Tag: corruption

Michigan Dem Christina Hines Started Program Allowing Those Accused of Serious Crimes to Potentially Avoid Jail

Michigan Democrat Christina Hines helped establish a restorative justice program in Washtenaw County that allows defendants accused of serious felonies, including home invasion and assault with intent to do great bodily harm, to be considered for alternatives to incarceration.

Hines pioneered the Washtenaw County Restorative Justice Program in 2021 while serving as the county’s first assistant prosecutor under Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit. 

According to Washtenaw County’s restorative justice policy, the program consists of three primary elements:

The person who committed harm acknowledges the harm done and takes responsibility. The person who committed harm, and the person harmed, voluntarily work together and agree to a plan in which amends can be made. The person who committed the harm, and all affected parties who desire to do so, work together to determine the root causes of the harm and develop a plan to ensure that the harm will not reoccur.

The program allows eligible criminal cases to be considered for diversion after formal charges have been filed by the prosecutor’s office. Home invasion, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, and other serious felony offenses are not categorically excluded and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Hines described Washtenaw County’s Restorative Justice Program as the first of its kind in Michigan in a December 2023 article for the Michigan Bar Journal.

“Many adult criminal cases are referrable, with exceptions for sexual assault, victimization of children, intimate partner violence, and other cases where the prosecutor determines the defendant poses a public safety risk such as homicides or cases involving gun violence,” Hines wrote.

“Restorative justice is an approach to address conflict and misconduct that focuses on healing rather than punishment and values accountability over exclusion,” she added.

An October 2022 court order establishing the program states, “The Court encourages residents of this County to employ restorative justice practices, not only in justiciable matters, but in all aspects of life and law.”

The order also provides that criminal cases may be diverted to the Restorative Justice Program after they have been formally charged by the prosecutor’s office.

A September 2021 Washtenaw County Legal News article discussing Washtenaw County’s initiative pointed to New York City’s Common Justice program, which specifically handles serious and violent felonies, including assault and robbery. “The experience in other communities has demonstrated that crime survivors often prefer restorative justice as an alternative to the traditional criminal legal system. New York City maintains a robust restorative-justice program administered by Common Justice,” the article stated.

Research has identified concerns about victims’ experiences with restorative justice.

A 2012 study examining victim-offender mediation found instances in which victims experienced marginalization, intimidation, and pressure during mediation proceedings.

“The findings of the current study indicate that these [RJ] principles were compromised in each case to some extent,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers identified victim-sensitive or victim-centered practices as the most commonly overlooked principle. In certain cases, mediators encouraged victims to “keep things positive” rather than share the depth of the personal and family impacts of the crime. Some victims felt threatened by offenders or their families, while others felt pressured to accept apologies.

The study also found that victims were sometimes inadequately prepared for mediation, pressured by mediators to behave in certain ways, or occasionally intimidated by offenders and/or their families.

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Alaskan Sex Offender Given Probation After Bringing Migrant Mom, Child Across Border

A previously convicted sex offender from Alaska received a sentence of three years’ probation for paying to have a woman from Honduras and her 14-year-old daughter brought over the border.

This week, Douglas Eugene Price went before U.S. Southern District of Texas Chief District Court Judge Randy Crane, who accepted a recommendation from federal prosecutors after Price had pleaded guilty to one count of harboring aliens. Prosecutors dropped a second count of the same charge in consideration for the plea agreement.

As Breitbart Texas’s Randy Clark reported, the case began on January 16, when a 14-year-old girl from Honduras crossed into Hidalgo, Texas, with the intention of being released to Price as her sponsor through the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The girl’s mother crossed into the country separately, planning to meet up with them and stay in Alaska.

However, during an investigation by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, agents learned that Price was a convicted sex offender and was listed on child abuse and kidnapping registries.

Agents interviewed the woman’s mother, who said she had known Price for years and that they had worked together in the past. The woman had also worked as Price’s housekeeper and babysitter before she was detained by immigration authorities in 2025 and deported to Honduras.

During the investigation, agents found messages between the two and a transfer of $5,000 meant to pay for the smuggling fees to have the woman and her daughter illegally brought into the country.

