President Donald J. Trump Proclaims May 1, 2018, as Law Day, U.S.A.

On Law Day, we celebrate our Nation’s heritage of liberty, justice, and equality under the law.  This heritage is embodied most powerfully in our Constitution, the longest surviving document of its kind.  The Constitution established a unique structure of government that has ensured to our country the blessings of liberty through law for nearly 229 years.

The Framers of our Constitution created a government with distinct and independent branches — the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial — because they recognized the risks of concentrating power in one authority.  As James Madison wrote, “the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”  By separating the powers of government into three co-equal branches and giving each branch certain powers to check the others, the Constitution provides a framework in which the rule of law has flourished.

The importance of the rule of law can be seen throughout our Nation’s history.  This year marks the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to our Constitution.  The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits States from denying persons the equal protection of the laws or depriving them of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.  The commitment to the rule of law that led the country to ratify that Amendment was no less powerful than the commitment to the rule of law that led the country to ratify the original Constitution.

That commitment to the rule of law lives on today.  It drives the debates we see around the country about the growth of the administrative state and regulatory authority, and about the unfortunate trend of district court rulings that exceed traditional limits on the judicial power.  We also see that commitment in the people’s demand that their representatives comply with the Constitution, and in the Representatives and Senators themselves who take seriously their oaths to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower first commemorated Law Day in 1958 to celebrate our Nation’s roots in the principles of liberty and guaranteed fundamental rights of individual citizens under the law.  Law Day recognizes that we govern ourselves in accordance with the rule of law rather according to the whims of an elite few or the dictates of collective will.  Through law, we have ensured liberty.  We should not, and do not, take that success for granted.  On this 60th annual observance of Law Day, let us rededicate ourselves to the rule of law as the best means to secure, as the Preamble to our Constitution so wisely states, “the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, in accordance with Public Law 87–20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2018, as Law Day, U.S.A.  I urge all Americans, including government officials, to observe this day by reflecting upon the importance of the rule of law in our Nation and displaying the flag of the United States in support of this national observance; and I especially urge the legal profession, the press, and the radio, television, and media industries to promote and to participate in the observance of this day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.

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If The U.S. Government Is Corrupt, Do We Go To The International Court Of Justice?

Internatinoal Court of Justice, The Hague

As we have witnessed history unfold in massive levels of public corruption, so deeply embeded in local, state, and federal governments, where does the U.S. turn to for justice?

The International Court of Justice, of course!

So, what exactly is the ICJ?

It is the tribunal for war crimes under the jurisdiction of the United Nations.

Some may better recognize ICJ as The Hague, the jurisdiction where Nuremberg Trials of WWII Nazi war crimes were held,

Interestingly enough, the United States does not have history of filing with the ICJ as it has always handled its ethical conflicts, internally.

So, as we see abberant fraud and public corruption running through the history of the U.S. government and its States for decades, perhaps it is time to find justice in an untainted venue.

Now, that the U.S. Congress overwhemlingly passed JASTA into law, the doors are now open for the people of the world, including U.S. citizens, to sue the United States.

Public officials, staffers, even former staffers, are subject to the ICJ where lying into the public record, whether through bribes or personal inurement of public office, is a crime of war.

Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.

I believe the U.S. has filed, under seal, a writ of frauds.

Stay tuned.

US CODE Title18 Par tI Chapter 118 Section 2441 - War Crimes by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Head of Congressional Ethics Office Sued for Abusing Position, Accused of Assaulting Women

Omar Ashmawy, staff director at the Office of Congressional Ethics

A key official involved in House investigations faces a federal lawsuit alleging misconduct.

Atop congressional ethics official who oversees investigations into misconduct by lawmakers is accused in a federal lawsuit of verbally abusing and physically assaulting women and using his federal position to influence local law enforcement, according to a complaint filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania last month.

The ongoing lawsuit against Omar Ashmawy, staff director and chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, stems from his involvement in a late-night brawl in 2015 in Milford, Pennsylvania, and includes a range of allegations relating to his behavior that evening and in the following two-and-half years.

Ashmawy’s office conducts the preliminary investigations into allegations of misconduct in the House of Representatives, deciding which cases to pursue or refer to the Committee on Ethics. He is named in congressional documents as the official who presented one of the investigations into John Conyers, the Democratic lawmaker from Michigan accused of sexual harassment, to the ethics committee for further action,

Among other allegations, Ashmawy is accused in the lawsuit of “threatening to use his position as staff director and chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics to induce a criminal proceeding to be brought against Plaintiff and/or others,” according to the federal lawsuit filed against him.

In court filings and in statements to Foreign Policy, Ashmawy denied the allegations laid out in the lawsuit.

“To be clear, I did not harass anyone that evening, physically or verbally,” he wrote in a statement to FP. “To the contrary, I was the victim of a wholly unprovoked assault for which those responsible were investigated, arrested and charged. Any allegation to the contrary is unequivocally false.”

The lawsuit, previously unreported, stems from Feb. 14, 2015 — Valentine’s Day. The evening appeared to start off well for Ashmawy: a nearly $400 dinner with his girlfriend at an upscale restaurant in Milford, followed by late-night drinks at a local bar.

It ended, however, with him bruised and bloody in the back of a police car.

