Monthly Archives: June 2022

Rotunda Rumblings

Jan. 6: A pair of Ohio politicians featured prominently at Tuesdays surprise hearing into the Jan. 6 incursion into the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. As Richardson reports, former White House aide Max Miller, who is running for Congress in Rocky River, testified that then-President Donald Trump wanted to go to the Capitol following his speech to supporters that immediately preceded the overrunning of the Capitol. And Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, said Rep. Jim Jordan, a Champaign County Republican, called Meadows as the Trump supporters breached the halls of Congress chanting Hang Mike Pence.

Blast from the past: Ohio Auditor Keith Faber released a report Tuesday saying that the shuttered Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow owes the state more than $117 million, Seth Richardson reports. That includes more than $106 million to the Ohio Department of Education and another $10-plus million to the Attorney Generals office.

Toxic relationship: Cuyahoga County residents live near 141 facilities that release toxins into the land, water and air. Zachary Smith looked at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records and found the steel industry comprises a large percentage of the toxins released. However, not all toxins have equal health harms. For instance, the zinc compounds released by steelmakers are less harmful than lower levels of chromium.

Power on: In addition to Columbia Gas of Ohio, which is seeking a rate increase on Ohio customers to raise $221 million more a year, other utilities AES Ohio, Duke Energy and Aqua Ohio -- have increase requests before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, in all seeking an extra $400 million. This comes at a time when Ohio families have to pay more for goods and services because of inflation and after the U.S. Department of Justice twice subpoenaed PUCO records after the House Bill 6 scandal, Ohio Capital Journals Jake Zuckerman writes.

Sub way: In the Cincinnati area, the need for substitute teachers decreased in the spring, down from January, when the omicron variant resulted in teachers calling in sick, reports the Enquirers Madeline Mitchell. In March, the legislature passed a bill allowing people to obtain temporary substitute teaching licenses without having bachelors degrees.

Moving on: Although the site for the future Intel semiconductor plant outside Columbus has been described as barren, families who lived on that land are sad to leave. They described stressful negotiations with the company, which offered them sums above market value for their homes, the Associated Press Andrew Welsh-Huggins and Patrick Orsagos report.

Drug money: The OneOhio Recovery Foundation was set up as a private nonprofit to spend $440 million the state secured from lawsuits against opioid distributors. However, notices of board meetings are hard to find, and some of its working groups arent meeting in public, the Dispatchs Titus Wu reports. This has a leader at Harm Reduction Ohio, which works to reduce overdoses, concerned about whether the money will be actually spent to mitigate the effects of the opioid crisis.

Appalachian cash: Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 377, which offers $500 million for 32 Ohio counties in Appalachia. Money will be spent on infrastructure, including downtown Main Street development, health care behavioral health, workforce development and job training.

Open your checkbook: Chinedum Ndukwe, a former Bengals player who is now a developer in Cincinnati, testified in court Tuesday that he felt preyed upon by local politicians who insisted on contributions before approving his real estate deals. Ndukwe is a prosecution witness in the trial against Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, Kevin Grasha and Sharon Coolidge report for the Enquirer.

Lobbying Lineup

Five organizations lobbying on Senate Bill 227, which would establish a committee to study public assistance benefits cliffs, or points when workers get pay raises that make them ineligible for benefits even if the wage increases arent enough to be able to afford food, health care or other types of aid. The Democratic-sponsored bill has only received one hearing, last year.

1. Funders Collaborative on COVID Recovery, which is part of the Cleveland Foundation

2. Mount Carmel Health System

3. Ohio Chamber of Commerce

4. Philanthropy Ohio

5. Ohio Department of Medicaid

Birthdays

Maya Majikas, Ohio House Democrats deputy communications director

Straight From The Source

Today we saw a patient in Dayton who has cancer. Her doctors told her she would have to terminate before she received chemotherapy treatment. She will have to travel to Indiana. A mom brought her daughter in and doesnt own a car. She will have to rent one to get her daughter to her appointment in Indianapolis later this week.

-A representative of Womens Med Center in Dayton, who asked not to be named for her safety, talking to the Dayton Daily News amid a chaotic scene Monday as women who had scheduled abortions were not legally allowed to obtain them if they were beyond six weeks, or when fetal cardiac activity can be detected.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.

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Donald Trump wanted to head to the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, Ohios Max Miller testifies: Capitol Letter - cleveland.com

It's the Summer of Trump for Letitia James and her band of Trump Organization investigators.

With statute of limitations deadlines looming, New York's attorney general has signaled that her office is wrapping up its massive, three-year inquiry into an alleged pattern of financial fraud at Donald Trump's multi-billion-dollar hotel and golf resort empire.

