Nathaniel Ledbetter supports April Weaver’s limits on good time bill
On Thursday, the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, Nathaniel Ledbetter, announced his support for legislation imposing further limitations on “good time” incentives for prisoners to get an early release. The legislation is sponsored by State Sen. April Weaver. It would limit and reduce inmates’ access to good time incentives. “Every so often, a tragic event reveals a flaw that needs to be corrected, and the loss of Deputy Brad Johnson and the wounding of Deputy Chris Poole offers strong evidence that Alabama’s system of awarding good time credit is broken and needs to be repaired,” Ledbetter said “Alabama is no place for serious crimes, and our prisons often reward dangerous criminals for bad behavior. I commend Senator April Weaver for introducing the Deputy Brad Johnson Act,” Ledbetter added. “I’m confident it will find a welcome reception in the Alabama House.” “Good time, formerly known as “correctional incentive time,” was originally designed to encourage an inmate to behave while in custody, improve themselves in prison, and respect the orders and authority of correctional officers,” Weaver. “Ultimately, it was a tool to help improve the safety of our correctional officers who work in environments that are inherently dangerous and often unforgiving.” Weaver continued, “In Alabama, the law allows inmates to have up to 75 days removed from their prison sentence for every 30 days served, meaning that prisoners can serve less than one-third of their sentence.” Currently, Alabama law allows inmates sentenced to 15 or fewer years in prison to receive “good time” behavior incentives to reduce their time in prison. Murders, rapists, and child predators are prohibited from qualifying for good time already. Only about 9% of state inmates were eligible for these incentives, according to the Alabama Sentencing Commission. The Legislature passed the Nick Risner Act last year to make people convicted of manslaughter ineligible for good time. That bill was named for Sheffield Police Officer Nick Risner, who was killed in a gun battle with a murder suspect who had previously been convicted of manslaughter in the death of his father but who had gotten out early due to good time. Whether or not an inmate received good time has been left to the prison wardens. Due to several recent incidents, including the Johnson slaying, Gov. Kay Ivey has imposed new rules for giving inmates good time. “Our actions today, very simply put, keep violent offenders off the street, incentivizes inmates who truly want to rehabilitate and better themselves, reinforces the concept that bad choices have consequences, and keeps our public safe,” Ivey said. Not everyone supports further limiting good time. The Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is campaigning against what they call “mass incarceration.” Carla Crowder is the executive director of Alabama Appleseed. Crowder told the Associated Press that Ivey’s executive order “essentially ends good time or makes it extremely difficult for anyone to earn it given the brutal conditions across the prison system.” “This is absurd and reflects state leadership that is completely out of touch with the public safety crisis in Alabama prisons,” Crowder said. “t would be laughable, if it weren’t so sad and dangerous, that anyone believes harsher punishments will fix this crisis and make anyone safer.” Alabama is one of the most violent states in the country. The vast majority of the people in the Alabama prisons are violent offenders and/or career repeat offenders. That said, the state has chronically underfunded the Alabama Department of Corrections. Alabama’s prisons are overcrowded and, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), are understaffed and the most violent in the country. The DOJ is suing the state, claiming that imprisonment in ADOC constitutes a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. The state’s aged, overcrowded prison facilities, chronic underfunding, and inability to properly staff ADOC makes it possible that the federal courts could side with the DOJ. If that happens, a mass release of thousands of dangerous inmates is a real possibility. Ledbetter was chosen as the new Speaker of the House in January’s organizational session of the Legislature. With the support of the Speaker of the House, it appears that this bill may be on the fast track toward passage. The 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session will begin on March 7. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Mike Rogers says Biden Administration should declare Russia in breach of nuclear arms treaty
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia will not participate in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty. Congressman Mike Rogers, the Chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, said that Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in New START should be declared a material breach of the treaty. “Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend participation in the New START Treaty should come as no surprise,” Rogers said. “Over the last ten years, he has systematically dismantled nuclear arms treaties with the United States and pursued an arms race. Whether Russia has already broken the treaty’s warhead limitations is not clear, but hoping Russia returns to the fold is not wise, nor is it a strategy. The Biden administration should declare Russia to be in ‘material breach’ of the New START Treaty and direct the Joint Staff and U.S. Strategic Command to accelerate planning in the event Russia breaches New START