motherjones--2020-07-23--A Judge Orders Michael Cohen Released From Prison, Saying the Feds Violated the First Amendment

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Michael Cohen ’ s release from federal prison , ruling that the government violated the former Trump fixer ’ s right to free speech by revoking his home confinement after he hesitated to agree not to write a book .
“ I find that the purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement to jail is retaliatory , and it ’ s retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book , ” Federal District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein said in hearing held via teleconference Thursday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s former personal attorney—was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 , after pleading guilty to tax evasion , lying to Congress , and campaign finance fraud .
Cohen said that at Trump ’ s behest , he had paid two woman who claimed to have had affairs with Trump to stay silent before the 2016 election .
Cohen was furloughed in May due to coronavirus concerns and was due to switch into a home confinement program that included more stringent conditions , such as wearing a location-monitoring device .
He announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he is writing a book that will elaborate on his prior public statements harshly criticizing Trump .
( “ He is a racist , ” Cohen said at a February 2019 House hearing .
“ He is a conman .
He is a cheat.
” ) At meeting on July 9 , federal probation officers asked Cohen to sign an agreement that said he would avoid “ engagement of any kind with the media , including print , tv , film , books or any other form of media/news ” and would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” among other restrictions .
When Cohen and an attorney with him attempted to negotiate over the terms of the agreement , probation officers said they would check with their superiors .
But instead , US Marshals arrived , shackled Cohen , and returned him to custody in Otisville Correctional Facility in upstate New York .
Joined by the American Civil Liberties Union , Cohen sued Attorney General William Barr and the federal Bureau of Prisons , arguing they had violated his First Amendment rights .
At Thursday ’ s hearing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he shared that view , ripping into a federal prosecutors ’ claim that the Bureau of Prisons was not required to negotiate with Cohen over the terms of his release at all , and homing in on the restrictions on Cohen ’ s media contact .
“ I ’ ve never seen such a clause , ” the judge said .
“ In 21 years of sentencing people and looking at the terms of release , I ’ ve never seen such a clause.
” The Bureau of Prisons had initially claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to agree to wear an ankle monitor , but it later dropped that claim .
Prosecutors said Thursday that Cohen and his lawyer ’ s objections to the terms of the agreement were sufficient grounds to return him to prison .
But Hellerstein said it was not unusual or wrong to attempt to negotiate over the terms of home confinement .
“ They were never were given a chance to agree , ” he said .
“ They never were told , ‘ Well this is it , and if you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back to jail . '
” Hellerstein ordered Cohen to be released by 2 pm Friday and ordered Cohen ’ s lawyers and federal prosecutors to negotiate a home confinement agreement that does not limit Cohen ’ s ability to publish his book or use social media .
Hellerstein noted that even under home confinement , Cohen will remain , legally , a prisoner with restricted rights .
Cohen ’ s lawyers have argued that Barr and other senior Trump administration officials were responsible for trying to silence their client , though no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Federal prosecutors claim that the gag agreement presented to Cohen was crafted by Cohen ’ s probation officer , without consultation with senior officials in the Bureau of Prisons or Justice Department .

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A federal judge on Thursday ordered Michael Cohen’s release from federal prison, ruling that the government violated the former Trump fixer’s right to free speech by revoking his home confinement after he hesitated to agree not to write a book.
“I find that the purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement to jail is retaliatory, and it’s retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book,” Federal District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein said in hearing held via teleconference Thursday.
“In 21 years of sentencing people and looking at the terms of release, I’ve never seen such a clause.”
Cohen—who is President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney—was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018, after pleading guilty to tax evasion, lying to Congress, and campaign finance fraud. Cohen said that at Trump’s behest, he had paid two woman who claimed to have had affairs with Trump to stay silent before the 2016 election.
Cohen was furloughed in May due to coronavirus concerns and was due to switch into a home confinement program that included more stringent conditions, such as wearing a location-monitoring device. He announced in multiple public statements in recent weeks that he is writing a book that will elaborate on his prior public statements harshly criticizing Trump. (“He is a racist,” Cohen said at a February 2019 House hearing. “He is a conman. He is a cheat.”)
At meeting on July 9, federal probation officers asked Cohen to sign an agreement that said he would avoid “engagement of any kind with the media, including print, tv, film, books or any other form of media/news” and would stay off “all social media platforms,” among other restrictions.
When Cohen and an attorney with him attempted to negotiate over the terms of the agreement, probation officers said they would check with their superiors. But instead, US Marshals arrived, shackled Cohen, and returned him to custody in Otisville Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
Joined by the American Civil Liberties Union, Cohen sued Attorney General William Barr and the federal Bureau of Prisons, arguing they had violated his First Amendment rights.
At Thursday’s hearing, Judge Hellerstein wasted little time before indicating that he shared that view, ripping into a federal prosecutors’ claim that the Bureau of Prisons was not required to negotiate with Cohen over the terms of his release at all, and homing in on the restrictions on Cohen’s media contact.
“I’ve never seen such a clause,” the judge said. “In 21 years of sentencing people and looking at the terms of release, I’ve never seen such a clause.”
The Bureau of Prisons had initially claimed that Cohen was jailed because he refused to agree to wear an ankle monitor, but it later dropped that claim. Prosecutors said Thursday that Cohen and his lawyer’s objections to the terms of the agreement were sufficient grounds to return him to prison.
But Hellerstein said it was not unusual or wrong to attempt to negotiate over the terms of home confinement. “They were never were given a chance to agree,” he said. “They never were told, ‘Well this is it, and if you don’t sign, you’re going back to jail.'”
Hellerstein ordered Cohen to be released by 2 pm Friday and ordered Cohen’s lawyers and federal prosecutors to negotiate a home confinement agreement that does not limit Cohen’s ability to publish his book or use social media. Hellerstein noted that even under home confinement, Cohen will remain, legally, a prisoner with restricted rights.
Cohen’s lawyers have argued that Barr and other senior Trump administration officials were responsible for trying to silence their client, though no direct evidence supporting this allegation has emerged. Federal prosecutors claim that the gag agreement presented to Cohen was crafted by Cohen’s probation officer, without consultation with senior officials in the Bureau of Prisons or Justice Department.


motherjones--2020-07-23--Ocasio-Cortez Isn’t Letting a White Republican Man Get Away With Calling Her a “Fucking Bitch”