Two months later, three men were arrested for assaulting Ashmawy. One of those men, Greg Martucci, is now suing Ashmawy in federal court in Pennsylvania in connection to the events of that night.

What exactly led to the physical altercation is in dispute, but in police statements reviewed by FP, three women at the bar that night, including the bartender, accuse Ashmawy of harassing and physically assaulting them.

A former Air Force officer who prosecuted two of the early post-9/11 military tribunal cases, Ashmawy has been a rising star on Capitol Hill in recent years. He was profiled in the Washington Post, which described his job overseeing “the first independent office in history charged with overseeing the ethics of the House of Representatives.” He was also featured earlier this year in Politico’s “birthday of the day,” where he describes his job as helping the “House of Representatives uphold ethical standards by investigating allegations of misconduct by members, staff or officers of the House.”

Ashmawy’s office sits at the center of multiple ongoing, high-profile congressional investigations. Its recent work includes a probe into California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes’s midnight trip to the White House in March. The investigation led to Nunes stepping down from the committee investigating Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election, according to Office of Congressional Ethics website and news reports. (Earlier this month, the full ethics committee cleared Nunes of misconduct.)

According to the website of the Office of Congressional Ethics, it has pursued investigations into Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), whose cases, like that of Conyers, began under Ashmawy and were referred to the ethics committee for further investigation. The New York Times this week reported that Republicans are citing a 2015 decision by the Office of Congressional Ethics clearing Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), who has also been accused of sexual harassment.

Ashmawy has also, according to travel disclosures, visited Ukraine, Kosovo, and Georgia to assist governments there in setting up their own ethics and government oversight bodies. He gives talks overseas and in the United States on investigating lawmaker misconduct and on the importance of ethical behavior in and after government service.

Yet the complaint filed in the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Ashmawy, as well as documents related to the case and police and witness statements, raise questions about Ashmawy’s conduct.

According to the complaint, Martucci on the night of Feb. 14, 2015, witnessed “an extremely violent and belligerent” Ashmawy become verbally abusive toward two women at Milford’s Dimmick Inn, Dawn Jorgenson — the wife of John Jorgenson, the owner of the bar — and Joey Lynn Smith, a bartender there.

Martucci also said he saw Ashmawy physically assaulting Dawn Jorgenson and Christina Floyd, another woman at the bar, a claim echoed in police statements given by the women and reviewed by FP.

According to a three-page statement dated March 12, 2015, Dawn Jorgenson said she witnessed Ashmawy “clearly sexually harassing” the bartender throughout the course of the evening and saw his behavior spiral toward physical violence. “You’ll give me drinks, but you won’t fuck me,” Ashmawy allegedly said to the bartender, according to Dawn Jorgenson’s written statement.

She said she then saw Ashmawy block the bartender with his body and curse at her, and grab her by the wrists. Dawn Jorgenson said when she tried to intervene, Ashmawy turned against her. “He’s holding my wrist so tightly that he falls down to the ground landing to the left of me,” she wrote in her statement.

She said her husband, John Jorgenson, came over to help and pulled Ashmawy away, taking him outside.

In statements given to police, the third woman, Christina Floyd, provided a similar account. “I watched each time Omar would come down and verbally sexually harass the bartender as he ordered drinks,” Floyd wrote in her statement, describing an increasingly angry Ashmawy confronting the bartender.

“I am a 5 foot 3 woman who never knew this man. I was very scared of him and was afraid he’d come back around for weeks after,” Floyd wrote of Ashmawy in her statement to police dated March 14, 2015. “I have never had a man physically harm me or scare me in that matter. He was sexually harassing, abusing and I feared for my life.”

According to Floyd, Ashmawy was “sexually harassing and verbally abusive” to the bartender. She also said Ashmawy was “very intoxicated,” an allegation that is backed up by the police report.

The two other women described abuse at the hands of Ashmawy that same night, providing similar details. Ashmawy did not respond to FP’s follow-up email with additional questions, including if he was intoxicated that evening.

Two other people at the bar that night, however, said they saw only the men drag out Ashmawy—and did not witness his alleged attacks on the women.

One of those witnesses is referenced in Ashmawy’s Dec. 6 brief in support of his motion to dismiss. The brief says the witness “called 911 after witnessing Defendant Ashmawy be attacked by three men and then one of the men involved in the attack dragging him outside” and it “seemed like the men set up Defendant Ashmawy ‘to get jumped.’” (A police report reviewed by FP confirms that the witness who called police was concerned “it wasn’t a fair fight.”)

What all sides appeared to agree on is that, at the end of the evening, Ashmawy was injured.

Months after the incident, three men were charged with assaulting Ashmawy, including Martucci. Ashmawy was never arrested or charged with a crime (a police report from the evening says Ashmawy was the only one at the scene with visible injuries).

Martucci is now suing Ashmawy in a Pennsylvania federal court, accusing him of a range of unethical and possibly criminal conduct tied to the 2015 bar fight and subsequent legal proceedings. Also named in the suit is Milford’s police chief and the borough of Milford.

In his lawsuit, Martucci accuses Ashmawy of using his political power and position with the Office of Congressional Ethics to pressure the police and the district attorney into not arresting him for assaulting the women. Martucci also alleges that Ashmawy threatened federal investigation of local government and police if they did not press charges against those accusing him of assault.

