Letitia James, Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump has withdrawn his lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The withdrawal came in a brief document filed Friday morning with U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks.

Middlebrooks had warned Trump’s legal team the day before that the lawsuit appeared to verge on frivolous.

Trump’s lawsuit against the Attorney General had sought to shield Trump’s revocable trust from James, who has an ongoing $250 million civil suit that alleges fraudulent conduct at the Trump Organization. James has accused Trump and his family members of “grossly” inflating the former president’s net worth by billions of dollars and of cheating lenders and others with false and misleading financial statements.
Trump, who has denied the allegations, has called the investigation by James, a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

On Thursday, Middlebrooks ordered Trump and his attorney Alina Habba to pay fines of nearly $1 million after determining that Trump’s 2022 lawsuit against Hillary Clinton was frivolous litigation meant only to “seek revenge.”

Trump had sued Clinton in March 2022, for allegedly “acting in concert” with top FBI leadership to invent what became known as the Russia investigation into interference in the 2016 election. Trump had argued that the Russia probe was “prolonged and exacerbated by the presence of a small faction of Clinton loyalists who were well-positioned within the Department of Justice.” Middlebrooks dismissed the lawsuit this past September.

In his Thursday opinion, the judge also cautioned Trump’s attorneys that they could face sanctions over their lawsuit against James.

In the opinion, Middlebrooks called Trump “a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries.”

Donald Trump

Donald Trump‘s real estate company was convicted on Tuesday of carrying out a 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities

A jury in Manhattan has found The Trump Organization guilty of paying personal expenses for top executives including former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, and issuing bonus checks to them as if they were independent contractors.

The company faces up to $1.6 million in fines after being convicted on all charges, including scheming to defraud tax authorities, conspiracy, and falsifying business records. Trump was not charged in the case.
A sentencing date has been set for January 13, 2023.

A lawyer for the Trump Organization said the company would appeal and that the criminal law governing corporate liability was vague.

The Trump Organization is still facing a fraud lawsuit brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James.

And Trump himself is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over his handling of sensitive government documents after he left office in January 2021 and attempts to overturn the November 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Scene of shooting at Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo (Photo Credit: WKBW)

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Buffalo today to meet with the families of victims of Saturday’s deadly shooting at a grocery store.

WBFO reports the trip comes three days after a gunman opened fire in a Tops Friendly Market store in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, leaving 10 people dead. Following his arrest, the 18-year-old suspect told officials he was targeting the Black community.

After the shooting, a document allegedly tied to the gunman emerged online. It includes racist, anti-immigrant views and cites the Replacement Theory — a far-right, White nationalist conspiracy theory that baselessly claims that White people in American are being systematically replaced by people of color.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting “as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism.”

During their trip on Tuesday, the President and first lady will visit the Tops Market before meeting with the family members of the victims, first responders, law enforcement and local leaders, according to a White House official.

Biden is then expected to speak at the community center where he will call on Congress to take action to on gun control in order to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and people with serious mental illness.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) said Thursday that he supports the Department of Justice requesting data on New York’s nursing home fatalities and the announcement it may further investigate the state’s nursing home policies.

On Wednesday the DOJ announced it had opened a preliminary inquiry into the coronavirus nursing home policies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan that it says “may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents.”

The DOJ media release said the state “required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients to their vulnerable populations, often without adequate testing.”

In response, Reed said, “We welcome the Department Of Justice’s initial foray into the issue of Governor Cuomo’s disastrous nursing home orders and the state’s refusal to share any nursing home fatality data.”

Reed said that his office, along with lawmakers at the federal and state level, members of the media, and public health experts, have all been calling for an independent investigation into the state’s handling of nursing home residents who tested positive for COVID-19 during the early weeks of the pandemic. From late March to mid April, the state directed nursing homes and senior care facilities to admit patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19, which some say escalated the spread of the virus and led to deaths of thousands elderly residents.

“For far too long, Governor Cuomo and the Department of Health have refused to end the charade and own up to their mistakes, instead opting to obfuscate the truth and promote a medically dubious report that declared themselves free of any blame,” Reed added. “This important first step could finally help New Yorkers who lost a parent or grandparent receive the accountability and transparency they deserve. As we have said repeatedly, getting to the bottom of the state’s ‘must admit’ orders will also help us ensure our nation’s parents and grandparents are never knowingly placed in harm’s way again.”

According to a media release sent out by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday, the funding is part of more than $376 million in grant funding in 2019 used to enhance law enforcement operations and reinforce public safety efforts across the United States.

A total of $9.8 million will support public safety activities in and around Western New York.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

BUFFALO – Chautauqua County’s representative in Washington is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Governor Andrew Cuomo for withholding federal money designated for a section of the New York State Thruway that runs through the Seneca Nation.

