documents Archives - The Michigan Star

Jack Smith Makes Another Push to Keep Documents Under Seal

February 10, 2024 Michigan Star Staff

Special Counsel Jack Smith asked Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday to reconsider her decision to unseal certain documents prosecutors wanted to keep from the public docket.

Cannon, who is overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump in Florida, ruled Tuesday that certain discovery material Smith wanted to keep under seal because it could impact the safety of potential witnesses would be disclosed out of the “strong presumption of public access in criminal proceedings.” Smith urged Cannon to reconsider her decision, arguing that she “applied the wrong legal standard and issued orders that, in practice, will expose witnesses and others to intolerable and needless risks.”

Biden’s Classified Documents Scandal Raises Questions About Penn Biden Center’s Foreign Donations

January 12, 2023January 15, 2023 M.D. Kittle

As a second batch of classified government documents pops up in the garage of President Joe Biden’s Delaware home, Republican lawmakers want answers for the kind of records handling that got former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home raided.

Meanwhile, the Biden Center, a think tank funded by the University of Pennsylvania, is coming under increased scrutiny as a “dark-money, revolving-door nightmare” where foreign competitors like China are suspected of currying favor with high-ranking officials, according to a government watchdog.

White House Confirms Classified Documents Found at Biden’s Delaware Home

January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 Just the News

The White House on Thursday confirmed that a second set of classified documents Joe Biden was vice president had been discovered in the garage of his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

“During the review, the lawyers discovered among personal and political papers a small number of additional Obama-Biden administration records with classified markings,” special counsel Richard Sauber said, The New York Times reported.

National School Boards Association Executive Reportedly Knew About Attorney General’s Memorandum Targeting Parents Before It Was Published

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Admin

A National School Boards Association (NSBA) executive reportedly knew about Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memorandum targeting concerned parents before it was published, according to new information obtained by Parents Defending Education.

Chip Slaven, then-interim executive director of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) knew about Garland’s memorandum that called on the FBI to “use its authority” against parents who threaten or use violence against public school officials, according to an email obtained by Parents Defending Education (PDE) through a public records request.

“I understand Chip knew about the U.S. AG Directives before they were published,” Alabama NSBA member Pam Doyle told Florida NSBA member Beverly Slough in an Oct. 5, 2021 internal email exchange. “So much for communicating with the BOD,” she added.

Republican Lawmakers Demand Answers from Mayorkas Regarding DHS Documents TSA Allows Migrants to Use as Identification

January 27, 2022 Admin

Republican lawmakers have demanded the Biden administration answer questions regarding alternate forms of identification the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it accepts from migrants traveling throughout the country.

Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden, along with 21 other Republican lawmakers, sent a letter Wednesday to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas raising concerns over a number of DHS documents migrants can use as identification, including certain arrest warrants, and the methods through which they are vetted.

The letter, exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, also seeks information on how border patrol agents and others are able to verify a migrant’s identity when issuing the documents in the first place.

Legal Team Advises Michigan Redistricting Committee to Hide Memos from Public

December 2, 2021December 1, 2021 The Center Square

The Michigan Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Committee’s (MICRC) legal team advised it to continue hiding documents from the public in the same letter it touted transparency.

The Nov. 30 letter follows a nonbinding opinion from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel that the committee “must” release memos discussed in a controversial closed-door session.

The MICRC has also denied Freedom of Information Act requests for the memos, claiming attorney-client privilege protected the communications. Despite the Constitutional mandate stating, “The commission shall conduct all of its business at open meetings,” the MICRC held a closed-door session in October to discuss two legal memos. It’s still unclear what commissioners discussed behind closed doors.

Steve Bannon Files Motion to Make Public All Documents in Contempt Case

November 28, 2021November 27, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Steve Bannon is pushing for documents related to his current contempt-of-Congress case to be released publicly, according to a new report.

The 67-year-old former Trump adviser’s attorneys have filed an opposition to the U.S. district court’s protective order for discovery, which would prevent both the defense and the prosecution from releasing evidence or documents to the public.

‘Lean into the Culture War’: Republican Study Committee Tells GOP Fighting Critical Race Theory Is a Winning Message

June 27, 2021June 26, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks

The Republican Study Committee is urging the GOP to “lean into the culture war” as a “winning” issue, according to an internal strategy memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

RSC Chairman Jim Banks sent the memo Thursday to approximately 154 Republicans urging his colleagues to fight back against the ideology of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the “racial essentialism” that it teaches. Banks wrote that Republicans believe “individuals should be judged based on the contents of their character, not their skin,” and that America’s institution should be “colorblind, just as our Constitution is colorblind.”

“Here’s the good news,” the RSC chairman told his colleagues. “We are winning.”

Whistleblower Document Appears to Show Microsoft Helped Write Big Tech Bills

June 25, 2021June 24, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Screencap of meeting. Mr. Tiffany speaking

Microsoft was given an advance copy of major antitrust legislation, a document given to Republican Rep. Thomas Massie by a whistleblower appeared to show.

The document is the original version of the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act, one of Democrats’ six pending antitrust bills targeting Big Tech, according to Rep. Thomas Massie. Every page of the document, which the Daily Caller News Foundation obtained on Wednesday, is watermarked with the text “CONFIDENTIAL – Microsoft.”

“I just came into possession of a document that everyone needs to know about,” Massie said during the Judiciary Committee markup of the legislation on Wednesday. “It’s marked ‘CONFIDENTIAL – Microsoft.’ A whistleblower provided this. It’s the first draft of one of these bills that would’ve covered Microsoft. This begs the question: did Microsoft have this bill and the other bills that we are voting on today before I had this bill?”