The Battle Of Parental Rights - The Michigan Child Welfare System - St. Vincent & Bethany Christian Trafficking Tiny Humans - DOJ Intervenes In Illinois

This has nothing to do with sex.

This is about parental rights.

People fail to understand that the States Attorney General possesses the parental right, under commerce, in this particular situation, trafficking tiny humans.

This is about chattel law because we are dealing with land, and children are attached to the land, which uncloaks another layer in the residuals of the peculiar institution.

For some, this is about human asset management.

One side wants degenderfication for investments, the other side wants to conserve their hierarchic human property ownership structure of chattels.

Children are attached to the land as immovable chattels, but the soul is the movable chattel, better understood as the birth certificate, the identity, the one thing necessary for billing to Medicaid.

If St. Vincent and Bethany Christian lose their ability to acquire goods, their institutions would not be eligible to meet their contractual obligations with DHS and ICE, in warehousing, transportation and distribution of all those border babies.

I bet "The Boys" over there at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops got The Saddy Faces right now because another federal judge has made another ruling, allowing the DOJ to file a Statement of Interest in a similar subject matter case.

This is about the children's trusts.

Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Indiana Lawsuit Brought by Former Teacher Against Archdiocese

The Justice Department today filed a Statement of Interest explaining that the First Amendment protects the right of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis to interpret and apply Catholic doctrine. The lawsuit was brought against the Archdiocese by a former teacher who was fired from a Catholic high school within the diocese because he was in a same-sex marriage in contradiction to Catholic teaching on marriage. The Archdiocese indicated that the school had to terminate the teacher, or the school would forfeit its Catholic identity, which would have led to several repercussions for the school.

“The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of religious institutions and people to decide what their beliefs are, to teach their faith, and to associate with others who share their faith,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “The First Amendment rightly protects the free exercise of religion.” 

“If the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses stand for anything, it is that secular courts cannot entangle themselves in questions of religious law,” said United States Attorney Josh Minkler.   

This case stems from a directive issued by the Archdiocese to Cathedral High School, a Catholic school in Indianapolis. The Archdiocese told Cathedral that the school’s continued employment of a teacher in a public, same-sex marriage in contradiction to Catholic teachings on marriage would result in Cathedral’s forfeiture of its Catholic identity. After much deliberation, the school terminated the teacher. The teacher then filed suit against the Archdiocese, claiming the directive to Cathedral interfered with his employment and his contractual relationship with the school.  

The government explains in the Statement of Interest that the First Amendment prevents courts from impairing the constitutional rights of religious institutions. The former teacher’s lawsuit attempts to penalize the Archdiocese for determining that schools within its diocese cannot employ teachers in public, same-sex marriages, and simultaneously identify as Catholic. Supreme Court precedent clearly holds that the First Amendment protects the Archdiocese’s right to this form of expressive association, and courts cannot interfere with that right.

The Statement of Interest also makes clear that courts cannot second-guess how religious institutions interpret and apply their own religious laws. Supreme Court precedent explains that the First Amendment forbids courts from engaging in “quintessentially religious controversies.” Instead, as the Statement of Interest explains, “the legitimacy of the Archdiocese’s decision as a matter of Catholic law” is committed exclusively “to the judgment of the Archdiocese.”   

In July 2018, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Religious Liberty Task Force. The Task Force brings together Department components to coordinate their work on religious liberty litigation and policy, and to implement the Attorney General’s 2017 Religious Liberty Guidance.

DOJ Payne-Elliott - Statement of Interest in Indiana Lawsuit Brought by Former Teacher Against Illinois Ar... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Here is another federal judge who had an issue with indefinite holding of children in state facilities.

Indentured servitude is traditionally contracted in seven year incrementswith 90 day dispositional cycles.

Dana is slated to be placed in a similar, strategic, legal position, as the DOJ has just done, if she just so happens to file an enjoinder with Statement of Interest in previous federal cases in dealing with the Brothers of St. Vincent and the Daughters of Charity, or something wily creative to that effect.

Robert Jonker is the judge who halted the rules, promulgated from the law.

Robert Jonker

Federal judge halts Michigan's new gay adoption rulesRobert James Jonker (born March 9, 1960) is the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Born in Holland, Michigan, Jonker received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Calvin College in 1982 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1985. He was a law clerk for Judge John F. Feikens of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, from 1985 to 1987. He was in private practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from 1987 to 2007.
On March 19, 2007, Jonker was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan vacated by Gordon Jay Quist. Jonker was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 9, 2007, and received his commission on July 16, 2007. He became Chief Judge in 2015.

Here is a bit of background on the christian legal battles of marriage.

Here is a fun little rubric to play with during the course of this uncloaking:

If two individuals are of the same "sex" (not broaching definitive legal measurement tools for the distinctions of phenotype and genotype), what is the citizenship of the adopted child?

Better yet, what is the race of the child, considering they like to lump and dump in crappy predictive modeling variables of race, since we still use race classifications, one of those pesky residuals of the peculiar institution. 

It is called "Right of the Womb".

This is about the re-animation of the peculiar institution while battling for their stake in those economic redevelopment funds, because they are going broke from stealin' the children, land and votes.

Gerrymandering.

Federal judge halts Michigan's new gay adoption rules

A Grand Rapids federal judge has halted a new state policy that bans state contracts with foster and adoption agencies that refuse to work with gay couples.

