The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday told Alabama congressman Mo Brooks that participating in an attempt to overthrow the United States is not part of his job description. https://www.alreporter.com/2021/07/28/doj-deals-blow-to-mo-brooks-defense/
In a series of events that left some social media observers confused, the Department of Justice and the General Counsel for the House of Representatives each separately announced on Tuesday evening that they would not represent House Republican Mo Brooks in a civil suit brought by House Democrat Eric Swalwell. This is bad news for Brooks – particularly the DOJ part – and bad news for a number of other political figures who played a role in the January 6th Capitol attack. https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/bad-day-for-house-republican-mo-brooks-and-its-bad-news-for-donald-trump/40465/
Turns Out Mo Brooks was wearing body armor, supposedly because of a tip he’d received about potential violence, when he told the assembled crowd at Trump’s Jan 6 rally that “today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/mo-brooks-body-armor-jan-6-rally.html
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele Blasts Jim Jordan On His Jan. 6 Trump Amnesia https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jim-jordan-michael-steele-capitol-insurrection-trump_n_6105df36e4b000b997e272d9
“You’re a grown-ass man,” Steele addressed Jordan, who claims he can’t recall when he spoke to Donald Trump Jan. 6. “Stop acting like a 10-year-old.” https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1421233223867191298
On Tuesday, Jordan told Fox’s Bret Baier that he “can’t remember all the days” he spoke with Trump after being asked whether he and the former president talked on the day of the Capitol riot.
“Yes, I mean, I’ve talked to the president, I’ve talked to the president so many, I can’t remember all the days I’ve talked to him. But I’ve certainly talked to the president,” Jordan said.
He subsequently acknowledged specifically speaking to Trump on Jan. 6 in a separate interview.
“I spoke with him that day, after? I think after,” Jordan told Spectrum News reporter Taylor Popielarz. “I don’t know if I spoke with him in the morning or not. I just don’t know … I don’t know when those conversations happened.” https://news.yahoo.com/former-rnc-chair-jim-jordan-221400210.html
“Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has suddenly remembered another phone call — or more — that he had with then-President Donald Trump while insurrectionists rampaged through the Capitol on January 6, Politico reported Sunday.
Some observers speculated that the Ohio congressman may be trying to get his story straight if he’s called to testify before the House Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 — including looking into activities by Trump and GOP lawmakers. The committee revealed just days ago that it would seek phone records and other communications as part of its probe.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/rep-jim-jordan-suddenly-remembers-035702962.html
“A source told Politico that Jordan and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) both got on a phone call to Trump at one point while when they were hunkered down in a secret safe room during the Capitol attack. They pleaded with Trump to tell his supporters to “stand down,” Politico reported, citing the source, who declined to reveal how Trump responded.
When asked if Gaetz joined him in a call to Trump that day, Jordan told Politico that he’d “have to think about it.” https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/08/29/about-jim-jordans-other-jan-6-call-with-trump-494169
“Top Republicans move to protect Trump from Capitol attack fallout : Some party leaders blamed the former president in the charged moments after the insurrection – but are now embarking on a campaign of revisionism” (Guardian UK) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/05/us-capitol-attack-republicans-trump-fallout
“The revisionism over the Capitol attack heralds what some experts see as a dangerous new era in American politics: even with Trump out of the White House, Republicans advancing demonstrably false narratives to safeguard their political survival.
“The GOP is thinking enough time has passed to somehow rewrite the history of events,” said Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former top White House Russia expert who testified at Trump’s first impeachment inquiry.
“They’re hoping that it gets into the record, even if it’s pointed out that it doesn’t correlate with the facts, because once their version is out there in the media, then that’s sufficient for it to become the raw material for shaping how history recounts things later on,” Hill said.”
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy made at least five false claims during a seven-minute Sunday interview on Fox News.
McCarthy uttered inaccurate statements to host Maria Bartiromo about a wide variety of topics — oil prices, inflation, prisoners released in Afghanistan, the behavior of Democratic state legislators, and the content of an elections bill supported by congressional Democrats.
Fact check: https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/politics/fact-check-kevin-mccarthy-fox-news-bartiromo-august/index.html
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday threatened to use a future GOP majority to punish companies that comply with the House’s Jan. 6 investigators, warning that “a Republican majority will not forget.” https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/31/mccarthy-january-6-threaten-phone-records-requests-508166
The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection took its first step in obtaining phone records on Monday, asking an array of telecommunications companies to save records relevant to the attack — a request that could include records from some lawmakers. More than 30 companies, including Apple, AT&T and Verizon, received a request for records from April 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021.
A public interest group is calling for an ethics investigation into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after he told communications companies that the GOP “will not forget” if they turn phone and email records over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) argues that both McCarthy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) violated House rules by threatening to retaliate against companies that comply with legal requests. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/570746-mccarthy-faces-ethics-complaint-after-saying-gop-will-not-forget-if-firms-hand
Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn on Sunday suggested there could be “bloodshed” over future elections as he pushed false claims about election security and voter fraud.