caps. All options must be on the table, including deploying additional nuclear forces and increasing the readiness of our nuclear triad. We must also accelerate efforts to modernize our nuclear systems, and I again call on the President to abandon his plans to weaken our deterrent, such as canceling the Nuclear Sea Launched Cruise Missile.” The START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) limits the number of weapons of mass destruction that the United States and the Russian Federation can deploy. The new START Treaty limits the United States to just 659 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and deployed heavy bombers (the B52, B1, B2, and the new B21 bombers). Russia is limited to just 540 heavy bombers. Since each launch system can launch multiple warheads on their deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers, START also limits the number of nuclear warheads the superpowers can have. START limits the U.S. to 1420 warheads, while Russia can have 1549. The treaty also strictly limits the number of missile launchers, ballistic missile submarines, and heavy bombers the two nations can have – both deployed and non-deployed. The U.S. is limited to only 800, while Russia is limited to only 759. If the two nations break out of the new START Treaty, that could potentially lead to a renewed nuclear arms race. If so, that puts the U.S. at a disadvantage as much of the Cold War era nuclear weapons-producing capacity of the United States has been allowed to lapse. The treaty requires Russia and the United States to allow inspection of their nuclear facilities to ensure that both sides comply with the limits. President Putin has not allowed the inspections to occur for months. Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the treaty simply makes official what has been the de facto Russian policy for a while. It is not known whether or not suspending the treaty means that Russia is going to break out of the weapons limits set in the treaty or not. Following the announcement, the Russian foreign ministry said the decision is “reversible.” The Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile that Rogers referenced is a proposal to reequip many major U.S. cruisers, destroyers, and submarines with nuclear-equipped cruise missiles. During the Cold War, the United States deployed a nuclear SLCM (or SLCM-N) called the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile-Nuclear (TLAM-N). The old nuclear-equipped Tomahawks have since been retired. Proponents argue that the SLCM-N would provide a regionally present, sea-based, survivable option needed to fill a gap in U.S. nuclear deterrence capabilities. Fielding the SLCM-N would require significant costs for the Navy. Tensions between the United States and Russia have increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the American decision to arm the Ukrainians. Mike Rogers is in his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
ADEM has authorized water and sewage projects in 63 of the 67 counties
On Tuesday, the Joint Legislative Committee on American Rescue Plan Act State Funds met in Montgomery for oversight hearings on the progress of spending the first billion dollars of federal funds for COVID relief. Much of that money is being spent on water and sewer projects. Lance LeFleur is the Director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). ADEM has been tasked with awarding those funds to water and sewer utilities. LeFleur said water projects have been approved for 63 of the 67 counties, and those other four counties have projects that will be in the next round of projects. LeFleur said that ADEM has $1.6 billion in funding available through 2026 and $3 billion in requests. “We have approximately $1.4 billion in projects that do not have a source of funding at this time,” LeFleur told Legislators. “We do have a website: Alabamawaterprojects.com.” “We have 600 systems in the state,” LeFleur explained. “Some systems have submitted multiple projects. Many of these are combination water and sewer systems.” LeFleur said that ADEM is considering every single project. All of the funding came through principal forgiveness or it came through a grant. “Under ARPA, the most dire needs were provided by grants,” LeFleur explained. State Sen. Greg Albritton chairs the oversight committee. “This is a lot of construction. Is there a contractor available to do all of this?” Albritton asked. “The simple answer is no,” LeFleur answered. “There are supply chain problems. We were faster at getting these awards out than any other state.” “In this process, it is important that we have proper oversight,” LeFleur explained. “We require a professional engineer to do the plant analysis, and then we check on the professional engineer to make sure that he did things right. Our engineers are very experienced. We make sure that the engineering on the front end is done properly. On the financial system, we require that each of these systems have an audit. We have to know the true financial picture of each of these systems. We have made the commitments at a very rapid pace compared to the rest of the nation. It is in the hands of the individual systems to get the final engineering done.” Lafleur continued, “We are not going to put any system in financial distress, but if they have the resources to contribute, it is important that they do that so we can get the most out of this money.” LeFleur said that for the poorest systems whose rates were already as high as their neighbors, the state would pick up 100% of the cost. If the system can afford matching dollars, ADEM requires them to provide those funds. Part of this financial