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Senator Bob Menendez / Getty Images

BY: Brent Scher August 9, 2017 1:45 pm

A last-ditch attempt by Democratic senatorBob Menendez (N.J.) to avoid a federal corruption trial slated to start next month was rejected by a federal judge on Wednesday.

Menendez, accused of giving political favors to Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in exchange for campaign contributions and gifts, asked that the case against him be dismissed on account of the Supreme Court's 2016 decision to overturn the corruption conviction offormer Virginia governorBob McDonnell (R.).

Menendez's attorneys argued that none of the alleged assistance he offered Melgen were "official acts," and therefore, based on the Supreme Court's McDonnell decision, the legal argument against him was invalid.

U.S. District Court Judge William Walls said the determination of whether Menendez performed an "official act" in his attempts to benefit Melgen will be made during the trial, which is set to begin on Sept. 6.

"Whether the acts alleged in the Superseding Indictment satisfy the definition of an official act under McDonnell is a factual determination that cannot be resolved before the Government has the opportunity to present evidence at trial," wrote Walls in his rejection of the dismissal request.

Menendez received campaign contributionsfrom Melgen, in addition to flights on private jets and luxury vacations.

Prosecutors allege Menendez askedgovernment officials to assist Melgen in his billings dispute with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Melgen was found guilty in April of Medicare fraud.

Menendez will be busy with court proceedings for four days a week beginning in September. Jury selection for the trial will begin later this month.

Polling has found that a majority of New Jersey voters think Menendez should have resigned shortly after the corruption charges were brought against him.

The indictment against Menendez also includes allegations that the senator assisted Melgen with visa applications for three of his girlfriends and colorful explanations of the trips that were gifted by Melgen, including a $5,000 stay in Paris for Menendez and his girlfriend.

Menendez and committees tied to him received over $750,000 in contributions from Melgen.

Read more here:
Judge: Democrat Bob Menendez Must Face Corruption Charge in Court - Washington Free Beacon

State Sen. George Muoz, a conservative Democrat from Gallup, announced Tuesday hell seek the partys nomination for state land commissioner in the June primary election.

Muoz, 50, joins former State Land Commissioner Ray Powell Jr. and Garrett VeneKlasen, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, in the Democratic race.

Republican Aubrey Dunn Jr., who was elected land commissioner in 2014, is running for Congress instead of seeking re-election. Patrick Lyons, a former land commissioner now serving on the Public Regulation Commission, is seeking the GOP nomination for his old job.

In an interview Tuesday, Muoz said he decided to run for the land commissioners job because his son went to college out of state.

I can sense hes not going to be coming back, he said.

As land commissioner, Muoz said, he can ensure a steady revenue stream for public schools and that better schools will improve New Mexicos economy and its ability to retain young people.

Public schools are the chief beneficiaries of interest from the state Land Grant Permanent Fund. That fund receives revenue from leases of land managed by the State Land Office, which includes more than 9 million acres of surface and 13 million acres of minerals.

Asked whether he supports a proposed constitutional amendment to tap the permanent fund specifically for money for early childhood education, Muoz said, I think the permanent fund is good where its at.

Of the three Democratic candidates, Muoz is the most conservative, which could help him in rural parts of the state, especially if Powell and VeneKlasen divide the progressive vote. But Muoz told The New Mexican, I dont think we should be putting partisan labels in this race.

Both Powell and VeneKlasen have strong support from environmentalists. And in his announcement, Muoz sounded as if hes also pursuing support from the conservation and environmentalist communities, stressing his support for clean energy on public lands.

Lets build the largest solar farm in the country on state land, he said. Were on that path. Why not be in front of it? New Mexico, he said, has unlimited resources in solar and wind.

He said energy produced in New Mexico and transmitted to other states should be taxed to benefit this state.

In a news release, he described himself as an avid conservationist and sportsman, who understands the importance of protecting New Mexico public lands for future generations.

