January, 12 2022, 04:05pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brennan Center: Romario Ricketts, rickettsr@brennan.law.nyu.edu, 646-925-8734
Reed Smith: Jamie Moss, jamie@newspros.com, 201-493-1027
Victory for Ohioans: Ohio Supreme Court Throws Out Legislative Maps for Illegal Partisan Gerrymandering
WASHINGTON
Today the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that the state legislative maps adopted in September by the Ohio Redistricting Commission are void. Finding for the plaintiffs in Ohio Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, the Court ruled that the General Assembly maps were a partisan gerrymander in violation of the Ohio Constitution. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law and Reed Smith represent the plaintiffs: the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, CAIR-Ohio, Ohio Environmental Council, Ahmad Aboukar, Crystal Bryant, Samuel Gresham Jr., Prentiss Haney, Mikayla Lee, and Pierrette "Petee" Talley.
Alicia Bannon, Director of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, had the following comment:
"Today the Ohio Supreme Court held the Ohio Redistricting Commission accountable to the constitution. The General Assembly maps entrenched a GOP supermajority and flouted clear partisan fairness requirements in the Ohio constitution - abuses that especially impacted Ohio's Black, Muslim and immigrant communities. The commission is now tasked with drawing replacement maps. We will be watching to ensure that all Ohioans get the fair representation they are due."
Brian Sutherland, partner at Reed Smith, had the following comment:
"We welcome the court's decision to enforce the state's constitutional protections against partisan gerrymandering. Our plaintiffs - the organizations and individuals who sued to block the illegal maps - would have been denied fair representation under those maps. They deserve maps that are fair and legal so that their voices can be heard in Columbus on the issues that affect their lives."
The court's decision and background on Ohio Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission are available here.
This press release is here.
Related resources:
- "We're Suing Ohio Over Its Gerrymandered Voting District Maps" by Alicia Bannon, Yurij Rudensky, and Julia Kirschenbaum, Brennan Center for Justice
- "COVID Inequities Show Why Ohio's Fair Map Mandate Must Not Be Ignored" by Jeniece Brock, policy and advocacy director, Ohio Organizing Collaborative
- "Ohio Take Note: Fairness Is a Universal Value" by Tala Dahbour, policy director, CAIR-Ohio
- "How Gerrymandering Contributes to Environmental Injustice" by Callia Tellez, environmental policy fellow, Ohio Environmental Council
- "Lawmaker's 'Rigged' Map Would Steal Ohioans' Right to Representation" by Kathleen Clyde and Greg Moore, co-chairs, Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission
The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute. We strive to uphold the values of democracy. We stand for equal justice and the rule of law. We work to craft and advance reforms that will make American democracy work, for all.
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Calls for Trudeau to Resign as Exiting Canadian Finance Minister Warns of Trump Tariffs
"He has to go. Right now, Canadians are struggling with the cost of living," said the New Democratic Party leader. "And instead of focusing on these issues, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals focused on themselves."
Dec 16, 2024
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quietly defied mounting calls for his resignation on Monday, asking Dominic LeBlanc to serve as finance minister after Chrystia Freeland resigned from the post with a scathing letter that sounded the alarm about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose economically devastating tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting, some members of Trudeau's own party joined Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre, and New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh in urging him to step aside. Federal elections must be held by October but some want them called immediately.
"Today, I'm calling on Justin Trudeau to resign. He has to go," said Singh. "Right now, Canadians are struggling with the cost of living. I hear it everywhere I go. People cannot find a home that they can afford. They can't buy their groceries. And on top of that, we have Trump threatening tariffs at 25%, which put hundreds [of] thousands of Canadian jobs at risk."
"And instead of focusing on these issues, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals focused on themselves," he continued. "They're fighting themselves instead of fighting for Canadians. For that reason, today, I'm calling on Justin Trudeau to resign. He has to go."
Yet, Trudeau seemed determined to stay, addressing his caucus meeting—where the press could see him through windows for some time—but not the public, after appearing at LeBlanc's swearing-in ceremony. LeBlanc, a longtime Liberal member of Parliament who will retain his role as minister of intergovernmental affairs, calmly took questions from reporters after being sworn in.
LeBlanc identified cost-of-living concerns as his No. 1 focus as finance minister, described Trump and Trudeau's recent meeting at Mar-a-Lago as a conversation between "two leaders focused on a number of priorities" including border security, and called Freeland a friend and "somebody that I admire as a colleague."
On the day that Freeland was set to deliver the delayed Fall Economic Statement to Parliament, she wrote in a resignation letter that after a Friday meeting in which Trudeau told her that he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister, "the only honest and viable path for me is to resign from the Cabinet."
The Associated Pressreported that "a Liberal party official said Freeland was offered a position as minister in charge of Canada-U.S. relations without portfolio and without a department. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the position would have been in name only and wouldn't have come with any of the tools Freeland previously had when she negotiated trade with the United States."