evaluation of the systems is to examine the water and sewer rates charged by the systems. “They have to have rates that are consistent with the systems around them,” LeFleur said. “We have some systems that have not raised rates in a generation.” “Payment will only be made until after we have certified and made sure that the payments have been made,” LeFleur explained. “The funds will cover the costs of the engineers and the audits. We know that some systems have not had the funds to do audits in several years.” State Sen. Chris Elliott expressed his displeasure with how these awards are being prioritized. “My concern is and has been and continues to be that in the fastest growing county in the state that sees 8000 new people a year that represents 48% of the population growth in the entire state, that (State Senate) district received no funding, received zero projects – that is not acceptable,” Elliott said. LeFleur responded, “We do have one project in your county. Is that your district?” “That is not in my district. That is in the chairman’s district,” Elliott said. “And your problem with that is?” Chairman Albritton said. “Past growth is available for funding future growth is not available for funds,” LeFleur said. “Their systems (in Baldwin County) have the ability to fund growth.” “We have sewage overflows into Mobile Bay on a regular basis. We have sewage overflows in rivers and streams on a regular basis,” Elliott said. “Not allocating any resources into my district is very shortsighted.” Elliott threatened to filibuster future Senate meetings if his concerns are not addressed. Kirk Fulford is the head of the fiscal division of Alabama’s Legislative Services Agency (LSA). “Alabama was appropriated $2.12 billion,” Fulford said. Just over half of that money has been appropriated, Fulford explained. The Legislature will appropriate the second tranche of that money after it returns on March 7 for the 2023 Regular Legislative Session. Fulford said the Legislature had appropriated $222 million for water and sewer projects. The state has spent $400 million on two mega prisons under construction in Elmore and Escambia Counties. $80 million was spent on relief of Alabama hospitals, and another $80 million went to the state’s nursing homes. $51 million has been appropriated for broadband infrastructure projects. The state also qualified for additional dollars under ARPA and the CARES Act. “You used $277 million for broadband infrastructure thus far,” Fulford told legislators. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is tasked with awarding those funds. Most of the ARPA funds have to be spent by December 31, 2026, or must be returned to the federal treasury. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee to meet on Saturday
The Alabama Republican Party will hold its annual winter meeting on Saturday in Birmingham. The Republican State Executive Committee will be holding officer elections. The 440 members State Executive Committee will vote on the positions of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Regional Vice Chairmen. Chairman John Wahl is expected to run for re-election. Registration will open at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will gavel in at 10:00 a.m. at the Birmingham Sheraton Hotel Ballroom. The Sheraton is at 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard, in North Birmingham. The committee will also vote on several resolutions. The resolutions are nonbinding; but are meant to send a message to Republican officeholders, the legislature, and Congress as to the wishes of the grassroots of the party. All 67 counties are represented on the Executive Committee. Many of the members of the committee are elected by Republican primary voters. The rest are elected by the 67 county Republican parties. Membership is weighted in favor of counties that vote more heavily Republican. The executive committee meets twice a year – the Winter Meeting and the Summer Meeting. The Executive Committee selects the 21-member Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is the main governing body of the Alabama Republican Party. The 21-member committee meets at least once each quarter and helps define the direction of the Party while preserving and promoting the values of the Republican Party. The Steering Committee is comprised of the state chairman, the two RNC members, the senior vice chairman, three vice-chairs, secretary, treasurer, and representatives from each of the seven congressional districts. These are all chosen by the members of the Executive Committee. Four Republican auxiliary groups also have representation. These four are comprised of the Alabama Federation of Republican Women, the Alabama GOP Minority, the Young Republican Federation of Alabama, and the College Republican Federation of Alabama. The auxiliary members are elected by their respective organizations. The District Representatives are chosen by the Executive Committee members from their districts. All other officers are elected by the full State Executive Committee. The executive committee will hold a reception on Friday night. The important Winter Dinner meeting fundraising event will be held on Thursday, March 9. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will be the featured speaker at that dinner event. Since so many people wanted to attend the DeSantis event, the GOP has moved it to the Finley Center in Hoover to accommodate more guests. Tickets are $250 per person or $400 per couple. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Wes Allen says that ERIC offices are empty
