By BECKY KISER
Sen. Jerry Moran was in Hays on Friday morning to get his hair cut and then swung by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Chamber Chat at Fort Hays State University.

The weekly event featured executive staff members of the FHSU Student Government Association, who explained the organization’s purpose and how it works.

Community Relations Director Jacki Dougherty, Wichita junior, talked about the outreach programs she coordinates, including partnerships.

Moran, one of the two Republican U.S. senators for Kansas and a former Hays resident, noted he had served in SGA when a student at FHSU.

“There’s nothing more important than what happens here at Fort Hays State University for the benefit and future of western Kansas. What takes place on this campus matters greatly,” Moran told the crowd. “It’s great to see the chamber of commerce, the business community of Hays, and the students come together.”

After the Chamber Chat, Moran talked with many of the attendees and then sat down for a short interview with local media representatives.

Moran was asked about his vote Thursday for the Emergency Declaration Resolution of Disapproval to block President Donald Trump from using emergency powers to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Moran is one of just 12 Republicans who joined with Democrats in the 59-41 vote. The other Kansas senator, Pat Roberts, voted against the resolution.

The Democrat-controlled House approved the resolution last month, 245-182.

“I and many of my colleagues have been interested in more border security. … I’ve introduced legislation related to strengthening our borders, including money necessary for a wall to be built,” Moran said. “The question is, how do we get there since Congress rejected that?”

After the Senate vote, President Trump tweeted “VETO!”

Moran believes Trump has been “unfairly treated by Democratic leadership” that previously voted for funding for a wall and supported it.

“Perhaps because it’s now President Trump, they’re unwilling to do so,” he said.

The contention that building a wall across the southern border is immoral is “just wrong” in Moran’s view. “It is important to have border security and to know who’s coming across our borders.”

It’s also important, Moran says, that Congress abide by the U.S. Constitution.

Moran believes strongly the method of a president declaring an emergency and spending the money is a violation of the Constitution, which Moran has sworn to uphold.

“This can become a precedent for other presidents and emergency powers have certainly been used by previous presidents,” he said. “When (Democratic) President Obama was using executive orders to negotiate an agreement with Iran on its nuclear abilities, that should have been a treaty subject to Senate confirmation. I and many of my colleagues pushed back strenuously on his, in my view, excess use of executive power. The Democrats were in the majority and the votes weren’t there for success in the Senate.

“Other presidents have worked around Congress to do things that requires Congress to be engaged in. It was wrong then and it will be wrong in the future. Having taken that position with President Obama, I can’t pick and choose at which points in time I think the Constitution is important. I think it’s important always.”

The president is acting under an emergency powers act, a law that is unconstitutional, according to Moran, and needs to be repealed or amended.

“That’s where the focus was in advance of this vote and that’s where the focus is today after this vote, is to have a different set of criteria that guides a president’s ability to declare an emergency in what circumstances.”

Moran said he thinks there is sufficient Republican Congressional support to “rein in” the law that allows presidential emergency powers regardless of the circumstances. “I don’t know about Democratic support, but there ought to be to do so.”

On Wednesday, Moran — a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee — co-sponsored a bill that was introduced as the Assuring that Robust, Thorough, and Informed Congressional Leadership is Exercised Over National Emergencies (ARTICLE ONE) Act, legislation that would restore Congressional authority over emergency declarations.

Moran acknowledged the difficulty in amending the law.

“Probably no president will ever agree to sign a law that restricts their authorities,” he said with a wry smile. “It’s a really old law and being used in ways suggesting that it must be amended. It will take a president or a super majority of House and Senate members to alter the law.”

According to Moran, the president on Thursday “indicated that he would consider” signing an amended law “in the future.”

Mid-afternoon Friday, President Trump signed the first veto of his administration, overriding  Congress to protect his emergency declaration for redirecting more than $6 billion in federal funds for the border wall.

Friday morning Moran predicted there would not be a vote in the Senate on the override and that a vote would fail in the House.

“But I intend to be consistent with my past votes,” he added.

Trump’s national emergency declaration still faces legal challenges. Sixteen states filed a lawsuit last month challenging the declaration as unconstitutional.

Below is the statement Moran issued yesterday regarding his vote on the Emergency Declaration.

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Appropriations Committee – Thursday announced he will support H. J. Res. 46, the Emergency Declaration Resolution of Disapproval.

“President Trump is correct, there is a need for better border security,” wrote Sen. Moran. “…I have introduced legislation and voted many times for greater funding for border security, including President Trump’s border wall.”

“Upon my election to public office, I take one oath – to uphold the Constitution of the United States,” continued Sen. Moran. “I believe the use of emergency powers in this circumstance violates the Constitution. Allowing the use of such power establishes a precedent for future presidents to further act against laws and appropriations approved by Congress. This continues our country down the path of all powerful executive – something those who wrote the Constitution were fearful of.”

Sen. Moran’s full written thoughts can be found here and below.

