Latest news with #AmericaFirstPolicyInstitute
Epoch Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
LIVE NOW: America First Policy Institute Holds Event Featuring SEC Chairman Paul Atkins
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) holds a special event 'American Leadership in the Digital Finance Revolution' featuring Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins at 12:30 p.m. ET on July 31.
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Anti-Trump DA Alvin Bragg sure acts like he has something to hide — we're suing to find out
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg holds potentially hundreds of communications appearing to link his office to senior Biden administration officials and other political actors in connection with his unprecedented criminal prosecution of then-former President Donald Trump. We've asked for those records, and he's not turning them loose. So we're taking him to court. Last September, America First Policy Institute launched a formal investigation into the people and motivations behind Bragg's decision to prosecute Trump. Advertisement Our effort had a simple goal: figuring out whether Bragg's case was a routine legal probe — or lawfare, a politically engineered hit job orchestrated to influence the 2024 election. The charges brought against Trump were extraordinary. Never before has a question of federal campaign-finance law — which the FEC declined to pursue, no less — been morphed into a state-level misdemeanor, already time-barred under New York law, then Frankensteined into a felony by alleging it was committed to conceal some other crime never defined by the prosecution, nor unanimously agreed upon by jury. Advertisement Confusing? That's the point. Bragg's office thrives on obfuscation. Public records should be accessible. Criminal prosecutions should be transparent. This case was neither — and still isn't. We were drawn to investigate because we saw just too many coincidences to ignore. Michael Colangelo, a top DOJ official with a focus on white-collar crime, left his Biden administration post to join Bragg's office just months before Trump was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Advertisement Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over Bragg's prosecution, had a history of political donations to Biden and to political groups opposed to Trump, the defendant before him. He was officially 'cautioned' on that by the state ethics board. Merchan's daughter Loren worked on Kamala Harris' 2020 campaign and during Trump's trial served as president of Authentic Campaigns, a progressive political consulting firm hired by the Biden-Harris ticket. It all paints a curious picture: A DA who campaigned on a promise to take down Trump, aided by a Biden DOJ veteran, bringing legally contorted charges before a judge with clear partisan connections. Advertisement If this wasn't coordinated, it's one lucky political pile-up. The American people deserve answers. In pursuit of those answers, and in defense of the public's right to know, AFPI submitted a request to Bragg's office under New York's Freedom of Information Law in September 2024. We sought any records that could shed light on whether political influence or coordination played a role in Bragg's decision-making. Our request was specific, lawfully submitted and directly tied to one of the most consequential legal proceedings in modern American history. Ten months later, no records have been produced. None. Though they apparently exist. Instead of providing transparency, the DA's office has engaged in delay, double-talk and silence. We've asked for a list of responsive documents. They won't give one. Advertisement We've asked which of our specific requests the withheld documents pertain to. They won't say. We know, based on our investigation and his office's limited correspondence with us, that the DA possesses hundreds of records of communications with or about political agents who should have had no influence in a 'routine' prosecution, like Lauren Merchan's Authentic Campaigns. Bragg refuses to explain why the public isn't entitled to see them. There is no legal justification for this blackout. No privilege excuses total stonewalling. Advertisement There is only evasion. It's been nearly a year. The records exist, and the DA cannot explain why they remain secret. That alone should raise alarms. AFPI has now turned to the courts to compel compliance. The law does not permit selective transparency by the Manhattan DA. It does not allow politically sensitive cases to be shielded from scrutiny. Advertisement As the New York Legislature declared when it passed the state's open-records law in 1977, 'The people's right to know the process of governmental decision-making and to review the documents leading to determinations is basic to our society.' We agree. Advertisement That's why on July 17, AFPI filed its petition in New York County Superior Court requesting that Bragg's records, whatever they may reveal, be released to the public. The law demands openness, and we intend to see it enforced. Jessica Steinmann is executive general counsel and Jack Casali is an attorney at the Center for Litigation at the America First Policy Institute
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump administration investigates Oregon's transgender athlete policies
The Trump administration said Friday it's investigating the Oregon Department of Education after receiving a complaint from a conservative non-profit group alleging the state was violating civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams. It's the latest escalation in the Republican administration's effort to bar transgender athletes from women's sports teams nationwide. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February to block trans girls from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The administration says transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. Proponents of Trump's ban say it restores fairness in athletic competitions, but opponents say bans are an attack on transgender youth. The U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights opened the Oregon investigation based on a complaint by the America First Policy Institute that alleges high-school aged female athletes had lost medals and competitive opportunities to transgender athletes. It follows a probe launched earlier this year into Portland Public Schools and the state's governing body for high school sports over alleged violations of Title IX for allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports. Earlier this month, the administration sued the California Department of Education for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams, alleging the policy violates federal law. Trump also filed a lawsuit in April alleging Maine violated Title IX by allowing trans girls and women to compete against other female athletes. Oregon law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a release Friday that the administration won't let educational institutions receive federal funds "to continue trampling upon women's rights.' 