On Thursday, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said that on a recent visit to the ERIC headquarters, he found no one there. On February 15, 2023, Allen made an unannounced visit to the published address of the headquarters of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) at 1201 Connecticut Ave NW Ste 600 in Washington, DC. Allen discovered that the location was actually the home of a virtual shared workspace and that no ERIC headquarters existed at the location. “I was in DC for a meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of States and since I was in town, I went to see the ERIC Headquarters,” Allen explained in a press release. “What I found was that there was no ERIC headquarters at that address. There were no employees. There were no servers. There was no ERIC presence of any kind. Instead, I found a virtual office that is rentable by the day. What it was missing was people, servers and any sign of the ERIC team.” ERIC has published the Connecticut Avenue address as its official address on its website. That information is either dated or factually inaccurate as the location is actually operated by Expansive, a company that offers virtual workspaces across the country and rents space by the day. “Before I took office, Alabama transmitted the personal information of millions of our citizens to this private organization for the past several years,” Allen continued. “That information is stored on a server somewhere, but we do not know where. There is no ERIC operation at the location they claim is their office. A lot of personal data and taxpayer money has been transferred to ERIC. Where is that data? Where are the employees? Where are the offices? Where are the computers?” Shortly after his inauguration last month, Allen informed ERIC that the state was withdrawing from participation. Allen made a promise to remove the state from the ERIC system during his campaign last year. Then-Secretary of State John H. Merrill defended ERIC. “In Alabama, ERIC is used to preserve a clean and accurate voter list and to contact eligible residents who are not registered voters,” Merrill stated. “Each month, we provide ERIC with a voters list and driver’s license data, and we receive information from ERIC for voter list maintenance in return. Monthly, our office receives a list of voter records that potentially need to be removed or inactivated based on deceased records from the Social Security Administration, potential duplicate voter records in Alabama, or voters that have potentially moved out of the state.” “Since joining the program in 2016, ERIC has identified more than 19,000 voter records of potentially deceased Alabama voters that died in this state or another ERIC member state,” Merrill continued. “98% of those voter records are no longer on the Alabama voter rolls. ERIC identified more than 222,000 voter records of potential cross-state movers from voter lists and driver’s license information obtained from other ERIC member states. 90% of those identified voter records are either no longer on the Alabama voter rolls or have been placed on a path to be removed in accordance with federal law. ERIC identified more than 24,000 voter records of potential duplicate registered voters in which an Alabama voter had duplicate records with potential inaccurate data. ERIC helped us match these voter records, and 95% of those duplicate records are no longer on the Alabama voter rolls.” Allen served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022. He served as the Probate Judge of Pike County before his time in the legislature. Allen said that election security has always been a priority to him, both as the senior elections official in Pike County and as a legislator. Since taking office, he has been meeting with state agencies to establish methods for ensuring that Alabama’s voter lists are clean and accurate. Allen was elected as Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State in November and was inaugurated in January. Withdrawing Alabama from ERIC was Allen’s first act as Secretary of State. The official withdrawal process takes 90 days, meaning Alabama will be officially withdrawn by mid-April. Allen has announced that he has ceased transmitting any data from Alabama to ERIC. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Bill to change ‘good time’ law named for slain deputy Brad Johnson
Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson was shot and killed in 2022 by a man authorities said had his prison sentence shortened under Alabama’s good-time behavior incentive law despite escaping from a prison work release center in 2019. Sen. April Weaver, who was a friend of Johnson’s and lives yards from where he was fatally shot, is proposing legislation that would roll back the use of good-time incentives, cutting the time that inmates can shave off their sentences and mandating that certain actions, including escape, cause an inmate to lose all of their credit. Austin Hall, the man accused of killing Johnson and shooting another deputy, served less than four years of a nearly 10-year sentence for theft, according to state records. “They were shot by a felon who was given good-time credits even though he had a history of a lot of bad behavior when he was incarcerated,” Weaver said at a news conference Thursday. The shooting has led to calls to revamp the good-time behavior incentive law, which Weaver and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth on Thursday called the most generous in the country. But opponents argue the incentives are public safety tools that encourage inmates to better themselves. The issues around the suspect’s release are also complicated. Hall could have had his good-time credit revoked for the