An email reviewed by FP from Ashmawy, using his congressional affiliation, to the police chief and officials at the district attorney’s office accuses them of not handling the case properly.

“As of today it has been over five weeks since I was assaulted. To date, the police department’s investigation is not complete and charges have not been filed. I am deeply concerned,” he wrote in the email, which is signed with his congressional title and work mail address.

Ashmawy cites his injuries, which he said included a facial fracture and a “bruised and bloodied” eye.

In the same email, Ashmawy references his own work conducting investigations, and indicates that if charges aren’t filed the case might attract high-level attention in the capital.

“There is no hiding what happened to me from the people I interact with on a day to day basis,” he wrote. “As result, there are a growing number of individuals in the Washington, DC community who have taken an interest in this matter and are concerned that one of the reasons this matter has languished is because I’m not a resident of Milford, PA. I’ve assured them that isn’t true. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that my ethnicity, as an Arab-American and Muslim, might also be a factor in the delayed investigation and the charging of the individuals responsible. I’ve explained that is unlikely.”

An attorney representing the town and police chief in the lawsuit declined to comment on why charges weren’t filed against Ashmawy in light of the women’s statements to police.

“Please be advised that the official response on behalf of Milford Borough and Chief DaSilva is ‘No comment during the course of pending litigation,’” Sheryl L. Brown, an attorney with the firm Siana Bellwoar, wrote FP in response to queries.

She noted that a motion to dismiss the case was pending with the court, and then threatened legal action against FP. “We reserve the right to subpoena unprivileged portions of your files considering you assert you are in possession of ‘police statements from witnesses…,’” she wrote.

Ashmawy’s version of events from that evening is markedly different. In his statement to police that night, Ashmawy wrote there was a conflict with women at the bar, but it stemmed from “a previous altercation” between his girlfriend and the bartender.

The bartender “spoke fighting words to me,” he wrote, adding that the two other women “abruptly came up to me.”

 At that point, Ashmawy said, three men assaulted him, choked him, and threw him to the ground. “My handwriting is affected by the fact that I have only the sight of one eye and I’m bleeding from multiple wounds to include my eye and my lip,” he wrote in his statement to police.

“This matter was fully investigated. I was the victim, and the men responsible were arrested and charged,” he wrote in a statement to FP. “The three assailants attacked me without any provocation whatsoever, and any suggestion to contrary is nothing but an exercise in slander.”

The three men eventually charged in the assault were John Jorgenson, the bar owner, Tim Reilly, and Martucci. Each was charged with three counts relating to the alleged assault. The first two pled guilty to one misdemeanor charge, but the prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Martucci, a federal air marshal, and the case against him was expunged in October 2016.

While the case proceeded, however, Martucci was suspended from his federal air marshal job without pay and then later fired. In response to a request for comment about Martucci, the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees the Federal Air Marshal Service, said that Martucci was no longer employed with the agency and refused to answer questions about the incident or internal investigation,

Martucci filed the lawsuit against Ashmawy in September.

On Dec. 6, Ashmawy filed a brief in support of his earlier motion to dismiss, saying he was acting as an “individual who was a victim of an assault and pursued his legal remedies to their established conclusion.”

The police chief and borough of Milford have filed similar motions to dismiss. A case management conference with all parties’ attorneys before the presiding judge is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2018,

“These criminal charges, which Mr. Martucci successfully had dismissed, derailed my client’s career and affected his livelihood,” Martucci’s lawyer, Ryan Lockman, told FP. “Mr. Martucci eagerly awaits the opportunity to proceed with his claims.” Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

CONYERS, JACKSON LEE Commend President Obama For Additional Commutations Of Sentences; Call For Congressional Action On Sentencing Reform

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) today released the following statements after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 72 individuals:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“I welcome the continued work by the President and his administration in commuting sentences, but the need to do so indicates the depth of the problem with our Federal sentencing laws,” said Ranking Member Conyers. “Congress must address this issue, to make sentences more fair at the front end.   We know that we can do this in a way that still imposes appropriate sentences but does not rely on mandatory minimums, which ignore the facts and circumstances of each case.  With the growing bipartisan recognition of the need to act, I am hopeful that we will do so in the near future.”

“I commend President Obama’s commutation of sentences of 72 individuals – who were all victims of unjust sentencing,” said Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Jackson Lee.  “Nearly all of these men and women would have been released and contributing back to society already had they been convicted under today’s laws or reform proposals. I welcome and applaud the commutations of the sentences of these individuals.  Incarcerating people for unwarranted lengths of time serves no constructive purpose.  The President has recognized this, as has Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and I am pleased that the Administration’s Clemency Project continues to address the multitude of cases in which sentence reductions are appropriate.  Of course, the need to engage in such a broad review of sentences exists largely because our sentencing laws and policies, particularly for drug offenses, urgently need to be changed.  We need to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing and let judges impose appropriate sentences based on the facts and circumstances of each case, and we should eliminate the higher penalties for crack cocaine relative to powder cocaine offenses.  I am heartened that there is a growing, bipartisan recognition of the problem of over incarceration and I hope this will lead to sentencing reform this Congress.”

