This is not about race, this is about fraud as there exists the question if these overseas territories U.S. voters are actually real people.
There have been questions raised as to the validity of existence of some of our troops.
The delegates are advocating resegregation of bringing back the Plessy ruling of "Separate, yet equal", which overturns Brown v. Board of Education, which brings back segregation into human asset management databases of corporate parental rights in ownership of their chattel.
I simply do not understand why congress holds all these chuckin' & jivin' congressional hearings and call for task forces to simply avoid discussing anything remotely relevant to the issues surrounding voting rights, like gerrymandering, or, more readily understood as stealin' the children, land & vote.
How about we start talking about those land patents.
I seem to recall lots of fake ass LLCs registered in the Virgin Islands which ended up putting their sticky hands on Detroit Land Bank Authority properties, but, hey, what do I know?
To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.
I bet Boo Boo Barr does not want to start there, or even go there, but have not fear, for the heavens are falling and we are in Detroit.
#maytheheavensfall
DOJ: GHISLAINE MAXWELL CHARGED IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT FOR CONSPIRING WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN TO SEXUALLY ABUSE MINORS
Maxwell is Alleged to Have Facilitated, Participated in Acts of Abuse
Additionally Charged With Perjury in Connection With 2016 Depositions
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that GHISLANE MAXWELL was arrested this morning and charged with enticing a minor to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit both of those offenses, and perjury in connection with a sworn deposition. The Indictment unsealed today alleges that between at least in or about 1994 through 1997, MAXWELL and co-conspirator Jeffrey Epstein exploited girls as young as 14, including by enticing them to travel and transporting them for the purpose of engaging in illegal sex acts. As alleged, knowing that Epstein had a preference for young girls, MAXWELL played a critical role in the grooming and abuse of minor victims that took place in locations including New York, Florida, and New Mexico. In addition, as alleged, MAXWELL made several false statements in sworn depositions in 2016. MAXWELL is expected to be presented this afternoon in the in federal court in New Hampshire. This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, Ghislaine Maxwell facilitated, aided, and participated in acts of sexual abuse of minors. Maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her, and then delivered them into the trap that she and Jeffrey Epstein had set. She pretended to be a woman they could trust. All the while, she was setting them up to be abused sexually by Epstein and, in some cases, Maxwell herself. Today, after many years, Ghislaine Maxwell finally stands charged for her role in these crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Preserving the innocence of children is among the most important responsibilities we carry as adults. Like Epstein, Ms. Maxwell chose to blatantly disregard the law and her responsibility as an adult, using whatever means she had at her disposal to lure vulnerable youth into behavior they should never have been exposed to, creating the potential for lasting harm. We know the quest for justice has been met with great disappointment for the victims, and that reliving these events is traumatic. The example set by the women involved has been a powerful one. They persevered against the rich and connected, and they did so without a badge, a gun, or a subpoena - and they stood together. I have no doubt the bravery exhibited by the women involved here has empowered others to speak up about the crimes of which they've been subjected.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “The heinous crimes these charges allege are, and always will be abhorrent for the lasting trauma they inflict on victims. I commend our investigators, and law enforcement partners, for their continuing commitment to bringing justice to the survivors of sexual assault, everywhere.”
If you believe you are a victim of the sexual abuse perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI, and reference this case.
According to the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
From at least 1994 through at least 1997, GHISLAINE MAXWELL assisted, facilitated, and participated in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Jeffrey Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims known to MAXWELL and Epstein to be under the age of 18. The victims were as young as 14 years old when they were groomed and abused by MAXWELL and Epstein, both of whom knew that their victims were in fact minors. As a part and in furtherance of their scheme to abuse minor victims, MAXWELL and Epstein enticed and caused minor victims to travel to Epstein’s residences in different states, which MAXWELL knew and intended would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse.
As alleged, MAXWELL enticed and groomed minor girls to be abused in multiple ways. For example, MAXWELL attempted to befriend certain victims by asking them about their lives, taking them to the movies or taking them on shopping trips, and encouraging their interactions with Epstein. MAXWELL also acclimated victims to Epstein’s conduct simply by being present for victim interactions with Epstein, which put victims at ease by providing the assurance and comfort of an adult woman who seemingly approved of Epstein’s behavior. Additionally, to make victims feel indebted to Epstein, MAXWELL would encourage victims to accept offers of financial assistance from Epstein, including offers to pay for travel or educational expenses. MAXWELL also normalized and facilitated sexual abuse by discussing sexual topics with victims, encouraging them to massage Epstein, and undressing in front of a victim.
As MAXWELL and Epstein intended, these grooming behaviors left minor victims vulnerable and susceptible to sexual abuse by Epstein. MAXWELL was then present for certain sexual encounters between minor victims and Epstein, such as interactions where a minor victim was undressed, and ultimately MAXWELL was present for sex acts perpetrated by Epstein on minor victims. That abuse included sexualized massages during which a minor victim was fully or partially nude, as well as group sexualized massages of Epstein involving a minor victim where MAXWELL was present.
