Nessel, Dana

===

7 23 primary 8 23

SEE TEAM BLUE SUE TRUMP DOGE

merri ok

indict fake electors

state gop?

TRUMP COAL PLANTS OPEN

12/20 texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the election results in four states that President-elect Joe Biden won: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin. Michigan's Democratic attorney general, Dana Nessel, slammed Paxton for his frivolous lawsuit during a December 9 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe"

===

---

===

---

EPI

Consumers Energy, which owns the J.H. Campbell plant, has reported that the cost of complying with the Trump administration’s orders has reached $400 million. Consumers Energy is passing those costs on to electric utility customers throughout the 15-state Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) regional power grid that includes Michigan. Consumers Energy had previously expected that replacing the J.H. Campbell plant with solar power and energy storage would save Michigan customers $600 million by 2040.

In March, Trump appointees at the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Justice cited Stevenson’s blog post in a legal brief defending the J.H. Campbell plant orders against a legal challenge by Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel. Trump’s Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has issued multiple orders over the past year requiring Consumers Energy to delay closing the J.H. Campbell plant using emergency powers under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act.

“The Trump Administration is crying wolf over a non-existent energy emergency, while at the same time undermining every effort made to increase the efficiency, affordability, and reliability of domestic energy markets,” Nessel said last month, after Wright issued his fifth order targeting the plant for continued operation.

In his blog post, Stevenson argued that the J.H. Campbell plant should remain open at least until the Michigan Public Service Commission approves a new generation plan for Consumers Energy, and that state utility regulators should consider nuclear and natural gas as options for replacing Campbell.

The Mackinac Center wants to keep a DTE coal plant that buys petroleum coke from Koch Carbon running until 2040, rather than closing it by 2032

---

an 5 26

Over the past year, election-denying allies of President Donald Trump from both inside the government and out have sought voting data from across the country in an effort to “investigate” their assertions of electoral fraud. Now, according to new reporting from Talking Points Memo, “election conspiracy theorists” are attempting to lay the groundwork for a Department of Justice probe into Michigan.

In April, Michigan officials were left in “bewilderment” when DOJ Civil Division chief Harmeet Dhillon demanded public records pertaining to the 2024 election from the Wayne County clerk, asserting that it was part of an investigation into voter fraud. Officials weren’t bewildered because they were surprised at the request — quite the opposite, as the FBI has been scooping up voting data from districts across the country that voted against Trump, from Arizona to Georgia — but because Dhillon had sent it to the wrong office entirely, addressing it to the county clerk, when in Michigan, townships run elections.

According to local officials, her request not only suggests that Trump’s DOJ doesn’t understand the basic facts of electoral processes, but it raises pressing questions about what the president’s allies intend to do with the voting data. Election denying activists in Michigan are not shy about answering that question, asserting that they’re conducting what they call an “audit” of electoral results in an effort to fight a “cabal” of their enemies.

As Talking Points Memo explains, these investigations are “being carried out with the help of various election conspiracy theorists who are now in positions of power in the government. Kurt Olsen, a 2020 election denier, has been working as White House election security czar. Heather Honey, another activist, has an election security role at DOJ. Clay Parikh, another special government employee involved in the Fulton County raid.” While these figures provide federal support, election denying activists on the ground are doing much of the legwork.

According to Talking Points, “voter fraud alarmists” are “using documents obtained last year from a massive FOIA lawsuit that sought copies of Detroit’s 2020 ballots and other records. Yehuda Miller, a New Jersey-based activist who has been involved in election denialism for the last several years, obtained hundreds of thousands of ballot images from the City of Detroit. The question now on the minds of some Michigan elections officials is whether Miller’s ‘audit’ — regardless of how baseless and misleading the results may be — will prompt federal action. And, whether the conclusions that Miller has drawn may have already made their way to the Trump DOJ.”

Chris Thomas, who ran elections for the state of Michigan for nearly 40 years and faced a “mob” trying to stop the count in 2020, says that “those seeking the records have been in communication with a voter fraud alarmism nonprofit called Michigan Fair Elections and with the far-right, conspiracy theorist website Gateway Pundit, and say that they’ve enlisted dozens of volunteers to comb through the ballots.” He says it’s possible that the DOJ already has the FOIA data, and that the “‘audit’ could yield results that, while bogus to anyone familiar with election law, prompt some form of action” from the agency. He has his doubts, however, that the amateur investigation would prove useful in any potential criminal proceedings, saying, “I don’t think that stuff would stand up at all.”

While Talking Points notes that it’s unclear whether Miller is working directly with the DOJ, his activist allies have said they would share their findings with the agency.

“I sure as heck am going to be sharing it with everybody that I know, and I’ve got a lot of contacts up in the DOJ,” said Patrick Colbeck, an election conspiracy theorist and former GOP Michigan state senator. “Everything they share, I will make sure it gets to them,” he asserted, referring to the DOJ.

---

---}:

AN 11 25

A Trump administration order to keep an aging and unneeded Michigan coal-fired power plant open and online reportedly is costing taxpayers about $615,000 per day, or $113 million to date. Closing the plant would save taxpayers about $640 million by 2040.

“The Trump administration in May ordered utility giant Consumers Energy to keep the 63-year-old JH Campbell coal plant in western Michigan, about 100 miles north-east of Chicago, online just as it was being retired,” according to The Guardian.

“The costs of unnecessarily running this jalopy coal plant just continue to mount,” Michael Lenoff, an attorney with Earthjustice, which is suing over the order, told The Guardian.v

President Donald Trump signed a national energy emergency order on his first day in office this year, rolling back regulations.

In court documents, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said that the administration’s latest order is “arbitrary and illegal.”

Consumers Energy, the operator of the plant, did not ask the Trump administration for the order to keep the coal plant running, and the Trump administration did not consult local regulators, a spokesperson for the Michigan public service commission (MPSC), told the Guardian in May.

“The unnecessary recent order … will increase the cost of power for homes and businesses in Michigan and across the midwest,” the chair of the MPSC, Dan Scripps, said in a statement at the time.

Reporting on what it called Trump’s “pro-fossil fuel agenda,” The Guardian in January quoted the president:

“We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it – let me use it,” Trump said in his inaugural address. “We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.”

===

---

AN 5 25 STATES N

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump, with the help of billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has sought to vastly reduce the number of government workers through mass firings, drawing concern, criticism and several legal challenges.

According to a report from Reuters, Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory body created through an executive order, has prompted the firing, severance and early retirement of more than 260,000 government employees. However, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston has issued a temporary restraining order, blocking efforts to restructure the federal government.

In March, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his own DOGE-related cuts, aiming to terminate 20,000 full time employees and reorganize the department’s 28 divisions to 15. The department has also closed its regional offices in Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle, halving its total regional facilities.

IFrame Content

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

However, a coalition of 20 attorneys general, including Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, have taken legal action against Kennedy and several department officials, arguing these cuts would functionally dismantle the DHHS.

If the court doesn’t provide immediate relief, and the case is allowed to play out, Nessel warned that these cuts could cause “immeasurable harm” to the nation and its health system.

“You’re essentially leaving the agency, as a whole, completely dysfunctional by eliminating so many departments or regions, you know entire offices just wiped off the map and, of course, getting rid of some people with some incredible expertise,” Nessel told the Michigan Advance

The DHHS is eliminating roughly 3,500 employees at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 at the Centers for Disease Control, 1,200 at the National Institutes of Health and 300 at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

It will also work to consolidate the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health under the new Administration for a Healthy America.