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Proper Flock’d: What This Cop Did Raises Major Red Flags…

A Naperville police officer turned a statewide camera grid into a personal tracking app, ran a man’s plate about 150 times, and then retired like the file never existed.

The story serves as yet another example of how the burgeoning mass surveillance grid is being abused on a regular basis.

Patrick Dowhen was not a suspect. He was the ex. After Officer Oscar Maldonado started a relationship with Dowhen’s fiancée, Flock became the shortcut. No warrant. No case number that mattered. Just a badge, a login, and a national lattice of plate readers that can reconstruct where you went, when you went, and how often you go there.

“Anywhere I went in the country, I was being tracked,” Dowhen told ABC7 Chicago’s I-Team. “It was scary, it was really scary.”

Internal records obtained by the I-Team show the pattern started after Maldonado’s relationship with Dowhen’s then-fiancée began. Investigators found evidence he searched Flock for Dowhen’s vehicle approximately 150 times over a three-month stretch last year.

Chicago Tribune reporting, from a separate FOIA haul, put the plate runs between June 18 and Sept. 15, 2025, and said Maldonado tracked plates for non-police reasons hundreds of times.

Dowhen said the surveillance was not abstract. “My ex-fiancée would tell me where I was at, or what I was doing, and he [Maldonado] was feeding her information,” he said. “He’s an officer, feeding a civilian, you know, inside information.” He tore his truck apart looking for a tracker. Then he went to Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres. That complaint opened the internal case last September.

Maldonado’s story to interrogators was protection: the woman, himself, his family. Naperville investigators did not buy it. They wrote that the “evidence contradicts Maldonado’s explanation that he only used Flock for the safety of himself, his family,” and Dowhen’s ex-fiancée.

The report also concluded there was “a preponderance of the evidence that shows Maldonado did commit the crime of Official Misconduct,” adding that he “admitted to using FLOCK for personal reasons.”

Then on May 1, 2026, Maldonado retired. Department spokesman Rick Krakow said the internal case was complete but not closed because discipline had not been imposed. “However, the officer resigned before his disciplinary meeting with the chief, which essentially closed the case.”

No arrest. No plate charges. A referral to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Will County prosecutors would not confirm or deny a criminal review. Dowhen later obtained a stalking no-contact order that noted Maldonado “was tracking my plate since 06/2025.” That order was dropped after both men agreed to a two-year mutual no-contact deal.

“He could very well get a job as a police officer again and have, you know, all these same electronic things available to him at any time and stalk anybody you want,” Dowhen said, “because at this point he has no criminal record.”

ABC7 chief legal analyst Gil Soffer laid out the gap that let a 150-search campaign end in a retirement party. “It’s not enough to say that a police officer violated internal laws, you’d have to show that a police officer knowingly violated a law, a statute, a constitutional provision,” he said.

He added, “An official misconduct statute in Illinois won’t necessarily cover the simple situation where a police officer accesses license plate information for an improper purpose.”

Maldonado’s own lawyer, Jeff Tomczak, made the same point from the other side of the table. “I’m a defense attorney. It should be a crime. It should absolutely be a crime. The legislature should act, create the crime of misuse of Flock. Don’t require the state’s attorneys to be creative.”

A private company sold cities a warrantless movement database. Departments wrote policy memos. The statute book never caught up. When an officer treated the grid like a jealous-ex app, the fallback was an employee manual and a quiet exit.

The I-Team says this is not one suburban rogue. It identified 14 Chicago-area cases of officers accused of misusing Flock, with at least five sent to prosecutors. Berwyn’s mayor, Robert Lovero, issued an executive order this week suspending the city’s cameras.

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Ex-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s Former Bodyguard — the Married Man She Admitted Sleeping With While in Office — Now Faces Felony Charges After Alleged $200,000 Ransacking of Her Home

Former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-bodyguard and admitted lover is now facing a felony after deputies say he broke into her Cave Creek home, ransacked it, and destroyed more than $200,000 in property.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Sinema admitted in sworn court papers that her relationship with Matthew Ammel, 39, became “romantic and intimate” in May 2024, while she was still serving in the U.S. Senate and while he was still married. She detailed encounters in Sonoma/Napa, New York City, Washington, D.C., Aspen, and Phoenix.