As alleged, minor victims were subjected to sexual abuse that included, among other things, the touching of a victim’s breasts or genitals, placing a sex toy such a vibrator on a victim’s genitals, directing a victim to touch Epstein while he masturbated, and directing a victim to touch Epstein’s genitals. MAXWELL and Epstein’s victims were groomed or abused at Epstein’s residences in New York, Florida, and New Mexico, as well as MAXWELL’s residence in London, England.
Additionally, in 2016, while testifying under oath in a civil proceeding, MAXWELL repeatedly made false statements, including about certain specific acts and events alleged in the Indictment.
* * *
GHISLAINE MAXWELL, 58, is charged with one count of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and two counts of perjury, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex Rossmiller, Alison Moe, and Maurene Comey are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described therein should be treated as an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
He has a seriously deep background and is from Ohio.
Wanna bet we find some Epstein up in his life?
He knows stuff.
Listen to him talk about the sensational murders, military, and indifference to selective, public spectacles of what some would call modern day lynching spectacle spokestokens like Candace Owens, Laura Ingraham, Don Lemon.
Step back and look as these murders by police as human sacrifices to be able to rule by creating psyoptic fear, not consent, over the savages, through more manufactured propaganda, generated through our institutions of learning, to create political platforms, for the purposes of procurement of those foreign Social Impact Bond programs for more stealin' the children, land & vote.
Praise the lord.
Quintessentially, these murders continue to be dismissed because we are taught to not care because it is just part of residuals of the peculiar institutional culture created for this Great Experiment.
The examination was led by a former New York City medical examiner.
George Floyd’s death caused by asphyxiation, independent autopsy finds
The autopsy, requested by George Floyd's family, said his death was "caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain."
An independent autopsy ordered by George Floyd's family found his death was a "homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain," according to early findings from the examination released Monday.
Floyd was apprehended by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last Monday, and one of the officers pinned his knee to Floyd's neck as Floyd called out that he couldn't breathe.
The independent examiners found that weight on Floyd's back, the handcuffs and the positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability of Floyd's diaphragm to function. The report concluded that Floyd, 46, died at the scene.
MORE: George Floyd remembered by friends and family as hardworking 'gentle giant'
"The ambulance was the hearse," Ben Crump, an attorney for Floyd's family, said at a news conference announcing the findings.
Later Monday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office released its initial findings of their autopsy and also declared Floyd's death was a homicide caused by "a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s)."
Courtesy Ben Crump LawGeorge Floyd is pictured in an undated photo released by the office of Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump.George Floyd is pictured in an undated photo released by the office of Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump.
Courtesy Ben Crump Law
Dr. Michael Baden and the University of Michigan Medical School's director of autopsy and forensic services, Dr. Allecia Wilson, handled the newly announced independent examination.
Baden, who was New York's medical examiner in 1978 and 1979, had previously performed independent autopsies on Eric Garner, who was killed by a police officer in Staten Island, New York, in 2014 and Michael Brown, who was shot by officers in Ferguson, Missouri, that same year.
Baden said Floyd was in good health before his death and said the video of his death showed the compression of his neck and back very clearly.
"When he said 'I can't breathe,' unfortunately, many police are under impression that if you can talk that means you're breathing. That is not true," he said during the news conference.
MORE: 'We're sick of it': Protesters explain method to the madness of violent demonstrations
Wilson said toxicology reports and other examinations are still ongoing and acknowledged that since they conducted a second autopsy, as the medical examiner had done one previously, they did not have access to Floyd's tissue samples in their original state.
"We feel those items will not change or alter the cause of death with mechanical asphyxia," she said.
Courtesy Ben Crump LawDr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson discuss the preliminary findings of their independent autopsy of George Floyd during a news conference on June 1, 2020.Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson discuss the preliminary findings of their independent autopsy of George Floyd during a news conference on June 1, 2020.
Courtesy Ben Crump Law
The medical examiner's preliminary report, however, said Floyd had "other significant conditions," including "arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, a fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use."
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, identified as the officer who put his knee to Floyd's neck, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Floyd was heard saying "I can't breathe," while the officer had him pinned for nearly nine minutes, according to the criminal complaint.
MORE: Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes, complaint says
Three other officers who were involved in the arrest have been fired but haven't been charged as of Monday afternoon.
The criminal complaint said the official examination of Floyd's body by the medical examiner is still ongoing, but prosecutors provided some information about this death. This is separate from the independent autopsy requested by Floyd's family.
The medical examiner's initial findings were that Floyd had underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, the complaint said.
Jordan did not mention the secret medical program, which is called Medicaid.
Jordan did not mention the Madame Maura Corrigan, (said in a high British accent).
Jordan poorly attempted to speak upon privatization, which means he is part of that crew of Trollie Trolls who like to forage through my archives, because he lacks any form of understanding or sophistication of the concept, beyond seeing it on my blog.
I think this is why no one wants to pick up his work, but, hey, what do I know?
I know Jordan should contact the FBI, since he claims, without any oath, filed in the Great Repository of any Secretary of State or with the right to bear the arms of Great Seal of he U.S. to know what is going on in Flint.