escape, but he never returned to state custody after the escape. Alabama allows certain inmates sentenced to 15 or fewer years in prison to receive “good time” behavior incentives— earning up to 75 days of credit for every 30 days of good behavior. Most inmates, including those convicted of murder or manslaughter. are not eligible. In 2021, about 9% of state inmates were eligible for these incentives, according to the Alabama Sentencing Commission. “The subject that done this had done roughly three years of his 10-year sentence and had been out roughly three days before he shot my deputy and murdered my friend,” Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said Thursday. Weaver’s bill would slash incentive time credits by more than half and mandate that escape and other offenses would cause an inmate to lose all of their good time credits. It would also require the prison system to submit reports about its use. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama opposes Weaver’s legislation, saying “people traditionally released on ‘good time’ have earned that time, and its existence incentivizes individuals to utilize education and programming opportunities.” “This bill will further entrench our state in the issues pervading Alabama’s overcrowded and unconstitutional prisons. Limiting ‘good time’ is not in the interest of public safety, as the sponsor is purporting,” Dillon Nettles, the ACLU’s Policy and Advocacy director, said in a statement. The Department of Justice has accused Alabama of housing male prisoners in violent conditions that violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Hall, was serving a nine-year sentence for theft when he escaped from a Camden Work Release Center in 2019. He was on the run for about a month before he was captured after a police chase. An Alabama Department of Corrections spokeswoman wrote in a July email that Hall had a good time balance of 2,268 days but never came back to prison custody after his escape, “so he never had a disciplinary hearing to revoke the good time.” He faced other unrelated charges, but he was allowed to bond out of local jails. Justin Barkley, chief deputy general counsel for Kay Ivey, told a legislative committee earlier this month that one issue was that Hall was in a couple of different county jails and not returned to state custody. In January, Ivey issued an executive order putting uniform rules on the use of good time and seeking better communication among law enforcement agencies. Deputy Chris Poole, the other deputy shot in the incident, recalled Johnson as a man who wanted to help others. “I watched him try to get people to change their life. It wasn’t just putting them in jail and saying we’re done with you,” Poole said. Poole said after he was shot through his windshield that he radioed Johnson saying, “Brad, don’t chase him,” but Johnson continued. Weaver’s husband, a doctor, rushed to try to help Johnson after he was shot, the county sheriff said. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Florida’s Ron DeSantis announces new initiative to combat illegal immigration
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday an extensive legislative plan to address the border crisis. His proposal comes as record numbers of foreign nationals have illegally entered through the southern border and made their way to Florida or are continuing to be apprehended by state and federal law enforcement officers as they attempt to enter Florida illegally by sea. Florida’s “fight against [Joe] Biden’s border crisis” plan includes “increasing penalties for human smuggling, strengthening statutes for the detention of illegal aliens, requiring universal use of E-Verify, enhancing penalties for document falsification, and prohibiting the issuance by local governments of ID cards to people who are not lawfully in the country,” the governor’s office said. “With this legislation, Florida is continuing to crack down on the smuggling of illegal aliens, stopping municipalities from issuing ID cards to people here illegally, and ensuring that employers are hiring American citizens or those here legally,” DeSantis said at a press conference at the Hangar One Club in Jacksonville. “Florida is a law and order state, and we won’t turn a blind eye to the dangers of Biden’s Border Crisis. We will continue to take steps to protect Floridians from reckless federal open border policies.” DeSantis made the announcement less than two months after issuing a state of emergency after several hundred people began arriving in the Florida Keys on rustic vessels, overwhelming first responders and local law enforcement. The influx of people illegally landing in Florida from multiple countries was “particularly burdensome for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office,” DeSantis’ office said last month, which has 194 deputies and limited resources dedicated to providing public safety. DeSantis also made the announcement as state and local law enforcement agencies continue to bust human and drug smuggling operations stemming from the southern border. When announcing the arrest of over 200 people last week, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said over half of the female sex trafficking victims were illegally in the U.S., telling Americans, “Wake up. There is a crisis at the border.” “Human smuggling, drug trafficking, and a host of other criminal activities are steadily spilling across the Southern Border and into our state, as bad actors seek to exploit the hard-earned wealth and hard-won freedoms of our citizens for criminal gain,” said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass. “In tandem with our continued