The state’s settlement and comments made by Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel about the policy prior to taking office show “that the state’s new position targets St. Vincent’s religious beliefs,” U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker wrote in his Thursday opinion.

The opinion comes none too soon for St. Vincent, whose contract for adoption services with the state expires on Monday.

Dana Nessel

"One of the reasons we needed urgent relief was because the contract was ending on Monday," said Nick Reaves, a lawyer for the adoption agency. "This ruling basically protects St. Vincent’s and stops the state from taking adverse action, such as not renewing the contract.”

"If they cannot come to an agreement that allows for a quick process of the decommissioning of Line 5 then I will act," Attorney General Dana Nessel said in an interview on the sidelines of the Mackinac Policy Conference. "I'm not prepared to wait much longer on that." (Photo: Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News)

In his opinion, Jonker said Nessel "is at the very heart of the case" in part because of comments she made on the campaign trail in which she described supporters of the state’s prior policy as “hate mongers” and said she “could not justify using the state’s money” to defend “a law whose only purpose is discriminatory animus.”

Shortly after taking office, Nessel agreed to change state policy so contracts with agencies that refused to work with gay couples would be terminated.

"All of this supports a strong inference that St. Vincent was targeted based on its religious belief, and that it was defendant Nessel who targeted it," wrote Jonker, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush.

“Under the attorney general’s current interpretation of Michigan law and the parties’ contracts, St. Vincent must choose between its traditional religious belief, and the privilege of continuing to place children with foster and adoptive parents of all types," Jonker wrote.


Nessel tweeted late Thursday in response to the development: "Now and forever I will fight to support the constitutional precepts of separation of church and state and equal protection under the law for all Michigan residents and all Americans."

The lawsuit filed on behalf of St. Vincent, an adoptive mother and a former foster child revolves around a March settlement between Nessel and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan regarding two gay couples who had sued the state when they were rejected by agencies with religious objections to same-sex couples. The agencies were St. Vincent and Bethany Christian Services.

The judge's opinion failed to note that some of those comments were made by Nessel in her capacity as a private citizen and others were taken out of context, said Jay Kaplan, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan.

Jonker's decision to issue a preliminary injunction was disappointing and appeared to ignore counter arguments made by the state and the ACLU in amicus briefings, he said.

Adoption agencies essentially become state actors when they contract with the state and allowing them to invoke religious reasons for failing to serve a group of people is akin to a "violation of church and state," he said. The decision essentially "provides a license for discrimination," Kaplan said.

"The ones who lose as a result of this are the children, the children who need these loving, stable homes," Kaplan said.

A spokeswoman for Nessel's office said the department is reviewing the decision. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services referred comment to the attorney general's office.

The settlement required the state Department of Health and Human Services to maintain non-discriminatory provisions in foster care and adoption agency contracts by ending state contracts with agencies if they discriminate against same-sex couples.

In its April filing, St. Vincent argued the new policy violated the group’s First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion and free speech, the group's 14th Amendment rights to equal protection and those rights guaranteed under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The agency is represented by a religious liberty group, Becket Law.

The judge's ruling Thursday shows "discriminatory actions taken by the state in this case really have no role in the foster care and adoption context," Reaves said. "And when the state takes these actions, it actually makes it harder to find a home for kids in need.”

The case revolves not around whether same-sex couples can be great parents, Jonker wrote, but around “whether St. Vincent may continue to do this work and still profess and promote the traditional Catholic belief that marriage as ordained by God is for one man and one woman.”

Without state contacts, St. Vincent would be forced to close its doors, the agency argued. Further, other adoption agencies are available to gay couples seeking a child.

As of mid-February, St. Vincent and Bethany were responsible for nearly 10% of the more than 13,000 children under state supervision.

Agencies already can refer couples to different adoption agencies for various reasons, including geography, waitlists or a family's search for a specific type of child. But under the new policy, "the only justification for a referral that is now impermissible is a religious objection to same-sex marriage," the lawsuit said.

In the past, St. Vincent had referred gay couples to other adoption agencies because it believes an evaluation recommending the couples for state licensure “would conflict with (its) religious beliefs.”

The state has investigated St. Vincent for compliance with the new policy but "were waiting for the lawsuit to play out before they take the next step," Reaves said. The rulingfurther prevents the state from acting on the new policy during the duration of the case, he said.

The Legislature in 2015 passed a law that protected faith-based agencies that declined to provide services based on religion. Nessel’s office argued the law applied only to “private action” and not to “state-contracted services.”

Republican former Attorney General Bill Schuette had defended the state against the ACLU lawsuit when it was filed in 2017, but Nessel’s office sought a settlement instead.

The Michigan Catholic Conference, a lead advocate for the 2015 law, praised the judge's Thursday decision, saying: "it's encouraging to see that Dana Nessel's animosity toward Catholics has now been recognized in federal court."

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TEFRA: The Latest Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare Trust Fund Battle - Who Will Control The Industry of Trafficking Tiny Humans - Nessel v. Engler

Today, I was tip toeing through the FinCEN trying to figure the next, latest and greatest stealin' op of the "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) when I found a lovely growth of financial intel called the cross border transfer from the originator to the beneficiary, and said to myself,

"Hey, Self! You know what that sounds like? It sounds like one of those trafficking tiny humans mechanisms."

"Well, golly geeze, who would have ever thought about transposing international financial law enforcement models over to the privatized industry of trafficking tiny humans?"

"Me, Silly!"

