Dana's Dispatch: Top State for Exonerations, Opioid Abatement Efforts, Ghost Gun Reform, & More!

--------------------------------------------------------------- Michigan considers how to spend $776 million in opioid settlement money For the past few months, I have been visiting communities around Michigan to see the work being done to prevent and treat Opioid Use Disorder. And while local governments will receive direct payments, the sooner this legislation is passed, the quicker settlement dollars can be used to help our residents and our communities. Michigan is set to receive $776 million from three opioid distributors and an opioid manufacturer, as part of a $26 billion nationwide settlement for their role in the opioid epidemic. Now, state lawmakers are setting up a framework for how to spend the money. Half of the money is going to roughly 269 local communities in Michigan, while the state gets the other $388 million. The House Judiciary Committee signed off on three bills on Tuesday, April 12, relating to the money. The money comes from pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen as well as opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. It won’t all come at once – the first payments will come in this summer but will be spread over 18 years. It’s one of the largest multi-state agreements in U.S. history, second only to the tobacco settlement of 1998. The settlement is a “historic event,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said at Tuesday’s hearing. Creating this opioid fund would help ensure the money doesn’t get spent on unrelated things. “Everyone already has noted what happened with the tobacco dollars that were used for a variety of things and not even primarily tobacco abatement,” Nessel said. “So it’s critical that opioid settlement dollars are used for opioid remediation efforts.” The bills still need to pass through the full House, Senate and be signed by the governor. [READ MORE]( Taylor DesOrmeau, MLive (April 12, 2022) Michigan considers how to spend $776 million in opioid settlement money Retrieved from: [Michigan considers how to spend $776 million in opioid settlement money]( --------------------------------------------------------------- AG Nessel’s Stop the Squeal Highlight Reel: Fact-checking the Michigan Trump Rally When Trump broke his promise never to return to Michigan, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, State Senator Jeff Irwin, and I took it upon ourselves to fact-check the rest of his lies. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel was joined by Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and State Senator Jeff Irwin of Washtenaw County on April 2 to fact-check Donald Trump’s return to Michigan. Watch the highlight reel of their livestream here: [ [READ MORE]( AG Dana Nessel, AG Dana Nessel on Facebook (April 17, 2022) AG Nessel’s Stop the Squeal Highlight Reel: Fact-checking the Michigan Trump Rally Retrieved from: [AG Nessel’s Stop the Squeal Highlight Reel: Fact-checking the Michigan Trump Rally]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Kemp charged with 2 felonies, 2 misdemeanors Federal resources meant to support vital police work must not be abused, and we won't hesitate to bring criminal charges when fraud occurs. I appreciate the investigative work of our law enforcement partners as well as the cooperation of Sheriff Goodnough. A member of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office is facing four charges related to the possible misuse of federal grant money. Kemp, who was released on a $10,000 personal bond, is accused of falsely claiming to have worked two shifts with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Marine Division in the summer of 2018. He was a major with the sheriff's office at the time, but that position no longer exists due to a restructuring of the department. The charges stem from a monthslong investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Inspector General into the finances provided by Operation Stonegarden, which supplied grant money the county received on several occasions in recent years. The U.S. district attorney declined to file charges after the investigation into the possible misuse of this grant money concluded. The case was then assigned to the Michigan State Police, who conducted their own investigation and filed charges with the Michigan Attorney General. [READ MORE]( Blake Bacho, The Monroe News (April 9, 2022) Kemp charged with 2 felonies, 2 misdemeanors Retrieved from: [Kemp charged with 2 felonies, 2 misdemeanors]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The Biden Administration Cracks Down on Ghost Guns, Ensures That ATF Enforces Our Gun Laws This policy takes a significant step toward remedying a lethal loophole that existed in the federal regulation of firearms. Including background checks and serial numbers in the manufacturing and sale of ghost guns is a major advancement in combating gun violence. Today, President Biden and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will deliver remarks in the Rose Garden to announce additional steps the Administration is taking to combat gun crime. The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a final rule to rein in the proliferation of “ghost guns” – unserialized, privately-made firearms that law enforcement are increasingly recovering at crime scenes in cities across the country. Last year