News Roundup: Supreme Court Ethics, Abortion Ban in Florida, and the Persistent Threat of Election Denialism
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The fallout continues from last week’s report on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ problematic friendship with billionaire Harlan Crow. Now, ProPublica has reported ([link removed]) that in 2014, one of Crow’s companies bought property in Savannah, Ga., from Thomas and his relatives — and the justice never disclosed the sale, despite federal law requiring justices and other officials to do so.
* The Senate Judiciary Committee has vowed to hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics ([link removed]) .
* The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center has called on the Justice Department to investigate Thomas ([link removed]) for failing to disclose the luxury trips he received from Crow.


Since last summer’s Dobbs decision, there has been a spiral of new abortion bans and restrictions to reproductive rights in states across the country, and this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban ([link removed].) into law.
* The Washington Post published ([link removed]) a story on the experience of two friends in Florida who were denied care following the state’s enactment of last year’s 15-week ban, one of whom almost died.
* Following a federal appeals court’s decision on Thursday setting significant restrictions on the abortion medication mifepristone, the Biden administration said it would ask the Supreme Court ([link removed]) to restore full access to the drug. More stories about attacks on abortion and reproductive rights are below.


In Virginia, incessant voter fraud allegations have driven all of Buckingham County’s election staff to quit in the past two months. “The four departures left residents without a functioning registrar’s office; there was no way to register to vote or certify candidate paperwork, at least temporarily,” reported NBC News ([link removed]) . Here are some recent headlines related to the persistent threat of election denialism:
* Arizona House expels GOP lawmaker over unproven claims (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Trump’s response to criminal charges revives election lies (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Key conservative group joins attacks on partnership that improves voter rolls (Guardian ([link removed]) )
* Cochise supervisors ordered to pay legal fees in election certification suit (Arizona Mirror ([link removed]) )

On the Records

Election Deniers’ Contacts with Wisconsin Lawmakers
Records obtained by American Oversight ([link removed]) shed more light on the level of influence that prominent election deniers have with lawmakers in Wisconsin, including state Rep. Janel Brandtjen and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
* One email — reported on by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) — shows that, during the final weeks of Johnson’s reelection campaign, his deputy chief of staff reached out to Peter Bernegger, a discredited conservative election activist, to ask for his legal opinion on a voter registration effort aimed at increasing Black voter turnout.
* Also in October, according to the records, Bernegger sent Brandtjen an email in which he alleged that a Dominion Systems voting machine had insecurely transmitted election results to the nonprofit WiscNet.
* It appears from the records that instead of sharing the allegation with the Wisconsin Elections Commission or other authorities, Brandtjen’s office issued a press release the next day saying she had “received credible information” of the machines being connected to the internet. WiscNet later responded to Brandtjen’s claims, saying it hadn’t received any such transmissions.
* The records also include an undated set of text messages ([link removed]) between Brandtjen and Harry Wait, the leader of the Wisconsin-based conservative group HOT Government who was recently charged ([link removed]) with fraud and identity theft for illegally requesting absentee ballots.


Family Separation
The New York Times ([link removed]) reported this week that the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, which separated thousands for migrant children from their families, also resulted in U.S. citizen children being removed from their parents. “Hundreds, and possibly as many as 1,000, children born to immigrant parents in the United States were removed from them at the border.”
* Visit our extensive timeline ([link removed]) of the Trump administration’s communications about the family separation policy, including its public statements, internal discussions we uncovered through FOIA, and public reporting.

Other Stories We're Following

Voting Rights
* Gov. Youngkin slows voting rights restorations in Virginia, bucking a trend (NPR ([link removed]) )
* How Ron DeSantis waged a targeted assault on Black voters: ‘I fear for what’s to come’ (Guardian ([link removed]) )
* Advocates warn that voters could more easily fall off the rolls under a new GOP election bill (Florida Phoenix ([link removed]) )
* Election officials have ideas for stopping a 2024 crisis before it even starts (Politico ([link removed]) )


Jan. 6 Investigations
* Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller spends six hours at federal court where Jan. 6 grand jury meets (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Special counsel focuses on Trump fundraising off false election claims (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Trump files long-shot appeal of judge’s order for Pence to testify in January 6 probe (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Coalition of media companies sues for Jan. 6 tapes given to Fox News' Tucker Carlson (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Georgia looms next after Trump’s indictment in New York (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Bragg sues Jim Jordan in move to block interference in Trump case (New York Times ([link removed]) )


National News
* Biden announces plan to expand health coverage to DACA recipients (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Biden signs bill ending Covid national emergency (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* White House launching $5 billion program to speed coronavirus vaccines (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Judge limits Fox’s options for defense in Dominion trial (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Witnesses asked about Trump’s handling of map with classified information (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump says he won’t drop presidential did if criminally convicted (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump to sit for deposition in high-stakes civil lawsuit threatening the fate of his business empire (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Supreme Court won’t block student loan class-action settlement (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* The Army increasingly allows soldiers charged with violent crimes to leave the military rather than face trial (Texas Tribune)


In the States
* Second of two Tennessee lawmakers expelled by Republican majority reappointed Wednesday (USA Today ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis pushes toughest immigration crackdown in the nation (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Names of Florida Governor’s Mansion guests would be shielded under this bill (Tampa Bay Times ([link removed]) )
* Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeks pardon for man convicted in murder of Black Lives Matter protester (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters sentenced to home detention, community service in obstruction case (Colorado Sun ([link removed]) )
* Sex abuse, beatings and an untouchable Mississippi sheriff (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* North Dakota governor signs trans athlete bans into law (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Florida Republican apologizes after calling transgender people ‘mutants’ (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Emergency rule seeks to limit access to certain procedures for transgender Missourians (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )
* Missouri House Republicans vote to defund libraries (Heartland Signal ([link removed]) )


Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* Unpacking the flawed science cited in the Texas abortion pill ruling (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Concerned about the courts, some states and universities are stockpiling abortion drugs (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Over 66,000 people couldn’t get an abortion in their home state after Dobbs (FiveThirtyEight ([link removed]) )
* Iowa won’t pay for rape victims’ abortions or contraceptives (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Iowa Supreme Court hears Reynolds' request to reinstate 'fetal heartbeat' abortion law (Iowa Public Radio ([link removed]) )
* Florida abortion clinics monitored, fined — and struggling to stay open (Orlando Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* Idaho AG rescinds legal opinion that said health care providers can’t make out-of-state abortion referrals (CNN ([link removed]) )

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