So, there you have it, I found TEFRA:

Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982

TEFRA, as it is called, has lots and lots of asset forfeiture models for civil debt and liquidity for child support, disabled children, children and their families living in poverty, the elderly, and the lot.

That is when I figured out that this was the introduction to that "targeted population" era.

TEFRA talks about the transfer of bonds from the originator to the beneficiary in the form of trusts, children's trust funds.

It was at this point I said, "Corporate Parental Rights!"

I found the originator of the Public Private Partnership they are repurposing for civil asset forfeiture in the transfer of the grant to the right of the incapacitated person, having a diffusion of lumping children, disabled and elderly, into the category of not being legally capable to represent themselves in legal matters, therefore must be put under a Guardian Ad Litem for one of these privatized, foreign corporations to take legal custody of the trust, being the Medicaid funding, and any other inheritances, because the corporate parent becomes the beneficiary.

The rebranding of child welfare.

I know, I need to do a LK production on this.

This is why there is a push to become gender neutral.

Gender neutral in law allows for easier transfers of funds under chattel law.

Chattel law is heirarchial when it comes to gender in property ownership.

Think of it like this, instead of a marriage, you have a corporate partnership, with newly defined corporate parental rights through TEFRA in mergers and acquisitions, or rather, adoption.

Yes, it still exists today, but I see the "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) taking this into maritime law, because we are dealing with foreign corporations in partnership with our federal, state and local governments.

partnership by on Scribd

Yes, the "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) are rolling out the 2019 Stealin' Model for Medicaid fraud in child welfare.

Behold, the first thing that popped up when I did a basic term search on TEFRA:

https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/about-dhs/dms/tefra

https://afmc.org/individuals/arkansans-on-medicaid/beneficiary-education/tefra-webinar-feb2019/

These are Medicaid funded private children's trusts models, which have no gender, under TEFRA.

This is being diffused across the nation as corporate parental rights, where the corporation is the beneficiary and the state is the orignator to the trust.

I tell ya, these "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) are awfully clever when it comes to stealin'.

The following is the Michigan private, foreign, children's trust funds for wagering.

This is all about the children's trust funds because they get that Medicaid money and leverage it, not providing crap to the people who need it, for the purposes of maximizing revenues.

Seriously.

So, now that we know the purpose of the LBQRSTUV #coloredrevolution propaganda; they want in on the children's trust funds and they are privatizing the justice system for "The Poors" by rebranding child welfare, through databases and technologies, to implement their Targeted Case Management programs under the new Families First Act, through TEFRA.

This is about the christian chattel law model being outdated, when it comes to parental rights, under the legal property ownership concepts in gender, only.

There is nothing in Ecclessiastical law which recognizes same sex marriages, as the many subjects of wifery are still on the books under the Mann Act and Immigration and Naturalization Act.

It has nothing to do with one's genotype or phenotype, it has to do with the beneficiary of the trust, the ownership of the intellectual property.

Corporations have no gender; ergo, do not produce its goods, but acquire, through the transfer of parental rights from the host, the new name for mother.

The LBQRSTUV narrative is just a cover for the genetic research industry of manufacturing tiny humans, because humans are being produced outside a human host and it not very easy to assign gender to parental protein strands.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a foreign corporation, has a corner on the market when it comes to the child welfare industry.

The LBQRSTUV community wants in on the skins because the Pro Lifers have been running the show.

Nothing more.  Nothing less.  It is about the children's trust funds in the trafficking of tiny humans, which is why we are circling in on the use of policy of a private, foreign corporation.

Since all this started in Michigan, this boils down to nothing but a battle between "The Boys" v. "The Girls" on who controls the rebranding of parental rights in child welfare.

Child welfare is chattel law under the Vatican, "Virgin of the Sea", so I see this as a simple battle of corporate privateers taking over the industry, with these very same questions lingering in SCOTUS in DACA/DAPA actions.

Who owns the child, under what jurisdiction, under what laws, under what authority, under what rights?

This is going to be very nasty because people do not like it when you snatch their money, but now comes another group that wants in on the Medicaid fraud in child welfare gaming system.

Nessel does not want to talk about trafficking tiny humans in Michigan, but is willing to confront the John Engler, but not on this subject matter.

We should ask Nessel why she does not want to talk about trafficking tiny humans in Michigan.

Oh, wait....I forgot.

Michigan is still under federal oversight of its child welfare system.

What a situation!

This is what I call an inherently contemporaneous conflict of interests because she cannot advise and advocate at the same time in child welfare, remember?

Michigan will no longer fund adoption agencies that discriminate against gays

Michigan will no longer financially support adoption and foster care agencies that refuse to work with same-sex couples and LGBTQ individuals because of religious beliefs under the terms of a settlement of a lawsuit negotiated by Attorney General Dana Nessel.

The settlement, which was announced Friday, sets up a battle with the Republican-led Legislature, which passed a law in 2015 that allows adoptions agencies to refuse to work with members of the LGBTQ community.

The terms of the settlement require that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services agrees to maintain nondiscriminatory provisions in its foster care and adoption agency contracts. It also calls for the department to enforce the nondiscrimination provisions by terminating contracts with agencies that either discriminate against same-sex couples or LGBTQ individuals who would otherwise qualify to become foster or adoptive parents or that refer them to other agencies.

In exchange for the policy, the plaintiffs in the case — Kristy and Dana Dumont of Lansing and Erin and Rebecca Busk-Sutton of Detroit — have agreed to dismiss their claims and pay their own attorney fees and costs.

