Former Atlanta chief financial officer pleads guilty to stealing money from city for trips and guns
ATLANTA (AP) — The former chief financial officer for Atlanta pleaded guilty on Monday to stealing money from the city for personal travel and guns and trying to cheat the federal government on his income taxes. Jim Beard, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of federal program theft and one count of tax obstruction in federal court in Atlanta. GEORGIA POLICE IDENTIFY FBI ATLANTA GATE CRASH SUSPECT AS ERVIN BOLLING U.S. District Judge Steve Jones is scheduled to sentence Beard on July 12. Beard could face as many as 13 years in prison but is likely to be sentenced to substantially less under federal guidelines. Beard served as the city’s chief financial officer under Mayor Kasim Reed, managing Atlanta’s financial resources from 2011 to 2018. Beard is the 10th person to be convicted in an anti-corruption probe into Reed’s administration. Most of the others were convicted on charges of giving or taking bribes for city contracts. Reed himself has never been charged. During his time in office, Beard used city money to pay for personal trips and to illegally buy two machine guns for himself, he admitted in his plea agreement. Federal prosecutors said Beard stole tens of thousands of dollars from the city, although the plea outlined about $5,500 in thefts. That includes spending over $1,200 for his stepdaughter to spend three nights in a Chicago hotel room during an August 2015 music festival. Beard said he was there to discuss interest rates on city debt. Beard also admitted to buying two custom-made machine guns from Georgia manufacturer Daniel Defense in 2015, paying $2,641.90 with a city check. Beard had claimed the guns were for the Atlanta Police Department — it’s generally illegal for civilians to possess machine guns in the United States — but he kept them until he left them in 2017 at the police department office overseeing the mayor’s protection. He also spent $648 on airfare to New Orleans to attend the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April 2016, later deducting the same expense from his income taxes by telling the IRS it was for his personal consulting business. Beard also double-dipped by charging the city nearly $1,000 in travel expenses to a New York meeting with a bond regulatory agency and then getting the same agency to reimburse him $1,276.52. Beard also claimed $33,000 in losses from his consulting business on his 2013 income tax return, with the IRS ultimately allowing him to deduct $12,000 in business travel expenses he never spent. Under the plea, Beard is giving up his claim to the guns and is agreeing to pay back various entities including the city of Atlanta.
Republicans take to floor to slam Dems for expected dismissal of Mayorkas trial
Several Senate Republicans took to the chamber floor on Monday night to call for an immediate and open trial into the impeachment articles passed against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “Make no mistake about it: a vote to block the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is a vote to keep our borders open,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said in floor remarks. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., John Kennedy, R-La., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Mike Braun, R-Ind., also made speeches on the expected Democratic motion to table the impeachment trial. READ MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE FROM FOX NEWS DIGITAL Marshall and Scott are members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The vote to “block” mentioned by Marshall is in reference to the expectation that Senate Democrats will look to use a procedural maneuver to quickly dismiss the trial after being sworn in as jurors on Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not made any indication that this will be done, but several Republicans and Democrats in the chamber have said they expect such an exercise to be used to end the trial. BIDEN’S NEW STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT FACES BIPARTISAN SKEPTICISM IN CONGRESS “Legally speaking [Mayorkas] has undermined the laws of the United States,” alleged Schmitt, justifying the necessity of a full trial. In his own remarks, Scott said, “I do not understand why my Democratic colleagues don’t care.” PENCE WORRIES TIKTOK BILL COULD GET LOST IN ‘FOG OF PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS,’ URGES SENATE VOTE Kennedy pointed out that the House spent months developing the articles that were passed against Mayorkas and “They just want to ignore the House’s evidence, summarily sweep it under the rug and move on.” Marshall emphasized the historical nature of such a move, if Democrats choose to employ it. “In our nation’s history, the Senate has never tabled an impeachment trial,” Marshall said. GOP SENATOR HIGHLIGHTS SECURITY THREAT IN BORDER PATROL’S WEAKENED DRUG USE STANDARDS In a dear colleague letter to senators last week, Schumer acknowledged that House impeachment managers are expected to deliver two articles of impeachment for Mayorkas to the leader. He advised senators that attendance is “essential” during the week, as each of them will be sworn in as jurors on Thursday, with Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., presiding. The White House counsel sent a memo out on Monday, highlighting comments made by Republican senators about the Mayorkas impeachment effort prior to its passage in the House. Several of the Republican examples pointed to by the White House have since changed their position, voicing support for a trial.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Mayorkas’s impeachment trial
