Posts Tagged ‘Mary Elise Cosgray’

Child Sex Trafficking Ring Busted

Saturday, May 10th, 2025

This seems like big news:

FBI Houston arrested six alleged members of a criminal ring for “sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children” as a part of a coordinated national operation that resulted in the arrest of 225 “child sex abuse offenders” and the rescue of 115 children.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the results of the “Restore Justice Operation,” a nationwide crackdown on child sexual abuse in collaboration with all 55 FBI offices on Wednesday. Among the arrests made via the operation were six alleged members of a child sex trafficking group, “including its female ring leader,” captured by the Houston FBI branch.

Among those six arrested were Natalia Flores, Deatric Wiltz, Christopher Hutchins, Salathien Lilly, and Cedrick Fisher. “The sixth person is a separate case. His name is Joshua Jerome Finney,” FBI Houston told The Texan, providing no further information.

First launched as an effort following the DOJ’s “observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April,” the DOJ stated that Operation Restore Justice “underscores the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and raising awareness about the dangers they face.”

The FBI said that in “many” of the cases, “parental vigilance and community outreach efforts played a critical role in bringing these offenders to justice.”

Snip.

“The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a press release.

Bondi added that she’s directed her prosecutors “not to negotiate” in the cases.

The DOJ shared that the 225 arrested are alleged to have committed a number of crimes, including “the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking.”

It may be a false impression, but it sure seems like the Trump47 Administration has been a whole lot more aggressive pursuing child sex trafficking crimes than the Biden Administration was, maybe because some of their precious illegal aliens were involved in it. Then again, it may just be that lots of FBI resources have been freed up now that J6 defendants and random Trump associates are no longer the main targets…

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Posted in Crime, Texas | 6 Comments »

Texas Congressional Delegation And Their Committee Assignments

Saturday, January 25th, 2025

Mary Elise Cosgray of The Texan sent out a guide to the Texas congressional delegation via email, and I thought it was chock-full of useful information for Texas voters to know who’s serving on what, so I’m putting it up as a PSA post here.

  • Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): Committee on Finance, Ranking Member on Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
  • Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Ranking Member on Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, & Global Women’s Issues, Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, Subcommittee on State Department & USAID Management, International Operations, & Bilateral International Development
  • Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-01): Committee on Ways and Means
  • Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02): Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Rep. Keith Self (R-TX-03): Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
  • Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX-04): Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX-05): Committee on Armed Services, Committee on the Judiciary
  • Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06): Committee on Appropriations, Committee on Small Business
  • Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07): Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX-08): Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Homeland Security, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
  • Rep. Al Green (D-TX-09): Committee on Financial Services
  • Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX-10): Committee on Homeland Security
  • Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX-11): Committee on Energy and Commerce, Committee on Homeland Security
  • Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX-12): Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13): Committee on Agriculture, Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX-14): Committee on Energy and Commerce, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
  • Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15): Committee on Agriculture, Committee on Financial Services
  • Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16): Committee on Appropriations
  • Rep. Pete Session (R-TX-17): Committee on Financial Services, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX-18): Committee on Homeland Security, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
  • Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19): Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20): Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21): Committee on Rules, Committee on the Judiciary
  • Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX-22): Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23): Committee on Appropriations, Committee on Homeland Security
  • Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24): Committee on Ways and Means, Committee on Small Business
  • Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX-25): Committee on Financial Services
  • Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX-26): Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX-27): Committee on Appropriations, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28): Committee on Appropriations
  • Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29): Committee on Financial Services
  • Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30): Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Committee on the Judiciary
  • Rep. John Carter (R-TX-31): Committee on Appropriations
  • Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX-32): Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Homeland Security
  • Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX-33): Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34): Committee on Financial Services
  • Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX-35): Committee on Education and Workforce, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX-36): Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37): Committee on Ways and Means
  • Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38): Committee on Natural Resources, Committee on the Judiciary

    • Dwight also has some useful contact pages up for not only the Senate and House delegations, but also the City of Austin and the Travis County Commissioner’s Court, though I think he’s still in the process of updating those for the newly elected.

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    Posted in Democrats, Texas | 2 Comments »

    Paxton Sues Feds Over Jack Smith Records

    Wednesday, November 13th, 2024

    All of Ken Paxton’s lawsuits against the federal government have offered the possibility of notable revelations, but this one has the potential to be extra spicy.

    Texas sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday attempting to preserve all records pertaining to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President-elect Donald Trump.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) complaint on November 8 requesting specific records from Smith’s investigation, including “all Communications from any current or former member of the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith to any New York State governmental office since November 18, 2022,” as well as “documents memorializing the … final reasoning to request that a trial against President-elect Trump to start in January of 2024.”

