Save Some Shade for Director Wray: How the FBI has been failing us on critical investigations
This Monday, the Washington Post published a deep dive into the exceedingly cautious course Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy AG Lisa Monaco had taken in prosecuting the crimes of ex-President Trump, in the belief that moving slowly would help restore public confidence in the Department of Justice. DOJ insiders confirmed our fears that Garland’s desire to avoid claims of political motivation would impede the investigations and delay them considerably.
In the public outcry about the pace of these investigations, the failures and foot-dragging of the FBI under Trump-appointed Director Christopher Wray have attracted far less attention:
- This March, the General Accounting Office chastised the FBI for not having had systems in place to process threats of violence before the attempted MAGA insurrection on January 6, 2021.
- Director Wray, along with the head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Steven D’Antuono, stalled the stolen documents investigation last summer and shut down some lines of inquiry on Roger Stone.
- The DOJ had been pursuing the fake electors inquiry long before Director Wray and D’Antuono decided to start their own.
Director Wray is responsible for a Bureau that has fallen down on the job over and over. It is his responsibility either to shape up the Bureau or get out. Check out our blog post for more details.
Divestment from fossil fuels needs your help
SB 252 is a state bill that would require California's public employee retirement funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, to divest from fossil fuel companies. It's currently in an Assembly committee; we need Assemblymember Haney's support to move the bill forward.
Fossil Free California has a webpage about SB 252 that makes it easy to call or email your Assemblymember in one click. (Note that the call tool will call your phone and then patch you through to the office.)
Keep Clinicians on Street Crisis Response Teams
The City launched Street Crisis Response Teams (SCRT) three years ago as part of its Mental Health SF ordinance. The program responds to calls for assistance when people are having a mental health crisis on the City streets by dispatching a mental health clinician and a peer counselor along with a paramedic.
Responding to 911 calls for mental health crises by sending these teams instead of armed police officers has saved lives and reduced the risk of people being arrested or killed rather than treated.
Yet the Department of Public Health decided this year to remove trained mental health clinicians from SCRT vans. This decision was made with no notice or request for input from the MHSF Implementation Working Group (IWG) responsible for overseeing the city’s enactment of the Mental Health SF ordinance.
We urge you to contact the mayor’s office and your Supervisor to advocate for the importance of keeping a trained clinician on the teams and to ask that any changes to the SCRT be made in consultation with the Mental Health SF IWG.
Tell the Mayor and your Supervisor: Keep clinicians on Street Crisis Response Teams!
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If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens.
Indivisible SF Federal Working Group: Thursday, June 22, 7:30–9 PM. Planning meeting where we discuss strategy to influence our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to enact a progressive agenda. Meeting starts promptly at 7:30 PM. All are welcome. Register here!
SF Pride Parade: Sunday, June 25, 10:30 AM. Parade starts at Embarcadero Plaza and heads up Market to Civic Center Plaza. More info on the SF Pride website.
Laser Pride Flag: Sunday, June 25, 9:30 PM to midnight. Rainbow-colored beams of light will shine from the Ferry Building up toward Twin Peaks. More info.
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If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
This week’s image is a photo of FBI Director Christopher Wray speaking at a press conference about a ransomware network takedown, courtesy of the Department of Justice.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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