Multi-State Coalition of Attorneys General Sides with Texas in Battle Against Biden in New Push to Secure the Border

A coalition of state attorneys general sent a letter Monday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas backing Texas in its border battle with the Biden administration.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defied the Biden administration last week, making clear he would continue to put up concertina wire fencing at the southern border to help stop the flow of illegal immigration, which has soared since Biden took office.

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GOP-Led States Demand Major Firms Stop Backing Efforts to ‘De-Bank’ Conservatives

Nearly two dozen state attorneys general signed onto a letter Wednesday demanding major firms that provide voting advice to corporate shareholders stop backing efforts to “debank” conservatives.

Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led 22 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to the two companies that control 97 percent of the proxy advisory services market, Institutional Shareholder Service (ISS) and Glass Lewis, whose advice they say shapes “the choices and activity of businesses and ultimately the United States’ and global economy.” The letter warns them against opposing shareholder resolutions to hold financial institutions accountable for restricting services based on clients’ religious and political beliefs, noting that viewpoint discrimination comes with “legal liabilities.”

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GOP Presidential Candidate Ramaswamy Files FOIA Request Seeking Biden Communications with Special Prosecutor in Trump Indictment

Ohio entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says his campaign has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover communications between the White House, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, special prosecutor behind the latest indictment of former President Donald Trump.

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Arizona House Republicans Pass Bills Bolstering Individual, Victims, and Parents Rights

Arizona State Senator John Kavanaugh (R-Fountain Hills) shared that several of his bills successfully passed the House and committees last week in his most recent update to constituents. This includes a Senate Bill (SB) aiming to ensure laws signed by the Governor receive legal protection from the Attorney General (AG).

“The Attorney General’s duty is to defend these laws, and this bill ensures that they can, but there are safeguards so they can back out if they so want to,” Kavanaugh said.

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Arizona Elections Procedures Manual Has No Provision for Certifying Third-Party Vendor Equipment Used for Signature Verification in Maricopa County

The State of Arizona Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) for 2019 that prescribes the Secretary of State’s rules for running an election has no provision for qualifying or certifying the equipment a third-party vendor uses for ballot signature verification in Maricopa County.

According to state law A.R.S. 16-452, the secretary of state is responsible for prescribing in an official instructions and procedures manual the rules to achieve and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, uniformity and efficiency on the procedures for early voting and voting as well as producing, distributing, collecting, county, tabulating and storing ballots.

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Dispute over Attorney General’s Race Could Prevent New Official from Being Named

Abe Hamadeh, the Republican Nominee for Attorney, has said he wants to see every vote cast in the Arizona 2022 General Election and filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona to ensure that happens.

“Errors in our elections shouldn’t be treated as trivial. I want every legal voter who showed up on Election Day to have their voice heard – regardless how they voted,” Hamadeh said.

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Former President Donald Trump Endorses Abraham Hamadeh for Arizona Attorney General

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican candidate Abraham Hamadeh for Arizona Attorney General on Wednesday through his Save America PAC. Hamadeh is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and a former prosecutor of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. He is running for current-AG Mark Brnovich’s position, who is now running for U.S. Senate.

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Attorney General Alliance Annual Meetings Taking Place in Idaho

The Attorney General Alliance annual meetings are taking place in Sun Valley, Idaho, starting Monday and ending Thursday.

According to its website, “The Attorney General Alliance (AGA) began as the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG), a 501c3 nonprofit organization and bipartisan group of 15 western states and three territories. Built on a foundation of fostering collaboration between western AG offices, CWAG has long maintained a focus on issues in the fields of Native American, natural resources, public lands, minerals, and energy law.”

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Arizona AG Brnovich Falls Out of First Place in Senate GOP Primary as Opponents Ramp Up Ad Spending

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has slipped from his first place position in the state’s GOP Senate primary.

Since last year, Brnovich has held a consistent lead in the primary to go up against Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly as the GOP attempts to reclaim majority control of the Senate.

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Arizona Consumers Mistreated by Predatory Lender to Receive Refunds

Mark Brnovich

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday a proposed consent judgment that will require CashCall, Inc., its owner J. Paul Reddam, and a wholly-owned subsidiary, WS Funding LLC, to pay $4.8 million in restitution to Arizona consumers who took out personal loans with interest rates as high as 169 percent, greatly exceeding that allowed under Arizona law, according to a press release by Brnovich’s office.

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State Attorney Generals Launch Investigation into Instagram’s Effects on Kids

Young person on Instagram

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general launched a probe into Instagram on Thursday to examine whether the company violated state-level consumer protection laws.

The states are investigating whether Meta (formerly known as Facebook), which owns Instagram, promoted the image-sharing platform “to children and young adults” despite being aware of its negative effects, according to statements from the attorneys general. The probe cites internal Facebook communications and research leaked by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen and published by The Wall Street Journal showing Meta was aware that use of Instagram could contribute to body image and mental health issues among teens.

“When social media platforms treat our children as mere commodities to manipulate for longer screen time engagement and data extraction, it becomes imperative for state attorneys general to engage our investigative authority under our consumer protection laws,” Republican Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said in a statement.

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TIME’S UP CEO Resigns over Ties to Cuomo Investigation

Tina Tchen

The second TIME’S UP co-founder has resigned from her position following backlash over reports that she worked against Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s accusers.

“Now is the time for Time’s Up to evolve and move forward as there is so much more work to do for women,” TIME’S UP co-founder Tina Tchen said in a statement, according to The Washington Post. “It is clear that I am not the leader who can accomplish that in this moment.”

“I am especially aware that my position at the helm of Time’s Up has become a painful and divisive focal point, where those very women and other activists who should be working together to fight for change are instead battling each other in harmful ways,” she added.

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Former State Attorney General Adam Laxalt Launches Senate Bid in Nevada

Adam Laxalt

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt launched a long-expected Senate bid Tuesday, becoming the highest-profile Republican to take on Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

“The radical left, rich elites, woke corporations, academia and the media, they’re taking over America,” Laxalt said in an announcement video likening them to Star Wars’ Galactic Empire.

Laxalt served as attorney general from 2015-2019. In 2018 he lost his bid for governor to Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak.

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Commentary: Letters from a D.C. Jail

This week, five Republican senators sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding his office’s handling of January 6 protesters. The letter revealed the senators are aware that several Capitol defendants charged with mostly nonviolent crimes are being held in solitary confinement conditions in a D.C. jail used exclusively to house Capitol detainees.

Joe Biden’s Justice Department routinely requests—and partisan Beltway federal judges routinely approve—pre-trial detention for Americans arrested for their involvement in the January 6 protest. This includes everyone from an 18-year-old high school senior from Georgia to a 70-year-old Virginia farmer with no criminal record.

It is important to emphasize that the accused have languished for months in prison before their trials even have begun. Judges are keeping defendants behind bars largely based on clips selectively produced by the government from a trove of video footage under protective seal and unavailable to defense lawyers and the public—and for the thoughtcrime of doubting the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

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Vanita Gupta, Former Obama DOJ Official and Civil Rights Lawyer, Narrowly Confirmed as Associate Attorney General

Vanita Gupta

The Senate confirmed civil rights lawyer Vanita Gupta to be the Associate Attorney General Wednesday.

Gupta, who will be the third-ranking official at the Department of Justice, was confirmed 51-49, with Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski joining all 50 Democrats voting in favor.

“I have looked at her record, I have had an extensive sit down with her,” Murkowski said before the vote. “I am impressed with her credentials … and the passion that she carries with her with the work that she performs.”

Murkowski acknowledged Gupta’s confirmation was contentious, but said her passion was “impactful.”

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