Speaking at a North Carolina county GOP event, Cawthorn repeated the lie about US election systems being “rigged” and “stolen,” something he said would “lead to one place, and that’s bloodshed” if it continued.
“And I will tell you, as much as I am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there’s nothing that I would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American. And the way that we can have recourse against that is if we all passionately demand that we have election security in all 50 states,” the North Carolina Republican continued.
There is no evidence of mass voter fraud, as Republican election officials around the country and Trump-appointed former Attorney General William Barr have acknowledged. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/madison-cawthorn-elections/index.html
“How Republicans learned to stop worrying and embrace ‘replacement theory’ — by name” (NYT 9/27/21) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/27/how-republicans-learned-stop-worrying-embrace-replacement-theory-by-name/
“The Republican Party’s increasing embrace of replacement theory — the idea popular in white supremacist circles that immigrants are being brought in to replace native-born (read: White) Americans — has been a slow build. For years, it was an idea relegated to infrequent mentions by fringe Republicans who operated outside the political mainstream and weren’t generally welcomed in politer circles of the GOP. When it was mentioned, it was dressed up as something besides replacement theory, per se.
What has transpired over the past week, though, shows how quickly something can be injected into the bloodstream when that dressed-up version is initially given a pass. While some of the most prominent members of the conservative movement have increasingly espoused a version of replacement theory without calling it that — and sometimes seeking to differentiate it from the white supremacist version — they’re now just straight-up embracing the label.”
“Pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood continues to promote conspiracy theories and misinformation at conservative events around the country, claiming at a Friday rally that no planes hit the Twin Towers or the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.” https://www.newsweek.com/lin-wood-claims-no-planes-hit-twin-towers-pentagon-9-11-we-got-played-1634989
Wood rose to national prominence in late 2020 as he worked with attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies to file baseless election challenge lawsuits alleging that the presidential election was “rigged” or “stolen” from former President Donald Trump. The lawyer has continued to spread misinformation about the election, as well as promote other bizarre conspiracy theories within conservative circles in recent months.
…In late August, a judge referred Wood for disbarment over baseless election challenge lawsuits he filed in support of Trump. He was already facing possible disciplinary action from the State Bar of Georgia due to his conduct.”
Former President Donald Trump’s team announced today the creation of the “ONLY Trump approved Super PAC” the “Make America Great Again, Again!” PAC which will replace the “Make America Great Again Action” PAC.
The former president’s team said assets from the former PAC would be transferred to this new PAC and used to support candidates “who have proven to be fighters of the MAGA movement and President Trump’s many accomplishments.” https://www.newsweek.com/trump-starts-new-maga-again-pac-support-candidates-still-no-2024-announcement-1635476
“In a fundraising email to supporters over the weekend, the former president announced a new version of the trademark red “Make America Great Again” hats and claimed he had “just designed” the new offering.
“I just designed our BRAND NEW MAGA Hat and I want YOU to have it,” the email teased would-be donors to Trump’s Save America PAC. “You’ve always been one of my most LOYAL supporters, so I don’t want you to have just ANY hat… I want YOU to have the MAGA Hat that I personally HAND-SIGNED for YOU.” https://nypost.com/2021/08/09/trump-unveils-new-version-of-maga-hat-he-just-designed/
Rep. Jim Jordan @Jim_Jordan 1:28 AM · Oct 12, 2021: “Ohio should ban all vaccine mandates.” https://www.newsweek.com/representative-jim-jordan-ridiculed-calling-ohio-ban-all-vaccine-mandates-1638551
If Jordan was declaring that all vaccine mandates should be dropped, he wouldn’t be the first politician to recently make the suggestion. In September, Florida state Senator Manny Diaz, a Republican said he wanted to “review” other vaccine requirements in place for such illnesses as mumps and measles.
(New York Times Sept. 6, 1934): NUREMBERG, Sept. 5. — Chancellor Adolf Hitler today proclaimed the arrival of the Nazi millennium, predicting that the next 1,000 years would not witness another revolution in Germany. He was equally positive that the National Socialist movement had now become absolute master of the Reich and that its leadership rested in the hands of its best men.
“The House Rules Committee held a meeting to discuss whether Steve Bannon should be held in Contempt of Congress and referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution for defying a lawfully issued Congressional subpoena from the Select Committee on January 6th.