New Mexico Conservation Voters, which compiles annual rankings for legislators on environmental issues, gives Muoz just a 50 percent lifetime score, making him the third lowest-ranked Democrat in the Senate.

On the issue of climate change, Muoz said, The question is how much is natural and how much is caused by humans. He said he doesnt have the answer to that question.

Muoz, the son of former Gallup Mayor Ed Muoz, owns a construction and property management company in Gallup.

Elected to the Senate in 2008, hes a member of the Senate Finance Committee. In 2013, he and then-Rep. Luciano Lucky Varela, D-Santa Fe, led the legislative effort to shore up the finances of the state retirement system.

In 2010, Muoz successfully sponsored legislation that allows people with concealed-carry licenses to take their guns into restaurants with beer and wine licenses. The National Rifle Association in 2016 gave Muoz a 100 percent rating and sponsored an appreciation event for him last year at a Gallup restaurant.

During this years legislative session, Muoz led the charge against a bill that would have carved out an exception to state rules on renting property.

The legislation would have allowed the Children, Youth and Families Department to extend its lease on office space in Albuquerque. Muoz challenged the bill when it went through the Senate Finance Committee, and he blasted it as fishy and a sweetheart deal for somebody when it reached the Senate floor.

The bill passed the Senate, but four days later after The New Mexican began asking about more than $26,000 in political contributions from property owners to Gov. Susana Martinez and her political committees the administration pulled the bill, saying earlier claims of no political connections were an honest mistake.

Excerpt from:
Conservative Democrat Muoz running for State Land Office - Santa Fe New Mexican

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FOSTER KLUG AND MATTHEW PENNINGTON

ASSOCIATED PRESS | August 9, 2017, 7:09AM

| Updated 6 hours ago.

SEOUL, South Korea In an exchange of threats, President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang of "fire and fury like the world has never seen" and the North's military claimed Wednesday it was examining plans for attacking Guam.

The high-level tit-for-tat follows reports that North Korea has mastered a crucial technology needed to strike the United States with a nuclear missile.

Despite regular North Korean threats against Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) from the Korean Peninsula, it is extremely unlikely that Pyongyang would risk the assured annihilation of its revered leadership with a pre-emptive attack on U.S. citizens. It's also not clear how reliable North Korea's mid-range missiles would be in an attack against a distant target given the relatively few times they've been tested.

Even so, the competing threats and Trump's use of North Korea-style rhetoric Pyongyang has long vowed to reduce Seoul to a "sea of fire" raise already high animosity and heighten worries that a miscalculation might spark conflict between the rivals.

The North Korean army said in a statement that it is studying a plan to create an "enveloping fire" in areas around Guam with medium- to long-range ballistic missiles. The statement described Andersen Air Force Base on Guam as a "beachhead" for a potential U.S. invasion of North Korea it needed to neutralize. It was unlikely the North's threat was a direct response to Trump's comments to the camera at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, which deals with matters related to North Korea, said the North's army statement hurts efforts to improve inter-Korean relations. Ministry spokesman Baek Tai-hyun said Seoul remains committed to both dialogue and sanctions for solving the North Korean nuclear problem and called for Pyongyang to stop its provocations. Baek did not mention Trump's comments.

Trump spoke hours after reports indicated North Korea can now wed nuclear warheads with its missiles, including its longest-range missiles that may be able to hit the American mainland. The North has strived for decades to have the ability to strike the U.S. and its Asian allies, and the pace of its breakthroughs is having far-reaching consequences for stability in the Pacific and beyond.

The nuclear advances were detailed in an official Japanese assessment Tuesday and a later Washington Post story that cited U.S. intelligence officials and a confidential Defense Intelligence Agency report. The U.S. now assesses the North Korean arsenal at up to 60 nuclear weapons, more than double most assessments by independent experts, according to the Post's reporting.

"North Korea had best not make any more threats to the United States," said a stern-looking Trump, seated with his arms crossed and with his wife beside him. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

"He has been very threatening beyond a normal state. And as I said they will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before."