“We are so happy that for same-sex couples in Michigan who are interested in fostering or adopting, opening their hearts and homes to a child no longer comes with the risk of being subjected to the discrimination we experienced," the Dumonts said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the case on behalf of the couples. "We are hopeful that this will mean more families for children, especially those who have been waiting years for a family to adopt them. And we can’t wait to welcome one of those children into our family.”

In 2015, Republicans in the Michigan Legislature, voting mostly along party lines, passed a controversial bill that allows adoption and foster care agencies to cite religious convictions when refusing to work with same-sex couples who want to adopt  or foster a child.

The two couples filed a lawsuit in 2017 challenging the MDHHS contract with taxpayer-funded and state-contracted foster care and adoption agencies that refused to work with same-sex couples.

More: Nessel's quest for AG's office began on steps of U.S. Supreme Court

More: AG Dana Nessel to reconsider LGBTQ rights protections

The couples said they approached St. Vincent Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services to adopt children the agencies had accepted through referrals from MDHHS.  They said the agencies refused to work with them.

It is not found in chattel law.

The state contracts with 59 private adoption and foster care agencies across the state and while the MDHHS wasn't able to say specifically how many don't work with same-sex couples or LGBTQ individuals, 20 of the agencies are affiliated with religious organizations.

After the settlement was announced Friday, the Michigan Catholic Conference, the Lansing-based advocacy agency that serves as the official voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan, tweeted, "The settlement announced today by the Attorney General in the Dumont/Lyon case does nothing to protect the thousands of children in foster care looking for loving homes. As such, it is highly unlikely this is the last chapter of the story."

Lori Windham, an attorney with Becket, a Washington D.C.-based law firm that works on religious freedom cases, said the settlement violates Michigan law that protects religious adoption agencies.

"The Michigan AG and the ACLU are trying to stop the state from working with faith-based adoption agencies," she said in a statement. "The result of that will be tragic. Thousands of children will be kept from finding the loving homes they deserve."

Nessel, the first lesbian to be elected to statewide office in Michigan, is most well-known for her representation of a Madison Heights same-sex couple, a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and led to the 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

During her campaign for attorney general, standing up for the rights of the LGBTQ community was a major theme.

“Discrimination in the provision of foster care case management and adoption services is illegal, no matter the rationale,” Nessel said in a statement. “Limiting the opportunity for a child to be adopted or fostered by a loving home not only goes against the state’s goal of finding a home for every child, it is a direct violation of the contract every child-placing agency enters into with the state.”

The ACLU said the settlement was a victory for the 12,000 children in foster care in Michigan.

“Our children need every family that is willing and able to provide them with a loving home," said Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project. "When agencies choose to accept taxpayer dollars to provide public child welfare services, they must put the needs of the children first.”

But the settlement is sure to spark a backlash from Republicans in the Legislature, who argued that businesses, including adoption and foster care agencies, shouldn't be forced to conduct business in a way that violated their moral and religious beliefs.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, blasted Nessel and the settlement.

“Dana Nessel has shown us that she cares little for the Constitution and even less for the vulnerable population of children in need of forever homes," he said.

"Nessel’s actions make it clear that she sought the office of attorney general to further her own personal political agenda."

He claimed that faith-based adoption agencies will have to stop operating in Michigan because of the lack of taxpayer-funded support.

State Rep. James Lower, R-Cedar Lake, said the decision proves that the Legislature was right when it passed a bill late last year that would allow lawmakers to intervene in any case brought against the state. One of the reasons behind the bill was fear that Nessel would try to undo laws passed by Republicans. That bill was vetoed by former Gov. Rick Snyder.

"I’m just disappointed. This proves our point that the attorney general is unwilling to defend the laws in this state," he said, adding that he's sure the GOP caucus will talk about how to move beyond this one settlement. "We can still request to become a party to cases, but I think this one is over."

Lower wasn't in the Legislature when the original bill passed in 2015, but he said he would have supported it.

"It made sense — the situation puts these agencies in a tough situation because they have been able to refer couples to another agency that is willing to work with same-sex couples," he said. "But now, they'll have to choose to either not to help the kids or violate their religious beliefs."

DNA & RNA have no gender when it comes to corporate parental rights.



ThermoFisher

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Clueless In Michigan: More Trafficking Tiny Humans Lawsuits - Will St. Vincent Sarah & Bethany Christian Move To Enjoin To Nancy Edmunds' Court?

If St. Vincent and Bethany Christian can sue Michigan over new gay adoption rules, well, by golly, Michigan can sue St. Vincent and Bethany Christian, and all the other Foster Care & Adoption Agencies for Trafficking Tiny Humans.

It is only logical considering the fact that they are the ones who are trafficking tiny humans.

I wonder if the Michigan GiGi Interlopers, DHHS Robert Gordon and Garlin Gilchrist, will show up, or at least publicly admit that child trafficking is foster care and adoption.

Oh, wait.

I forgot.

Nancy Edmunds is supposed to decide if Michigan is all better when it comes to its child welfare system.

Perhaps, St. Vincent and Bethany Christian can enjoin in the Dwayne B. v. Granholm (now Gretchen Whitmore) action.

Probably not.

Trafficking tiny humans through foster care and adoption is how St. Vincent and Bethany Christian maximizes their revenues.

As for the LBQRSTUV adoption issue, it is just a legal property ownership argument under the law of chattels.

