Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

14 Key Facts to Remember About Judge Yamahiro’s Outrageous Mensah Decision

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Milwaukee County Judge Yamahiro, in an unprecedented decision, has outrageously found probable cause that former Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah committed homicide in the five-year-old death of Jay Anderson Jr.

Judge Yamahiro will appoint a special prosecutor to consider whether to bring a homicide charge using a little-known provision in John Doe laws. Remember that any charges would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury. That’s a higher standard than probable cause.

We don’t think the media will tell you all of these facts, but they are important to remember. Here are 14 key facts that are important to remember about Judge Yamahiro’s outrageous decision:

Judge Yamahiro Key Facts

1. Judge Yamahiro has a significant alleged conflict of interest. His ex-wife and the mother of his child, Deja Vishny, assisted in representing the Anderson family and has worked side-by-side for months with attorney Kimberley Motley, calling for criminal charges against Mensah. See our previous story exploring the conflict of interest question in depth here. How close are the pair? “Best partner EVER!!” Motley, who asked Yamahiro to charge Mensah and handled the case in court, declared about Vishny, a former Milwaukee public defender.

Judge yamahiro

2. Judge Yamahiro is a former public defender who was appointed by liberal Governor Jim Doyle to the bench.

Judge yamahiro

2. Mensah was cleared by multiple reviews, one dating back FIVE YEARS. In 2016, John Chisholm, the DA, “told Anderson’s family that Mensah’s actions were justified self-defense when he saw Anderson’s hands drop during their interaction,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2016. In 2020, former US Attorney Steve Biskupic, acting as an independent investigator, found that there was insufficient evidence to find that Mensah violated the law in Anderson’s death. Federal prosecutors declined to charge Mensah after yet another review.

3. Mensah’s lawyer didn’t get to present any evidence or cross-examine any witnesses at the Judge Yamahiro hearing due to how John Doe laws work. Any citizen – in this case Anderson’s family via Motley – can petition a judge to consider charges that a DA won’t issue. However, the Chicago Tribune previously reported that the provision is so rare it’s used once or twice a decade.

4. Mensah did not testify at the Judge Yamahiro hearing.

5. Mensah’s lawyer did not get to present his own experts at the Judge Yamahiro hearing.

6. The evidence the judge heard was crafted and presented by Kimberley Motley, attorney for the Anderson family. Thus, it was a completely one-sided presentation.

7. Anderson possessed a firearm, a Ruger model SR9c, 9mm, semi-automatic pistol, according to Biskupic’s report. His loaded firearm was on the front passenger seat next to him when Mensah shot him.

8. Anderson had a prior misdemeanor conviction for possession of a firearm while intoxicated. That night Anderson consumed brandy and smoked marijuana with a friend, who suggested that Anderson go home. His blood-alcohol level several hours after leaving a bar was still 0.11, according to Biskupic’s report. He entered the park at 1:37 a.m. He likely smoked more marijuana (the car was still filled with marijuana odor when examined by police officers an hour and a half later, and a very small amount of marijuana residue was in a paper fold in Anderson’s pocket.)

9. Mensah’s personnel file contains only one disciplinary incident, a letter of reprimand for negligently causing a minor collision. His file contains 14 pages of commendations from citizens and other police departments.

10. Mensah said he gave Anderson repeated orders not to reach for the gun. Anderson initially complied and placed his hands in the air about chest or shoulder height. “However he suddenly reached toward the seat with his right hand while looking at the weapon (on the seat.) Mensah stated he immediately moved his weapon to the high ready position and ordered hands up and radioed he has a gun! Step it up! The driver placed both hands in the air stating, ‘What? There’s nothing there! It’s nothing!” That’s according to Biskupic’s report, citing Mensah’s account to investigators.

Mensah said, “I see the gun! Don’t reach for it!” The driver again reached toward the front passenger seat. Mensah ordered, “Stop reaching for the weapon!” The driver pulled back and said, “It’s nothing.” Mensah said the driver made at least four separate movements with his right arm toward the front passenger seat. Each time Mensah ordered him to stop and the driver returned both of his hands into the air.

