
Scott Jensen's lawsuit against Minnesota AG, medical board dismissed by federal court
lawsuit
alleging Dr. Scott Jensen, the 2022 Republican candidate for Minnesota governor, was illegally investigated by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice has been dismissed by federal court.
According to a court document filed on Tuesday, the United States District Court District of Minnesota dismissed the lawsuit for "lack of standing."
The lawsuit filed in 2023 by Jensen alleged the board investigated him because of his
controversial views on COVID-19
, and called the probe retaliation.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was also named in the lawsuit. Jensen claimed that Ellison withheld COVID data.
The Upper Midwest Law Center, who represented Jensen in the legal dispute, said the court ruled that Jensen "failed to provide sufficient evidence to show that his speech was deterred or that the board targeted him based on his views."
The law firm says Jensen will appeal the court's ruling.
"This lawsuit has never been about one person," Jensen said in a written statement sent by the law firm. "It's about all of us and our right to free speech. If it can happen to me, why couldn't it happen to anyone?"
Note: The above video first aired on June 6, 2023.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
16 minutes ago
- The Hill
NIH cancels mRNA vaccine contracts, citing lack of public trust
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya claims the federal government recently cancelled millions of dollars' worth of mRNA research contracts because the general public does not trust the technology. Bhattacharya explained the reason behind the abrupt contract cancellations, first, during an episode of Republican political strategist Steve Bannon's podcast 'War Room' last week and again in an opinion piece recently published in The Washington Post. In the article, Bhattacharya called the mRNA platform a 'promising technology' and acknowledged that it may lead to breakthroughs in treatment for diseases like cancer. 'But as a vaccine intended for broad public use, especially during a public health emergency, the platform has failed a crucial test: earning public trust,' he wrote. 'No matter how elegant the science, a platform that lacks credibility among the people it seeks to protect cannot fulfill its public health mission.' Bhattacharya's explanation for the administration's pivot away from mRNA technology differs from that of his boss, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy announced last week the agency would wind down its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and cancel $500 million worth of contracts related to the technology. He said that mRNA technologies funded during the pandemic failed to meet current scientific standards and that the federal government would shift its focus to whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms. Bhattacharya expressed concern in the article about mRNA vaccines' ability to direct human cells to produce spike proteins to trigger an immune response. He argues the scientific community does not have a clear understanding of where mRNA product stays in the body, for how long, and whether other proteins are created in the process. Scott Hensley, a microbiology professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, told STAT that these are also issues with vaccines that use live but weakened viruses like the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, which federal health agencies have deemed safe and effective. 'This is why we complete human clinical studies before vaccines are widely used in humans,' he told the outlet. 'The mRNA and live attenuated vaccine platforms have both proven to be safe and effective in clinical trials.' He blamed public distrust in mRNA on the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandates during the pandemic. Bhattacharya expressed concern in the article about mRNA vaccines' ability to direct human cells to produce spike proteins to trigger an immune response. He argues the scientific community does not have a clear understanding of where the mRNA product stays in the body, for how long, and whether other proteins are created in the process. 'Science isn't propaganda,' he wrote. 'It's humility. And when public health officials stopped communicating with humility, we lost much of the public, an absolute necessity for any vaccine platform.'

Miami Herald
16 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Judge to rule within a week on whether to temporarily shutter Alligator Alcatraz
The fate of Alligator Alcatraz is now in the hands of a Miami federal judge who over the last four months sanctioned Florida's Republican attorney general and blocked police from enforcing a new state immigration law. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said Wednesday following days of testimony about the environmental impacts of the Everglades immigration detention camp that she plans to rule no later than Aug. 21 on a request to temporarily shut it down. Were she to side with the plaintiffs, it would be a significant blow to the Trump and DeSantis administrations, which have touted the hastily constructed detention center as a successful new tool in the president's mass-deportation campaign. Williams, an Obama appointee, is presiding over a lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Miccosukee Tribe alleging the federal government and the state dodged federal environmental regulations. They say the DeSantis and Trump administrations ignored the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental review for any 'major' federal action. Williams has already given the plaintiffs a small victory in the case. As part of unexpectedly long multiple-day proceedings, Williams last week placed a restraining order on construction at the site until Aug. 21. She said Wednesday that she would issue her ruling on the proposed temporary injunction halting Alligator Alcatraz operations within that timeframe. An injunction would hold until a verdict is reached in the case, unless a government appeal on the ruling is successful. State lawyers said during the hearing they plan to appeal immediately if Williams issues an injunction. In order for an injunction to go into place, the environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have to prove there will be 'irreparable harm' done to the environment around the site, plus a high likelihood that they will win the case. They also have to prove that damages to the ecosystem will outweigh any harm done to the government if the facility is shut down. Lawyers from the Trump and DeSantis administrations have dismissed concerns about environmental damages. But they have also argued jurisdictional issues, saying NEPA doesn't apply to Alligator Alcatraz because it is state-run and state-funded. 