To paraphrase one of their own, the Republicans did not send their best. Instead, they sent Gym Jordan and Matt Gaetz to argue that the subpoena — and in fact, the entire January 6th investigation — was improper and inappropriate. Imagine how thin your bench must be to think that Jordan & Gaetz were the best ones to argue about propriety and appropriateness.” https://www.palmerreport.com/community/the-republicans-did-not-send-their-best-on-this-one/42149/
“Two people who helped plan the pro-Trump rallies that took place in Washington, D.C., ahead of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 say members of Congress and the White House helped plan the protest that turned violent.” https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/578251-jan-6-protest-organizers-say-they-communicated-with-conservative
(Rolling Stone) “Exclusive: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in ‘Dozens’ of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Office” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/exclusive-jan-6-organizers-met-congress-white-house-1245289/
“…Along with [Marjorie Taylor] Greene, the conspiratorial pro-Trump Republican from Georgia who took office earlier this year, the pair both say the members who participated in these conversations or had top staffers join in included Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).”
House Republican Adam Kinzinger is retiring at the end of his term and tweeted this after Representative Paul Gosar posted a video depicting himself murdering President Biden and AOC: “A party with leaders like Kevin McCarthy, that cannot stand up to the insanity from people like Greene, Gaetz, Gosar, etc, is going to have a hard time standing up to countries like China.” https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1458242358873628677
Kinzinger has been outspoken in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, voting for former President Trump’s impeachment and criticizing his congressional colleagues for spreading false claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent — an assertion that was at the heart of the January assault.
He is also one of two Republicans serving on the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 attack, along with Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.).
“Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Tuesday that 13 House Republicans who backed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure legislation should be removed from their committee assignments, arguing that they went against the wishes of conservative voters.
Meadows, during an interview on former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, went after what he saw as recalcitrant behavior on the part of GOP members who defied House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.” https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-meadows-house-republicans-bipartisan-infrastructure-support-lose-committee-assignments-2021-11
“Menace Enters the Republican Mainstream : Threats of violence have become commonplace among a significant part of the party, as historians and those who study democracy warn of a dark shift in American politics.” (New York Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/us/politics/republican-violent-rhetoric.html
“From congressional offices to community meeting rooms, threats of violence are becoming commonplace among a significant segment of the Republican Party. Ten months after rioters attacked the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, and after four years of a president who often spoke in violent terms about his adversaries, right-wing Republicans are talking more openly and frequently about the use of force as justifiable in opposition to those who dislodged him from power.”
Confirming, once again, the leading political group opposing honesty, justice, freedom from bigotry…is composed almost exclusively of Congressional Republicans.
“Florida congressman Matt Gaetz said would be willing to offer Kyle Rittenhouse an internship at his office if he is acquitted of murder.
Speaking to Newsmax’s Grant Stinchfield on Wednesday, Gaetz said he thinks the 18-year-old is not guilty of the charges and that the defendant was acting in self defense when he shot and killed two people and injured a third during a Black Lives Matter protest last August.” https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-kyle-rittenhouse-intern-trial-1650606
“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has introduced a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal — the legislative branch’s highest honor — to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who last week was found not guilty of homicide and other charges related to his fatal shooting of two men during a protest against police violence last year.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/greene-rittenhouse-congressional-gold-medal/2021/11/24/c09980d2-4d49-11ec-a1b9-9f12bd39487a_story.html
Greene introduced a bill Tuesday to give Rittenhouse the award. While the bill’s full text was not immediately available, a summary states that the measure would “award a Congressional Gold Medal to Kyle H. Rittenhouse, who protected the community of Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) riot.” https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6070/all-info
“Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top fundraiser for former President Donald Trump and the girlfriend of his son Donald Trump Jr., boasted to a GOP operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that helped fuel the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
…Guilfoyle’s texts, reviewed by ProPublica, represent the strongest indication yet that members of the Trump family circle were directly involved in the financing and organization of the rally. The attack on the Capitol that followed it left five dead and scores injured.” https://www.propublica.org/article/texts-show-kimberly-guilfoyle-bragged-about-raising-millions-for-rally-that-fueled-capitol-riot
Guilfoyle has continued her role as a major Trump fundraiser. In October, she was put at the helm of Trump’s super PAC, called Make America Great Again, Again!
Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert said Monday he will run for attorney general of Texas, joining a crowded field of GOP candidates looking to unseat incumbent Ken Paxton.
Gohmert represents Texas’s 1st Congressional District and has served in the House since 2005. Before he was elected to Congress, Gohmert was a state court judge. Following the 2020 presidential election, Gohmert filed a lawsuit [link] in federal court that sought to force then-Vice President Mike Pence to decide the outcome of the race, though it was dismissed. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/louie-gohmert-texas-attorney-general-candidate/
‘Nothing about this is normal’: RNC payments to Trump attorneys irk GOP officials https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/24/politics/trump-rnc-payments/index.html
“…Some of these same officials who spoke to CNN also questioned why the party would foot the legal bills of a self-professed billionaire who was sitting on a $102 million war chest as recently as July and has previously used his various political committees to cover legal costs. According to FEC filings from August, the former President’s Make America Great Again committee has paid Jones Day more than $37,000 since the beginning of the year, while his Make America Great Again super PAC has paid a combined $7.8 million to attorneys handling his lawsuits related to the 2020 election.”