Congressman Conyers and Congresswoman Jackson Lee are cosponsors of the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, which is the first bill that is a result of the House Judiciary Committee’s criminal justice reform initiative.  The Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 reduces certain mandatory minimums for drug offenses, reduces the three-strike mandatory life sentence to 25 years, broadens the existing safety valve for low-level drug offenders, and provides judges with greater discretion in determining appropriate sentences.  

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CONYERS, JACKSON LEE Laud Additional Presidential Commutations

Conyers & Jackson Lee: Congress Must Pass Sentencing Reform

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 98 individuals this week:

  

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“President Obama continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing unfairness in our criminal justice system by commuting the sentences of 98 additional federal prisoners,” said Ranking Member Conyers.  “It takes strong leadership to address this issue, and I’m proud to have a President that supports commutations for sentences that are too lengthy and which no longer serve a legitimate purpose related to public safety.  I hope the President’s resolve on this issue will serve as an example to legislators in Congress and across the country as our nation works to reform our criminal justice system.  I remain optimistic that, before the end of this year, Congress will pass sentencing reform legislation and other criminal justice reform bills that I have worked on with colleagues on both sides of the aisle.” 

“I applaud President Obama’s commutation of sentences of 98 individuals – who were all victims of unjust sentencing,” said Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Jackson Lee.  “Nearly all of these men and women would have been released and contributing back to society already had they been convicted under today’s laws or reform proposals. I welcome and applaud the commutations of the sentences of these individuals.  Incarcerating people for unwarranted lengths of time serves no constructive purpose.  The President has recognized this, as has Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and I am pleased that the Administration’s Clemency Project continues to address the multitude of cases in which sentence reductions are appropriate.  Of course, the need to engage in such a broad review of sentences exists largely because our sentencing laws and policies, particularly for drug offenses, urgently need to be changed.  We need to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing and let judges impose appropriate sentences based on the facts and circumstances of each case, and we should eliminate the higher penalties for crack cocaine relative to powder cocaine offenses.  I am heartened that there is a growing, bipartisan recognition of the problem of over incarceration and I hope this will lead to sentencing reform this Congress.”

Congressman Conyers and Congresswoman Jackson Lee are cosponsors of the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, which is the first bill that is a result of the House Judiciary Committee’s criminal justice reform initiative.  The Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 reduces certain mandatory minimums for drug offenses, reduces the three-strike mandatory life sentence to 25 years, broadens the existing safety valve for low-level drug offenders, and provides judges with greater discretion in determining appropriate sentences.  

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"Fat Meat Is Greasy": What POTUS And The Dean Really Meant To Say To Congress On JASTA

What POTUS and the Dean really meant to say to the 114th Congress

When Congress Came Back From Its JASTA Acid Trip it had no idea how quickly the veto override would become the newest addiction of the world.

Yes, that is correct, the international lawsuits are coming in because we started it and Congress would not listen to POTUS or the Dean.

I guess you can say that Congress does not believe, as the expression goes, that "fat meat is greasy".

The concept of equal justice applies to everyone, like "I can sue you the same way you can sue me,"

And, "I no longer have to tell you anything because you might sue me or my neighbors" because no one likes a snitch.

I wonder where Congress is going to get all this money to defend and settle these lawsuits?

More lawsuits to come.

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President Obama endorses John Conyers for re-election

Dean of the U.S. House
of  Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has lent his support to U.S. Rep. John Conyers in the Aug. 2 primary,  endorsing the 87-year-old Detroit Democrat in what would be his 27th two-year term in Congress.

Conyers' campaign announced the endorsement this morning.

"Congressman John Conyers has been a champion for jobs, justice, and peace over his career in Congress and I am proud to endorse him for re-election," said a statement from Obama. "I need John by my side as we fight to create good jobs and build an economy that works for everyone."

Obama — who will leave office in January shortly after Conyers would be sworn in for another term if he wins — gave Conyers his endorsement over Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, Conyers' only rival in the August Democratic primary. Michigan's 13th Congressional District, which includes much of Detroit as well as parts of Downriver and western Wayne County, is considered a virtual lock for a Democratic nominee to hold onto.

"I am so grateful to President Obama for his tireless work to improve the lives of hardworking families in metro Detroit and all over this country," said Conyers. "His support of me and my re-election campaign means so much at this critical time for our country. I am looking forward to building on this to win in August, then generating unprecedented voter turnout this November to help elect Democrats up and down the ticket."

Conyers, an early supporter of Obama's when the latter became a presidential candidate, hasn't always agreed with Obama. In 2009, Conyers criticized the new president on a couple of occasions, in one case accusing him of not showing enough leadership on health care and suggested he had been "bowing down to every nutty right wing proposal" during the debate over what would become the Affordable Care Act.

"I'm getting tired of saving Obama's can in the White House," Conyers said on one radio show at the time.

Conyers, a civil rights icon who helped found the Congressional Black Caucus, is a former chairman of of the House Judiciary Committee and remains its top ranking Democrat. He became the longest-serving active member of Congress in 2015, when former U.S. Rep. John Dingell — a Dearborn Democrat whom Conyers once worked for — retired./\

http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/22/president-obama-endorses-john-conyers-re-election/86222476/

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CONYERS, Jackson Lee Commend President Obama For Additional Commutations Of Sentences, Call For Congressional Action On Sentencing Reform

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 42 individuals:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Praising the action taken by the President, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. stated, “While I have been working with my colleagues in Congress to develop and adopt bipartisan legislation to reform our sentencing laws, and to improve other aspects of our criminal justice system, President Obama continues to take important steps to reduce sentences of those already incarcerated when appropriate.  I appreciate his consistent commitment to addressing these cases by using his constitutional authority to commute sentences, which is the just and fair approach to take.  To help address the problem of unfair sentencing and overincarceration, the President has urged Congress to act on the pending bills that would do so, and I ask that Congress answer that call without further delay.” 

