Pocket Constitutions given away in Indianapolis
In honor of Constitution Day, 13 Indianapolis organizations distributed 1,000 pocket-sized U.S. Constitutions to the public Monday on Monument Circle.
Law & Politics
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Plan would ban sitting, lying on downtown Indy streets, sidewalks
A proposal that would make it illegal to sit or lie on the ground during most of the day in downtown Indianapolis will be introduced this month to the Indianapolis City-County Council by local Republicans.
Senate concludes Kavanaugh hearing; confirmation likely
After two marathon days questioning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, senators concluded his confirmation hearing Friday by listening to others talk about him — friends stressing his fairness and warmth but opponents warning he’d roll back abortion rights and shield President Donald Trump. Senators on the Judiciary Committee are likely to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Sept. 20 with a vote by the full Senate the following week.
US backtracks on Russian spy suspect offering sex for access
Federal prosecutors are backtracking on their allegation that a Russian woman accused of working as a secret agent offered to trade sex for access, according to a Justice Department court filing. Prosecutors had earlier accused Maria Butina of offering to exchange sex for a position with a special interest organization.
Proposal to decriminalize marijuana in Gary fails by 1 vote
A proposal to decriminalize marijuana in Gary fell one vote short of passage amid concerns that it would overstep Indiana law. Councilwoman Lavetta Sparks-Wade said she abstained from voting because the council’s attorney advised the council that it would circumvent state law.
Giuliani: Trump won’t answer obstruction questions
President Donald Trump will not answer federal investigators’ questions, in writing or in person, about whether he tried to block the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, one of the president’s attorneys told The Associated Press.
Sessions to speak to law enforcement group in Indianapolis
United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions will visit Indianapolis on Thursday to speak at the 2018 Indiana Law Enforcement Conference. Sessions is scheduled to speak on the importance of Project Safe Neighborhoods.
What to watch for as senators consider Kavanaugh nomination
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is set for a week of marathon hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans are focusing on Kavanaugh’s 12-year career as an appellate court judge, while Democrats are expected to grill the 53-year-old conservative on hot-button issues that could swing the court’s majority rightward.
Deadline near to apply for Monroe County, Terre Haute judgeships
Attorneys interested in filling vacancies on the Monroe Circuit Court and Terre Haute City Court have just days remaining to make their interest known. Wednesday, Sept. 5 is the deadline to submit applications for Gov. Eric Holcomb’s appointments to both positions.
Concern in White House over shortage of lawyers, press aides
Increasingly convinced that the West Wing is wholly unprepared to handle the expected assault from Democrats if they win the House in November, President Donald Trump’s aides and allies are privately raising alarm as his circle of legal and communications advisers continues to shrink.
White House Counsel McGahn leaving; key man in legal storms
White House Counsel Don McGahn, a consequential insider in President Donald Trump’s legal storms and successes and a key figure in the administration’s handling of the Russia investigation, will be leaving in the fall, the president announced Wednesday. Trump praised McGahn as “a really good guy” who has done “an excellent job.”
Judges: N.C. congressional districts still partisan biased
Federal judges on Monday affirmed their earlier decision striking North Carolina’s congressional districts as unconstitutional because Republicans drew them with excessive partisanship. The Tarheel State is one of several in which lawsuits are challenging partisan gerrymandering.
Hill reinforces opposition to individual mandate as state collects $95 million from Obamacare lawsuit
As Indiana prepares to collect nearly $100 million from a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill held a meeting Wednesday with ACA proponents who are urging him to drop a second lawsuit challenging a controversial portion of the health care law. Though both parties said they were pleased with the dialogue, Hill also reinforced his opposition to the Obamacare individual mandate.
Steven Tyler sends Trump cease-and-desist for using song
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is again demanding that President Donald Trump stop using the band’s songs at rallies. A Trump rally is scheduled for Aug. 30 in Evansville.
AP sources: Cohen in talks to strike plea deal in fraud case
Lawyers for Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, were pursuing negotiations with prosecutors that could result in a plea deal and a court hearing was set for Tuesday afternoon, according to two people familiar with the financial fraud investigation. If a deal is struck, Cohen would plead guilty in federal court in Manhattan and agree to cooperate with the government.
Giuliani clarifies his ‘truth isn’t truth’ puzzler
President Donald Trump’s personal attorney says he wasn’t trying to make an existential point about the meaning of veracity when he declared “truth isn’t truth.” Instead, he said he was trying to make the case that having Trump sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team wouldn’t accomplish much because of the conflicting nature of witnesses’ recollections.
Trump fears Mueller interview could bring perjury charge
President Donald Trump is expressing concern that anything he tells special counsel Robert Mueller under oath could be used to charge him with perjury as part of Mueller’s ongoing investigation into coordination between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
Manafort judge says he fears for jurors’ safety
The judge in Paul Manafort’s financial fraud trial says he has received threats and he fears for the “peace and safety” of the jurors deciding the fate of the former Trump campaign chairman. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III revealed his concerns Friday when explaining why he doesn’t intend to make jurors’ names public at the end of the trial.
Giuliani on hazards of Trump interview: ‘Truth isn’t truth’
“Truth isn’t truth,” says President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, explaining why he’s wary about pushing the president into an interview he says could be a perjury trap. He was trying to make the case that having Trump sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team wouldn’t accomplish much because of the he-said-she-said nature of witnesses’ recollections.
Questions mark first day of deliberations at Manafort trial
The jury in the fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort ended its first day of deliberations with a series of questions to the judge, including a request to “redefine” reasonable doubt. The questions came after roughly seven hours of deliberation, delivered in a handwritten note to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. Ellis read the questions aloud to lawyers for both sides as well as Manafort before he called the jury in to give his answers.