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado apologized to “anyone in the Muslim community I offended” on Twitter Friday after video surfaced of her making anti-Muslim comments last weekend about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
In the video, posted last Saturday on Facebook from an event that day, Boebert implied Omar had been mistaken for a terrorist in an elevator on Capitol Hill. https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/26/politics/lauren-boebert-ilhan-omar-anti-muslim-comments/index.html
“The former White House doctor who raved about Donald Trump’s “excellent” health to a skeptical public is now claiming that the disturbing new COVID-19 variant omicron is nothing but a midterm election ploy by the Democrats.
Dr. Ronny Jackson, now a Republican MAGA congressman from Texas, scoffed at the variant the World Health Organization has deemed “highly transmissible” and “concerning.” https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-doctor-raved-trumps-024430725.html
“We are going to take power after this next election. When we do, it’s not going to be the days of Paul Ryan, Trey Gowdy, and no real oversight.
It’s going to be the days of @Jim_Jordan, @MTGreenee, @DrPaulGosar, and myself doing everything to get the answers to our questions.”
Representative Matt Gaetz, R Florida, 1st District (12/7/21) https://twitter.com/repmattgaetz/status/1468302203819462656?s=21
“Is Rep. Jim Jordan among the least effective members of Congress? Researchers at the Center for Effective Lawmaking – a joint project between academics at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University – seem to think so.
The organization last week released a report evaluating how successful individual Congress members were at moving their legislative agenda items through Congress over the past two years. It examined the bills each member sponsored, whether they advanced through the legislative process and were signed into law, and the significance of that legislation. It ranked members within their own parties to avoid penalizing those in the legislative minority.
The study rated Jordan as the 202nd most effective Republican in the House of Representatives out of 205 it examined.” https://www.cleveland.com/open/2021/03/university-study-deems-jim-jordan-ineffective-at-passing-legislation-says-other-ohioans-get-better-results.html
Rep. Jim Jordan forwarded a text message to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on January 5, outlining a legal theory that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to stand in the way of the certification of the 2020 election. https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/politics/jim-jordan-mark-meadows-text/index.html
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is facing criticism for requesting federal aid for his home state despite his long track record of opposing aid for other regions recovering from disasters.
Kentucky was one of several Midwestern states rocked by tornadoes over the weekend. The storms decimated large portions of towns, and as many as 70 people are believed to have been killed in Western Kentucky. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sen-rand-pauls-aid-request-tornado-damage-faces/story?id=81730941
Biden has already pledged to help Kentucky and other impacted states recover from the tragedy.
“The federal government is not going to walk away,” Biden said during remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday. “This is one of those times when we aren’t Democrats or Republicans. Sounds like hyperbole, but it’s real. We’re all Americans. We stand together as the United States of America.”
Congressman Jim Jordan refuses to cooperate with 6 January committee https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/10/us-capitol-attack-jim-jordan-refuses-cooperate
In a Sunday night letter to the committee chair, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the Trump ally accused the panel of “an outrageous abuse” of its authority.
He also claimed “an unprecedented and inappropriate demand to examine the basis for a colleague’s decision on a particular matter pending before the House of Representatives”.
“This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry,” he said, “violates core constitutional principles and would serve to further erode legislative norms.”
Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who was also closely involved in Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his election defeat, has also refused to cooperate.
Kevin McCarthy’s path to speakership enters final but treacherous leg https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/21/politics/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-gop-conference/index.html
“…The shift in the balance of power within the House GOP conference — from institutionalists like John Boehner to conservative rabble-rousers like Jim Jordan — is reflected in McCarthy’s own evolution from young establishment Republican to dedicated Trump ally.”
“The 14th Amendment Threat to Madison Cawthorn’s Congressional Career Is Real : The North Carolina State Board of Elections has asserted it has the authority to remove him from the ballot.” https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a39038567/madison-cawthorn-14th-amendment-ballot-north-carolina/
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same…”
When U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson paid a rare visit to the Wisconsin State Capitol last fall to meet with legislative leaders, the expected agenda was to discuss dismantling the state elections commission, newly released text messages between top legislative staff members suggest. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/11/ron-johnson-capitol-visit-aimed-at-ending-elections-agency-texts-show/6719767001/
The messages were obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel under the state’s public records law.
In a statement, Johnson reiterated his position that the state Legislature should “reclaim its constitutional authority over federal elections” and said they also should “act to defend its oversight authority over state agencies, like WEC [Wisconsin Elections Commission], that they have created.”
When asked if Johnson’s statement referred to specifically dismantling the WEC as the text message suggested, a spokeswoman said “It should be taken as how he wrote it, not what the text messages say.”