Mensah stated the last time the driver made a movement, instead of just his right arm moving toward the gun on the seat, his whole body lunged toward it. Mensah yelled, “Keep your hands up,” but the driver did not comply and Mensah discharged his weapon 3-4 times, Mensah told investigators. He felt exposed because he was in an open parking lot without any cover. He said he discharged his weapon because he knew the firearm was on the passenger front seat of the vehicle. He stated he ordered and pleaded with the driver numerous times to not reach for the weapon. He shot because the driver reached for the weapon and he believed the driver was going to use it against him. Officers have a right under Wisconsin law to use lethal force if they reasonably believe that their life or that of another was in imminent danger.

11. Video documented that Anderson made a movement in the car right before Mensah fired. A squad video shows Mensah standing outside the passenger door with his right arm extended. Anderson is sitting in the driver seat and his right arm can be observed in the air. The driver was moving around with both hands in the air. Then, the driver’s right hand was moving side to side. Then movement by the driver is observed and the right hand can be seen extending toward the passenger front seat. The right hand dropped from view. That’s all according to the Biskupic report. Does that provide reasonable doubt?

12. William Harmening, the Jay Anderson family “expert” whose testimony against Mensah was cited repeatedly by Yamahiro as a foundation for his decision, was rejected as an expert in another police shooting case because a federal judge believed he “lacked the needed expertise” in key areas. In addition, Wisconsin Right Now found that the professor – who told a judge that Mensah’s use of force was not “reasonable” – was previously accused of presenting a conclusion against a police officer that was “riddled with errors.” Harmening’s expert testimony was limited in other cases, and another judge raised questions about some of his findings. In a Fresno case, he was accused of injecting “mere speculation and conjecture” into his testimony. Read our story on Harmening here.

13. Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson, who hired Mensah as a sheriff’s deputy, said he did a careful and exhaustive review of the past shootings: “The reality is that there is no evidence to lead anyone to credibly believe some kind of linkage between any one of these (Mensah’s) deadly force situations other than the persons involved chose to arm themselves with deadly weapons and refused lawful orders by police and turned those weapons toward others,” said Severson. Of Anderson he said, “In his (Biskupic’s) own words, the guy was legally intoxicated and in possession of a firearm; that in and of itself is a crime. He was repeatedly being told, ‘Do not pick up that gun.’ He did it anyway.”

14. Mensah was also cleared in two other shootings. Both of the people shot in those cases had weapons.

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Governor’s Veto Powers Wisconsin Republicans Parental Bill of Rights Outlaw Child Sex Dolls Embrace Them Both Unemployment Reforms Wisconsin’s Professional Licensing Bail Reform Amendment wisconsin covid-19

Wisconsin Bans AI Porn, Child Sex Dolls

(The Center Square) – Consider it a sign of the times.

Wisconsin’s newest laws deal with AI-generated porn and new, lieflike child sex dolls.

Gov. Tony Evers signed more than two dozen new laws, including bans on child sex dolls and child porn created by artificial intelligence.

“We’re working to address the cycle of violence, prevent crime, and keep our schools, streets, and communities safe across Wisconsin,” Evers said in a statement.

One of the new laws creates the new crime of possession of virtual child pornography. Prosecutors say the law is needed because even AI generated images feed into child pornography and often the pictures or videos are created based on real images.

Another new law bans the sale, possession, manufacture or advertisement of child sex dolls.

“Protecting our kids is one of my highest priorities. As technology increases access and availability to new forms of abuse for pedophiles, we have to adjust our laws. We will always take a stand against those looking to prey upon our children,” Sen. Jesse James, R-Altoona, said after the governor's action.

The child sex doll ban makes it a felony to have one but adds years to any sentence if the doll is made to look like a specific child.

Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hobart, said the new law is not something Wisconsin would have needed even just a few years ago.

