Progressive Briefing for Monday, August 6, 2018

The NRA faces a financial crisis, all the Trump Tower meeting drama, federal judge issues game-changing decision on dark money, and more.

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NRA says it faces a financial crisis in lawsuit against New York state officials

The National Rifle Association says it could soon face a financial crisis that will force it to shut down some of its operations, including broadcasts by its NRA TV division. The gun rights group blames a campaign by Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo aimed at discouraging insurance companies and other financial institutions from doing business with the NRA.

The organization has filed a lawsuit against Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services in federal court, alleging that Cuomo and state regulators seek to “deprive the NRA and its constituents of their First Amendment rights to speak freely about gun-related issues and defend the Second Amendment.”

Former cops plead guilty to framing innocent teen for burglaries

Two former patrol officers from Florida pleaded guilty Friday to framing an innocent teenager under orders from their police chief in order to boast a near-perfect clearance rate for burglaries. Last month, a third officer admitted falsifying arrest warrants for two men at the chief’s behest.

DC subway workers union refusing to staff special cars designated for white nationalists attending Unite the Right anniversary rally

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, the largest union for Washington, DC’s public transit system, is refusing to go along with a plan to have separate trains for participants of a controversial “Unite the Right” rally planned for August 12.

Jason Kessler organized last summer’s deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville and is organizing the rally as an “anniversary” celebration.

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Metro board chairman Jack Evans said that the agency might provide separate trains for white nationalists attending the rally.

“We haven’t made any decisions about anything,” Evans said. “We’re just trying to come up with potential solutions on how to keep everybody safe.”

Transit workers were revolted by the proposal.

‘Major victory’: Federal judge issues game-changing ruling on dark money

In a major step towards fixing our dark money problem in national elections, an ethics watchdog has claimed a “major court victory” after a federal judge issued a ruling invalidating a Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulation that allowed contributors to so-called dark money organizations avoid disclosure.

For the first time, Trump confesses that his campaign turned to Russia for help

On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted confirmation that his son, Donald Trump Jr., had met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in 2016 “to get information” on Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr., along with Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, took the meeting because they believed Veselnitskaya had “dirt” on Clinton.

Here are all the lies Trump’s team has told about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting

It was a big weekend in “yup, Donald Trump was lying all along about Don Jr.’s Trump Tower get-dirt-from-the-Russians meeting in June 2016.”

To recap, Trump admitted via Twitter that the purpose of the meeting was “to get information on an opponent,” which has been clear all along, but, as it turns out—who knew?—getting information on an opponent from people connected to a foreign government is a big problem. Also, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said that when he denied Trump had been involved in drafting the original statement denying that the Trump Tower meeting was “to get information on an opponent,” he “had bad information at that time and made a mistake in my statement.” Translation: his client (that’s Trump) lied to him like he lies about everything else.

Meet the lesbian Native American woman running for Congress in Kansas

Like mixed martial arts, running for Congress involves patience, determination, and the ability to fight without taking attacks personally.

Sharice Davids, a professional MMA fighter, Native American, openly gay attorney, and first-time candidate made that comparison on Sunday, just two days before she will have face other Democrats in a tightly contested race for Kansas’ 3rd congressional seat. Early this year, Davids said she looked at the field of candidates challenging Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and found there was nobody who looked like her on the ballot.

FALL FUNDRAISER

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