Eideard 
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday told Alabama congressman Mo Brooks that participating in an attempt to overthrow the United States is not part of his job description. https://www.alreporter.com/2021/07/28/doj-deals-blow-to-mo-brooks-defense/
In a series of events that left some social media observers confused, the Department of Justice and the General Counsel for the House of Representatives each separately announced on Tuesday evening that they would not represent House Republican Mo Brooks in a civil suit brought by House Democrat Eric Swalwell. This is bad news for Brooks – particularly the DOJ part – and bad news for a number of other political figures who played a role in the January 6th Capitol attack. https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/bad-day-for-house-republican-mo-brooks-and-its-bad-news-for-donald-trump/40465/
Turns Out Mo Brooks was wearing body armor, supposedly because of a tip he’d received about potential violence, when he told the assembled crowd at Trump’s Jan 6 rally that “today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/mo-brooks-body-armor-jan-6-rally.html
After Capitol Hill bomb threat, GOP Rep. Mo Brooks sympathetic to ‘anger directed at dictatorial Socialism’ https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/19/after-capitol-hill-bomb-threat-gop-lawmaker-expresses-sympathy-for-citizenry-anger.html
Mo Brooks urged a Jan. 6 crowd to ‘fight.’ Now his actions long before the insurrection face new scrutiny. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/01/10/mo-brooks-jan6-eric-swalwell-lawsuit-insurrection/
Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama said ex-President Donald Trump had asked him “to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency.” https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/23/mo-brooks-says-trump-asked-him-to-rescind-election-remove-biden.html
Former President Donald Trump Wednesday withdrew his endorsement of U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks for Congress, accusing him of not supporting his false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen. https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2022/03/23/donald-trump-withdraws-endorsement-mo-brooks-alabama-senate/7139178001/
Blue Lives Matter, Except When They’re Secretly Antifa
House select committee hearing on Jan. 6 mob exposes the worst GOP hypocrisy
While Republicans declare their loyalty to law enforcement on the campaign trail, too many have become apologists for the rioters who attacked officers. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/house-select-committee-hearing-jan-6-mob-exposes-worst-gop-ncna1275206
“What did Jim Jordan know about the insurrection and when did he know it?” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/27/jim-jordan-republican-capitol-attack-insurrection-house-select-committee
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele Blasts Jim Jordan On His Jan. 6 Trump Amnesia https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jim-jordan-michael-steele-capitol-insurrection-trump_n_6105df36e4b000b997e272d9
“You’re a grown-ass man,” Steele addressed Jordan, who claims he can’t recall when he spoke to Donald Trump Jan. 6. “Stop acting like a 10-year-old.” https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1421233223867191298
On Tuesday, Jordan told Fox’s Bret Baier that he “can’t remember all the days” he spoke with Trump after being asked whether he and the former president talked on the day of the Capitol riot.
“Yes, I mean, I’ve talked to the president, I’ve talked to the president so many, I can’t remember all the days I’ve talked to him. But I’ve certainly talked to the president,” Jordan said.
He subsequently acknowledged specifically speaking to Trump on Jan. 6 in a separate interview.
“I spoke with him that day, after? I think after,” Jordan told Spectrum News reporter Taylor Popielarz. “I don’t know if I spoke with him in the morning or not. I just don’t know … I don’t know when those conversations happened.” https://news.yahoo.com/former-rnc-chair-jim-jordan-221400210.html
“Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has suddenly remembered another phone call — or more — that he had with then-President Donald Trump while insurrectionists rampaged through the Capitol on January 6, Politico reported Sunday.
Some observers speculated that the Ohio congressman may be trying to get his story straight if he’s called to testify before the House Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 — including looking into activities by Trump and GOP lawmakers. The committee revealed just days ago that it would seek phone records and other communications as part of its probe.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/rep-jim-jordan-suddenly-remembers-035702962.html
“A source told Politico that Jordan and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) both got on a phone call to Trump at one point while when they were hunkered down in a secret safe room during the Capitol attack. They pleaded with Trump to tell his supporters to “stand down,” Politico reported, citing the source, who declined to reveal how Trump responded.
When asked if Gaetz joined him in a call to Trump that day, Jordan told Politico that he’d “have to think about it.” https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/08/29/about-jim-jordans-other-jan-6-call-with-trump-494169
Already Distorting Events of Jan. 6, GOP Concocts Entire Counternarrative https://news.yahoo.com/already-distorting-events-jan-6-135623613.html
7AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 2nd
“What happened during the Jan. 6 call between Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy?” https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/apr/26/what-happened-during-jan-6-call-between-donald-tru/
“Top Republicans move to protect Trump from Capitol attack fallout : Some party leaders blamed the former president in the charged moments after the insurrection – but are now embarking on a campaign of revisionism” (Guardian UK) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/05/us-capitol-attack-republicans-trump-fallout
“The revisionism over the Capitol attack heralds what some experts see as a dangerous new era in American politics: even with Trump out of the White House, Republicans advancing demonstrably false narratives to safeguard their political survival.