Perhaps, someone already has, but he just does not know that we are all listening, and watching him, lie.
Linda Tripp ran the Monica Lewinsky operation to redirect Whitewater in a series of absolute chaos of a sex scandal, between two legally consenting adults, to function as a distraction for the Adoption Safe Families Act (ASFA) and the Personal Work Responsibility Opportunity Reauthorizaiton Act (PRWORA), and it all started in Detroit.
Listen to Linda not talk about what is known as the corporate parent of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, the fake ass parent of the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
You were mean to my Sweetie, which is never a good thing to do, now is it, Bitch Boy?
Where is Julian Epstein, of whom I prefer my own appellation of Slimy, Slime, Slime?
(CNN)Linda Tripp, who secretly recorded her conversations with Monica Lewinsky about the then-intern's relationship with President Bill Clinton in the White House, has died, according to her mother, Inge Carotenuto, and her former attorney, Joseph Murtha.
Tripp had previously been treated for breast cancer. She was 70.
Tripp, a friend of Lewinsky's at the time, turned the 20 hours of tapes over to special prosecutor Kenneth Starr. The scandal ultimately led to Clinton's impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice, though he was ultimately acquitted in the Senate.
Lewinsky, despite their prior experiences, expressed well wishes to Tripp as reports indicated Wednesday that her health was failing.
"(No) matter the past, upon hearing that linda tripp is very seriously ill, i hope for her recovery. i can't imagine how difficult this is for her family," Lewinsky tweeted.
Lewinsky began to tell Tripp, a coworker of hers at the Pentagon, of her relationship with Clinton in the summer of 1996. Tripp began taping their conversations in the fall of 1997.
After contacting Starr about the tapes in January 1998, she met with Lewinsky again while wearing a wire, at which point Lewinsky coached Tripp on what to tell lawyers about Kathleen Willey, another former White House staffer who had testified about alleged unsolicited sexual advances made by Clinton in 1993.
When asked on Larry King Live in 2003 whether she regretted it, Tripp replied, "No, I would do it again."
"I told (Lewinsky) I would not fix a court case. I would not help fix a court case," Tripp said. "Yet I knew the President of the United States and Monica were intending to do that."
Speaking on the podcast "Slow Burn" in 2018, Tripp defended her actions as motivated by the idea that it would ultimately help Lewinsky.
"This was flying by the seat of my pants, terrified, out of my wits, completely guilt-ridden that I was having to manipulate her, but convinced in my soul that in the end it would benefit her. That he would no longer be able to do this to hurt anyone else," she recounted.
Tripp told the podcast that, at the time, she was being disingenuous while taping Lewinsky but only because she felt that she had to be.
"There wasn't a thing about those three months that were authentic. Everything prior to that was, but I needed everything to be recreated and it was beyond manipulative," she said. "Did I want to do that? Not necessarily, but I felt like I had no choice."
Tripp was open that she sought to go after Clinton, saying that Lewinsky's story established "a pattern of behavior that otherwise I believe wouldn't have had credibility" and that she "was eager for this information to fall into the hands of the Paula Jones attorneys," who sued the President on sexual harassment charges.
"But to say it was distasteful, to this day I have enormous guilt about" disseminating information to the press and FBI, she said.
"And of all the people I care about understanding, she's the one I wish I could convince," Tripp added, referring to Lewinsky. "And that'll never happen, so."
Typically, when individuals are plotting and scheming a coup to take out a sitting officeholder, they do not confer with the officeholder they are plotting and scheming to take out of office, which is why the Democratic witnesses never directly conferred with Trump, just like they did with my Sweetie.
🚨WHAT THE F*CK?
"EPSTEIN was hiding in plain sight. We all knew about him, we all knew what he was doing." -Cindy McCain at a Human Trafficking Conference#QAnon#PANICpic.twitter.com/md969g4Uh6
That is why Trump is retwatting those GOP Senators. As a jurist, you cannot just up and walk out during a trial. I do not care what anyone thinks. That is not due process.
That is criminal.
There are reports of 28 who walked out. They disqualified themselves from voting because they were biased.
Why are these GOP Senators ripping on the impeachment trial on twat?
That is biased as a jurist and a blatant violations of orders of the arbitrator, SCOTUS Chief Justice. "Pain of imprisonent".
That is why Trump is retwatting like crazy.
Sergeant at Arms can imprison and stop the impeachment because there will not be a quorum.
Where is the Sergeant at Arms?
Then, this happened...
Then, this happened...
Then, this happened...
I am listening to Hakeem Jeffries.
He was falsely advised.
He has a different subject matter than the rest of those Legal Geniuses.
I say this because he has not been around that long.
I do not believe he knows what Nancy and "The Other Epstein" are doing. Remember,
Sondland, Vindman and that Hill lie, lie, lie about the 2016 election.
Hakeem is entering the evidence into the record of their lying and Emperor Pence is probably not a happy camper.
The impeachment is not about Trump, but the networks.
He has said nothing about Trump.
He is entering Rudy's phone record with Zelinsky and the White Houses.
This is legally hot.
I smell my Sweetie.....