“Law enforcement across the county is reporting an increase in child sex dolls. The dolls are anatomically correct life-like versions of children ranging from infants to teens. Dolls include accessories with programmable child voices, warming devices, and cleaning tools. They can resemble photos of real children and can contain software enabling the owner to simulate rape. Frequently, these dolls are seized during investigations into child sexual abuse material,” Goeben said.

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New Bill Would Require Feds to Screen Border Crossers Against Terror Watch List

A congressman from north Texas has introduced a bill that would require federal agents to screen everyone who enters the country illegally against the federal terrorist watch list.

The bill was introduced as more than 200 known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) have already been apprehended attempting to enter the country this fiscal year.

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, a Republican whose district lies west and northwest of Fort Worth, introduced HR 7733, the Identifying Potential Terrorist at the Border Act of 2024. It would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to “take into and maintain custody over an alien until the commissioner cross references the name of such alien with the terrorist screening database and a result for such cross reference is received by the commissioner.”

When announcing the bill, Williams said, “We are a land of laws, and it is past time this Administration acts like it. [President] Joe Biden is encouraging a deadly invasion of fighting-age men on American soil and each day this Democrat-created influx of illegal aliens allows bad actors to slip past Border Patrol undetected.”

Williams, Texas’ Secretary of State under former Gov. Rick Perry, last month also introduced a bill to have the federal government reimburse Texas for its border security costs.

Current law does not require illegal border crossers to be screened against the terrorist watch list. CBP agents at ports of entry and Border Patrol agents between ports of entry do follow the practice and apprehend KSTs.

Every month, CBP reports the number of KSTs apprehended at the northern and southern borders. CBP Office of Field Operations agents working at land ports of entry are tasked with stopping “inadmissables,” or illegal foreign nationals, including KSTs, as well as contraband, prior to U.S. entry. U.S. Border Patrol agents working between ports of entry patrolling the borde are tasked with apprehending foreign nationals, including KSTs, who’ve already illegally entered the U.S.

General practice has been to screen inadmissibles against the Terrorist Screening Dataset, the federal database that contains sensitive information on terrorist identities. It originated as a consolidated terrorist watchlist “to house information on known or suspected terrorists but evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals,” CBP explains.

“Under current law, CBP is not required to screen migrants against the terrorist watchlist database, and as we have seen too often, dangerous criminals are released into our nation who go on to harm American citizens and communities,” Williams said. “Now more than ever, we must be aware of who is in our country as Republicans fight to restore law and order and end Biden’s deadly open border policies that are destroying America.”

In fiscal 2023, the greatest number of KSTs, 736, were apprehended at the northern and southern borders, The Center Square reported. A significant majority – 66% – were apprehended at the northern border, 487; 249 were apprehended at the southwest border.

The apprehension data excludes gotaways, which Border Patrol agents and others have warned inevitably includes KSTs. “Gotaways” is the official CBP term that refers to those who illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry, don’t return to Mexico or Canada, and are not apprehended. An estimated two million have illegally entered since January 2021, The Center Square has reported. However, Border Patrol chiefs say this number is underreported by an estimated 20%.

The trend is continuing in fiscal 2024. The fiscal year started Oct. 1, 2023, and goes through Sept. 30, 2024. KST northern border apprehensions outpaced those at the southwest border in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, The Center Square reported.

As of Jan. 26, 2024, 144 KSTs were apprehended, the majority, 90, were apprehended at the northern border.

As of March 22, the total number climbed to 210, according to CBP data. The majority, 127, were apprehended at the northern border; 83 were apprehended at the southwest border.

The number of KSTs apprehended under the Biden administration has increased every year. In fiscal 2022, 478 KSTs were apprehended, up from 173 apprehended in fiscal 2021.

Last fall, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the U.S. Senate about terrorist threats facing Americans including from Iranians. More than a month after he spoke, northern border agents apprehended an Iranian with terrorist ties.

Retired FBI officials also warned Congress in January that a terrorist attack was likely imminent and preventable.

Earlier this month, Wray testified again before the Senate acknowledging that a smuggling organization working with the terrorist group ISIS is funneling criminals through the U.S. border. He said the FBI was investigating its operations that “we’re very concerned about.”