There will be no summer slowdown as James races to file the result of that probe, an expected encyclopedic lawsuit quite possibly seeking to put the company out of business entirely.

Depositions from Donald Trump and his two eldest children, plus an ongoing, giant evidence dump from longtime Trump appraisers Cushman & Wakefield to include Cushman's entire archive of communications with Trump and Trump Org will make for a very busy July as the finish line nears.

James' investigators have by now recorded subpoena-mandated depositions from some 40 witnesses. Those include less-than-enlightening sessions with the Trump Organization's two top executives, former CFO Allen Weisselberg and Eric Trump, who has helmed the business as executive vice president since his father became president in 2017.

James has left the hottest depositions for smack in the middle of summer.

Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump, Jr. have all been court-ordered to sit for questioning some time between Friday, July 15, and Friday, July 22. Reps for Trump and the AG's office declined to say whether or when those have been scheduled.

The three Trumps could follow in Weisselberg's and Eric Trump's footsteps, and plead the fifth hundreds of times, but there would be a legal cost.

The depositions will be taped, and those tapes will become evidence for a jury should James' eventual lawsuit and any possible demand for fines, restitution or a dissolution of the business go to trial.

A jury would be told that they are allowed to draw a negative inference from the sight of any witness invoking the right to remain silent rather than risk self-incrimination.

Meanwhile, evidence is pouring in by the hundreds of thousands of pages from Cushman & Wakefield, in response to their loss two weeks ago of a last-ditch appeal at New York's highest court.

James's probers appear to care a lot about the Chicago-based Cushman, Trump's go-to appraisers for well over a decade.

They've alleged that Trump used "fraudulent or misleading" Cushman appraisals to win $165 million in tax breaks and bank loans. At least some of those questionable appraisals were made in what the AG has called "an atmosphere of pressure applied to them by the Trump Organization."

The real estate services giant is now scrambling to comply with the third of four subpoenas James has issued since June of 2019, according to a new court filing that gives a sense of how much new paperwork the AG's office is in the midst of processing.

Cushman has turned over 800,000 pages of documents to the AG's probe. Some 500,000 of those pages were turned over in the past week, lawyers for the appraisal firm say in the filing.

But two sets of documents, demanded in that third subpoena, issued in September, remain to be turned over.

And here is where lawyers for Cushman say they are struggling and need more time, ideally until July 15, after having blown past this week's deadline.

What are they still laboring to turn over? The third subpoena's first and second document requests:

"All documents and communications concerning any work performed for Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization."

And:

"All documents and communications concerning any work performed concerning property or assets owned by Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization."

Some of this material, including "emails, substantial hard copy documents, and other e-discovery materials," has already been turned over, the new Cushman filing says.

But the e-discovery firm that's helping collect and process Cushman's documents, Platinum Intelligent Data Solutions, is still scouring through 1.78 terabytes of emails "involving current and former employees," in an effort to parse out what else must be turned over, the filing says.

"This is estimated to include approximately 9 million e-mails with attachments consisting of approximately 72 million pages," the filing says, describing the huge database now being sifted for Trump-related communications.

The AG's office has yet to respond to Cushman's request for a two-week delay, which would also have to be approved by the Manhattan judge who is presiding over the AG's probe, NY Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.

That's the judge who on Wednesday ruled that Donald Trump is no longer in contempt of court over an earlier failure to fully comply with James' subpoena for his business documents.

As for the 500,000 pages turned over by Cushman in the past week, those include some 1,000 valuations, stretching back to 2012, that were conducted by 5 Cushman-employee appraisers of Trump properties, the latest filing also says.

James has said she wants to compare how the 5 appraisers set values for Trump properties with how they set values for similar non-Trump properties.

The 5 appraisers worked on three properties James is looking closely at 40 Wall Street, the Seven Springs estate in Upstate New York, and the Trump National Golf Club near Los Angeles.

Any measurable favoritism toward Trump, which Cushman has steadfastly denied, could result in the AG naming the appraisal firm as a defendant in her lawsuit.

A Cushman spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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Tish James' Summer of Trump: depos and a big doc dump mark NY probe's 11th hour - Business Insider

An attorney who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court said that former President Donald Trump is not only unfit to be president, but he's unfit "to be in this country."

Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal told MSNBC's Deadline White House on Thursday that the fifth day of hearings by the House Select Committee investigating January 6, 2021, had painted a picture of Trump as a "third-rate dictator."

