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The jury in Michael Madigan’s corruption trial has heard many nicknames given to the powerful Democratic House Speaker, from the obvious, like “MJM” or “Mr. Speaker,” to the more esoteric such as “Himself” and “our Friend.” But on Monday they heard a new one: “Sphinx.” That was the moniker applied to Madigan by some members of JB Pritzker’s team after Pritzker’s election in 2018, according to U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, who was a top Pritzker aide before her election to Congress in 2022. The nickname, a reference to the mythical figure of Egyptian pharaohs typically used to convey strength and ferocity, was used in an email shown during Budzinski’s testimony referencing a job recommendation from Madigan for Pritzker’s new administration. “Attached is the most recent Sphinx list of recommendations ahead of your meeting today,” read the Dec. 4, 2018, email, which was sent from Budzinski to Pritzker and his soon-to-be chief of staff, Anne Caprara. “We have noted these in our process and they are coming thru our portal.” It’s not the first time Madigan was ever referred to as Sphinx in political circles. In fact, some of the speaker’s own friends and colleagues sometimes called him “the Sphinx from Pulaski Road,” a nod to his 13th Ward headquarters at 65th and Pulaski. But Budzinski’s testimony was the first the jury had heard of it. And while she confirmed that “Sphinx” was a reference to Madigan, she couldn’t explain why. On cross examination, Madigan’s attorney Lari Dierks asked if the “Sphinx” nickname was part of the “myth” of Madigan in Springfield. “I can’t really speak to that. It wasn’t my nickname,” Budzinski testified. The image of Madigan, a famously Irish Southwest Sider, as a monumental desert colossus with the head of a human, body of a lion, and wings of an eagle brought some levity to an otherwise quick, cut-and-dried day of testimony in Madigan’s trial, which is now in its 10th week. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey recessed the trial for the day after only an hour so that the parties could attend services for longtime 7th Circuit Judge Joel Flaum, who passed away last week at age 88. Testimony resumes Tuesday morning. Prosecutors have said they could rest their case in chief later this week. Madigan, 82, of Chicago, who served for decades as speaker of the Illinois House and the head of the state Democratic Party, faces racketeering charges alleging he ran his state and political operations like a criminal enterprise. He is charged alongside his longtime confidant Michael McClain, 77, a former ComEd contract lobbyist from downstate Quincy. Both men have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Budzinski, a Springfield Democrat elected to the U.S. House last year, was senior adviser to Pritzker in his 2018 campaign to unseat Gov. Bruce Rauner and later was a key aide in Pritzker’s new administration. When she took the stand Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu asked her, “When you’re not testifying in federal court, can you tell the jury what’s your day job?” “I’m a United States representative,” she said. “I represent the 13th District of Illinois in Congress.” After Pritzker was elected in 2018, Budzinski became the executive director of the transition committee, helping to “select, interview and hire a number of individuals into state government and for boards and commissions.” Pritzker had the final say on any hires, Budzinski said. The transition team set up a government portal where any applicants had to sign up, Budzinski said. Other candidates came through LinkedIn and other social media. They also took recommendations from elected officials and others in government. Budzinski said she was aware Madigan had been “a legislative leader for a very long time,” and that they gave “serious consideration” to any job recommendation that came from him. But she said recommendations from any of four legislative leaders were in no way a slam dunk. “We had a lot of due diligence,” Budzinski said. “We really took it very serious to vet every single candidate that was recommended.” Jurors were shown one email from Budzinski to other Pritzker transition staff saying they had a resume from a guy from New York seeking a position with the Illinois Department of Transportation that “should have MJM on it.” “We need to call him at least and perhaps maybe consider him for number two spot,” Budzinski wrote. According to the indictment, one of Madigan’s recommendations was then-Ald. Daniel Solis, who was working undercover for federal investigators and asked Madigan to help him get a state board position in Pritzker’s administration as part of an FBI rise. Jurors have previously watched undercover video in which Solis asked Madigan for help getting on a state board that paid at least $100,000, including either the Labor Relations Board or the Illinois Commerce Commission.Prosecutors have also presented evidence that Madigan sent Solis information about state boards and commissions in response.The indictment against Madigan alleges he sat down with Pritzker in December 2018 and mentioned Solis as a candidate for a board seat. But Budzinski was not asked specifically about Solis in her testimony, which lasted only about 30 minutes. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!Judge overrules motion to dismiss officer's lawsuit
