Welcoming Trump Indictment on Federal Conspiracy Charges
Dear Friend, This week, I welcomed the third indictment in four months for Donald Trump, this time on federal conspiracy and obstruction charges related to his attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election. I also attended the ribbon cutting for the completion of a major improvement to Lamar Avenue, helped promote diversity in the aviation industry with Captain Barrington Irving at Southwest Tennessee Community College, visited the interim buildings being constructed to accommodate the students of Crestview Middle and Elementary schools in Covington, announced federal grants to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and the University of Memphis, and offered a health tip for my constituents in the TennCare program. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (and soon on Threads) to see what I am doing as it happens. Welcoming Trump Indictment on Federal Conspiracy Charges Celebrating Completion of Widening Project for Lamar Avenue Visiting Interim School Buildings in Covington Announcing NIH Grants for St. Jude and UTHSC Applauding National Science Foundation Grant to University of Memphis Welcoming Trump Indictment on Federal Conspiracy Charges On Tuesday, Donald Trump was indicted on three federal conspiracy charges and a fourth charge of obstructing an official proceeding in connection with his attempt to subvert the 2020 election by what Special Counsel Jack Smith called “pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud.” I welcome this third indictment of the former president in four months. The publicly known evidence supporting these allegations is overwhelming. No man is above the law. Celebrating Completion of Widening Project for Lamar Avenue On Wednesday, I attended the ribbon cutting for the $63 million project widening Lamar Avenue to six lanes, from four, from the Mississippi State Line to south of Shelby Drive in Shelby County. That section of Lamar supports more than 500 truck terminals and several intermodal facilities, serves the Memphis International Airport and is the home of FedEx’s world headquarters. As a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I was pleased to help secure federal funding for the project in 2018, which helped fund this and the other phases of the Lamar Avenue project. Promoting Aviation Industry Job Opportunities with Captain Barrington Irving at Southwest Tennessee Community College Captain Barrington Irving was the first Black pilot, and at the time the youngest, to circumnavigate the globe alone. On Thursday, I was pleased to introduce him to educators at Southwest Tennessee Community College, and talk about my efforts, as the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee, to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration with bipartisan support in the House and help grow a more diverse aviation workforce. I thanked Captain Irving for his efforts with his “The Flying Classroom” to inspire students to pursue aviation-related careers and look forward to seeing it implemented in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Visiting Interim School Buildings in Covington Also Thursday, I attended the ribbon-cutting with administrators at the interim school buildings that will serve the students of Crestview Middle and Crestview Elementary Schools, which were devastated in the March 31 tornado. I saw the progress being made as structures take shape in Cobb Parr Memorial Park, with work scheduled to be completed later this month. With the school year about to begin, I spoke with Tipton County Schools Superintendent Dr. John Combs about the community’s needs and my work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to target assistance where it is most needed. I also worked with Dr. Combs after learning that the students of these schools were still expected to complete TCAP testing, and sent a letter to Governor Lee urging him to excuse them from having to take the test until there was a solution for new schools. I also met with Sheriff Shannon Beasley, Covingto Police Chief Donna Turner, City Councilman John Edwards, state Senator Paul Rose and other members of the pollical leadership. I look forward to continuing to secure federal funding for this part of the 9th district, having recently announced funding for the Covington Police Department and the Boys and Girls Club of the Hatchie River Region being included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills. The residents of this part of Tipton County are my new constituents after last year’s redistricting, and I want them to know my office stands ready to help. Announcing NIH Grants for St. Jude and UTHSC Two of our National Institutes of Health provided grants this week supporting research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). See details in my release here. Applauding National Science Foundation Grant to University of Memphis On Monday, I announced a grant to the University of Memphis for computer science research on internet privacy and the transmission of data online from the National Science Foundation. See that release here. For millions of people made eligible for Medicaid during the pandemic, the ongoing “unwinding” of the federal health insurance program for those enrollees may result in being dropped from the program, which in Tennessee is known as TennCare. Many of the newer, pandemic-related enrollees are being asked to fill out paperwork establishing that they remain eligible. If you are in that situation, or if you think it’s time for your annual renewal, follow this guidance. “Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power. So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won. These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false. But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway – to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.” – From Tuesday’s indictment in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump. "One person can make a difference." – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who rescued tens of thousands of Jews during World War II, born on this day in 1912. As always, I remain. Steve Cohen |