1. President Trump is correct, there is a need for better border security.

2. Our borders are a matter of national sovereignty and control over who enters our country is vital in our fight against terrorism and battle against drugs and human trafficking.

3. Many Americans and most Kansans agree with the President that this is an important issue and must be dealt with.

4. The President has not been fairly treated by Democrats in Congress – a wall is not immoral and democrats have previously supported funding border barriers.

5. I have introduced legislation and voted many times for greater funding for border security, including President Trump’s border wall.

6. The President can advance the building of a wall with the funding just approved by Congress and can increase the funds available by reprogramming other accounts.

7. Therefore, the declaration of an emergency is not necessary.

8. The declaration of an emergency under these circumstances is a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The laws passed by Congress years ago allowing the president emergency powers is flawed and needs to be repealed or amended.

9. In high school government class we all learned about our Founding Fathers and the three separate, but equal branches of government. This concept is one of the most significant in protecting America as a republic and maintaining citizen freedoms & liberties. Both government structure and the Bill of Rights matter.

10. Upon my election to public office, I take one oath – to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I believe the use of emergency powers in this circumstance violates the Constitution.

11. Allowing the use of such power establishes a precedent for future presidents to further act against laws and appropriations approved by Congress. This continues our country down the path of all powerful executive – something those who wrote the Constitution were fearful of.

12. Kansans have criticized President Obama for abuse of executive orders, ignoring the laws and avoiding the requirements of negotiating a treaty when dealing with foreign powers. I agree and fought it.

13. I aggressively opposed the overreach of past presidents and believe that I can not pick and choose to now look the other way.

14. If the Constitution means one thing in the Obama administration and another in the Trump administration, the enduring value of the Constitution disappears and another generation of Americans will be less free.

15. The number one responsibility we have as American citizens is to pass to the next generation of Americans our constitutionally guaranteed liberties. There are days where it seems clear we are failing greatly.

16. How we do things – even good things – matters. We were raised that the ends don’t justify the means.

17. To find a loop hole on this issue and to vote another way might be an easier course. But my gut, my intellect, my understanding of history, tells me use of emergency powers is wrong. It can’t be an option to support something I believe wrong.

18. This country is filled with people who care, who are patriots, who served in our military. I try never to let anyone down. On my watch I always want to do right as I see it.

-Jerry

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his presidency on Friday, overruling Congress to protect his emergency declaration for border wall funding.

pic.twitter.com/tEgQFkcMs1

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2019

Flanked by law enforcement officials as well as the parents of children killed by people in the country illegally, Trump maintained that he is not through fighting for his signature campaign promise, which stands largely unfulfilled 18 months before voters decide whether to grant him another term.

VETO!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2019

Trump said: “It is a tremendous national emergency,” adding, “our immigration system is stretched beyond the breaking point.”

A dozen defecting Republicans joined Senate Democrats in approving the joint resolution on Thursday, which capped a week of confrontation with the White House as both parties in Congress strained to exert their power in new ways. It is unlikely that Congress will have the two-thirds majority required to override Trump’s veto, though House Democrats have suggested they would try nonetheless.

Trump wants to use the emergency order to divert billions of federal dollars earmarked for defense spending toward the southern border wall. It still faces several legal challenges in federal court.

Trump is expected to issue his second veto in the coming weeks over a congressional resolution seeking to end U.S. backing for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition fighting in Yemen. The resolution was approved in the aftermath of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

 

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The chief of staff of Missouri Sen. Justin Brown is facing two misdemeanor charges after his gun fell to the floor during a bar fight.

45-year-old Jared Brown, of Malden, was charged Thursday with unlawful use of a weapon and peace disturbance.

Jared Brown was arrested March 7 after the disturbance at the Spectator’s Bar and Grill in Jefferson City. He was released after posting $5,000 bond.

Jefferson City police say Brown told officers that he was “highly intoxicated” at the time, and that the 9 mm Ruger pistol recovered at the bar was his.

Sen. Brown, R-Rolla, said Wednesday that Jared Brown is taking a leave of absence to get “the help he needs.” The two men are not related.

Online court records don’t name an attorney for Jared Brown.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Revenue Department Director Joel Walters is resigning following criticism over his agency’s handling of tax changes.

Gov. Mike Parson on Friday announced current department Chief Operating Officer Ken Zellers will take over as acting director when Walters steps down March 22.

Walters’ resignation comes after lawmakers repeatedly slammed him for not communicating better about tax changes that will mean some Missourians get smaller refunds or owe more when they file their taxes this year.

Walters did not specify why he’s leaving in his resignation letter to Parson.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court Thursday for illegally possessing a firearm.

According to the United State’s Attorney, Tracy Arlene Smith, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 19 years and seven months in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 25, 2018, Smith was found guilty at trial of one count of being a felon and an unlawful user of cocaine and methamphetamine in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to evidence introduced during the trial, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Smith’s residence located in Joplin, on June 22, 2017.