vigilance and cooperation with our law enforcement partners across the state, the initiatives championed today by Governor DeSantis will help to keep Floridians safer than ever, protecting our citizens from malefactors who are illegally in our state and removing them from our communities altogether.” Part of DeSantis’ legislation plan includes invalidating all out-of-state licenses issued to “unauthorized aliens,” requires those registering to vote to affirm they are U.S. citizens and legal residents of Florida, prevents illegal foreign nationals from being admitted to practice law in Florida, and eliminates out-of-state tuition fee waivers for illegal foreign national students. It also requires hospitals to collect data on the citizenship and immigration status of patients and “the costs to provide care to illegal aliens” and regularly report this data to the governor and state legislature. The plan also increases penalties for human smuggling in response to recommendations made by a grand jury impaneled by the Florida Supreme Court at Governor DeSantis’ request. Once passed by the legislature and signed into law, penalties for those who knowingly transport, conceal, or harbor an illegal alien within or into Florida would be increased to a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, with a $5,000 fine, and five years of probation, per count. It also makes the smuggling of illegal aliens under the age of 18 a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 per count. The proposal also allows smuggled individuals to be detained by law enforcement as material witnesses. State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill and the former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, said the border crisis is “a direct result of the federal government refusing to enforce immigration laws” established by Congress. He also said, “The problem is so bad that the federal government should declare itself its own disaster area. “It is reckless and an abomination, and our governor will not stand by idly as this open-borders agenda continues to take over our families, friends, and our communities. As a matter of fact, he will boldly push Florida as the blueprint by which other states should fight illegal immigration.” DeSantis’ proposal also builds on previous actions he’s taken, including issuing an executive order prohibiting state agencies from “providing support for the resettlement of illegal aliens in Florida” and prohibiting the licensing of facilities that house unaccompanied minors. He also signed bills into law prohibiting government contracts with private entities that assist the Biden administration in resettling illegal foreign nationals to Florida, requiring all public employers, contractors, and subcontractors to use E-Verify to determine employment eligibility, and allocating $12 million to transport illegal foreign nationals to sanctuary states, “bringing the border crisis to the communities that support Biden’s open border policies.” He also created a strike force consisting of state and local law enforcement officers to interdict human smuggling and human trafficking and to seize illegal weapons being transported throughout Florida. So far, they’ve made 200 felony charges, nearly 40 human smuggling charges, and 66 drug charges and seized over $500,000 worth of illicit drugs, his office said. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Republicans set opening presidential debate for August
The opening Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election season will take place in Milwaukee this August, the Republican National Committee decided Thursday. The rough time and location were the only details finalized as a small group of RNC members met behind closed doors in Washington this week to begin the complicated task of coordinating logistics for what is likely to be a crowded and messy primary season. In the coming weeks, the group plans to finalize a broader set of criteria for participation, including the requirement that each candidate on stage must pledge to support the Republican Party’s eventual nominee. In selecting Milwaukee, the RNC is following its recent tradition of hosting its inaugural presidential debate in the city playing host to the national convention the following year. “At this time, no other debates have been sanctioned, nor has the final criteria for the first debate been decided,” GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel wrote in a message to RNC members Thursday. “We have a long way to go, but I am confident we will be able to showcase our eventual nominee in a world class fashion.” Three high-profile Republicans have already launched White House bids, but as many as a dozen are ultimately expected to enter the 2024 presidential contest. Already, there are sharp divisions over the future of the party and former President Donald Trump’s divisive politics. The committee is considering between 10 and 12 debates between August and its national convention in the summer of 2024. Republican officials are likely to adopt new criteria for participation, including a new donor threshold to demonstrate broad support among the party’s grassroots in addition to a polling threshold of 1% or 2%. Committee officials also met privately this week with more than a dozen media companies to determine the network partners. They include major television networks like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox and lower-profile conservative favorites like Newsmax. “The committee will continue its work and will release updates as they become available,” McDaniel wrote. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