We’ve seen impeachment trials a lot on Capitol Hill in recent years. The Senate conducted two impeachment trials of former President Trump in early 2020 and early 2021. But no living American has ever witnessed the impeachment trial which is about to begin in the United States Senate. Blink and you might miss it. The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February. The House accuses Mayorkas of not following the law when it comes to securing the border and lying to Congress. Mayorkas became only the second cabinet secretary ever impeached. The first was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hasn’t tipped his hand yet on how he’ll handle the articles, but Schumer is expected to move to dismiss or table the articles. The Senate must vote to do that. If all 51 senators who caucus with the Democrats vote to punt, they can extinguish the trial quickly. ABBOTT SENDS BIDEN MESSAGE AS TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD REINFORCES BORDER RAZOR FENCING But don’t expect Republicans to go quietly. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says the Senate is obligated to conduct a full trial of Mayorkas and render judgment. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and other Republicans may try to elongate the trial. They argue that senators have a constitutional obligation to listen to arguments for and against impeachment. So expect them to make points of order – possibly forcing the Senate to vote – to consider the articles. However, Senate Democrats can euthanize each of those points of order – if they stick together and table each of the GOP motions. Still, the trial might not last long. But here’s the minimum which must unfold on the Senate floor over the coming days. Expect the following: The House voted to impeach Mayorkas by a solitary vote in February. The House failed in its first effort to impeach after Rep. Al Green, D-Tex., materialized unexpectedly (directly from the hospital) and foiled the GOP’s plans. After a second vote to impeach, the House then appointed 11 impeachment “managers.” They serve as de facto “prosecutors,” presenting the House’s case to the Senate. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., serves as the lead impeachment manager. All 100 senators will sit as “jurors” when the trial begins. Mayorkas does not appear at the trial nor is he required to attend. On Wednesday, House Sergeant at Arms Bill McFarland and Acting Clerk of the House Kevin McCumber will escort the managers and the articles of impeachment themselves from the House, across the Capitol Rotunda, to the Senate wing of the Capitol. That’s where the Senate will “receive” the articles of impeachment. Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson will greet the House entourage in the Senate wing of the Capitol and escort everyone to the Senate chamber. All 100 senators will await the coterie from the House. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate – the most senior member of the majority party. She will preside over the impeachment trial – not Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts. The Chief Justice typically only presides over impeachment trials involving the President or Vice President. Roberts was in charge for former President Trump’s first trial in 2020. But then-Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., presided over the second impeachment trial in 2021. Leahy was the Senate’s President Pro Tempore back then. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’S RED LINE ON SPEAKER JOHNSON The impeachment articles are then read to the Senate. It’s possible Lee and company could try to offer their motions then. But Murray could rule him out of order. The Senate hasn’t even sworn-in senators yet to adjudicate the trial. Moreover, the Senate could find itself either in legislative session (working on a bill) or executive session (working on a nomination) when the Senate stops its action to receive the articles. Therefore, motions by senators pertaining to the trial aren’t applicable at that moment. Under Senate impeachment rules, things really get started the next day at 1 pm ET. That’s when the Senate swears in the senators. Gibson will announce that everyone should remain quiet “on pain of imprisonment.” At that point, we are technically “in trial.” Thus, motions are in order. In the past, the Senate could consider a resolution to establish parameters for how to handle the trial. Schumer could possibly move immediately to dismiss or table the articles. Or Lee and company could make their motions as well. But here’s the problem for Republicans: Schumer is the Senate Majority Leader. As Majority Leader, Schumer is recognized first by Murray, the presiding officer. Schumer could potentially short-circuit anything Republicans want to do by jumping ahead and making a motion to table or dismiss. The Senate would then vote on whether to halt proceedings right there. Republicans may never get a shot. It is important to note that senators don’t “debate” during an impeachment trial. However, they could agree to debate in closed session – not out in the open. I WANT MY MTV (MOTION TO VACATE): SPEAKER JOHNSON FACES POTENTIAL THREAT WHEN CONGRESS RETURNS However, a vote to dismiss the articles – or on anything Republicans cook up – carries political consequences for Democrats facing competitive re-election bids this fall. Think Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Jon Tester, D-Mont., Bob Casey, D-Mich., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. Republicans will likely weaponize any roll call vote Democrats to truncate the impeachment trial. Republicans will try to portray these vulnerable Democrats as not taking the border or the charges leveled at Mayorkas seriously. In short, the trial is likely to be short. Not the impeachment trials of former President Trump. The Senate spread out the first one over a period of 19 days. The second one consumed five days. In fact, the model for a quick dismissal is an impeachment you probably haven’t heard of: Former federal judge Samuel Kent in 2009. The House impeached Kent in June 2009. But Kent stepped down before
