Donald Trump, who has continued to baselessly allege that the election was stolen from him. President Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes, the first time the state had gone for a Democrat since 1992. Continue reading.