Public health and infectious diseases know no borders, Nessel said, warning that the decision to shutter regional health programs, close CDC labs and close all 10 of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services’ regional offices jeopardizes public health in every community.

“Also it’s just a flagrant violation of the law. Disregards the separation of powers, and it places this new burden now, of course, on the states, because there are certain things that you rely upon the federal government to do, especially in terms of coordinating efforts between the states,” Nessel said.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE

“Let’s say you have an outbreak of a new variant in bird flu that could impact the entire country. Maybe that happens in Vermont. Is Vermont supposed to coordinate that response with Michigan? You know, it’s the CDC that does that. How are we supposed to make up for that?” Nessel questioned.

While the state has its own lab testing capabilities, the federal government and its labs act as a conduit for sharing data with the states and across the nation, as well as monitoring other countries.

“They fill this incredibly important role in terms of preventing the next global pandemic and mitigating it here in Michigan. And it’s a burden that, frankly, the state simply can’t sustain. It’s the reason why we have a federal government,” Nessel said.

Additionally, it’s the federal government’s job to ensure its laws are enforced, Nessel said, and Congress delegates money to ensure those laws are complied with. Deciding to withhold those funds and cut staffing without regard for which workers are essential, and shutting down offices without regard for whether the department can continue to comply with federal law not only violates the law and the Constitution in a myriad of ways, Nessel contends, but it compromises the safety and health of people in Michigan.

While Kennedy said the intent of the cuts was to address waste and inefficiency within the department, Nessel said the argument doesn’t hold water due to the way the DHHS approached its firings.

“It’s not as if it took any significant period of time to evaluate, you know, is this really a necessary function of the government, and do we really need this to fulfill the mission of this agency? There were no determinations of any kind made like that” Nessel said, pointing to comments Kennedy made to the media where he admitted 20% of cuts at the agency were a mistake, and would need to be reinstated.

[VID] He he had forgone a line-by-line review of each employee’s jobs because “it takes too long, and you lose political momentum.”

Among those cuts were doctors and the administrator of the World Trade Center Health program, which certify illnesses in first responders and survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks as part of the requirements of the Zadroga Act, with the New York Daily News reporting nearly all 16 employees cut from the program had been rehired as of May 7, including the program’s director, James Howard.

“If you were more careful and cautious before you fired them in the first place, maybe we wouldn’t have this issue,” Nessel said.

The case filed by the attorneys general points to several other examples of offices impacted by the cuts, including the Food and Drug Administration missing a vaccine application deadline and canceling a critical test for the bird flu virus, suspending the testing program for a year.

The case also points to Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views and history of promoting misinformation about vaccination.

According to the filing, some FDA employees were told to go home following the March 27 downsizing announcement and prepare for the possibility that they would not be back. If they received a termination email, they would lose access to the building.

“Beginning in the early morning of April 1, 2025, HHS employees in all offices, administrations, agencies and sub-agencies began to receive termination notices. Some employees had not seen their early morning termination email before leaving for the office, and were surprised when they arrived at work to find their access cards had been deactivated,” the case reads.

“Many notices contained errors. For example, some listed incorrect information about workers’ recent performance ratings. At FDA, the listed point of contact for the Equal Employment Opportunity office had departed a month earlier,” it says.

While this case doesn’t directly address that lack of support and protection for employees, several unions and groups of federal employees have taken legal action on these concerns.

“It’s embarrassing and disturbing to see any workers treated like this, but especially, you know, ones that have worked so hard to protect the American people,” Nessel said.

She also pointed to the ways these firings would impact the economy, calling them “penny wise but pound foolish.”

In the announcement, Kennedy promised to lower costs for taxpayers, with the 10,000 person layoff expected to cut down on $1.8 billion a year. However, Nessel said these costs would crop up in other ways.

“What has a bigger impact on the economy than people’s health, you know? If people are too sick to be able to work, that’s a problem,” Nessel said, noting that widespread infectious disease can have a devastating impact on the economy.

“It’s not just that we’re not really saving money. We’re going to lose an unknown amount of money, an untold amount of money, if people who could otherwise have been healthy are not healthy,” Nessel said.

While Michigan is still assembling its state-specific declarations, these firings will also impact the state’s efforts on issues like mental health and create issues in how they distribute resources within their budgets, Nessel said.

“If we’re trying to prioritize and say, ‘Well, how much money are we going to spend on substance abuse, or how much money are we going to spend on mental health treatment?’ It’s kind of important to know how much of it you’re going to get from the federal government. And because this is done in such a chaotic manner, it’s really hard to know,” Nessel said.

In addition to their case on the mass firings, Nessel and 23 other attorneys general filed suit against Kennedy and the DHHS for terminating almost $11 billion in critical public health grants across the country.

That includes $379.3 million in grant funding awarded and owed to the State of Michigan for certain mental health and substance abuse grants and grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meant to support infectious disease control and vaccinations for children and vulnerable adults, among other programs.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

---

===

an 12 24

The Michigan Court of Appeals on Friday upheld criminal charges against two far-right operatives who prosecutors say made a series of robocalls in the state during the 2020 election particularly targeting Black voters in Detroit.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that criminal charges had been filed against Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl back in 2020 after it had been found that the pair had made about 85,000 calls spreading misinformation and fear about voting across Midwestern states.

After hearing arguments concerning the case in November of 2023, the Michigan Supreme Court (MSC) supported assertions that Burkman and Wohl had utilized “corrupt means” and instructed the Court of Appeals to examine whether the pair’s actions violated state election laws.

The Michigan Supreme Court concluded in June of this year that the defendants attempted to deter Black metro Detroiters from participating in the 2020 election using the “immoral or depraved” method of spreading election misinformation, particularly for mail-in voting, using “racially based motives”.

“Defendants discussed their desire to “hi-jack this boring election” and arranged for the distribution of a robocall specifically to “black neighborhoods” with the call stating that the consequences of mail-in voting would include voter information being used by police departments to effectuate old warrants, by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts, and (potentially) by the CDC to support mandatory vaccination efforts,” the MSC wrote in its opinion in June.

In that opinion, the MSC ruled that the Court of Appeals needed to review whether Burkman and Wohl’s conduct violated Michigan law, specifically a section of election law pertaining to elector influence.

Michigan’s election laws say, “A person shall not attempt, by means of bribery, menace, or other corrupt means or device, either directly or indirectly, to influence an elector in giving his or her vote, or to deter the elector from, or interrupt the elector in giving his or her vote at any election held in this state.”

On Friday, the Michigan Court of Appeals found that because the calls directly pertained to misinformation about mail-in voting and promlegating false information in order to disrupt and deter Black voters in Michigan, they violate the law and Burkman and Wohl’s criminal charges stand.

“There can be no reasonable dispute that voting by mail is a voting procedure. That is, voting by mail is “a particular way of accomplishing” voting, which fits the definition of “procedure.” The robocall was related to the procedure, because it alleged that, if a voter used the voting procedure identified, certain negative events “will” occur,” Court of Appeals Judge Anica Letica wrote in the opinion.

In a dissenting opinion, Court of Appeals Judge James Redford argued that the robocalls did not pertain to voting requirements or procedures, but rather possible negative consequences of participating in absentee voting, so the court has not fulfilled the inquiries set out by the Michigan Supreme Court to uphold the charges.