DNC accuses RFK Jr campaign of admitting ‘quiet part out loud’ in leaked 2024 strategy discussion
The Democratic National Committee is accusing RFK Jr.’s presidential campaign of acknowledging its role as a “spoiler” in November after a woman associated with the campaign was captured on video discussing campaign strategy. “The only way that Trump can even, remote possibility of taking New York is if Bobby is on the ballot,” a self identified Kennedy campaign staffer, told a room of Republicans in New York in a video reviewed by Fox News Digital. “If it’s Trump vs. Biden, Biden wins. Biden wins six days, seven days a week. With Bobby in the mix, anything can happen.” “How do we block Biden from winning the presidency?” Palma said at another point in the video. “Again, that’s the number one priority for me.” RFK JR ‘DISTURBED’ BY ‘WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT’ AGAINST TRUMP, VOWS TO APPOINT JAN 6 SPECIAL COUNSEL Palma, who said she voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, explained that the “Kennedy voter and the Trump voter both consider Biden “our mutual enemy.” Palma outlined a strategy based on the idea that Republicans have “accepted the fact” that “most of the northeast states” are “going to go blue” so if New Yorkers “give those 28 electoral votes to Bobby rather than to Biden” it would reduce Biden’s chance to get to the 270 votes needed to win the presidency and sent the decision to Congress where Trump would likely be picked so “we’re rid of Biden either way.” The DNC quickly released a statement suggesting this video, which was first reported on by CNN, was further proof that RFK Jr.’s campaign is an effort to spoil the election for Biden, a charge Democrats have been consistently throwing at Kennedy and that have intensified in recent weeks. RFK JR.’S RUNNING MATE AN ‘UNKNOWN QUANTITY’ WITH ‘DEEP POCKETS’ AS GOP, DEMS FEAR SPOILER CAMPAIGN: EXPERTS “RFK Jr.’s campaign is saying the quiet part out loud: he is a spoiler for Donald Trump,” the press release from the Democrats argued. “RFK Jr. was recruited into this race by Trump allies, his candidacy is propped up by Trump’s largest donor, and now his own staff admits that their number one goal in this election is stopping Joe Biden. As the saying goes, when people show you who they are, believe them: RFK Jr.’s campaign isn’t building a plan or a strategy to get 270 electoral votes, they’re building one to help Trump return to the Oval Office.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Kennedy campaign downplayed Palma’s role from a strategy standpoint. “As an Independent movement, our supporters, volunteers, and field organizers come from all sides of the political spectrum and their reasons for supporting Mr. Kennedy are as disparate as their backgrounds,” the statement said. “Rita Palma is a ballot access consultant responsible for scheduling volunteer shifts for our upcoming signature collection drive in the Empire State. She is not involved in electoral strategy, nationally or in New York. This was not a campaign event. Palma was speaking as a private citizen and her statements in no way reflect the strategy of the Kennedy campaign, which is to win the White House with votes from former Trump and Biden supporters alike.” Recent polls have shown Kennedy, Stein and independent candidate Dr. Cornel West would pull significant support from both Biden and Trump, but with Biden appearing to be at risk of losing the most potential votes. “Bobby, right now, he’s pulling from both sides right now,” Palma said in the video. “He’s actually pulling a little bit more from Biden, which explains why the DNC is kind of ganging up on him.” In a Truth Social post last month, Trump made the case that Kennedy’s candidacy helps the MAGA agenda because of Kennedy’s “radical” record. “RFK Jr. is the most Radical Left Candidate in the race, by far,” Trump wrote. “He’s a big fan of the Green New Scam, and other economy killing disasters. I guess this would mean he is going to be taking votes from Crooked Joe Biden, which would be a great service to America.” “His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is even more “Liberal” than him, if that’s possible. Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, and always will be!!! It’s great for MAGA, but the Communists will make it very hard for him to get on the Ballot. Expect him, and her, to be indicted any day now, probably for Environmental Fraud! He is Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, not mine. I love that he is running!” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
McConnell says TikTok bill deserves ‘urgent attention’ amid China security threat concerns