alone, there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported to ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations – a ten-fold increase from 2016. Because ghost guns lack the serial numbers marked on other firearms, law enforcement has an exceedingly difficult time tracing a ghost gun found at a crime scene back to an individual purchaser. This final rule bans the business of manufacturing the most accessible ghost guns, such as unserialized “buy build shoot” kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as little as 30 minutes with equipment they have at home. The final rule will also help turn some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms. Through this rule, the Justice Department is requiring federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths taking any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize that weapon. This requirement will apply regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers. Read more about Attorney General Dana Nessel's stance on ghost guns and their regulation here: [4534,7-359--566397--,00.html](. [READ MORE]( White House Statements and Releases, White House Briefing Room (April 11, 2022) FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration Cracks Down on Ghost Guns, Ensures That ATF Has the Leadership it Needs to Enforce Our Gun Laws Retrieved from: [FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration Cracks Down on Ghost Guns, Ensures That ATF Has the Leadership it Needs to Enforce Our Gun Laws]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Michigan is among the top states for exonerating people for wrongful convictions I am so proud of what my Conviction Integrity Unit has accomplished since I've been in office. Read more about our work here, or submit your own case for review here: [4534,7-359-82917_96122---,00.html]( Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks with the newly-exonerated Corey McCall at a reception with members of the Michigan Conviction Integrity Unit in June, 2021. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, Twitter. Michigan ranked third for the number of exonerations for criminal convictions last year, according to a report released Tuesday. Michigan and California were tied with 11 exonerations in 2021. Illinois ranked first with 25, and New York was second with 18, according to the National Registry of Exonerations (NRE), which tracks wrongful imprisonments. Nationwide, 161 people were exonerated. On average, the defendants were imprisoned for nearly 20 years for crimes they didn’t commit. Seven of those wrongfully imprisoned were Black, and four were white. For context, only 14% of the state’s population is Black. The NRE says it plans to release a new report exploring the role that race plays in wrongful convictions. The NRE lauded the work of conviction integrity units that are aimed at tackling wrongful convictions, saying they play a major role in exonerations. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel created the Michigan Conviction Integrity Unit in 2019. The state’s Conviction Integrity Unit investigated the conviction of Gilbert Lee Poole Jr. and found that DNA evidence ruled him out as the killer of Robert Mejia, who was stabbed to death after leaving a bar on Pontiac. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1989. An Oakland County judge vacated the 56-year-old’s sentence based on a request by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. “Will there come a day when wrongful convictions are truly rare? We hope so,” the NRE report concludes. “For now, we must continue to record these accounts of injustice. The work is vital. Each exoneration matters. Every story counts.” [READ MORE]( Steve Neavling, Detroit MetroTimes (April 12, 2022) Michigan is among the top states for exonerating people for wrongful convictions Retrieved from: [Michigan is among the top states for exonerating people for wrongful convictions]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Michigan AG: Plainwell man charged with financial elder abuse We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes committed against seniors and other vulnerable adults in our state. A Plainwell man has been accused of financial elder abuse, Michigan’s Attorney General said. Craig Macauley, a 39-year-old man from Plainwell, has been charged with seven counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, $1,000 to $20,000, the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a Wednesday release. The Attorney General said he allegedly took over $45,000 from an elderly woman, transferred the title of her truck to himself, maxed out his credit cards and overdrew her bank account. The woman depended on others to help herself with things like taking her to appointments. Macauley has waived his preliminary exam and will face trial. [READ MORE]( Madalyn Buursma, Wood TV (April 13, 2022) Michigan AG: Plainwell man charged with financial elder abuse Retrieved from: [Michigan AG: Plainwell man charged with financial elder abuse]( --------------------------------------------------------------- ‘Abhorrent’ -- Michigan Attorney General asking banks to cut overdraft, convenience fees We know the costs of goods and services are at an all-time high. That's why it's more important than ever to fight against companies that charge fees that ultimately do more to hurt the customer than offset their own operating costs. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is calling on financial institutions to eliminate overdraft and convenience fees. Nessel joined a group of attorneys general from other states who have called on the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo to eliminate all overdraft fees on consumer bank accounts. A study published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shows that such fees are a significant source of income for four of the top five banks in the U.S., while the vast majority of those fees are collected from low income customers. Similarly, Nessel joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general urging the CFPB to prohibit mortgage servicers from charging convenience fees. That coalition says convenience fees charged by mortgage servicers are one of the more exploitative “pay to pay” fees consumers face. The attorneys general argue that, because a mortgage servicer’s most basic function is to accept payments, imposing an additional fee for performing its core function is fundamentally flawed. [READ MORE]( Jake Draugelis, WILX (April 15, 2021) ‘Abhorrent’ -- Michigan Attorney General asking banks to cut overdraft, convenience fees Retrieved from: [‘Abhorrent’ -- Michigan Attorney General asking banks to cut overdraft, convenience fees]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Whitmer goes on offense amid barrage of GOP attacks in Michigan Republicans divide. Democrats deliver. We’re delivering substantive progress on a litany of issues that affect the lives of everyday people. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is stepping up her appeals to voters as an energized GOP works to oust her in November. “She’s doing what she should be doing as the governor, which is focusing on the lives of everyday Michiganders,” said a Michigan-based Democratic strategist. Whitmer’s allies also point to what they say are extreme positions the GOP candidates have taken on a host of issues, including abortion and the 2020 presidential election results. “Republicans divide. Democrats deliver,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), who is also up for reelection this year, told The Hill. “We’re delivering substantive progress on a litany of issues that affect the lives of everyday people.” Whitmer made headlines last week when she announced she’s requesting that the state’s Supreme Court make a decision on the constitutionality of abortion. In Michigan, a 1931 law criminalizing abortion, except when the life of the mother is at risk, is still on the books. However, the 1973 landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade blocks the 1931 law and legalizes abortion in the state. “If that is not an impactful issue to women in our state, I don’t know what is,” Nessel said. [READ MORE]( Julia Manchester, The Hill (April 16, 2022) Whitmer goes on offense amid barrage of GOP attacks in Michigan Retrieved from: [Whitmer goes on offense amid barrage of GOP attacks in Michigan]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Lawmakers worry 2020 will provide a blueprint for stealing a future election If we don’t hold the people involved in the alternate elector scheme accountable, there is literally nothing to stop them from doing this again because there will have been no repercussions for it. Photo courtesy of Mandel Ngan, AFP Both a federal judge and the top Republican on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot have now reached the same stark conclusion: There is evidence to suggest Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election could be a crime. Neither has the power to bring charges against the former president. That’s up to Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose focus to date has largely been on the people who stormed the Capitol in a violent effort to keep Trump in power. But amid reports of a split within the House Jan. 6 panel over whether to make a direct case to Garland that he needs to target Trump, the members seem wholly unified when it comes to another point: There might well be another attempted coup in 2024, and Jan. 6 supplied the blueprint for pulling it off. The committee’s main audience will be the general public; another is Garland. But to the extent that people watching from home are alarmed by what they learn, the hope is that it could pique Congress’ interest and give fresh incentive to rewrite the 19th-century law that controls the process used to tabulate presidential elections. After watching 2020 unfold, some elected officials and election experts fear the Electoral Count Act could be exploited in ways that might give Trump or someone else a victory in 2024, whether they win enough votes or not. No laws even need be broken. State officials are also trying to get answers. Dana Nessel, the Michigan attorney general, told NBC News: “If we don’t hold people accountable there is literally nothing to stop them from doing this again, because there will have been no repercussions for it.” [READ MORE]( Peter Nicholas, NBC News (April 17, 2022) Lawmakers worry 2020 will provide a blueprint for stealing a future election Retrieved from: [Lawmakers worry 2020 will provide a blueprint for stealing a future election]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for being a part of Dana's re-election campaign! Sending emails is a crucial way to keep supporters like you updated on Dana's fight for justice and progress. 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