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said, “I am encouraged by President Obama’s commutation of sentences of 42 individuals today – who were all victims of unjust sentencing.  Nearly all of these men and women would have been released and contributing back to society already had they been convicted under today’s laws or reform proposals. I welcome and applaud the commutations of the sentences of these individuals.  Incarcerating people for unwarranted lengths of time serves no constructive purpose.  The President has recognized this, as has Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and I hope the Administration’s Clemency Project will continue to address the multitude of cases in which sentence reductions are appropriate.”

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Conyers and Cohen Urge Senate to Hold a Vote on SCOTUS Nominee Merrick Garland

WASHINGTON – Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-TN) released the following statement after President Obama announced D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland as nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Fulfilling his constitutional duty to nominate justices to the Supreme Court, President Obama has nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.  The Senate should now fulfill its responsibility by giving its full and fair consideration to the President’s nomination.

“Judge Garland is an eminently seasoned jurist who has all the qualities that make him an upstanding nominee for the Supreme Court.  His unquestioned intellect, long judicial experience, and even temperament are widely admired and respected.  His deep respect for and fidelity to the Constitution and the law and his sensitivity to the impact of the law on ordinary people make him an optimal choice.

“Leaving a vacancy on the Supreme Court for a prolonged period would be irresponsible. Such a prolonged vacancy would impair the Supreme Court’s ability to fulfill its role and leave many critical constitutional and legal questions subject to only lower-level court review.

“The American people twice elected President Obama to fulfill the duties of the presidency, including the duty to nominate Supreme Court justices.  President Obama has fulfilled that duty, and now it is incumbent upon the Senate to give Judge Garland a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote. It is what the American people deserve and expect of their elected officials.”

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Statement of Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. Full Committee Hearing on “The Original Understanding of the Role of Congress and How Far We’ve Drifted From It” Before the Executive Overreach Task Force

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“At the markup for the resolution establishing the Executive Overreach Task Force, I had expressed the concern that this Task Force might be used as a platform for partisan political attacks."

“I also expressed the hope that we could work collaboratively in some areas of mutual interest, in particular those centering on strengthening Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch."

 “I remain hopeful that there is room on this Task Force for some bipartisan cooperation."

 “That being said, I also recognize that there will inevitably be areas of fundamental philosophical differences between the Majority and Minority."

 “On some level, our hearing topic today on ‘The Original Understanding of the Role of Congress and How Far We’ve Drifted From It,’ reflects both potential paths for this Task Force."

“To begin with, there are indeed policy areas, like war powers matters, where Congress has failed to assert itself sufficiently, leaving room for the President to expand his unilateral authority."

“As the Minority witness, Professor Stephen Vladeck, will testify in greater detail, the earliest Congresses understood that inaction or indifference by Congress in placing specific limits on a President’s war-making authority enables, and even invites, the expansion of Presidential power at Congress’s expense. Simply put, if Congress fails to act to place limits on Presidential authority, it has little basis to complain about separation of powers concerns."

“It is also important to remember that when Congress has delimited Executive power by statute, there is a difference between cases where a President simply ignores such limits and cases where a President interprets a broad delegation of authority by Congress."

“A President might simply ignore clear statutory limits that Congress has placed on his power. President George W. Bush, for example, claimed the authority to ignore statutory limitations on his exercise of power with regard to national security, including prohibitions on torture and warrantless surveillance, among other things. In other cases, Congress has given a broad grant of authority to the Executive Branch for the purpose of implementing statutes and there may be a dispute as to the precise scope of that grant of authority."

“It is important not to conflate these situations.  The former is far more troubling from a separation of powers perspective than the latter. Finally, we must ask why it is that Congress has chosen in many instances to delegate authority to the Executive Branch, particularly with respect to economic and health and safety regulation."

“In large part, this is a reflection of the fact that we live in a society that is far more complex than the one that existed in the late 1700's. As even our Majority witnesses acknowledge, the country and the Congress were far smaller and simpler at that time."

“And the Framers wisely built in some ‘flex in the joints’ of our Constitution precisely to capture all the changes to our society and economy that could not be foreseen in the 18^th Century. It is important to remember that even where Congress has delegated authority to the Executive Branch, the power to legislate ultimately still resides with Congress."

 “Congress is always free to rescind its delegation of authority or to narrow the scope of delegation. I look forward to an interesting and engaging discussion and thank our witnesses for their testimony.”

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CONYERS and Jackson Lee Praise President Obama’s Actions on Solitary Confinement

              

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, President Obama announced that U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Department of Justice, in response to the President’s directive in July, has issued a report concerning the use of solitary confinement in America.  The report includes recommended strategies for prisons at the federal, state, and local levels to pursue, safely reduce solitary confinement, and details changes that the federal Bureau of Prisons will undertake. The President also stated that he will adopt the recommendations in the report, and will direct all related federal agencies to review the findings and develop a plan to address their use of solitary confinement.