Oh!!!!!! Volker ond Sondland consulted with Rudy on the draft.
He is entering Rudy's texts.
Rudy never talked to Trump.
There is no record.
It was Zelinsky's aide. Oooooo......
He just dropped Burisma.
You do know no one ever asked Trump if he contacted the FBI, which he did because there is a superseding investigation so we have all the calls, texts, emails.
Hakeem in setting up Trump's defense. This is so hot.
DAMN.....THIS IS STUPID BRILLIANT!!!!!
Zelinsky never got his meeting.
"The Trump Ukraine Scandal is about weapons".
Oooooooo......
Nancy and Schiff hate his Hakeem's guts right now, including Romney, and a whole bunch of others, on both sides of the aisle.
They were meeting in the White House to discuss the investigation they were plotting and scheming to set up Trump.
She announced on twat on the death of my Sweetie, and is in constant phone contact with Rudy.
She just dropped that Rudy is the godfather of Lev Parnes' kid.
She said that Rudy has been on the phone all day with her saying that Lev is now lying.
Trump twatted her.
Welcome to Detroit.
NEW: Rudy Giuliani just texted me saying Dems “are defrauding the American people with an illicit impeachment for purely partisan purposes...Schiff tells so many lies it’s impossible to respond. And you don’t have to because no one trusts him anymore.”
If I close my eyes really, really hard, I can recall Emperor Pence signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), because it came out Michigan and I just happen to know one of the writers, super duper, really well, which brings me to a dream sequence of why the Detroit Economic Club and the Michigan Economic Development Authority embraced him, the glorious leader of the Indiana Economic Development Authority, so warmly, but hey, what do I know?
I know nothing because the case is still under seal.
What I do know is that I know about the qui tam and the False Claims Act, when dealing with Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare and the Indianapolis Land Bank, including its marvelous artifices & machinations of stealin' the children, land & votes, just like the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
I also know that you cannot be prosecuted for Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare, under the FCA when you use your RFRA get out of jail for stealin' card when you do it in the name of the tax exempt god, because that is why it was created.
The United States has filed a complaint against Community Health Network Inc. (Community) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the Department of Justice announced today. Community, an integrated health care system in central Indiana, is alleged to have violated the Stark Law and thereby submitted false claims to the Medicare program.
The Stark Law prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for services referred by a physician with whom the hospital has an improper financial relationship that does not meet any statutory or regulatory exception. The government’s complaint alleges that Community had employment relationships with a number of physicians that did not meet any Stark Law exception because the compensation Community paid to the physicians was well above fair market value and because Community conditioned paying bonuses on physicians achieving a minimum target of referral revenues to the hospital. The complaint alleges that Community received referrals from these physicians in violation of the Stark Law and submitted claims to Medicare knowing that the claims for those referred services were not eligible for payment.
“Improper financial relationships between hospitals and physicians corrupt clinical decision-making, threaten patient care, and ultimately drive up Medicare costs,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We are committed to eliminating these improper inducements and thereby ensuring the Medicare program remains fiscally sound to serve our nation’s senior citizens.”
“Our goal at the U.S. Attorney’s Office is to serve the citizens and help ensure safety in their communities,” said U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana. “Hospitals are responsible for not only the health and well-being of their patients, but are also required to establish a compliance program in order to protect against improper payments, fraud and abuse as a condition of enrollment in the Medicare program.”
The United States filed its complaint in a lawsuit originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to receive a share of any recovery. The Act permits the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it has done here in part. Those who violate the Act are subject to treble damages and applicable penalties.
The government’s resolution of this
matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
This case is being handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, with assistance from the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. The case is captioned United States and the State of Indiana ex rel. Thomas Fischer v. Community Health Network, Inc., et al. No. 1:14-cv-1215 (RLY-DKL) (S.D. Ind.).
The claims in which the United States has intervened are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Detroit — The late U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. was praised Monday as a giant for civil and voting
rights, a soft-spoken but fierce advocate for Detroit and a "unique figure" in black history.
Former President Bill Clinton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and dozens of congressional and community leaders attended the more than five-hour funeral to laud Conyers, the longest-serving African American congressional member in the nation’s history.
In his 53 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Conyers became the first black chairman of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees. The longtime Democrat created a federal holiday for Martin Luther King Jr., and various speakers noted how he served as a mentor on public service and politics.
Conyers, who died Oct. 27 at age 90, was "an incredible thinker politically," said Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson, the congressman's main eulogist — “what he did legislatively, what he did politically, what he did in terms of changing the tide for black people is incalculable.”
Issues such as reparations for blacks and the struggle for civil rights were his legacy, Dyson said after the funeral.
“So he leaves a huge gulf,” he said. “Plus he was a progressive in the pure sense. He was willing to compromise to be certain, but he was unstinting in his advocacy for those who were most vulnerable.”
Clinton thanked the leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus and others who joined him to pay tribute to Conyers, thanking the people of Detroit “for electing him 27 times.”
“When somebody served as long and as well as John did, it’s tempting to list every last bill that he sponsored or co-sponsored or had anything to do with,” Clinton said.
