Jeff Sessions

The California Republican Party Must Save America

May 4, 2018 By Joel B. Pollak 16 Comments

The California Republican Party will meet this weekend for its annual convention in San Diego. On the surface, the party is not in good shape.

Democrats hold all statewide offices. Pundits have — until recently — predicted that the elections for governor and for U.S. Senate would have all-Democrat finals. Former Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner reportedly leads the race for his old job, yet this time he is not running as a Republican, but rather as an independent.

In addition, Democrats are targeting half of California’s 14 Republican-held congressional seats in the midterm elections. These are districts where Hillary Clinton won a majority of the vote in 2016. Some of the Republican incumbents decided to retire rather than face tough fights. And the Democrats have the momentum of the so-called “Resistance” behind them, boosted by big donors and buoyed by favorable coverage in the mainstream media.

But Republicans are also seeing a surge.

The “#metoo” movement has forced several Democratic state legislators to resign due to accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior, ending the party supermajority in the State Assembly.

Moreover, the 12-cent gas tax increase Democrats passed last year has led to a backlash. One Democrat State Senator who voted for it faces a recall election, and Republicans are putting a repeal referendum on the ballot.

Even more significantly, the growing revolt against the state’s “sanctuary” laws has energized conservatives over the past two months.

In March, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions traveled to the state as the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit challenging three of the state’s new laws defying federal immigration authorities. That inspired over a dozen local governments, including three counties, to declare their support for the lawsuit and defiance of the state.

As a result, individual Republican candidates are seeing a boost in their poll numbers.

Republican businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) are now in a close race with former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for second place in the race for governor, behind frontrunner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. Republican James Bradley is rising in the Senate race and has a chance of qualifying for the November ballot.

If any Republican can qualify for the general election in a statewide race — still a tough task, given that Villaraigosa has millions of dollars still to spend in the governor’s race, and billionaire Tom Steyer is backing State Sen. Kevin de Léon (D-Los Angeles) in the Senate race — that will boost Republican turnout in November.

That, in turn, will help the party minimize its losses. If the locals can hold enough seats, the national GOP may retain the U.S. House.

There are even a few pickup opportunities. One such is Kimberlin Brown Pelzer, a Hollywood actress running in the 36th congressional district (D+2) against Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), a clone of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (who insists she will be Speaker of the House if Democrats win in November).

In other races, the sheer number of Democrats running in the June 5th primary could transform winnable seats into all-Republican finals.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who has done as much as anyone to bring the sanctuary state issue to the fore — including offering to pay the legal costs for the city of Fountain Valley to join the federal government’s lawsuit against the state — was once consideredone of the five most vulnerable incumbents in the House. But the veteran conservative, known for his iconoclastic views on relations with Russia and legal marijuana, is feeling confident.

One reason is that so many Democrats entered the race against Rohrabacher in the 48th congressional district that they risk splitting the vote between them. Even with a well-known fellow Republican, former Assemblyman Scott Baugh, entering the race, Rohrabacher is looking stronger than ever.

There is even a chance that Rohrabacher and Baugh shut Democrats out of the general election. Democrats are now pressuring each other to quit the race.

The task for California Republicans will be to put differences aside — especially the old Trump vs. Never Trump fight — and unite for the sake of the party and the nation. Democrats need 23 seats nationwide to flip the House, bringing Pelosi to power and certain impeachment for President Trump.

If California Republicans can hold the line, they can, arguably, save the nation. The state party may have seen better days, but never a more important election.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

This article was originally published by Breitbart.com/California

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: CA GOP, Jeff Sessions, Steve Poizner, Travis Allen

Trump Sues California Over Three Laws Designed To Frustrate Immigration Enforcement

March 8, 2018 By Margot Cleveland 5 Comments

The Trump administration sued California in a federal district court late Tuesday over its “sanctuary city” designation, arguing federal immigration law preempts three of the state’s laws.

The Department of Justice noted in a statement one of the three laws prohibits private employees from “voluntarily cooperating with immigration officials” and requires employers to give employees advance notice of a potential worksite enforcement inspection.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, named a defendant in the suit, said after the law became effective Jan. 1 that he would “prosecute those who violate [Assembly Bill 450] by voluntarily cooperating with Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) efforts.” He later told employers that under the new law they can’t voluntarily grant ICE agents “physical access to nonpublic areas of the worksite or to employee records” without triggering legal penalties.

