Todd Rokita: This Constitution Is Not A Suicide Pact

Todd Rokita: This Constitution Is Not A Suicide Pact - Page 3

Indiana's AG reacts to the SCOTUS birthright citizenship decision. In addition, Rokita talks about the limitations his office has in investigating Hogsett.

Rokita enforces federal laws and ensures local officials cooperate with federal partners like ICE.
Lack of ethics codes and enforcement mechanisms allows misconduct by local officials like Indianapolis Mayor Hogsett.
Prosecutors resist giving the Attorney General concurrent criminal jurisdiction to address local corruption.

Source: Attorney General Todd Rokita / Attorney General Todd Rokita

Todd Rokita: This Constitution Is Not A Suicide Pact

As we navigate the complexities of politics and governance, we often overlook the intricacies of local government and the impact it has on our daily lives. But what happens when local officials like Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett blur the lines between public service and personal gain? In this episode, Attorney General Todd Rokita joins Tony Katz to discuss the intricacies of government and the importance of accountability.

As the Attorney General of Indiana, Rokita has been at the forefront of addressing issues related to immigration and the enforcement of federal laws. He’s been working tirelessly to ensure that local officials are cooperating with federal law enforcement partners like ICE, and that the rights of citizens are protected. “If you’re born in the United States, you are a United States citizen,” Rokita emphasizes, referencing the Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship. “This Constitution is not a suicide pact. It has never required the US to recognize birthright citizenship.”

One of the key issues Rokita is tackling is the enforcement of the Fairness Act, a new law that gives him enforcement authority to ensure local officials are cooperating with federal law enforcement partners. However, some local officials, like the Monroe County Sheriff, have pushed back against the law, claiming it violates their rights. The sheriff has been sued by this episode, and the court has ruled in their favor.

In addition, the attorney general talks about the limitation his office has in pursuing an investigation on Joe Hogsett for alleged quid quo pro relationship he had with donors.

Rokita:

It’s not allowed by the General Assembly. And really they need to fix this. And quite honestly, Tony, it’s not just Indianapolis. This is a problem in a lot of counties, maybe all of our counties. None of the counties have a code of ethics, maybe some do. I don’t know of any… There’s no enforcement mechanism at the state level, you know, it’s all under that home rule and separately elected officials. The remedy to this is the next election and that’s it. And as a result, you see stuff like this. The only way I’m allowed under the law to get involved, the Attorney General’s office, is if the state Board of Accounts goes in with their jurisdiction, does an audit in the normal course of business, and in the audit findings they come up with all these findings like Mirror Indy did, and there’s a financial component to it, then I would go collect the money. That’s the only jurisdiction here. My Senator Mike Young, a friend, put in a great piece of legislation as a start. He said, you know what if let’s at least do the Miles Square of Indianapolis. You know, there’s so many state assets there, just like there’s a lot of federal government assets in Washington, DC. And the federal government has say over Washington, DC Let’s do the same in the capital city. Let’s have the attorney general be the prosecutor of the Miles Square area downtown. And I don’t think that went anywhere. It should have gone somewhere. It would have been a good basis to address a lot of your questions. Or you can do what a lot of other states do, and that is give the attorney general concurrent criminal jurisdiction over everywhere in the state. But the prosecutors religiously guard their ability to file criminal charges so that it’s exclusive to them. I mean, they will not give an inch on that. They fight that. They’ve fought it for years. It’s not anything personal to me. They fought Attorney’s General before, they fight the General Assembly. They water it down. So, it’s interesting that some of these local officials, mayors, and prosecutors are complaining about Mears. Now. One way to correct that is to do what other states do and give the attorney general a concurrent criminal jurisdiction because you know, I’ll honey badger off that. You know, you know I’ll get on it. I’ll get on it. But they want to protect their exclusive discretion whether or not the file criminal charges.