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., noted the need for the Senate to take action on TikTok in a floor speech on Monday, emphasizing to his colleagues that “America’s greatest strategic rival is threatening our security right here on U.S. soil in tens of millions of American homes.” “This is a matter that deserves Congress’ urgent attention,” he said. “And I’ll support commonsense, bipartisan steps to take one of Beijing’s favorite tools of coercion and espionage off the table.” PENCE WORRIES TIKTOK BILL COULD GET LOST IN ‘FOG OF PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS,’ URGES SENATE VOTE McConnell’s remarks on the popular social media app, which is under scrutiny due to its ownership by Chinese company Bytedance, came after legislation to force the sale of the company to a non-Chinese entity passed the House with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority last month. Only one member abstained when the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, introduced in the House by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., passed, 352-65. TRUMP’S ABORTION STANCE PROMPTS PUSHBACK FROM LINDSEY GRAHAM AS OTHERS RALLY BEHIND FORMER PRESIDENT When the bill arrived in the Senate, it was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for a markup rather than expedited for passage as some had hoped. The process and timeline the bill now faces are unclear, as committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has expressed the intention to hold public hearings on the issue. McConnell joins a number of other senators calling for urgent action on the bill, including Senate Intel committee Chair Mark Warner, D-Va. GOP SENATOR HIGHLIGHTS SECURITY THREAT IN BORDER PATROL’S WEAKENED DRUG USE STANDARDS However, with Schumer’s decision not to immediately take the bill to the floor for a vote, and Cantwell’s plan for hearings, it appears unlikely that their desired quick action will take place. The Senate minority leader also addressed an argument made by several of his Republican colleagues regarding the TikTok bill, slamming the suggestion that it violates the First Amendment. “This isn’t a debate about restricting speech,” McConnell said. “The question we’ll face is about conduct, not content,” he said. And according to McConnell, “Requiring the divestment of Beijing-influenced entities from TikTok would land squarely within established constitutional precedent.”
Clouds break just in time for many in Texas to view eclipse
In some parts of the state, the skies cleared enough for people to see the total solar eclipse.
Biden’s new student loan handout faces bipartisan skepticism in Congress
Congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are already raising concerns with President Biden over his new student loan forgiveness proposal. “The Senate should block Biden’s socialist student debt relief program,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. “Hardworking Tennesseans should not be paying for wealthy coastal elites to get PhDs in gender studies. The Supreme Court already struck down Biden’s previous student loan scam as unconstitutional, but once again, he is attempting to defy the rule of law.” Republican critics of the plan have accused him of trying to buy votes at a time when progressive youth are becoming disenchanted with Biden over his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza. House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital, “Joe Biden is forcing the American people to foot the bill for his illegal student loan bailout in a desperate attempt to save his failing campaign.” MORE STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS IS ON THE HORIZON, AS U.S. COLLEGES COMMIT TO COST TRANSPARENCY Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, similarly wrote on X that it was “just the latest example of election gimmicks where they are blatantly trying to buy votes.” Biden’s new plan would cancel up to $20,000 in interest accrued on borrower’s student loans, regardless of income level. It would also totally forgive interest for people in an income-driven repayment plan making less than $120,000. The threshold is doubled for married couples. BIDEN SANCTIONS ISRAELI SETTLERS IN WEST BANK AFTER SHOOTING OF US TEEN The proposal would forgive interest balances for up to 25 million borrowers, the White House said on Monday morning. Last spring saw a bipartisan push in Congress to block Biden’s first attempt at broad student loan forgiveness. Two Democrats joined House Republicans in voting to stop the measure from going into effect in late May. Three Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to block Biden’s plan the next month, but the president ultimately vetoed it. That first student loan proposal was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority in a 6-3 vote in July. And on the Capitol Hill side, it does not appear as if Biden managed to sway left-wing critics of his initial plan to come on board. A spokesperson for Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who voted to block the student loan plan last June, told Fox News Digital that the Democrat senator “has made it clear to President Biden that he is opposed to blanket loan cancelation that forces taxpayers to pick up the tab while failing to fix the root causes of the problem.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., pointed Fox News Digital to an earlier statement when Manchin celebrated overturning the initial proposal and attacked it as “reckless.” SOME STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS ARE GETTING REFUNDS ON TOP OF LOAN FORGIVENESS Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, who along with Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., voted with the GOP to block the initial proposal, told Fox News Digital on Monday, “I opposed President Biden’s first student debt forgiveness plan, as did the US Supreme Court when it ruled the president’s approach to be unconstitutional. These are new proposals, and I will take the time necessary to review them before commenting on them.” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., accused Biden of trying to circumvent the Supreme Court, which ruled against Biden’s initial student loan plan last year. “American taxpayers, including those who didn’t go to college, should not be forced to foot the bill for Joe Biden’s student loan bailout. His latest scheme is not only a slap in the face to the Supreme Court…it’s a slap in the face to the millions of Americans who’ve worked hard to avoid student debt,” Emmer told Fox News Digital. House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said in a statement, “The problem is these so-called solutions to the student loan system outlined in the President’s plans forces taxpayers — many of whom never stepped foot on a college campus — to pay for loans others willingly took out and benefited from….Students, families, and taxpayers deserve real solutions to lower the cost of college and fix the federal student loan program.” In response to a request for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson pointed to comments made to reporters by a senior administration official clarifying that this plan differs from the one shot down by the high court. “You know, we have studied the Supreme Court’s decision carefully. We intend to pursue these regulations in a way that is entirely consistent with that decision. The plans differ from the administration’s prior pandemic relief proposal in a number of significant ways, and the Department’s proceeding under different legal authority, which is longstanding. And the plans involve different considerations by providing targeted relief to borrowers with particular circumstances,” the official said.
Crisis in California: Hamas-style attack could happen to us, border mayor warns as migrant surge continues
The surge of migrants across the southern border — including those who aren’t caught by immigration officials — presents a clear national security threat, California officials told Fox News. “I don’t think it’s out of the question to believe that a Hamas-style attack that happened Oct. 7 could happen to us,” El Cajon Mayor and congressional candidate Bill Wells said. “That another 9/11-style attack or something we’ve never even seen before could happen.” “I’m not trying to scaremonger, but I think you’d have to be foolish not to believe that,” he added. CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA: MIGRANTS OVERWHELMING STATE WITH ‘NO END IN SIGHT,’ LOCAL OFFICIALS WARN Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens last month described not knowing who is crossing the southern border illegally as a “national security threat.” “What’s keeping me up at night is the 140,000 known gotaways” so far in fiscal year 2024, Owens said during a “Face the Nation” interview on CBS, referring to migrants who trigger sensors or are seen on camera crossing the border, but are not taken into custody. Border Patrol doesn’t know what those individuals are bringing into the country, nor what their intentions are in the United States, he said. “Those things for us are what represent the threat to our communities,” he said. “Border security is a big piece of national security.” ‘SPINELESS’: TEXAS RANCHER SAYS LEADERS MAKING US A ‘LAUGHINGSTOCK’ AS BORDER RESIDENTS LIVE IN FEAR Authorities arrested Fredy Ivan Jandres-Parada, described by the FBI as a senior leader of MS-13, last month at the California-Mexico border after more than three years on the run, the Los Angeles Times reported. Two weeks later, Border Patrol agents reported catching another MS-13 member trying to sneak into the country near Calexico, just east of the agency’s San Diego sector. “I’m glad they caught this individual,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said of Jandres-Parada. “But how many others have come across that we don’t know of?” Desmond has visited the border and transit stations where migrants have been dropped, seeing and talking with people from Haiti, India, Pakistan, China and other countries. “Communist China is not always our friend, and so there’s tensions there,” he said. “To have many of their people just walking across our border — maybe they have good intentions, but maybe they don’t.” WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE Desmond also argued “proper vetting is not taking place,” pointing out that border officials can only check crime and terrorism databases from the United States and some of its allies. “They don’t have China’s database. They don’t have Pakistan’s database or Venezuela, that database, to check to see if these people have any type of criminal background,” he said. Nationwide, there were more than 3.2 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2023, primarily at the southern land border, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Although monthly encounters have slowed since reaching a high of 370,899 in December, 2024 is still on track to set a new yearly record. “Someday we’re going to get a rude awakening,” Desmond said. “Something’s going to happen that involves people coming across the border that mean us harm and then being able to pull something off.” After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Wells said “everybody was very security-minded.” “We never would have thought that we would allow people to just flood into the country with no checking on their background whatsoever and just say, ‘No, it’s all going to be fine because they need asylum,’” he said. “We’ve changed so much in that short period of time, and I think we’re going to pay a price for it,” Wells added. To hear more from Wells and Desmond, click here.