At least one member of Parliament was among those framing the development as Trudeau forcing Freeland, who also served as deputy prime minister, out of the Cabinet. According toCBC:
When asked about the timing of Freeland's resignation, NDP MP Charlie Angus didn't mince words.
"What the f--k? How does a prime minister, on the eve of a statement that we've been waiting for for months, deep-six his finance minister and think that things are going to be normal?" Angus said.
"We've got a prime minister missing in action and now his deputy prime minister, his finance minister has jumped ship. The prime minister needs to show up and explain how this gong show is allowed to happen."
As The Guardianpointed out, "Freeland and Trudeau have reportedly disagreed over proposals for temporary tax breaks and other spending measures, which were meant to shore up political support, but risked forcing Freeland to miss her spending goals."
In Freeland's resignation letter to Trudeau—which she also shared on social media—she acknowledged that "for the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada."
The former finance minister wrote that "our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25% tariffs."
"We need to take that threat extremely seriously," she continued. "That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment."
"That means pushing back against 'America First' economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring," she added. "That means working in good faith and humility with the premiers of the provinces and territories of our great and diverse country, and building a true Team Canada response."
Although Freeland is leaving the Cabinet, she made clear that she is not resigning as a Liberal member of Parliament and attended the caucus meeting. She also wrote that "I am committed to running again for my seat in Toronto in the next federal election."
Despite Freeland's exit from the Cabinet, the Fall Economic Statement was delivered to Parliament on Monday. Reutersreported that "Canada's fiscal deficit for the year ended March came in at C$61.9 billion ($43.45 billion), more than half of what was projected last year, missing one of the three key fiscal objectives... Freeland had set to achieve."
Much of the extra spending is due to one-time expenses—C$4.7 billion ($3.3 billion) related to the Covid-19 pandemic and C$16.4 billion ($11.52 billion) for Indigenous payouts—Reuters noted, but even without that, the deficit would have been around C$40.8 billion, ($28.66 billion), higher than the previously forecast C$40 billion ($28.1 billion).
In an apparent nod to Trump's demands, the fiscal update said that "the government is committed to Securing Our Borders and combating criminal networks that seek to move illicit goods, drugs, and people across our shared border with the United States."
The statement did not say anything about the proposed C$250 ($175.63) "Working Canadians Rebate," which was expected to provide relief to nearly 19 million people and cost an estimated C$4.68 billion ($3.29 billion).
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New Campaign Urges Biden to Commute Sentence of 'Public Hero' Who Leaked Trump Tax Data
Patriotic Millionaires and Revolving Door Project are leading the push for Biden to reduce IRS whistleblower Charles Littlejohn's prison term.
Dec 16, 2024
With just over a month left in U.S. President Joe Biden's term, a pair of advocacy groups this week launched a campaign urging the outgoing Democrat to commute the sentence of an Internal Revenue Service contractor serving five years in prison for exposing tax dodging by wealthy Americans including Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
The campaign, which is a collaboration between the Revolving Door Project and Patriotic Millionaires, is planning a week of action to push Biden to commute the
five-year sentence of Charles Littlejohn—who was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty in October 2023 to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information to media outlets—to 10 months, the maximum term of imprisonment he was supposed to receive under the federal guidelines.
On Monday, the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) published a letter to Biden from four tax law professors calling on Biden reduce Littlejohn's sentence, which the experts called "particularly harsh in comparison with some recent sentences meted out to blatant tax evaders."
The letter asserts that Littlejohn—who gave The New York Timesinformation on Trump and shared with ProPublica data on Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and others—acted "out of a sincere belief in the public's right to know."
University of Michigan law professor Reuven Avi-Yonah, the letter's lead signer, has called Littlejohn a "public hero."
According to the professors:
There are many cases that involve massive tax evasion and do not lead to a criminal indictment. Consider for example the case of Alon Farhy, who transferred more than $2 million to a sham foreign entity, which then transferred the funds to a bank account in the name of a Belize-based corporation Mr. Farhy created solely for that purpose. Mr. Farhy's scheme violated a variety of tax-related obligations beyond his duty to correctly report and pay the income tax he owed. The [U.S. Department of Justice] entered into a nonprosecution agreement with Mr. Farhy immunizing him from criminal prosecution in exchange for paying his taxes plus interest and penalties.
"Many other cases involving tax evasion do not result in jail time," the letter notes. "For example, Raj Mukhi ran a business that manufactured and sold professional uniforms in many countries. He was indicted in 2014 for hiding the proceeds in a private bank based in Zürich. He pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return and one count of failing to disclose a foreign bank account and was sentenced to three years of supervised release."
"Even if there is a prison sentence, it is usually much shorter than five years," the professors stressed. "To mention just some cases from this year, an Oklahoma man who instructed a payroll company working with his business to falsely characterize over $2.6 million as reimbursements rather than income was sentenced to 30 months."
