Attorney General Mayes Announces Cooperation Agreement in Fake Electors Case

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today announced a cooperation agreement with a defendant in the fake electors’ case. Jenna Ellis signed the agreement earlier this morning. The State has agreed to drop the charges against Ms. Ellis in exchange for her cooperation with the prosecution.

 

“This agreement represents a significant step forward in our case,” said Attorney General Mayes. “I am grateful to Ms. Ellis for her cooperation with our investigation and prosecution. Her insights are invaluable and will greatly aid the State in proving its case in court. As I stated when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined – it is far too important. Today’s announcement is a win for the rule of law.”

 

Ms. Ellis had previously been charged with nine felonies including fraud, forgery and conspiracy. The case against the other 17 defendants remains ongoing. Copies of the motion to dismiss the charges and the cooperation agreement are available here.

Committee issues subpoena to audit Ford County’s 2022 election security

Posted on by Bryan Richardson

State auditors plan to examine Ford County’s election security procedures in the 2022 general election after county officials didn’t make documents available for a previous audit.

Lawmakers hope a subpoena produces different results.

The Legislative Post Audit Committee held a brief virtual meeting Monday to approve a follow-up audit stemming from a 2023 audit involving 13 counties.

Audit staff asked the counties not to discard or seal election-related documentation, but Ford County — along with Chase County — sealed the documents in the same containers as completed ballots.

The follow-up audit is intended to answer two questions about the 2022 general election:

  • Does Ford County’s election office have adequate policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy and security of voting machines used?
  • Does Ford County’s election office have adequate policies and procedures to ensure the security of storage units, ballots and devices used to tabulate votes?

The committee approved issuing a subpoena for Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox or her representative to produce documents, electronically stored information and objects related to the audit.

The approved subpoena called for Ford County to deliver the documents for its Aug. 14 meeting either in person or sent to Legislative Post Auditor Chris Clarke.

Committee members also agreed the audit would begin immediately and failure by anyone to make any documents or files available would be reported to the committee, Gov. Laura Kelly and Attorney General Kris Kobach.

Staffers estimated one auditor would take one-and-a-half months to complete the audit.

Bryan Richardson is the managing editor at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @RichInNews.

KanCare contractors seek intervention in Aetna’s challenge of selection

Posted on by Bryan Richardson

KanCare contractors are attempting to enter a lawsuit from a current provider that’s fighting to keep its slot.

Sunflower State Health Plan on Thursday filed a motion to intervene in Aetna Better Health of Kansas’ lawsuit against the Kansas Department of Administration, Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

“Sunflower will not raise any new issues in this action,” the petition said. “It will merely defend against Aetna’s claims that the procurement process and the awarding of KanCare contracts violated Kansas law.”

That followed another motion to intervene filed by Healthy Blue on July 31.

Aetna responded to Healthy Blue’s motion Friday afternoon, saying the provider’s interests are already “adequately represented.” The response presumably would be the same tactic Aetna uses for Sunflower’s motion.

“The timeliness of this Court’s action on Aetna’s Petition for judicial review is imperative, and the unnecessary and burdensome inclusion of additional parties jeopardizes the ability to swiftly adjudicate this matter,” Aetna’s response said.

In May, Kansas selected Sunflower Health Plan, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and Healthy Blue as the KanCare managed care organizations starting Jan. 1, 2025. Aetna and CareSource Kansas filed protests in June, which the state rejected in July.

Aetna filed a lawsuit July 24 in Shawnee County District Court seeking review of the state’s procurement process for its Medicaid program providers. The company was the only provider the state didn’t retain, instead choosing Healthy Blue.

The lawsuit focuses on Healthy Blue, which the state selected in a tiebreaker after both companies scored 522 out of a possible 1,000.

Aetna called the tiebreaking method “cherry-picked, arbitrary and irrational.”

The company also suggested the state should have disqualified Healthy Blue for failing to disclose it hired the former Kansas Medicaid director and its previous performance under the name Amerigroup Kansas.

