TRUMP LEGAL TEAM MAKES STATEMENT ON BILL BARR’S COMMENTS ON VOTER FRAUD

Washington, D.C. - December 2, 2020 - (The Ponder News) -- The Trump Legal Team has disputed AG Barr's claim of no evidence of voter fraud with this:

“With all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn’t been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation. We have gathered ample evidence of illegal voting in at least six states, which they have not examined. We have many witnesses swearing under oath they saw crimes being committed in connection with voter fraud. As far as we know, not a single one has been interviewed by the DOJ. The Justice Department also hasn’t audited any voting machines or used their subpoena powers to determine the truth.

“Nonetheless, we will continue our pursuit of the truth through the judicial system and state legislatures, and continue toward the Constitution’s mandate and ensuring that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is not. Again, with the greatest respect to the Attorney General, his opinion appears to be without any knowledge or investigation of the substantial irregularities and evidence of systemic fraud.”

- Rudy Giuliani, Attorney for President Trump, and Jenna Ellis, Trump Campaign Senior Legal Adviser and Attorney for President Trump

FIRST PILOT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE IN NATIVE COMMUNITIES LAUNCHED AFTER PASSAGE OF SAVANNA’S ACT

Washington, D.C. - December 2, 2020 - (The Ponder News) -- A pilot program launched by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation (CSKT) is developing a collaborative community response plan to quickly address emergent Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) cases in Indian Country, thanks to directives outlined through the recent enactment of Savanna’s Act.

“Savanna’s Act gives us the tools to help address the MMIP crisis, and now those tools are being put to use,” said Senator Jon Tester (D-MT). “The implementation of this program is a step forward for Montana Tribes, MMIP advocates, and the survivors of violence that worked tirelessly to see Savanna’s Act over the finish line. I’ll keep pushing to ensure Indian Country has the resources necessary to continue to combat this crisis head-on and ensure our Native communities are safe.”

In accordance with Savanna’s Act, the CSKT’s pilot project will develop a Tribal Community Response Plan (TCRP) to improve the collaborative response to missing Indigenous person cases by Tribal governments, law enforcement, and other partners through regionally appropriate guidelines. CSKT’s TCRP pilot project is the first of its kind in the nation, and its results will serve as a guide to establish similar regional programs across the U.S.

Indigenous women and girls in Montana face murder rates that are ten times higher than the national average, and according to the National Institute of Justice, more than 80 percent of Native American women have experienced violence, and half have experienced it within the last year.

Savanna's Act, signed into law earlier this year, is named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, who was murdered in North Dakota in August of 2017.

Savanna’s Act works to improve information sharing between Tribal and federal law enforcement agencies and increase data collection on cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people. It requires:

Law enforcement training on how to record victim Tribal enrollment information in federal databases;

The creation of standardized, regionally-appropriate guidelines for inter-jurisdictional cooperation on cases; and

The Attorney General to include data on missing and murdered Indigenous people in an annual report to Congress.

"SAVE OUR SEAS ACT" HEADS TO PRESIDENT’S DESK

Washington, D.C. - December 2, 2020 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are applauding final Senate passage of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act this evening. The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act was introduced in June 2019 to address the plastic debris crisis threatening coastal economies and harming marine life.

The legislation seeks to help reduce the creation of plastic waste, find uses for the plastic waste that already exists to keep it from entering the oceans, spur innovation, and tackle the problem on a global scale. It builds on the initial progress secured by the Save Our Seas Act, which was sponsored by Sullivan and Whitehouse and signed into law by President Trump in 2018.

“Save Our Seas 2.0 is the most comprehensive marine debris legislation ever to pass Congress,” said Senator Sullivan. “This proves that major bipartisan achievements on some of the biggest environmental challenges are possible. The progress we have made over the past few years on the marine debris crisis, beginning with the original Save Our Seas Act, is historic and constitutes a whole-of-government approach to helping protect our pristine environment across the globe and, particularly, in Alaska, which has more coastline than the rest of the Lower 48 combined. I thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for coming together to clean up our oceans, spark innovation on managing plastic waste, and protect our fisheries and coastal communities.”

“While marine debris presents a massive international challenge, it’s a manmade problem that we can solve by finding creative solutions at home and abroad,” said Senator Whitehouse, who co-founded the bipartisan Senate Oceans Caucus to find common ground in responding to issues facing the oceans and coasts. “Save Our Seas 2.0 is a wide-reaching, bipartisan bill that builds on progress we’ve already made addressing ocean pollution. There’s much more that needs to be done to tackle the scourge of plastic waste washing up on our shores—Save Our Seas 3.0 is already in the pipeline.”

“Today is a great day for New Jerseyans and all Americans in the fight to protect our beautiful coastlines and beach communities from the growing scourge of plastic waste washing up on our shores. Save Our Seas 2.0 provides the most comprehensive set of tools to help bolster the United States’ leadership and response to this growing global environmental and economic challenge and I’m so pleased to see it become law,” said Senator Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Roughly eight million metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste from land enters the oceans each year. Ninety percent of this plastic enters the oceans from ten rivers, eight of which are in Asia. The plastic breaks down into tiny pieces that can enter the marine food chain and harm fish and wildlife, and wash ashore on even the most remote stretches of coastline. Plastic has been found in areas as remote as the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point in the ocean.

The Senate first passed Save Our Seas 2.0 in January and today approved technical changes made in the House. The House version of the bill was sponsored by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Don Young (R-Alaska).