Law Enforcement Professionals Call on Garcia Campaign to Remove False Attack Ad

Erie County Sheriff candidate Kim Beaty, surrounded by law enforcement colleagues, today addressed the baseless attack ad produced by the Garcia Campaign which was designed to allude that if elected Sheriff, Kim Beaty would institute policies to slash police funding and make our county less safe. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Guy Zagara, a retired Buffalo Police Captain who served under then Chief Beaty in Buffalo’s E District—at the time the most difficult district in the city—set the record straight on the leadership of his former commanding officer, saying “I know Kim. I worked under Kim. Kim was my Chief when I was a Captain in the Buffalo Police Department. Kim always advocated for more officers for her district, more manpower for every shift, and more resources for our department.

Zagara added, “During her 35 years in law enforcement she has continued to stand up for the men and women under her command, including at the Buffalo Police Department, and as a decision-maker who managed and continues to manage a police force, the proof is in her record.

“John Garcia’s ad is a nasty lie. I call on him to stop lying to the voters of Erie county and take the ad down. A sheriff who is willing to lie to the public for personal gain does not deserve the trust of the people of Erie county.”

“There is a crisis right now in the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. Our deputies are overworked, our jails are understaffed and our equipment and facilities are in dire need of modernization. This is the result of 16 years of mismanagement and absenteeism.” said Kim Beaty, “It’s time for new leadership.”

“As Deputy Police Commissioner, I managed an annual budget of over $100 million and oversaw over 800 personnel. As Director of Public Safety, I currently manage a law enforcement agency. I am the only candidate for sheriff who can manage the scale of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. It is irresponsible to hand over the reins to someone without experience because there are lives on the line.

“We must put a stop to the millions in taxpayer dollars that are being spent settling lawsuits and in mandatory overtime. This starts with making sure that the Sheriff’s Office is properly staffed. I plan to immediately start an aggressive recruitment campaign from within our community to fill our ranks.

“If there is anyone who has advocated for ‘defunding the police’, it’s the people responsible for the status quo. Sheriff Howard continues to privatize police work and outsource vital security services to private firms such as the one owned by John Garcia

“716 Security Investigations and its subsidiaries Gallivan, Donovan, and Yarnell (GDY) and Employee Benefit Concepts (EBC) have benefited from almost $300,000 in contracts with Erie County alone since 2015, for work that should be done by union police officers. It’s not about wanting to better the Sheriff’s Office for our community or for the rank-and-file deputies. It’s about money.

“As Sheriff, I will put an end to the nonsense. I will aggressively root out corruption and end conflicts of interest and self-dealing. I will immediately review how our budget is being spent and all existing contracts between the Sheriff’s Office and our partners. The taxpayers deserve it and the dedicated men and women of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office deserve it.”

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‘He just dynamites it’: Alarm sounded over Trump’s ‘smoking gun for abuse of power’



Legal commentator Elie Honig said during a podcast Sunday that the indictment of former FBI director James Comey might be "abuse of executive power."

Speaking to journalist John Avalon on The Bulwark's podcast, Honig, who is the author of the book When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ's Pursuit of the President, From Nixon to Trump, said, "I mean, God, Trump basically, by mistake, published a DM demand to his AG that in any other environment would be seen as a smoking gun for abuse of executive power. And now it just seems like something happened two Fridays ago. And who can remember or care?"

He continued: "I do think more people will get indicted on the hit list. He gave us a hit list. I know there's speculation if it's a DM that he inadvertently posted. It has hallmarks of both."

Avalon said the indictment "seems like a new low in the politicization of justice and the persecution of [President] Donald Trump's enemies."

According to Honig, there is "the complete evisceration of this wall that has long existed between the White House and the political operation of the executive branch and the Justice Department's prosecutorial function."

"When the president gets involved in dictating who gets charged and who doesn't, prosecutorial decisions, then we have crossed the line. And that's something that both parties for decades. Presidents don't always love it. Presidents would like to have more control over prosecutors. But even going back to Nixon, they've always understood that there has to be some independent prosecutorial function. But that's changing now very quickly," he added.

Honig further noted that there is no law per se "saying DOJ must be separate and independent from the White House, from the president."

He added: "I mean, if you went to court and said, I want to sue because I think DOJ is no longer independent, you wouldn't have a leg to stand on. This is more along the lines of a long established law foundational norm and tradition that both parties have long observed and respected."

Referencing his book, Honig noted how Trump 2.0 appears different from other presidencies.

"And part of the book is about ways that that has been chipped away over the years. But whether it's Nixon or Clinton, and they're not all equal, but Nixon or Clinton or Trump 1 or Biden, they've all chipped away at that wall in various ways."

"But now here comes Trump 2.0 and it's over. He just dynamites it. This is one of those things that's like not really enforceable. I mean, yes, Jim Comey can go into court and argue that he's being selectively prosecuted. And I think he's going to win on that. Given the things Trump has said and posted on social media publicly, he makes the case for him, but it's not like 'my fourth amendment constitutional right is being violated. My first amendment constitutional right is being violated.' It's just really like good government that we've long recognized that is now totally scrapped."

Avalon noted that "there is an unwritten part of the constitution, which is rooted in concepts of honor, decency, and common sense, as the founders intended and as everyone has recognized."

"And the rest of the quote, 'Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was burnt in one.' And Trump is burning something. I mean, FBI shows outside John Bolton's house. You've got [New York Attorney Genera] Letitia James next on the list."

Commenting on James' case, Honig said, "I've looked at the allegations against Letitia James. You know, I've been a critic, a sharp critic of Letitia James. But this mortgage fraud case is bogus. It's bonkers."

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