In April, newly released texts showed Ammel’s then-wife, Heather Ammel, confronting Sinema directly: “Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family.”

Heather’s lawsuit accuses Sinema of destroying a 14-year marriage under North Carolina’s alienation-of-affection statute.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in North Carolina denied Sinema’s motion to dismiss, found her testimony “has not been credible” on several points, and allowed the homewrecker case to proceed.

Ammel is a retired Army veteran who joined Sinema’s security detail in 2022. Court records in the North Carolina case describe him as a troubled veteran with brain injuries who struggled after leaving the military.

Sinema’s campaign and related committees paid him more than $100,000 after she left office. His ex-wife has alleged Sinema showered him with gifts, concert tickets, and even encouraged psychedelic drug use.

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Awful Democrat Karen Bass Declares California Governor Race is Already Over: ‘A Republican Cannot Win in This State’

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently claimed that there is really no need for an election for governor in California because a Republican ‘cannot win’ in the state.

So much for that sacred ‘democracy’ that Democrat are always talking about.

Bass also mocked Republican Steve Hilton’s accent. Isn’t that hateful? Don’t Democrats constantly lecture the rest of the country for not being inclusive enough? This woman is an utter fraud.

PJ Media Reports:

Democrats have spent years warning us that democracy hangs by a thread every time Americans head to the polls, and Democrats are the party that is protecting it.

Well, somebody forgot to tell Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, because she just declared California’s governor’s race over, and that an election isn’t necessary.

Bass sat down with former ESPN personalities Jemele Hill and Cari Champion on the Flagrant and Funny podcast to talk about her reelection campaign, her runoff, and the Palisades and Altadena fires. During that conversation, Bass revealed what Democrats really think about “our democracy.”

“That’s why the governor’s race is over. Our governor’s name is Xavier Becerra,” Bass said. “You don’t need an election on November 3. A Republican cannot win in this state.”

Then she took a shot at Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, the British-born former Fox News host. “And yet, a Republican with a British accent?!” she added.

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Senate Panel Rejects Immunity For Ex-Fauci Aide

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs rejected on Sept. 23 a bid to seek immunity for a longtime special assistant to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The vote on a resolution authorizing an application for a court order compelling testimony under immunity from the assistant, who was not identified, fell short of the required two-thirds of members.

All eight Republicans, but no Democrats, voted in favor. Two Democrats would have had to cross the aisle for the resolution to be approved.

Fauci, 85, headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022.

He refused to answer questions before the panel earlier in the year, citing the Fifth Amendment, prompting the committee to refer him for contempt of Congress to federal prosecutors.

The Department of Justice has not charged Fauci with any crimes.

As Zachary Stieber reports for The Epoch Times, the female assistant worked for Fauci from 2007 to 2022, according to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the committee’s chairman.

He said her position “placed her in the flow of communications directly relevant to our investigation” into Fauci.

She recently appeared behind closed doors before the committee and invoked the Fifth Amendment, or her right against self-incrimination.

The questions senators want answered primarily deal with the destruction of government records, Paul said. A doctor who was a longtime adviser to Fauci recently pleaded guilty to conspiring to delete government records. Fauci has directed subordinates to delete emails.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), who voted against the resolution, said before the vote that senators should pursue a “good-faith bipartisan approach to obtain this information” rather than rush to approve the resolution.

Republicans expressed frustration and anger that only Hassan among Democratic panel members was present during the meeting.

“I come from the private sector. To not show up to a meeting, to say ‘I refuse to do my job,’ is something that only happens in politics,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said.

“That is outrageous.”

After the vote, Paul said:

“A majority of the committee voted to seek the truth. All Republicans voted to seek the truth. We voted to protect this witness and hear her story. All we needed was two Democrats who wanted to hear her story, but not a single one of them is interested in the investigation or the truth about destruction of federal records.”

Hassan said that was a mischaracterization of the Democrats’ position.

