Dana's Dispatch: Taking on Big Pharma, Prosecuting Bad Actors, Defending Reproductive Freedom & More!

--------------------------------------------------------------- Attorney General Dana Nessel takes on price-gouging by Big Pharma No one should be forced into a financial crisis just to pay for life-saving medications, especially while Big Pharma is racking up record profits. As the People's Lawyer, I will work across party lines to ensure MI consumers are protected from price-gouging. [READ MORE]( Dana Nessel, Dana Nessel on Facebook (October 5, 2022) Attorney General Dana Nessel takes on price-gouging by Big Pharma Retrieved from: [Attorney General Dana Nessel takes on price-gouging by Big Pharma]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Crime spiked in Michigan under Whitmer. GOP blames her. Experts blame COVID, guns Violent crime rates are rising nationally, primarily due to gun violence. I've fought for record investments in our law enforcement. My opponent wants to make their jobs harder by ending ALL common sense gun regulation in the state. Experts say anger, isolation, economic anxiety and mental-health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic are the most likely causes of what is a national crime spike that saw record gun deaths. But research is fledgling, theories have not been vetted, and nobody knows if higher crime will continue. There are signs the crime surge is subsiding: Compared to the first quarter of 2021, violent crime in six of Michigan’s seven largest cities was flat or down in the first three months of 2022, according to preliminary federal data voluntarily reported by communities with more than 100,000 residents. Combined, first quarter violent crime was down 14 percent in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Lansing and Clinton Township. “I'd be cautious about anybody who essentially says, ‘Well, this is the definitive reason why,’” said Christopher Kierkus, a professor in the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Legal Studies at Grand Valley State University. GOP nominee for Attorney General Matt DePerno has also falsely claimed Nessel wants to “defund the police” and that “crime is at an all-time high,” which ignores historically high rates in the 1980s and 1990s. In a statement to Bridge, Nessel said she is "proud" of her efforts to fight crime as attorney general. She cited efforts to get "ghost guns" off the streets, said she’d "aggressively prosecuted" rape, sexual assault and domestic violence cases and established hate crime, domestic terrorism and organized retail crime units. "Contrary to what you may hear from Republicans, crime is a national issue, not a 'liberal cities' problem," Nessel said. "The reality is that violent crime rates are rising nationally, in small towns as well as big cities, and it is primarily driven by gun violence. The criminal justice reform movement is also not the cause of the recent increase in violent crime. In fact, murder rates are higher in red states than in blue states." The state has so far avoided implementing its 1931 law allowing felony manslaughter charges against abortion providers as lawsuits challenging the law from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood move through the courts. And in November’s election, Michigan voters will have the chance to enshrine the right to abortion in the state Constitution with Proposal 3. [READ MORE]( Jonathan Oosting, Bridge Magazine (October 5, 2022) Crime spiked in Michigan under Whitmer. GOP blames her. Experts blame COVID Retrieved from: [Crime spiked in Michigan under Whitmer. GOP blames her. Experts blame COVID]( --------------------------------------------------------------- AG Nessel announces PFAS lawsuit against FKI Hardware, Inc. These forever chemicals have contaminated sites across the state, hurting not only the #PureMichigan beauty of our communities, but also threatening the health of residents in the area. It's incumbent upon FKI Hardware to clean up their mess. Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a lawsuit against FKI Industries, a metal manufacturer with facilities in the U.S. and Canada, Thursday afternoon. Formerly Keeler Brass, FKI Hardware, Inc., was named as part of a PFAS contamination lawsuit, alleging the company contaminated at least nine sites in West and Southwest Michigan. “It’s unacceptable for companies like FKI Hardware to pollute Michigan’s environment, and to put the health and safety of Michigan families at risk and then leave without addressing the contamination they left behind," said Nessel. “For years, EGLE has attempted to work with FKI Hardware to obtain compliance with Michigan’s environmental laws at these sites. Despite these efforts FKI Hardware has not fully addressed the risks associated with its contamination.” The lawsuit comes on the heels of several defendants in Michigan being awarded $54M after a class-action lawsuit after their properties were contaminated by the forever chemicals. Nessel said it gave her hope that the courts will provide an avenue to remediation for affected residents. "We’re always hopeful," said Nessel, "and all we can do is to be as aggressive in litigating these cases as possible… Companies that do business in Michigan, pull up stakes and leave their communities with contaminated air and water will pay the price. This lawsuit is another demonstration of my department’s commitment to do what is necessary to hold companies that polluted our environment accountable.” Nessel says the lawsuit seeks to require the company to properly investigate the risks posed by their contamination. [READ MORE]( Karie Herringa, Fox 17 (September 29, 2022) AG Nessel announces PFAS lawsuit against FKI Hardware, Inc. Retrieved from: [AG Nessel announces PFAS lawsuit against FKI Hardware, Inc.