The remarks appeared scripted, with Trump glancing at a paper in front of him. They evoked President Harry Truman's announcement of the U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, in which he warned of "a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth."

But it wasn't clear what Trump, who is prone to hyperbole and bombast in far less grave situations, meant by the threat. White House officials did not elaborate, but U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson downplayed Trump's threat, saying the president intended to send a strong message "in language that Kim Jong Un can understand."

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Tillerson said Trump delivered the message the way he did because the North Korean leader "doesn't seem to understand diplomatic language." Trump wanted to make clear to North Korea that the U.S. has the "unquestionable ability to defend itself" and will protect itself and its allies, Tillerson said, adding Trump wanted to "avoid any miscalculation" by Pyongyang.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement saying, "We need to be firm and deliberate with North Korea, but reckless rhetoric is not a strategy to keep America safe."

The Trump administration considers North Korea to be America's greatest national security threat and tensions have steadily risen this year.

Pyongyang responded angrily to the U.N. Security Council's adoption this weekend of new, tougher sanctions spearheaded by Washington. Tens of thousands packed Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang on Wednesday for a rally that followed a familiar format of speeches from a balcony, with the crowd listening below, standing in organized rows interspersed with placards and slogans.

The sanctions followed intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month, the second of which was estimating as having a range that could reach more of the U.S. mainland. The newly revealed U.S. intelligence assessment indicates those missiles can carry nuclear warheads.

Denouncing the U.N. sanctions through state media, the North warned: "We will make the U.S. pay by a thousand-fold for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people of this country."

For North Korea, having a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike America would be the ultimate guarantee against U.S. invasion.

It is an ambition decades in the making. North Korea began producing fissile material for bombs in the 1990s and conducted its first nuclear test explosion in 2006. Four subsequent nuclear tests, the latest a year ago, have accelerated progress on miniaturizing a device something North Korea already claimed it could do. Over that span, multiple U.S. presidents have tried and failed to coax or pressure Pyongyang into abandoning its nuclear ambitions.

The secrecy of the North's nuclear program and the underground nature of its test explosions make it very difficult to properly assess its claims. But the new assessments from Japan and the U.S. suggest that doubts over the North's abilities are receding.

In an annual report, Japan's Defense Ministry on Tuesday concluded that "it is possible that North Korea has achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has developed nuclear warheads." Japan, a key U.S. ally, is a potential, front-line target of North Korean aggression.

The Post story, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, went further. It said the Defense Intelligence Agency analysis, completed last month, assessed North Korea has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, including by intercontinental missiles.

Officials at the agency wouldn't comment Tuesday. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence also wouldn't discuss the report.

It's unclear how North Korea's new capabilities will immediately affect how the U.S. approaches the country's regular missile launches and occasional nuclear tests. The U.S. military has never attempted to shoot a North Korean missile out of the sky, deeming all previous tests to pose no threat to the United States. The U.S. could weigh military action if the threat perception changes.

The calculation of North Korea's nuclear arsenal at 60 bombs exceeds other assessments, which range from around one dozen to about 30 weapons. The assessments are typically an estimate of the amount of plutonium and enriched uranium North Korea has in its inventory rather than how much of that material has been weaponized. It's unclear how many, if any, miniaturized warheads North Korea has built.

Last month's ICBM tests highlighted the growing threat. Both missiles were fired at highly lofted angles and landed in the sea near Japan, but analysts said the weapons could reach Alaska, Los Angeles or Chicago if fired at a normal, flattened trajectory.

North Korea threatened to hit Guam with its Hwasong-12 missiles, which it says can carry a heavy nuclear warhead.

Not all technical hurdles have been overcome, however. North Korea is still believed to lack expertise to ensure a missile could re-enter the Earth's atmosphere without the warhead burning up. And it's still working on striking targets with accuracy.

___

Pennington reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, Deb Riechmann in Washington and Catherine Lucey in New Jersey contributed to this report.