Paul said he would be sending a letter to the Department of Justice requesting pursuit of the matter, and said his committee’s investigation into government record destruction will continue.

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Bombshell Report Links Amy Klobuchar To Minnesota Fraud Scandal

Another major Minnesota Democrat is being pulled into the political fallout surrounding an autism provider now under state investigation, with records showing the center’s CEO previously worked on Amy Klobuchar’s first U.S. Senate campaign.

Nimco Ahmed, CEO of Milestone Development Center, has been a fixture in Democratic-Farmer-Labor politics for years and recently drew attention after appearing alongside Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in a viral video.

Now Alpha News reports that Ahmed was also part of Klobuchar’s political operation during her first Senate run in 2006.

A 2006 profile published by Mshale reported that Ahmed joined the “Klobuchar team” and listed her contact email as nahmed@amyklobuchar.com.

Other archived articles from the outlet also identified Ahmed as a staffer on Klobuchar’s 2006 campaign.

Federal campaign finance records cited in the report indicate Klobuchar’s campaign paid Ahmed nearly $8,000 during that election cycle.

The connection is drawing new scrutiny because Milestone Development Center is currently under investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

DHS has confirmed that Milestone and Spectrum Therapy Center are both subjects of open investigations.

The agency has also said both providers were terminated from participating in Medicaid through Minnesota’s 2026 revalidation process and have appealed those decisions.

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Illinois Taxpayers Appear to Be Footing the Bill for Billionaire Pritzker’s Weight Loss Drug

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker revealed to “CBS Mornings” that for the last two years he has been using a GLP-1 medication to lose weight.

In a CBS News interview broadcast Monday, Pritzker said he’s lost 80 pounds so far and he feels “a whole lot different and a whole lot better.”

“I’ve been overweight most of my life, really, since I was probably 7 or 8 years old,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker told the network a diabetes diagnosis two years ago pushed the change. A doctor recommended a GLP-1 and warned he might need treatment for life. Pritzker said he injects weekly, walks about four miles most mornings, and is off insulin.

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Report Exposes California’s $11B ‘Shadow Welfare System’ for Illegals

The State of California has spent more than $11 billion tax dollars to give illegal migrants free healthcare, free food, housing, legal assistance, education, smart phones, and even free car insurance, a report finds.

It’s all more evidence of the Democrat Ponzi scheme of subsidizing illegals to give the party more power and more money to spread around to maintain that power.

The state’s generous welfare system is, of course, intended to give California citizens a helping hand when they come on hard times, but the state’s far-left Democrat establishment has warped the programs to support criminal illegals, according to City Journal’s Christopher Rufo.

Rufo calls the abuse a “a shadow welfare system” that hands tax dollars over to noncitizens. And during his reseearch into his article he visited four state offices in Southern California each of them said that illegal aliens are permitted to sign up for California’s public assistance programs. Rufo adds that the state has spent more than $11 billion for illegals.

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Leaked memo reveals federal prisons handing out drug-testing kits to inmates as ‘authorized health materials’

A leaked internal memo posted on X shows Correctional Service Canada (CSC) is rolling out a new “harm reduction” supply program in federal prisons that includes paper straws for snorting drugs, foil for smoking them, and rapid test strips to check for fentanyl, benzodiazepines and xylazine — all handed directly to inmates by Health Services staff.

The internal FAQ document, dated April 2026 and set to take effect Monday, September 21, lays out exactly what the Liberal government is now supplying behind bars:

  • Paper straws, described as “biodegradable” and intended for “inhaling substances in powdered form or inhaling vapour from heated substances”
  • Foil, specifically manufactured “for smoking substances” and reportedly thicker than the ordinary household kind
  • Drug-testing strips for fentanyl, benzodiazepines and xylazine, so inmates can check the potency of their illegal drugs before using them

According to the memo, inmates are allowed to keep up to three pieces of foil, two paper straws, and two of each type of drug-testing strip in their cells at any time and handwritten notes on the document suggest these limits aren’t even strictly enforced, with one annotation reading “not one in one out just garbage.”

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