Justice Department restarts program to restore gun rights : NPR

There are scant details about how the DOJ decided which people should be on the list. 

Kris Brown, president of the gun violence prevention group Brady United, said the lack of transparency could lead to violent offenders getting their guns back...

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/11/g-s1-113204/gun-rights-restore-felons-trump-justice-department 

 

Va. Senate backs abortion, marriage, voting amendments to constitution - The Washington Post

The Virginia Senate passed three resolutions Tuesday to enshrine abortion rights, same-sex marriage and the automatic restoration of felon voting rights in the Virginia Constitution, the latest action in a years-long amendment slog...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/01/21/virginia-senate-amendments-abortion-voting-marriage/

 

Felon Convention (Allison Gill and Pete Strzok; Cleanup on Aisle 45 podcast episode #182)

The espionage and obstruction case against Trump in Florida has been dismissed.There are almost a dozen people attending the Republican National Convention who convicted felon Trump should not interact with.

Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy case has been dismissed.

The DOJ has busted a Russian AI bot farm that spread disinformation in the US and abroad.

JD Vance has been selected as Trump's running mate.

Trump has filed a motion for a new trial in his hush money case, arguing that the Supreme Court's immunity ruling makes the evidence and testimony in the case off-limits. Trump's lawyers argue that testimony from presidential advisors is inadmissible due to official communications and immunity.

Jeffrey Clark attempts to remove his disciplinary proceedings to federal court.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-xrfpc-1fb2f4ff

Trump’s Latest Stunt EXPOSES his SORDID CONNECTIONS

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas rips the lid off the fact that all of Donald Trump’s major campaign visits have involved his promotions of other felons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcPHqyjCBMg

Republicans suffer SHOCKING blow in court in deep red state

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWa2pIa6SFI

DeSantis’ ‘election integrity’ arrests spark new Florida controversy

The resulting dynamic appears indefensible: 

Florida officials told these people they could vote. 

They voted. 

Florida officials then arrested these people...

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/desantis-election-integrity-arrests-spark-new-florida-controversy-rcna45451

Defendants targeted in DeSantis’ voter fraud crackdown were told they could vote - POLITICO

DeSantis' office has ignored questions about local elections office sending voting cards to ex-felons before their arrests last week…

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/26/desantis-voter-fraud-defendants-florida-00053788

 

What to know about Ron DeSantis’s political ‘election fraud’ arrests - The Washington Post

...In June 2019, the new governor signed a bill that mandated that felons be enfranchised only after they had repaid any outstanding fines or fees they owed. 

This is trickier than it sounds, both because of the direct cost of making the payments and because of the way in which those fees might have been assessed. It was often hard for those subject to the law to determine what they owed...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/19/desantis-election-voters-florida/

 

Bloomberg Pays Fines of 32,000 Florida Felons to Vote

In the 2018 midterm, more than 1.5 million Floridians regained the right to vote when a successful ballot initiative reversed a Jim Crow–era law by restoring access to the ballot to ex-felons. But the largest act of enfranchisement since the passage of the 26th Amendment was largely blocked by Florida Republicans; they passed legislation in 2019 which requires these new voters to pay off any court fines and fees related to their offenses before they can register to vote.....
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/bloomberg-pays-fines-of-32-000-florida-felons-to-vote.html

Supreme court allows Florida to restrict people with felony convictions from voting

Florida can continue to block people with felony convictions from voting until they have repaid all fines and fees they owe, the US supreme court said on Thursday, a major decision that makes it less likely that nearly three-quarters of a million Floridians will get to vote in November. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/16/florida-voting-rights-felons-supreme-court-restricts-amendment-4

Law and Order

Trump’s campaign manager is a felon. His deputy campaign manager is a felon. His national security advisor is a felon. His foreign policy advisor is a felon. His personal lawyer is a felon. His long time advisor is a felon. It’s not a campaign, it’s a criminal enterprise.
https://youtu.be/p00fxoDpaIo

No, John Roberts Is Not Your Friend (Opening Arguments podcast OA400)

Today's show could also be called "the worst good news possible" because, yes, the Supreme Court declined to completely gut Roe v. Wade (despite the fact that Roe is effectively dead in many ways), but this was not John Roberts turning into AOC. Find out why in Andrew's breakdown!