The second California law challenged bars state and local law enforcement officials from informing federal immigration agents of the release date of criminal aliens and prohibits state employees from transferring criminal aliens to federal custody, except in narrow circumstances. This one, Senate Bill 54, also became effective on Jan. 1.

The third bill, Assembly Bill 103 adopted June 27 of last year, authorized the California AG to inspect immigration detention facilities in the state to examine the “due process provided” immigration detainees, and “the circumstances around their apprehension and transfer to the facility.” This law also requires detention facilities to provide state officials access to confidential federal records.

The DOJ argues in its complaint the three laws — AB 450, SB 54, and AB 103 — conflict with federal immigration law and are thus invalid under the Supremacy Clause. With the complaint, the DOJ filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, seeking to pause enforcement of the California statutes until the lawsuit is played out in court. …

Click here to read the full article from The Federalist

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Donald Trump, ICE, Jeff Sessions, Sanctuary State, Xavier Becerra

How will U.S. attorneys in California respond to Sessions’ pot policy change?

January 21, 2018 By Chris Reed 7 Comments

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Jan. 4 announcement that he had revoked the Obama administration’s policy of allowing states to make marijuana use and sales legal without fearing a federal crackdown and would leave it up to his 94 local U.S. attorneys’ offices to decide their policies created deep anxiety in the California marijuana industry – coming as it did the same week the Golden State became the sixth state to begin permitting recreational pot use.

While none of the four U.S. attorneys’ offices in California have taken high-profile enforcement steps to date, at least two may be inclined to take on legal marijuana in some way – especially given that Sessions has already complained that pot being grown in the state is being trafficked in other states where it remains illegal.

In the California Eastern District based in Sacramento, President Donald Trump nominated McGregor “Greg” Scott to serve as U.S. attorney, returning to a job he held under President George W. Bush. He was sworn in Dec. 29. His large district is mostly inland California, from the Oregon border to the Inland Empire, including Humboldt County, ground zero for the Golden State’s pot culture.

Cannabis advocates worry about Sacramento U.S. attorney

While the Sacramento Bee editorial page hailed Scott’s selection, the Bee’s newsroom reported earlier this month that marijuana advocates are on edge because of Scott’s history of aggressively targeting medical marijuana in his first stint on the job. Scott’s office received national attention in 2008 when it secured 20-year and 21-year sentences for two Modesto men whom Scott said were running a criminal empire – not a clinic.

The Cal NORML marijuana advocacy group blasted Scott for urging local prosecutors to refer medical marijuana cases to his office, calling it “particularly notorious for harsh sentences against medical marijuana defendants.”

“He used to be a hardcore, anti-cannabis drug warrior,” Sebastopol criminal defense attorney Omar Figueroa told the Bee. “I hope he has evolved.”

Scott offered no overview of his intentions beyond issuing a statement saying he would review marijuana cases “in accordance with our district’s federal law enforcement priorities and resources.”

Cartel prosecutor takes reins in San Diego with tough statement

The other California U.S. attorney who might be inclined to take a hard line on pot is Adam Braverman in the San Diego-based Southern district. Braverman was sworn in Nov. 16 after years as a hard-charging prosecutor in the San Diego office targeting drug cartels which operate on both sides of the U.S-Mexico border. His statement echoed Sessions’ remarks that individual states should have no expectations that federal drug laws would go unenforced just because their voters or legislators had approved legal use of pot.

“The Department of Justice is committed to reducing violent crime and enforcing the laws as enacted by Congress. The cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana has long been and remains a violation of federal law,” Braverman’s statement said. “We will continue to utilize long-established prosecutorial priorities to carry out our mission to combat violent crime, disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, and stem the rising tide of the drug crisis.”

Earlier this month, former prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer Nicola Hanna was named interim U.S. attorney for the Central District, based in Los Angeles. Hanna, who is expected to get the job on a permanent basis, has kept quiet on Sessions’ announcement. His office refers questions to Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

Any crackdown on cannabis might be difficult just from a resources perspective for Hanna. His office serves an area with 18 million residents in Los Angeles and Orange counties and five adjacent counties – by far the most heavily populated of any office. It is often responsible for complex cases involving not just drugs and white-collar crime but also national security.

