Lawsuit challenging US immigration policy on family separation may proceed, judge rules

A lawsuit challenging a U.S. immigration policy that allows parents to be separated from their children may proceed, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge Dana Sabraw of the U.S. Southern District of California said he would decide later whether to order a nationwide halt to the policy.
Sabaw said the lawsuit -- involving a 7-year-old girl who was separated from her Congolese mother and a 14-year-old boy who was separated from his Brazilian mother -- could proceed on a claim that their constitutional rights to a fair hearing were denied.
Sabraw also said he would issue separate rulings on the American Civil Liberties Union’s request for a nationwide injunction and to expand the lawsuit to apply to all parents and children who are split up by border authorities.
“Such conduct, if true, as it is assumed to be on the present motion, is brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency,” wrote Sabraw, an appointee of President George W. Bush.
The judge, whose court is based in San Diego, Calif., said the allegations “describe government conduct that arbitrarily tears at the sacred bond between parent and child.”
Sabraw said the ACLU’s claims were “particular troubling,” because the plaintiffs had allegedly come to the U.S. seeking asylum from their home countries, Bloomberg reported.
“The government actors responsible for the ‘care and custody’ of migrant children have, in fact, become their persecutors," the judge said.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the family separation policy was the work of his political opponents.
"Separating families at the Border is the fault of bad legislation passed by the Democrats," the president tweeted. "Border Security laws should be changed but the Dems can’t get their act together! Started the Wall."
In early May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero tolerance” policy at the border.

“We believe every person that enters the country illegally .. should be prosecuted. And you can’t be giving immunity to people who bring children with them recklessly and improperly and illegally.”

“We want to send a message to the world that if you want to come to America, make your application and wait your turn,” Sessions told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in a Tuesday interview, according to the transcript.
“We believe every person that enters the country illegally like that should be prosecuted,” Sessions said. “And you can’t be giving immunity to people who bring children with them recklessly and improperly and illegally.”
However, the policy reportedly targets people with few or no previous offenses for illegally entering the country.
"Today’s ruling could not be stronger, and squarely rejects the Trump administration’s claim that these families lack the constitutional right to remain together," ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in an email obtained by Bloomberg.
First-time offenders face up to six months in prison, though they often spend only a few days in custody after pleading guilty and exposing themselves to more serious charges if they are caught again.
Sessions told Hewitt he has not visited the more than 100 facilities that have detained around 10,000 children.
“Those are within the ambit of the Homeland Security and the Health and Human Services. But I believe for the most part they’re well taken care of,” Sessions said.
Homeland Security declined to comment on pending litigation, according to Bloomberg’s report.

Soros push to elect progressive DAs in California fails to attract voters

New York billionaire George Soros’ multimillion-dollar effort to reshape California's criminal justice system by propping up progressive district attorney candidates backfired Tuesday, with most of his candidates suffering major defeats.
Soros, together with other wealthy liberal donors and groups, spent millions on would-be prosecutors who favor lower incarceration rates, crackdowns on police misconduct and changes in a bail system that they argue discriminates against the poor.
But most of the money went to waste as their candidates lost to more traditional law-and-order prosecutors who didn’t share progressive views or have hostile attitudes toward police.

District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert defeated Soros-backed candidate Noah Phillips by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, getting 65 percent of the vote in Sacramento County.  (Schubert for DA)

In Sacramento County, District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert defeated Noah Phillips by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, getting 65 percent of the vote. Phillips led an insurgent campaign, attacking Schubert for failing to prosecute a police officer who shot a civilian.
He reportedly received around $400,000 from Soros and admitted Soros' team scripted and paid for a TV ad during the campaign, the Los Angeles Times reported. His fundraising efforts received help from Cari Tuna, wife of Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who contributed more than $650,000 to a political action committee led by Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King.
"This is a good day for the people," Schubert told to a crowd of about 100 supporters after she won the election, the Sacramento Bee reported. "You can't buy an election in the county of Sacramento. Here's to four more years."

"This is a good day for the people. You can't buy an election in the county of Sacramento. Here's to four more years."

