Tales Of The New Crown: Trump, et al, Gets The Cooties - Biden Does Not For Grand Rapids - Detroit Mass Transit Is Shutdown - Operation 25th Amendment Activated Again

First, this happened...

Supreme Court nominee tested positive for coronavirus this summer, has since recovered

Then, this happened...

Trump Says He’ll Begin ‘Quarantine Process’ After Hope Hicks Tests Positive for Coronavirus

 Then, this happened....

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Then, this happened...

RNC chair tests positive for coronavirus

Then, this happened....

Joe Biden tests negative for coronavirus before events in Grand Rapids

Then, this happened....

Detroit bus service halted amid worries over COVID-19, violence

Detroit — City bus service halted Friday after drivers walked off the job amid claims they are being

 

threatened with violence and are at risk of contracting COVID-19, union officials said.

Glenn Tolbert, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26, told The Detroit News that drivers "don't feel safe" and are "being accosted on a daily basis" by riders who spit on them or threaten them with weapons.

"Just because you ask someone about a mask, you've got to fend for your life," he said. "It's getting to the point with COVID and all the other pressures ... all of these things are just piling up. I've got people quitting on a daily basis."

The city in a statement Friday morning said the Detroit Department of Transportation is working with union representatives "to get buses back on the road as soon as possible."

Detroit's Chief Operating Officer Hakim Berry said drivers have informed city leadership of "some recent incidents that have them concerned for their safety."

"Right now we are listening to their concerns and will be working closely with our transit police force and (police) Chief (James) Craig to reach an agreement as quickly as possible and new protocols — including de-escalation strategies — to get our drivers back to work as quickly as possible," Berry said in statement.

Tolbert confirmed he's been in discussions throughout the morning with members of the administration to try to get some measures in place to ensure driver safety as well as assurances that they won't fall subject to discipline or dismissal. 

'We're trying to do this fast and as best as we can," said Tolbert, noting union officers informed him that a driver had been threatened with a gun on a bus Thursday evening."Somebody has to come speak on our behalf and there has to be measures put in place where if I defend myself I'm not going to be without a job."

Tolbert added there's no current estimate on when drivers will return to the job. 

The service disruption comes after a bus driver shortage in March prompted by COVID-19 worries led to a day long shutdown.

DDOT, at that time, canceled all bus service and encouraged riders to find alternative means of transportation, noting the shortage had only 10% of the buses rolling.

City bus driver Jason Hargrove died of COVID-19 in April after complaining days prior in an online video that a passenger had openly coughed on his bus amid the pandemic. 

To better equip drivers, the city began requiring passengers to enter and exit through the rear of the bus to avoid direct contact with drivers and started sanitizing buses twice a day and deep cleaning them nightly. 

Tolbert said the city has continued to provide drivers with personal protective equipment and stock buses with masks, but "people are taking them at an alarming rate."

The city, he added, has been working to implement additional safety measures to keep drivers safe from encounters with unruly riders but more needs to be done, and faster. 

The bus union in January cited an attack from December in which a driver had been yanked from her seat while transporting riders on the east side. It was the latest in a series of assaults reported on board. Complaints over driver safety on Detroit's buses, union officials say, have been ongoing for decades.

DDOT serves an average of 85,000 riders daily with 48 fixed bus routes, 12 24-hour routes and six express routes in the city of Detroit and neighboring communities, including Dearborn, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods, Livonia, Redford Township, River Rouge and Southfield.

Come back to The Detroit News for updates on this developing story.

Then, this happened...

An D.O., not M.D., is using POTUS as a lab rat? Someone get me some protocol on this. https://t.co/ufqtCeHeT4

— Beverly Tran (@beverlytran) October 2, 2020

#sealsmatter

Wh Letter by acohnthehill

Then, this happened...

Dizzying scenarios: When something happens to a president, who takes charge?

Then, this happened...

Notre Dame president, Utah Sen. Mike Lee test positive for COVID-19 after White House visit

Then, this happened...

pic.twitter.com/B4H105KVSs

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Then, this happened... 

Trump Campaign Manager, Kellyanne Conway Are Latest To Test Positive For Coronavirus

 #maytheheavensfall

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Tales Of The New Crown: DOJ - Detroit Resident Pleads Guilty In COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

I believe this gentleman has elevated the concept of "Fat, Dumb & Happy" to an entirely new level.

If you think this is bad, just wait until we get into the "Elected Ones"...

Detroit resident Darrell Baker pleaded guilty today to bank fraud and money laundering arising out of a $590,000 Covid-19 fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Joining in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Inspector General Hannibal Mike Ware of the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General.

Darrell Baker, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud arising from his effort to obtain some $590,000 by defrauding a Pennsylvania financial institution in the issuance of a Payroll Protection Program Loan. Baker also pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, the result of financial transactions he engaged in with the fraudulently obtained funds.  

United States Attorney Schneider stated, “My office and our law enforcement partners have no tolerance for frauds affecting programs designed to help our economy survive the Covid-19 pandemic. We will prosecute such cases aggressively, and today’s guilty plea is an example of our commitment to holding accountable anyone fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief funds to line their own pockets.”   