“In a way, that’s a big mistake because it tends to turn history into dry bones. The most important thing is to remember how different the playing field was when he began rather than ended … how many lives were improved by his labors.”
Conyers’ casket sat just below the packed stage, a folded American flag resting on top next to a spray of red flowers. Former Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas paid a special tribute.
Among the dignitaries who attended but did not speak were civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia; U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing; and U.S. Reps. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, who eventually replaced Conyers after his resignation in December 2017.
Conyers came to Washington in January 1965, voted for the Voting Rights Act and ended up sponsoring three years later legislation to create Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday in the wake of the civil rights leader's 1968 assassination.
At the time Conyers took office, Clinton said, millions of African Americans still could not exercise the right to vote.
“When it (The Voting Rights Act) passed, he said it was the most important thing he would ever work on,” the Democratic former president said of Conyers. “He had no way of knowing then, he’d be hanging around in Congress for 54 years.”
The effects of that bill were immediate, Clinton said.
“When he did all this there were fewer than 1,000 African Americans in any form of local, state or national office in this whole country,” he said. “Today, there are more than 10,000.”
Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton would never have become president without the Voting Rights Act, Clinton said.
“He fought tooth and nail against every encroachment on the right to vote,” he said, including restoring elements to the Voting Rights Act that were nullified by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. “He kept on going right to the very end.”
Rosa Parks story
Clinton shared a story Monday of Conyers’ reaction to Rosa Parks moving to Detroit. Parks couldn’t make a living at her home in Alabama.
“Even an icon has to eat, buy clothes, have a place to sleep. We often forget that,” Clinton said. “John Conyers, a young congressman, knew that she was in a fix, so he hired her. And she worked for him in his local district for 23 years, until she retired."
Clinton also shared some personal experiences with Conyers, including how Conyers brought jazz great Lionel Hampton to the White House in 1998 to play for Clinton.
“John Conyers’ autobiography might have been subtitled Jazz in the Key of Life,” he said. “He was not perfect and that made all of his achievements all the more important. Remember the circumstance, the action, the impact and make your own music.”
Conyers resigned in December 2017 after several former female staffers accused him of sexual harassment. He denied the claims of misconduct and said at the time of his resignation he hoped his departure would be viewed "in the larger perspective of my record of service."
Motown singer Stevie Wonder hailed Conyers as the catalyst for the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday legislation in 1968 and pushing it through to passage in 1983. It helped inspire Wonder's "Happy Birthday" song in tribute to King.
"We cannot forget the life of John Conyers, and getting people registered to vote is the way to honor him," said Wonder, who later played his 1969 hit "My Cherie Amour" in honor of the congressman.
Conyers' wife Monica told the audience toward the end of the funeral “don’t feel sad for us.”
“We feel sad for ya’ll," said Monica, the 55-year-old former Detroit City Council president. "You don’t have anyone to fight for you. Can you call somebody, really call somebody who is going to pick up the phone and stop it (a problem) in an instant.”
She warned people to be mindful of who they elect and “allow in your circle.”
'Losing too many giants'
The funeral followed a weekend of remembrances for the man who became the dean of the U.S. House of Representatives as he lay in state at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
Among those at the service were Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Detroit Councilman Gabe Leland and former Detroit city councilwoman, the Rev. JoAnn Watson.
Lawmakers and colleagues of Conyers reflected on the legacy of the civil rights champion who loved Detroit.
Conyers served with 10 presidents and continued to be successful even in his final years, said former House Judiciary Chairman Robert Goodlatte of Virginia, who was the only Republican to speak at the event.
Goodlatte said he worked with Conyers against government surveillance, on criminal justice reform and policing strategy.
“He didn’t just care about people here in Detroit or elsewhere in the United States, he cared about people all across the globe,” Goodlatte said, adding that the congressman was a gentleman with strong convictions but who was always polite and soft spoken.
Conyers was a giant who stood amid turmoil and "kept on standing," said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
Conyers introduced a bill for a committee to study reparations proposals in 1989, one of the “continuously unpopular things” he did it to “give a voice to the silenced and he gave them hope," Jackson Lee said as the crowd rose to its feet and applauded.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, hailed Conyers as a mentor who showed that "a progressive is someone who has no fear.”
“John Conyers gave me the spirit. He helped me to know I can have a voice. You can do all of this and still be respected,” said Waters, who has criticized and called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
She also took a swipe at Trump, who she said “doesn’t understand the Constitution” or “have an appreciation for the democracy” and “doesn’t deserve to be the president of the United States.”
The impeachment inquiry will continue despite death threats that have come her way, Waters said.
“John Conyers, whether you said it or not, this fight is for you," she said. "I’m not walking away from this fight. You have done too much to allow that this man who is that office illegally be allowed to stay in this office and to undermine all that you have done, all that you have cared about, all that you have thought about.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, who lost husband U.S. Rep. John Dingell earlier this year, said she knew the family’s pain.
“We’ve lost so many people this year,” she said. “...We’re losing too many giants.”
When he first ran for office, Conyers won by 158 votes, Dingell said.