Maryland lawmakers focus on bridge collapse relief as legislative session closes
Maryland lawmakers pushed into the final hours of their legislative session Monday, largely putting the finishing touches on priority legislation that includes a measure to help employees at the Port of Baltimore affected by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The measure authorizing use of the state’s rainy day fund to help port employees has strong support and was expected to pass. The stunning March 26 bridge collapse and its impact on a key economic engine prompted lawmakers to act in the last two weeks of the session. “One of our top priorities for Sine Die is to pass the PORT Act to assist all who have been impacted by the collapse of the Key Bridge,” Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat, said in a statement, referring to the Latin phrase used for the last day of the session. “Our members have important bills that still need to get across the finish line, so I’m looking forward to a productive last day.” CREWS BEGIN TO REMOVE CONTAINERS FROM BARGE THAT HIT BALTIMORE BRIDGE A measure to rebuild Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, home of the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, remained before lawmakers, who face a midnight deadline for adjournment. For the most part, lawmakers have either passed priority measures to Gov. Wes Moore, or moved them into place for fine-tuning before sending them to the governor on Monday. “We’re proud of the fact that we as an administration and we as a state have been able to respond to the crisis of the Key Bridge, while also not losing sight that we have an aggressive legislative package that we have to get across the finish line, and we’re proud of the results,” Moore told reporters early Monday afternoon. The governor also said he believed the measure to rebuild Pimlico was important. “We think it’s important to not just make sure that we’re protecting an industry that means a lot to this state, not just in terms of its history but in terms of its future, but also this is an important bill for the community,” Moore said. Public safety measures were acted on this session, with some high-profile ones already approved by the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats. Measures to protect officials, like judges and elections officials, have already been sent to Moore, a Democrat. Under one measure, Maryland judges would be able to shield personal information online to prevent hostile people from tracking them down. The Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson Judicial Security Act is named for the judge who was fatally shot by a man in October just hours after Wilkinson ruled against him in a divorce case. Lawmakers also already approved a bill proposed by Moore to enable authorities to prosecute people who threaten to harm election officials or their immediate family members, as threats against elections officials are on the rise across the country in a major election year. The governor’s legislative agenda was either already greenlighted or on track to final passage. Moore appeared in person earlier in the session to testify in support of measures aimed at making housing more affordable and protecting renters, telling lawmakers that Maryland is facing “a true housing crisis,” largely due to a lack of housing supply. Moore, who previously served as the CEO of one of the nation’s largest poverty-fighting organizations, also came before lawmakers in support of legislation addressing child poverty. On Friday, lawmakers gave final passage to juvenile justice reforms aimed at improving accountability and rehabilitation in response to complaints about increasing crimes like auto theft and handgun violations. One key provision would bring children ages 10, 11 and 12 into the juvenile justice system for handgun violations, third-degree sex offenses and aggravated animal abuse. For auto thefts, children of those ages would go through the Child in Need of Services process, in which a judge can order treatment and services, but youths would not be incarcerated. The measure also creates greater oversight of personnel with a new commission, and greater documentation is required when youths are detained. The Pimlico measure appeared to be facing uncertain prospects down the stretch. The measure, introduced late in the session, would use $400 million in state bonds to reconstruct the home of the Preakness Stakes. The House passed the bill 104-34 this month, and the measure is now in the Senate. The Senate president told reporters Friday “I have every confidence in the world that we have the right people making decisions, and we’ll get to the right place in the next 72 hours.” Lawmakers gave final approval to the state’s $63 billion budget on Friday, agreeing to some tax and fee increases to help pay for education and transportation. Still, the revenue increases were less than some lawmakers had hoped for, deferring discussion of how to find larger revenues to the next session that starts in January.
