West
San Francisco prosecutor taps friend with no law experience for high-paying job as violent crime runs rampant
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is being accused of nepotism after she quietly promoted a close friend to her chief of staff despite her being trained as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with no legal experience and holding down a second job.
Monifa Willis, who also works as an assistant nursing professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, where she reportedly earns a $100,000 salary, was initially hired by the DA’s office in 2022 to run the agency’s Victim’s Services Division. She took on her new position in March.
The appointment has raised questions about the hiring of a friend for a prominent role in a large office. The position pays around $289,000 annually.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Jenkins said she was proud to have Willis as her chief of staff and said her hiring was not a conflict of interest. It’s the first time in the office’s history that the role has been filled by someone who isn’t a lawyer.
SAN FRANCISCANS SOUND OFF ON STUDY LABELING CITY ‘WORST-RUN’ IN THE US FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“As a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Monifa brings an unparalleled wealth of experience and expertise in providing trauma-informed care to victims of crime and people impacted by the criminal justice system,” Jenkins said. “In her role as Chief of Staff, Monifa oversees the Victim Services Division, the policy team, grants, special projects and programming.”
Willis will also launch new programs and initiatives focused on crime prevention and intervention efforts, Jenkins said.
Willis became a registered nurse and, after earning her master’s degree at UCSF in 2014, became certified as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, according to her biography on the UCSF website.
Ryan Khojasteh, a former prosecutor who is running to unseat Jenkins, his former boss, said Willis’ initial hiring was nepotism, compounded by the fact that she doesn’t have a law license.
SAN FRANCISCO DUBBED WORST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO NEW REPORT
Monifa Willis, chief of staff at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, was promoted by DA Brooke Jenkins, a close friend. (KTVU)
“She is not qualified to be the number two position in a criminal law office,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s actually baffling to me that Jenkins thought this was even remotely a good idea.”
Jenkins’ office said the chief of staff position is exempt and does not require a law degree, and that Willis meets the qualifications for that job.
The chief of staff position requires four years of managerial experience in a supervisory role in a legal, legislative or clinical social environment, according to the job qualifications. In addition, the chief of staff doesn’t oversee the prosecutors, which is done by the chief assistant district attorney.
SAN FRANCISCO’S NEW DA KICKS OFF TENURE WITH MAJOR PLAN TO CRACK DOWN ON CRIME
Monifa Willis, a nursing professor, was promoted as chief of staff by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, which has prompted allegations of nepotism. (KTVU; Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Jenkins and Willis have known each other since high school, where they were track-and-field teammates, according to a 2022 Mission Local report. The pair have gone to dinner, rented a car, attended a football game and visited a waxing salon together, according to public Venmo accounts dating back to 2021, The San Francisco Standard reported.
Since becoming Jenkins’ chief of staff, Willis has continued to work as a professor at UCSF.
Employees in the DA’s office are not allowed to engage in any outside activity that would take time away from their duties at work on a regular basis, according to a DA policy. At the time of her appointment as chief of the Victim Services Division, Willis filed a secondary employment form, the DA’s office told Fox News Digital.
The office verbally approved the request for her second job.
SAN FRANCISCO DUBBED WORST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO NEW REPORT
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins speaks during the launch of Domestic Violence Awareness Month at the City Hall of San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“She agreed to change her course time but did not immediately file an updated secondary employment form. She filed an updated secondary employment form on 7/25/2024, as soon as this oversight came to her attention,” the DA’s office said.
Willis’ secondary employment with UCSF isn’t an issue, the agency said.
“She teaches one class on Wednesday evenings during UCSF’s Fall, Winter and Spring quarters,” the DA’s office said. “She does not teach in the Summer. Her teaching responsibilities do not impact her ability to perform any of her job duties at the District Attorney’s Office.”
Lexa Grayner worked under Jenkins before moving across the Bay Area to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
“This is just one more incident that validates what we’ve known all along about Brooke Jenkins,” Grayner told Fox News Digital. “She is not someone we can trust. She is making decisions for her own political career at the jeopardy of criminal justice in San Francisco.”
Jenkins’ office did not respond to requests for comment about Grayner’s departure.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins speaks at a news conference at the San Francisco Police Department, as Mayor London Breed and Police Chief William Scott listen, on April 13, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Willis’ part-time job as a college professor also raised questions about her accessibility. Fox News Digital has reached out to Willis.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission, which is responsible for the administration and enforcement of ethics standards across city government agencies, declined to comment on the matter.
Jenkins was appointed as DA, a position once held by Vice President Kamala Harris, by San Francisco Mayor London Breed in 2022 following the successful recall of Chesa Boudin, for whom she actively campaigned. She was elected in her own right months later.
Upon taking office, Jenkins purged several staffers, including Khojasteh. During Jenkins’ tenure, multiple people have departed the DA’s office, which has been destabilized, Khojasteh said.
The DA’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
“What Jenkins has done is reward her friends and her allies at the expense of a well-run and functioning office,” Khojasteh said.
