Truthout
Dozens of Women Join Hunger and Labor Strike at Delaney Hall ICE Jail
“We are mothers, daughters, sisters. We are women that are being unjustly imprisoned,” the women said in a video.
Far Left
Democracy Now!
"The Point Is to Spread Fear": DOJ Charges 15 with Conspiracy for Anti-ICE Protests in Minnesota
Far Left
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have announced criminal charges against 15 people in connection with anti-ICE protests in the Twin Cities. The defendants are accused of “conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers” and of allegedly “violently” impeding immigration enforcement in Minneapolis during Trump’s so-called Operation Metro Surge, during which thousands of federal immigration agents were deployed and fatally shot two U.S. citizens. The indictment focuses on Direct Action Minnesota, or DAMN, a broad activist coalition that prosecutors have linked to anti-fascist, or “antifa,” groups. Last fall, President Trump categorized antifa as a “domestic terror organization” even though it is not an actual group. “All 15 of the defendants are members of the community, active in mutual aid, union members, workers, neighbors,” says defense attorney Bruce Nestor, who represents one of the 15 defendants. “The point of this is to spread fear to try to divide us.”
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Truthout
Feds Charge 15 Minnesotans With Conspiracy for Anti-ICE Protests
Community defense attorney Anna Hall called the charges a “naked political attack on Minnesota.”
Far Left
The New Republic
Trump Blows Up His Own Nominee’s Hearing Over Conspiracy Theory
The president just scrambled the last week of negotiations in Congress to abet his dead voter ID bill.Donald Trump cancelled the Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton via a Truth Social post Wednesday, just hours before it was set to take place. Trump had tapped Clayton earlier this month to run the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in place of acting Director Bill Pulte. Democrats had argued that even temporarily appointing Pulte, a housing regulator, was illegal, since he had no national security experience to bring to the job. (For the record, neither does Clayton.)As a result, Democrats completely stalled negotiations over FISA Section 702, a statute that allows federal agencies such as the NSA and the CIA to surveil foreigners on U.S. soil without warrants. But even without Pulte’s name in the mix, negotiations had stalled over the FISA section as both chambers failed to pass an extension.And Trump has undoubtedly only made matters worse by involving himself in the process. In a lengthy rant Wednesday, Trump baselessly lamented that Republicans had advanced Clayton’s nomination without any concrete assurances from Democrats. He then hitched the FISA section’s renewal onto his Save America Act, which Republicans have warned him dozens of times has no chance of passing the Senate. That legislation hinges on Trump’s conspiracy theory that noncitizens are voting (against him) in U.S. elections.“Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA—So, the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke the Deal,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it. Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap.” The Save America Act sparked nationwide controversy earlier this year, particularly over a detail in the bill that would have made it more difficult for married women to vote. The backlash on Capitol Hill was grave, so much so that it gummed up efforts to fund Homeland Security for several months. Republicans eventually had to bail on the package to end the congressional gridlock.The Save America Act suggests numerous amendments to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, including line items that would abolish mail-in voting, require voters to bring proof of citizenship and proof of residency to register to vote, require voter ID, and mandate voter roll purges every 30 days, an enormous bureaucratic task that would place undue burdens on local election officials. The measure would also add a federal law to prevent men from competing in women’s sports, and a ban on “transgender mutilation surgery.”Trump noted that the pause on Clayton’s Senate confirmation would also interrupt the rest of the pipeline: in the meantime, Pulte would remain as the acting DNI, while Jamie McDonald—a litigation partner at law firm Sullivan & Cromwell—would wait to replace Clayton as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Left
Raw Story
'Never heard of such a thing': Expert flags telling detail in DOJ response to tainted case
The Department of Justice made an unusual concession to six protesters arrested during an immigration crackdown in Chicago that experts say shows how "desperate" government lawyers are to make the failed prosecution go away.Defense attorneys for the "Broadview Six" have asked U.S. District Judge April Perry to appoint an independent special counsel to investigate alleged misconduct in the case, which they argued extends far beyond Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg – possibly all the way up to the top of the Justice Department, reported the Chicago Tribune.