“Sheriff” David Clarke

Former Milwaukee Sheriff, resigned August 31, 2017. Announced as Department of Homeland Security, Office of Partnership and Engagement as Liason between Secretary John Kelly and State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement, June 2017…but the DHS denied offering the job in June.

David Clark’s Resignation Letter from the Milwaukee Police Department August 31, 2017

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke resigns

By Laura Jarrett, Fri September 1, 2017
“CNN’s KFile reported in May that Clarke plagiarized portions of his 2013 master’s thesis on US security, though he vigorously denies the allegations.
Critics of Clarke point to what they term a sordid history of his management of the county’s jail, but the past few months have also been marked by questions over whether he would be tapped for a formal role in the Trump administration.
In May, Clarke announced on a local Wisconsin radio show that he was accepting an appointment as Assistant Secretary in the Office of Partnerships and Programs at Homeland Security — yet days turned into weeks without a word of confirmation from DHS.
Finally, DHS said in June that he was “no longer being considered” for a position within the agency, and a DHS official confirmed to CNN Thursday that he is still not up for a job there.
And while Clarke makes regular TV appearances on Fox News, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN that there have been no discussions, at least thus far, about hiring Clarke.” CNN

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke says he’s taking job in Department of Homeland Security  Journal-Sentinel

, Milwaukee PublishedMay 17, 2017 | Updated  May 18, 2017

“I’m looking forward to joining that team,” Clarke said Wednesday on Vicki McKenna’s radio talk show on WISN-AM (1130).

Top Trump Ally Met With Putin’s Deputy in Moscow 

“Before the NRA poured more than $30 million into Trump’s election, it met with a notorious Kremlin hardliner, allegedly to discuss a rifle competition. Tim Mak March 7, 2017  The Daily Beast
In March 2014, the U.S. government sanctioned Dmitry Rogozin—a hardline deputy to Vladimir Putin, the head of Russia’s defense industry and longtime opponent of American power—in retaliation for the invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Eighteen months later, the National Rifle Association, Donald Trump’s most powerful outside ally during the 2016 election, sent a delegation to Moscow that met with him.
The meeting, which hasn’t been previously reported in the American press, is one strand in a web of connections between the Russian government and Team Trump: Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn both denied speaking with the Russian ambassador, which turned out to be untrue; former campaign manager Paul Manafort supported pro-Russian interests in Ukraine; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson won an “Order of Friendship” from Putin; and then, of course, there’s the hacking campaign that U.S. intelligence agencies say Russian launched to tilt the election in Trump’s favor.
Meeting with Rogozin, a target of U.S. sanctions, is not itself illegal—as long as the two sides did no business together—explained Boris Zilberman, an expert on Russian sanctions at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. But, he noted, it is “frowned upon and raises questions… those targeted for sanctions have been engaged in conduct which is in direct opposition to U.S. national security interests.”
Which raises the question: Why was the NRA meeting with Putin’s deputy in the first place? Read More on The Daily Beast  

July 18, 2016

Black Lives Matter-Bashing Black Sheriff Is Donald Trump’s New Best Friend

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. was a crowd favorite Monday night.   Huff Post  By Kate Sheppard 

“Fans of Donald Trump may have found the perfect person to solidify their Monday theme of “Make America Safe Again” in Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr.

In Clarke they had an African-American law enforcement officer who would bash the Black Lives Matter movement and celebrate the acquittal of the Baltimore police involved in Freddie Gray’s death. He also happens to be a rare registered Democrat speaking at the Republican National Convention.

“What we witnessed in Ferguson, in Baltimore, and in Baton Rouge was a collapse of social order. So many of the actions of the Occupy movement and Black Lives Matter transcend peaceful protest, and violates the code of conduct we rely on,” Clarke said. “I call it anarchy.”

 Clarke has gotten a fair amount of attention in recent months, following a speech to the National Rifle Association calling gun control efforts “crap.” He hasn’t been shy on Twitter either, posting comments criticizing Black Lives Matter and making fun of civil rights leader and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).”