During the execution of the search warrant, members of the Ozark Drug Enforcement Team seized Smith’s purse, which contained a CDM Prod. Inc., .22-caliber pistol, loaded with six rounds of .22 caliber ammunition. Officers also seized drug paraphernalia.

FAIRWAY, Kan. (AP) — Court records indicate a 26-year-old man who was shot by police near a Kansas elementary school said he wanted officers to kill him.

The records say Dylan Christopher Ruffin was charged after he shot at Highlands Elementary School during the school day on March 1.

Police say three officers shot at Ruffin when he pointed a handgun at them outside his home, which was across from the school in suburban Kansas City. He was treated at a hospital and is jailed in Johnson County.

Court records say at the hospital, Ruffin talked about having police kill him and said he wished they had shot him in the head.

Students were being released from the school when the shooting occurred. No students, parents or school employees were injured.

Ruffin is jailed on $500,000 bond.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three men have been sentenced in federal court this week for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that led to the kidnapping and torture of an Independence, Mo., man.

According to a media release from the United State’s Attorney, Randal G. Holmes, also known as “Peckerwood” or “Wood,” 54, of Kansas City, Mo., and Michael C. Borrusch, also known as “Birdie,” 43, of Lakewood, Colo., were sentenced today in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays. Holmes was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Borrusch was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.

Jeremy R. Bond, 40, of Independence, was sentenced on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, to two years and six months in federal prison without parole.

On July 10, 2018, Holmes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, one count of kidnapping, one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana and one count of brandishing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Borrusch and Bond pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

Holmes’s son and co-defendant Gerald L. Holmes, also known as “Jerry” or “Joker,” 27, and co-defendant Richard M. Phoenix, also known as “Snake,” 77, both of Kansas City, Mo., have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

During the conspiracy, which lasted from May 1 to Sept. 13, 2016, Bond invested $10,000 into the marijuana operation. In return, he received $1,000 a week as interest and free marijuana until the entire principal investment was repaid in full. This investment allowed Gerald Holmes and a co-conspirator, identified in court documents as “C.H.” (who had made four trips to Colorado with Gerald Holmes), to purchase greater quantities of marijuana per trip. Once it reached the greater Kansas City metropolitan area, the marijuana was then resold by Gerald Holmes and C.H.

Conspirators purchased at least 120 pounds of marijuana from Borrusch, for which they made more than a dozen trips between Colorado and Kansas City. Gerald Holmes paid Borrusch between $1,600 to $2,400 per pound, depending on the type and quality of marijuana available. Randal Holmes received $100 for every pound of marijuana brought back to Kansas City because of his prior connection to Borrusch, who was previously his supplier.

On Sept. 12, 2016, Randal and Gerald Holmes agreed to kidnap C.H. because he stole money that was intended for the purchase of marijuana.

They arrived at the Independence, Mo., residence of the victim’s father, identified as “W.H.,” on Sept. 12, 2016. During their conversation, Gerald Holmes removed a firearm from his waistband and placed it on a table in front of W.H. They told W.H. to call C.H. and tell him he was being held at gunpoint and that C.H. needed to come to the residence right away. When C.H. arrived at the residence, Randal Holmes pointed a firearm at him and told him to get into his vehicle. While in the vehicle, Gerald Holmes struck, punched and choked C.H. as Randal Holmes drove away.

They took C.H. to Randal Holmes’s residence, where they were met by Phoenix. C.H. was taken to the basement, where he was assaulted with fists, a hammer and tin snips/clippers. During the assault, Holmes repeatedly demanded that C.H. disclose where the duffle bag containing the money was located. Randal and Gerald Holmes left to retrieve the duffle bag while Phoenix held C.H. at gunpoint.

Randal Holmes later drove C.H. to a rural residence near Edwards, Mo. As Randal Holmes drove them to the residence, Gerald Holmes continued to strike C.H. with fists and the butt of a firearm. When they arrived at the residence, C.H. was told to call his father and to tell him that he was okay, that he had taken a beating, that he would be home in a couple of days and that he deserved what had happened.

Law enforcement officers were able to trace the telephone call and on Sept. 13, 2016, officers were able to locate C.H. and arrest the conspirators. Officers observed that C.H. had suffered multiple, visible injuries to his face, head, hands and feet. Officers noted that C.H. had trouble walking, that his face was black and blue, as well as swollen with traces of dried blood. Upon receiving medical treatment, it was determined that C.H. had also suffered a fracture in his left hand.

Officers found a Jimenez Arms 9mm pistol in Randal Holmes’s vehicle and a Hi-Point 9mm pistol in the residence where C.H. had been held. Officers also found an FN Herstal .40-caliber pistol, a Remington .270-caliber rifle, an RG .22-caliber revolver, a Ruger .22-caliber rifle, a Mossberg .20-gauge shotgun, 36.4 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in another residence.