Update on Jeffrey Epstein – Labor Secretary Acosta must go

Looks bad for Epstein, Labor Secretary Acosta and others. Justice was not served before. Maybe it will be now. I hope so for the victims.

A judge ruled today that federal prosecutors, including future Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, violated the law when they did not tell victims that the government had struck a deal not to prosecute Jeffrey Epstein https://t.co/qGM8xrRNyz
— Mark Berman (@markberman) February 21, 2019

I'm not sure how much longer Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta will be able (or should be able) to keep his job after this. https://t.co/MeLP2lU5sV
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen) February 21, 2019

Here's an unrolled, easy to read version of my earlier thread on the Alex Acosta story today… https://t.co/4G8giI2j7J
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) February 21, 2019

Convicted pedophile Epstein was asked if he socialized w Trump.
He responded: “YES”
Then he was asked if he had ever socialized with Trump in presence of girls under age of 18?
He plead the fifth.
Trump’s Labor Secretary Acosta granted immunity to ”any potential co-conspirators.” https://t.co/GnWwsrDEUt
— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) February 22, 2019

Trump administration prosecuting volunteers who left water for migrants on protected land

This is terrible!

Trump's Justice Dept. has chosen to criminally prosecute volunteers who leave water for migrants on protected land rather than banning them from the area or admonishing them. Four were convicted this week; they face a fine or up to six months in prison. https://t.co/yW7dNbeIyL

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 20, 2019

The next president should give these women a full pardon and an apology. https://t.co/Tjp8LLo1kk

— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) January 20, 2019

What the president could do if he or she declares a state of emergency

Everyone in America should read this story.

“The moment the president declares a ‘national emergency’—a decision that is entirely within his discretion—he is able to set aside many of the legal limits on his authority.” https://t.co/oQSy7rBWEO

— Adrienne LaFrance (@AdrienneLaF) December 5, 2018

Sessions restricts consent decrees used to enforce civil rights laws

He did this on his way out.

Jeff Sessions held true to his despicable 'law and order' agenda from start to finish.

Only days after we voted to advance criminal justice reform in states across the country, he has all but eliminated oversight of local law enforcement for abusive policing practices. https://t.co/cSFKLbrM4E

— ACLU (@ACLU) November 9, 2018

Sessions dealt parting blow to DOJ career staff, issuing memo that restricts consent decrees. This is a slap in the face to dedicated staff who work tirelessly to enforce civil rights. Will affect policing, education, employment consent decrees, which is exactly why he issued it. pic.twitter.com/fWGRZxKqbd

— Vanita Gupta (@vanitaguptaCR) November 9, 2018

The head of Baltimore’s consent decree monitoring team said a memo issued by Jeff Sessions just before he was ousted as Attorney General will have no effect on the federal decree ordering civil rights reforms at the city’s police department. https://t.co/IiGwOvefGX

— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) November 9, 2018

The idea that unconstitutional conduct by a state or local entity is no longer sufficient basis to enter into a consent decree is extraordinary. Instead Sessions mandates that the following conditions must be present: pic.twitter.com/CBDlw8AhWB

— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) November 9, 2018

No. This is prospective. You’ll recall Sessions tried to walk back the proposed consent decree before it was approved by the court. Judge Bredar wasn’t having it. The decree is now judicially approved and overseen & a monitoring team is in place. https://t.co/J17G9DS6A4

— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) November 9, 2018

To give example of what this means, here's types of relief included in Division's consent decree w/ Ferguson. It's doubtful some of this could have been obtained in adversarial litigation. But it's what was needed to comprehensively change practices. https://t.co/DmicL2Z3Fa pic.twitter.com/oUEQB3mcxA

— Sasha Samberg-Champion (@ssamcham) November 9, 2018

Trump wants to reinstate stop-and-frisk

Trump wants to reinstate stop-and-frisk policies. The way they were done in New York was unconstitutional and bigoted. His base will like the bigotry part.

Shootings are down in Chicago this year, according to police department statistics. Trump’s talk of a “shooting wave” is a political move to once again use Chicago as a scapegoat. https://t.co/yR7qYL3Bfw

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) October 8, 2018

Trump on stop and frisk policing: "It works, and it was meant for problems like Chicago. It was meant for it. Stop and frisk."

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 8, 2018

What Trump got wrong about stop and frisk during the 2016 campaign.

from the article linked to above:

“Applied almost exclusively to minorities, the stop-and-frisk tactics in New York became an elephantine government project that wasted time and money, degrading both to the personhood of the men and women who were stopped and to the professionalism of the people doing the stopping.”

The way stop and frisk was carried out in New York was unconstitutional.

from the article:

“In 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled that city police violated the U.S. Constitution in the way that it carried out its stop-and-frisk program, calling it “a form of racial profiling” of young black and Hispanic men. ”

This Washington Post article notes ” …there’s no real correlation between the use of stop-and-frisk and New York’s reduction in crime.”

Four white supremacists arrested for their roles in Charlottesville

I assume these are some of Trump’s “very fine people”.

4 members of white supremacist group arrested in violent 2017 Charlottesville rally https://t.co/xc6hJHLVXY pic.twitter.com/teljuGsfnn

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2018

The work @propublica did in the aftermath of Charlottesville was incredible. https://t.co/RTD5GRMzxg

— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) October 2, 2018

“Trump anti-discrimination official once called most hate crimes hoaxes”

Sad!

Trump anti-discrimination official once called most hate crimes hoaxes https://t.co/idBseGNn6L

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) September 27, 2018

The top federal official responsible for enforcing fair lending laws has a 14-year history of racially charged comments about the "N-word" and the birther movement. https://t.co/91Q9Nmh3q1

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) October 3, 2018