Critical Metals Corp. Appointment of CFO and Board TransitionRiding a 3-game win streak, the Bengals cling to playoff hopes with the Broncos nextHARTFORD, Conn. — It’s well known that Steve Cohen wanted a Picasso, Le Reve, badly enough to pay $139 million for it. When the seller put an elbow through the canvas, Cohen pulled his offer and waited, but once the painting was suitably restored he ponied up $155 million to get it for his Greenwich, Conn., home. Couple of things there. When Cohen wants something badly enough, for his mansion or the Mets, he will not be denied. And since Cohen didn’t go for the banana taped to the wall that recently sold for $6.2 million, it’s clear he knows the difference between trendy gimmicks and timeless art. So it was when Juan Soto, a hitter of rare beauty, hit the open market. Listen, every top free agent feels like more than just the top free agent, more like the last great player who is ever going to be available. The very first sweepstakes, for Catfish Hunter 50 years ago this month, felt like that, as did Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield and countless others. In the last three years, Aaron Judge, who stayed with the Yankees, Shohei Ohtani, who signed with the Dodgers, had that kind of cachet. And now Soto, who left the Yankees to sign a 15-year contract reportedly worth $765 million, with clauses that could bump up north of $800 million, has joined Cohen’s growing collection of stars with the Mets with the potential to realign the game. It can certainly shifts the terrain under a state so long dominated by the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. All the whys and wherefores are still to come, but safe to say that Cohen is all he was advertised to be when he bought the Mets in 2020 — aggressive, persuasive, relentless in pursuit of the championship that has eluded his favorite team since 1986. That’s Le Reve, which in English is “The Dream.” There are those who shudder at how the money he can spend will impact baseball, but so be it. He wants to win, he’s going for it. He had to have Juan Soto. Now the pressure to make this work will be enormous for all and history shows such signings do not always produce the desired results, but Cohen didn’t get where he is in the hedge-fund jungle by being risk-averse. Soto is certainly a generational game-changer, if not the first or last. He made the difference between the Yankees missing the playoffs altogether in 2023 and reaching the World Series in 2024. He is 26, younger than most free agents, and can be counted on to put up Soto stats, .419 on-base, 41 homers, 109 RBI last season, for years to come. And he has proven he can handle New York and perform in the postseason. The Yankees, who reportedly upped their offer to $750 million for 16 years, were not trying to finish a strategic second and tell their fans they gave it their best shot. Hal Steinbrenner fully understood the ramifications of this loss, and not because the other team in New York. Nope, not going down the Mets-own-New-York path. There is no such thing. The Yankees and Mets don’t have to worry about each other unless both reach the World Series, and if they do, both will profit immensely and the city will be delirious. Unlike George Steinbrenner and the previous Mets owners, Hal and Cohen get this: The team that’s more successful will be more popular in the moment, but it’s better for both when both are good. The Red Sox were in on Soto, too, and although there are skeptics in Boston, they apparently did make a competitive bid. The Yankees can at least take solace he’s out of the AL East and The Rivalry, and baseball can at least take solace in that he didn’t join all those megastars in Los Angeles. So the bomb hit Sunday night, the earth shifted, and it’s time for all the franchises we watch in Connecticut to pick up the pieces and move on, mindful that the goal line is moving. The Mets pair Soto with their MVP runner up, Francisco Lindor. The one-two punch that can really get them the title is Cohen and president of baseball operations David Steans. The Mets have a GM with experience in finding undervalued talent, developing young players and building contenders with limited resources in Milwaukee. His brainstorm to make overvalued reliever Clay Holmes into a potential bargain of a starter, is an example of his resourcefulness. Couple that with an owner willing to spend big when quality is up for auction, and that’s a hard combination to beat. That’s the Dodgers’ formula. Neither the Yankees nor Red Sox appear to have both at the moment. The Red Sox do have the deep farm system left by Chaim Bloom, though, and if current GM Craig Breslow can pry enough resources from the owners to go after a few solid veterans, they can be right back in contention. The Yankees are in a more difficult space. In years gone by, the three-quarters of a billion left behind by Soto could be used to upgrade a roster in a dozen areas. But those kind of players are not really out there, and that strategy can yield a team of mediocre, past-their-primers. GM Brian Cashman will have to sort those out now. Putting Judge back in right field where he belongs and getting a