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- ‘Normalize the conversation’: Activists, political leaders rally for Reproductive Freedom For All ahead of November elections As reproductive & voting rights come under assault, we need every MI voter to speak out — especially young voters. Talk to your family & friends. Make sure they understand how important it is to elect pro-choice, pro-democracy candidates this fall. Photo courtesy of Ellie Vice, The Michigan Daily Monday night, the University of Michigan Diag was filled with over 100 voices chanting ‘Yes on three!’ as activists and Ann Arbor community members rallied for Proposal 3, also known as the Reproductive Freedom For All ballot initiative that will appear in the upcoming midterm election. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel was also in attendance Monday evening, as she recounted reading Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” in an English class as a U-M student. Nessel said the novel, which depicts a dystopian world where women are classified as “handmaids” and forced to bear children of high-profile government officials, mirrors the current state of reproductive rights in Michigan. Nessel also spoke at the rally about the importance of being politically engaged, especially for students. “If you haven’t gotten involved and you haven’t been engaged and you don’t vote, you’re not gonna get another chance to bring back your fundamental rights,” Nessel said. “Because once they’re gone, they’re gone and they’re not coming back.” Nessel will be running for reelection this November and is up against Republican opponent Matthew DePerno. At a ‘Save America’ rally in Warren, Mich., Saturday evening, DePerno criticized Nessel’s views on abortion for being too extreme. Nessel told The Daily that DePerno’s comments mischaracterize her position on abortion and reproductive healthcare in general. She also referenced comments he made about how Griswold v. Connecticut — the Supreme Court case protecting the right to birth control — should be overturned and returned to the states. “I’m for enshrining the right that we’ve had for 50 years, in this state and in this country into our state constitution,” Nessel said. “Banning birth control — that’s radical. Keeping birth control legal and accessible to all — that’s not a novel idea, that’s something that’s been the law of this state and this country for longer than any student at this school has been alive.” [READ MORE]( Samantha Rich, The Michigan Daily (October 4, 2022) ‘Normalize the conversation’: Activists, political leaders rally for Reproductive Freedom For All ahead of November elections Retrieved from: [‘Normalize the conversation’: Activists, political leaders rally for Reproductive Freedom For All ahead of November elections]( --------------------------------------------------------------- City of Dearborn and Attorney General Dana Nessel to host Expungement Fair My department will be in Dearborn on Oct. 21 to provide free legal aid to those eligible for expungements under MI's new Clean Slate legislation. Better job opportunities & reduced recidivism make for stronger MI communities. Find out more at [( The City of Dearborn, the Michigan Department of Attorney General along with Safe and Just Michigan are partnering to host an expungement fair to help as many Dearborn residents as possible to get their chance at having a clean record. The fair will be held from 12-4 p.m on Oct. 21, in the Lincoln Ballroom at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave. Under Michigan law, an expungement is the removal of eligible misdemeanors and felonies from a person’s public record. Pre-registration is required. Limited walk-ins will be allowed on the day of the event. For more information, and to access the screening form, go to [dearbornfordcenter.com](. [READ MORE]( Dave Herndon, Dearborn Press & Guide (October 3, 2022) City of Dearborn and Attorney General Dana Nessel to host Expungement Fair Retrieved from: [City of Dearborn and Attorney General Dana Nessel to host Expungement Fair]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Roe vs. Trump in the Michigan Midterms Democrats in MI are banding together broad, energized coalitions of voters working to #GOTV with unity & purpose. Residents support pro-choice, pro-democracy candidates who they know will defend the rights of all Michiganders. Prominent Michigan Democrats are moving reproductive rights to the center of their campaigns, testing the potency of an issue that has put Republican candidates on the defensive for the first time in years. A string of elections, most notably in Kansas, have shown significant increases in turnout among pro-choice voters. A Pew Research Center study released in August found that seventy-one per cent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents consider abortion very important, up from forty-six per cent in March, before the Court issued its Dobbs ruling. Democrats and Republicans alike expect the ballot initiative to drive pro-choice turnout, as it did in early August in Kansas, where voters—including Republicans, Independents, and residents of rural counties carried easily by Donald Trump— defeated an anti-abortion referendum by eighteen percentage points. I drove to Plainwell to see Dana Nessel, the state’s Democratic attorney general, who was speaking to a group of voters who had gathered for