Rep. Ted Yoho—despite some headlines claiming otherwise—has refused to properly apologize for accosting his colleague , Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , outside the Capitol building this week and reportedly calling her a “ fucking bitch ” as he was walking away .
Instead , in a speech on the House floor Wednesday , the Florida Republican offered a string of bizarre explanations—including his supposed “ passion , ” his love of God , and his role as a father and a husband—that , at best , resembled a half-assed sort-of-apology .
Yoho also offered something of a denial , though it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was denying .
That deliberate attempt to avoid accountability may have satisfied senior Republicans , but Ocasio-Cortez isn ’ t letting him get away with it .
“ In front of reporters , Rep. Yoho called me , and I quote , ‘ a fucking bitch , ' ” the New York Democrat said in her own speech on the House floor Thursday .
“ These are the words that Rep. Yoho levied against a congresswoman.
” To be sure , Ocasio-Cortez said , the initial encounter hardly hurt her ; as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ocasio-Cortez said that she ’ s been targeted with violent and sexist language both as a bartender in New York and during her time in Congress .
But it was Yoho ’ s refusal to accept responsibility , and his invocation of his daughters and wife , that prompted her to speak out .
“ I do not need Rep. Yoho to apologize to me—clearly he does not want to , clearly when given the opportunity he will not , ” Ocasio-Cortez said .
“ I will not stay up late at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women .
But what I do have an issue with is using women , our wives , and daughters as shields and excuses for poor behavior.
” “ I am someone ’ s daughter too , ” she said .
“ My father thankfully is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter .
My mother got to see Mr. Yoho ’ s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television .
I am here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that I am their daughter and they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.
” The whole thing is really worth your time :

Rep. Ted Yoho—despite some headlines claiming otherwise—has refused to properly apologize for accosting his colleague, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, outside the Capitol building this week and reportedly calling her a “fucking bitch” as he was walking away. Instead, in a speech on the House floor Wednesday, the Florida Republican offered a string of bizarre explanations—including his supposed “passion,” his love of God, and his role as a father and a husband—that, at best, resembled a half-assed sort-of-apology. Yoho also offered something of a denial, though it wasn’t clear exactly what he was denying.
That deliberate attempt to avoid accountability may have satisfied senior Republicans, but Ocasio-Cortez isn’t letting him get away with it.
“In front of reporters, Rep. Yoho called me, and I quote, ‘a fucking bitch,'” the New York Democrat said in her own speech on the House floor Thursday. “These are the words that Rep. Yoho levied against a congresswoman.”
To be sure, Ocasio-Cortez said, the initial encounter hardly hurt her; as a living, breathing woman in this world, Ocasio-Cortez said that she’s been targeted with violent and sexist language both as a bartender in New York and during her time in Congress. But it was Yoho’s refusal to accept responsibility, and his invocation of his daughters and wife, that prompted her to speak out.
“I do not need Rep. Yoho to apologize to me—clearly he does not want to, clearly when given the opportunity he will not,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women. But what I do have an issue with is using women, our wives, and daughters as shields and excuses for poor behavior.”
“I am someone’s daughter too,” she said. “My father thankfully is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television. I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.”
The whole thing is really worth your time:


motherjones--2020-07-23--States Are Begging for Coronavirus Relief. Trump Sent Federal Police Instead.

Every day , reports of unmarked vans with unidentifiable law enforcement agents rounding up protesters in Portland , Oregon , are going viral .
Many of those who were detained said they weren ’ t doing anything illegal .
Last week , one man described being blindfolded , taken to a federal courthouse , and read his rights .
After he asked for a lawyer , the officers released him .
Several news outlets confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security had sent Customs and Border Patrol agents to the city .
After widespread outrage and shock , with city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to leave , acting DHS head Chad Wolf posted a now-deleted tweet depicting graffiti on the federal court and using this as justification for the presence of federal agents .
Instead of trying to make up a reason that could sound plausible , or even denying that there was anything questionable about the behavior of CBP agents , Wolf he claimed he didn ’ t need permission from the state or locality to be there and had no intention of retreating .
But Portland was only the first stop .
President Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operations nationwide .
“ We ’ re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these—Oakland is a mess , ” he said at a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday .
“ We ’ re not going to let this happen in our country .
All run by liberal Democrats.
” Because violent crime has gotten so bad in every major city , his reasoning went , a massive deployment of intimidating federal agents was the only solution .
The president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blames increases in crime on protests against police brutality , which then justifies sending in American troops to invade their own country .
Just these facts are all appalling .
It ’ s no secret that unconstitutional police stops and other illegal law enforcement activities have been a regular facet of life for decades ( see stop-and-frisk in New York City and Chicago police ’ s black sites ) .
And these are the very actions that are under scrutiny during this time of a national reckoning with the role and practices of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions are amplified by federal troops courtesy of the government .
That this is happening during a pandemic adds a gruesome new and unintended twist .
More than 140,000 people have been killed by the coronavirus and millions more have been infected .
While Trump and his cronies seem particularly obsessed with crime in certain major cities , they have unshackled themselves from the responsibility of providing coherent government leadership during a public health crisis to disastrous effect .
How do Republicans thread the needle here ?
They champion the states rights conservative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to contain a pandemic , while proudly deploying federal troops to deal with a local problem .
Clearly , figuring out the extent and the limits of federal responsibility through lens of Trump era conservative ideology may be a futile exercise .
As the coronavirus resurges in most states across the country , most public health officials have repeatedly said that widespread testing will only work with federal support .
Jennifer Nuzzo , a health security expert at Johns Hopkins University , told the Washington Post that without a federal strategy to identify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left with “ janky flotilla ” held together by duct tape and glue .
But Trump and his cronies have decided that it ’ s a state responsibility .
In April , when there were approximately 58,000 deaths , the White House said that the federal government was a “ supplier of last resort.
” The number of deaths has nearly tripled .
The federal government continues to do nothing about a national testing strategy .
The incoherence of conservative ideology arises everywhere .
The federally enhanced unemployment benefits are scheduled to expire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but talks to expand them and offer more virus-related relief such as another round of stimulus checks and aid for states were stalled because certain Republican senators were aghast at the thought of spending more money on regular Americans .
When a reporter asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) if they were going to be able to come to a deal to assist the 16 million workers still receiving benefits before July 31 .
McConnell let out a big laugh and said , “ No.
” In contrast , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ typically go to school in the fall , and he started hammering on states to fully reopen classrooms , despite the risks of students , teachers , school staffers , and their families getting ill—or dying .
Instead of offering a comprehensive plan and the funding to keep students as safe as possible , Trump merely threatened to withhold funding if they kept their doors shut while undermining the advice of his own Centers for Disease Control on safety requirements for opening schools .
In fact , when critics and school boards declared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couldn ’ t reopen , Kayleigh McEnany urged them not to let science get in the way .
The federal government is willing to protect you from mythical hordes of Antifa super soldiers coming to tear down Confederate statues .
It will not protect your child from contracting a deadly virus .
It ’ s a curious leadership , not to mention electoral , strategy .
But if you are looking for something consistent and coherent in this mess , there actually is : The Trump administration has turned demonizing the opposition , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy .
In April , when states were scrambling for personal protective equipment and ventilators , Trump rewarded his allies , like Florida Gov .
Ron DeSantis , with supplies while his so-called opponents such as Illinois Gov .
J.B. Pritzker and California ’ s Gavin Newsom were left to fend for themselves .
Most Democratic governors and mayors oppose Trump ’ s plan to flood cities with secret federal police .
But if they ’ re against it , he ’ s for it .
“ My first duty as President is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump said at yet another press conference on Wednesday afternoon .
Just not from the virus , apparently , or the violation of their constitutional rights .