legit centerfielder could help, beefing up starting and relief pitching will help, there are many holes that were covered up by the historic productivity of Soto and Judge in 2024 that must now be addressed starting at the Winter Meetings. To get back to the World Series, the Yankees will have to get past a number of AL teams loaded with young talent. In the NL, they face the Mets, Dodgers and Padres, teams with multiple high-end stars, where they have only Judge still at that level. To be sure, pinstripe prestige took a major blow Sunday night, but they still have resources to repair it to full value, like that Picasso. The overarching fact Monday is that the way we watch and perceive baseball will be different now. The Greenwich art collector is throwing his billions around as promised (and feared), and has turned baseball on its head. It should be quite a summer around here. ©2024 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The five-part series will debut globally on December 10, following elite global players on and off the field as they compete in the US Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida. A trailer for the series titled Polo, executive produced by Harry and Meghan, was released on Thursday, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the “fast-paced and glamorous world of polo”. In a statement, Harry said: “This series offers audiences an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look into the passion and determination driving some of the world’s elite polo players, revealing the grit behind the glamour. “We’re proud to showcase the true depth and spirit of the sport — and the intensity of its high-stakes moments.” It has been produced by the Sussexes’ Archewell Productions, having previously released three documentaries with Netflix as part of a multimillion-pound deal with the streaming giant. Heart Of Invictus, which aired last August, followed a group of service members on their road to the Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style sporting competition set up by Harry in 2014 for injured and sick military personnel and veterans. Netflix also released the documentary series Live To Lead and the controversial six-part Harry & Meghan documentary in December 2022. Harry and Meghan moved to the US in 2020 after stepping down from royal duties.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the two weeks since Donald Trump won the presidency, he's tried to demonstrate his dominance by naming loyalists for top administration positions, even though many lack expertise and some face sexual misconduct accusations. It often seems like he's daring Congress to oppose his decisions. But on Thursday, Trump's attempt to act with impunity showed a crack as Matt Gaetz , his choice for attorney general, withdrew from consideration. Trump had named Gaetz, a Florida congressman, to be the country's top law enforcement official even though he was widely disliked by his colleagues, has little legal experience and was accused of having sex with an underage girl, an allegation he denied. After being plagued by investigations during his first presidency, Trump wanted a devoted ally in charge of the Justice Department during his second. However, it was never obvious that Gaetz could win enough support from lawmakers to get confirmed as attorney general. Trump chose for a replacement Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who defended him during his first impeachment trial and supported his false claims of voter fraud. Now the question is whether Gaetz was uniquely unpalatable, or if Trump's other picks might exceed his party's willingness to overlook concerns that would have sunk nominees in a prior political era. The next test will likely be Pete Hegseth, who Trump wants to lead the Pentagon despite an allegation of sexual assault that he's denied. So far, Republicans are rallying around Hegseth , an Army veteran and former Fox News host. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the controversy over Gaetz would have little bearing on Trump’s other choices. He said they would be considered “one at a time.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, suggested otherwise, claiming “the dominoes are falling.” “The drip drip of evidence and truth is going to eventually doom some others,” he said. Trump's election victory was a sign that there may not be many red lines left in American politics. He won the presidential race despite authoritarian, racist and misogynist rhetoric, not to mention years of lies about election fraud and his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was also criminally convicted of falsifying business records to pay hush money, and he was found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case. Empowered by voters who looked past his misconduct and saw him as a powerful agent of change, Trump has shown no deference to Washington norms while working to fill his second administration . The transition team hasn't pursued federal background checks for Trump's personnel choices. While some of his selections have extensive experience in the areas they've been chosen to lead, others are personal friends and Fox News personalities who have impressed and flattered Trump over the years. Several have faced allegations involving sexual