    Texas expressed concerns in court documents that the DOJ’s history with special counsels is “regrettably riddled with attempts to avoid transparency,” specifically referencing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s infamous Crossfire Hurricane incident in 2020. Mueller’s team allegedly repeatedly wiped their phones after an investigation into the DOJ’s handling of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into Trump’s purportedly unlawful links to Russia.

    The suit filed on November 11 states that Paxton “fears that many releasable records — including those that he sought — will never see daylight. That is not because the DOJ has any legal reason to withhold them…”

    “Rather, Attorney General Paxton has a well-founded belief as set forth herein that Defendants will simply destroy the records.”

    Paxton states in the filing that since Trump won the election “it is clear that both Jack Smith’s office, and his prosecution of the President, will soon end.” The DOJ’s own policies do not permit bringing charges against a sitting President of the United States as it “would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.”

    “I will not allow the corrupt weaponization of the United States government to be swept under the rug as Jack Smith and others who unjustly targeted President Trump attempt to avoid accountability,” Paxton said in a press release.

    Texas’ suit was filed in the United States District Court Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division.

    Obviously I hope Paxton prevails and that Smith (and the entire Biden Administration)’s attempts to illegally wage lawfare against Trump to thwart the will of American voters gets exposed. However (and here we insert the usual I Am Not A Lawyer caveat), it appears that Paxton will have difficulty in establishing standing for the lawsuit to proceed. Trump is not a resident of Texas, and it may be difficult to establish that the State of Texas has suffered direct harm from Smith’s actions.

    However, in this case I’m wondering if Paxton has filed the case on a timeline that either the Biden Administration doesn’t respond in time, or that the second Trump Administration can file the response, proving a mechanism by which the Trump Administration settles the lawsuit by releasing all requested documents that may otherwise be held up by claims of executive privilege, garden variety DOJ stonewalling, etc.

    It’s an interesting gambit. We’ll see how it plays out…

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    Posted in Democrats, Elections, Republicans, Texas | 12 Comments »

    Texas AG Paxton Sues Biden Administration Over Illegal Aliens Yet Again

    Monday, August 26th, 2024

    Another week, another lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against the Biden Administration over breaking immigration law to benefit illegal aliens.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Biden administration over a policy he alleges would allow illegal immigrants to “Parole in Place” (PIP) and receive therwise unpermitted benefits.

    The lawsuit alleges that the Biden administration is violating the U.S. Constitution in a new agency rule, established on August 19. That rule establishes a process for “certain noncitizen spouses and noncitizen stepchildren of U.S. citizens” to get around federal prohibitions against certain immigration benefits being obtained until after leaving the country and returning in a legal manner, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) press release.

    “These provisions of law established by Congress serve as powerful disincentives for individuals to cross the border unlawfully. Indeed, were they not present, there would be no practical reason for any alien to abide by the law, wait his or her turn, and only come to the United States when the law provides,” the filing argues.

    “DHS has announced the creation of a program that effectively provides a new pathway to a green card and eventual citizenship.”

    In the lawsuit, Paxton requested the court grant injunctive relief to ban the DHS from implementing the new PIP rule while the policy is on trial.

    “Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the federal government is actively working to turn the United States into a nation without borders and a country without laws. I will not let this happen,” Paxton said in a press release.

    “Biden’s new parole workaround unilaterally grants the opportunity for citizenship to unvetted aliens whose first act on American soil was to break our laws.”

    The lawsuit is a coalition of sixteen states — Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming — along with conservative legal organization America First Legal (AFL).

    It was filed against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou, Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Troy Miller, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Patrick J. Lechleiter, and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young.

    Stephen Miller, president of AFL, said, “Today, we are proud to represent a coalition of 16 states in filing a lawsuit to block an unconstitutional Biden-Harris amnesty program. This executive amnesty gives over one million illegals legal status, work permits, and a path to voting citizenship.”

    “It is brazenly unlawful, a deadly accelerant to the ruinous border invasion, and we will use every lawful tool to stop it.”

    Texas and its co-litigant states have racked up a pretty good record against the Biden Administration as of late, winning cases over border wall construction, the unilateral transexual rewrite of Title IX, and even vaccine mandates for the National Guard. Expect Paxton and his state coalition to win this case, too, but the real remedy for the Biden Administration’s willful defiance of border security laws will have to come from American citizens voting in November.

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    Posted in Border Control, Democrats, Texas | No Comments »