JUDGE SUSPENDS MICHIGAN’S 1931 ABORTION BAN
DETROIT » A judge on Tuesday suspended Michigan’s dormant, decades-old ban on abortion, which means the procedure would not be illegal in the state even if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its historic Roe vs. Wade decision.
The Michigan law, which makes it a crime to assist in an abortion, has been on the books since 1931. But it has had no practical effect since 1973 when the Supreme Court legalized abortion.
Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher granted a preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood of Michigan, saying the abortion ban likely violates the Michigan Constitution.
Justice Department requests transcripts from Jan. 6 committee.
WASHINGTON » The Justice Department has asked the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack for transcripts of interviews it is conducting behind closed doors, including some with associates of former President Donald Trump, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The move is further evidence of the wide-ranging nature of the department’s criminal inquiry into the events leading up to the 2021 assault on the Capitol and the role played by Trump and his allies as they sought to keep him in office after his defeat in the 2020 election.
The House committee has interviewed more than 1,000 people so far, and the transcripts could be used by the Justice Department as evidence in potential criminal cases, to pursue new leads or as a baseline for new interviews conducted by federal law enforcement officials.
Congress dives into UFOS.
WASHINGTON » Congress held its first hearing in half a century Tuesday on unidentified flying objects. And no, there is still no government confirmation of extraterrestrial life.
Testifying before a House Intelligence subcommittee, Pentagon officials did not disclose additional information from their ongoing investigation of hundreds of unexplained sightings in the sky. But they said they had picked a director for a new task force to coordinate data collection efforts on what the government has officially labeled “unidentified aerial phenomena.”
Ronald Moultrie, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said the Pentagon was also trying to destigmatize the issue and encourage pilots and other military personnel to report anything unusual they see.
Prosecutor: Clinton campaign lawyer sought to “use” FBI.
WASHINGTON » A lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign who is charged with lying to the FBI early in the Trump-russia probe sought to “use and manipulate” federal law enforcement to create an “October surprise” in the final weeks of the presidential race, a prosecutor alleged Tuesday at the start of his trial. Defense lawyers told jurors he never lied.
Michael Sussmann is accused of misleading the FBI during a September 2016 meeting by telling the bureau’s top lawyer that he wasn’t acting on behalf of a particular client when he presented computer data that he said might connect Russia to thencandidate Donald Trump. In reality, prosecutors say, he was acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign and another client who had provided him with the data.
U.S. sues casino mogul Steve Wynn.
WASHINGTON » The Justice Department sued longtime Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn on Tuesday to compel him to register as a foreign agent because of lobbying work it says he performed at the behest of the Chinese government during the Trump administration.
U.S. to offer sanctions relief to Venezuela.
WASHINGTON » The Biden administration said Tuesday it would slightly loosen the crippling economic sanctions against Venezuela’s government to help restart stagnant talks between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leaders aimed at easing the country’s political and humanitarian crisis.