The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 19, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, June 19th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the state of Texas and activist Laura Presley are duking it out in court over a protective order in the ongoing ballot security case that centers on a hole in the election system through which individual ballots may be publicly accessed. Presley sued Secretary of State Jane Nelson back in March. Now the opposing sides are grappling over a motion for a protective order and how far it should extend. The state's motion reads, quote, Plaintiffs' amended complaint contains multiple redacted exhibits which they are

Starting point is 00:00:51 unwilling to show in unredacted form unless provided under a protective order. These redactions obscure the alleged, quote, algorithm that plaintiffs assert exists and which they allege defeats ballot secrecy in violation of the 14th Amendment. The state's proposed definition of qualified persons eligible to handle the currently redacted evidence, namely an algorithm, is broader than Presley's and includes, quote, actual or potential independent experts or consultants, other miscellaneous consultants brought in by the court, staff of counsel, and anyone else the court permits to handle the evidence who agrees to confidentiality. Next, an effort by congressional Democrats to ban rifle bump stocks was blocked by

Starting point is 00:01:36 Senator Pete Ricketts on the Senate floor after gun rights groups warned the measure could be used to ban or subject semi-automatic firearms to heavy regulations. The Banning Unlawful Machine Gun Parts, or Bump Act of 2023, by Senator Martin Heinrich would require all bump stocks possessed before the effective date of the bill to be registered under the National Firearms Act within 120 days, disallowing the inclusion of any devices possessed or made after the cutoff date. In addition, the bill requires any semi-automatic firearm that is modified to quote, materially increase the rate of fire of the firearm, or which quote, approximates the action or rate of fire of a machine gun to be registered under the NFA. According to Gun Owners of America, this would give the Bureau of

Starting point is 00:02:26 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives a broadly written statute by which they could attempt to subject most or all semi-automatic firearms to registration under the NFA via administrative rulemaking. Also, following reporting from Christopher Ruffo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, of another gender modification whistleblower at Texas Children's Hospital, the Texas Office of the Attorney General has launched an investigation into the issue. According to Ruffo, he received information from a second whistleblower that, quote, Doctors at Texas Children's Hospital were willing to falsify medical records and break the law to keep practicing gender-affirming care. The whistleblower, Vanessa Sivage, detailed the allegations to Ruffo. According to Sivage, TCH was, quote, unlawfully billing the state Medicaid program for the purposes of child

Starting point is 00:03:18 gender modification. In other news, Taral Patel, a Democratic candidate for Fort Bend County Commissioner, was arrested last week on charges of creating at least one fake social media account he used to post racist content attacking himself and the South Asian Indian American community, allegedly to bolster his campaign and discredit his opponent. Formerly Chief of Staff to Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George, Patel was arrested during a traffic stop on June 12 and booked into the county jail on two counts of felony online impersonation. Also charged with misrepresentation of identity, a Class A misdemeanor, Patel was released on bonds totaling $22,500. According to affidavits filed by investigators with the Texas Rangers and the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, in 2022, Patel created a Facebook profile under the name Antonio Scaliwag,

Starting point is 00:04:14 which he used to make multiple offensive posts, quote, with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten. Last but not least, a federal grand jury convicted a Fredericksburg doctor in late May on multiple charges relating to defrauding the Medicaid system in a scheme that involved approving claims for medically unnecessary orthotic braces and genetic tests ordered through telemarketing. State and federal officials say Dr. David Young's scheme led to the submission of over $70 million in fraudulent claims to the Medicaid system, resulting in $475,000 in illegal kickbacks. Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a

Starting point is 00:04:54 statement on the conviction, revealing the investigation that led to the conviction was conducted in part by Sgt. Michelle Killinger, Capt. Justin Boyce, and investigative auditor Jennifer Blakely of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 19, 2024

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