On Tuesday Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) appeared before the U.S. Attorney’s office in Buffalo to voice his concern for the safety of the traveling public along the 3-mile stretch of Interstate 90 which runs through Seneca Territory. The roadway has been in need of repair for several years, but has not received any attention due to an ongoing dispute between New York State and the Seneca Nation involving gaming revenue sharing.

According to Reed’s office, local motorists have reached out in recent weeks expressing their concern with the road conditions. In his remarks, Reed said the federal funds have been delivered to repair the road and its time for the state to fix it.

Reed said he wants the Justice Department to not only investigate the Governor and his office for the misuse of federal funds and the abuse of his power, but to also look into any and all other federal crimes, related or unrelated, uncovered in this investigation.

Reed was joined by Chautauqua County executive George Borrello, who said the dangerous conditions are a threat to the safety and property to all who use it — including thousand of Chautauqua County residents.

The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, which prevents the Department of Justice from using federal funds to prosecute legal cannabis users and business owners, is set to expire on January 19 unless congress can finalize another stop-gap funding bill or approve a final spending plan for the current fiscal year. But an effort is underway at the Department of Justice to encourage lawmakers to not include the amendment in the final 2018 omnibus spending package, giving Sessions and his attorneys the power and resources to federally prosecute cannabis business owners and consumers operating under state law.

It’s up to Congress to renew the amendment or take things even further by ending cannabis prohibition once and for all.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23), Chautauqua County’s representative in Washington, says he does support using marijuana/cannabis for medicinal purposes, but is also reluctant to support a push to end prohibition altogether, or even remove it from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of Schedule 1 drugs.

A schedule 1 drug is considered any drug that has a high potential for abuse and also has no accepted medical treatment use.  Marijuana has been on the DEA’s schedule 1 list since the list was first created in the early 1970s, putting it in the same category as heroin and cocaine.

More than two dozen states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, while a handful of states have also legalized it for recreational use. Advocates of marijuana legalization also argue that by fully legalizing or even simply reclassifying marijuana, millions of Americans who are currently prevented from using medical marijuana would be able to benefit from its therapeutic value.

Earlier this week during a conference call with regional media, Reed told WRFA that while he does support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, he doesn’t currently support legalizing it for recreational use.

“I have supported medicinal use of marijuana and prescriptions to alleviate medical conditions that are out there, but as we go down the path of legalizing recreational marijuana, so it is similar to alcohol, I think we should defer to individual states,” Reed said.

Reed also said there are a number of factors to consider when legalizing marijuana for recreational use, and it’s something that needs to be tracked over the long-term before federal officials will likely fully legalize the drug.

“We need to see how this develops, Reed said, who then outlined a number of concerns. “Addiction is going to be identified as a result of recreational marijuana use, that is a real issue. The issue of driving while under the influence of marijuana, I think, is one that is going through the laboratories of the states. And you’ve got to look at the issue of workplace use of marijuana and the risks that recreational marijuana poses to our workplace safety.”

While states like Colorado and California continue to monitor the long-term impact of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, advocates for full legalization across the country hope that speaking to the economic upside will be enough to persuade some lawmakers to through their support behind it, or at least fight the Justice Department’s efforts to be able to fully enforce federal drug laws.   Advocates say legalization could save billions of dollars by reducing government spending on enforcement and incarceration. Additionally, billions in annual tax revenues could be generated through proposed taxation and regulation.

Several lawmakers in Washington have called for removing cannabis from the list of schedule 1 drugs, as well as fully legalizing it over the years, but so far none of those bills has gained enough support for passage in either house, let alone to be signed by the President.

Even with the potential for a regional economic boost, Reed admits that federal marijuana legalization isn’t something he’s keeping a close eye on as a representative of the economically depressed New York’s Southern Tier.

“I’m not aware of any hard proposals along those lines,” Reed told WRFA. “I know there’s been recent pushes across different members offices to address the issue of marijuana policy, and I think there’s some in there, but I don’t have them off the top of my head.”

Camara says the Republican-drawn plan disadvantages the electoral representation of racial minorities in violation of the Voting Rights Act.   They’ve been voted into law, but the Department of Justice must now determine whether the redistricting maps comply with the VRA.

This letter mentions not only points to possible disadvantages, but also claims that districts downstate, where minorities are concentrated, are larger than predominately white upstate districts. It also questions the Republicans’ decision to place a 63rd Senate seat along the western and southern edges of the Capital Region.

Senate Democrats are already challenging the lines in court. They contend the decision to upsize the chamber to 63 seats was reached based on an unlawful interpretation of the State Constitution. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have always contended their redistricting plan complies with the tenets of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the federal and state constitutions.