“The GOP is thinking enough time has passed to somehow rewrite the history of events,” said Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former top White House Russia expert who testified at Trump’s first impeachment inquiry.
“They’re hoping that it gets into the record, even if it’s pointed out that it doesn’t correlate with the facts, because once their version is out there in the media, then that’s sufficient for it to become the raw material for shaping how history recounts things later on,” Hill said.”
“Trump Is Planning a Much More Respectable Coup Next Time” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/08/trump-2024-coup-federalist-society-doctrine.amp
“Trump’s ‘disturbing’ plot to use the DOJ to steal the election appears to have broken at least two federal laws: legal expert” https://www.rawstory.com/trump-steal-the-election/
“The DOJ Official Who Tried to Steal the Election for Trump Has a Sweet New Gig
Conservative attorneys who fought to overturn the 2020 election continue to face no professional consequences.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/08/jeffrey-bossert-clark-justice-department-covid-vaccine.amp
“Former Atlanta-based U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak has received the Justice Department’s permission to speak to congressional committees investigating his abrupt resignation and whether it had anything to do with attempts by President Donald Trump to interfere in the 2020 election.” https://www.ajc.com/politics/justice-department-authorizes-pak-to-testify-to-house-oversight-committee/I2PKRPCBIJHTPOA5WXS5HXXA44/
“The newly formed House select committee is taking the lead on investigating January 6 going forward, consolidating the investigation, as other committees looking into the matter begin handing over their work, according to a multiple sources familiar with the matter.” https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/05/politics/house-select-committee-january-6/index.html
“Arizona ‘bracing for impact’ of Trump-driven election report : Two prominent Arizona officials, one Democrat and one Republican, released lengthy prebuttals on the eve of the Cyber Ninjas’ report to the GOP-controlled state Senate.” https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/19/arizona-audit-elections-trump-report-506324
“Office of the Arizona Secretary of State, Report on the Partisan Review of the 2020 General Election in Maricopa County, August 19, 2021” https://azsos.gov/sites/default/files/2020_Ballot_Review_Report_ver20210819-03_Review.pdf
“The Arizona Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that the leading contractor of Arizona’s audit of the Maricopa County 2020 election results must turn over documents related to the effort.” https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/568704-arizona-senate-must-release-election-audit-records-court
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E9f8LFPVUBMAW6o?format=jpg
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy made at least five false claims during a seven-minute Sunday interview on Fox News.
McCarthy uttered inaccurate statements to host Maria Bartiromo about a wide variety of topics — oil prices, inflation, prisoners released in Afghanistan, the behavior of Democratic state legislators, and the content of an elections bill supported by congressional Democrats.
Fact check: https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/politics/fact-check-kevin-mccarthy-fox-news-bartiromo-august/index.html
7AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 26th
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday threatened to use a future GOP majority to punish companies that comply with the House’s Jan. 6 investigators, warning that “a Republican majority will not forget.” https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/31/mccarthy-january-6-threaten-phone-records-requests-508166
The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection took its first step in obtaining phone records on Monday, asking an array of telecommunications companies to save records relevant to the attack — a request that could include records from some lawmakers. More than 30 companies, including Apple, AT&T and Verizon, received a request for records from April 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021.
A public interest group is calling for an ethics investigation into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after he told communications companies that the GOP “will not forget” if they turn phone and email records over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) argues that both McCarthy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) violated House rules by threatening to retaliate against companies that comply with legal requests. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/570746-mccarthy-faces-ethics-complaint-after-saying-gop-will-not-forget-if-firms-hand
Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn on Sunday suggested there could be “bloodshed” over future elections as he pushed false claims about election security and voter fraud.
Speaking at a North Carolina county GOP event, Cawthorn repeated the lie about US election systems being “rigged” and “stolen,” something he said would “lead to one place, and that’s bloodshed” if it continued.
“And I will tell you, as much as I am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there’s nothing that I would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American. And the way that we can have recourse against that is if we all passionately demand that we have election security in all 50 states,” the North Carolina Republican continued.
There is no evidence of mass voter fraud, as Republican election officials around the country and Trump-appointed former Attorney General William Barr have acknowledged. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/madison-cawthorn-elections/index.html
“Heeding Steve Bannon’s Call, Election Deniers Organize to Seize Control of the GOP — and Reshape America’s Elections” https://www.propublica.org/article/heeding-steve-bannons-call-election-deniers-organize-to-seize-control-of-the-gop-and-reshape-americas-elections
“…It has only been a few months — too soon to say whether the wave of newcomers will ultimately succeed in reshaping the GOP or how they will affect Republican prospects in upcoming elections. But what’s already clear is that these up-and-coming party officers have notched early wins.”