Nessel applauded the court’s decision saying in a statement her office looks forward to the case being brought to trial.

“Voter intimidation infringes upon the fundamental right to vote,” Nessel said “I am grateful the Court of Appeals saw this conduct for what it was—a gross misrepresentation of voting procedures meant to scare voters from participating in our elections.”

---

4 24

CNN —

Former President Donald Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Michigan attorney general’s probe into the attempts to overturn the 2020 election in that state, an investigator testified Wednesday.

The investigator also said the list of unindicted co-conspirators includes ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis.

The revelations came at a pretrial hearing in Lansing for some of Michigan’s fake electors, who have been charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in her investigation into the attempts to subvert the 2020 election.

Nessel, a Democrat, charged 16 fake Republican electors from Michigan last summer. CNN reported in December that the investigation was ongoing and appeared to be expanding. One of those charged already agreed to cooperate with Nessel’s prosecutors, in exchange for the charges being dropped. The remaining 15 defendants have all pleaded not guilty.

Special agent Howard Shock, one of the lead investigators in Nessel’s probe, was asked Wednesday in court by a defense attorney for one of the fake electors to confirm whether specific people are co-conspirators. Shock answered “yes” when the lawyer asked about Trump, Meadows, Giuliani and Ellis.

Trump, Giuliani, Meadows and Ellis aren’t facing charges in Michigan. They were all indicted in Georgia’s sweeping 2020 election interference case. Ellis pleaded guilty in that case last year; the others deny wrongdoing.

A spokesperson for Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the revelation. CNN is reaching out to attorneys representing Trump, Meadows and Ellis.

A spokesman for Giuliani, Ted Goodman, said in a statement that “the continued weaponization of our justice system should concern all Michiganders and Americans.”

The state-level investigation has focused intensely on the actions of the individual fake electors, who were charged with felonies last summer. But since then, there have been some indications that prosecutors were looking at the broader Trump-backed attempts to overturn the results in Michigan, where he lost by about 155,000.

Investigators in December interviewed pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who played a leading role in the fake electors plot. CNN previously reported that investigators asked him about Trump, Giuliani, and Trump campaign operatives, inquiring about how they factored into the attempts to interfere with the results in Michigan and beyond.

Indictments over fake electors scheme in Arizona

The Trump campaign had a seven-state scheme to subvert the Electoral College process after he lost the 2020 election, and prosecutors in several states have pursued charges against fake electors.

CNN reported later Wednesday that a grand jury in Arizona had handed up an indictment against Trump’s allies over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, including the fake electorsfrom that state and several individuals connected to his campaign.

Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who remains one of Trump’s closest advisers; Meadows; and Giuliani are among those who have been indicted, according to a source familiar with the investigation. CNN is reaching out to those charged for comment.

While Trump is not among those charged in Arizona, the details in the indictment suggest he is “Unindicted Coconspirator 1.”

State prosecutors in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada have now charged at least some of the fake electors in their states. An investigation is still underway in Wisconsin. Prosecutors in New Mexico and Pennsylvania have declined to bring charges.

===

an 8 23

Leaked recording reveals Michigan Trump ally ranting about 'civil war' after fake elector wife is indicted

Matthew Chapmanand Raw Story August 11, 2023

Michigan State Rep. Matt Maddock, the husband of one of the 16 fake electors in that state who were indicted on multiple felonies last month, is warning that MAGA loyalists could escalate their violence to the level of war in an audio recording reported by The Messenger on Friday.

“If the government continues to weaponize these departments against conservatives and the citizens that are then the taxpayers, you know what's going to happen to this country,” Matt Maddock asks, according to the audio obtained by The Messenger.

After attendees at the event shout possibilities, Maddock answers his own question: “Someone's going to get so pissed off, they're going to shoot someone. That's what's going to happen. Or we're going have a civil war or some sort of revolution. That's where this is, where this is going.”

"The comments, which Matt Maddock made days after former President Donald Trump was indicted by the Department of Justice for his actions around the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol, came at what was billed as a 'Free The 16 Electors Poolside Party!' at the Maddock’s home, hosted by Grand New Party PAC, an organization that is 'working to renew the Republican Party from within,'" reported Dan Merica.

The event is intended to raise proceeds for their legal fund to fight "Evil AG Dana Nessel."

The fake electors, including his wife and former Michigan GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, are not the only ones facing legal consequences. The fake Trump electors in Georgia, including state party chair David Shafer, are under criminal investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and the false electors in Wisconsin are facing a civil suit brought by two of the real electors and a voter.

The Michigan GOP has descended into chaos in recent months, after failed secretary of state candidate and QAnon conspiracy theorist Kristina Karamo took over as chair. Party officials are now warring with each other over the unclear state of their finances, culminating in a physical brawl at a GOP meeting that put one person in the hospital and has state officials investigating.

GOPer accusing Biden of 'treason' say he’ll file impeachment resolution related to 'drugs an prostitution'

'Very scary': Former RNC staffer dishes on the more terrifying members of GOP's right-wing

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

Ex-Michigan GOP co-chair pleads not guilty to accusations she posed as fake elector for Trump ›

'We did not violate any laws': Michigan GOP leaders charged in 2020 election scheme ›

New leak paints 'alarming financial picture' of Michigan GOP: report ›

===

an 8 23

Michigan mayor faces calls to resign at city meeting as constituents sound off on fake elector scheme

kent Vanderwood, the mayor of Wyoming, MI, on Monday fielded calls to resign as the city held its first City Commission meeting since Vanderwood and 15 others were charged with multiple felonies in connection to an alleged fake elector scheme intended to re-elect former President Donald Trump.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last month announced a slew of charges against the 16 defendants, including conspiracy to commit forgery, forgery, conspiracy to commit election law forgery and election law forgery. Vanderwood was arraigned in court on Aug. 4.

As NBC 8 reports, “Vanderwood is among 16 people accused of meeting in December 2020 to sign a document saying they were Michigan’s electors and directing the state’s votes to former President Donald Trump.” The accused allegedly transmitted that document to the U.S. Senate and National Archives.

“The false electors’ actions undermined the public’s faith in the integrity of our elections and, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan,” Nessel said in a statement announcing the charges.

Last week, Vanderwood’s attorney Brian Lennon called the charges “ completely off base” and promised his client will be “fully vindicated,” MLive reports. He also said his client would not be stepping down as Wisconsin mayor.

Per NBC 8, commentators at the City Commission meeting on Monday were split on whether Vanderwood should remain in office.

“ His name is on the paper,” one commenter said. “You cannot deny that. This is a stain on this city, a stain on our state, and we must get back to some type of decency and civility in our government. It resulted in an insurrection against our government. Five people lost their lives due to this action that is perpetrated against this country. Our mayor has to be held accountable for his part in that. Each of us must be accountable for our silence in that. I ask this mayor to resign.”

In a letter, an advocacy group called The Democracy Coalition urged Vanderwood to resign to “reinforce public trust” and demonstrate “a commitment to addressing this issue transparently.”

“While we recognize the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the pending criminal charges are extremely serious,” the group wrote. “We firmly believe that it is in the best interest of the city you serve for Mr. Vanderwood to resign from his position.”

:{Still, other constituents spoke in support of Vanderwood at the meeting.

“We have a right to an alternate elector when there is a question about the elector,” Phillip Smith argued during the meeting.