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See original here:
President Trump, North Korea trade escalating threats of fire - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Deidre Dejear

The woman who directed outreach to African American voters in Iowa for President Obamas 2012 campaign is running to be the states top election official. Democrat Deidre DeJearof Des Moines says if shes elected as Iowas Secretary of State, encouraging Iowa voters to participate in ALL elections will be her top goal.

Getting people engaged at the grassroots level city council elections, school board elections, DeJear says. 2016 wasnt just a presidential election. We had things on that ballot that were going to impact our cities, our counties more immediately than what the federal election was going to do.

The new voter verification procedures Republican lawmakers enacted this spring also motivated DeJear to run for this office.

Its more than just about a drivers license or a state ID, DeJear says. Obviouslythe impacts that its going to have on college students, the elderly, folks with lack of transportationa lot of communication about how their process is going to change.

DeJear says she intends for her campaign to be a testing ground for how to teach voters about the new law.

Im more of an end-goal individual and I look, I see the barrier, but Im more concentrated on how do I help people better connect with the voting process in light of this barrier, DeJear says. And we have to continue to keep the voter first in this process.

DeJear, who is 31 years old, cast her first vote in 2004 in Iowa, when she was a college student at Drake University. DeJear is a native of Mississippi whose family moved to Oklahoma when she was 12. She settled in Iowa after graduating from Drake. DeJear owns a small business that helps entrepreneurs develop business plans and marketing concepts. She says that work gives her an affinity for the business registration functions the Iowa secretary of states office.

Its not enough to be a resource to help them start their business, DeJear says. Im interested in being a resource, also, to give them the means to stay in business.

DeJear will have competition for the Democratic Partys nomination for secretary of state. Democrat Jim Mowrer of Des Moines has announced hes running for the office, too. Current Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, has not indicated whether he intends to seek reelection in 2018.

Photo courtesy of the DeJear campaign.

See more here:
Another Democrat in race for Iowa secretary of state's job - Radio Iowa

ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK

The Illinois State Board of Education is expected to soon release its analysis of Gov. Bruce Rauner's suggested changes to the Democrats school funding reform bill.

Once the numbers are out, school districts will know how much money they can expect from the state under the plan put forward through Rauners amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, which passed in May but wasn't sent to the governor's desk until last week.

With more than 850 school districts across the state, Rauner said it takes time for the education board to crunch the numbers.

Its very complicated, Rauner said. It's not easily done and the majority of the General Assembly knows it takes time and knows the state board of education wont run new numbers until theres a specific bill to run numbers from.

Despite the numbers not yet being available, the sponsor of the Democrats school funding reform bill said some school districts across the state will lose under the governors changes.

During a news conference last week, state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, had maps showing numerous school districts that would receive less funding under Rauner's plan.

When asked where he got his numbers, since official education board numbers werent available, Manar said, You dont need numbers to know that thats gonna make school districts lose. You just dont.

Senate Democrat spokesperson John Patterson did not immediately respond to a follow-up inquiry from Illinois News Network as to where Manar's numbers came from.

Despite the unclear origin of his own numbers, Manar took to Twitter last week saying, "Prepare for fake ISBE numbers" on Rauner's amendatory veto.

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Rauner said the numbers from ISBE on his amendatory veto are expected soon.

So they [Democrats] delayed it [SB1] as long as possible because the truth isnt very good for the bill in its original form, Rauner said. I think the truth will be very good for the [amendatory veto] when it comes out.

Republicans say the Democrats plan included hundreds of millions of dollars more to bail out Chicago Public Schools pension system at the expense of other school districts.

Following Rauners changes, lawmakers can either do nothing and the bill dies, or they can agree with his changes or override his changes. The deadline for the Senate to act is next week. The House would then have 15 days to act on what the Senate sends over, if anything.

A change in how the state funds schools is required in the budget lawmakers imposed on the state last month, meaning if SB1 or something similar isn't approved, schools don't receive this year's funding.

Read more:
Rauner ed funding numbers criticized by Senate Democrat who won't reveal basis for his own - Illinois News Network