“John Conyers was a fighter,” she said. “He always had a vision for the future and a respect for the past.”
Conyers knew she had been sad when Dingell’s husband fell ill after she took office and always took the time to check on her, Dingell said.
“He was dean of our region and he never left our side to make sure we were taken care of,” she said.
Julian Epstein, a congressional staffer for Conyers, said remembered the longtime congressman as a man who was “unfailingly dignified.” He was “the first to call whenever the chips were down” and “I never knew him to take a day off," Epstein said.
“He loved the people of this great city of Detroit,” he said. “He was never too busy or never to self-important to make time for any of you.”
Sen. Gary Peters said Conyers was a “living legend” who freely gave advice, even when the Bloomfield Township Democrat said he did not ask for it.
“But I always gladly accepted it,” Peters said. “It always was wise and from his heart.”
Memorial in works
Conyers “was my man,” said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, senior pastor of Fellowship Chapel and president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP.
“He was consistent, he was a leader and he was our own national treasure," Anthony said.
“John Conyers went out on the limb for us. He shook the tree,” he added. “Who will pick up the fruit and who will shake the tree now?”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he and City Council President Brenda Jones will be working with the Conyers family on a permanent memorial.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer noted the auto workers, seniors and everyday people whose lives were made better because of Conyers’ work.
“Jobs, justice, peace …,” Whitmer said. “That is a legacy that everyone in our state is proud of.”
The Democratic governor said she had ordered all flags be flown at half-staff in Michigan through Sunday to pay tribute to the former congressman who enlisted as a soldier in the National Guard just after high school.
“He could not have known at the time how appropriate the guard could be for his life; always ready, always there,” she said. “It is on us to mentor the next generation and make sure they know the legacy of John Conyers.”
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist added Conyers, a family friend, created conditions that “propelled us to places that were unavailable and unimaginable” to prior generations.
“Every time there was a wrong to be righted, John Conyers was there,” he said. “These historic actions will reverberate for eternity … and no innuendo will take that away. We have to commit to honoring him.”
First family of Detroit
Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, pastor of Greater Grace Temple, opened the Monday service, noting that the Conyers’ family is one of the most significant in the history of Detroit.
“This is not just a distinguished gentleman, this is the distinguished gentleman,” Ellis said of Conyers.
Bishop P.A. Brooks, during the invocation, called Conyers a “man of steel and velvet.”
Before the funeral, former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said he was surprised by Conyers' passing. He had been looking well a month ago when the two spent time together during an outing at the Detroit Golf Club, Bing said.
Bing said he regarded Conyers as a “warrior, a fighter, another great man” who dedicated his life to service.
Stabenow said Conyers cared about people and his city of Detroit.
“He was a man who put his imprint on the fight for civil rights, and justice and equal treatment for people,” Stabenow said.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hugs the Rev. Jesse Jackson during the family hour.Buy Photo
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hugs the Rev. Jesse Jackson during the family hour. (Photo: Robin Buckson, The Detroit News)
“He was a gifted politician,” Dyson said before entering the church on Seven Mile. “His life was its own eulogy. All I have to do is narrate the details of his tremendous and transcendent career. An extraordinary figure, he lived his life fully every day.”
Former Detroit Democratic Congressman Hansen Clarke, the friend, former aide and fundraiser to Conyers, held back tears as he described how “I owe the fact that I held political office to him.”
“I saw firsthand how he would help people and support causes that were unpopular,” Clarke said. “But he would do it because it was the right thing.”
In Washington, D.C., Rocky Twyman of Rockville, Maryland, organized a prayer vigil in front of the White House in Conyers’ honor. He asked passerby to sign a card for Conyers’ family.
“He fought many different presidents to get the King Day celebration,” Twyman said of Conyers.
“I don’t want him to be forgotten,” he said. “He really gave his life fighting for people and all of us got something.”
Conyers was scheduled to be interred after the funeral at Detroit Memorial Park in Warren, according to the funeral program.
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In “She Said,” a new book by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the high-profile feminist attorney Lisa Bloom is put on blast for her defense of Harvey Weinstein.
A memo from Bloom to Weinstein detailing how she would use her experience defending sexual assault victims to discredit his accusers has gone viral, with multiple celebrities denouncing Bloom.
In addition, “She Said” suggests that Bloom operated a money-making scheme off of potential sexual assault victims of President Donald Trump, giving the president ammunition to defend himself in the process.
Lisa Bloom built a reputation of representing female victims of sexual assault, not unlike her mother, the famous feminist attorney Gloria Allred. But now Bloom’s reputation is at stake, thanks to a widely-publicized memo she sent her former client Harvey Weinstein and new details from the book “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement.”
New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor reveal the process of breaking the Weinstein sexual harassment story that won a Pulitzer Prize in “She Said,” and at the same time the two cast doubt on Bloom’s legacy as a defender of women.
As explained in her memo to the disgraced Hollywood producer, Bloom relied on the same tactics she used to defend sexual assault victims to try and slander some of Weinstein’s accusers, most notably Rose McGowan. But as Twohey and Kantor explore in “She Said,” Bloom also provided President Donald Trump with valuable ammunition against the media and his accusers in her efforts to raise money for herself and potential Trump victims.