“Mr. Baker's scheme exploited a fund designed specifically to support Americans during this financially challenging time,” said Steven M. D’Antuono, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Thanks to the hard work of the FBI and all of the agencies involved in this investigation, monies set aside for hard working Americans who are not able to work during this pandemic is secure and available for the people that need it most, not for the fraudsters like Mr. Baker."

According to the plea agreement, Baker applied for and obtained a $590,000 Payroll Protection Program Loan on behalf of a purported business that he owns, called “Motorcity Solar Energy, Inc.” The Payroll Protection Program is a program managed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides loans to help businesses keep their workforces employed during the Covid-19 crisis. The SBA will forgive the loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. The Payroll Protection Act loans are funded from participating banks, in this case Customers Bank in Pennsylvania.

According to the plea documents, Baker submitted paperwork with his loan application representing that Motorcity Solar Energy Inc. had 68 employees and, in 2019 paid wages, tips, and other compensation totaling $2.8 million. All of these representations were in fact false. Motor City Solar Energy had no employees, no payroll expenses of any kind, and was not an operational business. Baker submitted these false statements as part of a scheme to intentionally defraud Customers Bank and the Payroll Protection Program.   

The plea documents state that Baker managed to withdraw approximately $172,000 of the $590,000 loan he obtained before Baker’s own financial institution froze the remainder, which was ultimately returned to Customer’s Bank. Baker used the funds he did obtain to purchase four cashier’s checks, and used the four checks to purchase two Cadillac Escalades, a Dodge Charger, and a Hummer.  The plea agreement requires Baker to forfeit these vehicles. As part of the plea agreement, Baker also agreed to the entry of a money judgment against him in the amount of $172,484.40, which represents the portion of the loan that Baker obtained before his fraud was uncovered and the balance of the loan frozen.   

Sentencing is set for January 14, 2021, before United States District Judge Laurie J. Michaelson,

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John K. Neal. The investigation is being conducted jointly by the FBI and the SBA-OIG. . 

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Prelude To Detroit: Have No Fear! Jocelyn Benson Will Be Working With Janice Winfrey To Thwart Another Great Detroit Election Facepalm - 2016 Revisited

Yup....

Jocelyn Benson is going to be working with Janice Winfrey to thwart another Great Detroit Election Facepalm.

Detroit, state to jointly oversee November election in city after outcry over Aug. primary

Yippers...

Benson: 500,000 could be removed from Michigan's voting rolls, but not before Nov. 3

Roughly 500,000 absentee ballot applications were returned between May and August for reasons that included the individuals had since died or moved, but any outdated names can't be removed from voter rolls until after the Nov. 3 election, according to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office. 

In a Thursday letter to Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, Benson said the Michigan Bureau of Elections will sort through the returned applications and distribute them to local clerks for voter list maintenance. 

Benson has been criticized for the May mailing to 7.7 million qualified voters in Michigan because some applications went to people who had long since moved or died. But the Detroit Democrat has maintained in the months after the mailing that the returned applications would help to guide efforts to clean up the state's voter rolls of transient or deceased individuals still on the state lists. 

"We expect the majority of maintenance will take place after the Nov. 3 election, when federal law no longer limits such action," she said, referring to federal election law preventing list maintenance 90 days before an election.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson plans to mail postcards over the next week to 4.4 million registered active voters who have not yet requested an absentee ballot to remind them they have the opportunity to do so.

The applications were returned for "any reason postal mail is returned to sender," including the individual is dead or moved, said Tracy Wimmer, a spokeswoman for Benson's office.

Former Secretary of State Johnson on Wednesday estimated there likely were another 300,000 absentee ballot applications sent to people who are dead or moved that were not returned to the Bureau of Elections. 

Johnson has argued Benson should not have sent applications to people on the "inactive" or "countdown" list — a list of people believed to have moved but required by federal law to stay on the Qualified Voter File for at least two federal election cycles to verify their departure from the state. At the least, the Republican lawmaker said, those individuals should have been sent postcards instead of the actual ballot application.

"It’s always been a weakness in the system, but I’m afraid that the weakness has gone from something minor to people feeling encouraged to vote from other states," Johnson said.

On Aug. 17, Johnson requested Benson conduct an audit of the primary election to determine how many people listed as having moved in the "countdown" file had successfully voted from another state.

Benson's legislative policy director Adam Reames responded via email shortly after 7 p.m. Friday and argued people on the countdown list remain eligible to vote. He said signatures on the absentee ballot envelopes already had been verified by local clerks. 

"We are not clear what type of audit the Senator is suggesting," Reames wrote. 

Johnson argued Wednesday that the integrity of the November election would be best served by an audit of the August primary. 

"She’s opening a Pandora’s box for whatever side loses to go to court," the former secretary of state said of the November election.

"Ultimately, the people of Michigan are going to be disenfranchised. We’re going to end up in court and there’s just no reason for it."

Benson's office on Wednesday maintained it was her mailing and other education efforts that ensured record turnout in August and what is expected to be another high turnout in November.

"If state Sen. Johnson was truly concerned about disenfranchising voters, instead of squabbling over the court-approved application mailing to voters, she would be actively working to prevent the disenfranchisement of the thousands of Michigan citizens who will suffer that fate in November because, unlike in other states, our Legislature does not allow ballots postmarked by Election Day but arriving after to be counted," said Jake Rollow, a spokesman for Benson.