Read the full article from Here
Washington
Washington Post paying for ads on X featuring pro-Democrat, anti-Trump content, critics say
The Washington Post has come under fire from critics who allege its ads on X are politically skewed in amplifying pro-Harris and anti-Trump content.
In recent weeks, conservatives have shared screenshots of posts from the “Democracy Dies in Darkness” paper of articles that were being monetized as ads.
One was an excerpt from an op-ed by President Biden touting his court reform proposal, with the quote, “We can and must prevent the abuse of presidential power. We can and must restore the public’s faith in the Supreme Court. We can and must strengthen the guardrails of democracy.”
“Is the @washingtonpost going to register with the FEC to run ads like this?” GOP strategist Matt Whitlock asked. “What is this ridiculous promotion of Biden’s desperate and stupid court-packing plan? You can’t even argue this is good for WaPo business because a boring op-ed isn’t driving new subscribers.”
WASHINGTON POST’S TAYLOR LORENZ SAYS BIDEN ‘WAR CRIMINAL’ POST WAS AN ‘OBVIOUS MEME’ AFTER CLAIMING IT WAS EDITED
Critics are accusing The Washington Post of boosting pro-Dem, anti-Trump content in its ads on X. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Another one that was flagged was an article about Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s “rocky debut” as former President Trump’s running mate with the post reading, “JD Vance has had a challenging start as the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee, leaving the Trump campaign to try to clean up his controversial past comments.”
Donald Trump Jr. reacted with a screenshot of a third post offering glowing coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris that read, “Throughout her life, Kamala Harris has had her share of firsts. Now, her next first could be the presidency.”
“While the @washingtonpost is spending thousands of dollars running paid ads attacking JD Vance, they’re also running positive ads promoting Kamala Harris,” Trump Jr. wrote. “How is this any different than a Super PAC? The Washington Post should be forced to register with the @FEC. So corrupt!!!”
LIBERAL WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL BOARD HAS SCATHING TAKE ON HARRIS’ ECONOMIC PLAN: ‘POPULIST GIMMICKS’
One of The Washington Post’s ads on X read, “Throughout her life, Kamala Harris has had her share of firsts. Now, her next first could be the presidency.” (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that high-performing posts shared on X by The Post are later promoted as ads. The paper’s far-left readership is likely driving the partisan nature of its ads.
Ruthless podcast co-host Michael Duncan took aim at a Post ad fact-checking Vance’s claims against Harris.
“How is this not an in-kind contribution to her campaign?” Duncan wondered.
WAPO REPORTER SUGGESTS WHITE HOUSE CENSOR ‘MISINFORMATION’ FROM TRUMP-MUSK INTERVIEW DURING PRESS BRIEFING
Other posts X users flagged include one that read, “Donald Trump has grown increasingly angry about Kamala Harris’s surging poll numbers and media coverage since replacing Joe Biden on the ticket.” Another ad pushed the “Republicans pounce” trope against Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, over his scrutinized military service claims.
Among the negative stories boosted in Washington Post ads include former President Trump being “increasingly angry” about Harris’ surge in the polls and Sen. JD Vance’s “rocky start” as his running mate. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Vance himself slammed the Post’s ads targeting him and Trump.
“You’ll see The Washington Post pay for advertisements for stories that attack me and attack Donald J. Trump,” Vance told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Thursday. “That’s not the activity of a media organization. That’s the activity of a SuperPAC. And I hope the FEC looks into it.”
Fox News Digital reached out to The Washington Post for comment.
Here’s what we know now about election polling in 2024
In the 2016 presidential election, pollsters predicted that Hillary Clinton would win. Here’s what we know now about election polling in 2024.
The Democratic National Convention in Chicago is now in full swing, but that’s not all that’s happening this week. Three states — Alaska, Florida and Wyoming — are holding their state primaries today, with voters poised to choose which candidates for national, statewide and local offices will advance to the general election.
Here are the races to watch for in the Aug. 20 state primaries.
Alaska
The last frontier’s single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs during the state primary, with incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native person ever elected to Congress, defending her seat from nearly a dozen challengers.
Peltola was first elected in a special election to fill Republican Congressman Don Young’s at-large seat after he died in March 2022. She beat out several rivals, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
The most prominent Republicans running for the seat this year are Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and business owner Nicholas Begich. There are also several independent candidates running for the seat.
Thanks to a 2020 ballot measure, Alaska holds a nonpartisan primary election, meaning all candidates appear on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the four candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election.
The state also employs ranked-choice voting, meaning that if no candidate receives a majority of votes, the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated along with their first-preference votes. The counting then restarts and moves the second-preference votes to the first-preference, and this process repeats until one candidate secures a majority.
More: What is ranked-choice voting? Here’s which states will use it in the 2024 election.
Florida
The Sunshine State has several high-profile races coming up, with local and national implications for residents across Florida. Incumbent Republican Rick Scott is defending his Senate seat this year from two challengers within his own party: John Columbus, an actor, and attorney Keith Gross, who was kicked off the 2008 ballot in Georgia after a judge determined he was not eligible to represent the Atlanta-area state legislative seat for which he was running.