In response to the announcement, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Congressman John Conyers, Jr.:  “I applaud the release of the report on solitary confinement by the President, and I am grateful for the thorough work of Attorney General Loretta Lynch in preparing the report and its recommendations.  Prisons have long over-relied on solitary confinement, which is often inhumane, ineffective, and financially wasteful.  As the report makes clear, we can reduce the use of solitary confinement while maintaining effective prison administration and not jeopardizing safety.   I hope states will adopt the changes that the President has directed to take place at the federal level, and I am particularly heartened that federal prisons will no longer place juveniles in solitary confinement, a practice that is harmful and inappropriate.  These changes are an important part of reforming our criminal justice system, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress to pass measures that will make the system both more effective and fair.”

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee: “The President’s action is a major and crucial step that will save lives of young juveniles. Solitary confinement is inhumane and can be especially destructive to children locked up in an already harsh system. Juveniles should be in a system that is rehabilitative, not life ending."

“That is why Ranking Member Conyers and I introduced a package of youth incarceration reform bills, including Kalief’s Law (H.R. 3155), a measure named in honor of a young man who tragically took his own life after spending two years in solitary at Riker’s Island without ever receiving a trial. Among other things, this bill would help avoid the loss of more young lives by banning solitary confinement for those 21 and under. "

“The President’s action is important and comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s much needed action to grant relief to juveniles serving sentences of life without parole. But it is even more important that Congress codify both of these just and humane steps for all young people, not just juveniles. Our children deserve nothing less. I am committed to making this a reality through our bipartisan criminal justice reform initiative, a key component of which will be comprehensive young justice reform legislation.”

U.S. Department of Justice Report and Recommendations Concerning the Use of Restrictive Housing

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CONYERS Greets POTUS in Detroit

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan with U.S. Representative John Conyers as he greets U.S. President Barack Obama as he disembarks Air Force One  for the 2016 NAIAS

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan with U.S. Representative John Conyers as he greets U.S. President Barack Obama as he disembarks Air Force One  for the 2016 NAIAS

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Congressional Black Caucus Letter To POTUS on Flint Water Crisis

CBC Letter to President Obama on Flint Michigan Water Issue

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CONYERS: Share your thoughts on what I should encourage POTUS to focus on in his last year

Prior to tuning into President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address tonight, please join me for a live tele-townhall meeting at 6:30 PM by dialing 1-877-353-4701.

Join the town hall meeting to share your thoughts on what I should encourage President Obama to focus on in his last year that will best help the people of Detroit and Southeast Michigan. ‪#‎SOTU‬

2016 State of the Union

Tune in for President Obama's final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016 at 9PM ET

WHITEHOUSE.GOV

I want to thank from the bottom of my heart the more than 9,000 of my constituents that joined the tele-townhall tonight to discuss issues impacting our community.

Over President Obama's last year, I will make sure your voice is heard.

If I didn't get to your question, please feel free to contact me at conyers.house.gov and I will make sure you hear from me. ‪#‎SOTU‬

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Barack Obama: Guns Are Our Shared Responsibility

Barack Obama: Guns Are Our Shared Responsibility

THE epidemic of gun violence in our country is a crisis. Gun deaths and injuries constitute one of the greatest threats to public health and to the safety of the American people. Every year, more than 30,000 Americans have their lives cut short by guns. Suicides. Domestic violence. Gang shootouts. Accidents. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost brothers and sisters, or buried their own children. We’re the only advanced nation on earth that sees this kind of mass violence with this frequency.

A national crisis like this demands a national response. Reducing gun violence will be hard. It’s clear that common-sense gun reform won’t happen during this Congress. It won’t happen during my presidency. Still, there are steps we can take now to save lives. And all of us — at every level of government, in the private sector and as citizens — have to do our part.

We all have a responsibility.

On Tuesday, I announced new steps I am taking within my legal authority to protect the American people and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people. They include making sure that anybody engaged in the business of selling firearms conducts background checks, expanding access to mental health treatment and improving gun safety technology. These actions won’t prevent every act of violence, or save every life — but if even one life is spared, they will be well worth the effort.

Even as I continue to take every action possible as president, I will also take every action I can as a citizen. I will not campaign for, vote for or support any candidate, even in my own party, who does not support common-sense gun reform. And if the 90 percent of Americans who do support common-sense gun reforms join me, we will elect the leadership we deserve.

All of us have a role to play — including gun owners. We need the vast majority of responsible gun owners who grieve with us after every mass shooting, who support common-sense gun safety and who feel that their views are not being properly represented, to stand with us and demand that leaders heed the voices of the people they are supposed to represent.

The gun industry also needs to do its part. And that starts with manufacturers.

As Americans, we hold consumer goods to high standards to keep our families and communities safe. Cars have to meet safety and emissions requirements. Food has to be clean and safe. We will not end the cycle of gun violence until we demand that the gun industry take simple actions to make its products safer as well. If a child can’t open a bottle of aspirin, we should also make sure she can’t pull the trigger of a gun.