One commenter called Vanderwood “if a man of integrity” who “ loves the Lord” and the Constitution.}:

“For the attorney general to come out with charges three years after in a seemingly pointed fishing expedition against those who might have a difficult viewpoint needs to be thought through,” that commenter claimed.

===

https://www.alternet.org/michigan-ag-indicts-fake-electors/

===

AN 2 22

A debate between the Republicans running for Michigan attorney general confirmed warnings from reproductive rights advocates that Republicans aren’t going to stop with abortion bans—they’re coming for birth control next. In the last question of last Friday’s debate, all three men said they thought the 1965 Supreme Court decision striking down laws banning the sale of contraception had been wrongly decided, because states’ rights.

At least two of the three candidates did not know what Griswold v. Connecticut was about—which itself is kind of an issue in people campaigning to be Michigan’s top lawyer, since Griswold is a pretty damn famous case. (I literally learned about it in high school, and I am not a lawyer.) But all three agreed, once they learned what it was, that it was bad.

The Connecticut law struck down in Griswold allowed the prosecution of married couples for buying contraception. In Griswold, the Supreme Court said that the law violated the “right to marital privacy,” foreshadowing the privacy right that would be invoked in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Here’s what the Michigan Republicans seeking to be the state’s top law enforcement officer had to say about the marital right to privacy around birth control decisions.

“Remind me,” Tom Leonard, the former speaker of the state House, said. After an explanation, he was ready to condemn the decision.

“Yeah, okay, I just, and I wanted clarification,” Leonard said. “This case, much like Roe v. Wade, I believe was wrongly decided, because it was an issue that trampled states’ rights and it was an issue that should have been left up to the states.”

State Rep. Ryan Berman literally pulled out his phone during that exchange.

”Yeah, you know what, I wasn’t familiar with Griswold v. Connecticut,but I’m an advanced legal researcher so I pulled it up real quick to look what it’s about,”he said. “And it says the court ruled that the Constitution did in fact protect the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on contraception. Again, I would have to look more into it and the reasoning behind it, but I’m all about states’ rights and limiting federal judicial activism.”

Matthew DePerno, endorsed by Donald Trump for enthusiastically signing on to the Big Lie about the 2020 elections, had the same basic answer, minus the admission that he didn’t know what he was talking about.

”Listen, all these cases that deal—Griswold, Roe v. Wade, Dobbs— these are all state right issues.I think that’s what we’re gonna see with the US Supreme Court. They’re gonna come down on the side that these liberty issues—number one, the wide expanse that was given on Roe v. Wade and this litany—are unworkable. The Supreme Court has to deal with that, has to decide, mark my words, that the privacy issue currently is unworkable. It’s going to be a state right issue on all of these things—as it should be!”

DePerno wasn’t done. “We need to start defending state rights as attorney generals, across this country,” he said. “Too many people, even in our own party, too many people have lost the idea of what states’ rights means. They haven’t read the works of our Founding Fathers. They haven’t read The Federalist Papers. They continue to push the idea that we need to give rights away to the federal government. We don’t.We need to take state rights back. We need to stand in our borders. When the feds come and try to take our rights, we need to stand as citizens in Michigan and hold the line and protect states’ rights.”

So, yes. Republicans are 100% coming for the right to obtain birth control once the Trump Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, with that decision likely coming this June. Already some states are advancing personhood legislation, which would declare an embryo or fetus to be a legal person. Such laws criminalize abortion, but they also potentially ban forms of birth control like the pill, IUDs, and emergency contraception.

”All 3 Republicans running for Michigan Attorney General just stated that they oppose the ruling in Griswold v Connecticut which outlawed prosecuting married couples for using contraception,”Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel tweeted Friday evening. “You read that right. Terrifying.”

Lots of people who support abortion rights spent years responding lackadaisically to warnings that Republicans were stacking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and legalize abortion bans. Now we see how true those warnings were, as they come to fruition. It’s time to sit up and listen to the warnings that Republicans won’t stop there.

===

she has been a little busy?

no lnx Why did a Democratic AG kill the Flint water RICO case?

Why did a Democratic AG kill the Flint water RICO case?

Dana Nessel

Kenny Stancil and Common Dreams January 18, 2022

Prosecutors investigating Flint's contaminated water crisis were pursuing a racketeering case against public officials whose austerity-driven policies caused the health catastrophe, but after newly elected Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel took over in 2019, those charges were dropped.

That's according to investigative journalist Jordan Chariton and Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Charlie LeDuff's explosive new story, which was published Monday in The Guardian and sparked fresh questions about holding perpetrators responsible for the ongoing calamity.

The Flint water crisis began nearly eight years ago when an unelected emergency manager appointed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, made the cost-cutting decision to switch the city's tap water source from Detroit's municipal supply to the Flint River, whose highly corrosive water caused aging pipes to leak lead into thousands of homes.

From 2016 to 2018, prosecutors working under Michigan's Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette were reportedly preparing to use a federal anti-organized crime statute—the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act—against state and city officials who, along with JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, played a role in the poisoning of Flint. But after those investigators were dismissed and the probe resumed under a new team, the RICO case never materialized.

Environmental justice defender Monica Lewis-Patrick said Monday that "water warriors NEED to know" why Nessel "dropped the RICO charges in the Flint water crisis."

When Republican Schuette was running for governor against then-Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer in 2018, Nessel, a Democrat, characterized the term-limited AG she was aiming to replace as "an opportunist who has used the crisis to further his political ambitions via a series of politically charged show trials" and vowed to revamp the investigation.

Soon after winning and taking office, Nessel fired the lead prosecutors and investigators working on the Schuette-launched probe, and restarted the inquiry with a new team.

"At that point," Chariton and LeDuff reported, "the prosecution team assembled by Schuette had been working for nearly three years—and filed criminal charges against 15 Michigan state and Flint city officials, including four officials charged with financial fraud that prosecutors said triggered the water crisis."

"But when Nessel relaunched the investigation," the pair wrote, "her office dropped charges against top state and city officials, citing flaws in the Schuette-era investigation. In 2021, Nessel's office recharged several of those defendants—with a new round of indictments that included involuntary manslaughter, misconduct in office, obstruction of justice, extortion, and perjury. But gone were the financial fraud charges."

Last November, a federal judge approved a $626 million settlement for thousands of lead poisoning victims in Flint, but Chariton and LeDuff wrote Monday that "the disappearance of the financial fraud charges is significant because the bond deal that allowed the city of Flint to switch its water supply had been heavily investigated by the Schuette-era prosecution."

According to The Guardian:

In 2014, Flint needed to borrow nearly $100m to join the proposed Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA), a new regional system that Flint would join as both a customer and part owner. But at the time, the city was broke and at its borrowing limit.

A state-issued environmental order allowed the city to get around its debt limit and access $85m in funding, money earmarked for an "environmental calamity"—in this case, the cleanup of a local lime sludge pit. But the prosecution under Schuette alleged that the money supplied by this order for the cleanup was redirected for other purposes instead allowing Flint to issue tens of millions of dollars in bonds to join the KWA.

The allegedly fraudulent environmental order also mandated that the city of Flint use the Flint River as its water source while the KWA pipeline was under construction. It outlined tens of millions of dollars in upgrades needed for the city's water plant so that the plant could safely treat Flint River water for residents to drink. The problem: updates were nowhere near completed when the city switched its water supply to the Flint River in April 2014. In addition, a failure to add proper corrosion control chemicals into the Flint River water supply resulted in lead leaching off Flint's older pipes and poisoning residents' drinking water.

