Attorney General Merrick Garland is about to give a speech on voting rights in the Justice Department’s Great Hall. He’ll call the expansion of voting to all eligible citizens "the central pillar” of democracy. huffpost.com/entry/doj-voti…
"That means ensuring that all eligible voters can cast a vote; that all lawful votes are counted; and that every voter has access to accurate information.” huffpost.com/entry/doj-voti…
"The Department of Justice will never stop working to protect the democracy to which all Americans are entitled.” huffpost.com/entry/doj-voti…
As Republican legislatures pass restrictive voting laws, the Biden administration has placed voting rights experts in critical DOJ experts. More to come with @PaulBlu: huffpost.com/entry/doj-voti…
Garland says DOJ will DOUBLE the number of voting rights enforcement staff in the Civil Rights Division over the next 30 days and use “all existing provisions” of the Voting Rights Act to protect voting rights.
Garland: We have not been blind to the dramatic increase in violent threats to elections workers. Says DOJ will investigate and promptly prosecute any violations of federal law.
An emotional Garland quoted an op-ed published after John Lewis’ death in which he reflected on a lesson from MLK.
"Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part…"
“There are many things open to debate in America. But the right of all eligible citizens to vote is not one of them. The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow.” huffpost.com/entry/doj-voti…
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Prosecutor in case against Jose Padilla tells court they’ve made a formal plea offer, defense says they are still considering offer on the table. No details on the offer. Padilla remains incarcerated. huffpost.com/entry/jose-pad…
Standard reminder that plea deals are how the overwhelming majority of federal cases are settled.
Judge says a 60 day extension is appropriate, but warns that they’re not just going to keep doing extensions. He says government will “have to do some real soul-searching” if global Capitol discovery is going to take six months.
Both Twitter and Facebook were compelled to comply with a search warrant issued in connection with the case against Capitol defendant Antionne De Shaun Brodnax, aka bugziethedon, who was shooting a music video on Jan. 6. Government says both companies have now provided records.
After Brodnax was notified about the search warrant by Twitter and tried to quash, Twitter told the government they’d suspend processing the request. The government argued they can’t do that. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Chris Wray's explanation of why the FBI's Jan. 6 probe differs from the bureau's response to last summer's riots is worth a watch. His main (somewhat obvious) points:
1) An attack on the U.S. Capitol triggers more federal laws.
2) The Jan. 6 crowd gave the FBI a lot of layups.
You can see why he gets interrupted there: It’s a thorough and logical explanation that guts a key talking point on the right.
The notion that the feds treaded lightly last summer is really just plainly inaccurate. More than 300 defendants were charged in the course of four months. Some of the approaches were pretty experimental. huffpost.com/entry/anti-rio…
Proud Boy’s mom to him on Jan. 6: “When are you heading home… You need to get out of there… let me know when your out of the city….” huffpost.com/entry/proud-bo…
Proud Boy’s mom had advice on pepper spray:
"Try washing them with baby shampoo… And water… Baby shampoo or dawn mixed with water for the skin around the area.”