The committee heard from former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue on Thursday, who alleged Trump had pressured the Department of Justice (DOJ) to declare the 2020 presidential election "corrupt."

MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace asked Katyal for his reaction to the testimony on the fifth day of hearings.

Katyal said that Donoghue's testimony was "the soul of the Justice Department. It's not political," and pointed out that he had personally worked for two attorneys general who pursued both Republicans and Democrats and "didn't protect their friends."

Katyal has a long association with the DOJ and was acting solicitor general from 2010 to 2011. He has also frequently argued before the Supreme Court, including as co-counsel for former Vice President Al Gore in the well-known 2000 election case Bush v. Gore.

"You asked about my emotional reaction," Katyal told Wallace. "Donald Trump is not fit, not only to be in this country - not only to be president of this country, but even to be in this country."

"The picture today was a third-rate dictator somewhere else," he went on. "That's the way justice departments and presidents in foreign countries behave, the way that Trump did, not the way our Justice Department did."

"Regardless of what you think about various presidents - Bush, Reagan, Clinton - nobody, nobody treated the Justice Department this way and nobody put anyone in the Justice Department like Jeffrey Clark, who would do that kind of bidding."

Katyal was referring to testimony at Thursday's hearing about a White House meeting in December 2020, at which Trump reportedly considered firing Rosen and installing DOJ environmental lawyer Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general.

Clark was allegedly involved in a plan to send a letter to officials in the state of Georgia containing claims about election fraud and urging the legislature to convene to consider appointing a new slate of electors.

On Thursday, the select committee also showed some handwritten notes Donoghue had made during his conversations with Trump about the 2020 election.

Those notes indicate that when DOJ officials told Trump they could not alter the election results, Trump responded: "Don't expect you to do that, just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen."

Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger asked Donoghue to confirm that that comment was a direct quote from the former president.

"That's an exact quote from the president, yes," Donoghue said.

Former President Trump has previously denied that he urged the DOJ to call the 2020 election "corrupt."

Newsweek has asked former President Trump's office for comment.

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Donald Trump 'Not Fit To Be in This Country': U.S. Supreme Court Lawyer - Newsweek

Time to Log Off is a weekly series documenting the many ways our political figures show their whole asses online.

Reactions to the Supreme Courts decision last week to revoke federal protections for reproductive rights access have ranged from rage and horror to bumbling ineptitude to gleeful celebration at the abolishment of bodily autonomy by six unelected hard-right jurists.

And then theres Donald Trump Jr., the largest adult-est son of former President Donald Trump, who spent the past week suggesting that efforts to vaccinate the public during a global pandemic are part of the same nefarious enterprise run by Democrats who kill babies on demand. Now, it should be noted that Trump Jr. is not an expert in public policy, legal theory, or medical treatment of any sort. What he is is a chittering rich kid who loves killing things with guns. All sorts of guns. So many guns.

Indeed, Donj put his firearm expertise to good (???) use this week, while trying to clown on acclaimed actress and activist Jane Fonda someone who has actually and famously used her position of power and prestige to try to make the world a better place.

First, heres Fonda:

Now, admittedly, its not a great tweet. More of a cringey if well intentioned attempt to make the (clich, but still accurate) observation that this country sure seems to care more about letting folks shoot one another dead in the streets than it does allowing pregnant people to make their own decisions about their own bodies.

But uh-oh, here comes Trump Jr., charging hard down center court in an attempt to dunk right in Fondas face and I say attempt intentionally, because, well:

Now, theres a lot to unpack here, so bear with me. First off, Hanoi Jane has written extensively about her regrets in having been used for North Vietnamese propaganda as part of her anti-Vietnam War activism. And while the nickname has haunted her for nearly half a century, its pretty clear that in the grand scheme of history, being against the Vietnam War was, and remains to be, the unambiguously morally superior position. So, okay, a lousy nickname, but hardly the diss Trump Jr. thinks it is.

But more to the issue at hand here: What exactly is Donjs point? Like, on a purely rhetorical level, what specifically is he trying to say here? That Fonda chose the iconic Soviet-era rifle over the U.S. militarys standard M-16 firearm because shes ... what? Unpatriotically opposed to American guns? No shit, genius, shes literally saying exactly that in her initial tweet! Would Donj have lapped up Fondas abortion rights sentiment if only shed chosen to compare reproductive health organs with an American product? Is Donj even aware of what hes typing these days, or does he just reflexively lurch toward the keyboard to sputter out whatever he thinks in a given moment?

