Midwest
Watchdog group sues Biden agency for records as lawmaker calls its voter work 'a slap in the face'
FIRST ON FOX: One week after Congress subpoenaed officials from the Small Business Administration regarding efforts to funnel resources to help register swing state voters, a top government watchdog group sued the agency for allegedly stonewalling its own public records requests on the matter.
On Friday, The Oversight Project executive director Mike Howell and the Heritage Foundation sued the SBA, claiming the agency failed to comply with legal public records requests regarding the same “Memorandum of Understanding” entered into by the SBA and the Michigan Department of State.
The Oversight Project, an initiative of the Heritage Foundation launched in 2022, seeks to engage in “aggressive oversight” of the federal government to investigate the implementation of so-called “radical leftist” policies and “destructive efforts” while ensuring accountability across the board.
KEY BIDEN AGENCY SLAPPED WITH HISTORIC SUBPOENAS OVER ‘IMPROPER’ SWING-STATE VOTER REGISTRATION PUSH
The lawsuit alleged the SBA did not provide documents sought under an April 23 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request relating to the memo, which included internal communications with the search terms “register,” “vote,” “voter” and “ballot.”
Small Business Administration at Federal Center SW in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
In the filing, Howell’s team called the request a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exists possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Oversight Project chief counsel Kyle Brosnan echoed Howell’s sentiment, saying there is public interest in analyzing in-person voter registration events the memo helped resource – as well as communications between Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office and the SBA.
In March, the SBA announced its “first-ever” voter registration agreement with the Michigan agency. On May 7, the House Committee on Small Business issued a rare subpoena for SBA aides after what the panel claimed was in part a failure to forward documents relating to a program “diverting [agency] resources away from assisting Main Street” toward partisan ends.
President Biden and House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (Getty Images)
President Biden’s executive order 14019, on “Promoting Access to Voting,” was the keystone of the coordination, which led to concerns the agency was being used to register voters in a partisan manner in a key swing state.
When asked if the lawsuit was a direct response to the subpoena brought by House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, R-Texas, Brosnan said there is overlap in their requests on both the FOIA front and an endeavor to conduct oversight of federal resources that may be being used in a controversial manner.
“Based on what I’ve seen in public reporting, the Small Business Administration has not complied with Congress’ document requests. And, the committee subpoenaed these two SBA officials for depositions later this month after they did not appear for voluntary transcribed interviews,” he said.
BIDEN ADMIN ACCUSED OF USING TAXPAYER FUNDS TO HELP HIS OWN CAMPAIGN WITH STUDENT VOTER REGISTRATION SCHEME
“It’s curious that the Small Business Administration has entered an agreement with the Michigan secretary of state in this context, with the election this year.”
When asked earlier this week about the lawsuit somewhat mirroring what he has sought, Williams told Fox News Digital his committee has “been working hard to hold the SBA accountable for improperly involving themselves in federal elections.”
“The SBA’s mission of helping Main Street grow and thrive is simple, yet extremely important to our country. Unfortunately, they seem to be dedicating energy to serve as President Biden’s campaign arm to register Democrat voters in Michigan.”
Williams called such behavior a “slap in the face” to struggling small business owners who rely on the SBA.
In a March announcement for the voter registration agreement between Michigan and the SBA, agency administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said “protecting and strengthening our democracy is critical to our economic success and a core goal of the Biden-Harris administration,” and that connecting Michiganders to voter registration information will help small business owners exercise their voting rights.
Brosnan referenced a similar September inter-agency agreement announced by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Michigan to designate two Detroit and one Saginaw VA property as voter registration sites, while alluding to the fact that Michigan’s largest city is heavily Democratic, and Saginaw sits in a nearly-even swing district represented by a Democrat in Congress.
When reached for comment on the lawsuit, the top Democrat on Williams’ panel, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., expressed dismay at the subpoenas her committee recently issued, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that her committee has otherwise “prided itself in bipartisan cooperation to help American entrepreneurs.”
“Unfortunately, with [these] subpoenas, Republicans have rejected these principles to pursue a partisan inquiry,” Velazquez said.
A message left for Benson’s office was not returned by press time. Reached by phone, the SBA said it does not comment on ongoing legal matters.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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Midwest
Wild video shows federal agents detaining 2 men at Minnesota gas station as agitators gather
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Dramatic videos show federal Border Patrol agents taking two men into custody at a gas station in St. Paul, Minnesota, as agitators continue to taunt and disrupt authorities in the area.
The videos, posted to X on Sunday afternoon, quickly drew thousands of views and appear to show Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino ordering a crowd to move back as federal agents attempted to remove a man from a vehicle parked at the gas station.
Multiple federal agents surrounded the parked vehicle as authorities repeatedly instructed bystanders to step back.
“Back up, guys, back up,” Bovino says in the video. “We’re going to back you on up for our safety and your safety… Stay there.”
GOV WALZ AUTHORIZES NATIONAL GUARD STAGING FOLLOWING FATAL ICE SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS
The videos appear to show Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino ordering a crowd to move back as federal agents work to remove a man from a vehicle parked at the gas station. (FNTV)
Moments later, agents force a man wearing a brown jacket to the ground and place him in handcuffs as agitators shout and car horns blare in the background.
Three agents are then seen carrying the man away from the scene by his arms and one of his legs.
In another tense moment captured on video, a Border Patrol agent again orders bystanders to move back.
After a man appears to resist, the situation escalates as several agents tackle him and place him in handcuffs.