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Every day, reports of unmarked vans with unidentifiable law enforcement agents rounding up protesters in Portland, Oregon, are going viral. Many of those who were detained said they weren’t doing anything illegal. Last week, one man described being blindfolded, taken to a federal courthouse, and read his rights. After he asked for a lawyer, the officers released him. Several news outlets confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security had sent Customs and Border Patrol agents to the city. After widespread outrage and shock, with city and state leadership asking for federal agents to leave, acting DHS head Chad Wolf posted a now-deleted tweet depicting graffiti on the federal court and using this as justification for the presence of federal agents. Instead of trying to make up a reason that could sound plausible, or even denying that there was anything questionable about the behavior of CBP agents, Wolf he claimed he didn’t need permission from the state or locality to be there and had no intention of retreating.
"I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not.” — acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf pic.twitter.com/Rr2P8q6Ut1 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 20, 2020
But Portland was only the first stop. President Donald Trump announced that DHS would be taking its operations nationwide. “We’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these—Oakland is a mess,” he said at a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.” Because violent crime has gotten so bad in every major city, his reasoning went, a massive deployment of intimidating federal agents was the only solution. The president was relying on a debunked myth that blames increases in crime on protests against police brutality, which then justifies sending in American troops to invade their own country.
Just these facts are all appalling. It’s no secret that unconstitutional police stops and other illegal law enforcement activities have been a regular facet of life for decades (see stop-and-frisk in New York City and Chicago police’s black sites). And these are the very actions that are under scrutiny during this time of a national reckoning with the role and practices of police forces. But now, those actions are amplified by federal troops courtesy of the government.
That this is happening during a pandemic adds a gruesome new and unintended twist. More than 140,000 people have been killed by the coronavirus and millions more have been infected. While Trump and his cronies seem particularly obsessed with crime in certain major cities, they have unshackled themselves from the responsibility of providing coherent government leadership during a public health crisis to disastrous effect.
They have unshackled themselves from the responsibility of providing coherent government leadership during a public health crisis to disastrous effect.
How do Republicans thread the needle here? They champion the states rights conservative ideology when it comes to wearing masks to contain a pandemic, while proudly deploying federal troops to deal with a local problem. Clearly, figuring out the extent and the limits of federal responsibility through lens of Trump era conservative ideology may be a futile exercise.
As the coronavirus resurges in most states across the country, most public health officials have repeatedly said that widespread testing will only work with federal support. Jennifer Nuzzo, a health security expert at Johns Hopkins University, told the Washington Post that without a federal strategy to identify and fix issues, we’re left with “janky flotilla” held together by duct tape and glue. But Trump and his cronies have decided that it’s a state responsibility. In April, when there were approximately 58,000 deaths, the White House said that the federal government was a “supplier of last resort.” The number of deaths has nearly tripled. The federal government continues to do nothing about a national testing strategy.
The incoherence of conservative ideology arises everywhere. The federally enhanced unemployment benefits are scheduled to expire at the end of the month, but talks to expand them and offer more virus-related relief such as another round of stimulus checks and aid for states were stalled because certain Republican senators were aghast at the thought of spending more money on regular Americans. When a reporter asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) if they were going to be able to come to a deal to assist the 16 million workers still receiving benefits before July 31. McConnell let out a big laugh and said, “No.”
In contrast, this month the president suddenly realized that children typically go to school in the fall, and he started hammering on states to fully reopen classrooms, despite the risks of students, teachers, school staffers, and their families getting ill—or dying. Instead of offering a comprehensive plan and the funding to keep students as safe as possible, Trump merely threatened to withhold funding if they kept their doors shut while undermining the advice of his own Centers for Disease Control on safety requirements for opening schools. In fact, when critics and school boards declared that, according to science, they couldn’t reopen, Kayleigh McEnany urged them not to let science get in the way.
The federal government is willing to protect you from mythical hordes of Antifa super soldiers coming to tear down Confederate statues. It will not protect your child from contracting a deadly virus.
It’s a curious leadership, not to mention electoral, strategy. But if you are looking for something consistent and coherent in this mess, there actually is: The Trump administration has turned demonizing the opposition, or owning the libs, into federal policy. In April, when states were scrambling for personal protective equipment and ventilators, Trump rewarded his allies, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with supplies while his so-called opponents such as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and California’s Gavin Newsom were left to fend for themselves. Most Democratic governors and mayors oppose Trump’s plan to flood cities with secret federal police. But if they’re against it, he’s for it. “My first duty as President is to protect the American people,” Trump said at yet another press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Just not from the virus, apparently, or the violation of their constitutional rights.


motherjones--2020-07-23--Utah’s GOP Thinks Fox News Can Beat the State’s Only Congressional Democrat