Aetna replaced Amerigroup as a KanCare managed care organization in 2018 after performance issues. In 2021, Amerigroup Kansas Inc. changed its name to Community Care Health Plan of Kansas Inc. — Healthy Blue’s official business name.

Aetna is asking the court to remand with instructions that the company was one of the top three bidders “without the state’s errors” and say it’s in Kansas’ best interest for Aetna to receive the award.

The company’s alternative requests are for Kansas to award a fourth contract, a re-bid of the KanCare contracts or “other relief as this Court deems just and proper.”

Bryan Richardson is the managing editor at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @RichInNews.

New alliance pushes for electronic pull tabs in Indiana

Posted on by Jarred Meeks

Prominent veterans service organizations, nonprofits and charities have joined to form PlayIN for Charity, an alliance that aims to “modernize” charitable gaming in Indiana.

PlayIN for Charity particularly advocates for electronic pull tabs, which would digitally replicate paper pull tabs, a form of charitable gaming where players lift coverings on a multilayered ticket to see if they have won a prize. (In Indiana, only qualified tax-exempt organizations can participate in charitable gaming operations, and only those with specific licenses can sell pull tabs.)

The electronic pull tabs, whether on a cabinet-sized gaming machine or an in-house tablet, would increase funding for veterans service organizations, charities and Indiana nonprofits, the alliance said. Veterans service organizations also said the new gaming format would help them attract more young members and donate more to charities.

“To put it simply, it’s a no-brainer,” Mark Gullion, Department of Indiana commander for the American Legion, said during a Monday news conference.

However, PlayIn for Charity must first persuade state lawmakers to approve electronic pull tabs.

Indiana approved sports wagering legislation in 2019, allowing Hoosiers to place bets on athletic events from their phones. But in years since, Indiana lawmakers have resisted several attempts to expand gaming further.

The latest push comes after state lawmakers effectively paused consideration of gaming legislation during the 2024 legislative session after a corruption scandal involving former state Rep. Sean Eberhart soured expansion talks.

But Richard Leirer, a former Veterans of Foreign Wars state commander, said electronic pull tabs are not an expansion but a “modernization.”

The state could amend the definition of pull tabs to include electronic pull tabs, Gullion said, adding that the Indiana Gaming Commission could decide what regulations are appropriate and how many machines could be at each location.

The alliance on Monday did not offer a proposal for how electronic pull tab revenues would be split.

Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport, told State Affairs: “It’s still a little early to say whether or not we’ll have a larger gaming discussion next session or not, but if we do have one I think [electronic] pull tabs is certainly something the Legislature should consider.”

Manning said electronic pull tabs are “one piece of a larger conversation about gaming modernization.” He also called for updating programs for responsible gaming and problem gambling.

In 2023, Indiana groups sponsoring charitable gaming saw their revenues continue to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching their highest level since 2011.

Contact Jarred Meeks on X @jarredsmeeks or email him at [email protected].

Holcomb, Pence, Daniels to mark opening of new I-69’s final leg

Posted on by Tom Davies

Gov. Eric Holcomb plans to join his two predecessors Tuesday in celebrating the opening of the final major section of the decadeslong project extending Interstate 69 between Indianapolis and Evansville.

The ceremony at the new interchange linking I-69 to I-465 on the southwest side of Indianapolis will allow officials to open all major parts of the new highway.

Construction work on the highway’s final 26-mile segment between Martinsville and I-465 began in 2019.

Former Govs. Mike Pence and Mitch Daniels are scheduled to join Holcomb for Tuesday’s ceremony.

The I-465 interchange completion is a milestone for the I-69 extension that will run 142 miles to nearly the Ohio River in Evansville.

Gov. Frank O’Bannon announced in 2003 the selection of the I-69 route that involved new construction from Evansville to the Bloomington area. From there, the project largely involved upgrading the existing Indiana 37 to Indianapolis.

The route selection drew complaints from critics who favored a less expensive option using existing roadways, such as following I-70 from Indianapolis to Terre Haute and then U.S. 41 to Evansville.

Construction began in 2008 near Evansville, while Daniels was governor, and continued in segments. The most significant delay in construction came from a failed deal with a private developer approved by Pence that pushed back the Bloomington-to-Martinsville section by two years.