Peter Hammer, a Wayne State law professor who authored an extensive civil rights report on the Flint water crisis, told The Guardian that he "never understood why the attorney general disrupted the initial investigation, dropped the initial charges, or set a different direction in her new charges that chart a course away from the issues of financing the KWA pipeline."

"Her decisions mean that some of the most important questions relating to the crisis—the political and economic forces driving the KWA pipeline—are not being addressed," said Hammer. "This adds a new tragedy for the people of Flint who deserve to know the root causes of their suffering and to hold any financial wrongdoing accountable."

Responding to the new reporting, progressive podcast host Krystal Ball tweeted that "political corruption poisoned Flint and political corruption shielded the wrongdoers from accountability."

According to Flint City Council Chair Eric Mays, who closely followed the criminal probe before and after 2018, "Nessel let it go."

"Was it a lack of political or legal will? I cannot say," Mays told The Guardian. "But it bothers me to this day her team hasn't addressed it."

https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/michigan-threats-election/

In Michigan — which saw more than its share of political extremism in recent months — state Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced criminal charges against two men accused of threatening officials on Tuesday.

The men are 62-year-old Daniel Thompson, who is from Clare County, Michigan, and 43-year-old Douglas, Georgia resident Clinton Stewart.

Thompson, Nessel's office alleges, made threats against Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Elisse Slotkin, both Democrats. Those threats, according to Nessel, include threats against Stabenow in a message left on Jan. 5 and threatening remarks during a Jan. 19 conversation with one of Slotkin's employees. In addition, Nessel's office alleges that Thompson made a threatening phone call to Slotkin on April 30, 2020.

According to Nessel's office, "The voicemail message for Sen. Stabenow left by Thompson, who identified himself as a Republican, contained vulgar language and threatened violence meant to intimidate the public officials. Thompson stated he was angry about the results of the November election, that he joined a Michigan militia and that there would be violence if the election results were not changed. In an e-mail to Stabenow's office, he reiterated the threatening remarks and used vulgar language." twt doc]

stewart, meanwhile, is accused of leaving a threatening voice mail for Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens in September and describing her as an "activist judge" whose rulings were favorable to then-candidate Joe Biden. Stewart, allegedly, believed that Stephens was making decisions in favor of mail-in ballots in the hoping of swinging the 2020 presidential election to Biden in Michigan.

The charge against Stewart was filed in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, while the charge against Thompson was filed in Livingston County, Michigan.

These indictments follow a great deal of unrest in Michigan in 2020, when Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer became the target of kidnapping plot by far-right extremists who were angry over COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing measures in her state.

In an official statement on the Thompson and Stewart indictments, Nessel said, "It is unacceptable and illegal to intimidate or threaten public officials. To those who think they can do so by hiding behind a keyboard or phone, we will find you and we will prosecute you, to the fullest extent of the law. No elected official should have to choose between doing their job and staying safe."

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

Purdue Pharma Hired PR Firm That Rebranded BP After Deepwater Horizon Spill

While Purdue is not publicly traded and as a result does not have to disclose risk factors to investors, close allies of Purdue, including the Healthcare Distribution Alliance and the lobbying group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, have vocally opposed the taxes.Fellow pharmaceutical companies Mallinckrodt and Endo International have raised concerns that the taxes could materially affect their bottom line in SEC disclosures. To date just five states — New York, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Maine, and Delaware — have implemented an opioid tax or fee.

Purdue was much more generous with the Republican Attorneys General Association prior to the bankruptcy, donating $125,000 to the organization in the 2018 election cycle. Purdue also donated over $500,000 to RAGA in 2016, when the organization spent $6.4 million to reelect former pharmaceutical lobbyist Patrick Morrissey, among others, as attorney general of West Virginia. DAGA, on the other hand, has received a total of $235,000 from Purdue Pharma since October 2014 — and $155,000 from PhRMA while Purdue was a member.

Despite the contributions, only two Democratic attorneys general have broken ranks with the common front against Purdue and the Sackler family: New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Nessel has said that she believes the proposed settlement is the quickest way to get money to fight the bankruptcy. In doing so, Balderas and Nessel implicitly support the stay on litigation that has prevented victims from getting heard in court. DAGA spent over $500,000 in outside money in 2018 to ensure Nessel’s victory.

“Michigan Attorney General Nessel’s decision to support the proposed settlement as part of the Purdue bankruptcy was based on a number of factors, including bringing as much money into our state as possible as quickly as possible,” said Kelly Rossman-McKinney, a spokesperson for Nessel. “To imply that any contribution to DAGA had an impact on her decision is not only untrue, but it ignores the complexities of this matter, the myriad of stakeholders participating, and the ongoing work that is being done to maximize the value of the settlement for claimants.”

DAGA, which is set up to elect Democratic attorneys general, said that it does not use pharmaceutical contributions for campaign-related expenses. The DGA and RGA did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Purdue Pharma.

“It certainly appears that Purdue Pharma is playing the game to try to influence litigation,” said Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist with Public Citizen. “Certainly this is a good way of doing it, giving money to the governors and the attorneys general association. … [Purdue is] not doing it for partisan purposes, they seem to be doing it to influence the litigation that they are involved in.”

RAGA and DAGA, Holman said, are “organizations in which AGs have one-on-one contact not only with themselves but with any donors that give the group money. It’s a very close knit network and that’s why it makes it easy to influence the decision of AGs.”

Outside of Nessel and Balderas, Democratic attorneys general are united on a common approach: seeking a more just settlement and ensuring that litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers can continue. No state attorney general or prosecutor has filed criminal charges against the Sacklers for their role in the opioid crisis.

Informed of the campaign contributions, OxyJustice — a group founded by artist Nan Goldin, who has attracted notoriety for organizing protests that demand art institutions return donations from the Sackler — connected the donations to a settlement that recovery advocates feel is woefully inadequate. “We are alarmed, but not surprised, to learn of Purdue’s pervasive influence,” the group told The Intercept in a statement. “As we fight for transparency and accountability in Purdue’s bankruptcy, we demand that the government reject blood money—whether from campaign contributions or settlement offers. In court, the most important voices are being drowned out—those of the people harmed.”

===

roberts says 2nd time state legis closed by guns, 1st Oregon]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-14/michigan-cancels-legislative-session-to-avoid-armed-protesters?sref=Zd9D2evu

may 14

Michigan closed down its capitol in Lansing on Thursday and canceled its legislative session rather than face the possibility of an armed protest and death threats against Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The gathering, meant to advocate opening the state for business despite the coronavirus pandemic, followed one April 30 that resulted in pictures of protesters clad in military-style gear and carrying long guns crowding the statehouse. They confronted police and taunted lawmakers.

The shutdown was done with little fanfare at the end of Wednesday’s State Senate session. About 4:30 p.m., lawmakers in the Republican-majority chamber simply adjourned until Tuesday rather than call the next previously scheduled meeting for Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The Michigan State Police are closing the buildings due to the coronavirus, said spokesman Lieutenant Brian Oleksyk.