Look, I understand that Im probably never going to get concrete answers to any of those questions. Ive accepted it. But in the meantime, is it so much to ask for Donj to do us all a favor and try just a little harder when hes attempting to score glib culture war points on a beloved senior citizen? Or, barring that, couldnt he simply do the right thing and log off forever? Ill be waiting.

Stories that Fuel Conversations

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Donald Trump Jr. really wants Jane Fonda to be more accurate with her vagina metaphors - Mic

To say that there were many takeaways from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinsons vivid June 28 testimony about Donald Trumps actions on January 6, 2021 would be an understatement. Hutchinson, 26, worked as an aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and testified for nearly 2 hours and gave recorded depositions ahead of the hearing with the White House select committee investigating what transpired on January 6.

According to CNN, several Republican lawmakers (who wanted to remain private) allegedly were stunned and disturbed by the latest revelations. Some key updates from Hutchinson that seemed to shock these insiders were that Trump knew the insurrection crowd was armed and wanted to join them at the Capitol on the day of the violent riots, CNNs Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona reported.

This is a bombshell. Its stunning. Its shocking.The story about The Beast I dont have words. Its just stunning, one Trump adviser, reportedly said, referring to the presidential limousine. This paints a picture of Trump completely unhinged and completely losing all control which, for his base, they think of him as someone who is in command at all times. This completely flies in the face of that, the adviser allegedly added.

In the days following Hutchinsons testimony, Trump has tried to distance himself from Hutchinson, saying he hardly knew her when they were proved to have worked together many times. In response to this, former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthewstweeted,Anyone downplaying Cassidy Hutchinsons role or her access in the West Wing either doesnt understand how the Trump [White House] worked or is attempting to discredit her because theyre scared of how damning this testimony is.

Speaking to CNN, another former White House aide (who wanted to remain anonymous) allegedly said, Everyone high up at the (White House) knew her. And even if Trump didnt know her name, he most certainly recognized her. She traveled on (Air Force One) with Mark for every trip. Additionally, this former aide told the publication that Hutchinsons testimony was 100% believable given what this aide experienced while working in the Trump White House themself.

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Donald Trump Just Received The Most Devastating News About Jan. 6This Is A Bombshell - SheFinds

Mike Tyson has had a long professional relationship with Donald Trump dating back to the 1980s. Moreover, Trump also hosted Tysons fight against Michael Spinks at his hotel The Atlantic City Convention in which Tyson won to become the heavyweight champion.

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However, according to an article by news outlet The Mirror, Tyson once confronted the former President of the United States about having an alleged affair with his wife, Robin Givens. As per The Mirror, the details of this incident were mentioned in Trumps biography TrumpNation in which the author recalls this confrontation. He claimed that Tyson angrily approached Trump after hearing about the rumor and asked him, Could I ask you, are you f***ing my wife?.

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The author also mentioned Trumps first words after the confrontation: Now, if I froze, Im dead you would have zero chance. Heres the heavyweight champion of the world, and hes a solid piece of f****ng armor. However, Trumps immediate response was not mentioned by the author.

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WATCH: A Knockout So Brutal Mike Tyson Thought This Boxer Was Dead

about 7 hours ago

And, now Tyson has revealed the truth behind this incident and also shared his thoughts on the former president of the United States.

Tyson made an appearance on The Pivot Podcast hosted by former NFL StarsChanning Crowder, Fred Taylor, and Ryan Clark and was asked by Clark about the altercation with Trump.

I know you and Donald Trump are friends, but there is a story that you actually checked him about a woman before. Clark asked. Referring to the story by The Mirror. However, Tyson then went on to reveal that this was not the case as he simply said, Thats not true.

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Watch This Story:Five Infamous Altercations of Mike Tyson outside the Ring

Tyson then elaborated on his relationship with the former president, Well he promoted like 18 of my fights alright and so how can I not know him well, you know your promoter he promotes you hes taking pictures with you during the holidays, runs this show with you for what six weeks taking pictures doing all kind of s**t in front of the hotel and hes just some guy like us that became president said Tyson.

Lastly, Tyson added that according to him peoples opinion toward Trump changed after he became the president and that he remembered Trump as a good guy, He was good to everybody when he was giving everyone free tickets and free hotel rooms you know, he just became a president and I guess his politics changed or whatever it is but I always remember him for being a good guy . Tyson added.

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Although we do not know for sure if Tyson ever confronted Trump, according to the champ himself, the incident never happened.

Do you think Tyson ever confronted Trump? Let us know in the comments.

Link:

Mike Tyson Reveals Truth Behind Angry Confrontation With Donald Trump Who Allegedly Had an Affair With Robin Givens - EssentiallySports