Welcome to Foster Care & Adoption in Michigan, oops, I mean, human trafficking.

Happy Child Abuse Propaganda Month!

Adoption agency sues state over new gay adoption rules

Michigan DHHS Director Robert Gordon,
& Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist - Clueless in Michigan

An adoptive mother, a former foster child, and a Michigan faith-based adoption agency are challenging a recent state settlement that bans state contracts with foster and adoption agencies that refuse to work with gay couples.

St. Vincent Catholic Charities, former foster child Shamber Flore, and Melissa Buck, a mother of five special needs kids adopted through St. Vincent, filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging the new rules violated the group’s First Amendment rights. The agency is represented by religious liberty group, Becket Law.

The lawsuit is filed against Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon, Children's Services Agency Director Herman McCall, Attorney General Dana Nessel, the federal Health and Human Services department and its secretary, Alex Azar.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction on the settlement's provisions that would require the state to stop contracting with agencies that, because of their religious beliefs, refuse to work with same-sex couples.

Nessel's office declined to comment until officials had a chance to review the lawsuit. 

In a Monday statement announcing the lawsuit, Buck, of Holt, said her family still relies on the support of St. Vincent “in every step of our journey together as a family" and could have problems should the family look to adopt siblings of their adopted children through St. Vincent in the future.

“We are hopeful that the courts will step in, do the right thing and allow faith-based agencies to continue to help vulnerable families like mine,” Buck said.

In March, Nessel reached a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and two gay couples who had sued the state when they were rejected by agencies with religious objections to same-sex couples. The agencies were St. Vincent Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services.

The settlement required the state Department of Health and Human Services to maintain non-discriminatory provisions in foster care and adoption agency contracts by ending state contracts with agencies if they discriminate against same-sex couples.

Because the settlement was between the state attorney general's department and the ACLU, St. Vincent as an intervenor in the lawsuit had no option but to file a separate action, said Nick Reaves, a lawyer for Becket.

Without the state contract, St. Vincent would be forced to close its doors and the settlement could have a similar effect on "any other organization that shares their religious beliefs," Reaves said. He added that he is not aware of any contracts being dropped so far in light of the March settlement.

“Faith-based agencies like St. Vincent consistently do the best work because of their faith, and we need more agencies like them helping children — not fewer,” Becket President Mark Rienzi said in a statement.

Catholic agencies make up a small portion of the 58 private agencies that contract with the state for adoption and foster care services, proving "there really isn't any access problem" for gay couples seeking an agency through which they can adopt, Reaves said.

For example, in Ingham County, 17 other adoption agencies besides St. Vincent are available to parents seeking to adopt, he said.

Agencies already can refer couples to different adoption agencies for various reasons, including geography, wait lists or a family's search for a specific type of child.

Further, a same-sex couple still can adopt a child within St. Vincent after receiving a home study and becoming a certified pre-adoptive home through a different agency, St. Vincent said in its lawsuit.

Nessel’s office maintained a 2015 law passed by the Republican-led Legislature only protected faith-based agencies that declined to provide services based on religion when it came to “private action.” The protection did not carry over into state-contracted services, she argued.

Such a conclusion is in "serious tension" with previous interpretations of the law and the language of the law itself, Reaves said.

Republican former Attorney General Bill Schuette had defended the state against the ACLU lawsuit when it was filed in 2017. But even before taking office Jan. 1, Nessel had signaled she would not continue to support Schuette's position on the lawsuit.

As of mid-February, St. Vincent and Bethany were responsible for nearly 10% of the more than 13,000 children under state supervision.

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"The Girls" v. "The Boys": Engler Demands Subpoena, Nessel Ignores Trafficking Tiny Humans In Her AG Office, Get To Know Seth Wexman

In the spirit of fuchsia...

John Engler to AG's office: Unless you recuse yourself, I'm not doing interview with investigators

Former Michigan governor and former MSU
interim president John Engler, right, and Peter Secchia
sit courtside during the second half of the Michigan State,
Michigan basketball game on Saturday,
March 9, 2019, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. 

Former Michigan State University Interim President John Engler will not sit for an interview with investigators from the Michigan Attorney General's Office because he believes the office is biased against him.

Well, yeah, duh!

"What has become clear is the ethical standards and objectivity required for the conduct of an investigation are inapplicable to your approach to Mr. Engler," says a letter sent Wednesday by Engler attorney Seth Waxman of Dickinson Wright to the AG's office. The letter was sent to Michigan Assistant Attorney Christina Grossi, who has been running the case for Attorney General Dana Nessel. "You have prejudged Mr. Engler’s veracity and motives without ever talking to him. You have launched unfounded attacks and besmirched Mr. Engler. ...

"Your conduct diverges so drastically from the most basic principles of fairness, justice and what is right that you have undermined the integrity of your own investigation, which may be a result of your lack of experience handling criminal prosecutions (this being your first), let alone a high-profile criminal investigation. Your actions also form a claim of prosecutorial misconduct and constitute grounds for your immediate recusal from the investigation."

Nessel could not be reached immediately for comment.

Damn! Dems* fightin' words. (*pun intended).

Dana is supposed to be nice when it comes to due process, not bully pulpit proselytizing political partisanship. It is called due process, like starting with a letter, then a subpoena.  You must document the process.