For the past week, lawmakers have been debating how to safely enable lawmakers to work and vote in session while the state’s laws allow people to bring firearms into the capitol building. The debate grew more tense in recent days as some lawmakers read about threats to the governor’s life on social media, which were published in the Detroit Metro Times.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued an opinion on May 11 saying that the State Capitol Commission -- a body of six lawmakers who oversee the building and its grounds -- could ban firearms. The commission voted to study a ban this week, but took no action.

Thursday’s protest, billed as “Judgment Day,” was organized by the right-wing group Michigan United for Liberty, which is protesting the state’s extended stay-at-home order. Whitmer pushed the order to the end of May while giving automakers, their suppliers and other manufacturers the green light to go back to work. On its Facebook page, the group posted a memo asking that protesters remain peaceful.

[pix: Protesters gather outside the doors of the chamber room at the Michigan Capitol Building on April 30.

Photographer: Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg]

Still, lawmakers feared a repeat of April 30, when armed protesters entered the Senate Chamber and stood above them in a visitors gallery during the session.

State Senator Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat, on Tuesday proposed a bill to ban firearms in the capitol building. The bill has heavy support from her party.

https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/conservative-group-linked-to-devos-family-organizes-protest-of-coronavirus-restrictions-in-michigan

no lnx

Conservative group linked to DeVos family organizes protest of coronavirus restrictions in Michigan

Written by Igor Derysh / Salon April 16, 2020

Protesters rallied around the country this week against stay-at-home orders forcing nonessential businesses to shut down, but Michigan’s governor warned that they may have backfired by creating “a need to lengthen” the lockdowns.

Protesters in at least six states planned to protest restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus this week. In Michigan, a conservative group linked to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ family organized “Operation Gridlock” to protest restrictions on nonessential businesses and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recent order barring travel between homes. The state is among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, reporting more than 27,000 confirmed cases and 1,909 deaths.

A convoy of motorists protested Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic directive, calling on state leaders to allow small businesses to reopen.

Dubbed “Operation Gridlock,” the demonstration jammed the streets around the capitol. https://t.co/5qef4M6K1e pic.twitter.com/zbpvG4OWns

— ABC News (@ABC) April 15, 2020

Some protesters, several of whom wore pro-Trump gear, gathered on the capitol steps as many remained in their cars. Demonstrators chanted “recall Whitmer” and “lock her up,” a chant normally usually used by Trump supporters in reference to his 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Chants of “recall Whitmer,” “USA” and “lock her up” outside Michigan Capitol. #OperationGridlock pic.twitter.com/7Q7niiNFUF

— Malachi Barrett (@PolarBarrett) April 15, 2020

Whitmer, who has feuded with President Donald Trump over the delayed federal response to the crisis, argued that “it wasn’t really about the stay-at-home order at all.”

“It was essentially a political rally — a political statement that flies in the face of all of the science and all of the best practices from the stay-at-home order that was issued,” the Democrat told MSNBC on Wednesday.

Whitmer said the cars “were blocking one of our hospitals, so an ambulance literally wasn’t able to get into the bay for ten minutes.”

“We know that this demonstration is going to come at a cost to people’s health,” she said. “The sad irony of the protest is that they don’t like to be in this stay-at-home order, but they might have just created a need to lengthen it.”

Other states saw smaller protests against the coronavirus restrictions.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, had his news briefing interrupted Wednesday by dozens of protesters. The small group chanted, blew horns and shouted into a megaphone to drown out the governor’s comments. The protesters chanted “we want to work” and “facts over fear.”

Protesters who oppose Gov. Andy Beshear’s decision to close businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus have gathered en masse outside the room where he is doing his daily #COVID19 press conference, crying out “We want to work!” and now “Facts over fear!” pic.twitter.com/49812u8G4R

— Morgan Watkins (@morganwatkins26) April 15, 2020

Scientists and business executives alike have repeatedly argued that the economy cannot simply reopen if the risk of infection remains high.

“We do have some folks up in here in Kentucky today – and everybody should be able to express their opinion – that believe we should reopen Kentucky immediately, right now,” Beshear said at the briefing. “Folks, that would kill people. That would absolutely kill people.”

Dozens of protesters also gathered outside of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s Monday news briefing to call for an end to the state’s stay-at-home order. DeWine, a Republican, has also received criticism from his own party for issuing a stay-at-home order, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

This photo, from an Ohio protest demanding opening the economy, is everything (taken by Joshua A. Bickel for The Columbus Dispatch) pic.twitter.com/WlSHauMvjM

— Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp) April 15, 2020

DeWine told MSNBC that he would not reopen the economy until medical experts deem it safe to do so.

“Whenever we open up, however we do it, if people aren’t confident, if they don’t think they’re safe, they’re not going to go to restaurants,” he said. “They’re not going to go to bars. They’re not going to really get back into society.”

Dozens of individuals also gathered in Utah to protest the business closures, carrying signs like “Resist like it’s 1776” and “America will never be a socialist country,” according to KSL-TV.

Walk for Freedom on Wednesday-Southern #Utah doesn’t let a pandemic get in the way of a protest #COVID19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/JbpA8jCkt9

— Scott Schwebke (@TheChalkOutline) April 16, 2020

The state’s stay-at-home order was set to expire this week, but Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, extended it through May 1.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that in order for us to slow the spread and to get back on our feet socially and economically, this is not the time” to reopen, he said earlier this week.

At least one protester was arrested in North Carolina after about 100 protesters gathered in Raleigh to protest the state’s stay-at-home order. The Raleigh Police Department warned that “protesting is not listed as an essential function.”

Holly Springs woman arrested during protest to Reopen NC https://t.co/dcbFAiDyv5 pic.twitter.com/3SV0t6Xanx

— CBS 17 (@WNCN) April 14, 2020

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said Monday that reopening the economy prematurely would be disastrous.

“Some people want to completely obliterate these restrictions,” he said. “It would be a catastrophe. The numbers are very clear that the interventions that we’ve entered into — social gatherings, limitations on bars and restaurants, the stay at home order — those kinds of things are working.”

Protesters are also set to demonstrate against the restrictions Thursday in Virginia.

“Government mandating sick people to stay home is called quarantine. However, the government mandating healthy citizens to stay home, forcing businesses and churches to close is called tyranny,” the group ReOpen Virginia said in a statement, claiming that “thousands of concerned citizens” would gather at the state capitol.

Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, extended the business closures Wednesday through May 8.

“As we have seen from our data and models, social distancing is working, and we are slowing the spread of this virus,” he said. “But it is too early to let up. By extending this order to keep certain businesses closed or restricted, we can continue to evaluate the situation and plan for how to eventually ease restrictions so that our businesses may operate without endangering public health.”

Former Obama aide Tommy Vietor argued that the protests’ ties to conservative groups like the DeVos-linked Michigan Freedom Fund show that the demonstrations are just “astroturf” efforts “paid for by billionaires.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel slammed the protesters for defying guidelines intended to protect the public.

“Using your right to peaceably protest in such a manner as to spread a virus which may endanger your life, the lives of your friends, family and neighbors, and the lives of countless food service, law enforcement and healthcare workers does not make you a patriot,” she said. “A ‘patriot’ is defined as a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against its enemies. The enemy here is the virus-not each other.”

===

cmd

Michigan

The 2018 AG race in Michigan was another open contest between candidates with a stark contrast on energy policy. Republican candidate Tom Leonardran with explicit support for an aging Enbridge oil pipeline, while Democrat Dana Nessel pledged to shut it down in her first act as attorney general.