Read more: Gwyneth Paltrow hesitated to expose Harvey Weinstein because of controversy surrounding Goop, according to a new tell-all
Lisa Bloom’s career includes some major wins for female victims of sex crimes.
Bloom first practiced law at her mother’s firm, helping to file an ultimately unsuccessful sex discrimination suit against the Boy Scouts of America on behalf of a girl who wanted to join.
She enjoyed a lucrative career on TV as a legal expert before starting her own firm in 2010. Since then, Bloom and her clients have engaged in high-profile lawsuits that made strides in sex crime cases in New York and California.
Bloom represented model and actress Janice Dickinson in her defamation case against Bill Cosby, actress Mischa Barton in her revenge porn case, influencer Blac Chyna as she took out a temporary restraining order against Rob Kardashian, and former Representative John Conyers’ sexual harassment accuser Marion Brown.
She also represented three of Bill O’Reilly’s accusers, including Wendy Walsh, whose complaint incited 21st Century Fox to initiate the investigation that led to O’Reilly’s removal.
But in “She Said” and on Twitter, some of her clients have criticized how Bloom handled their cases.
Comedian Kathy Griffin wipes her eyes as her criminal attorney Dmitry Gorin (L) speaks at a news conference in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 2, 2017. At right is attorney Lisa Bloom. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
In “She Said,” Twohey and Kantor explain that Bloom represented former Fox contributor and attorney Tamara Holder in her sexual assault case against Fox executive Francisco Cortes, who she said trapped her in his office and tried to force her to perform oral sex.
Bloom helped Holder attain a settlement for more than $2.5 million, but Holder later told the reporters that Bloom didn’t explain just how ironclad the terms of the settlement were. Holder wanted to speak out about what had happened to her, but if articles were published, she would lose much of the $2.5 million.
“She did not care about me. She cared about the money,” Holder later told Twohey, explaining that Bloom fired her and walked away with $1 million after Holder voiced her concerns. In “She Said,” Bloom denies that she pressured Holder, and says she walks through settlements line-by-line with her clients.
Read more: The career of Lisa Bloom: How Gloria Allred’s daughter ended up defending Harvey Weinstein and came to regret it
On Twitter, after the memo sent from Bloom to Weinstein leaked, another one of her former clients spoke out: Kathy Griffin. Bloom represented Griffin after the comedian posted a picture of her holding up a prop of President Donald Trump’s severed head.
In her thread, Griffin explains that Bloom called a press conference days after the photo blew up online, during which Griffin felt more like a prop in “an infomercial for her firm in her office.” The comedian also said Bloom invited reporters from Entertainment Tonight, who interviewed Bloom while Griffin was in her office with Bloom’s husband, who held the door shut.
Griffin also said that conservative bloggers showed up to the press conference and harassed her, and that Bloom then charged her $40,000 for representation and advocacy, which Griffin asked to be returned – Bloom refused.
Bloom also relied on her experience defending women to help tear them down to Harvey Weinstein’s advantage.
The explosive memo, which circulated on Twitter and was contained in “She Said,” explains to Weinstein just how Bloom intended to use her repertoire of defenses for sexual assault victims against Weinsein’s accusers.
In it, Bloom specifically refers to actress and Weinstein accuser Rose McGowan as a “pathological liar,” and tells Weinstein “I feel equipped to help you against the Roses of the world, because I have represented so many of them.”
In “She Said,” Twohey and Kantor explore how Bloom attempted to gain information about their reporting and stymie their efforts even in the very beginning of their investigation. As Kantor began meeting with Hollywood actresses who weren’t ready to go on the record about their experiences with Weinstein yet, Bloom reached out via email, feigning ignorance.
Kantor learned from a colleague at The New York Times that Bloom was close to Weinstein, who, along with Jay-Z, she had announced would be making her book “Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It” into a miniseries, which did not come to fruition.
Kantor ended up having a short conversation with Bloom, but did not reveal any details of her investigation into Weinstein’s sexual abuse.
It was also revealed later to the two reporters that Bloom, as part of the tactics she hinted at in her memo, explained to Weinstein that there was a difference between “physical coercion” and “mental coercion,” with the latter being sexual exploitation due to a power imbalance.
Bloom developed Weinstein’s defense that he had only mentally coerced McGowan, a lesser offense than assaulting her.
Bloom has apologized for defending Weinstein, but “She Said” exposes just how far the attorney was willing to go for her client.
Beyond representing Weinstein publicly, Bloom went on the offensive against Twohey and Kantor during their reporting. The attorney apologized for her role in Weinstein’s defense on Twitter, thanking the reporters and writing that “When the first woman went on record accusing him of sexual assault, I immediately resigned and apologized.”
She did resign from Weinstein’s team once the Times went ahead with publishing Twohey and Kantor’s reporting, but the two chronicle how far Bloom was willing to go to stop the publication of their article in “She Said.”