The first-term secretary of state plans to mail postcards over the next week to 4.4 million registered active voters who have not yet requested an absentee ballot to remind them they have the opportunity to do so. Benson will also mail letters to 700,000 people who have a state driver's license or state ID but haven't registered to vote in Michigan and encourage them to register, the secretary said Wednesday.

Roughly 130,000 of those people will be automatically registered to vote unless they opt out within 30 days of receiving a postcard, Benson said in a statement. The individuals visited the Secretary of State's office for a driver's license or state ID transaction between December 2018 and September 2019, between the passage of automatic voter registration under Proposal 3 and its actual implementation. 

In her letter to Johnson and the Senate Elections Committee, Benson urged lawmakers to allow clerks to begin processing ballots early ahead of Nov. 3. She noted the decrease in election workers and increase in absentee ballots could mean worker fatigue and real delays in delivering election results. 

Benson also asked the committee to consider legislation that would require clerks to call the voter if there were problems with an absentee ballot signature and accept ballots received after Election Day. 

In the Aug. 4 primary, 2,225 absentee ballots were rejected because of missing or mismatched signatures and 6,405 ballots were rejected because they arrived after Election Day. The Aug. 4 primary included a record 2.5 million votes, 1.6 million of which were cast via absentee ballot.

Additionally, about 1,111 were rejected because the voter moved between when they filled out the ballot and Election Day; and 846 were not accepted because the voter died between filling out the ballot and Election Day, according to data from Benson's office. 

"My office looks forward to supporting the committee with any data needed to advance the legislation outlined above," Benson wrote.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Prelude To Detroit: Rochester, New York Mayor Lovely Warren Caught Stealin'

WHEW!

For a moment there I thought this was Detroit, but then, I remembered, this is only Day Four.

#maytheheavensfall

Subpoenas issued in investigation into alleged campaign finance violations against Mayor Warren

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — News10NBC has learned Monroe County prosecutors have issued subpoenas to people they want to question in their investigation into allegations of campaign finance violations against Mayor Lovely Warren.

WXXI's Evan Dawson confirmed to News10NBC he received a subpoena to appear before a Grand Jury on Sept. 17.

Prosecutors are interested in comments the mayor made on his show in July of 2017.

Dawson was told prosecutors want to make sure her comments on the program were not edited.

Back then, News10NBC reported the District Attorney's Office was looking into what happened to the money donated to two campaign-related committees during the mayor's re-election race last year.

During the campaign, the mayor's two challengers filed official complaints about the money to the state board of elections.

Now, Mayor Warren says she wants people to understand that this is coming back up right before she gets ready to run for re-election.

“I just think that this is a complaint that was done in my re-election campaign from 2017, we’re now in 2020 and this has just come to fruition,” Warren said. “Ask yourself why.  Come January I’ll be running for reelection and I believe this is a political witch hunt. I think that it's wrong and I think that people have overstepped here. And I plan on and my attorneys plan on defending me to the fullest extent of the law. I think that it is imperative that the people in this community understand what is going on here and I would hope that our media will go and do their research and look into this. We are talking about something that happened or [was] alleged to happen four years ago all of a sudden now has come to fruition right before I get ready to run for re-election. Ask yourself: Who’s running against me? And who are they tied to? Thank you.”

News10NBC heard from Joe Damelio, counsel for Friends of Lovely Warren, last Wednesday. He sent the following statement:

“Today, for the third separate time since the end of May, we received notification of leaks to the media regarding an alleged report from the State Board of Elections and the District Attorney’s office about political finance accounts associated with the Mayor's campaign. Still after three separate news stories at no time have I, the Mayor’s attorney, been contacted by the District Attorney’s office about this investigation.

Since 2017, news stories have been reported about similar alleged communications between the State Board of Elections and the District Attorney’s office. It is now 2020. We look forward to the conclusion of the DA's investigation.
The Mayor in her official capacity, and as a private person, did absolutely nothing wrong. And, when this investigation is done, it will be shown that no money is missing."

As of now, no charges have been filed against Mayor Warren

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Prelude To Detroit: Here Comes Harry Belafonte!

On the third day, Harry Belafonte is presented.

Harry is a significant figure in U.S. history, but the educational institutions like to keep people like him, omitted from publication, which is why I do what I do.

I am watching to see how the social platforms address this propaganda video.

A 2011 video of Harry Belafonte apparently falling asleep was doctored to falsely depict Joe BidenA video shared on Sunday by White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino depicting Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sleeping during a local news interview is manipulated, according to Sacramento-area news anchor John Dabkovitch. The news segment, filmed in 2011, in fact featured singer Harry Belafonte, according to Dabkovitch, who co-anchored the program at the time.

This is fake. You know how I know? I was the coanchor in studio.

We were interviewing Harry Belafonte. https://t.co/gPRU9JGyI7

— John Dabkovich (@JohnDabkovich) August 31, 2020

https://t.co/EvYys2Fv0

— John Dabkovich (@JohnDabkovich) August 31, 2020

Harry & Pamela Belafonte

Meet Harry.