Enbridge did not donate to RAGA in the 2018 cycle, but ExxonMobil, with which it co-owns multiple pipelines, gave over $125,000. This year, Enbridge contributed $25,000 to RAGA.

RAGA spent at least $1.5 million backing Leonard and gave $6,800 to the Leonard campaign, but Nessel won the race. Under Nessel, Michigan has joined other Democratic states to challenge Trump initiatives including its Clean Power Plan replacement. She also withdrew the state from the Republican challenge to the Clean Power Plan and from a Murray Energy lawsuit against EPA clean air regulations, which the state had joined as a petitioner.

In the next AG race, in 2022, RAGA will very likely harness cash from its fossil fuel donors in an attempt to reinstate a pro-industry Republican.

Texas

In the Longhorn State, Attorney General Ken Paxton, RAGA's chair in 2019, ran for re-election against Democrat Justin Nelson in 2018. Like other Republican AGs seeking new terms, Paxton got major support from RAGA, which made $650,000 in direct donations to his campaign as well as $21,500 in in-kind contributions for research. Paxton won the race by 3.6 percent of the vote.

Paxton's RAGA biography boasts that he has sued the Obama administration 22 times. The suits include challenges to the Clean Power Plan, the EPA's "Regional Haze" rule, methane emission standards, and restrictions on coal mining near waterways.

This year, Paxton sued ExxonMobil over a fire at its chemical plant that injured 37 people, the fourth fire that has occured at the Bayton, Texas plant this year. But his lawsuit, filed at the state level, could upend two suits by the county in county court, putting Paxton in charge of the whole operation. Some, wary of his fossil fuel-friendly history, worry he might go easy on the oil giant.

https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/prosecutors-throw-out-charges-in-flint-water-crisis-cases-in-perplexing-and-disturbing-move/

Prosecutors throw out charges in Flint water crisis cases in perplexing and disturbing move

JESSICA CORBETT / COMMON DREAMS

14 JUN 2019 AT 01:58 ET

In a move that elicited fresh concerns and demands for justice, the Michigan prosecution team investigating the Flint water crisis announced Thursday that it was dismissing all pending criminal charges against eight former and current officials and launching a new probe, citing concerns with the initial one.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel appointed Fadwa Hammoud as the state’s solicitor general in January and assigned her to take over the criminal cases related to Flint’s water crisis, which started five years ago when a governor-appointed emergency manager switched the city’s water supply to a polluted river.

“We cannot provide the citizens of Flint the investigation they rightly deserve by continuing to build on a flawed foundation. Dismissing these cases allows us to move forward according to the non-negotiable requirements of a thorough, methodical, and ethical investigation,” Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who has been assisting with the cases, said Thursday.

The prosecutors dismissed charges against former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director Nick Lyon; Eden Wells, the state’s former chief medical executive; former emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley; DHHS officials Nancy Peeler and Robert Scott; Michigan Department of Environmental Quality official Patrick Cook; and former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft. Because the charges were dismissed without prejudice, “we are not precluded from refiling charges against the defendants,” the prosecutors emphasized, “or adding new charges and additional defendants.”

Mary Grant, Public Water for All Campaign Director at Food & Water Watch, said in a statement that the decision “can only be acceptable if the prosecution team refiles and aggressively pursues new charges swiftly.”

“Flint residents deserve a comprehensive and just investigation that results in appropriate restitution. We are outraged to hear about the political influence that muddied the previous cases through failure to seek all evidence,” Grant added. “We know one thing for sure: the Snyder administration and his emergency managers made the disastrous decisions that caused the Flint water crisis. We must hold them accountable and everyone who aggravated this public health calamity. There is no more time for dubious foot-dragging; it’s time for Flint to see some justice.”

Flint residents, as BuzzFeed reported Thursday, “are still dealing with the crisis’ fallout: childrenwhose neurological development may have been irreversibly damaged; pregnant women who had miscarriages after drinking the contaminated water—the number of miscarriages spiked by 58 percent after the water was switched; people whose trust in their elected officials and reliance on the infrastructure that runs through their city has been turned upside down; and corroded lead pipes on the main water lines and in peoples’ homes that are yet to be replaced.”

Some Flint residents and activists, such as Melissa Mays, expressed skepticism about the prosecutors’ move. Mays told the New York Times, “My heart breaks for the families that have lost loved ones.”

“This is not justice for them. It just seems like a political ploy,” she said. “The only thing it tells me is our lives don’t matter.”

Nayyirah Shariff, director of the grassroots group Flint Rising, called the announcement “a slap in the face to Flint residents.”

Shariff told the Detroit Free Press, “I’m very disappointed with Dana Nessel’s office because she ran on a platform that she was going to provide justice for Flint resident, and it doesn’t seem like justice is coming.”

Others welcomed the announcement as a step toward accountability. Nurse Julia Pulver, who was defeated by a Republican opponent in a state Senate race last year, applauded the move, tweeting that “the people of Flint deserve real justice.”

@VotePulver

@dananessel & her team realized after taking over that the #FlintWaterCrisis investigation was set up to fail & designed to let those prosecuted off the hook.

I applaud the AG & co for deciding to start over & do it right. The people of Flint deserve real justice #JusticeForFlint

Michigan Attorney General

@MIAttyGen

Nessel, the state’s attorney general, said in a statement backing the prosecutors’ decision, “I want to remind the people of Flint that justice delayed is not always justice denied, and a fearless and dedicated team of career prosecutors and investigators are hard at work to ensure that those who harmed you are held accountable.”

Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich—who represents Flint—issued a statement expressing his disappointment “that justice continues to be delayed and denied to the people of my city.” Vowing to continue to fight for his constituents, he said that “the people of Flint believe that they will never see justice, and sadly, so far they’ve been proven right.”

Hammoud and Worthy, in a statement Thursday, explained what led to the decision to launch a new investigation:

Upon assuming responsibility of this case, our team of career prosecutors and investigators had immediate and grave concerns about the investigative approach and legal theories embraced by the [Office of Special Counsel], particularly regarding the pursuit of evidence. After a complete evaluation, our concerns were validated. Contrary to accepted standards of criminal investigation and prosecution, all available evidence was not pursued. Instead, the OSC entered into agreements that gave private law firms—representing Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Treasury, and the Executive Office of former Governor Rick Snyder—a role in deciding what information would be turned over to law enforcement.

Authorities recently executed search warrants for new materials after a trove of evidence was discovered in the basement of a state-owned building. Hammoud and Worthy disclosed Thursday that “this week, we completed the transfer into our possession millions of documents and hundreds of new electronic devices, significantly expanding the scope of our investigation.”

Through investigators’ efforts to seek out more evidence, “our team has already identified additional individuals of interest and new information relevant to the Flint water crisis,” Hammoud and Worthy said. “These investigative leads will be aggressively pursued. Additionally, we will evaluate criminal culpability for all Legionnaires deaths that occurred after the switch to the Flint River, which was never done by the OSC.”

“We understand this decision will not bring immediate remedy or relief to the citizens of Flint, who remain victims of one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in United States history,” they added. “However, we recognize the only acceptable remedy is the vigorous pursuit of justice, which demands an uncompromising investigation of the Flint water crisis and professional prosecution of all those criminally culpable. Accordingly, our team will move forward unrestrained by political motivations, prior tactics, or opportunities for financial gain.”

https://www.alternet.org/2019/04/federal-judge-says-flint-water-lawsuit-actually-can-target-the-former-governor-meaning-he-may-finally-be-held-accountable/

A federal judge on Monday—who agreed that allegations of “conscience shocking” conduct claimed by plaintiffs were “plausible”—reinstated Michigan’s former Governor Rick Snyder as a defendant in a class action lawsuit by the victims of the water crisis in the city of Flintthat first captured national headlines in 2014.

