Team Miyares: Miyares Weekly Roundup

Four MS-13 Gang Members Charged in Connection to an Assault of a Correctional Officer, Stabbing Death of a Correctional K-9, and Stabbing of a Prison Inmate at Sussex I State Prison   On Friday, AG Miyares announced that a Sussex County Grand Jury recently returned multiple felony indictments against four MS-13 gang members who committed violent acts while incarcerated at Sussex I State Prison.    In April, these gang members assaulted Correctional Officer K. Phillip-Fields, stabbed to death K-9 Rivan, and stabbed a prison inmate multiple times. The Office of the Attorney General is supporting the Sussex Commonwealth's Attorney's Office's prosecution.    "My office is proud to stand alongside Commonwealth's Attorney Regina Sykes to defend the safety of our correctional officers. I'm thankful for the work her office and the Virginia Department of Corrections have done to investigate this case, and my office looks forward to ensuring justice and accountability is achieved in these cases." –Attorney General Miyares LEARN MORE HERE   It Only Takes One: Results of Roanoke's Fentanyl Awareness Initiative Attorney General Jason Miyares joined Virginia First Lady Suzanne Youngkin in Roanoke to highlight the It Only Takes One campaign's accomplishments to date and announce its expansion across the Commonwealth.   OAG Invested Over $90,000 to Support Virginia Rules Camps Throughout the Commonwealth   Virginia Rules Camps offer young people a unique opportunity to learn about Virginia law while enjoying outdoor activities and building positive relationships with local law enforcement. This year, AG Miyares helped expand the camp to over 15 locations, ranging from the City of Richmond to Tazewell County to Prince William County. Virginia Rules Camp combines traditional summer camp activities–such as swimming, fishing, canoeing, hiking, and archery–with daily lessons from the Virginia Rules curriculum.   "Your safety is my mission. By investing in Virginia's youth, we equip them with the knowledge they need to reach their full potential. Our Virginia Rules Camps not only teach our youth about healthy habits and the law but also empower them to become informed citizens, make responsible choices, and foster positive relationships within their communities."  –Attorney General Miyares LEARN MORE HERE   Hampton Jr. CA Program Attorney General Miyares was honored to host Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney Anton Bell and this year's Hampton Junior Commonwealth's Attorney class to Richmond for a discussion over lunch. The Hampton Junior Commonwealth's Attorney Program is an incredible initiative that empowers students, builds confidence, and strengthens leadership skills.   Virginia's future is bright!    Miyares Announces Support for Bipartisan ICC Act    Virginia joined a 20-state coalition of attorneys general in a letter to United States Senate leadership urging the body to pass the ICC Act to shield American civil and military officials from unlawful prosecutions by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The House companion resolution has already passed with broad bipartisan support.    "Americans are not subject to the ICC, an international body that lacks any real authority or enforcement mechanisms. The United States must stand firm against any attempts to undermine our justice system and sovereignty." –Attorney General Miyares   This year, Virginia's legal community raised roughly $300,000 – the equivalent of over 1.2 MILLION meals for food banks across Virginia.    Our food banks do incredible work to help prevent anyone from going to sleep hungry, especially during the summer months when children are out of school. My heartfelt thanks to all the organizers for their leadership and to all participants for their enthusiastic involvement, and I look forward to next year's Legal Food Frenzy! –Attorney General Miyares See our 2024 Winners   Blocking Biden's Unlawful Title IX Rewrite On Monday, a court sided with Attorney General Miyares and issued a preliminary injunction stopping Joe Biden's unlawful Title IX regulations from going into effect in Virginia.     A huge win in the fight to preserve Title IX!  AG Miyares and Riley Gaines joined America Reports to discuss the latest win against Joe Biden's radical rewrite of Title IX.    In April 2022, Attorney General Miyares opened an investigation into the Washington Commanders' practice of retaining security deposits. The Attorney General's investigation revealed that since at least 1997, the Washington Commanders' previous ownership had retained hundreds of thousands of security deposits that should have been returned to season ticket holders.    On Tuesday, AG Miyares announced a $1.3 million settlement with the current owner of the Washington Commanders. To date, Attorney General Miyares' investigation and settlement has led to the return of over $600,000 in security deposits to season ticket holders.    "I am pleased that we were able to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the Washington Commanders that requires restitution of unlawfully retained security deposits to consumers. Our investigation found the Commanders' prior ownership unlawfully retained security deposits for years after they should have been returned to consumers. I thank the team's current ownership for cooperating with this investigation, and for working towards rectifying the consumer harm we identified." –Attorney General Miyares "I don't care whether it's the Commanders; I don't care whether it's a paint shop. If you start violating our consumer protection laws and treating your customers just as a number instead of human beings, that's when you're going to get in trouble." –Attorney General Miyares LEARN MORE HERE The Attorney General announced the creation of the Elder Abuse Investigation Center for Central Virginia on Monday to address and combat the growing issue of elder abuse and neglect.    This initiative will see a coalition of law enforcement agencies, Commonwealth's Attorneys, and elder advocates from Richmond, Colonial Heights, Chesterfield, Henrico, Hopewell, Hanover, Powhatan, and Goochland Counties working together. Additional jurisdictions are expected to join the effort in the near future.    Although other regions of Virginia have similar elder abuse investigation coalitions, such as the Peninsula Elder Abuse Forensic Center, this will be the first initiative in Central Virginia.   "This year marks the beginning of the largest surge of Americans turning 65 in our nation's history. By 2050, nearly one-quarter of the American population will be 65 or older. As our population ages, rates of elder abuse are expected to rise, but my office is proactively confronting this head-on. This new Elder Abuse Investigation Center represents a major step forward in my commitment to protect Virginia's senior citizens and vulnerable adults. Virginia will remain at the national forefront of the fight against elder abuse."  –Attorney General Miyares Statistics show that one in ten Americans over 65 have been victims of elder abuse, yet only one in 24 cases are reported to the authorities. Operating as a specialized unit within the Office of the Attorney General, the Elder Abuse Investigation Center aims to enhance and streamline collaboration among Central Virginia jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute instances of elder abuse. Watch the announcement here!