misconduct . Hegseth is facing the most scrutiny after Gaetz. Once Trump announced Hegseth as his nominee for Pentagon chief, allegations emerged that he sexually assaulted a woman in California in 2017. The woman said he took her phone, blocked the door to the hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a police report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said. However, he paid the woman a confidential settlement in 2023. Hegseth's lawyer said the payment was made to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit. Trump’s choice for secretary of health and human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has faced allegations of misconduct too. A woman who babysat for him and his second wife told Vanity Fair magazine that Kennedy groped her in the late 1990s, when she was 23. Kennedy did not deny the allegation and texted an apology to the woman after the article was published. That isn't the only hurdle for Kennedy; he's spent years spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines, raising fears about making him a top health official in the new administration. Linda McMahon, chosen by Trump to be education secretary, is fighting a lawsuit connected to her former company, World Wrestling Entertainment. She’s accused of knowingly enabling sexual exploitation of children by an employee as early as the 1980s, and she denies the allegations. Tulsi Gabbard is another person who could face a difficult confirmation battle, but for very different reasons. The former Democratic representative from Hawaii has been a vocal Trump ally, and he chose her to be national intelligence director. But there's grave concern by lawmakers and national security officials over Gabbard’s history of echoing Russian propaganda. Critics said she would endanger relationships with U.S. allies. Gaetz was investigated by federal law enforcement for sex trafficking, but the case was closed without charges and Republicans have blocked the release of a related report from the House Ethics Committee. However, some allegations leaked out, including that Gaetz paid women for sex. One of the women testified to the committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl, according to a lawyer for the woman. As Gaetz met with senators this week, it became clear that he would face stubborn resistance from lawmakers who were concerned about his behavior and believed he was unqualified to run the Justice Department. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction,” Gaetz wrote on social media when announcing his withdrawal. Sen. Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican, said he believed there were four to six members of the caucus who would have voted against Gaetz, likely dooming his nomination, and “the math got too hard.” He said some of the issues and allegations around Gaetz were “maybe beyond the pale." “I think there were just too many things, it was like a leaky dike, and you know, it broke," Braun said. Trump thanked Gaetz in a post on Truth Social, his social media website, without addressing the substance of the allegations against him. “He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect,” Trump wrote. Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves and Lisa Macaro contributed from Washington. Jill Colvin in New York and Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also contributed. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee on Monday accused Matt Gaetz of “regularly” paying for sex, including once with a 17-year-old girl, and purchasing and using illicit drugs as a member of Congress, as lawmakers released the conclusions of a nearly four-year investigation that helped sink his nomination for attorney general. The 37-page report by the bipartisan panel includes explicit details of sex-filled parties and vacations that Gaetz, now 42, took part in from 2017 to 2020 while the Republican represented Florida's western Panhandle. Congressional investigators concluded that Gaetz violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office, though not federal sex trafficking laws. They also found that Gaetz “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct” the committee's work. “The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report said. Before the report came out, Gaetz denied any wrongdoing and criticized the committee's process. “Giving funds to someone you are dating — that they didn’t ask for — and that isn’t ‘charged’ for sex is now prostitution?!?” he posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. “There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses.” Gaetz , who was first elected in 2017, spent the majority of his time in Washington enmeshed in scandals that ultimately derailed his selection by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Justice Department . Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress last month. His political future is uncertain, although Gaetz has indicated interest in running for the open Senate seat in Florida. The committee painted a damning portrait of Gaetz's conduct, using dozens of pages of exhibits, including text messages, financial records, travel receipts, checks and online payments, to document a party and drug-fueled lifestyle. The committee said it compiled the evidence after issuing 29 subpoenas for documents and testimony and contacting more than two dozen witnesses. In addition to soliciting prostitution, the report said Gaetz “accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts.” That same year, investigators said, Gaetz arranged for a staffer to obtain a passport for a woman with whom he was sexually involved, falsely telling the State Department that she was his constituent. In some of the text exchanges made public, he appeared to be inviting various women to events, getaways or parties, and arranging airplane travel and lodging. At one point he asked one woman if she had a “cute black dress” to wear. There were also discussions of shipping goods. One of the exhibits was a text exchange that appeared to be between two of the women concerned about their cash flow and payments. In another, a person asked Gaetz for help to pay an educational expense. Regarding the 17-year-old girl, the report said there was no evidence Gaetz knew she was a minor when he had sex with her. The woman told the committee she did not tell Gaetz she was under 18 at the time and that he learned she was a minor more than a month after the party. But Gaetz stayed in touch with her after that and met up with her for “commercial sex” again less than six months after she turned 18, according to the committee. Florida law says it is a felony for a person 24 or older to have sex with a minor. The law does not allow a claim of ignorance or misrepresentation of a minor's age as a defense. Joel Leppard, who represents two women who told the committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, said the findings “vindicate” the accounts of his clients and “demonstrate their credibility.” “We appreciate the Committee’s commitment to transparency in releasing this comprehensive report so the truth can be known,” Leppard said in a statement. At least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the committee earlier this month in voting to release the report despite initial opposition from GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publishing findings about a former member of Congress. While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. On behalf of the Republicans who voted against making the report public, the committee chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, wrote that while the members did not challenge the findings, “we take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee’s well-established standards,” to drop any investigation when a person is not longer a member of the chamber. Guest added that releasing this report sets a precedent that “is a dangerous departure with potentially catastrophic consequences.” But Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democratic member of the committee, said that for transparency, it was crucial for the public and Congress as an institution to read the findings. "I think that’s important for my colleagues here in the House to know how the committee reviews certain acts," he told The Associated Press. "Some of these were obviously conduct that crossed the line, but some of them weren’t.” Mounting a last-ditch effort to halt the publication of the report, Gaetz filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to intervene. He cited what he called “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his “standing and reputation in the community.” Gaetz’s complaint argued that he was no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction because he had resigned from Congress. The often secretive, bipartisan committee has investigated claims against Gaetz since 2021. But its work became more urgent last month when Trump picked him shortly after the Nov. 5 election Day to be the nation's top law enforcement officer. Gaetz resigned from Congress that same day, putting him outside the purview of the committee's jurisdiction. But Democrats had pressed to make the report public even after Gaetz was no longer in the House and had withdrawn from consideration for Trump's Cabinet. A vote on the House floor this month to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican voted against it. The committee detailed its start-and-stop investigation over the past several years, which was halted for a time as the Justice Department conducted its own inquiry of Gaetz. Federal prosecutors never brought a case against him. Lawmakers said they asked the Justice Department for information about its investigation, but the agency refused to hand over information, saying it does not disclose information about investigations that do not result in charges. The committee then subpoenaed the department for records. After a back-and-forth between department officials and the committee, the department only handed over “publicly reported information about the testimony of a deceased individual,” according to the committee's report. The report said Gaetz was “uncooperative" throughout the committee's investigation. He provided “minimal documentation” in response to the committee’s requests, it said. “He also did not agree to a voluntary interview.” ___ Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles’ most senior staffer has launched legal action against him and the Prime Minister’s chief-of-staff Tim Gartrell for allegedly ousting