Even with the new I-465 interchange opening, construction work will continue in the area through the end of 2024, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey reflects on 1st year as state’s top crimefighter

Posted on by Tammy Joyner

It was a year ago this month that Chris Hosey was sworn in as director of the state’s top law enforcement agency. And it was on day one that he faced growing gang violence and a problem with officer-involved shootings.

Fast forward a year and, by Hosey’s own account, it’s been a busy year.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has opened more gang units in the state and created a cold case crime unit. And so far in 2024, the number of officer-involved shootings and deaths compiled by the bureau are down. 

State Affairs spoke with Hosey about his first year as bureau director, his great appreciation for the people he works with and the ongoing effort to stem gang activity. 

The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

GBI Director Chris Posey (right) and his wife Powell
GBI Director Chris Hosey and his wife Powell, left, waiting in Gov. Brian Kemp’s office before Hosey’s swearing-in ceremony on Aug. 1, 2023. (Credit: Office of Gov. Kemp)
Continue reading “Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey reflects on 1st year as state’s top crimefighter”

The ‘ingrate’ governor? Former Blount County executive takes Lee to task for endorsement

Posted on by Andy Sher

Donald Trump may be the most famous one to do so, but the former president isn’t alone in criticizing Gov. Bill Lee over his candidate endorsements leading up to last week’s Republican state and federal primary election.

In the waning days of the open House District 20 primary in Blount County, former county executive and staunch Republican Jerry Cunningham went on a Facebook tear over Lee wading into the contest to endorse Jason Emert, who had promised to back the governor’s quest to pass a statewide private school voucher program. Emert ended up finishing third in the contest despite heavy outside spending on his behalf.

It was one of three contested GOP primaries for open House seats in which Lee got involved. The governor also went to Kingsport to defend the Senate sponsor of his voucher bill, Education Committee Chair Jon Lundberg of Bristol, who ended up losing to pharmacist Bobby Harshbarger, the son of U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger.

Tom Stinnett

Two other Lee-endorsed candidates on open seats, Aron Maberry of Clarksville and Lee Reeves in Williamson County, won.

Lee’s support of Lundberg drew the post-election wrath of Trump, who had endorsed the Harshbarger. Trump reveled in the victory, gleefully denouncing Lee as a “RINO” — Republican in Name Only — and saying Lee’s endorsement of Lundberg had “meant nothing.”

Cunningham wasn’t happy with the governor, either.

“Nick Bright and Tom Stinnett, both lifelong Republicans, have supported the governor in his past two election campaigns,” Cunningham wrote on Facebook, referring to the two county commissioners in the Republican contest. 

“What kind of person slaps the faces and backstabs good folks who helped him in the past?” Cunningham wrote. “A completely unappreciative and self-centered person? An ingrate?”

Emert is an attorney who previously lived in Knoxville where he ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat and for Congress before moving to Maryville. Stinnett, a popular former high school teacher and coach who emerged from the three-person contest by 139 votes over Bright. Emert trailed behind the latter by 83 votes.

School choice and voucher advocacy groups flooded airwaves and district mail boxes with millions of dollars in the House contests while Senate Republicans spent heavily in an unsuccessful effort to defend Lundberg. Harshbarger has expressed skepticism about Lee’s statewide voucher push.

How not to become Putin’s hostage

Posted on by Brian A. Howey

INDIANAPOLIS — Here’s some good advice if you’re an American journalist, basketball player, business executive or tourist: Don’t travel to Russia. You could end up as a hostage and bargaining chip of the Russian despot Vladimir Putin.

On Thursday, the world witnessed the most complex prisoner exchange since the Cold War, with the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich; former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan; Washington Post columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-British national critical of the Kremlin; and Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American reporter with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

They were part of a six-nation prisoner swap that included Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted and imprisoned in Germany.

I offer this travel advice through the prism of personal experience. In August 2007, I journeyed with Indiana U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia to Moscow, Siberia, Ukraine and Albania. My visa stated I was a working journalist for Howey Politics and Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. I’m sure that tidbit raised red flags at the Federal Security Service, the Russian internal security and counterintelligence service.