Grant Stern is a Miami based columnist and radio broadcaster, and professional mortgage broker. He’s got a Medium blog called The Stern Facts. He’s one of many “citizen journalists” who gather publicly available information to augment that which is readily available in the headlines.

While Flynn Dined With Putin, Trump’s New Homeland Security Appointee Met His Cabinet

Clarke didn’t just meet with Lavrov, but also had an audience with two more of Putin’s deputies, including a Russian central banker who tried to visit the White House earlier this year, leading to a mini-crisis and revocation of the President’s invitation — because Alexander Torshin has been charged with racketeering in Spain.

Torshin’s “special assistant” Maria Butina runs Russia’s Fake NRA group called “The Right to Bear Arms,” which not coincidentally organized the visit that brought Clarke to Moscow.

Russia has absolutely no right to bear arms, restricts access to weapons closely, as you’d expect in an authoritarian regime.

Nobody knows exactly who funds Butina’s fake Russian NRA, but her story a week before Trump’s declaration of candidacy entitled “The Bear and the Elephant” is eerily predictive of events to follow.

If the website looks familiar, it is the same pro-Putin think tank in DC which sponsored the infamous Mayflower Hotel meeting last year, where Trump met with Russian Ambassador Kislyak.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin’s tweet about his meetup with the NRA. Note that Sheriff Clarke is in the top right panel.

As I discovered in the seminal article about this fake Russian NRA, “From Russia with Love for the NRA,” Putin’s Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin attended along with Torshin.

Of course, the proof is posted on Twitter:

The trip generated controversy because Rogozin was an individual subject of U.S. sanctions because of his role in Russia’s invasion of Eastern Ukraine. Rogozin is the former leader of the ultra-right party Rodina (Motherland) and has advocated for the restoration of the Russian Empire, to include Alaska, which he calls “Russian America.” From 2008 to 2011, he served as the Russian ambassador to NATO, where he focused on preventing Ukraine and Georgia from joining NATO. Rogozin has also bragged about Russia’s “first strike” cyberwarfare capability.” Read the whole story on The Stern Facts

And if all of that isn’t enough….there are the lawsuits for abuse and wrongful death of inmates while under his supervision, the reason many people are aware of him, if at all.

A David Clarke dossier  Washington Post

 By Radley Balko May 18, 2017

“Clarke’s Jail

As Maurice Chammah wrote at the Atlantic last year, Clarke has been known to wake up the inmates in his jail with bullhorns. He’s a fan of serving inmates “nutraloaf,” a tasteless food concoction that takes the joy out of eating. He has railed against grants to reduce racial disparities in incarceration and even to help solve homicides as “criminal coddling.”

A February 2014 investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that 10 people had died in Clarke’s jail between 2008 and the end of 2013. Among them:

  • Antonio Cowser, who died of “complications of a psychotic disorder” after being arrested on a traffic violation. Guards had turned off Carver’s access to water.
  • Natalie Guyton, who died of a drug overdose after being arrested on a probation violation. She had complained about chest pain. A doctor ordered a ultrasound that was never done.
  • Jessie James Harris, who died of a heart attack after being arrested for “obstructing police.” There was no mention of his diabetes or his history of heart disease in the jail’s medical records.
  • Paul Heytens, who killed himself after a drunken-driving arrest. He had been prescribed anti-depressants that the jail never gave him. Guards were supposed to be doing 30-minute checks. He was dead for 11 hours before they found him.
  • Virgilio Jimenez, who died of a heart attack after an arrest for various misdemeanors. Again, guards were supposed to be checking on him every 30 minutes. He was dead for six hours before they found him.

That report didn’t seem to improve conditions at the jail. Last year saw four deaths in six months at the jail, a rate about three times the national average. One of those who died was a newborn. According to a lawsuit filed by the baby’s mother, she repeatedly informed guards that she was going into labor at around midnight. She claims they laughed at her. She gave birth in her cell alone at around 4 a.m, and still didn’t receive medical attention for another two hours. Clarke, a staunch opponent of abortion, hasn’t publicly addressed the infant’s death. A subsequent lawsuit has alleged that at least 40 pregnant women were forced to wear “belly chains” and shackles in Clarke’s jail while they were in labor.”