In mid-December , first-term Rep. Ben McAdams ( D-Utah ) was among the last House members to decide how to vote on the articles of impeachment against President Trump .
It was a decision with potentially dire implications for the reelection efforts of the state ’ s only congressional Democrat , who represents a district gerrymandered to favor Republicans .
McAdams defeated incumbent Rep. Mia Love ( R ) by fewer than 700 votes in 2018 .
After he announced his decision to vote for impeachment , the Trump campaign went on the attack , blasting out a statement warning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his cowardice .
McAdams ’ political career is over.
” Outside groups poured money into ads denouncing him .
His approval rating dropped 11 percent .
And then on March 18 , he announced that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and spent a week in the hospital recovering .
It seemed inevitable that come November , practically any Republican in this conservative district would easily defeat one of the most endangered Democrats in Congress .
Instead , political analysts are cautiously predicting that McAdams will get reelected .
Why ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ nominated former NFL player and Fox News commentator Burgess Owens to run against him .
Owens might be a national figure , beloved on Fox and Friends as one of Trump ’ s few Black acolytes , but he is relatively unknown in Utah .
His campaign illustrates many of the pitfalls of transforming the GOP into the party of Trump , where talking points come from Sean Hannity , the president can do no wrong , and everyone has forgotten Tip O ’ Neill ’ s famous adage that all politics is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tension between being a Fox News pundit and a Republican candidate in a close swing district , ” says Chris Karpowitz , co-director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University in Provo , Utah .
“ It ’ s also the larger dilemma that Republicans are facing right now : They ’ ve chosen to be the party of Donald Trump .
What happens when the bottom falls out from Donald Trump ’ s popularity ?
Even in a very red place like Utah , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oneself with Donald Trump.
” The differences between the two candidates go far beyond party affiliation .
While McAdams ’ Utah roots go back seven generations , Owens has lived there less than a decade .
He didn ’ t register to vote in Utah until 2014 , and he doesn ’ t appear to own a house there .
McAdams served in the state senate and was elected mayor of Salt Lake County twice .
Owens has never been elected to anything , has been through two bankruptcies , and has failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in taxes over the years .
When Owens played in the Super Bowl , his crowning achievement , McAdams was in grade school .
The one thing they have in common is that they ’ re both Mormons .
On TV and in campaign events , Owens froths about the liberal “ enemy ” bent on destroying the country and the president , describing all Democrats as Marxists and socialists .
Meanwhile , McAdams is donating his plasma for coronavirus research and voting in Congress for more national park funding in a state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race has thrown November ’ s choices into sharp contrast and will be a test of whether a Fox News endorsement is enough to elect a Trump-supporting Republican in a swing district .
“ We have a generic , nationalized campaign going on , ” observes Tim Chambless , a political science professor at the University of Utah .
The impeachment vote “ seems so six months ago , ” McAdams mused on a sunny day in June as we sat in a park near his house in the Sugar House neighborhood of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he still has the mild-mannered boyish appearance of the LDS missionary he once was .
Two of his four school-age kids stopped by and said hello as we talked .
“ My district will ultimately support Trump , ” he told me .
But he thinks Utah voters in the congressional race will “ seek someone who will dial down the rhetoric .
A lot of people are uncomfortable with [ Trump ’ s ] divisive style and want people who can bring some civility to politics.
” McAdams seems nothing but civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now have given him the highest approval ratings of any member of Utah ’ s congressional delegation .
Salt Lake Tribune political columnist Robert Gehrke wrote recently that his inoffensiveness is “ equaled only by white rice.
” McAdams ’ reelection campaign has been helped by the GOP ’ s disarray—which is unusual given that Republicans hold every statewide office and 80 percent of the state legislative seats .
“ This should have been at the top of the Republicans ’ wish list in terms of new pickups for 2020 , but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” says Karpowitz .
“ They couldn ’ t recruit more experienced candidates who would have made it a much more competitive race.
” Early frontrunner Utah Senate Majority Whip Dan Hemmert dropped out of the race in December , leaving a primary field crowded with B-listers .
Delegates to the state nominating convention in April failed to coalesce around a single candidate , leaving McAdams without an obvious opponent until Owens won the June 30 GOP primary with 43 percent of the vote .
Now Owens is trying to introduce himself to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his football career—first-round draft pick for the New York Jets in 1973 , a 1981 Super Bowl championship with the Oakland Raiders—and his Fox News appearances .
He draws on a compelling personal story of growing up in segregated Tallahassee and speaks openly about his hard times .
After 10 seasons with the NFL and a failed business venture , he was so strapped for cash that he lived in a basement apartment in Brooklyn with his wife and four kids under ten and supported his family with random jobs like working as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , helped by a corporate job at the Utah-based WordPerfect and eventually a career as a motivational speaker .
Then there are the two bankruptcies , one in 1991 and again in 2001 , and the thousands of dollars ’ worth of tax liens he racked up in New York .
He also once had more than $ 200,000 in unpaid federal taxes .
His financial disclosure statement shows that he still owes the IRS $ 6,500 .
Utah doesn ’ t figure much into the narrative .
Owens apparently owns no property @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state , he hopes to represent .
The Utah address Owens lists in campaign finance documents and corporate records is for a house owned by an LLC controlled by one of his campaign donors , real estate developer William O. Perry III .
( The Owens campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment . )
Owens ’ daughter Summur-Rayn Berrett , a former flight attendant who is being paid by his campaign for media consulting , is also listed at that address in federal elections filings .
Since 2015 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entities in Utah , but most are now inactive .
Owens touts his work with the nonprofit he founded called Second Chance 4 Youth , in which he tries to help kids coming out of the juvenile justice system get back on their feet , but it wasn ’ t registered in Utah until June 2019 .
One of the group ’ s board members is Tyler Perry , William O. Perry ’ s son .
In an interview , Tyler Perry says that Owens is a family friend who first met his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Foundation at Valley Forge , a Cold War-era civics group founded with support from President Dwight Eisenhower .
Owens , who was living in Philadelphia at the time , spoke at the event .
William O. Perry III was on the board , and the two hit it off .
When some of his children were attending Brigham Young University , Owens decided to move to Utah .
Tyler Perry says they met about five years ago , and Owens later asked him to help with his nonprofit .
“ Burgess has a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants to make a positive difference , ” Perry says .
“ From my perspective he ’ s doing a great job of getting out and getting to know a lot of people .
I would think it would be dang hard to come into a new place and put together what he ’ s put together.
” Nonetheless , Owens has some catching up to do .
Everyone in Utah seems to know who McAdams is .
In fact , Perry says some of his friends are close with McAdams and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Ben ’ s a good guy , ” he says , highlighting the problem with the scorched earth campaign Owens seems to be running .
In May , Owens told Matt Boyle on Breitbart News , “ In the case of Ben McAdams , he is a nice guy , but he stands right there with Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters , [ Adam ] Schiff , and the other socialist-Marxists that are trying to take down our country , ” apparently not realizing that McAdams voted against Pelosi for House Speaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best positioned to beat Ben McAdams because I will call them what they are : they are bullies and cowards and socialist-Marxists , and I will let them know that we will not stand for it anymore.
” As one anonymous Republican told UtahPolicy.com recently , “ No one , except for a few very right-wing crazies , believes Ben McAdams is a Marxist.
” Born and raised in Utah , McAdams went to the University of Utah and Columbia Law School , where he met his wife , and practiced law in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firm .
He quickly headed into local government , working for former Salt Lake City mayor Ralph Becker , then serving two years in the Utah state senate before becoming a popular Salt Lake County mayor in 2012 .
During his six years as mayor , McAdams worked on bipartisan issues like homelessness with Utah establishment figures like his friend Josh Romney , one of Mitt ’ s five sons .
Once in Congress , McAdams focused on local issues , particularly his recent efforts to block Trump administration plans to restart nuclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a subject that often transcends partisan politics in the state .
In the 1950s and early ‘ 60s , the federal government knowingly exposed thousands of Utah residents—known as “ downwinders ” —to high levels of radiation from open-air testing in the Nevada desert .
Many have died from radiation-related cancers , including the state ’ s last Democratic governor , Scott Matheson .
( His son Jim Matheson was the last Democrat to hold the 4th District seat . )
In the 1980s , former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch ( R @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act , securing compensation for downwinders sickened by nuclear fallout .
McAdams has opposed Trump ’ s proposal and has successfully inserted language into a defense appropriation bill to block new testing .
Owens , however , is a fan .
On a local talk radio show in June , the host asked Owens if he supported Trump ’ s plan to restart nuclear testing .
“ Absolutely , ” he responded .
“ I will be supporting our president because he supports our country .
He loves our country .
He does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have some backbone in the House and Senate to make this thing happen really right.
” Later in the interview , Owens reiterated that “ we should be loyal , period ” to leaders who support God , family and country , as he thinks Trump does .
Such comments have raised eyebrows in Utah .
Steve Erickson , a longtime Utah volunteer with Downwinders Inc. , an advocacy group formed in the late 1970s , says sticking with Trump on the nuclear testing issue “ could end up being a strategic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few ties to Utah win the GOP primary in one of the nation ’ s most competitive congressional races ?
For that he can probably thank Fox News .
Owens is a regular on the conservative news network and has appeared on shows like Fox and Friends to complain about NFL players taking a knee during the National Anthem .
Dubbing himself the “ the anti-Colin Kaepernick , ” Owens testified before Congress last year to oppose reparations for the descendants of slaves , after penning an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earn slavery reparations .
I don ’ t want them.
” His campaign rhetoric is generic Fox News mixed with pro-football motivational jargon and locker room clichés .
During the GOP primary debate in early June , he highlighted his “ four tenets ” —head , heart , hands and home—that guide him .
But during the media scrum after the debate , Owens couldn ’ t answer a single question about what specifically he planned to do in Congress aside from fighting “ the enemy ” and “ evil at the door @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Owens has expanded on his political views in two books , which express some old-fashioned ideas about women .
In Liberalism or How to Turn Good men into Whiners , Weenies and Wimps , he devotes an entire section to “ chivalry , ” which he believes liberalism has ruined by “ blur [ ing ] the line between genders , thus facilitating and encouraging the demeaning of both.
” For Owens , manhood has a “ divine nature ” that must be deployed “ for the protection and care of womanhood.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divorced . )
He ’ s also ventured into the world of right-wing conspiracy theories .
In May , he appeared on a QAnon Internet show—which claims a “ deep state ” cabal that runs a pedophile ring is plotting against Trump and his supporters— and asked for support and campaign contributions .
After he jumped into the Utah congressional race , Owens told the Deseret News that President Trump was “ an advocate for Black Americans , Black kids getting educated , having a choice .
I love the fact he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs.
” Trump had “ done more to help my community come out of the darkness than any president in my lifetime , ” he insisted .
His loyalty was rewarded .
After Owens secured the GOP nomination Trump tweeted an endorsement : But Trump ’ s support for Owens may not translate into votes in November .
Utah has a rather tortured relationship with Trump , who received the lowest percentage of votes in the state than any GOP presidential candidate since George H.W .
Bush in 1992 .
Utah politicians were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the release of the “ Access Hollywood ” tape during the campaign , where Trump admitted to sexually assaulting women .
Most of them eventually endorsed him , but for the first time in its history , the Deseret News , owned by the LDS church , weighed in on the election and called for Trump to resign from his campaign .
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney ( R ) was the only Republican senator to vote in favor of Trump ’ s impeachment and has said he won ’ t vote for him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 , Trump won only 39 percent of the voters in McAdams ’ district ; independent Evan McMullin pulled in another 20 percent .
Trump ’ s approval rating among voters in the district is still just 39 percent , and some polling suggests Democratic nominee Joe Biden is leading Trump by five points there .
These numbers may not do much to help Owens knock off a popular incumbent who is headed into the race with a significant fundraising advantage .
McAdams raised $ 3.4 million by the end of June , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The voters know him .
They elected him [ mayor ] twice , ” Chambless says .
“ In contrast , Burgess Owens is relatively unknown except those who watch Fox News.
” Back in the Salt Lake park , McAdams seemed relaxed and sanguine about the race .
He talked about the plasma study he ’ s participating in , and , true to form , pointedly declined to say anything negative about Owens .
“ I take some comfort in telling myself the best way to get reelected is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ This district doesn ’ t belong to the Democratic or Republican Party .
”