'A local plan does not become a major federal action upon federal approval,' said state lawyer Jesse Panuccio, citing case law. The question of who runs the site — since immigration enforcement is a federal power — has hovered over the environmental lawsuit and puzzled immigration lawyers attempting to get access to their clients – the subject of another ongoing suit playing out in a courtroom across the hall from Williams' chamber. The government lawyers in both cases have argued that the state's various federal agreements affording law enforcement immigration-enforcement powers give the state the authority to manage the site — though the Florida Division of Emergency Management, tasked with running it, does not have such an agreement. The federal 287(g) program underpinning those agreements initiates a partnership, federal lawyers argued in the environmental case, but it doesn't cede state control of its own facilities to the federal government. The state had full control over planning and executing the facility, and as now it has full control over managing it, state lawyers added. Lawyers for the environmental advocacy groups and the Miccosukee have pointed out that 287(g) agreements authorize local and state law enforcement officers to operate 'under the color of federal authority,' with the supervision of the U.S. Attorney General and Immigration and Customs Enforcement approval. They argue that makes Alligator Alcatraz a federal facility. 'The buck has to stop with ICE,' said Paul Schwiep, a lawyer representing the environmental groups in the case. Williams also questioned federal and state lawyers about what level of harm it would do to close Alligator Alcatraz in particular. She agreed an additional immigration detention center relieves overcrowding at other facilities in Florida, but she pushed for answers on why a new facility had to be built in the midst of Big Cypress National Preserve, asking if the governments involved had considered any other options. The federal and state lawyers said the remoteness of the facility was a factor, but Williams pointed out that other detention centers were within the bounds of cities. 'Why there?' Williams asked.


New York Post
16 minutes ago
- New York Post
Los Angeles councilman slapped with corruption charges for allegedly embezzling $800K with wife
An embattled Los Angeles city councilmember was slapped with new corruption charges after he and his wife allegedly embezzled $800,000 meant for housing and public transit. Councilman Curren Price was formally charged Tuesday with two counts of corruption for allegedly voting to approve the city's housing authority and metro service for fat state and federal grants — in exchange for nearly $1 million in payouts to his wife's consulting firm between 2019 and 2021. Price was already in hot water: The pol, endorsed by Mayor Karen Bass, was facing charges of grand theft, perjury, and conflict of interest for votes on projects that allegedly resulted in $150,000 in kickbacks to his wife, Del Richardson. 5 LA Council Member Curren Price, accused of corruption. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 5 Curren Price and his wife Del Richardson leaving court. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 'Embezzling public funds and awarding contracts for your own financial gain is the antithesis of public service,' Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. Prosecutors claim the LA City Housing Authority paid Richardson's company — Del Richardson & Associates — more than $600,000 over a nine-month period in 2019 and 2020. In the same period, Price voted to approve the department for $35 million in federal grant money and $252 million from the state. From 2020 to 2021, LA Metro paid Richardson's firm around $200,000; meanwhile, Price 'brought and voted in favor of' a motion to award LA Metro $30 million in public funds, the prosecutors allege. Price also allegedly funneled $2 million in funds to a housing nonprofit he was serving as CEO for during the COVID-19 pandemic, the DA added. Price's attorney Michael Schafler dismissed the new allegations as a political hit job based on cherry-picked voting records. 'They have gone back as much as 6 years, combing through thousands and thousands of votes, to find a couple more allegedly conflicted votes, hoping that the public will overlook the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever that Councilmember Price was aware of the alleged conflicts when he voted for the agenda items,' Schafler said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. But the DA's office claims Price's own staffers flagged the votes as potential problems. Price was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017 with the endorsement of Mayor Karen Bass. 5 LA Councilman Curren Price and his attorney in court. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 5 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass at a press conference. AFP via Getty Images 5 Curren Price and Del Richardson pose for a photo. Curren Price / X The charges against him add to a mountain of scandals within Los Angeles' government. In 2023, the same year Price faced his first batch of charges, former Councilmember Jose Huizar pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax evasion, and veteran city politician Mark Ridley-Thomas was sentenced to federal prison for a bribery scheme in which he sought favors for his son from a university dean in exchange for political favors. Last year, Mayor Bass appointed fellow progressive Janisse Quinones as head of the water and power department, paying her a roughly $750,000 salary — almost double what her predecessor made. And in February, Bass fired Fire Chief Kristin Crowley for her bungled response to the Palisades Fire – less than three years after Crowley's predecessor resigned amid allegations of racism and sexism in the upper echelons of the fire department.