Derrick Max, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy : Your June 30, 2024 Sunday Summary: Debate Meltdown, Democrat Panic, Hur, 25th Amendment, VA Rallies, Sen. Lucas, Chevron, VCEA, Good Election Complaints, and more...

"Given Mr. Biden's limited precision and recall during his interviews with his ghostwriter and with our office, jurors may hesitate to place too much evidentiary weight on a single eight-word utterance to his ghostwriter about finding classified documents in Virginia, in the absence of other, more direct evidence." "We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him-by then a former president well into his eighties-of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness." Robert Hur report, Feb. 5, 2024 (emphasis added).

Dear Friend of TJI, 1.) Last-minute addition to this Sunday Summary: NBC News posted on X late last night that President Biden was meeting with family on Sunday to discuss the future of his re-election campaign. Other reliable sources say Biden is deeply distressed at the image he left voters in the debate and its impact on his re-election chances.    2.) The first (maybe last) debate between President Biden and former President Trump went from bad, to worse, to frightening very quickly. President Biden looked lost and confused in what was clearly one of the worst debate performances in modern Presidential history. He jumbled thoughts. He repeatedly lost track of what he was saying. His performance was so bad that the New York Times called for Biden to exit the race almost before the debate had concluded -- as if they already knew of Biden's mental deficiencies and now felt obligated to speak up.  By night's end, almost every major news outlet, and several prominent Democrats were echoing the same sentiment -- Biden has to go. Donors were reported to be in a panic. 3.) As Jim Geraghty noted in the National Review's Morning Jolt, "For years now, Biden, the First Lady, and the team around the president have acted like he has something to hide. He rarely holds formal press conferences or agrees to sit-down interviews and is increasingly dependent upon a teleprompter or notecards. He doesn't do many events before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.; he spends almost every weekend at one of his houses in Delaware; and he rarely appears for a day or so after traveling overseas. Biden spent the last five days at Camp David preparing for this debate. Thursday night, for 90 minutes, we saw why Biden's staff works so hard to minimize his time on camera taking questions. It's not just that his body is old, it's that his mind doesn't work the way it used to." So well said. Jim… 4.) Shame on the press for rarely questioning this behavior that Jim Geraghty described. Shame on his family, staff, cabinet, and many others who surely knew something was wrong with the President and worked to keep it hidden. And a special shame on Joe Scarborough for claiming that President Biden was at his "best." Scarborough has been exposed as either a hack, or a liar, and if he had any honor, would resign. His post-debate comments don't excuse his complicity in allowing our country to be run by a man not healthy enough to be making decisions. Everyone in the following clip is culpable:

A special kudos to the Wall Street Journal for exposing Biden's decline in a deeply researched article on June 4th -- which was panned by CNN and other major outlets as "Republican spin" (CNN, we are waiting for your retraction). 5.) Biden's debate performance is no longer about whether or not he should be elected in November, it is about whether or not he should be allowed to continue in office tomorrow. We live in a dangerous world -- Russian warships docked in Cuba, nuclear submarines off the coast of Miami, Chinese war games in the South Pacific threatening Taiwan, and Iranian nuclear weapons in development, to name just a few. The 25th Amendment was written for such a time as this. Special Counsel Robert Hur's report, which I quoted above, was a clear message to Congress that Biden was not fully capable.  No wonder Biden and the DOJ are refusing to release the audio tapes from the Special Counsel's interviews. In light of the debate, not releasing the tapes is a dereliction of duty!  The truth can no longer be hidden. 6.) While Trump came out on top in the debate, it is hard to say he "won." While the rules kept him in line, and he managed to drive home the border crisis and had a decent response on abortion, his defense of his administration's economy, and on explaining Biden's failures was lacking. He was oddly most animated when the debate descended into a battle of golf swings and handicaps. The BBC reported that the debate was widely panned in international media. Shame on Fox News for not being honest about Trump's less-than-stellar performance. Both Trump and Biden held dueling rallies the next day...Biden gave an amazing speech filled with detail and passion, which for many, confirmed that Biden can read a teleprompter, which is not the same as being able to think clearly and articulate responses independently. Trump, as he did in the debate, showed passion and vitality, but did little to allay the fears he instills in moderate voters from both parties -- both of whom will be important in November, especially if Biden leaves the race. 7.) In a sign that Virginia is in play, Jill Biden held a rally in Virginia Beach prior to the debate, and President Trump rallied in Chesapeake with Governor Youngkin after the debate. Governor Youngkin gave a rousing speech, again making me wish he was our nominee. 8.) The existence of independent news outlets is more important than ever! Our Senior Fellow Steve Haner is an active contributor to Virginia's premier policy blog Bacon's Rebellion -- a truly independent outlet. Those of you who have been reading him (and me and others) on the blog need to know that a recent technical adjustment caused an unintended disruption to its subscriber process and I would encourage prior subscribers to resubscribe and new readers to consider subscribing by going to the main page and entering your email in the subscribe box on the left of the page.  It's both free and invaluable. 9.) The Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine last week -- curtailing the power of the administrative state to regulate and enforce rules that are not clearly backed by legislative language. This will require Congress to be more clear, the administrative agencies to be less expansive, and courts to be more active in reviewing decisions of the administrative state. This is a win for those worried about the role of federal bureaucracies in creating new powers for themselves, especially in the areas of environmental and labor regulations. 10.) In preparing for the pending legislative review of Virginia's Clean Economy Act, Thomas Jefferson Institute's Steve Haner has been writing a series of articles to help readers understand the law and what is at stake. His first article spelled out what the goals of VCEA reform should be, his second article debunked the notion that there is a man-made climate crisis, his third reviewed the existing VCEA and his latest exposed the concerns of activists and industry leaders gathering to work on a proposed change. It is not an exaggeration to say that the economy and quality of life in the Commonwealth are at stake if we do not make prudent reforms or outright repeal the VCEA.      11.) A Federal Judge has allowed the case challenging Virginia's withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to go forward. Former Deputy Attorney General J. Kennerly Davis wrote a great defense of Virginia's exit from RGGI -- mirroring our Steve Haner's view.   12.) The House of Delegates returned this week, and in one hour, managed to pass fixes to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP). The Senate floated an alternate fix the day before, which was soundly rejected by Governor Youngkin. The Senate returns Monday to take up this issue, but as I noted last week, Sen. Louise Lucas, Chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriation Committee, is flexing her power on this issue and has her own demands (skills games passage?) that she wants before any deal.   13.) Dwayne Yancey is seeking a study of why people are moving out of Virginia. In his article, Yancey all but answers his question when he points out that the top four states Virginians move to (Georgia, Florida, NC, and Texas) all have lower taxes. Other causes he mentions (poor transportation, weather) surely pale in comparison.   14.) The resolution to approve the parameters for collective bargaining in the Loudoun County Public Schools fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Organizing will now have to wait until after school starts in August. As currently written, the requirement for 50 percent teacher participation in the vote has been removed. As we have written in our toolkit for collective bargaining, no bargaining should be allowed without a minimal threshold of participation, and without exceeding 50 percent agreement on a bargaining unit.  15.) Arlington County Public Schools approved labor contracts with its teachers union this week -- the first such agreement in 50 years.   16.) The Fairfax County School Board voted to introduce gender identity education to 7th graders as part of its Family Life Education Curriculum. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and gender…oh my. 17.) Kudos to Loudoun County Public Schools for joining the cell phone restriction trend! 18.) With just a 377 vote margin, Representative Good has claimed ballot box irregularities in a Lynchburg office, fires in other polling locations, and general suspicions of election integrity issues in calling for a recount (which will be done automatically by law). The irony… 19.) By far the best post-debate analysis -- with humor -- was by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show...if you can laugh at either or both candidates, this is well worth the 15 minutes...enjoy.