Cognitive dissonance https://www.palmerreport.com/community/cognitive-dissonance/41185/
“How Republicans learned to stop worrying and embrace ‘replacement theory’ — by name” (NYT 9/27/21) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/27/how-republicans-learned-stop-worrying-embrace-replacement-theory-by-name/
“The Republican Party’s increasing embrace of replacement theory — the idea popular in white supremacist circles that immigrants are being brought in to replace native-born (read: White) Americans — has been a slow build. For years, it was an idea relegated to infrequent mentions by fringe Republicans who operated outside the political mainstream and weren’t generally welcomed in politer circles of the GOP. When it was mentioned, it was dressed up as something besides replacement theory, per se.
What has transpired over the past week, though, shows how quickly something can be injected into the bloodstream when that dressed-up version is initially given a pass. While some of the most prominent members of the conservative movement have increasingly espoused a version of replacement theory without calling it that — and sometimes seeking to differentiate it from the white supremacist version — they’re now just straight-up embracing the label.”
“Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/30/revealed-council-national-policy-republicans-extremists
“Pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood continues to promote conspiracy theories and misinformation at conservative events around the country, claiming at a Friday rally that no planes hit the Twin Towers or the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.” https://www.newsweek.com/lin-wood-claims-no-planes-hit-twin-towers-pentagon-9-11-we-got-played-1634989
Wood rose to national prominence in late 2020 as he worked with attorney Sidney Powell and other Trump allies to file baseless election challenge lawsuits alleging that the presidential election was “rigged” or “stolen” from former President Donald Trump. The lawyer has continued to spread misinformation about the election, as well as promote other bizarre conspiracy theories within conservative circles in recent months.
…In late August, a judge referred Wood for disbarment over baseless election challenge lawsuits he filed in support of Trump. He was already facing possible disciplinary action from the State Bar of Georgia due to his conduct.”
Prominent Trump supporters attorney Lin Wood and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, are feuding in public after Wood accused Greene of being “a communist.” https://www.newsweek.com/trump-allies-lin-wood-marjorie-taylor-greene-attack-each-other-1637345
Former President Donald Trump’s team announced today the creation of the “ONLY Trump approved Super PAC” the “Make America Great Again, Again!” PAC which will replace the “Make America Great Again Action” PAC.
The former president’s team said assets from the former PAC would be transferred to this new PAC and used to support candidates “who have proven to be fighters of the MAGA movement and President Trump’s many accomplishments.” https://www.newsweek.com/trump-starts-new-maga-again-pac-support-candidates-still-no-2024-announcement-1635476
“In a fundraising email to supporters over the weekend, the former president announced a new version of the trademark red “Make America Great Again” hats and claimed he had “just designed” the new offering.
“I just designed our BRAND NEW MAGA Hat and I want YOU to have it,” the email teased would-be donors to Trump’s Save America PAC. “You’ve always been one of my most LOYAL supporters, so I don’t want you to have just ANY hat… I want YOU to have the MAGA Hat that I personally HAND-SIGNED for YOU.” https://nypost.com/2021/08/09/trump-unveils-new-version-of-maga-hat-he-just-designed/
https://external-preview.redd.it/pKEE4KlmZR5s84Grvpqjx8EX_9ye7qerzUuPVw5k-gU.gif?width=960&format=mp4&s=fa4de376ec517b3219293eb1ddb8c109e7cfb50b
Rep. Jim Jordan @Jim_Jordan 1:28 AM · Oct 12, 2021: “Ohio should ban all vaccine mandates.”
https://www.newsweek.com/representative-jim-jordan-ridiculed-calling-ohio-ban-all-vaccine-mandates-1638551
If Jordan was declaring that all vaccine mandates should be dropped, he wouldn’t be the first politician to recently make the suggestion. In September, Florida state Senator Manny Diaz, a Republican said he wanted to “review” other vaccine requirements in place for such illnesses as mumps and measles.
“We’re putting together a coalition that’s going to govern for 100 years.” Former White House advisor Steve Bannon https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/trump-bannon-youngkin-republican-virginia/2021/10/13/1113ad10-2bb4-11ec-985d-3150f7e106b2_story.html
(New York Times Sept. 6, 1934): NUREMBERG, Sept. 5. — Chancellor Adolf Hitler today proclaimed the arrival of the Nazi millennium, predicting that the next 1,000 years would not witness another revolution in Germany. He was equally positive that the National Socialist movement had now become absolute master of the Reich and that its leadership rested in the hands of its best men.
True.
‘Down the rabbit hole’: Arizona GOP goes full fringe https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/20/arizona-gop-fringe-516322
7AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 21st
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has repeatedly struggled to answer whether or not he spoke with former President Donald Trump on the day rioters stormed the US Capitol. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/10/21/jim-jordan-trump-january-6-capitol-roll-the-tape-keilar-newday-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/
Congressman Jim Jordan struggles to say when he spoke with Trump on January 6 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jim-jordan-donald-trump-january-6-steve-bannon/
Bannon case and stalled voting rights bill show how GOP has given up on democracy https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/21/politics/donald-trump-steve-bannon-republicans-voting-rights-democracy/index.html
“The House Rules Committee held a meeting to discuss whether Steve Bannon should be held in Contempt of Congress and referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution for defying a lawfully issued Congressional subpoena from the Select Committee on January 6th.