Trump makes another appeal to Georgia court to dismiss charges on First Amendment grounds
Former president Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case have asked a judge to let them appeal the indictment against them on First Amendment grounds. On Monday, Trump filed a joint motion with 14 co-defendants asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to allow them to appeal his April 4 order in which he said the charges should not be tossed because the defendants’ “actions and statements” about the 2020 presidential election were not constitutionally protected. In the Monday filing, Trump and the defendants argue that while the court held the indictment is not subject to dismissal, interlocutory appellate review of the defendants’ “vital constitutional protections,” is “both prudent and warranted.” “President Trump and the other unjustly accused defendants have jointly filed a motion requesting the Court to grant a certificate of immediate review of its Order denying their pretrial First Amendment challenges,” Steve Sadow, attorney for Trump said in a statement. JUDGE DENIES DONALD TRUMP’S MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES IN GEORGIA ELECTION CASE “The motion powerfully expresses that the Indictment wrongfully criminalizes core political speech and expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. There is no democracy without robust and uninhibited freedom of expression. For these reasons among others, the Court’s Order is ripe for pretrial appellate review,” he said. McAfee has 10 days from his April 4 order to decide whether or not to let the parties appeal. If he does, they will have 10 days from that order to appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals or the Georgia Supreme Court. An interlocutory appeal is an appeal of a non-final order issued during the course of litigation. “Interlocutory appellate review is prudent because Defendants’ challenges, if successful, would bar virtually every count of the Indictment against virtually every Defendant. Resolution of these outcome determinative issues before multiple, lengthy jury trials makes sense,” the filing states. “Immediate appellate review is warranted because the challenges relate to Defendants’ core political, free speech rights in the context of then-ongoing aftermath of the 2020 Presidential election,” it says. “While Defendants cited a plethora of U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Court cases supporting their position, no Georgia appellate courts have addressed whether the challenged Georgia statutes can survive the criminalization of Defendants’ core political speech.” GEORGIA JUDGE ALLOWS TRUMP, CO-DEFENDANTS TO APPEAL FANI WILLIS DISQUALIFICATION DECISION “Based on the more than 45+ (mostly U.S. Supreme Court) cases and historical precedent cited to the Court, Defendants believe their arguments are well-founded and fall squarely within the almost absolute First Amendment protections in the context of their core political speech regarding 2020 Presidential election contest,” it says. John Malcolm, a former Atlanta prosecutor, told Fox News Digital he agrees with Trump and his team of lawyers that his speech about the 2020 election should be protected speech. He noted that special prosecutor Jack Smith at one point noted that former President Trump “had a right, like every American” to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won. He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means, such as by seeking recounts or audits of the popular vote in states or filing lawsuits challenging ballots and procedures.” “Following the 2020 election, Donald Trump did exactly that,” Malcolm said. “He and his legal team filed a series of lawsuits challenging the election. Trump also used the bully pulpit and social media to express his views about the election, and he spoke to legislators and other government officials in states in which he was contesting the election.” FANI WILLIS SAYS SHE’S THE ONLY DA IN US WITH ENOUGH ‘COURAGE’ TO PROSECUTE TRUMP “Donald Trump, like everyone else, had a First Amendment right to express his views on these matters and to petition government officials for a redress of grievances. After all, protecting one’s right to engage in political speech is at the core of the First Amendment,” he said. Judge McAfee last week ruled that “after considering the extensive briefing, the argument of counsel, and the indictment, the Court finds these vital constitutional protections do not reach the actions and statements alleged by the State. Nor do the statutes themselves facially violate the First Amendment.” “They argue this prosecution violates the First Amendment’s protections of political speech and activity, freedom of association, and the right to petition Congress as-applied to their alleged conduct, and further contend that the indicted charges are overbroad,” he said. McAfee said that after interpreting the indictment’s language “liberally in favor of the State as required at this pretrial stage, the Court finds that the Defendants’ expressions and speech are alleged to have been made in furtherance of criminal activity and constitute false statements knowingly and willfully made in matters within a government agency’s jurisdiction which threaten to deceive and harm the government.” Trump was indicted in August on charges that include the Georgia RICO Act, the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree and filing false documents.