Yet today, the gun industry is almost entirely unaccountable. Thanks to the gun lobby’s decades of efforts, Congress has blocked our consumer products safety experts from being able to require that firearms have even the most basic safety measures. They’ve made it harder for the government’s public health experts to conduct research on gun violence. They’ve guaranteed that manufacturers enjoy virtual immunity from lawsuits, which means that they can sell lethal products and rarely face consequences. As parents, we wouldn’t put up with this if we were talking about faulty car seats. Why should we tolerate it for products — guns — that kill so many children each year?

At a time when manufacturers are enjoying soaring profits, they should invest in research to make guns smarter and safer, like developing microstamping for ammunition, which can help trace bullets found at crime scenes to specific guns. And like all industries, gun manufacturers owe it to their customers to be better corporate citizens by selling weapons only to responsible actors.

You know, it was the tearful, emotional reaction to the horrific 9/11 attacks that led to the unwarranted and disastrous war in Iraq.Yes I...

Ultimately, this is about all of us. We are not asked to perform the heroism of 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson from Tennessee, who was killed before Christmas while shielding his friends from gunfire. We are not asked to display the grace of the countless victims’ families who have dedicated themselves to ending this senseless violence. But we must find the courage and the will to mobilize, organize and do what a strong, sensible country does in response to a crisis like this one

All;of us need to demand leaders brave enough to stand up to the gun lobby’s lies. All of us need to stand up and protect our fellow citizens. All of us need to demand that governors, mayors and our representatives in Congress do their part.

Change will be hard. It won’t happen overnight. But securing a woman’s right to vote didn’t happen overnight. The liberation of African-Americans didn’t happen overnight. Advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans has taken decades’ worth of work.

Those moments represent American democracy, and the American people, at our best. Meeting this crisis of gun violence will require the same relentless focus, over many years, at every level. If we can meet this moment with that same audacity, we will achieve the change we seek. And we will leave a stronger, safer country to our children

For those who need this broken down to another level...

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Why not kick it off in #Detroit?

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Chattel Law Lives: White House Report on Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color:

It is with the greatest pleasure that I stand and pay tribute to the excellent work of the White House to elevate the historically pervasive issues in dealing with women and girls of color, but, while I am standing, allow me to snatch the mic and continue on this public platform to state that this report is just the tip of the iceberg in dealing with these economic and social polices.

The two largest affronts to opportunity in the lives of women and girls of color are law and policy and its administration, thereof.

Yes, it is true.  There is no oversight in dealing with opportunities for women and girls of color.

I contain my focus upon child welfare (i.e.. foster care, juvenile justice, SNAP, education, health care).

Administrative law and policy are specifically reflective of the architecture of the peculiar institution for which I shall take the time to illuminate for those who have no idea of what I speak, to be American slavery.

Yes, this is also true.  Women and girls of color are still on the books under chattel law and society still deems women and girls of color as property.

The curriculum of our academic institutions continue to instill in its students and graduates, that women must rise to the bar of codified social morality, meaning they must be affluent or follow the natural order of textbook theories.

This is racial profiling in social and economic policies.

Try being considered a woman of color, single, going to school with disabled children. working odd jobs, on social assistance programs which provide little to no help except for the generation of referral to Child Protective Services, to remove your kids and put them up for adoption, just because, according to the research, you will never be able to provide for the well-being of your children, as poverty is considered, by law and policy, as child abuse and neglect.

Then, when your name is placed on the Central Registry of Abuse and Neglect, for the crime of being poor, if you are even lucky enough to be tried as guilty until proven innocent, try finding a job or obtaining a high school diploma, or a university degree, for that matter.

Our policies defy logic and nature when identifying women who are poor and of color by being codified as "targeted populations" or "vulnerable populations"  These terms carry a quantifiable dollar amount, dependent upon which social program policy is being enforced.  There are even different cost reimbursements when dealing with girls of color in foster care; they are cheaper.

Look at Medicaid in child welfare.  Fraudulent billing is rampant yet nothing is being done about it.

In essence, the targeting of poor women and girls of color is pro forma for the administraton of social programs which are federally funded, and now being privatized through another layer of statutory protections for religious organizations to become immune from public scrutiny of its operations which have never met any clearly set benchmarks, for which are nothing more than revenue-maximization schemes.

QUESTION:  If advancing equity for women and girls of color is to be considered a civil right, then why are we not teaching this in university curriculae of social work, law enforcement, education,  religion and government?

ANSWER:  Poverty for women and girls of color is a multi-billion dollar industry and I am an original source.

Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color Report: The White House Council on Women and Girls

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POTUS Addresses The Welfare Of A Child With Guns

This speech of POTUS is superficially about gun control because it hits deeper into the heart of the issues of such hate and violence, which is the role of governance in the welfare of the child.

Before you are a man, you are a child.  We, as a nation, have neglected our role in society to make sure it is better when we pass it on to our children when they mature.

It is my belief the U.S. Department of Justice is about to engage in a bit of self-reform in a possible restructuring.  For years there have been discussions in the functionality of the DEA and ATF.

Perhaps, the time has come to include a redirection of focus when it comes to the operations of governments, and by this I mean the operations behind privatization and its insurrectionist politics.

