Latest news with #MakeD.C.SafeAgain
Axios
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
N.C. Sen. Thom Tillis delivers final blow to Trump DC attorney pick
President Trump said Thursday he will pull the nomination of U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin, just days after North Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said he wouldn't back him. Why it matters: Martin's leniency toward Jan. 6 Capitol rioters — he demoted prosecutors who oversaw cases — lost him key Republican support in the U.S. Senate. A fire-breathing conservative podcaster, Martin was already on thin ice with the Senate Judiciary Committee for failing to originally disclose appearances on Russian state media. But Tillis delivered the final blow to Martin's nomination this week, telling reporters Tuesday that he had "no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on Jan. 6" and saying he had "indicated to the White House I wouldn't support his nomination." Between the lines: The sinking of Martin's nomination is a major rebuke of a Trump loyalist for such a big job. It also means Trump will not be able to put into the position a MAGA true believer who relished national culture war battles and pushed a "Make D.C. Safe Again" initiative. "He wasn't getting the support," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I'm very disappointed in that. ... Hopefully we can bring him into, whether it's DOJ or whatever, in some capacity." Yes, but: A source familiar with the matter told Axios that Martin probably didn't have the votes to get confirmed even before Tillis' public remarks. State of play: For close observers of the Senate's swing votes, Tillis' comments aren't exactly a surprise. Tillis was a deciding vote on the confirmation of Trump's controversial defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth. Despite telling Republican leaders he planned to oppose Hegseth and working quietly to round up opposition, Tillis ultimately fell in line and voted "yes." Tillis, who is seeking reelection next year in a seat that could determine which party controls the Senate, has long worked to position himself as a moderate, bipartisan dealmaker. His decisions have often enraged the GOP base. That positioning will likely make Tillis a formidable opponent in the general election in a swing state like North Carolina. But Tillis could also struggle to gain traction with the base if he faces a viable Republican primary challenger. What they're saying: Firebrand conservatives in North Carolina and beyond were quick to attack Tillis after his Tuesday comments, though their efforts to save Martin's nomination fell short.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man indicted after stolen gun falls from pocket while running from DC police
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A D.C. man was indicted Friday as part of the 'Make D.C. Safe Again' initiative, officials announced. Don Diego Chase, 25, is accused of firearm and drug offenses, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia. DC man indicted on firearms charges after committing 'lewd' acts Court documents state that on July 24, 2024, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers were in the U Street Corridor when they saw someone later identified as Chase. Police tried to stop him, but he ran away. Officers chased after him. The USAO said that during the chase, a 'black, L-shaped object' allegedly fell from Chase during the pursuit. Officers recovered the object, which was a stolen and loaded firearm. During a search after Chase's arrest, officers also found more than 500 Oxycodone pills and over $11,000 in cash. MPD discovered that Chase was not licensed to carry a gun in the District. He also had prior convictions that kept him from owning a gun or ammunition. Chase is facing charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, possession with intent to distribute Oxycodone, and using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
10 things to know about POTUS push to curb gun rights in D.C.
HONOLULU (KHON2) — One of the most intense debates to characterize the United States for the last 26 years is regarding guns rights. And while President George W. Bush's two terms and the first presidential term of Donald Trump was characterized with holding true to the Republican push to expand how the Second Amendment is interpreted, the second presidential term for Trump is taking a decidedly different position. 10 facts about Kelly Slater's $16.5M Hawaiʻi North Shore home for sale According to the Washington Post, POTUS is marking certain people for prosecution. Here's what we know so far. The interim United States Attorney General, Ed Martin, has launched a new initiative called 'Make D.C. Safe Again'. It's an initiative that involves federal prosecutors moving to focus heavily on all firearms cases in the city. According to Martin, it's meant to make the city safer, abandoning the 'guns don't kill people; people kill people' boilerplate response to gun violence. Denise Cheung, who served as the chief of the Criminal Division in the office of the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., resigned after saying she was pressured to launch a criminal investigation and to freeze assets related to a grant awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during President Biden's tenure. She claims there was no evidence of a crime. The current prosecutor for the Justice Department's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, Jonathan Hornok intends to step in to replace Denise Cheung as the chief of the office's Criminal to sources, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have been ordered to pursue every firearms case referred to them. These prosecutors were also instructed to seek pretrial detention against every person charged with such an offense. A memo from Ed Martin provides instructions to prosecutors that explains who, how and what to seek in pretrial detention cases for every person charged with a firearms offense. This move is meant to be applied to everyone regardless of what the circumstances are. The memo stated that if a magistrate judge denies a request for pretrial detention in a firearms case, then the prosecutor is required to appeal that decision. Ed Martin's memo stated, 'We will flood the federal district court with cases to make our City safe'. This is a reference to the new initiative's focus on increasing the number of firearms cases in court. There are about a dozen agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) who have been reassigned to support the 'Make D.C. Safe Again' initiative. Last week, Ed Martin demoted more than half a dozen senior leaders in his office who were in charge of prosecutions related to fraud, public corruption, civil rights, firearms, narcotics trafficking and child exploitation. New interim U.S. Attorneys are expected to be appointed. Amongst them include Kelly Hayes who was named Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. You can click to read more about it. Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHON's morning podcast, every morning at 8 With the Republican Party working diligently to ensure the unfettered expansion of Second Amendment interpretations, it's going to be interesting to see how all this plays out over the coming year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top federal prosecutor in Washington says his office will pursue all gun cases, memo shows
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., were ordered on Monday to pursue every firearms case referred to them and to seek pretrial detention against every person charged with such an offense, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The directive, from President Donald Trump's interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, is part of a new initiative he called "Make D.C. Safe Again." "We will flood the federal district court with cases - to make our City safe," Martin wrote in an email accompanying the new memo. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. A spokesperson for his office declined to comment. Martin last week demoted more than half a dozen senior leaders in his office who supervised prosecutions involving fraud, public corruption and civil rights, as well as those who oversaw cases involving firearms, narcotics trafficking and child exploitation. As the top federal prosecutor in Washington, Martin plays a crucial role in helping the Trump administration carry out its agenda, which critics say they fear will be used to seek retribution against political enemies. Martin, who worked to advance Trump's false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread fraud and admitted to being present during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, has threatened investigations of members of Congress for political rhetoric and said he plans to open criminal investigations at the behest of Elon Musk. Last month, his office's top criminal chief, Denise Cheung, resigned after she said she was pressured to launch a criminal probe and freeze assets of a grant awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency during Democratic President Joe Biden's tenure, even though she said there was no evidence of a crime. In an internal email seen by Reuters, Martin on Monday said that Jonathan Hornok, a prosecutor in the Justice Department's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, would be stepping in to replace Cheung as chief of the office's Criminal Division. In Martin's memo on the violent crime initiative, he said that prosecutors will be prohibited from declining to bring firearms charges, unless they receive approval from Hornok. If a magistrate judge turns down a request for pretrial detention, prosecutors will have to appeal that decision, the memo says. He also said on Monday that about a dozen agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were being reassigned to the "Make D.C. Safe Again" initiative. Meanwhile, more interim U.S. Attorneys are expected to be appointed this week. In Maryland on Monday, veteran prosecutor Kelly Hayes was named Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, according to an email seen by Reuters. Rod Rosenstein, the former Deputy Attorney General during Trump's first term who also served as Maryland's U.S. Attorney from 2005 through 2017, praised her as "a brilliant lawyer of utmost integrity who has earned the respect of judges, defense lawyers, and colleagues."