More on freep.com:

AG Dana Nessel: John Engler dodges my investigators, but finds time for basketball games

Michigan Attorney General investigating Perles' resignation from MSU board

Engler's letter came one day after Nessel sent a letter to MSU Board Chairwoman Dianne Byrum claiming Engler was ducking her investigators and saying he wasn't able to meet with investigators in Michigan, despite attending home MSU basketball games.

Waxman's letter disputes that. Waxman says on March 4, the two sides finalized a meeting for March 28 in Washington, D.C., where Engler has worked in business leadership roles after serving as Michigan governor.

Well, if I were Dana, and I was in D.C. to meet with Engler, what I would do is to contact federal investigative authorities to see if I could possibly do a conjugal collaborative, but then again, I guess it would be awkward to work with those individuals if they were investigating me and "The Girls", but, hey, what do I know, I am not the State Attorney General.

"Nevertheless, based on no action or statement by Mr. Engler, you claim that he has a

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a press
briefing on her office's investigation into the Larry Nassar scandal
at Michigan State University on Feb. 21, 2019 

'brazen disregard' for the investigation and was not acting in 'good faith,' among other libelous statements," the letter from Waxman says. "Mr. Engler agreed to the interview, that interview date is nine days away, and there is nothing more a witness can do before meeting voluntarily and answering questions."

The letter claims the two sides had also agreed that Engler was not a target of the investigation.

That is because if she targets Engler, she is going to have to target all "The Girls".

Nessel, a Democrat, said in her Tuesday letter she was shocked to learn that Engler was sitting courtside with promiment MSU donor Peter Secchia during MSU's basketball game with the University of Michigan. She said her office had been told Engler, a Republican, wasn't going to be in Michigan.

Sometimes, plans change.

There could be a reason Engler doesn't want to be interviewed in Michigan, Nessel said in her letter.

"...  an individual who interviews in another state is subject to different laws and processes for purposes of the interview. For example, the laws in Washington, D.C., related to intentionally lying to a police officer in the course of an investigation are not as strong as in Michigan."

That is why Dana should do the conjugal collaborative, but she will not.  That would be self-incrimination. Messy.

Engler often in Michigan

Waxman's letter Wednesday disputed that.

Seth Wexman

"Your outrage about Mr. Engler’s travels is similarly surprising and misplaced. Since early February 2019, I have been communicating with you about making Mr. Engler available for a voluntary interview," Waxman's letter said. "At no time did I represent that Mr. Engler would not travel to Michigan as we discussed scheduling. Mr. Engler owns a home in Michigan. He has family in Michigan. It stands to reason that he would and does travel to Michigan when his schedule permits doing so.

"There has been no effort to hide that on two occasions Mr. Engler traveled to Michigan on weekends to see Michigan State University basketball games. Yet, you scurrilously allege that Mr. Engler somehow acted improperly by attending those events, as if he attended in disguise. He is not a criminal defendant. He is not under the supervision of a court. You penalize and criticize Mr. Engler for exercising his unrestricted right to travel and, as do hundreds of millions of Americans, enjoy college basketball games."

That is right.  There are no restrictions in travel for Engler in place.

Nessel's letter Tuesday said that "our offer to travel to Mr. Engler was contingent on Mr. Engler being unavailable to interview in the State of Michigan."

Engler was unavailable to interview.  He was busy at the MSU game...making plans....

"Finally, as if your false representations and strong-arming is not enough, you now threaten to use Mr. Engler’s lawful employment contract with Michigan State University against him.

".... what right does the Attorney General’s Office have to interject itself into and twist a contract between a private citizen and his employer into an illegitimate law enforcement tool? You not only appear to have acted beyond your authority, but also made yourself a witness to the broader investigation. That is a rare accomplishment for a prosecutor to subject herself to personal liability and become a witness."

Oh, SNAP! That was very eloquently stated. I like this cat. Seth used to be the U.S. Solicitor General. Seth works for WilmerHale, the same law firm Jeannie Rhee and Mueller hail. Seth did the SCOTUS Arizona Redistricting Law case that seems to question the people usurping the powers of the Legislature by stopping elected officials from privatizing.  This is a very interesting attorney client privilege situation to watch unfold.

Email exchange

The two sides have exchanged emails over the past months trying to schedule the interview, according to records obtained by the Free Press from a Freedom of Information Act request.

That included an email from Grossi to Waxman late Tuesday night saying if Engler wanted to voluntarily come in and interview in Michigan, he should contact the AG's office.

"Otherwise, there's no reason for you to contact me, certainly not to feign outrage or plead ignorance about the reason the interview was canceled," Grossi said in her email.

The two sides also disagreed about topics for the interview, with Waxman trying to get Grossi to confirm limited topics of conversation and questioning as suggested by an AG investigator and Grossi saying she wasn't going to agree to a script.

Hey, I have a few suggestions for a topic for the interview! Medicaid fraud in child welfare, the Children's Trust Fund and MEDC.  How about privatization of foster care and adoption, which brought in those Public Private Partnerships that funded you and "The Girls'" political campaigns for office...oups, j'ai dit une bétise!

The ongoing investigation has resulted in criminal charges against several MSU employees, including former MSU President Lou Anna Simon — whom Engler replaced. Simon is charged with lying to investigators.

Engler inherited the duties of office, and the breech of trust.  In order for Engler to bear witness to what happened at MSU, Nessel must also bear witness to what is still going on in the Michigan Office of Attorney General.

They shall eat each other alive, and I shall be intently watching.

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"The Girls" v. "The Boys": Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel v. Archdiocese Of Detroit - Who Will Be The First To Talk About The Children's Trust Fund?