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In mid-December, first-term Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) was among the last House members to decide how to vote on the articles of impeachment against President Trump. It was a decision with potentially dire implications for the reelection efforts of the state’s only congressional Democrat, who represents a district gerrymandered to favor Republicans. McAdams defeated incumbent Rep. Mia Love (R) by fewer than 700 votes in 2018.
After he announced his decision to vote for impeachment, the Trump campaign went on the attack, blasting out a statement warning, “Voters won’t forget his cowardice. McAdams’ political career is over.” Outside groups poured money into ads denouncing him. His approval rating dropped 11 percent. And then on March 18, he announced that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and spent a week in the hospital recovering.
It seemed inevitable that come November, practically any Republican in this conservative district would easily defeat one of the most endangered Democrats in Congress. Instead, political analysts are cautiously predicting that McAdams will get reelected. Why? Because on June 30, Utah Republicans nominated former NFL player and Fox News commentator Burgess Owens to run against him. Owens might be a national figure, beloved on Fox and Friends as one of Trump’s few Black acolytes, but he is relatively unknown in Utah. His campaign illustrates many of the pitfalls of transforming the GOP into the party of Trump, where talking points come from Sean Hannity, the president can do no wrong, and everyone has forgotten Tip O’Neill’s famous adage that all politics is local.
“There is a deep tension between being a Fox News pundit and a Republican candidate in a close swing district,” says Chris Karpowitz, co-director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. “It’s also the larger dilemma that Republicans are facing right now: They’ve chosen to be the party of Donald Trump. What happens when the bottom falls out from Donald Trump’s popularity? Even in a very red place like Utah, there are limits to the attempt to align oneself with Donald Trump.”
The differences between the two candidates go far beyond party affiliation. While McAdams’ Utah roots go back seven generations, Owens has lived there less than a decade. He didn’t register to vote in Utah until 2014, and he doesn’t appear to own a house there. McAdams served in the state senate and was elected mayor of Salt Lake County twice. Owens has never been elected to anything, has been through two bankruptcies, and has failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes over the years. When Owens played in the Super Bowl, his crowning achievement, McAdams was in grade school. The one thing they have in common is that they’re both Mormons.
On TV and in campaign events, Owens froths about the liberal “enemy” bent on destroying the country and the president, describing all Democrats as Marxists and socialists. Meanwhile, McAdams is donating his plasma for coronavirus research and voting in Congress for more national park funding in a state that has five of them. The race has thrown November’s choices into sharp contrast and will be a test of whether a Fox News endorsement is enough to elect a Trump-supporting Republican in a swing district.
“We have a generic, nationalized campaign going on,” observes Tim Chambless, a political science professor at the University of Utah.
The impeachment vote “seems so six months ago,” McAdams mused on a sunny day in June as we sat in a park near his house in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City. At 45, he still has the mild-mannered boyish appearance of the LDS missionary he once was. Two of his four school-age kids stopped by and said hello as we talked.
“My district will ultimately support Trump,” he told me. But he thinks Utah voters in the congressional race will “seek someone who will dial down the rhetoric. A lot of people are uncomfortable with [Trump’s] divisive style and want people who can bring some civility to politics.” McAdams seems nothing but civil and soft-spoken, qualities that post-impeachment may now have given him the highest approval ratings of any member of Utah’s congressional delegation. Salt Lake Tribune political columnist Robert Gehrke wrote recently that his inoffensiveness is “equaled only by white rice.”
McAdams’ reelection campaign has been helped by the GOP’s disarray—which is unusual given that Republicans hold every statewide office and 80 percent of the state legislative seats. “This should have been at the top of the Republicans’ wish list in terms of new pickups for 2020, but they seemed to struggle from the get-go,” says Karpowitz. “They couldn’t recruit more experienced candidates who would have made it a much more competitive race.”
“This should have been at the top of the Republicans’ wish list in terms of new pickups for 2020, but they seemed to struggle from the get-go.”
Early frontrunner Utah Senate Majority Whip Dan Hemmert dropped out of the race in December, leaving a primary field crowded with B-listers. Delegates to the state nominating convention in April failed to coalesce around a single candidate, leaving McAdams without an obvious opponent until Owens won the June 30 GOP primary with 43 percent of the vote.
Now Owens is trying to introduce himself to the general electorate. Campaign materials highlight his football career—first-round draft pick for the New York Jets in 1973, a 1981 Super Bowl championship with the Oakland Raiders—and his Fox News appearances. He draws on a compelling personal story of growing up in segregated Tallahassee and speaks openly about his hard times. After 10 seasons with the NFL and a failed business venture, he was so strapped for cash that he lived in a basement apartment in Brooklyn with his wife and four kids under ten and supported his family with random jobs like working as a chimney sweep. Recovery came slowly, helped by a corporate job at the Utah-based WordPerfect and eventually a career as a motivational speaker.
Then there are the two bankruptcies, one in 1991 and again in 2001, and the thousands of dollars’ worth of tax liens he racked up in New York. He also once had more than $200,000 in unpaid federal taxes. His financial disclosure statement shows that he still owes the IRS $6,500.
Utah doesn’t figure much into the narrative. Owens apparently owns no property in the district, not to mention the state, he hopes to represent. The Utah address Owens lists in campaign finance documents and corporate records is for a house owned by an LLC controlled by one of his campaign donors, real estate developer William O. Perry III. (The Owens campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment.) Owens’ daughter Summur-Rayn Berrett, a former flight attendant who is being paid by his campaign for media consulting, is also listed at that address in federal elections filings. Since 2015, Owens has registered a number of business entities in Utah, but most are now inactive.
Owens touts his work with the nonprofit he founded called Second Chance 4 Youth, in which he tries to help kids coming out of the juvenile justice system get back on their feet, but it wasn’t registered in Utah until June 2019. One of the group’s board members is Tyler Perry, William O. Perry’s son. In an interview, Tyler Perry says that Owens is a family friend who first met his father at an event at the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, a Cold War-era civics group founded with support from President Dwight Eisenhower. Owens, who was living in Philadelphia at the time, spoke at the event. William O. Perry III was on the board, and the two hit it off.
When some of his children were attending Brigham Young University, Owens decided to move to Utah. Tyler Perry says they met about five years ago, and Owens later asked him to help with his nonprofit. “Burgess has a huge heart and everywhere he goes he wants to make a positive difference,” Perry says. “From my perspective he’s doing a great job of getting out and getting to know a lot of people. I would think it would be dang hard to come into a new place and put together what he’s put together.”