Geneviéve Jones-Wright, the Soros-favored candidate in San Diego County, also suffered a major defeat Tuesday. She got only 36 percent of the vote while her opponent, District Attorney Summer Stephan, received more than 60 percent.
Soros spent more than $1.5 million in the race, funneling the money to a political action committee that propped up Jones-Wright’s candidacy as she pledged to form a police-misconduct unit and supported progressive reform of the criminal justice system.
Stephan fought back against the influence of outside money in the race, declaring Soros’ backing a public safety threat. Jones-Wright, meanwhile, insisted the money merely gave a voice to minorities and poor people.
In Alameda County, in the San Francisco Bay Area, District Attorney Nancy O'Malley fended off a challenge from Pamela Price, reportedly receiving more than 60 percent of the vote.

District Attorney Summer Stephan received over 60 percent of the vote on Tuesday, defeating Soros-favored Geneviéve Jones-Wright in San Diego County.

O'Malley said she was surprised the outside donors tried to oust her, given that she’s a registered Democrat and was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., organized labor and other Democratic groups.
Soros’ PAC accused O’Malley during the campaign of implementing “racist” stop-and-frisk policies and Price criticized her for being cozy with law enforcement groups.
But there was one victory for the wealthy liberals Tuesday. Progressive DA candidate Diana Becton received a majority of the votes in Contra Costa County, also in the Bay Area, though not enough to secure an outright victory.
She will now face off against Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Graves – who came second – in a run-off election. Graves criticized the influence of wealthy outsiders, describing them as “billionaires who apparently think Contra Costa's public safety is for sale.”
In other counties – such as Yolo County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County – where wealthy donors also spent money, albeit on a significantly smaller scale, most progressives candidates suffered defeats. One exception: reform-minded defense attorney Jason Anderson, who managed to win in San Bernardino County against four-term DA Michael Ramos.

Samantha Bee 'sorry' in first 'Full Frontal' since calling Ivanka Trump c-word

Samantha Bee opened Wednesday night’s episode of her TBS show, “Full Frontal,” by addressing the firestorm that erupted after last week’s show, in which she referred to Ivanka Trump as "a feckless c---" during a segment on immigration policy.
It was the late-night comedian’s first show since drawing the ire of advertisers, viewers and President Donald Trump -- and she told viewers that her insult directed at the first daughter “crossed a line.”
"It is a word I have used on the show many times, hoping to reclaim it,” Bee said. “This time, I used it as an insult. I crossed a line. I regret it and I do apologize."
The former member of comedian Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" troupe on Comedy Central acknowledged that some women “don’t want that word reclaimed” and she didn’t want “to inflict more pain on them.”
But Bee, 48, mixed in some humor with her apology, saying that while her goal was to produce a “challenging” and “honest” show, “I never intended it to hurt anyone — except Ted Cruz.”
Bee also joked that, “Many men were also offended by my use of the word — I do not care about that.”
Last week’s profane insult sparked outrage from many, leading sponsors like AutoTrader and State Farm to pull their ads from the show. Both Bee and TBS issued apologies the following day, with the network tweeting the “vile” comment was “our mistake too, and we regret it.”
Bee’s words also fired up accusations of a politically based double standard, with critics comparing TBS’s “non-reaction” to the Bee controversy with ABC’s firing of Roseanne Barr from her namesake sitcom over a racist tweet. Barr is well known as a Trump supporter, while Bee, a liberal, has been critical of the administration.
The same day as her apology, Bee received a “social change” honor from the Television Academy. The press was blocked from attending the event’s reception and Bee avoided the red carpet interviews before the event amid the surrounding controversy.
In her reception speech that night, Bee again apologized, acknowledging the “one bad word” she used distracted from the immigration issues she intended to shed light on.
“We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” Bee said in her speech, obtained by IndieWire.
The host hit on this issue again in Wednesday’s monologue, ultimately conceding her words “distracted” viewers from the children affected by the administration’s juvenile immigration policy. Bee apologized to the kids, too.
Bee concluded Wednesday night's third apology by giving those who worried about “the death of civility” this past week something to think about.
"I'm really sorry that I said that word, but you know what? Civility is just nice words," she said. "Maybe we should all worry a little bit more about the niceness of our actions."
Even after Bee’s many apologies, TBS -- part of the Turner Broadcasting System conglomerate that includes CNN, TNT and other stations -- will reportedly step up its oversight of the late-night show to prevent further incidents that could scare away advertisers and draw public condemnation, a source close to the matter told the Hollywood Reporter Wednesday.