Michigan Attorney General v. Vatican

This, is so succulent a moment to me, I am in pure bliss.

What we have here is a delicious fantasy I have played out in so many fashions, but this one is spectacular.

The Michigan Attorney General has to investigate the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Yes, I have been transported back to a time when I decided to figure out why the Michigan Attorney General has allowed me to suffer for almost two decades when it comes to their nefarious operations in child welfare.

Yes, my dearies, I am the original source and I am about to push this as far as I can, because I have to prepare, you know.

I wonder if Dana has pulled my file, yet.

I have the largest file in the history of the State of Michigan Office of Attorney General, but hey, what do I know?

I know I have found fresh flesh for false claims of Medicaid fraud in child welfare.

I also know I was never afforded due process in a court of law.

Nessel warns Catholic Church: Let state investigate clergy sexual abuse

Michigan AG: "If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary"

Beverly Tran: "If Child Protective Services comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their warrant and not their badge because they are no law enforcement"

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel accused Catholic Church leaders of not fully cooperating with law enforcement, telling them to stop "self-policing" and allow state investigators to probe sexual abuse by clergy.

They are only doing what the State of Michigan does in child welfare.  Dana is new.  She will catch on, or maybe not.

Speaking Thursday at her first news conference, Nessel said she will continue the investigations into Michigan's seven Catholic dioceses launched under her predecessor, former Attorney General Bill Schuette. Schuette conducted raids in October at dioceses in Michigan that involved 70 police officers and 14 assistant attorney generals, Nessel said.

But will she go into the foster care and adoption contracts? How about Faith Based Funding Slush Funds? Trafficking Tiny Humans?

Nessel told victims of abuse and others to speak with state investigators rather than Catholic officials, expressing concern that nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) are being used to discourage victims of abuse to speak with law enforcement authorities.

Where are all the attorneys looking to make a name for themselves? I find it quite odd these massive law firms in Detroit refuse to lift a single finger when it comes to trafficking tiny humans in Michigan.  Well, not really.  Some are too ignorant to wrap their brains around the subject matter, some just want a paycheck, some just do not care.  Just ask the State Bar of Michigan.

"Stop self-policing" and let the state do its investigations, she said. "Our office is conducting a thorough investigation and it's important we be able to talk with any and all victims harmed by these egregious acts without the intervention of the church."

A thorough investigation entails the child welfare contracts, including the schools, residential institutions, child placing agencies and any faith based foster care situation because this sexual abuse is all funded by Medicaid.

"If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary," Nessel said. "And here's why that matters. Because many churches and diocese appear to be self policing and encouraging parishioners to report abuse to them so they can conduct their own internal investigations. We've heard many stories from victims who have been encouraged to take settlements and sign NDAs or nondisclosure agreements. And victims may believe that they cannot or should not report abuse to us because the church is going to handle it and simply put, that's just not true. Firstly, if you signed an NDA, you still have a right and I would say a responsibility to speak to law enforcement authorities. An NDA will not protect the church."

At least "The Boys" are being proactive.  "The Boys" are part of that arm of the Vatican who just so happens to coordinate operations such as NDAs. Dana does not know this because she has no clue how deep this is going to get. She would if she read my blog because you know darn well she will never, ever reach out to me on dealing with anything remotely relevant to child welfare in Michigan.

 Nessel was joined at the news conference by the head of Michigan State Police, Col. Joe Gasper, who echoed Nessel's remarks.

"I also want to echo your comments regarding the importance of reporting tips directly to law enforcement," Gasper said. "We take all leads seriously and it's critically important that we hear directly from you when you have information to provide."

Are you going to start taking seriously the screams of kids in the foster care system and directly report to law enforcement or shall we continue with that "hire a private attorney" response of your office when it comes to a private contractor in child welfare.  The Archdiocese of Detroit, and the rest of the state, have those cherished, private child welfare contracts.

More: 7 Catholic dioceses in Michigan searched by police in abuse investigation

More: Michigan AG Schuette opens Catholic priest sex abuse investigation

In response, the Archdiocese of Detroit issued a statement contesting some of Nessel's points, saying it wants to "clarify some of the broad generalizations made during today’s press conference."

The statement said: "The Archdiocese of Detroit does not self-police. We encourage all victims to report abuse directly to law enforcement. When we learn of an allegation of sexual abuse of minors, we immediately notify law enforcement authorities, in accordance with the agreements we have had in place with them since 2002..."

FUN FACT! I MAY HAVE BEEN A CATALYST IN THIS 2002 GRAND EPIPHANY OF "ENCOURAGING" REPORTING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, WHICH IS STILL NOT A LAW, WHICH THEY STILL DO NOT REPORT

Ned McGrath, director of public affairs at the Archdiocese of Detroit, criticized Nessel's remarks about how investigators should have badges, not rosaries.

Yes, that was pretty pithy, but you have to give props where props are due.  That was a smackdown.

“The rosary is a treasured devotion of the Catholic Church," McGrath told the Free Press. "And it’s troubling to have it used as a punch line. Here’s hoping future statements show no additional disrespect.”

There actually was no disrespect. A badge has legal authority. A rosary is a tool of privatization.  Sorry, McGrath, your coup to completely take over the State of Michigan has yet to come to full fruition.  "The Girls" are on it!