Views of acting U.S. attorney in San Francisco unclear

In the Northern District based in San Francisco, U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch resigned within days after Sessions’ policy change, though he said the decision was unrelated.

Alex G. Tse is serving as the acting U.S. attorney after being Stretch’s second-in-command. Tse has kept a low profile to date on Sessions’ policy reversal.

However, his office was known for its aggressive targeting of Oakland’s Harborside Health Center, which the Feedly marijuana news website says is “perhaps the state’s best-known dispensary.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, threw out prosecutors’ case against Harborside in 2016, saying they had ignored Congress’ direction that medical-marijuana dispensaries operating within state laws should be left alone.

This article was originally published by CalWatchdog.com

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Jeff Sessions, Marijuana

CA Gov Candidate Travis Allen Asks Jeff Sessions to Sue State Over New Sanctuary Law

January 3, 2018 By Fox News 15 Comments

California State Assemblyman Travis Allen invited President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to sue Sacramento over the new “sanctuary state” law.

Tucker Carlson said that under the new law, all police statewide are banned from inquiring about immigration status, and that the legislation also has guidelines for schools as well.

“Illegal aliens are now a protected class,” Carlson said, comparing Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D-Calif.) actions to that of former Alabama Gov. George Wallace (D) whose forced segregation of schools required President Kennedy to send in the national guard.

Allen (R-Huntington Beach) agreed that the federal government must do something to stop Brown’s allegedly lawless action. …

Click here to read the full article from Fox News

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Jeff Sessions, Sanctuary State, Travis Allen

California looks to Trump administration for help on marijuana banking

December 27, 2017 By Chris Reed 13 Comments

With the legal sale of recreational marijuana a week away, local governments across California have adopted policies on where and when permitted legal sellers can operate, following the ground rules set up by Proposition 64 – the November 2016 state ballot measure legalizing pot for recreational use beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

But despite more than 13 months of lead time, state officials still haven’t figured out how to deal with a crucial problem: the fact that federally regulated banks can’t accept deposits or have any financial relationship with marijuana vendors or growers, given that pot sales and consumption remain illegal under federal law.

Cash-only medical marijuana dispensaries authorized by a 1996 ballot measure have long been plagued by armed robberies. With recreational pot sales expected to be a multibillion-dollar industry, pot-related crime could skyrocket.

Two separate proposals have emerged after what state officials say are months of discussions.

One under consideration by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration seems a long shot given that it relies on the cooperation of the Trump administration – specifically Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has opposed individual states’ efforts to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the state had met with 65 banks and credit unions, as well as with federal regulators, about having one bank in California established as a clearinghouse for all marijuana-related accounts of various banks throughout the state. The “central correspondent” bank would process all transactions involving pot dollars.

Seeking assist from federal government after suing it 24 times

Brown administration officials appeared hopeful that this concept would go over well with federal regulators because, at least in theory, it would make it easier to keep close track of marijuana industry finances, and to spot suspicious payments or transfers of funds.

The problem for California is that this proposal is built on the presumption that the federal government wants to help the state – which has already sued the Trump administration 24 times. While federal regulators have met with state officials on the pot-banking issue, the final decision on whether to cooperate is up to Sessions. At a Nov. 29 press conference, he said his office was taking a hard look at rolling back Obama administration rules that let states allow recreational marijuana after basic public safety and health standards were met.

“It’s my view that the use of marijuana is detrimental, and we should not give encouragement in any way to it, and it represents a federal violation, which is in the law and is subject to being enforced,” Sessions said, according to the McClatchy News Service. “We are working our way through to a rational policy, but I don’t want to suggest in any way that this department believes that marijuana is harmless and people should not avoid it.”

Chiang: Consider setting up a state bank for pot transactions

The second proposal – touted by state Treasurer John Chiang at a Nov. 7 news conference – is to have the state study the feasibility of opening its own bank to deal with marijuana financial transactions. That was based on the recommendations of Chiang’s cannabis bank working group.

The group’s 32-page report also suggested California work with other states in setting up a network of such institutions. But the report noted the many obstacles to establishing such a bank, including the likelihood that it ultimately would still be subject to federal regulation and thus to Sessions’ objections.

Chiang told reporters at his November news conference that “a definitive, bulletproof solution will remain elusive” without changes in federal banking laws.

But the 2018 gubernatorial candidate said that “is not an excuse for inaction.”