Wisconsin judicial panel dismisses Democratic attempt to redraw congressional maps

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A three-judge panel in Wisconsin on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Democratic voters that sought to redraw the battleground state's Republican-friendly congressional boundary lines ahead of the November midterm election.

The decision can be appealed to the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, but it's unclear whether it could rule in time to affect the election this year. There is a second lawsuit pending that also seeks to redraw the state's congressional districts, but it isn't slated to go to trial until April 2027.

Both lawsuits were filed as President Donald Trump wages a national redistricting battle in an effort to preserve the Republicans' slim House majority in November.

The three-judge panel said in its ruling that it has “no basis to find the current congressional map invalid.” The case must be dismissed, the judges said, because only the Wisconsin Supreme Court can determine whether the maps should be redrawn.

But in dismissing the lawsuit, the panel made clear that it was “not endorsing the current congressional map.”

“Rather, we, as circuit court judges, do not have the authority to read into a Wisconsin Supreme Court case an analysis that it does not contain,” the judges ruled.

However, the judges said they “stand ready” to engage in any fact-finding the state Supreme Court might order later.

Republicans praised the ruling.

“This is a significant win for Republicans and a yet another blow to desperate Democrats who wanted to reshape the electoral landscape,” said Zach Bannon, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “By keeping Wisconsin’s current district lines in place for 2026, Republicans are in a strong position to build on our momentum to retain and grow our House majority.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in November ordered that the redistricting cases be first heard by the three-judge panel over objections from Republicans. It marked the first time that process has been used under a 2011 law enacted by Republicans.

The lawsuit that was dismissed argued that the current maps discriminate against Democrats. They do so by packing a substantial number of Democrats into two districts while breaking up other Democratic areas into six Republican-favorable districts, the lawsuit argued. They also argued that the Wisconsin Supreme Court violated the constitutional separation of powers provision when adopting the most recent map.

In 2010, the year before Republicans redrew the congressional maps, Democrats held five seats compared with three for Republicans. Republicans hold six of the state’s eight House seats, but only two are considered competitive.

The current congressional maps, which were based on the ones drawn in 2010, were approved by the state Supreme Court when it was controlled by conservative judges. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 declined to block the maps from taking effect.

A top target for Democrats is the western Wisconsin seat held by Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a vocal Trump supporter. He won in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Kind retired. Van Orden won reelection in the 3rd District in 2024.

The other seat Democrats hope to make more competitive is southeastern Wisconsin’s 1st District, which Republican Rep. Bryan Steil has held since 2019. The latest maps made that district more competitive while still favoring Republicans.

The dismissed lawsuit was brought on behalf of 11 voters by Elias Law Group. Attorneys with the liberal law firm did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment. Attorneys for Wisconsin's six Republican members of Congress who sought the dismissal had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit scheduled to go to trial next year was brought by a bipartisan coalition of business leaders. There is also a pending motion to dismiss that case.

The Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy argues in its lawsuit that Wisconsin’s congressional maps are unconstitutional because they are an anti-competitive gerrymander. The lawsuit notes that the median margin of victory for candidates in the eight districts since the maps were enacted is close to 30 percentage points.

FILE - Voters cast their ballots in Oak Creek, Wis., on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors probing public corruption in New York have charged the leaders of a homeless shelter nonprofit with stealing $1.3 million from the taxpayer-backed organization and steering contracts worth millions more to favored vendors in exchange for bribes and kickbacks, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The charges come as investigators also probe whether City Council Member Farah Louis and her sister Debbie Louis, an aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, accepted bribes related to the appropriation of city funds to the nonprofit, according to a search warrant viewed by The Associated Press.

Four people were arrested in the probe Tuesday. The sisters were not among those taken into custody.

The indictment describes multiple layers of corruption within BHRAGS Home Care Corp., a nonprofit that oversees several homeless shelters across the city, including some emergency facilities that opened in response to an influx of migrants.

Prosecutors said the nonprofit's executive director, Roberto Samedy, 50, and its former board chairman, Jean Ronald Tirelus, 50, embezzled from the organization — at one point pocketing $800,000 earmarked for “economic growth and affordable housing” in distressed Brooklyn neighborhoods.

The pair also received more than $200,000 in kickbacks in exchange for steering contracts worth millions of dollars to businesses controlled by Edouardo St. Fort and Miguel Jorge, the indictment said.

Tirelus’ lawyer, Todd Spodek, said he "categorically disputes the charges and looks forward to clearing his name at trial.”

Tirelus and Samedy were charged with wire fraud, embezzlement, and bribery-related offenses and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. St. Fort and Jorge were charged with federal program bribery and related charges, and face up to 10 years each.

Inquiries to attorneys for Samedy and St. Fort were not immediately returned.

St. Fort, who retired as a New York City police sergeant in 2023, runs Fort NYC Security, records show. Since 2023, the city has agreed to pay more than $7 million to Fort NYC Security to provide security services at homeless shelters, often as a subcontractor for BHRAGS.

The indictment did not outline any wrongdoing by others. All four of the men arrested Tuesday were mentioned in a search warrant, signed March 19, seeking communications between BHRAGS, the Louis sisters and Edu Hermelyn,

Edu Hermelyn is the husband of state Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party.

Messages left for Farah Louis, Debbie Louis and Edu Hermelyn were not returned.

A spokesperson for BHRAGS issued a statement saying the nonprofit has served New Yorkers for more than 50 years “with integrity and the highest ethical standards, and we take the allegations against Mr. Samedy seriously.”

It said Samedy is on administrative leave, with his duties handed off to the company's chief operating officer, and that the company is cooperating with law enforcement.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would “definitely be looking into” existing contracts that the city has with BHRAGS.

The existence of a search warrant naming Farah and Debbie Louis doesn’t necessarily indicate that prosecutors plan to bring criminal charges against them, only that investigators persuaded a magistrate judge to allow them to dig deeper and seize evidence.

Nevertheless, the governor's office said Debbie Louis has been placed on leave, and a spokesperson for the City Council said the legislative body “takes any potential misconduct extremely seriously.”

“New Yorkers deserve confidence in their government,” the spokesperson said. “It is essential that the federal investigation proceed fairly and expeditiously to bring this matter to a resolution.”

FILE - New York Councilwoman Farah Louis speaks during a celebration ceremony for the refurbished George Floyd statue, after it was vandalized following its Juneteenth installation, July 22, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)