The Archdiocese also took issue with Nessel's remarks on NDAs:

"Since 2002, the Archdiocese of Detroit has not entered into any nondisclosure agreements, unless specifically requested by a survivor of abuse, as required by the Catholic Church in the United States.

In addition, the archdiocese does not enforce any nondisclosure agreements signed prior to 2002 ..."

Nessel's remarks happen to come on the same day that Pope Francis kicked off a four-day summit at the Vatican to discuss the issue of sexual abuse among clergy. Michigan has about 2 million Catholics.

Timing is everything.  I wonder if Dana is going to cross over to the proper side of history and become a whistleblower?  Time will tell.

Michigan is one of more than a dozen states that launched investigations after a report released last year by the Pennsylvania Attorney General showed extensive abuse by priests and cover-ups by Catholic leaders.

Nessel said they have received 300 tips so far and are reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents.

What about the contracts?

Nessel compared the reaction of Catholic Church leaders to the reaction of leaders at Michigan State University to the sexual abuse of Larry Nassar.

"Oh, no she did not"!

"The clergy abuse investigation is jarringly similar to the MSU investigation in that both institutions when confronted with a public sex abuse scandal, publicly pledged their cooperation with law enforcement authorities, but it failed to deliver on those public promises," Nessel said. "And regrettably, it would seem as though these two powerful institutions care more about protecting their brand than the people they serve."

Hey Dana....if you look really closely, you will see the financial connections in the contracts.  Let me give you a hint on where to start ===> The Michigan Children's Trust Fund.  Can you say "DACA or DAPA"? I can.  You can, too, if you do the right thing for the public trust of the children.

Nessel said victims should contact law enforcement even if the statute of limitations to prosecute has ended.

There still are civil options for obtain justice....that is if you have money because you know no one wants to look at the false claims filed for Medicaid cost reimbursement of those child welfare contracts.

No money, no justice.

"We may not be able to charge every priest, but our office will be sending letters to the diocese when we find credible allegations, and we ask that the diocese step up and deal with these abusers and protect people from them when the statute of limitations keeps us from being able to do that ourselves, which is often the case, or frankly, when there are other unethical acts that are uncovered," Nessel said.

If you cannot charge every priest, meaning there are many who will walk, can you at least take a look at the contracts? How about the child welfare NGOs?

The Archdiocese said in response that "the state of Michigan’s mandated reporting laws have been in place for decades. Through the years, we have strongly supported expansions to the list, including the addition of clergy. The Archdiocese of Detroit regularly educates all mandated reporters of their duties to report sexual abuse or neglect of minors."

Mandated reporters are a limited group of individuals, under the law.  I do not feel like looking it up, but you can on the top right of the page, but clergy are not mandated reporters because the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is a private, foreign corporation, registered as a UCC in Michigan, which means that the State Attorney General is too much of a little punk to take this matter to the proper jurisdiction to the ICC because what has happened to the children in these christian child placing agencies is nothing but a war crime of forced migration and torture of a child.

Nessel said her office has sent letters to parishes asking them to inform their members of the state's investigations.

Step it up and go out to the private, contracted child placing agencies like Bethany Christian, Wellspring, Orchards Children's Services and Samaritas and hold a full blown interactive with the Administration and Boards to let them know they have been put on public notice.  On second thought, if you do that, you will have to do the same with the all the other "non-faith based". Oh, well, it was just an idea.

She encouraged victims of abuse or those who may know about possible abuse to contact the state through its hotline. 

Can kids still in foster care report abuse?  That would be grounds to terminate parental rights of the Michigan Children's Institute Superintendent for being abused and neglected while under the legal guardianship and custodianship of the State.  Guess foster kids should just go back to praying they find a good pimp to rescue them from the aegis of the state.

The Archdiocese of Detroit said in its statement that when it "became aware of the Attorney General’s request for parishes to publicize the state’s tip line, we immediately offered to help our parishes facilitate the publication of that material."

Yup, the email was sent.

The Archdiocese of Detroit also said it "has not been asked by the Attorney General’s Office to stop its internal review process. These internal investigations are required under Church law, and their purpose is to restrict or remove from ministry anyone who has committed sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult."

The act of defrocking or removing one from ministry is an act of exile from the law of the sea for justice to be served from the laws of the land for bearing false witness to their office of the children's trust.  Congress possesses a similar procedure of removing a member of the body from public office.  It is called impeachment, nullification, indictments in other jurisdictions, you know, due process.

During her news conference, Nessel also spoke about her investigations into the Flint water crisis and Michigan State University over abuse tied to Larry Nassar.

Did Dana say Sparrow?  I missed that.

Col. Gasper of Michigan State Police said "we are committed to seeking justice for all the victims in the cases and we were also equally committed to ensuring that we conduct a thorough and proper investigation."

In its statement Thursday, the Archdiocese of Detroit also said:

"Since the Attorney General’s investigation began, the Archdiocese of Detroit has not received notification from that office regarding credible accusations against any of our priests. Should we become aware of such a complaint, we will act immediately."

To listen to Nessel's remarks during the news conference, click here for the livestream. 

To read the full response from the Archdiocese of Detroit to the Michigan Attorney General's remarks, click here.

Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@freepress.com or on Twitter @nwarikoo

To report abuse

The information below is from the Michigan Attorney General on how to report abuse in the Catholic Church. 

Call the investigation hotline at 844-324-3374 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday) or send information by email to aginvestigations@michigan.gov.

click here 

for a form that the state says allows you to be anonymous in submitting tips.

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