Jamaican-American musician, actor and human rights activist Harry Belafonte joined the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s. He became one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s closest confidants. Over the years he organized demonstrations, raised money and contributed his personal funds to keep movement activities going. Belafonte has advocated for a range of other humanitarian causes. In 1985, he helped to orchestrate the recording of the Grammy Award winning song "We Are The World," a multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa. In 1987, he received an appointment to UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador. Belafonte has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 2006, when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease Belafonte achieved fame when his 1956 breakthrough album Calypso became the first full-length album to sell over 1 million copies. He is perhaps best known for singing the "Banana Boat Song," with its signature lyric "Day-O." He became the first Afrian American to win an Emmy for his 1959 TV special Tonight with Belafonte. He has starred in such groundbreaking films as "Carmen Jones" (1954), "Island in the Sun" (1957), "Buck and the Preacher"(1972), and "White Man's Burden" (1995). In 1987 he produced a Broadway play about apartheid entitled Asinamali!" Belafonte owns his own music publishing firm and a film production company.

Though born in Harlem, Harry's mother sent him to live in Jamaica, the island of her birth, when he was still a child. He returned to Harlem as a teenager at the outbreak of World War II. He found it difficult to adjust to life in states, dropped out of high school and enlisted in the Navy. After his honorable discharge, he worked as a laborer until he found his calling in the entertainment world. He started his career as an actor and studied his craft in the Dramatic Workshop of the School of Social Research. There his classmates included Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau, Rod Steiger and Tony Curtis.

In 2000, Belafonte won a Grammy Award for his lifetime achievement in music. In 2002 Africare awarded Belafonte the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist Africa. Additionally, the American Association of Retired People (AARP) named Belafonte one of nine recipients of 2006 Impact Award.

#maytheheavensfall

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Watergate 2.0: John Dean Is Back

John Dean is back 



#maytheheavensfall

United States District Court, D. MarylandDec 1, 1999Civ. No. JFM-97-946 (D. Md. Dec. 1, 1999)

Civ. No. JFM-97-946.

December 1999.

MEMORANDUM

J. FREDERICK MOTZ, United States District Judge.

Defendant G. Gordon Liddy has filed a renewed motion to transfer this case to the District of Columbia. The motion will be granted.

This case arises out of allegedly defamatory remarks that Liddy made about plaintiff Ida Maxwell Wells. Liddy has publicly articulated a theory that the Watergate burglary was prompted by a desire to obtain information about a call-girl ring being operated at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. According to the theory espoused by Liddy, Maureen Dean, John Dean's wife, is said to have been one of the call girls. Pictures of Maureen Dean and the other call girls allegedly were kept in Wells' desk. Dean allegedly instigated the break-in to recover the photographs.

The Deans filed an action for defamation against Liddy and others in 1992 based upon Liddy's public statements about the call-girl theory and other alleged libels against John Dean. The case was originally instituted in California but was transferred to the District of Columbia upon a motion to transfer filed by Liddy. Wells instituted the present action in 1997. Liddy moved to transfer it to the District of Columbia as well. Initially, I denied the motion. Two factors figured heavily in my decision. First, the Dean case was then dormant and had been for several years. Second, Wells asserted that she "has a very simple case" and that the "case does not depend upon any testimony from the Deans. . . ."

Circumstances have changed since I denied Liddy's original motion to transfer. Wells has now twice named Maureen Dean as a witness despite her prior representation that her case does not depend upon the testimony of the Deans. Although Wells has withdrawn Mrs. Dean's name from the witness list on both occasions, the interrelatedness between this case and at least a portion of the case instituted by the Deans in the District of Columbia has now become apparent. More importantly, the Dean case is no longer dormant. It has been reassigned to Judge Emmett Sullivan who has set a firm trial date of May 5, 2000.

Wells argues that I cannot transfer this case to the District of Columbia because it could not have been instituted there originally, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), since venue and personal jurisdiction over Liddy are lacking in the District of Columbia. This argument is unpersuasive. Liddy has substantial contacts with and engages in a persistent course of conduct in the District of Columbia. Also, the original complaint alleged acts of defamation committed over an Internet website maintained by an organization located in the District and through Liddy's nationwide radio shows. Moreover, prior to Wells bringing suit, Liddy had already purposely availed himself of the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia by initiating the transfer of the Dean litigation. In addition, the federal district judge in California found it was appropriate to transfer the Dean case to the District of Columbia.

I also note that the events underlying the Watergate burglary (in which Liddy was personally involved) occurred in the District of Columbia.

Therefore, this case can be transferred to the District of Columbia. The remaining question is whether it should be transferred. In making this determination I must consider a variety of factors, including the plaintiff's choice of forum, the convenience of counsel and the witnesses, the relative ease of access to sources of proof, and the public interest. See, e.g.,Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 508-09 (1947); Dickens v. United States, 862 F. Supp. 91, 92 (D. Md. 1994). The first of these factors obviously weighs against transfer; plaintiff has chosen to bring her action here in Maryland. The second and third factors weigh slightly in favor of transfer since lead counsel for both parties have their offices in the District of Columbia, many of the witnesses live in the District of Columbia area, and none of the witnesses live in the Baltimore area. However, since the District of Columbia and Baltimore are so close to one another, this factor is negligible.