More: ‘Unstoppable’: Sen. Rick Scott discuss bid for Republican conference leader, Donald Trump
Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is the Democratic frontrunner for the Senate seat. She was elected in 2018 and served one term in the House of Representatives as the first Ecuadorian American and South American-born woman elected to Congress. She faces business owners Stanley Campbell, Rod Joseph, and former state legislator Brian Rush in the Democratic primary.
One of former President Trump’s most outspoken allies is also fighting to keep his seat in the House of Representatives. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who introduced and passed a measure to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is running for his fifth term to represent Florida’s 1st Congressional District. He will face off against Republican challenger Aaron Dimmock, whose campaign has been backed by McCarthy and his political network. Whoever wins the Republican primary will face off against Democrat Jennifer Valimont, who is running unopposed in her party primary.
In Florida’s 8th Congressional District, the only House race in the state without an incumbent candidate, outgoing Republican Rep. Bill Posey endorsed Mike Haridopolos, the former president of the Florida state Senate. Haridopolos will face business owner John Hearton in the Republican primary. Attorney Sandy Kennedy and business owner Daniel McDow will be facing off in the Democratic primary election.
Wyoming
Voters in the Cowboy State will decide the political future of deep-red Wyoming and its increasingly split Republican party on Tuesday, with all of the state’s house seats and half of its senate seats up for grabs. Two camps within Wyoming’s Republican party, the further-right Freedom Caucus and the more moderate, establishment Wyoming Caucus will fight for control of the state legislature.
In the state’s capital, Cheyenne, and its surrounding districts hold several of the state’s hottest races.
State Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, with nearly two decades of experience under his belt, is hoping to fend off a spirited challenge from political newcomer and Freedom Caucus-endorsed Ann Lucas in House District 43. Nearby in House District 7, Kathy Russell, the Wyoming GOP executive director, will try to topple the more moderate representative Bob Nicholas. Senate District 6, just north of Cheyenne, features a heated, six-way race for control of outgoing senator Anthony Bouchard’s seat.
In a district race located at the foot of the Big Horn mountains in northern Wyoming, state representatives Barry Crago and Mark Jennings will square off against each other for a state senate seat. Crago is a rising star in the Wyoming Caucus-aligned camp, while Jennings has long been a further-right figure in Wyoming politics, helping found the State Freedom Caucus in 2015, a precursor to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
Out in Western Wyoming, current Speaker of the House Albert Sommers is looking to take control of the vacancy in Senate District 14. Sommers faces further challenges from retired Naval Officer Bill Winney and local rancher and school bus driver Laura Taliaferro Pearson.
On the federal level, Republican U.S. Senator John Barrasso and Representative Harriett Hageman face challengers, but both are expected to cruise to victory.
San Francisco. Harvey Milk. MC Hammer. Maya Angelou.
Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Getty Images
San Francisco. Harvey Milk. MC Hammer. Maya Angelou.
Getty Images
Who will win today’s cage match?
Welcome to The Smackdown! For the next several weeks Brittany is hosting debates in cities and regions across the United States to find out who and what are the most influential things from those places.
This episode Brittany lands in San Francisco, California, the Bay Area, and debates with KQED reporters Pendarvis Harshaw, host of Rightnowish, and Olivia Allen-Price, host of Bay Curious. There will be winners. There will be losers. There will be surprises.
More than 100 Virginia Democrats attend DNC in Chicago. What they do and don't want to see.
Washington Post paying for ads on X featuring pro-Democrat, anti-Trump content, critics say
Assisted living industry works to provide quality care. Small number highlighted in report.
Obituary for Betty Jane Roach at Morgan Funeral Home
Primary elections begin today in Alaska, Florida, Wyoming: Watch these races
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
Video: Biden Delivers Keynote on First Night of D.N.C.
Former teacher reveals which students suffered 'the most' under Walz's pandemic-era guidelines
German court upholds conviction of former Nazi camp secretary, aged 99
'Lot of heartache, pain': Palestinian protesters call for solidarity at DNC march
Video: Protesters Clash With Police Near the Democratic National Convention
-
Ohio6 days agoOhio taxpayers sent families $966 million for private school tuition: Capitol Letter
-
World1 week agoWhat could an EU Commissioner do to tackle the housing crisis?
-
Politics1 week agoTrump legal cases in limbo after SCOTUS immunity ruling, freeing up schedule to campaign
-
Politics1 week agoGOP states sue to stop Biden admin extending Obamacare to illegal immigrants
-
News1 week agoPhotos: Family of Michael Brown Jr. marches on Ferguson 10 years later
-
News1 week agoFull Trump-Musk Interview: Assassination Bid, Iran-Israel, Russia-Ukraine, Kamala-Biden, US Election
-
News1 week agoCross-Tabs: August 2024 Times/Siena Poll of the Likely Electorate
-
News7 days agoRoger Stone says his email accounts were how the hackers got into the Trump campaign