drinks beside the briskly running Kalamazoo River. Several local prosecutors had recently said that they would consider filing charges against doctors if the 1931 law, which makes performing any abortion a felony, went into effect. “I have been really defiant when it comes to the issue of not prosecuting women, their doctors, or nurses,” Nessel said. Her opponent, Matthew DePerno, has noted that he will “stand with prosecutors who want to enforce the law.” DePerno is a Trump-endorsed election denier, now accused of being “one of the prime instigators” of an alleged scheme to prove voter fraud by breaking into local election machines. Even some fellow-Republicans have criticized DePerno; a State Senate report called his election claims “demonstrably false and based on misleading information and illogical conclusions.” He recently tweeted a cartoon that showed Pepe the Frog, often invoked as an alt-right symbol, behind the wheel of a truck that bore a sign calling for Nessel and Whitmer to be locked up. I asked Whitmer whether she expected an enduring backlash against Republicans because of the Dobbs decision. “It’s too early to tell,” she said. “They’ve laid the runway, they’ve told us where they want to go, and shame on anyone if they think they’re bluffing.” [READ MORE]( Peter Slevin, The New Yorker (October 4, 2022) Roe vs. Trump in the Michigan Midterms Retrieved from: [Roe vs. Trump in the Michigan Midterms]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Sheriff’s deputy to stand trial for excessive force against man with autism Officers who violate the law erode the public’s trust in law enforcement. I commend the Michigan State Police troopers for reporting this incident and working with my department to hold accountable an officer who violated the law. A deputy with the Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Office will stand trial for allegedly assaulting a man with autism and not reporting the use of force to supervisors. 48-year-old Matthew Viviano has been charged with misconduct in office, which is a five-year felony, and one count of assault and battery. The Attorney General’s office said Viviano and a second deputy responded to Premier Care Assisted Living in September 2021 for reports that a 27-year-old resident with autism was assaulting a caretaker. Evidence shows while officers tried to calm the situation, Viviano forcefully pushed the resident down twice and used defensive techniques, the Attorney General’s Office said. State Police troopers who also responded to the scene said the use of force was unnecessary. “Officers who violate the law erode the public’s trust in law enforcement,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “I commend the Michigan State Police troopers for reporting this incident and working with my department to hold accountable an officer who violated the law.” Viviano waived his arraignment and a pretrial is scheduled for Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. [READ MORE]( Anna Muckenfuss, WNEM (October 4, 2022) Sheriff’s deputy to stand trial for excessive force against man with autism Retrieved from: [Sheriff’s deputy to stand trial for excessive force against man with autism]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Nessel touts record, calls AG opponent a ‘fundamentally flawed human being’ As your AG, I've fought for the interests of everyday Michiganders. We've launched more successful new initiatives than any MI AG since Frank Kelly. My opponent is utterly unqualified. He cannot deliver for MI & is unworthy of the office he seeks to hold. In four years as Michigan’s top law enforcement officer and consumer advocate, Attorney General Dana Nessel can point to a laundry list of investigations, convictions and initiatives that she believes qualifies her for a second term of public service. She noted investigations into Boy Scouts of America and clergy abuse, the latter of which she said saw 11 defendants charged. And for cases that couldn’t see charges because the clergy member died or the statute of limitations expired, her office was able to give victims “a sense of closure.” On consumer protection, she said Michigan has been awarded over $800 million from opioid settlements under her watch, her office started task forces for elder abuse task force and hate crimes and domestic terrorism, and she’s taken action to protect air and water. Other successes that Nessel touted include getting sexual orientation protected by state civil rights law and saving ratepayers $2 billion by challenging utilities. Her office has also been nationally recognized for efforts to crack down on robocalls, leading a spam call summit this summer in Detroit. When asked if there is anything she and DePerno may agree on, Nessel struggled and said he is “unworthy” of being AG. “I had a lot of disagreements with Tom Leonard when I ran against him [in 2018],” she said. “But I did not find him to be such a fundamentally flawed human being the way that I do with Matthew DePerno.” Nessel told MLive it’s important for people to know how she and DePerno “would handle threats to our democracy, especially in 2024.” She said her job is to ensure election laws are followed and the will of the voters stands. If former President Donald Trump wins in two years, Nessel said, “I will fight tooth-and-nail to ensure that he receives our 15 electoral votes.” But if DePerno – who is endorsed by Trump – is attorney general, she fears he will feel “as though it’s his job to ensure that Trump gets a second term in office.” [READ MORE]( Ben Orner, MLive (October 7, 2022) Nessel touts record, calls AG opponent a ‘fundamentally flawed human being’ Retrieved from: [Nessel touts record, calls AG opponent a ‘fundamentally flawed human being’]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Detroit man charged with using stolen identities to commit Medicaid fraud The threat of identity theft is real. My department's new Michigan Identity Theft Support team, known as MITS, stands ready to assist victims of identity theft in recovering from the impact of this crime & my team will continue to work to hold perpetrators accountable. Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday announced a joint investigation between the Michigan Department of Attorney General and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Office of Inspector General has resulted in charges against a Detroit man for using stolen personal information from thousands of identity theft victims to defraud the State. The attorney general alleges that Dewan Anton Williams, 47, was able to purchase social security numbers from identity theft victims off the dark web, and then used the information to submit nearly 3,000 fraudulent Medicaid applications to qualify for and receive free government cell phones. After receiving the phones, Williams is accused of activating the stolen phones and selling them. As a result of the investigation, approximately 150 new and pre-packaged Safelink Wireless phones were recovered from Williams’ home along with personal information stolen from approximately 7,000 identity theft victims. The submission of these fraudulent applications cost the State of Michigan $11 million in unnecessary payments. After the accounts were determined to be fraudulent, they were shut down and the State was able to recoup the money. The Michigan Identity Theft Support program, part of the Consumer Protection Team, helps victims navigate the challenges of identity theft and provides victims with resources and guidance to minimize damage caused by identity theft. MITS encourages Michigan residents to protect themselves from identity theft by ensuring their sensitive information is secure on paper, online, on a mobile device, or stored in a computer. Williams was given a $100,000 personal recognizance bond. A probable cause conference was held October 5 and a preliminary examination is scheduled for November 1 at 9 a.m. [READ MORE]( Oakland County Legal News, Legal News (October 7, 2022) Detroit man charged with using stolen identities to commit Medicaid fraud Retrieved from: [Detroit man charged with using stolen identities to commit Medicaid fraud]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Your guide to the election deniers running in top Michigan races on Nov. 8 After the 2020 election, my office was charged with defending the will of MI voters in countless lawsuits attempting to decertify our results. My opponent is still trying to decertify the results TO THIS DAY. We cannot elect someone so out-of-touch to be the top cop in our state. Aside from outrightly rejecting the reality that President Joe Biden won, which has almost certainly undermined public trust in secure elections, having a litany of 2020 deniers up and down the ballot in Michigan could have big implications for future races — including the 2024 presidential race. GOP Attorney General nominee Matthew DePerno has made no shortage of statements calling into question the integrity of the 2020 election. DePerno has claimed there were rigged voting machines in Michigan, has repeatedly and falsely stated that Trump was the true winner in 2020, said he plans to prosecute his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel, for a number of baseless claims and more. DePerno was the attorney behind a failed 2020 civil lawsuit claiming that a vote-tallying issue in Antrim County was evidence of possible widespread fraud. In it, DePerno incorrectly surmised that some voting machines in the county had been “compromised.” The issue was, in fact, found to be due to human error, which had been quickly resolved at the time. The suit was dismissed. The lawyer has also been active in so-called “forensic audit” efforts in both Michigan and Arizona. He is now under criminal investigation regarding his alleged participation in an effort to tamper with voting tabulator machines following the 2020 election, which he denies. Nessel has spoken out against election misinformation and has said that any claims that call into question the security and fairness of Michigan’s election process are “wholly without merit.” “If Matthew Deperno wins, he would be the leading legal official in the state and could open up investigations into the 2024 election results that would continue to sow distrust in our electoral system,” Ramer said. [READ MORE]( Laina G. Stebbins, Michigan Advance (October 9, 2022) Your guide to the election deniers running in top Michigan races on Nov. 8 Retrieved from: [Your guide to the election deniers running in top Michigan races on Nov. 8]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Plus, this campaign is fueled by grassroots supporters like you! [Will you chip in today to join Dana in the fight for a better tomorrow?]( [CHIP IN TO RE-ELECT DANA NESSEL >>]( KEEP IN TOUCH WITH DANA: Any donor history information in this email reflects what we have on file for this specific email address. If you have donated with a different email address, with a check, or with a spouse – thank you so much. We have that on file and cannot thank you enough for your support. Paid for by Friends of Dana Nessel Friends of Dana Nessel P.O. 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