I find the public interest factor dispositive. There is some overlap between this case and the Dean case, and it may be that they should be consolidated. Liddy vigorously argues that they should be; Wells argues just as strongly to the contrary. These conflicting positions essentially boil down to this: Liddy asserts that he should not be subjected to the cost of litigating (and to the risk of inconsistent results) in two different cases that arise, at least in part, from the same nucleus of facts. Wells acknowledges (as she must) that one aspect of the Deans' claims arises, as do her claims, from Liddy's public statements promoting the call-girl theory of the Watergate burglary. She points out, however, that the Deans' claims involve many other issues as well (apparently arising out of Liddy's broad assertions that John Dean committed "massive perjury.") Wells understandably does not wish her discrete claims to be eclipsed or compromised in the shadow of the larger Dean case.

Wells also expresses a concern that her costs of litigation will be much greater if she becomes embroiled in the trial of the Dean case since it is estimated to last longer than her own trial. While this may be true, a countervailing factor is that Wells' counsel is also local counsel for the Deans and will be participating in the trial of the Dean case in any event.

It would seem to be in the interest of the economic use of judicial resources for the two cases to be consolidated if they can justly be tried together. However, in transferring this action to the District of Columbia, I am expressing no view as to whether consolidation is appropriate. I have no jurisdiction over the Dean case and am not sufficiently knowledgeable about the Deans' claims to know whether Wells would be unfairly prejudiced by a single trial. It is clear to me, however, that it is in the public interest to have the case transferred so that Judge Sullivan, who has been actively presiding over the Dean case and has become fully familiar with it, can be given an opportunity to decide whether consolidation would be appropriate. If Judge Sullivan decides in favor of consolidation, the single trial can go forward in May. If, on the other hand, he decides that consolidation is inappropriate, Wells can file a motion to transfer the case back to Maryland, the forum of her original choice, on the ground that the sole reason for my transfer was to allow Judge Sullivan to rule on the consolidation issue.

Of course, it would be up to Judge Sullivan to decide a motion to re-transfer the case to Maryland. However, lest there be any uncertainty on this score, I affirmatively state that I would be fully amenable to having the case transferred back to Maryland in the event Judge Sullivan decides against consolidation. If it were not for the fact that I believe it to be in the public interest for Judge Sullivan to consider the consolidation issue, I would have respected Wells' choice of forum and ruled against the transfer. Moreover, it is against my own sense of responsibility to ask another judge to try a case that is properly before me. To that end, I will hold on my calendar the September 11, 2000 trial date I have set, so that, in the event Judge Sullivan denies consolidation and decides the case should be transferred back to Maryland, he and the parties can be assured that no unnecessary delay will occur.

A separate order effecting the ruling made in this memorandum is being entered herewith.

ORDER

For the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum, it is, this ______ day of December 1999

ORDERED

1. Defendant's renewed motion to transfer is granted; and

2. This case is transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Prelude To Detroit: Ratcliffe Gets To Tell Congress That They Are Going Dark On The 2020 General Election

The U.S. House Judiciary Minority Subcommittee of
"Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending)

JORDAN: "Here is the insurance policy, but whatever you do, never say his name.

NUNES: "Got it. On my way to tell White House Counsel."

RATCLIFFE: "Oh, boy! I get to tell Congress we are going dark."

#maytheheavensfall

READ: DNI Ratcliffe's letters to Congress on election security briefings

(CNN)Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Saturday informed members of Congress that "the ODNI will primarily meet its obligation to keep Congress fully and currently informed leading into the Presidential election through written finished intelligence products."

DOCUMENT

PAGES

TEXT

Zoom

«

Page 1 of  16

»

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USCCB Timothy Dolan Annunciates RNC 2020 Convention With Prayer - No Mention Of Children

I was wondering if Dolan was going to mention his industry of trafficking tiny humans. but then I remembered, the FBI is actively addressing the USCCB, so I guess he would have had to have the Apostolic Nuncio deliver that segment of prayer, considering that he is representing a foreign nation.

#maytheheavensfall



This convention is macabre.

I like macabre.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Light Up The Network: Gary Lindberg Sentenced For The 2020 RNC Convention

Such a shame Gary Lindberg will be unavailable as a speaker for the Republican National Convention 2020.

Perhaps, Cardinal Dolan can include him in his opening prayer.

https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.eli_global_llc.9f3f3b24e4a3c70ff83e2fb57725e0e8.html

DOJ: Former North Carolina State Political Party Chairman Previously Pleaded Guilty to Lying to the FBI in Connection with the Bribery Scheme

#maytheheavensfall

Founder and Chairman of a Multinational Investment Company and a Company Consultant Convicted of Bribery and Public Corruption are Sentenced to Prison

The founder and chairman of a multinational investment company and a company consultant were sentenced to prison today for orchestrating a bribery scheme involving independent expenditure accounts and improper campaign contributions. 

Greg E. Lindberg, 50, of Durham, North Carolina, the founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC (Eli Global) and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG), was sentenced to 87 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  Lindberg’s consultant, John D. Gray, 70, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was ordered to serve 30 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.  Lindberg and Gray were also ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount approximately $1.45 million held in accounts established by the defendants for the purpose of funneling the bribe payments.

On March 5, 2020, a federal jury convicted Lindberg and Gray of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds following an approximately three-week trial.  U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. presided over the trial and today’s sentencing hearings.

Co-defendant, Robert Cannon Hayes, 74, of Concord, North Carolina, was also sentenced today to a one-year probationary term.  Hayes previously pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.