From left: Sens. Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar and Brian A. Howey on a flight briefing between Yekaterinburg and Odesa. (Credit: Brian A. Howey)
Brian A. Howey stops to rest at Red Square in Moscow. (Credit: Brian A. Howey)

Could this Brian Howey be just an American schmoe reporter, or is he a CIA asset? A spy?

No. Yes. No. No!

While attending a Carnegie Institute conference on our second day in the capital, I returned to my room at the Moscow Marriott Grand to find my papers riffled through and scattered about. The spook made no attempt to be clandestine. I had my laptop with me, so they didn’t have access to that.

Continue reading “How not to become Putin’s hostage”

Wake Up Call for Monday, August 5, 2024

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
Questions abound in Lake, Gallego Senate race Arizona Capitol Times Kari Lake, the projected frontrunner in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, secured her spot on the 2024 general election ballot early, per a call from The Associated Press. Territorial abortion ban likely dead Capitol Media Services The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to delay enforcement of its decision upholding the 1864 abortion ban until Sept. 23, virtually guaranteeing its ruling will never take effect in the state. Bolick recuses himself from abortion ballot measure decision Capitol Media Services Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick has taken himself off the case of whether the Legislative Council — a panel that includes his wife, Shawnna — acted improperly in using the words “unborn human being” in a description of an abortion ballot measure. Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake disagree over Arizona Senate debate format NBC As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris squabble over the terms of their coming presidential debate, a similar dispute is taking place in the Arizona Senate race. Teacher shortages persist in Arizona, but may be easing AZ Mirror A few weeks into last school year, 30% of teacher positions in Arizona remained unfilled. The shortage persists, but there are signs of improvement. With voting under attack, Arizona schools don’t want to be polling locations Washington Post For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, Arizona’s largest public school district isn’t opening its schools to voters as polling sites. Politics Unplugged: Arizona primaries set the stage for high-stakes fall elections Arizona’s Family The Arizona primaries may be over, but the political scene in the state is heating up for what is expected to be an intense fall election season. Did Sen. Mark Kelly hint that he's out of the veepstakes? Don't rush to conclusions Arizona Republic People looking for cryptic signs or hints concerning how it will go in Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate sweepstakes were all abuzz on social media on Sunday night. Karrin Taylor Robson embarrasses herself by endorsing Kari Lake Arizona Republic Karrin Taylor Robson has endorsed Kari Lake. I am not making this up. Taylor Robson is now endorsing a candidate she previously dubbed a “complete fraud” with a “long liberal record of hypocrisy.” Arizona Supreme Court (with Goldwater Institute's help) stabs city workers in the back Arizona Republic I would not necessarily say that the lawyers in their fancy suits at the Goldwater Institute actively hate working people.

LaPolitics Pod Archives: Fundraising with Sally Nungesser

Posted on by Jeremy Alford

In this week’s archived episode of the LaPolitics Report podcast (Spotify/Apple), we take a deep dive into the beating heart of any successful political infrastructure: fundraising, the mother’s milk of elections.

Recorded in May of 2017, this episode features Sally Nungesser of Nungesser Consulting.

She has raised money for a long list of politicians, including but not limited to former President George W. Bush, U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, Congressman Clay Higgins and former New York Governor George Pataki.

If you’re already a pro and want to hear best practices from other campaigns, or if you just need a brief overview of how professional fundraising works, this is the episode for you.

Nungesser leads a fascinating discussion on the importance of prospect lists, how fundraisers get paid, the worst mistakes candidates make when asking for cash, insight into internet donations and much more.

Nungesser opened her firm in 2006, roughly a decade after launching her political fundraising career on the campaign staff of late Gov. Mike Foster.

She has worked in national products marketing, as press secretary to late Gov. Dave Treen and as deputy secretary/chief of staff to the Louisiana Department of Insurance.​

This week’s episode will also feature a quick look at the history and beauty of the Old State Capitol.

Listen now on Spotify and Apple!

Your search query contained invalid characters or was empty. Please try again with a valid query.