Before that main story though, our first segment is about some reallllly bad news out of Florida. Remember when Florida voters came out overwhelmingly in supermajority numbers to restore voting rights to ex-felons? Yeah Republicans said "nah." We last covered this, when we thought the courts scored us a victory, in Episode 363. We also discuss the Supreme Court granting cert for some Mueller Report cases, which is NOT good news.
Interview:
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/opening-arguments

Voting Rights Roundup: Court axes Florida GOP's poll tax, restoring voting rights to roughly 775,000

In a historic victory against Republican voter suppression, a federal district court struck down a law that Republicans passed to impose a modern-day poll tax that disenfranchised would-be voters who had served their felony sentences but still owed court fines and fees. The judge ruled that the law established a "tax by any other name" in violation of the 24th Amendment's ban on disenfranchising voters "by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax." The court's decision means that hundreds of thousands of disproportionately Black voters will regain the right to vote. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/29/1948663/-Voting-Rights-Roundup-Court-axes-Florida-GOP-s-poll-tax-restoring-voting-rights-to-roughly-775-000

Federal judge rules Florida can't stop ex-felons from voting over money they owe - The Hill

A federal judge ruled Friday that Florida election officials cannot block a group of former felons from registering to vote due to unpaid financial obligations.....
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/466529-federal-judge-rules-florida-cant-stop-ex-felons-from-voting-over

Florida Voted to Give Ex-Felons the Franchise. Now Republicans Are Throwing a Wrench in That Process - Mother Jones

A month after Florida voters approved a measure to restore the franchise to about 1.4 million former felons—the largest expansion of voting rights in decades—a battle over implementing that change is already beginning. The state's Republican elections chief is resisting swift implementation of the measure, which was approved by nearly 65 percent of Florida voters on November 6.....
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/12/florida-voted-to-give-ex-felons-the-franchise-now-republicans-are-throwing-a-wrench-in-that-process/

Inmates who learn trades are often blocked from jobs. Now something's being done - NBC News:

Half the states bar ex-cons from getting the occupational licences they need to re-enter the workforce. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say it doesn't make sense. ...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/inmates-who-learn-trades-are-often-blocked-jobs-now-something-n877666

Judge orders Florida governor to create new process to restore voting rights of convicted felons - The Hill

A federal judge has ordered Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) to create a new system to restore voting rights for convicted felons, The Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday.....
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/380564-judge-orders-florida-governor-to-create-new-process-to-restore-voting

Alabama elections chief is impeding voter registration because he’s not sure people want to vote -- ThinkProgress.org

An Alabama federal judge ruled last week that the state does not have to educate former felons about a new law that extends the right to vote to tens of thousands of citizens who had previously been disenfranchised. On Wednesday, Alabama's Republican secretary of state defended that decision, saying that he doesn't know whether people with felony convictions actually want to vote. ....
https://thinkprogress.org/alabama-elections-chief-is-impeding-voter-registration-because-hes-not-sure-people-want-to-vote/

Why Ben Carson's HUD Confirmation Hearing Should Probe His Tie to a Felonious Dentist

And what Trump's pick for housing secretary does—and doesn't know—about housing....
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/ben-carson-hud-pick

Why Mike Pence won’t grant pardon to exonerated Indiana man

Keith Cooper was convicted nearly 20 years ago of a crime he didn't commit. Today, he is struggling to feed his family as a forklift operator, a situation he says will not get better after Gov. Mike Pence refused his request for pardon....
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2016/1008/Why-Mike-Pence-won-t-grant-pardon-to-exonerated-Indiana-man?cmpid=editorpicks