“Indeed, these steps must be taken in large part because of what appears to be a determined effort to blame a single prosecutor when the misconduct now known … runs much deeper and indeed to the highest levels of the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office and likely to the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.,” defense lawyers argued in their motion.Associate Attorney General Aakash Singh was reportedly in contact with the office of Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros during Operation Midway Blitz, and defense attorneys for the “Broadview Six” are seeking records that could tie him to the tainted case against protesters arrested during the immigration crackdown.The six protesters — most with connections to local Democratic politics — were charged following a September protest outside a suburban immigration detention facility in Broadview, but the case collapsed last month after Perry uncovered what she described as apparent prosecutorial misconduct during grand jury proceedings.The judge found that transcripts submitted to her by federal prosecutors had been altered to conceal what had actually taken place, and the U.S. attorney's office subsequently dropped all charges.Defense attorneys filed a motion Tuesday that set aside their request for a special counsel but showed the judge that the government's response actually strengthened their case for more evidence."The government had decided it would not contest that Defendants are entitled to their legal fees, albeit 'without admitting or conceding to the fact,'" the filing stated. "The government asked defense counsel to provide information contemplated by local rules to engage in good faith discussions on the amount of fees and related expenses. Defense counsel fully intend to provide this information and to engage in those good faith discussions to reach agreement on the amount.""However, as noteworthy and rare as it is, the government’s acknowledgment that Defendants are entitled to recover their legal fees does not end the issue of discovery that is authorized under the Hyde Amendment," the filing added. "If anything, the government’s recognition that Defendants are entitled to their legal fees supports the need for fuller discovery."Former federal prosecutor Ken White, now a defense attorney and online legal analyst, was stunned by the government's response."Holy s---," White posted on Bluesky. "The government is conceding it will pay some amount of fees to the Broadview Six. They are DESPERATE to stop further inquiry into the case. Never heard of such a thing.""Seriously, though, it’s VERY hard to make the showing to win fees on a Hyde Amendment motion," White added. "It’s very winnable for the government even when there’s bad misconduct, and it suggests that there is even WORSE stuff that hasn’t come out that they are willing to do ANYTHING to keep quiet."
Far Left
The Hill News
Here’s what’s in Trump’s reported 14-point MOU with Iran
President Trump has said the text of his agreement to end the Iran war won’t be released until it’s signed in person by Washington and Tehran on Friday. But outlets including Bloomberg and CNN say they have obtained the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU). White House communications director Steven Cheung said Wednesday morning the reported text “does not reflect…
Center
BizPac Review
Trump team floats charging ships for military escort through Hormuz
Hesitance to resume transport through the Strait of Hormuz reportedly has the president considering a “VIP pass” to restore operations. Since President Donald Trump announced a deal […]
Far Right
Raw Story
Ex-prosecutor sounds the alarm over Trump's latest 'egregious' crackdown on protesters
President Donald Trump's Justice Department is headed into illegal territory with their latest move to prosecute 15 protesters from Minnesota for interference with immigration authorities, former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told MS NOW's Ari Melber on Tuesday.Weissmann has a number of questions about how this was conducted — which would likely paint a damning picture of the current state of the DOJ."Andrew, your view on what we saw out of Minnesota and where it fits in with what I call the declining credibility of DOJ under this administration?" asked Melber, himself an attorney."Absolutely," said Weissmann. "That is something that indeed you worry about, which is how is this presented to the grand jury? What were they told?" He brought up the case of the so-called "Broadview Six" in Chicago, whose indictment for protesting immigration officials was found to be tainted with severe misconduct. "But I think there's something else in addition to all that, which is what I would ask [acting Attorney General] Todd Blanche at his confirmation hearing ... and that is, can you tell me, Mr. Blanche, why you're so concerned about what these people did in protesting ICE?"Weissmann continued that even stipulating to their guilt in this matter, "how does this compare to the protests on January 6th, where those people were pardoned, where you have called that a 'grave national injustice'? Can you explain to me why you are bringing a case against ICE protesters, when you have said that for conduct that is at least as egregious, and I think many people listening to this would say more egregious because of the true assault on police officers — why you called that a grave injustice?"Ultimately, he said, "Doesn't that speak to exactly what the law prohibits, which is vindictive and selective prosecution?" - YouTube youtu.be
Far Left
Bloomberg Politics
Read the 14-Point Draft Memorandum Between the US and Iran
The US and Iran are expected to formally sign a memorandum of understanding on June 19 in Switzerland, paving the way for 60 days of talks aimed at ending their war for good and putting strict new limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
Center