Nonetheless, Owens has some catching up to do. Everyone in Utah seems to know who McAdams is. In fact, Perry says some of his friends are close with McAdams and that his brother also knows him well. “Ben’s a good guy,” he says, highlighting the problem with the scorched earth campaign Owens seems to be running. In May, Owens told Matt Boyle on Breitbart News, “In the case of Ben McAdams, he is a nice guy, but he stands right there with Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters, [Adam] Schiff, and the other socialist-Marxists that are trying to take down our country,” apparently not realizing that McAdams voted against Pelosi for House Speaker. “I’m the person best positioned to beat Ben McAdams because I will call them what they are: they are bullies and cowards and socialist-Marxists, and I will let them know that we will not stand for it anymore.” As one anonymous Republican told UtahPolicy.com recently, “No one, except for a few very right-wing crazies, believes Ben McAdams is a Marxist.”
Born and raised in Utah, McAdams went to the University of Utah and Columbia Law School, where he met his wife, and practiced law in New York City before joining a Utah firm. He quickly headed into local government, working for former Salt Lake City mayor Ralph Becker, then serving two years in the Utah state senate before becoming a popular Salt Lake County mayor in 2012. During his six years as mayor, McAdams worked on bipartisan issues like homelessness with Utah establishment figures like his friend Josh Romney, one of Mitt’s five sons.
Once in Congress, McAdams focused on local issues, particularly his recent efforts to block Trump administration plans to restart nuclear weapons testing in Nevada. Nuclear testing is a subject that often transcends partisan politics in the state. In the 1950s and early ‘60s, the federal government knowingly exposed thousands of Utah residents—known as “downwinders”—to high levels of radiation from open-air testing in the Nevada desert. Many have died from radiation-related cancers, including the state’s last Democratic governor, Scott Matheson. (His son Jim Matheson was the last Democrat to hold the 4th District seat.) In the 1980s, former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) helped pass the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, securing compensation for downwinders sickened by nuclear fallout.
“I will be supporting our president because he supports our country…He just needs to have some backbone in the House and Senate to make this thing happen really right.”
McAdams has opposed Trump’s proposal and has successfully inserted language into a defense appropriation bill to block new testing. Owens, however, is a fan. On a local talk radio show in June, the host asked Owens if he supported Trump’s plan to restart nuclear testing. “Absolutely,” he responded. “I will be supporting our president because he supports our country. He loves our country. He does it for free. He just needs to have some backbone in the House and Senate to make this thing happen really right.” Later in the interview, Owens reiterated that “we should be loyal, period” to leaders who support God, family and country, as he thinks Trump does.
Such comments have raised eyebrows in Utah. Steve Erickson, a longtime Utah volunteer with Downwinders Inc., an advocacy group formed in the late 1970s, says sticking with Trump on the nuclear testing issue “could end up being a strategic mistake.”
How did someone with so few ties to Utah win the GOP primary in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional races? For that he can probably thank Fox News. Owens is a regular on the conservative news network and has appeared on shows like Fox and Friends to complain about NFL players taking a knee during the National Anthem. Dubbing himself the “the anti-Colin Kaepernick,” Owens testified before Congress last year to oppose reparations for the descendants of slaves, after penning an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing, “I didn’t earn slavery reparations. I don’t want them.”
His campaign rhetoric is generic Fox News mixed with pro-football motivational jargon and locker room clichés. During the GOP primary debate in early June, he highlighted his “four tenets” —head, heart, hands and home—that guide him. But during the media scrum after the debate, Owens couldn’t answer a single question about what specifically he planned to do in Congress aside from fighting “the enemy” and “evil at the door,” also known as Democrats.
Owens has expanded on his political views in two books, which express some old-fashioned ideas about women. In Liberalism or How to Turn Good men into Whiners, Weenies and Wimps, he devotes an entire section to “chivalry,” which he believes liberalism has ruined by “blur[ing] the line between genders, thus facilitating and encouraging the demeaning of both.” For Owens, manhood has a “divine nature” that must be deployed “for the protection and care of womanhood.” (Perhaps not surprisingly, Owens is divorced.) He’s also ventured into the world of right-wing conspiracy theories. In May, he appeared on a QAnon Internet show—which claims a “deep state” cabal that runs a pedophile ring is plotting against Trump and his supporters— and asked for support and campaign contributions.
After he jumped into the Utah congressional race, Owens told the Deseret News that President Trump was “an advocate for Black Americans, Black kids getting educated, having a choice. I love the fact he’s all about having Black Americans having jobs.” Trump had “done more to help my community come out of the darkness than any president in my lifetime,” he insisted. His loyalty was rewarded. After Owens secured the GOP nomination Trump tweeted an endorsement:
Congratulations, @BurgessOwens, on your impressive primary victory! A Super Bowl Champion, Burgess knows how to WIN. Strong on Life, Military, Vets and the #2A, he will always fight for Utah. Burgess has my Complete and Total Endorsement! #UT04 https://t.co/UppUx24FXx — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2020
But Trump’s support for Owens may not translate into votes in November. Utah has a rather tortured relationship with Trump, who received the lowest percentage of votes in the state than any GOP presidential candidate since George H.W. Bush in 1992. Utah politicians were among the loudest voices denouncing Trump after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape during the campaign, where Trump admitted to sexually assaulting women. Most of them eventually endorsed him, but for the first time in its history, the Deseret News, owned by the LDS church, weighed in on the election and called for Trump to resign from his campaign.
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney (R) was the only Republican senator to vote in favor of Trump’s impeachment and has said he won’t vote for him in November. More importantly, in 2016, Trump won only 39 percent of the voters in McAdams’ district; independent Evan McMullin pulled in another 20 percent. Trump’s approval rating among voters in the district is still just 39 percent, and some polling suggests Democratic nominee Joe Biden is leading Trump by five points there.
These numbers may not do much to help Owens knock off a popular incumbent who is headed into the race with a significant fundraising advantage. McAdams raised $3.4 million by the end of June, dwarfing the $766,000 Owens has raised. “The voters know him. They elected him [mayor] twice,” Chambless says. “In contrast, Burgess Owens is relatively unknown except those who watch Fox News.”
Back in the Salt Lake park, McAdams seemed relaxed and sanguine about the race. He talked about the plasma study he’s participating in, and, true to form, pointedly declined to say anything negative about Owens. “I take some comfort in telling myself the best way to get reelected is to do my job,” McAdams said. “This district doesn’t belong to the Democratic or Republican Party.”