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Biden Administration Defends Decision to Nix Union Accountability Effort

The Biden administration has removed a federal webpage dedicated to union transparency and accountability and apparently has no plans to replace it.

The Center Square on Tuesday exclusively obtained a letter from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to 10 U.S. senators defending its decision to remove a webpage built to hold unions accountable.

After the accountability webpage disappeared last year, an OPM spokesperson told The Center Square "previous reports on official time are not currently available because OPM is reorganizing our website to improve navigation and customer experience."

Since then, OPM has declined to comment on the issue multiple times.

As The Center Square previously reported, the Office of Personnel Management created the webpage in question to track “official time,” a practice when federal employees who are union members conduct union business during normal work hours, which means taxpayers pick up the tab.

The practice has gone on for decades, but concerns about abuse and accountability led lawmakers to push for more reporting. Until last year, OPM had a webpage dedicated to official time accountability with a history of past reports.

Now, in its letter to lawmakers, OPM points out it has moved the official time data to an “agency reports” webpage. However, the last official time report on the site is from fiscal year 2019, meaning none have been completed since Biden took office.

No other official time reports are listed on the OPM reports page.

“Most tellingly, Director [Kiran] Ahuja offered no apology for the removal of the official time webpage, made no commitment to restoring it, and declined to commit OPM to producing any additional estimates of taxpayer-funded union time use and costs in the future…” Maxford Nelsen, a labor policy expert at the Freedom Foundation, told The Center Square.

OPM has released the reports regularly since the Clinton administration, but in the letter pointed out they are not legally required to do so.

In the letter, OPM said the official time reports were taken down to improve the website and that the decision “was not based on any discussions with outside parties such as federal unions, other agencies, or the White House.”

The Center Square, however, exposed coordination between the Biden administration and labor unions at taxpayer expense in the past.

A national labor union representing over 100,000 federal employees boasted in a document online that they had persuaded the Biden administration to use taxpayer resources to make it easier for unions to recruit new members. After The Center Square reported on the issue, the document was taken down.

In OPM’s letter this week, the agency says its decision was not political but was part of a larger overhaul to the website.

From OPM’s letter:

As part of modernizing and consolidating our webpages, we routinely remove or migrate information to ensure our web content is up to date and to improve the customer Experience. In the course of updating our website, official time reports were taken down from their original location. The most recent of those reports, from 2019, was migrated along with numerous other documents to the Agency Reports page of OPM’s website. OPM made the decision to remove official time reports for the reasons described above; the decision was not based on any discussions with outside parties such as federal unions, other agencies, or the White House.

Annual reports on official time usage are not mandated by statute, and these statistics have not been reported on a consistent basis for more than a decade. In the past ten years, official time reports have only been issued four times. The most recent estimates on official time are included in the Fiscal Year 2019 report. Agencies reported that bargaining unit employees spent a total of 2,606,390 official time hours representing 1,329,222 non-Postal federal civil service employees. This represents a decrease of 28.26 percent in the use of official time compared to the previous report, which covered Fiscal Year 2016.

Nelsen pointed out that President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated his pro-union stance and his plans to be the “the most pro-union president in history,” so no official coordination was needed, though its unclear whether OPM’s claim of no coordination is true.

Nelsen pushed back, saying Ahuja “made no effort to explain how deletion of the federal government’s sole repository of official time information and historic data – which was perfectly functional and up-to-date until the day of its removal last summer – helps improve the public’s access to data.”

As The Center Square previously reported, “official time” was codified in 1978. Almost immediately, though, accountability became a major concern.

The Government Accountability Office reported in 1979 that “no one knows how much official time is authorized for Federal employees” because of “widespread failure” when it comes to keeping records. The GAO made similar comments again in 1996 before Congress.

“Overall, it’s fair to say that the Biden administration has zero interest in the public knowing the extent to which federal employees are working for unions instead of performing the public service roles for which they were hired and continue to be compensated by taxpayers,” Nelsen said.