her out of the job after she complained of workplace bullying. Jo Tarnawsky, chief-of-staff to Marles, made her allegations public six weeks ago, and on Monday morning, announced she would be taking her complaint to the Federal Court of Australia. “It has now been over 200 days since I raised concerns privately with the Deputy Prime Minister about bullying behaviour in his office,” Tarnawsky in a press conference at Parliament House on Monday. “I was then exiled as a result. My workplace situation remains unresolved. Today, after untenable delays and inaction from the government, I am launching legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia.” Tarnawsky’s lawsuit involves Marles, Gartrell and the Commonwealth as respondents. The parties are yet to respond to the allegations, and a defence to Tarnawsky’s claim has not yet been filed to the court. Here’s what you need to know. What happened? Jo Tarnawsky began her role as the chief-of-staff to Deputy Prime Minister in June 2022. It is the most senior staffer role in a minister’s office, with a salary of $270,000. According to court documents, staff in the Deputy Prime Minister’s office began bullying Tarnawsky in May 2023. She claims she was gradually iced out in an “abrasive, hostile and exclusionary manner”. In early 2024, Tarnawsky said she could hear staff gossipping about her, and they allegedly refused to engage with her about team outings and trips, including a trip to Ukraine. On April 30, Tarnawsky made a private complaint to her boss about the workplace bullying, which then sparked further deliberate exclusion of her from the rest of the staff. According to her claim, Tarnawsky stopped receiving team emails, she had a restricted view of Marles’ diary, and an image of her pet was removed from the staff’s shared pet wall. What is her claim to the Federal Court of Australia? Tarnawsky’s claim does not accuse Marles nor Gartrell of workplace bullying. Rather, Tarnawsky alleges they mishandled the situation, and iced her out of the job. After Tarnawsky returned from a period of leave in May, she was informed by another government employee that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s chief-of-staff, Tim Gartrell, worked with Marles to oust her from the job. According to the claim, she was refused entry to her old office without receiving 24 hours’ notice. Tarnawsky, she claims, was allowed back into Parliament House during the May Budget week, allegedly to network, to find another job outside of Marles’ ministerial office, and to have “agency” in her “story about leaving”, as allegedly described by Gartrell. Following the budget, on May 16, Marles and Gartrell reportedly told Tarnawsky to take six months’ leave “off the books”. In October this year, Tarnawsky made her allegations public and spoke out about how Marles and Gartrell allegedly handled the situation. Now, she is taking her claim to the courts. “As far as I know, there has been no investigation into the behaviours I reported, nor regarding the actions taken by the deputy prime minister against me,” she said in the press conference on Monday. “Not a single member of the government has reached out to check on my wellbeing.” What happens next? Tarnawsky told reporters on Monday that she had written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, asking him to “intervene and to hold the Deputy Prime Minister to account for the way that I had been treated”. Tarnawsky said the Prime Minister is yet to respond. “Instead, my complaint has been passed around – first to the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, more recently to Comcover – both claim to be independent agencies, but both chose to engage lawyers, the same lawyers from the same law firm, who were also clearly taking instructions from the Deputy Prime Minister,” she said. “They have not been able to assure me that my private information and psychological safety will be protected, and they cannot deal with the most important issue I have raised – that is, for those who did this to me to be held accountable, and to ensure that nobody else in this place is ever treated this way again.” Ahead of the 2022 election, the Labor government pledged to “set the standard” of workplace safety, and whilst in government, they have proposed parliamentary workplace reforms to do so. Tarnawsky said she feels “let down” by the “inaction” of the government and the contradictory behaviour from senior leaders in Parliament House. “If the government won’t hold its own poor behaviour to account, then I will ask the courts to do that,” Tarnawsky said. A defence to her claim is yet to be filed to the Federal Court of Australia. “To my fellow staffers,” Tarnawsky said at the press conference, “we give countless hours of our lives to these jobs, in support of the ministers and MPs we serve. In return, we should not be tossed aside abruptly, after such loyal service. “Good exits are possible. It should not be unreasonable for any of us to expect to depart our roles with dignity, to walk away better from our time working in this building, rather than carrying lifelong trauma from the poor treatment we have endured here.”Israel launches new strikes on Lebanon as leaders draw closer to ceasefire with Hezbollah
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