motherjones--2020-07-24--The Trump Files: Donald and the Great Geico Boycott

This post was originally published as part of “ The Trump Files ” —a collection of telling episodes , strange but true stories , and curious scenes from the life of our current President—on June 1 The Donald knows a bad commercial when he sees one , and he won ’ t hesitate to strike back against them .
“ Something has to be done about this terrible , terrible Geico ad , ” he demanded in the March 21 , 2011 , edition of his “ From The Desk of Donald Trump ” YouTube series .
At the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basically nothing but a gravelly-voiced man in a suit asking rhetorical questions .
( Look , they were weird .
Just watch them yourselves . )
Trump was incensed by the ads .
“ It ’ s the worst I ’ ve ever seen on television , ” he complained .
“ They ’ ve got this third-rate guy acting like he ’ s Humphrey Bogart , he ’ s driving people crazy…It ’ s a horrible commercial , it bothers everybody.
” But , as always , Trump had a plan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boycott Geico , ” he told his internet fans .
“ This is not Humphrey Bogart .
If it were , Humphrey Bogart would not be a very famous guy.
” Read the rest of The Trump Files : • Trump Files # 1 : The Time Andrew Dice Clay Thanked Donald for the Hookers • Trump Files # 2 : When Donald Tried to Stop Charlie Sheen ’ s Marriage to Brooke Mueller • Trump Files # 3 : The Brief Life of the “ Trump Chateau for the Indigent ” • @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He Went Bananas on a Water Cooler

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This post was originally published as part of “The Trump Files”—a collection of telling episodes, strange but true stories, and curious scenes from the life of our current President—on June 1
The Donald knows a bad commercial when he sees one, and he won’t hesitate to strike back against them.
“Something has to be done about this terrible, terrible Geico ad,” he demanded in the March 21, 2011, edition of his “From The Desk of Donald Trump” YouTube series. At the time, Geico was running ads that featured basically nothing but a gravelly-voiced man in a suit asking rhetorical questions. (Look, they were weird. Just watch them yourselves.) Trump was incensed by the ads.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen on television,” he complained. “They’ve got this third-rate guy acting like he’s Humphrey Bogart, he’s driving people crazy…It’s a horrible commercial, it bothers everybody.”
But, as always, Trump had a plan to solve this. “We ought to boycott Geico,” he told his internet fans. “This is not Humphrey Bogart. If it were, Humphrey Bogart would not be a very famous guy.”
Read the rest of The Trump Files:


motherjones--2020-07-24--He Defended Anti-Gay and Anti-Muslim Causes. Now He’s an Immigration Judge.

During the 2014-2015 school year , Caleigh Wood started to learn about Islam as part of her 11th-grade world history class .
Upon discovering this , Caleigh ’ s dad , John , wrote on Facebook that he “ just about fucking lost it , ” adding in response to a commenter , “ A 556 round [ of ammunition ] doesn ’ t study Islam and it kills them fuckers everyday.
” John told the school ’ s vice principal that “ you can take that fucking Islam and shove it up your white fucking ass , ” according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he was going to create a “ shit storm like you have never seen , ” he got banned from the La Plata , Maryland , high school .
That could have been the end of the story .
Instead , Brandon Bolling and other lawyers from the Thomas Law More Center , a right-wing Christian group that declares itself “ battle ready to defend America , ” represented John as he sued the Charles County public school system for allegedly attempting to indoctrinate his daughter into Islam .
Last week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hired Bolling , a former Marine and federal attorney , to be an assistant chief immigration judge in Texas , even though he has no discernible immigration experience .
During two stints at the Thomas More Law Center—neither of which is disclosed in his government bio—Bolling worked on numerous cases that pitted his clients against Muslims and the gay community .
Now Bolling will help oversee the immigration cases of people detained in El Paso , and could be responsible for deciding whether victims of persecution based on their religions and sexual orientations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bolling is one of 46 new immigration judges recently hired by the Trump administration .
Another is Matt O ’ Brien , who served as the research director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform , one of the country ’ s leading anti-immigrant groups .
The decision to hire both men is an escalation of the Trump administration ’ s efforts to select judges sympathetic to its anti-immigration agenda .
( The Justice Department ’ s Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Thomas More Law Center did not respond to requests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Justice Department , immigration courts lack the independence of federal courts .
The decisions they make can determine whether immigrants who have been in the United States for decades can remain , or whether asylum seekers will be deported to the countries they fled .
Even when immigrants appeal their decisions , they generally stick , since the Trump administration has made a point of filling the Board of Immigration Appeals with judges known for denying nearly all asylum claims .
When the Thomas More Law Center first hired Bolling more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s president , Richard Thompson , highlighted Bolling ’ s tours during Operation Enduring Freedom .
“ I have a bias for lawyers with combat backgrounds , ” Thompson said .
“ They make great lawyers in the Culture War.
” John Wood wasn ’ t the first Marine Bolling represented in a lawsuit targeting Islam .
In 2008 , Bolling , another Thomas More attorney , and David Yerushalmi— “ The Man Behind the Anti-Shariah Movement , ” in the words of a New York Times headline—filed a complaint on behalf of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a suit against then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson .
The suit alleged that the federal government violated the First Amendment by acquiring a stake in the finance and insurance giant AIG as part of its response to the financial crisis .
The lawyers argued that AIG engaged in “ Shariah-based Islamic religious activities that are anti-Christian , anti-Jewish , and anti-American ” by offering some insurance products that complied with tenets of Islamic religious law governing lending and borrowing in order to serve Muslim clients .
Eugene Volokh , a law professor at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time , “ The government no more cares about advancing Shariah through the AIG bailout than my local Ralphs supermarket cares about advancing kosher laws by selling products that are certified kosher.
” But the lawsuit claimed that the “ government ’ s endorsement of Islamic law sends a message to [ Murray ] …that he is an outsider , not a full member of the political community.
” Murray ’ s lawyers wrote that “ the theo-political doctrine of Islam is contrary to the dictates of the First Amendment ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a way to “ gain political control and exercise Islamic authority over a population.
” The word “ infidel ” appeared seven times in their complaint .
Not surprisingly , a judge dismissed the suit .
( Bolling was no longer at Thomas More at the time . )
Bolling also took aim at homosexuality and sex education .
In 2008 , Bolling challenged the sex education curriculum of Montgomery County , Maryland , on behalf of plaintiffs including a group called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays .
A Thomas More press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the notion that “ homosexuality is innate—meaning they are born that way.
” Bolling argued in court that the curriculum was illegal because it required teaching factually inaccurate information , specifically that homosexuality is innate .
He also thought it should be illegal to show students how to use condoms while engaging in oral and anal sex on the grounds that Maryland law prohibited teaching “ erotic techniques.
” The judge upheld the curriculum after a six-year legal battle that involved numerous other legal challenges .
( The Thomas More center has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial support from Domino ’ s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan . )
John Wood didn ’ t fare much better than Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays .
Judge George Hazel concluded that Caleigh ’ s Christian teacher did not have a secret Muslim indoctrination plot .
“ [ T ] he First Amendment does not afford the right to build impenetrable silos , completely separating adherents of one religion from ever learning of beliefs contrary to their own , ” Hazel concluded in favor of the school district .
“ Nor , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it prohibit a high school teacher from leading a purely academic study of a religion that may differ from the religious beliefs of some of his students .
”

