Obama Announces He Will Sign The Tribal Law and Order Act Thursday

Previously passed by the House on Wednesday, July 21 a major piece of legislation affecting law enforcement within tribal communities will be signed by the President tomorrow, Thursday July 29th.
The Tribal Law & Order Act of 2009 grants Tribal Courts the authority to impose harsher sentences and requires U.S. Attorneys to keep a better record of declinations involving Indian Country among other provisions. The Act also grants Tribal Courts the authority to impose a sentence of three years imprisonment and a fine of up to $15,000 for a single count. Those are raised from the previous maximums of one year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine as outlined in the Indian Civil Rights Act.

President Obama said in a statement after it’s initial passing through the house, “The federal government’s relationship with tribal governments, its obligations under treaty law, and our values as a nation require that we do more to improve public safety in tribal communities.  And this Act will help us achieve that.”

 
-Alexa Gitler


Reid Spokesman Responds To Republican BP Bailout Bill

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senator Harry Reid (D- Nev.) released a statement Wednesday responding to energy proposals from the GOP saying, “Republicans want taxpayers to foot the bill for BP’s disaster and allow BP to use endless legal battles to run out the clock on those whose livelihoods they destroyed – just like Exxon did to victims of the Valdez spill. Republicans should come to their senses and remember that they represent the American people, not BP. Our responsibility is to make sure the Americans affected by this disaster are made whole – not to protect BP’s profits.”

- Alexa Gitler

Sessions Praises House For Passing SPEECH Act

A day after the House passed legislation aimed at promoting free speech, the bill’s co-author, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) issued a statement, praising Congress for doing so:

“Free speech is a bedrock principle of our Republic, essential to our continued liberty. The passage of the SPEECH Act further cements that legacy and strengthens free speech protections for all Americans. It will ensure that American writers cannot be penalized by foreign libel judgments that do not comply with American law, removing a dangerous chilling effect on the exercise of First Amendment rights. It will also give Americans who have been subject to foreign libel judgments the opportunity to petition an American court and have their name cleared. This is an important bipartisan achievement and a reminder that Congress’ job is not to control and diminish free speech—including political advocacy—but to allow for the robust competition of ideas.”

The bill, entitled the “Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage (SPEECH) Act” is now headed to President Obama for his signature.

-Alexa Gitler

Army Intel Analyst Seen As Main Suspect In WikiLeaks

CNN is reporting that the Pentagon is focusing on jailed 22-year-old Army Pfc. Bradley Manning as the main suspect in a major scandal in which thousands of secret U.S. military documents related to the war in Afghanistan wound up on the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

In June, Manning was charged with eight violations of the U.S. Criminal Code for “allegedly illegally transferring classified data,” including a video taken in 2007 that showed U.S troops reigning gunfire from an Apache helicopter upon civilians in Iraq. That video was posted on WikiLeaks earlier this summer.

It is believed that while serving, Manning may have accessed a worldwide military classified internet and e-mail system to download tens of thousands of documents in order to post them to WikiLeaks.

The Army is considering whether he should face the military equivalent of a trial over the charges. Currently, Manning, a resident of Potomac, Md., is being held by the U.S. military in Kuwait while his unit begins to rotate back to the United States…

- Alexa Gitler

Anti-Illegal Immigrant Group Proposes "Safe Departure" Checkpoints

Fox News is reporting that the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) is pressuring the White House and the Homeland Security Department (DHS) to establish “safe” checkpoints along parts of the U.S./Mexico border.

ALIPAC believes this will persuade illegal immigrants to leave the U.S. without having to take more perilous routes through the desert, or pay cartels.

Neither the White House nor DHS has issued a statement in response…

- Brandon Kosters