'If Oregon is permitting males to compete in women's sports, it is allowing these males to steal the accolades and opportunities that female competitors have rightfully earned through hard work and grit, while callously disregarding women's and girls' safety, dignity, and privacy," Trainor said. Messages seeking comment from the Oregon education officials were not immediately returned. Nate Lowery, spokesman for the Oregon School Activities Association, said they were reviewing the administration's notice with its legal counsel and doesn't have additional comments at this time. Three high school track-and-field athletes filed a lawsuit against Oregon in early July that seeks to overturn all sports records set by transgender girl athletes and prevent them from participating in girls sporting events. The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon alleges the state policy prohibiting schools from excluding student athletes from events that align with their gender identity violates Title IX. The students say it has harmed them through loss of competition, placements, and opportunities to advance to higher-level events. Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel at the America First Policy Institute, said the investigation is a step toward restoring equal opportunities for women's athletics. 'Title IX was meant to protect girls — not to undermine them — and we're hopeful this signals a return to that original purpose,' Steinmann said in a release. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over state restrictions on which sports teams transgender athletes can join.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Oregon schools face federal probe over transgender athletes
July 25 (Reuters) - A complaint by a conservative think tank has triggered a U.S. government investigation into Oregon schools for allowing transgender girls to compete in female-only sporting events, the U.S. Department of Education said on Friday. The America First Policy Institute, whose former chair is Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, alleged Oregon's Department of Education prohibited schools from excluding transgender athletes, violating federal sex discrimination laws, the federal agency said in a statement. The investigation by the Department of Education's civil rights office follows President Donald Trump's executive order earlier this year to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports, a directive supporters said would restore fairness. Critics contend that it infringes the rights of athletes. 'Thanks to Secretary McMahon's leadership, this investigation is moving forward as a vital step toward restoring equal opportunity in women's athletics," Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel of America First Policy Institute, said in the statement. The Oregon Department of Education declined to comment. Separately, the U.S. Department of Education said it had found five northern Virginia school districts in violation of federal sex discrimination laws by allowing students to access sex-segregated facilities based on their gender identity. The department said it gave the districts 10 days to agree with their findings or face possible enforcement actions. "It's time for northern Virginia's experiment with radical gender ideology and unlawful discrimination to come to an end," Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement. The school districts targeted by the investigation did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The districts are Alexandria City Public Schools, Arlington Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools and Prince William County Public Schools, the department said.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump administration investigates Oregon's transgender athlete policies
The Trump administration said Friday it's investigating the Oregon Department of Education after receiving a complaint from a conservative non-profit group alleging the state was violating civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams. It's the latest escalation in the Republican administration's effort to bar transgender athletes from women's sports teams nationwide. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February to block trans girls from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The administration says transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. Proponents of Trump's ban say it restores fairness in athletic competitions, but opponents say bans are an attack on transgender youth. The U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights opened the Oregon investigation based on a complaint by the America First Policy Institute that alleges high-school aged female athletes had lost medals and competitive opportunities to transgender athletes. It follows a probe launched earlier this year into Portland Public Schools and the state's governing body for high school sports over alleged violations of Title IX for allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports. Earlier this month, the administration sued the California Department of Education for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams, alleging the policy violates federal law. Trump also filed a lawsuit in April alleging Maine violated Title IX by allowing trans girls and women to compete against other female athletes. Oregon law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a release Friday that the administration won't let educational institutions receive federal funds 'to continue trampling upon women's rights.' 'If Oregon is permitting males to compete in women's sports, it is allowing these males to steal the accolades and opportunities that female competitors have rightfully earned through hard work and grit, while callously disregarding women's and girls' safety, dignity, and privacy,' Trainor said. Messages seeking comment from the Oregon education officials were not immediately returned. Nate Lowery, spokesman for the Oregon School Activities Association, said they were reviewing the administration's notice with its legal counsel and doesn't have additional comments at this time. Three high school track-and-field athletes filed a lawsuit against Oregon in early July that seeks to overturn all sports records set by transgender girl athletes and prevent them from participating in girls sporting events. The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon alleges the state policy prohibiting schools from excluding student athletes from events that align with their gender identity violates Title IX. The students say it has harmed them through loss of competition, placements, and opportunities to advance to higher-level events. Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel at the America First Policy Institute, said the investigation is a step toward restoring equal opportunities for women's athletics. 'Title IX was meant to protect girls — not to undermine them — and we're hopeful this signals a return to that original purpose,' Steinmann said in a release. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over state restrictions on which sports teams transgender athletes can join.