“When Greg Lindberg and John Gray offered millions of dollars in bribes to the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, they referred to their elaborately corrupt scheme as a ‘win-win’ – unaware that the FBI was watching and listening,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Today, both men have been held accountable for their crimes, and their sentences underscore the Department of Justice's unyielding commitment to rooting out corruption wherever we find it.”

“Lindberg and his accomplices, driven by greed, devised an extensive political bribery scheme to illegally funnel millions of dollars to an elected official for the benefit of Lindberg’s business interests.  To this day, Lindberg and Gray remain unremorseful and refuse to accept responsibility for their criminal actions.  The severity of their brazen conduct is reflected in the Court’s sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina.  “Bribery of a public official is far from a victimless crime.  It is our duty to the American people to stop bad actors with deep pockets and unscrupulous intentions from wrecking the foundation on which this country proudly stands.  To those that greedily seek to line their own pockets through deceit and fraud, I offer the following advice: Keep a travel toothbrush handy.”

“When the prison bars close behind Mr. Lindberg and Mr. Gray, they will hear the sound of justice, loud and clear,” said Special Agent in Charge John Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office.  “The FBI will root out any and all forms of public corruption.  We remain committed to ensuring those who attempt to interfere with the integrity of our democratic process pay the price.”

According to filed court documents, evidence presented at trial, and today’s sentencing hearings, in January 2018, the elected Commissioner (Commissioner) of the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) reported concerns to the FBI about political contributions and other requests made by Lindberg and Gray, and agreed to cooperate with the federal investigation that was initiated. 

According to evidence presented at trial, from April 2017 to August 2018, Lindberg and Gray engaged in a bribery scheme involving independent expenditure accounts and improper campaign contributions for the purpose of causing the Commissioner to take official action favorable to Lindberg’s company, GBIG.  Trial evidence established that Lindberg and Gray gave, offered, and promised the Commissioner millions of dollars in campaign contributions and other things of value, in exchange for the removal of NCDOI’s Senior Deputy Commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing regulation and the periodic examination of GBIG. 

According to trial evidence, Lindberg, Gray and the Commissioner held numerous in-person meetings at different locations, including in Statesville, North Carolina, and had telephonic and other communications with each other, and others, to discuss Lindberg’s request for the personnel change in exchange for millions of dollars, and to devise a plan on how to funnel campaign contributions to the Commissioner anonymously.  In order to conceal the bribery scheme, at the direction of Lindberg, two corporate entities were set-up to form an independent expenditure committee with the purpose of supporting the Commissioner’s re-election campaign, and Lindberg funded the entities with $1.5 million as promised to the Commissioner.  In addition, at Lindberg and Gray’s direction, Hayes caused the transfer of $250,000 from monies Lindberg had previously contributed to a North Carolina state party of which Hayes was chairman, to the Commissioner’s re-election campaign.

According to admissions Hayes made in connection with his guilty plea, on or about Aug. 28, 2018, Hayes falsely stated to FBI agents that he had never spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about personnel or personnel problems at NCDOI, or about Lindberg or Gray.  Hayes further admitted that, at the time he made the materially false statements, Hayes knew that it was unlawful to lie to the FBI, and knew that his statements were false because Hayes had in fact spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about Lindberg and Gray, and about Lindberg’s request that the Commissioner move certain personnel within NCDOI.  

The FBI’s Charlotte field office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney James C. Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William T. Stetzer and Dana O. Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.

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Taking The Lord's Name In Vain: The Houston Breach Of Oath Of Office - The Fat, Dumb & Happy Alexandra Smoots Thomas

I wonder what Sheila Jackson Lee has to say about this?

This witnessing of taking the lord's name in vain in breach of oath of office by vanity.

I just adore transposable models.

#sealsmatter

#maytheheavensfall

Former Harris County judge indicted on wire fraud charges finds herself in trouble again

A former Harris County District Judge, who was indicted on wire fraud charges last year, has been arrested again, according to court records. She is accused of assaulting her husband’s girlfriend.

Alexandra Smoots-Thomas was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Wednesday. According to court records, she fired a shotgun in the direction of a woman outside a home in the 1400 block of Jewel Meadow Drive on Monday.

“My client was in a car and the other woman was outside the car. I believe she was carrying a club or some sort of stick with the intent to assault my client and a gun appeared. A shot was fired but nobody was hurt,” said Smoots-Thomas’ attorney Kent Schaffer.

Smoots-Thomas is out on bond and not permitted to possess a weapon.

“We have reason to believe that they will move to revoke her bond in federal court and because of that we are already getting ready for a bond hearing to try and keep her out on bond,” Schaffer said.

Smoots-Thomas was scheduled to appear in federal court in November on wire fraud charges for allegedly misusing campaign funds.

“The government has alleged that she used her campaign account to pay personal expenses,” Schaffer said.

Schaffer said his client is accused of using funds to pay her home mortgage and tuition for one of her children.

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Happy 319th Birthday Detroit

What a great opportunity for the world to learn the history of Detroit, and not that resegregation crap that is being promulgated through our institutions of learning.

Maybe that is the reason no one can figure out what the Mueller investigation is all about.

Brilliant campaign, Hudsonville!