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11 Million IllegalsmSouthern Border Arrests

More Than 11 Million Illegals Have Entered U.S. Since Fiscal 2021

According to U.S. Customs and Border protection data, 9.4 million foreign nationals illegally entered the U.S. in fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023 and through the end of February 2024.

Including another more than 2 million gotaways, reported by The Center Square, combined, they total an estimated 11.4 million, more than the population of 43 U.S. states.

They also total more than the population of all individual U.S. cities, including the largest city of New York City, and are greater than the populations of roughly 150 countries.

With February’s record 256,094 illegal border crossers, and more than 120,000 gotaways in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the number of illegal border crossers in fiscal 2024 through February total more than 1.6 million, the highest in U.S. history.

Record numbers came through in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 both at the northern and southwest borders, the highest of any quarter and per month in U.S. history.

If fiscal 2024 numbers continue at the current trajectory, they will likely be the largest number on record, surpassing last year’s record.

Last fiscal year, nearly 4 million, including gotaways, were reported to have illegally entered the U.S., The Center Square first reported.

“Gotaways” is the official term used by Border Patrol agents to describe foreign nationals who intentionally illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry and don’t return to Mexico or Canada. CBP doesn’t publicly report gotaway data. The Center Square first began reporting it to provide a more accurate picture of the number of illegal border crossers entering the U.S. every month under the current administration.

Illegal border crossers (fiscal year 2021 through fiscal 2024 through the end of February 2024) total more than 19 Wyomings, 17.5 Vermonts, 15.5 Alaskas, 14 North Dakotas, 12 South Dakotas, and nearly 11 Delawares, President Joe Biden’s home state.

Put another way, they total 29% of California’s entire population, nearly 37% of Texas’ population, and nearly half of Florida’s population, the country's three most populous states.

They total 58% of New York’s population, 88% of Pennsylvania’s population, 91% of Illinois’ population and nearly as much as Ohio’s population. They total more than the eighth most populous state of Georgia and the rest of the U.S. states and territories.

The Center Square first reported on the number of illegal border crossers totaling more than the population of individual states. In June 2022, more than three million had illegally entered the U.S., totaling more than the individual populations of 23 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

By August 2022, that number had increased to total more than the population of 25 states and more than 100 countries and territories.

Now, they total more than roughly 150 countries, outranking the 83rd most populous country of Jordan with 11.3 million people. They total more than the populations of the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Sweden, Honduras, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Israel, Austria, Switzerland, Libya and Nicaragua.

They also total more than double the populations of Finland, Norway, Lebanon, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Ireland, Panama and Kuwait.

They more than triple the populations of Georgia, Uruguay, Jamiaca and Qatar.

The numbers exponentially increased after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas implemented policies to create a “legal pathway” for millions of foreign nationals who otherwise would be prohibited from entry. More than half of U.S. states sued over them, arguing they are illegal. The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security identified over a dozen parole policies Mayorkas created that it argues are illegal included as reasons for which he was impeached last month, The Center Square reported.

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Appeals Court Reduces $464M Bond in Trump’s Fraud Case, Gives Him More Time

A New York appeals court on Monday gave former President Donald Trump a lifeline in his New York fraud case, allowing Trump to post a much lower bond while he appeals the verdict in the case.

Trump was expected to come up with $464 million or a bond for that amount Monday to appeal a ruling by Superior Court Judge Arthur Engoron in a civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2022.

In an order, the five-judge state appeals court panel said it would give the Trump Organization and top executives 10 days to post a $175 million bond.

Engoron found that Trump, his company and top executives – including his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump – deceived banks and insurers by inflating the value of his family's wealth on financial statements used to secure loans.

Trump said Monday that he planned to comply with the order.

"We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash," he posted on Truth Social. "This also shows how ridiculous and outrageous Engoron's original decision was at $450 Million."

Trump's attorneys previously said he couldn't get a bond for the full amount and asked to put up a $100 million bond instead. James wanted Trump to have to put up the full amount and had said she will seek "judgment enforcement mechanisms in court" if Trump can't come up with the money.

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