Media report of DOJ watchdog chastising Comey puts fired FBI boss' leadership style under the microscope

The inspector general examines whether James Comey went beyond his authorities in 2016 when he publicly discussed the Clinton email investigation and recommended against criminal charges; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports from Washington.
A media report that the Justice Department's watchdog has prepared a draft assessment that chastises James Comey for defying authority is putting the former FBI boss' leadership style under the microscope.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has been exploring the DOJ's and FBI's actions during the 2016 presidential campaign, including whether Comey exceeded his authority in July 2016 when he publicly discussed the Hillary Clinton email investigation and recommended against charges.
That decision angered Democrats because the responsibility for the criminal case ultimately rested with his boss at the time, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Comey has since explained that Lynch's infamous June 2016 Phoenix tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton during the probe, as well as other non-public and unconfirmed intelligence that may have suggested Lynch would short-circuit the investigation, led him to go public with the FBI's findings that Hillary Clinton had been "extremely careless."
A source cited by ABC News claimed the report by the DOJ watchdog specifically called Comey "insubordinate," with much of the criticism centering on the way he handled the reopening of the Clinton email probe in the days leading up to Election Day in 2016. Fox News has not confirmed the ABC report.
Horowitz's report also takes aim at Lynch, according to ABC News. Comey has testified before Congress that Lynch advised him to call the criminal probe of Clinton a "matter," rather than an investigation. Comey said that language concerned him.
The DOJ IG's reported rebuke of Comey, whom President Trump has called an "untruthful slime ball" after firing him last year, contradicts the by-the-book, responsible image Comey has carefully cultivated since leaving office.
On Oct. 28, 2016, Comey publicly notified Congress that the investigation would be reopened because new emails had been discovered that might contain classified information.
Comey was said to have ignored at least one superior in the Justice Department who said that commenting publicly on the ongoing investigation would violate policy, in addition to impermissibly interfering with the presidential campaign so close to Election Day, sources told ABC News.
The reported criticisms in the draft DOJ assessment would echo the scathing critique laid out against Comey in a memo by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last year, before Trump decided to fire him.
In the memo to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Rosenstein was particularly critical of Comey's unilateral decision to hold a press conference in July 2016, in which he announced that Hillary Clinton had been "extremely careless" in handling classified information but that "no reasonable prosecutor" would pursue the case.
“It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement,” Rosenstein wrote, saying that Comey should have simply referred the case to prosecutors without staging a dramatic, analysis-filled press conference.
Rosenstein also faulted Comey for publicly reopening the Clinton email probe in October, citing several DOJ officials who called the move "inappropriate."
In his recently released book, "A Higher Loyalty," Comey called for "ethical leadership" in Washington, even as several commentators questioned whether he had lived up to that standard.
Horowitz's final report is expected to be released soon. The watchdog's review had broad bipartisan support when it began in January 2017.

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Rep. Kristi Noem wins South Dakota GOP governor primary

Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and South Dakota gubernatorial candidate, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 5, 2017. Noem and state Attorney General Marty Jackley are competing for the Republican nomination for governor in the June 5, 2018, primary.  (Associated Press)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem won South Dakota's Republican primary for governor on Tuesday, defeating Attorney General Marty Jackley to emerge as the favorite to become the state's first female governor.
GOP primary voters made Noem the only woman South Dakota Republicans have nominated for the state's top job. She advanced to face well-funded Democrat Billie Sutton, a state senator and former professional rodeo cowboy, in the November general election.
Noem credited her primary victory in part to traveling around the state and talking about policies that cast a bold new vision for South Dakota.
"I expect the general election will be competitive as well, but we're going to work hard," Noem said. "We will start focusing on that tomorrow."
The governor contest — the highest-profile match up on the ballot — started mostly polite, but soured at the end as the candidates sought to break out in the primary.
Ads from Noem in the final days criticized Jackley for his handling of a case involving a former state agent who received a $1.5 million state settlement after she won a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. They also accused Jackley of being soft in his prosecution of a financial misconduct case involving the EB-5 investment-for-visa program.
Similar on policy, the candidates tried to contrast their experience. Noem touted her role negotiating the GOP's recent federal tax cuts with President Donald Trump. She cast Jackley as a "government lawyer" who would maintain the status quo.
Jackley unsuccessfully made himself the homegrown candidate, focusing on his tenure as the state's former U.S. attorney and now attorney general.
Patricia McKeever's vote went to Noem. McKeever, a 74-year-old retiree in Sioux Falls who works at a church, appreciated Noem's support for Trump but also felt Noem — a rancher, farmer and small business owner — had proven herself as a businesswoman.
"And the last point on the list is that she's a woman: I want to see a first female governor," McKeever said.
Matt Schilling, 52, of Sioux Falls, backed Jackley, saying he felt he was committed to making sure South Dakota is run as efficiently as it can be.
"He's conservative. He's proven that he puts the state first, and I think that that's important for the state of South Dakota," said Schilling, a sales director for a manufacturing company.
Noem will have an advantage going into the general election in heavily conservative South Dakota, but Democrats have put forward a strong and well-funded challenger. Sutton has banked cash while Noem and Jackley fought for the GOP nomination.

Stephen Colbert grills Bill Clinton over answers in earlier interview

Former President Bill Clinton, left, appears with host Stephen Colbert while promoting his book 'The President is Missing,' on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' Tuesday, June 5, 2018 in New York.  (CBS via AP)

Comedian Stephen Colbert on Tuesday pressed former President Bill Clinton about his recent heated interview on the "Today" show released Monday that focused on the Monica Lewinsky scandal and today’s #METOO movement.
Clinton was asked by an NBC reporter during the earlier interview if he would have resigned over his sexual affair with Lewinsky in the Oval Office if it occurred in 2018 at the height of the #MeToo movement.
“I don’t think it would be an issue because people would be using the facts instead of the imagined facts. If the facts were the same today, I wouldn’t [step down],” Clinton said.
Colbert, the host of “The Late Show,” asked Clinton on Tuesday if he realized why some people thought his response was "tone-deaf.”
"Examples of men who were not held accountable for their behavior, especially men in power with younger women or people who worked for them, is worthy of being readjudicated or adjudicated for the first time, no matter how long ago it happened,” Colbert said about the former president's conduct with Lewinsky.
Clinton responded and acknowledged that his combative response in the "Today" show interview wasn't his "finest hour."
"I was mad at me — not for the first time," the former president said.
Clinton said he didn't like that particular interview because it "started with an assertion that basically I had never apologized."
“People need to know I apologized. I meant it then. I mean it now ... And I still support Me Too,” Clinton said. “And I think we all need to keep trying to be doing better. And I would never dispute that.”
Still, Clinton says, "It was very painful thing that happened 20 years ago," adding that he had to "live with the consequences every day since."

Democrats lose California state senate supermajority after recall vote

California Democrats have been denied their supermajority in the state Senate, in a key vote that means Senate Democrats won't hold the two-thirds majority needed to pass tax and fee increases.
Democrats temporarily lost their supermajority in February when a lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct resigned.
They likely would have gotten it back in a special election in August. But then they lost another seat on Tuesday, when voters in an Orange County district recalled Democratic Sen. Josh Newman from office over his vote to raise gas taxes last year.
Former Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang won the seat.
The development comes amid other good news for the GOP in the Golden State on Tuesday. Fox News projects that Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will move on to the November election in the state's gubernatorial race, taking the top spot in the jungle primary. But Newsom will face Republican businessman John Cox, who surged late in the campaign with the support of President Trump to finish second.
Cox's strong finish over former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democratic institution in Southern California, was something of a win for President Trump, who enthusiastically backed Cox over another Republican contender.