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During the 2014–2015 school year, Caleigh Wood started to learn about Islam as part of her 11th grade world history class. Upon discovering this, Caleigh’s dad, John, wrote on Facebook that he “just about fucking lost it,” adding in response to a commenter, “A 556 round [of ammunition] doesn’t study Islam and it kills them fuckers everyday.” John told the school’s vice principal that “you can take that fucking Islam and shove it up your white fucking ass,” according to federal court records. After saying that he was going to create a “shit storm like you have never seen,” he got banned from the La Plata, Maryland, high school.
That could have been the end of the story. Instead, Brandon Bolling and other lawyers from the Thomas Law More Center, a right-wing Christian group that declares itself “battle ready to defend America,” represented John as he sued the Charles County public school system for allegedly attempting to indoctrinate his daughter into Islam.
Last week, the Justice Department announced that it had hired Bolling, a former Marine and federal attorney, to be an assistant chief immigration judge in Texas, even though he has no discernible immigration experience. During two stints at the Thomas More Law Center—neither of which is disclosed in his government bio—Bolling worked on numerous cases that pitted his clients against Muslims and the gay community. Now Bolling will help oversee the immigration cases of people detained in El Paso, and could be responsible for deciding whether victims of persecution based on their religions and sexual orientations receive protection under US asylum laws.
Bolling is one of 46 new immigration judges recently hired by the Trump administration. Another is Matt O’Brien, who served as the research director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, one of the country’s leading anti-immigrant groups. The decision to hire both men is an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to select judges sympathetic to its anti-immigration agenda. (The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Thomas More Law Center did not respond to requests for comment.)
As part of the Justice Department, immigration courts lack the independence of federal courts. The decisions they make can determine whether immigrants who have been in the United States for decades can remain, or whether asylum seekers will be deported to the countries they fled. Even when immigrants appeal their decisions, they generally stick, since the Trump administration has made a point of filling the Board of Immigration Appeals with judges known for denying nearly all asylum claims.
When the Thomas More Law Center first hired Bolling more than a decade ago, the center’s president, Richard Thompson, highlighted Bolling’s tours during Operation Enduring Freedom. “I have a bias for lawyers with combat backgrounds,” Thompson said. “They make great lawyers in the Culture War.”
John Wood wasn’t the first Marine who Bolling represented in a lawsuit targeting Islam. In 2008, Bolling, another Thomas More attorney, and David Yerushalmi—“The Man Behind the Anti-Shariah Movement,” in the words of a New York Times headline—filed a complaint on behalf of a former Marine named Kevin Murray in a suit against then–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The suit alleged that the federal government violated the First Amendment by acquiring a stake in the finance and insurance giant AIG as part of its response to the financial crisis. The lawyers argued that AIG engaged in “Shariah-based Islamic religious activities that are anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-American” by offering some insurance products that complied with tenets of Islamic religious law governing lending and borrowing in order to serve Muslim clients. Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles, pointed out at the time, “The government no more cares about advancing Shariah through the AIG bailout than my local Ralphs supermarket cares about advancing kosher laws by selling products that are certified kosher.”
But the lawsuit claimed that the “government’s endorsement of Islamic law sends a message to [Murray]…that he is an outsider, not a full member of the political community.” Murray’s lawyers wrote that “the theo-political doctrine of Islam is contrary to the dictates of the First Amendment’s religion clauses” and that jihad was a way to “gain political control and exercise Islamic authority over a population.” The word “infidel” appeared seven times in their complaint. Not surprisingly, a judge dismissed the suit. (Bolling was no longer at Thomas More at the time.)
Bolling also took aim at homosexuality and sex education. In 2008, Bolling challenged the sex education curriculum of Montgomery County, Maryland, on behalf of plaintiffs including a group called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. A Thomas More press release stated that the lawsuit objected to the notion that “homosexuality is innate—meaning they are born that way.”
Bolling argued in court that the curriculum was illegal because it required teaching factually inaccurate information, specifically that homosexuality is innate. He also thought it should be illegal to show students how to use condoms while engaging in oral and anal sex on the grounds that Maryland law prohibited teaching “erotic techniques.” The judge upheld the curriculum after a six-year legal battle that involved numerous other legal challenges. (The Thomas More center has been able to afford such prolonged litigation with financial support from Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan.)
John Wood didn’t fare much better than Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. Judge George Hazel concluded that Caleigh’s Christian teacher did not have a secret Muslim indoctrination plot. “[T]he First Amendment does not afford the right to build impenetrable silos, completely separating adherents of one religion from ever learning of beliefs contrary to their own,” Hazel concluded in favor of the school district. “Nor, in this Court’s view, does it prohibit a high school teacher from leading a purely academic study of a religion that may differ from the religious beliefs of some of his students.”