Articles

Memo shows Kavanaugh resisted indicting a sitting president

Newly released documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s time on the Kenneth Starr team investigating Bill Clinton reveal his resistance to issuing an indictment of a sitting president. The memo, tucked toward the end of nearly 10,000 pages released Friday, provides greater insight into Kavanaugh’s views on executive power that are expected to feature prominently in his Senate confirmation hearings next month.

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Indiana BMV directed to repay final $3.3M in fee overcharges

Indiana drivers who were overcharged by the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles could soon find it easier to claim the last $3.3 million of a much larger class-action settlement. A bureaucratic snafu had prevented people from receiving their payments from the state attorney general’s unclaimed property division, so Marion County Judge Heather Welch directed the BMV to refund the money itself through credits or refund checks.

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Attorney General taking fight against early voting consent decree to 7th Circuit

In defending the Indiana Attorney General’s objection to an agreement about early voting, Indiana Solicitor General Thomas M. Fisher said the action is “rather routine” and the office would be submitting additional filings to the courts, including an appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The comments came two days after the attorney general filed a motion challenging the consent decree establishing five early voting sites in Marion County.

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Indiana lawmakers consider expanding industrial hemp market

Indiana lawmakers are considering allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp. Members of the Interim Study Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources heard from farmers and state leaders in support of the new crop during a committee meeting on Monday.

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Indiana included in $1.1 settlement with Anchor Glass

Indiana will receive $275,000 as its part of a $1.1 million civil penalty against Anchor Glass Container Corp. for emitting harmful pollutants in violation of the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed settlement agreement Monday with Anchor Glass to improve compliance at its glass manufacturing facilities in six states, including a manufacturing plant in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

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Manafort’s ‘right-hand man’ Gates to testify in fraud trial

The most critical moment in the financial fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort will likely arrive this week with the testimony of his “right-hand man” — the person defense attorneys blame for any crimes. Rick Gates has been a key cooperator for special counsel Robert Mueller’s team after he cut a plea deal earlier this year.

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Archives: Kavanaugh documents not ready until end of October

The National Archives and Records Administration said Thursday it won’t be able to finish reviewing nearly 1 million documents regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s time in the George W. Bush White House until the end of October, a potential roadblock in GOP hopes for confirmation before the November election.

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Democrats ramp up fight for Kavanaugh documents

Senate Democrats intensified their fight Tuesday over documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s stint as staff secretary at the White House, pursuing a paper trail on his views of key issues that played out during the George W. Bush administration.

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Gov. Holcomb advocates for hate crime law after synagogue vandalism

Republican Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is calling on the General Assembly to pass a hate crimes bill after someone spray-painted anti-Semitic graffiti at a suburban Indianapolis synagogue. Holcomb said Monday he’ll meet with lawmakers, legal experts, corporate leaders and “citizens of all stripes who are seeking to find consensus on this issue so that, once and for all, we can move forward as a state."

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AG Hill defends ACA lawsuit despite demands for withdrawal

Despite demands for Indiana to be withdrawn from a federal lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, Attorney General Curtis Hill said he will continue to lead Indiana’s opposition to the “unconstitutional” law. Hill said “the foundation on which the Supreme Court built its justification for Obamacare’s constitutionality ceased to exist” when Congress repealed the individual mandate tax.

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What does Mueller have? Manafort trial offers glimpse

The trial of President Donald Trump’s onetime campaign chairman will open this week with tales of lavish spending, secret shell companies and millions of dollars of Ukrainian money flowing through offshore bank accounts and into the political consultant’s pocket. What’s likely to be missing: answers about whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election, or really any mention of Russia at all.

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ACLU launches LGBTQ resources project

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana announced Thursday its statewide launch of the LGBTQ Rights Project, an initiative that encompasses current and future work to defend and advance the rights of LGBTQ Hoosiers. 

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