After earlier removing Snyder from the suit, brought by city residents harmed by the poisoning of the municipal water supply, U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy reversed that decision as she noted the plaintiffs had shown the allegations against Snyder and his fellow co-defendants “plausibly describe ‘conscience shocking’ conduct” as thepeople of Flint were stripped of 14th Amendment protections from bodily harm or injury.

The plaintiffs in the suit, Levy wrote in her ruling,

...

===

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-halts-action-line-5-tunnel

Michigan Gov. Whitmer Halts Action on Pipeline Tunnel Under Great Lakes -Bridge Magazine
LANSING – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday ordered state agencies to halt action on a proposed tunnel to encase the controversial Line 5 pipeline in a tunnel. Whitmer’sexecutive directive came minutes after a fellow Democrat, Attorney General Dana Nessel, issued a legal opinion claiming that a law creating a state authority to oversee construction of the tunnel is unconstitutional.

“I agree with the conclusion reached by Attorney General Nessel,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The Great Lakes are our most precious resource in Michigan, and because of their significance, I’ve instructed state departments and agencies to halt any actions in furtherance of this law.”

Nessel’s opinion was her first since taking office Jan. 1, and it came in response to a request from Whitmer to review the law. Last year, both campaigned on shutting down the 66-year-old oil pipeline, and they opposed compromises including a tunnel.

The move puts Whitmer and Nessel on a collision course with Republicans that could likely end up in court.

"An AG opinion is exactly that, an opinion. It’s not binding. It's not final. And it's certainly not without cause to challenge," said Senate Majority Leaker Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

"The Senate will pursue its options in order to advance the very important work and purpose of the energy tunnel. This is the fastest, safest, and most economical long-term solution for Michigan. It’s very important to our economy."

House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, called the tunnel plan "the right thing to do for our state, our waterways, and for our future."

"It is well past time to put aside political talking points and campaign rhetoric and just do the right thing. This administration needs to protect the people of our state, secure our critical Mackinac Straits and approve the tunnel project immediately," he said in a statement.

Whitmer's move was cheered by environmental groups, who have repeatedly said a leak in the line could create havoc on the Great Lakes.

“Governor Whitmer’s leadership today ... should be immediately followed by implementing a process to decommission Line 5,” Anne Woiwode, chair of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said in a statement.

“Every day these oil pipelines remain in the Mackinac Straits is a day when Michigan’s future can be drowned in a sea of oil,” she added.

For its part, Enbridge said it was "surprised and disappointed" and wants Whitmer to clarify the path forward.

“Enbridge worked in good faith with the Michigan government on the tunnel project,” Chief Legal Officer Bob Rooney said in a statement Thursday night. “We disagree with the attorney general’s opinion and continue to believe in the benefits of the tunnel.”

Nessel's opinion kickstarted a new chapter in the short, but complicated history of Enbridge’s plans to encase Line 5 in a $350 million to $500 million tunnel below 100 feet of bedrock.

During his final weeks in office in December, Gov. Rick Snyder signed Public Act 359 to create the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to oversee construction and operation of the tunnel. The Republican immediately made appointments to the authority’s three-member board, which approved a series of tunnel related agreements with Enbridge.

Republicans, Enbridge and other supporters have called a tunnel the best way to protect the Straits while keeping energy flowing to the Upper Peninsula.

The legislation’s passage, the board’s creation and its signed agreement with Enbridge came in a matter of days, leading to complaints from Democrats and environmentalists that language in the law and was poorly vetted, if lawmakers had any time to read it.

Initially, Snyder’s plan hinged on the Mackinac Bridge Authority, an independent state agency that oversees the iconic bridge, owning the 4-mile, 12-foot in diameter tunnel and leasing space to Enbridge for 99 years.

That prompted fierce opposition, including from former bridge authority memberswho worried it would distract from oversight of Mackinac Bridge.

Rather than scrapping the original bill, Republicans — to save time during the fast-moving lame duck session — re-wrote it, keeping the Mackinac Bridge Authority in the bill's title as a body authorized to acquire the new “utility tunnel."

The bill was written so that the Mackinac Bridge Authority would immediately transfer all of its initial powers over the tunnel — including acquisition construction and operation —to the newly created corridor authority board.

In doing so, Nessel wrote in her opinion, the Legislature violated the “title-object” provision of the 1963 Michigan Constitution, which is meant to give lawmakers clear notice of what they’re voting on. The provision says “no bill shall be altered or amended” after passing either legislative chamber “so as to change its original purpose.”

The far-reaching power transfer to the corridor authority board "comes without fair notice and is a surprise" to lawmakers, Nessel wrote, because it is not mentioned in the bill's title.

“Michigan law is clear that where the body of an act exceeds the general scope of what is expressed in the title, the offending provisions violate” the Constitution, Nessel wrote.

Her opinion came two weeks after Michigan Court of Claims Judge Stephen L. Borrellofound another part of the corridor authority law unconstitutional. The law granted six-year terms to the board’s members, even though the constitution bars terms greater than four years.

That ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit called A Felon's Crusade for Equality, Honesty and Truth. The term-limit issue was the only challenge in that lawsuit, and Borrello wrote that the corridor could continue to operate.

In her review, Nessel wrote that courts would likely see the separate “title-object” violation as too large to keep the corridor authority intact.

“It cannot be concluded” that lawmakers would have passed the law had they known of the constitutional violations, she wrote.

===

Republican state AGs were in the majority...until this months election, when the majority flipped, with the most climate-denying AGs (in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin and Nevada) losing their jobs to Dems who ran on strong environmental platforms.

The outgoing climate-deniers pioneered a strategy of coordinated lawsuits and legal action (such as amicus briefs) to hold back action on climate and liability for fossil-fuel companies.

Now that Dems hold those offices, they could deploy the same tactics to grind the climate-wrecking looters' plans to a halt -- for example, Michigan's new Democratic AG Dana Nessel has vowed to shut down the Enbridge pipeline that carries Canada's planet-destroying, filthy tar-sands oil to US markets.

In addition to the New York suit, which relies on a 1921 anti-fraud act aimed at curbing Wall Street excesses, and a suit by Rhode Island, which uses its anti-nuisance laws to hold 14 oil and gas companies liable for pollution, Massachusetts is using consumer protection laws to argue that the industry’s failure to alert the public to the long-term risks of its products amounted to false and unfair advertising.

“One thing that’s really interesting in working with Democratic attorneys general across the country is that every office is a little bit different in how it’s structured, what powers they’ve been given, what their budgets are, what sort of authority they have,” Ulmer said. “When it comes to issue-specific questions, it truly is going to depend on the state.

“But I can tell you a number of these candidates have talked about the importance of climate change, protecting the environment, protecting natural resources, making sure that the citizens of their states have clean water and really clean air and protecting the future during their campaigns. We know that’s something they’re going to continue…once they’re fully transitioned into office.”

Legal Blue Wave? New Democratic AGs Could Change the Face of Climate Fight[Seamus McGraw/Climate Liability News]

(via Naked Capitalism)

===