"An Indiana woman who electronically filed false income tax returns for clients that reported fictitious businesses and also filed a false tax return for herself that underreported gross receipts from her business was sentenced to 21 months," the letter adds. "A New Jersey man was sentenced to 29 months for evading taxes and not filing income tax returns while earning over $2.5 million in wages. All of these cases involve conduct that is much more culpable and less public-spirited than Mr. Littlejohn's."
"There is a big difference between leaking tax information and tax evasion in the size of the universe of potential violations and the number of violators escaping punishment," the professors said. "The universe of potential violators leaking tax information is infinitesimal compared to the universe of potential tax evaders. And the number of potential violators escaping punishment for leaking tax information is close to zero, whereas the number of evaders escaping punishment is huge."
As his term winds down, Biden has issued approximately 1,500 commutations and 39 pardons, including controversial clemency for his son Hunter Biden and Michael Conahan, a former Pennsylvania judge convicted in a "kids-for-cash" scheme in which he and a colleague funneled thousands of juveniles into private detention centers in exchange for millions of dollars in kickbacks.
With the looming return of Trump—who presided over more federal executions during his first term than numerous presidents did over several preceding decades—advocates are pushing Biden to commute the sentences of 40 federal death row inmates. Advocates are also calling on Biden to pardon figures including Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier and environmental attorney Steven Donziger.
Earlier this month,
Politico Magazinereported that Biden is weighing preemptive pardons for numerous public officials who could be targeted by Trump—who has vowed to exact revenge on his political enemies—during his second term. Kash Patel, Trump's pick to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has threatened to prosecute the president-elect's political opponents and journalists.
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Thousands Feared Dead in Impoverished French Territory of Mayotte After Cyclone Chido
"You feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war," said one resident. "I saw an entire neighborhood disappear."
Dec 16, 2024
Undocumented migrants living in informal settlements in the French territory of Mayotte were among those whose lives and livelihoods were most devastated by Cyclone Chido, a tropical cyclone that slammed into the impoverished group of islands in the Indian Ocean over the weekend.
Authorities reported a death toll of at least 20 on Monday, but the territory's prefect, François-Xavier Bieuville, told a local news station that the widespread devastation indicated there were likely "some several hundred dead."
"Maybe we'll get close to a thousand," said Bieuville. "Even thousands... given the violence of this event."
Mayotte, which includes two densely populated main islands, Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre, as well as smaller islands with few residents, is home to about 300,000 people.
The territory is one of the European Union's poorest, with three-quarters of residents living below the poverty line, but roughly 100,000 people have come to Mayotte from the nearby African island nations of Madagascar and Comoros in recent decades, seeking better economic conditions.
Many of those people live in informal neighborhoods and shacks across the islands that were hardest hit by Chido, with aerial footage showing collections of houses "reduced to rubble," according toCNN.
"What we are experiencing is a tragedy, you feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war," Mohamed Ishmael, a resident of the capital city, Mamoudzou, told Reuters. "I saw an entire neighborhood disappear."
Bruno Garcia, owner of a hotel in Mamoudzou, echoed Ishmael's comments, telling French CNN affiliate BFMTV: "It's as if an atomic bomb fell on Mayotte."
"The situation is catastrophic, apocalyptic," said Garcia. "We lost everything. The entire hotel is completely destroyed."
Residents of the migrant settlements in recent years have faced crackdowns from French police who have been tasked with rounding up people for deportation and dismantling shacks.
The aggressive response to migration reportedly led some families to stay in their homes rather than evacuate, for fear of being apprehended by police.
Now, some of those families' homes have been razed entirely or stripped of their roofs and "engulfed by mud and sheet metal," according to Estelle Youssouffa, who represents Mayotte in France's National Assembly.
People in Mayotte's most vulnerable neighborhoods are now without food or safe drinking water as hundreds of rescuers from France and the nearby French territory of Reunion struggle to reach victims amid widespread power outages.
"It's the hunger that worries me most. There are people who have had nothing to eat or drink" since Saturday, French Sen. Salama Ramia, who represents Mayotte, told the BBC.
The Washington Postreported that Cyclone Chido became increasingly powerful and intense—falling just short of becoming a Category 5 hurricane with winds over 155 miles per hour—because of unusually warm water in the Indian Ocean. The ocean temperature ranged from 81-86°F along Chido's path. Tropical cyclones typically form when ocean temperatures rise above 80°F.
"The intensity of tropical cyclones in the Southwest Indian Ocean has been increasing, [and] this is consistent with what scientists expect in a changing climate—warmer oceans fuel more powerful storms," Liz Stephens, a professor of climate risks and resilience at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, told the Post.
People living on islands like Mayotte are especially vulnerable to climate disasters both because there's little shielding them from powerful storms and because their economic conditions leave them with few options to flee to safety as a cyclone approaches.
"Even though the path of Cyclone Chido was well forecast several days ahead, communities on small islands like Mayotte don't have the option to evacuate," Stephens said. "There's nowhere to go."
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