Happy Birthday, Detroit.

May this year be special....

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Prelude To Detroit: Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder et al Arrested For Stealin'

If you think this is egregious, wait until we get to Michigan because people died while other profited.

#maytheheavensfall

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested in $60 million bribery case

Federal agents arrested Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others Tuesday as part of a $60 million racketeering and bribery investigation that prosecutors describe as one of the largest public corruption cases in Ohio history.

All of the charges are tied to what federal prosecutors describe as a criminal enterprise dedicated to securing a bailout for two nuclear power plants in northern Ohio, which is expected to cost the state's utility ratepayers $1 billion.

A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday describes the effort as "Householder's Enterprise" and states that he and his associates sought to expand their political power, enrich themselves and conceal their criminal conspiracy.

"This is likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio," said U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, whose office will lead the prosecution of the case. "This was bribery, plain and simple. This was a quid pro quo. This was pay to play."

Also charged Tuesday were four lobbyists and Republican operatives:

Neil Clark, founder of Grant Street Consultants and once called by USA Today “one of the best connected lobbyists in Columbus";
Matthew Borges, former Ohio Republican Party chair and consultant;
Juan Cespedes, co-founder of The Oxley Group in Columbus;
Jeffrey Longstreth, adviser to Householder;
Generation Now, a nonprofit that federal prosecutors link to Longstreth and Householder, also faces racketeering charges.

DeVillers said the arrests Tuesday will not end the investigation and that agents will continue to interview potential witnesses and execute search warrants in the coming days and weeks. "We're not done with this case," he said. "There are a lot of federal agents knocking on a lot of doors."

https://www.generationnowinc.com/

The criminal complaint accuses Householder of creating an enterprise, Generation Now, to collect large sums of money for him and others involved in the conspiracy.


"The millions paid into the entity were akin to bags of cash," the complaint states. "Unlike campaign or PAC contributions, they were not regulated, not reported, not subject to public scrutiny — and the enterprise freely spent the bribe payments to further the enterprise’s political interests and to enrich themselves.”

DeVillers said Generation Now was set up as a social welfare entity, which allowed it to avoid disclosing its donors. But he said "not a dime of the money" that flowed to the group went to social programs.

Instead, he said, the group's purpose was to protect the nuclear plant bailout and enrich Householder and the others.

The arrests are the result of a nearly two-year FBI investigation that included undercover federal agents who met with Householder and Clark, as well as surveillance that allowed investigators to obtain text messages, emails and other communications between those who have been charged.

U.S. Attorney David DeVillers is prosecuting an alleged bribery case.
Chris Hoffman, special agent in charge of the FBI's Cincinnati office, which led the investigation, said the charges Tuesday represent "a shameful betrayal of the public trust."

"Today's announcement comes with a warning," Hoffman said. "From the city council to the statehouse, all forms of public corruption are unacceptable."

Householder, 61, and the other four men made their initial appearance electronically in federal court early Tuesday afternoon. They were released from custody afterward, with travel restrictions and prohibitions on contact with others involved in the case.

Agents made the arrests of Householder, Borges and Clark on Tuesday morning at their residences. It is unclear where the arrests of Longstreth and Cespedes took place.

Following DeVillers' comments Tuesday afternoon, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called on Householder to resign from the House immediately. "Because of the nature of these charges, it will be impossible for Speaker Householder to effectively lead the Ohio House of Representatives," DeWine said. "This is a sad day for Ohio."

Householder oversaw the controversial, Republican-led bailout two years ago of the two nuclear plants, owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, of Akron. House Bill 6, signed by DeWine in June, authorized using ratepayer fees for the $1 billion bailout.

The fight to approve the money was long and costly, extending even after the bill was signed into law. An effort to overturn the bailout ultimately failed after it met fierce resistance from well-funded competition. One group was Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) "dark money" operation. The group hired blockers to stall signature collectors working for those opposed to the bailout.

The second group, Ohioans for Energy Security, paid for millions of dollars in advertisements, including ones that warned Ohioans that the Chinese would take over Ohio’s power grid if voters repealed the bailout.

FirstEnergy, which spun off FirstEnergy Solutions in bankruptcy proceedings, gave more than $1.1 million to Ohio politicians, including Householder, between 2017 and 2019. FirstEnergy Solutions was later renamed Energy Harbor Corp.

The documents unsealed Tuesday afternoon did not name FirstEnergy Solutions, or any company, but it did state that a firm identified only as "Company A" paid Householder’s enterprise $60,886,835.86 in secret payments over the approximately three-year period in exchange for the billion-dollar-bailout. The enterprise concealed the payments … to receive the bribe money and then transferring the payments internally to a web of related entities and accounts.”

DeVillers said Company A was the sole source of money to the enterprise, which was Generation Now. No one from the company has been charged.

Cespedes was listed by the state as a lobbyist last year for Energy Harbor and Borges works for the Columbus-based firm 17 Consulting Group, which contributed $90,000 to a pro-nuclear energy group called Ohio Clean Energy Jobs Alliance, which has ties to FirstEnergy Solutions.

Disclosure: 17 Consulting advises The Enquirer on legislative activity affecting the media industry.

The federal investigation included dinners and meetings between undercover federal agents and Householder and Clark, during which, prosecutors say, the men made incriminating statements about illegal activity and bribes.