 

I wrote this some years ago for a friend because people stopped listening to his message.  Now is the perfect time to dust it off and call it a 2.0/

Universal Health Care: Providing For The Common Defense and General Welfare

The issues surrounding unruly town hall meetings and angry mobs were addressed over 200 years ago in the Federalist Papers, specifically #9, Hamilton and #10 Madison.

Hamilton #9: The utility of a Confederacy, as well to suppress faction and to guard the internal tranquillity of States, as to increase their external force and security, is in reality not a new idea. It has been practiced upon in different countries and ages, and has received the sanction of the most approved writers on the subject of politics. 

What Hamilton basically says is that an insurgent faction disrupts consolidation and consensus of groups, better known as a republic. This idea was expounded and refined in Madison #10.

Madison identified the "inner tranquility" of the consolidation and consensus of groups as the "majority". He further spoke of the futility of non-peaceful protests as they disregarded established legislative processes, having elected government representatives.

"Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices, or of sinister designs, may, by intrigue, by corruption, or by other means, first obtain the suffrages, and then betray the interests, of the people."

Historically, civil disobedience only works when functioning under the policy of peace. These protests are not peaceful in language or activities, an early presentation of failure of the insurgence.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise therof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.The Bill of Rights: First Amendment

The key word is "peace". Once this tenet of the First Amendment is violated, peace, the government is empowered to protect the people, pursuant to the General Welfare Clause in the U.S. Constitution. The following is an excerpt of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States, called the General Welfare Clause:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

Violence, be it verbal, economic, emotional or physical, becomes grounds for government intervention, or rather the calling of the police to maintain the peace. When this happens you have an insurrection, pursuant to the General Welfare Clause. Under this light, health care as commerce, or rather Universal Health Care, is seen as a "provision for the common defense social disease, meaning maintainability of individual and social health, becoming interchangeable with the temporal terminology of General Welfare.

Quintessentially, Universal Health Care is one in the same with the Common Defense and General Welfare of the people of the United States of America. Here is a visual model for greater understanding:

Universal = Common

Health = Defense

Care = General Welfare

There is a lack of organization and understanding, as the insurrections constantly demonstrate a significant failure in mastering a rudimentary education of the social mobilization.

Peace.

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White House Begins to Recognize the Need to Examine the Child Welfare Industry

The Child Welfare Industrial Complex needs a “Pink Ribbon”

As a former foster youth, having spent more than a decade in and out of care, I have lived through the best intentions of institutions in multiple states.  The Child Welfare Industrial Complex (CWIC), made up of the myriad of actors in the life of a dependent child, acts to perpetrate the agency’s particular interest.  Often, this coincides with the best interest of a child, but not always.  For example, in the name of privacy, there was often a slow transfer of educational documents, preventing my timely enrollment. While serving a valid privacy interest, this is a lack of common sense in the youth's interests – and education is the victim.  Actors remain in their silo, serving their agency goals, but doing so inadvertently causes the youth to suffer. Structural reform requires collaboration between all parts of society, and especially public engagement.  Public engagement can translate into political attention, power and resources that can change outcomes.  Yet the public only hears from (or about) the CWIC during times of tragedy, leading to benign neglect or short bursts of brutal attention.  Achieving fundamentally different outcomes, requires all parties to work together in telling the full story about Foster Care.

In order to effect structural change in Child Welfare, the CWIC must convene as a larger societal ‘movement.’  FosterMore, is an effort in that direction.  Between what works, evidence based practice, and sustained implementation, is a gulf – a gulf made up of a lack of public awareness and engagement.   Instead of speaking to the vast majority of Americans, the CWIC uses terms and language that disenfranchises the public.  Forming a partnership with the public, private groups, foundation and government – FosterMore came together to bridge that gap – engage the public, and therefore their elected leaders.  In much the same way as the environmental, women's cancer, and other movements have come together; FosterMore is a brazen attempt to recruit Americans to join a movement to understand and end the inherited poverty of foster care.

Much as “Race for the Cure,” represented by the pink ribbon, seeks to orient our passion and attention around curing women’s cancers; FosterMore seeks to have “Education” as the north star, a rallying point to do right by our children.  Education is the communication of knowledge and culture, from one to another.  Education can be communicated passively, through the culture or more succinctly, through formalized settings.  The remarkable nature of this knowledge is its ability to act as a key to unlock potential.  At times, one aspect of education is valued over the other – yet both are vital to thrive.  Foster youth have "graduate degrees" in resiliency, but have their progress in education impeded by circumstance.   The cumulative effect of this is to lock foster youth into a cycle of inherited poverty.

Educational access can be the bridge out of this cycle – but extra care must be taken to empower this last generation of educationally impoverished; and that requires an army, a movement that must include the general public.  Working together, FosterMore has raised awareness, chipped away at ignorance, prejudice and indifference to shine a light on the amazing potential of foster youth and families.  FosterMore has created an “American Indian College Fund-equivalent,” a national scholarship for foster youth, to underpin all of our efforts in public engagement. The Scholarship will help the public think of our foster youth differently, but just as the Pink Ribbon is a symbol, it will be a gateway that allows the public to be part of the solution.

The work of the movement will not end, as every other movement has taught us. Yet, the movement must start – and FosterMore is that start.

David Ambroz is the Executive Director of Corporate Citizenship & Social Responsibility for Disney | ABC Television Group and in that role created FosterMore. He is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

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