TOM EMMER PUSHES BACK ON SUGGESTION THAT MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS HAVE BEEN PEACEFUL
Agents appear to force a man wearing a brown jacket to the ground and place him in handcuffs as agitators shout and car horns blare in the background. (FNTV)
He is then carried away by his arms and legs.
The confrontation comes amid heightened tensions in the Twin Cities following a fatal shooting Wednesday during a federal immigration enforcement operation, when 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent.
Federal officials said Good attempted to drive her vehicle toward agents during the encounter, a claim disputed by family members and some local leaders.
ICE OFFICER WHO SHOT MINNESOTA WOMAN WAS DRAGGED BY CAR OF ILLEGAL ALIEN SEX OFFENDER MONTHS EARLIER
Videos appear to show federal Border Patrol agents taking two men into custody at a gas station in St. Paul, Minnesota. (FNTV)
The shooting led to agitators taking to the streets and heightened scrutiny of federal enforcement activity in the city, contributing to repeated confrontations between demonstrators and federal agents.
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A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security and for U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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Detroit Public Schools Community District often gets a bad rap due to declining enrollment issues or longstanding challenges that led to the historic takeover of the school system before voters returned it to an elected board.
And in many cases, that is the lens through which the school system’s performance is examined and viewed across the state. But there are hidden stories of progress within a school system that is still struggling to define itself and to give young Detroiters hope for a meaningful future.
I saw that first-hand last week at Denby High School, part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, on the city’s east side, where hundreds of young Black and Brown male students gathered in the basketball gym for the annual policing and prosperity forum.
The annual event initiated and led by tenacious Detroiter Sharlonda Buckman, the district’s assistant superintendent for family and community engagement, is one of the hidden jewels of the public school system and brings together male students from various high schools to discuss their interaction with law enforcement. On the panel were senior and junior police officers from the Detroit Police Department, as well as the district’s public safety chief, Labrit Jackson, all of whom took hard questions from the students about how to navigate the complexities of the criminal justice system.
Before the start of the forum, I met three students: 17-year-old Justin Montgomery, 17-year-old Exavier Ward and 16-year-old Wesley Lewis, all students of Denby.
The three of them live on the east side and are serious and determined students who believe they have an obligation to be worthy ambassadors of their communities.
“I just got a scholarship from Cleary University for track and field and cross country and I just signed the papers so I can be committed,” Ward told me. “I am excited for the new year and I’m ready to live my adult life.”
His parents are also joyful about his future because, “out of all of my siblings, I’m going to be the first one to go to college. I want to major in cybersecurity,” he says.
Montgomery is scouting Oakland University or Central Michigan University and is also interested in a trades school. He’s keeping his options open.
“I have been here for a while and I’m ready to get out of high school. The experience has been good for me,” he says.
For Lewis, graduating in 2027 will make him the first in his family to be committed to college. That alone keeps him upbeat for the new year as he prepares for the challenges and the pressures of being an 11th grade student.
“I’m really ready to go to college. I’m looking at Kentucky State University, Wayne State University and Michigan State University,” he says. “I probably would major in music in college because I currently play the piano. But sometimes I get nervous about college because I feel like it is going to be harder than high school.”
These impressive young men speak to the vitality of the school system and the need to continue to nurture and support them.
The forum on policing and prosperity reinforces that need.
“This forum is so important because we give the students an opportunity to have a voice and talk about the things that are important to them and how they interact with law enforcement,” says Marty Bulger, the district’s senior director of male mentoring.
“Even a more dynamic piece is the fact that because the city has seen a reduction in violent crime, we believe as we reach our young people, we will continue to see a decline. These young men are our future leaders.”
X (formerly Twitter): @BankoleDetNews
bankole@bankolethompson.com
Bankole Thompson’s columns appear on Mondays and Thursdays in The Detroit News.
MILWAUKEE – New details are emerging in the death of a pregnant woman found dead after a house fire investigators say was intentionally set, as the man charged in the case appeared in court.
What we know:
21-year-old Cameron Washington appeared Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, where prosecutors outlined allegations tying him to the death of 22-year-old Gladys Johnson-Ball.
Washington faces six felony charges, including first-degree recklessly endangering safety and arson, all connected to the fire that broke out the night of Jan. 5.
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According to the criminal complaint, Johnson-Ball was the mother of Washington’s 3-year-old daughter and was pregnant with another child at the time of her death. Investigators say Washington lived with Johnson-Ball and her family at a home near 26th and Locust.
Police were called to the home for reports of a person with a weapon. When officers arrived, they reported seeing flames on the second floor of the house. While clearing the home, officers found Johnson-Ball unconscious in a bedroom that was on fire.
She was taken outside and pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators noted Johnson-Ball had bruises across her body and blood coming from her nose and mouth, according to the complaint.
The complaint says Johnson-Ball’s mother told police Washington and her daughter had been inside the bedroom together all day and that family members had been unable to reach her. She told investigators Washington would not allow anyone inside the room and pointed a gun at family members.
What they’re saying:
“He was blocking the door like, ‘No you not getting in here,’ then I turned around and that’s when he pointed the gun at my daughter Kayla,” said Michelle Johnson, the victim’s mother.
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Family members told investigators the fire started moments later in the bedroom and Washington ran away from the house. He was later arrested, and police say a lighter was found in his pocket.
“Ultimately, this is extremely dangerous and deliberate behavior,” said Assistant District Attorney Anthony Moore.
Dig deeper:
In court, Washington’s bond was set at $100,000. Prosecutors said he could face more than 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Court Commissioner Maria Dorsey noted Washington has not yet been charged with homicide because the medical examiner’s report was not completed when charges were filed.
What’s next:
Washington’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 20.
The Source: Information in this report is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.
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