Not only was Bloom aware of records containing allegations against Weinstein prior to the reporting, but her mother Gloria Allred’s firm sat on them prior to the Times’ investigation. Allred negotiated a settlement between Weinstein and a backup dancer from “Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights,” which Weinstein’s company Miramax produced.
Read more: Celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom offered Harvey Weinstein a smear campaign against Rose McGowan in an unearthed letter
Allred is also a strong proponent of allowing non-disclosure agreements in conjunction with sexual assault and harassment settlements – which serve as a win for both the legal representation of the victim and the abuser, with the former profiting and the later keeping their reputation intact.
Both Bloom and her mother used the settlement and non-disclosure agreement method to seek closure for the women they represented.
While working for Weinstein, Bloom pressured the Times reporters and suggested the paper had a “reckless disregard for the truth.”
As Twohey and Kantor continued their investigation, W Magazine published a profile of Allred and Bloom with the headline “Gloria Allred and Lisa Bloom Are the Defenders of Women in 2017.” By January 2017, the Times reporters, wrote, Bloom had already been on Weinstein’s legal team for six weeks, and was being paid $895 per hour.
As publication of the Times’ investigation drew closer, in October, Bloom was still working for Weinstein. In an email to the producer and other members of his legal teeam, Bloom wrote “We can nip at [the article] around the edges – and we should – but it is going to run.”
In an early statement prepared for the Times, Bloom wrote that she was a women’s rights advocate and that she had forced Weinstein to listen to her and “evolve.” She noted that he was working on bringing her book to the screen, but had always been very respectful toward her.
Then, in a surprise visit to the newsroom, Bloom and Weinstein appeared in front of the reporters. Bloom pulled out red carpet photos of Weinstein with Judd and McGowan, while Weinstein suggested the two women were mentally unstable.
Right before the article went live online, Weinstein and Bloom called the reporters and continued to make the producer’s case. Bloom resorted to media shaming tactics, complaining that the Times had “a reckless disregard for the truth” and was attempting to publish a “hit piece” full of “false accusations.”
After the first article was published, with actress Ashley Judd on the record, Bloom continued to contend that the accusations were false. She only resigned after multiple more women came forward, The New Yorker published its own investigation, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow decided to go on the record with accusations of her own.
Some of Bloom’s fundraising for sexual assault victims may have been more for herself, and given Trump ammunition against his accusers.
Apart from her involvement in the Weinstein sexual harassment story, Twohey and Kantor pointed out another ploy that appeared to benefit Bloom financially under the guise of seeking legal justice for women. That time, it concerned Donald Trump.
In 2016, the reporters wrote in “She Said,” Bloom got involved in a lawsuit alleging that Trump and the late financier Jeffrey Epstein raped a 13-year-old girl together at a party at Epstein’s New York residence in the ’90s. Bloom announced she was representing the accuser and held a press conference for the Jane Doe to make her first public appearance.
She did not appear. Bloom approached the podium alone and announced that, due to death threats, her client was too afraid to appear publicly. To other Times reporters, it seemed like a stunt to garner media attention that benefitted Bloom. Later, the attorney said she dropped the case because the woman was too afraid to ever go public.
Bloom also acknowledged that she solicited funding from pro-Hillary Clinton donors for her work with the Jane Doe victim. After the lawsuit was dropped, Bloom had collected $700,000 for security and relocation fees, as well as a “safe house” for other potential Trump accusers. She returned $500,000, but kept $200,000 for “out-of-pocket expenses.”
As Twohey and Kantor write in “She Said,” the entire incident gave Trump ammunition to attack his accusers by suggesting that “four or five women […] got paid a lot of money to make up stories about me.” Bloom’s donations and preparations for potential Trump victims coupled with real Trump accusers, then twisted and amplified by the president’s rhetoric, gave Trump a story to stand on.
Bloom is currently representing accusers of Jeffrey Epstein, but her reputation may have taken a hit.
Radio-TV personality Wendy Walsh (R) speaks with reporters alongside her attorney, Lisa Bloom, to discuss her allegations of sexual harassment by Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, during a news conference in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian
Lately, Bloom has taken on a new role defending women, this time using her firm to represent some of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers. She and her mother both represent women who have testified that Epstein abused them.
The actress Rose McGowan, who Bloom directly planned a smear campaign against, has spoken out since the publication of “She Said.”
“Her email is staggering. Staggering!” McGowan told Variety. “This woman should never work again.” The actress suggested that both Bloom and David Boies, another member of Weinstein’s legal team who also currently represents Epstein accusers, should be disbarred.
Along with McGown, other actresses and public figures have criticized Bloom’s role in representing Weinstein. Both Busy Philipps and Mandy Moore have denounced the memo’s contents on Twitter, with the former noting “[…] how beyond horrible if you are a victim she currently represents and you read this memo.”
“I hope this book will go a long way to exonerating me and the other victims who’ve dealt with slander and mental assault for years now,” McGowan told Variety. “As for me, in Hollywood I suppose I’ll continue not working. It doesn’t make any sense, and it’s really hurtful.
“But in my own life, I’m incredibly happy now and feeling very balanced. And that’s something they can’t take from me.”