Three things for September 22
1. ICE whistleblower claims unsafe conditions; hysterectomies performed on detainees
Dawn Wooten, a licensed nurse who worked at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, filed a whistleblower complaint alleging a lack of medical care and unsafe work practices facilitated the spread of COVID-19.
Wooten also claims immigrant women received questionable hysterectomies while in the immigration detention center.
Top congressional Democrats are now calling for a federal investigation, according to AP News.
“If true, the appalling conditions described in the whistleblower complaint — including allegations of mass hysterectomies being performed on vulnerable immigrant women — are a staggering abuse of human rights,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated.
A group of 168 members of Congress is demanding Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari investigate the allegations, requesting a briefing on the status of the investigation by Sept. 25.
2. Trump to ‘probably’ name Supreme Court pick on Saturday
On Monday, President Trump said he would “probably” reveal his Supreme Court pick on Saturday — out of respect for Ginsburg and memorial ceremonies held this week in her honor.
Trump told “Fox and Friends” in a phone interview he was inclined to wait to make his announcement until the country has had a chance to pay respects to the late justice.
Trump said he is choosing from a list of five finalists, all of them women.
“I have one or two that I think are — they’re all outstanding, but I have one or two that I have in mind,” Trump told reporters Monday.
3. Former police chief to review Jacob Blake police shooting
On Monday, Wisconsin’s attorney general announced he has selected a former police chief to serve as an independent consultant for prosecutors as they investigate the August police-involved shooting in Kenosha. Noble Wray will weigh whether to file charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake — a black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down in August.
Wray, the expert who will review the file, retired as Madison’s chief in 2013. Wray has become a national leader in police reform, fighting racism and educating about implicit bias.
The shooting of Blake by a Kenosha police officer made Wisconsin the center of an ongoing debate over police violence and racial injustice. It came three months after the death of George Floyd.
