State and National Government
Contempt proceedings against US Attorney General William Barr have been threatened but are still up in the air. Meanwhile, Virginia’s lawmaker in the Senate Intelligence Committee says Barr seemed to create a smokescreen for President Donald Trump. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
WFIR/Evan Jones
The latest proposed state transportation spending plan shows millions of dollars are allocated to prepare for additional passenger rail service connecting Lynchburg with the northeast corridor. But how soon that might come, and whether it will extend as far as Roanoke, are not yet determined. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Rep. Ben Cline
Congressman Ben Cline called upon his colleagues in Washington this week to support additional funding for Interstate 81. It comes as Cline has frequently said Congress must lower the national debt, but he says this is funding that should be a priority — and it can be done, he says, if Congress changes its spending habits and priorities. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
MGN
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says he will no longer sign any legislation that imposes new mandatory minimum sentence requirements. Northam said in a news release Wednesday and in an opinion piece in the Washington Post that Virginia has “more than enough” mandatory minimum sentences in law already. He said judges need more discretion to decide punishments on a case-by-case basis. The Democratic governor said he adopted this new policy after talking to community leaders about how to make Virginia more equitable for communities of color. Northam almost resigned earlier this year over a blackface scandal. Northam also announced he was vetoing two recently passed pieces of legislation that imposed new mandatory minimums, including one related to repeat domestic abusers. Republican House Majority Leader called Northam’s veto of that bill “unconscionable.”
Rep. Denver Riggleman
Congressman Denver Riggleman says his colleagues are devoting far too little attention to a part of the Mueller Report dealing with Russian efforts to attack our on-line infrastructure — and to conduct web-based psychological operations on this country. This comes as Congress reconvenes this week for the first time since report’s release. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
He also says the violence in his home town of Charlottesville two summers ago should not be used for political purposes today. Riggleman’s comments are part of a wide-ranging live conversation Monday on the Roanoke Valley’s Morning News. Here is the full conversation:
Rep. Ben Cline
It’s back to business this week in Washington after members of Congress spent more than two weeks at home since the release of the Mueller report. Congressman Ben Cline sits on the House Judiciary Committee, which may play on highly visible role this week. It is scheduled to hear from and question Attorney General William Barr regarding the Mueller Report, but questions arose over the weekend whether that will actually happen. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Virginia Cavaliers, winners of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, won’t be going to the White House to celebrate with President Donald Trump.
Head coach Tony Bennett tweeted Friday that the team has “received inquiries about a visit to the White House” but “would have to respectfully decline an invitation.”
Bennett said, “With several players either pursuing pro opportunities or moving on from UVA, it would be difficult, if not impossible to get everyone back together.”
The Villanova Wildcats, who won the 2018 NCAA men’s tournament, didn’t visit the White House, either.
However, the Clemson Tigers, who won the college football championship in January, did go to the White House — where Trump famously served them fast food from McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King.
And the Baylor Lady Bears, who won this year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament, have accepted a White House invitation. The school said Wednesday that coach Kim Mulkey and the Lady Bears expect to meet with Trump when they are in Washington on Monday.
Rep. Morgan Griffith
Once the hoopla over the Mueller report and what might happen next in Congress dies down no doubt the immigration issue – and the wall – will be back front and center in DC. Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith weighed in last week as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:
Conservation advocates say proposed changes to the Clean Water Act could drastically impact water sources in Virginia. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Ralph Northam is calling for the removal of an arch honoring the former president of the Confederacy at Fort Monroe, where the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia 400 years ago.The Daily Press reports that Northam’s office presented a letter to the Fort Monroe Authority Board of Trustees Thursday supporting removal of the Jefferson Davis Memorial Arch, a wrought-iron structure built in 1956 by the Army with $10,000 from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.The board voted unanimously for removal, likely to be a lengthy process because Fort Monroe is designated a national historic landmark. It sits on a peninsula named Old Point Comfort, where the first enslaved Africans arrived in 1619. Slaves sought their freedom at the Union outpost there during the Civil War.