FBI officially refuses to give local investigators any evidence in Minneapolis shootings
The FBI has officially notified Minnesota officials that it will not provide evidence from the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to local law enforcement.
In a statement on Monday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said the FBI had contacted it about three shootings by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents.
"The FBI formally notified the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on Feb. 13 that it will not provide the BCA with access to any information or evidence that it has collected in the Jan. 24 shooting death of Alex Pretti," the statement said. "The BCA reiterated the request to receive information, access to evidence, and cooperation in the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good and the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis. It remains unclear if there will be any cooperation or sharing of information related to those two shootings."
"While this lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented, the BCA is committed to thorough, independent and transparent investigations of these incidents, even if hampered by a lack of access to key information and evidence," the statement added. "Our agency has committed to the FBI and Department of Justice that should its stance change we remain willing to share information that we have obtained with that agency and would welcome a joint investigation. We will continue to pursue all legal avenues to gain access to relevant information and evidence."
The BCA said it would continue to investigate the shootings without the FBI's cooperation.
"Anyone with information about the shooting of Alex Pretti, Renee Good or Julio Sosa-Celis is urged to contact the BCA at 651-793-7000 or by email at bca.tips@state.mn.us," the agency noted.
Ted Cruz snaps as Dem invokes famous 2013 clash: ‘You’re not Dianne Feinstein’
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) interrupted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday to tell the Texas Republican she felt "personally aggrieved" by his lecturing — only to have Cruz fire back by invoking the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, snapping, "You're not Dianne Feinstein."
The blowup came after Cruz delivered a lengthy monologue at a hearing on the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling — a 6-3 decision gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — accusing Democrats of believing Black candidates can only win in gerrymandered districts.
"The Democrats are fond of telling this story that is, and I wish I could find a kinder way to say it, a flat-out lie," Cruz said, rattling off Black Republican lawmakers elected in majority-white districts: Sen. Tim Scott, Reps. Burgess Owens, Byron Donalds, John James, and Wesley Hunt.
"In the Democrats' world, you're not Black if you're not a liberal Democrat," Cruz declared. "There is an arrogance to African American voters."
The Texas Republican then accused Democrats of being the real gerrymandering offenders, demanding to know how many Republicans represent New England in the U.S. House.
"Zero. Zero," Cruz said. "They've drawn every district in a naked gerrymander, and yet they're very upset that their illegal pursuit of power has now been stopped by the Supreme Court."
That's when Hirono cut in.
"Point of personal privilege," she said. "I feel personally aggrieved to sit here and to be lectured by my colleague from Texas."
Hirono then reached back more than a decade to invoke a now-famous clash between Cruz and Feinstein, who memorably told a freshman Cruz during a 2013 hearing on gun safety that she was "not a sixth grader."
"This reminds me of the time when he was first elected to the Senate, and the Judiciary Committee had a hearing on gun safety, and he felt a need to lecture Dianne Feinstein," Hirono said. "And she said to him, something along the lines of, 'I did not sit here on this committee for however many years she did, only to be lectured by you.'"
"And that is how I feel," Hirono continued. "So why don't you just stop lecturing the rest of us? Just because you think you are the smartest person in the world doesn't mean the rest of us agree with that."
Cruz didn't let it go.
"I knew Dianne Feinstein. I served with Dianne Feinstein," he shot back. "And you're not Dianne Feinstein."