Generation Now was incorporated by Longstreth in early 2017, but federal officials say they have a recording that shows it secretly was controlled by Householder. Federal officials have a recorded conversation of Clark saying “Generation Now is the Speaker’s….”

The 82-page criminal complaint alleges Generation Now received about $60 million in exchange for Householder and other’s help in the passage of House Bill 6 and the blocking of a ballot initiative to overturn the legislation. DeVillers said the racketeering enterprise kicked into high gear during the ballot initiative, as Householder, Company A and the others sought to derail the effort.

"It really got heavy when they needed to kill the petition drive," DeVillers said.

The activities took place from March 2017 through earlier this year, federal officials said, with quarterly payments of $250,000 from related energy companies deposited into the bank account of Generation Now.

Investigators allege the nonprofit used energy company money to back the campaigns of 21 different state candidates in the 2018 primary and general elections, including Householder.

More than $1 million was spent on negative ads against those candidates’ opponents, with additional funds paying for Householder’s campaign staff, according to documents.

Most of the backed candidates won in 2018, and all supported Householder’s election as Speaker, investigators said. Additionally, Householder received $400,000-plus in personal benefits, including funds to settle a personal lawsuit, to pay off credit card debt and for costs associated with his home in Florida, according to documents.

Other funds were used to pay for insider information about a ballot initiative to stop House Bill 6.

Householder is one of the biggest names in Ohio politics and has been a major player for years in the state's Republican Party. He's known as an aggressive fundraiser who doesn't shy away from hardball tactics on the campaign trail or in the statehouse.

He first served as Ohio's House speaker from 2001 to 2004. The FBI launched an investigation in 2004 into allegations that Householder and his aides took kickbacks from vendors and traded legislation for campaign contributions. The investigation ended in 2006 with no charges filed.

A term-limited Householder left Columbus in 2004 during the investigation.

After returning to the House a few years ago, Householder staged a comeback, with help from Democrats, when he took advantage of GOP infighting and returned to the speaker's post.

"When everyone else is in complete disarray is usually when I'm at my best," Householder told The Enquirer in 2019.

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Tales Of The New Crown: Will Valerie Caproni Heed Her Own Message On Public Corruption Sent To Sheldon Silver?

Judge Valerie Caproni sent a powerful message to New York office holders on public corruption, but, will she heed her own wisdom, considering the fact that she was mean to my Sweetie?

I doubt it.

#maytheheavensfall

Ex-New York assembly speaker Sheldon Silver sentenced to 6 1/2 years

Sheldon Silver 

"This was corruption pure and simple,” the judge said while sentencing the man who was once one of the three most powerful state officials.

NEW YORK — Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was sentenced Monday to 6 1/2 years in prison in the corruption case that drove him from power as a judge said she hoped to “send a message to Albany.”

U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni sentenced Silver, 76, for the third time, acknowledging that a man who was once one of the three most powerful state officials came closer than ever before to properly expressing remorse.

But she said it remained unclear as to whether “he really gets it,” and she shaved only six months off the seven-year prison sentence she announced in 2018, ignoring claims by Silver’s defense lawyer that he could die if he contracts COVID-19 in prison. She also fined him $1 million.

“This was corruption pure and simple,” Caproni said.

"But, everyone was doing it."

She said she hoped the sentence was “long enough to send a message to Albany,” though she added that the 17 to 22 years in prison called for by federal sentencing guidelines was “draconian.” Caproni said Silver must report to prison Aug. 26.

She described how Silver had changed his statements to her at each sentencing, going from an insistence that he did no harm at his first to a “self-pitying” approach at the second and finally to acknowledging his wrongful conduct this year.

Before Caproni announced the sentence, Silver stood and repeated parts of a handwritten letter he had written to the judge, though not the part in which he told her to spare him a sentence that might cause him to die in prison.

He said he had done a lot of good things over the decades as his power grew in state government, where he spent 21 years as Assembly speaker.

“I destroyed that legacy that I built over 35 years,” he said, blaming his downfall on “improper, selfish and ethically indefensible” behavior that grew from a sense of entitlement.

Last week, Caproni denied Silver’s request to be sentenced remotely because of the coronavirus. Masked spectators were kept apart in a large courtroom which they entered only after undergoing a temperature check and answering COVID-related questions at the courthouse entrance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal urged Caproni to impose the same seven-year sentence she levied for bribery and extortion crimes before a federal appeals court ordered a new sentencing after tossing out three counts.

Silver was ousted as speaker in 2015 and convicted later that year, but appeals have so far kept him out of jail. His original conviction was overturned on appeal but Silver was convicted again in 2018.

In court papers, Silver’s lawyers had asked for leniency, saying Silver was an obese man in his 70s with a history of cancer, chronic kidney disease and other health problems that make him among those most at risk of dying from COVID-19.

Caproni, though, said the death rate of the population outside prison was approaching the death rate inside and it seemed that prisons were improving at adjusting to the threat of the illness.

“I do not want Mr. Silver to die in prison either,” she said.

In the part of the case that survived the appeal process, Silver was convicted in a scheme that involved favors and business traded between two real estate developers and a law firm. Silver supported legislation that benefited the developers. The developers then referred certain tax business to a law firm that paid Silver fees

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