To paraphrase one of their own, the Republicans did not send their best. Instead, they sent Gym Jordan and Matt Gaetz to argue that the subpoena — and in fact, the entire January 6th investigation — was improper and inappropriate. Imagine how thin your bench must be to think that Jordan & Gaetz were the best ones to argue about propriety and appropriateness.”
https://www.palmerreport.com/community/the-republicans-did-not-send-their-best-on-this-one/42149/
“Two people who helped plan the pro-Trump rallies that took place in Washington, D.C., ahead of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 say members of Congress and the White House helped plan the protest that turned violent.” https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/578251-jan-6-protest-organizers-say-they-communicated-with-conservative
(Rolling Stone) “Exclusive: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in ‘Dozens’ of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Office” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/exclusive-jan-6-organizers-met-congress-white-house-1245289/
“…Along with [Marjorie Taylor] Greene, the conspiratorial pro-Trump Republican from Georgia who took office earlier this year, the pair both say the members who participated in these conversations or had top staffers join in included Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).”
Click screen above to turn on sound icon lower left.
“Republican congressman posts video depicting violence against Ocasio-Cortez and Biden” https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/09/politics/gosar-anime-video-violence-ocasio-cortez-biden/index.html Gosar’s Digital Director, Jessica Lycos, said in a statement to The Washington Post on Monday night, “Everyone needs to relax.”
Once upon a time: “Reps. Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs credited in video with organizing Trump crowd in DC on day of riot” (Jan 10, 2021) https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/01/10/paul-gosar-andy-biggs-credited-video-organizing-trump-crowd-dc/6603721002/
House Republican Adam Kinzinger is retiring at the end of his term and tweeted this after Representative Paul Gosar posted a video depicting himself murdering President Biden and AOC: “A party with leaders like Kevin McCarthy, that cannot stand up to the insanity from people like Greene, Gaetz, Gosar, etc, is going to have a hard time standing up to countries like China.” https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1458242358873628677
Kinzinger has been outspoken in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, voting for former President Trump’s impeachment and criticizing his congressional colleagues for spreading false claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent — an assertion that was at the heart of the January assault.
He is also one of two Republicans serving on the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 attack, along with Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.).
“Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Tuesday that 13 House Republicans who backed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure legislation should be removed from their committee assignments, arguing that they went against the wishes of conservative voters.
Meadows, during an interview on former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, went after what he saw as recalcitrant behavior on the part of GOP members who defied House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.” https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-meadows-house-republicans-bipartisan-infrastructure-support-lose-committee-assignments-2021-11
“Menace Enters the Republican Mainstream : Threats of violence have become commonplace among a significant part of the party, as historians and those who study democracy warn of a dark shift in American politics.” (New York Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/us/politics/republican-violent-rhetoric.html
“From congressional offices to community meeting rooms, threats of violence are becoming commonplace among a significant segment of the Republican Party. Ten months after rioters attacked the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, and after four years of a president who often spoke in violent terms about his adversaries, right-wing Republicans are talking more openly and frequently about the use of force as justifiable in opposition to those who dislodged him from power.”
Trump Says Rioters Wanting to Kill Mike Pence on Jan. 6 Was “Common Sense” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/11/trump-common-sense-jan-6-kill-mike-pence.html
The Vice-President of the United States and his family were forced to hide in an underground parking garage for about 5 hours while what amounted to a lynch mob swarmed through the nation’s Capitol searching for him https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pence-january-6-riot-loading-dock-underground-parking-garage-1647353
“John Barrasso of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, refused four times on Sunday to condemn Donald Trump for defending supporters who chanted “Hang Mike Pence” during the deadly assault on the US Capitol on 6 January. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/14/trump-capitol-attack-hang-mike-pence-chants-republican-senator-john-barrasso
“Is Trump planning a 2024 coup?” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/14/trump-president-2024-election-coup-republicans
“Timeline: Rep. Jim Jordan, a Systematic Disinformation Campaign, and January 6” https://www.justsecurity.org/77852/timeline-rep-jim-jordan-a-systematic-disinformation-campaign-and-january-6/
“The Grand Old Party of disarray” By Eugene Robinson (Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/15/grand-old-party-disarray/
“House votes to censure and remove Gosar from committees over violent video targeting AOC and Biden” https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/17/politics/house-vote-censure-gosar-aoc-video/index.html The House voted to censure Gosar by a vote of 223 in favor and 207 against. Representative David Joyce (R-Ohio) was the lone member who voted “present,” while Representatives Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) were the only GOP members to vote in favor of the censure.
“Minutes After Being Censured, Gosar Retweets Offending Ocasio-Cortez Video” https://www.newsweek.com/minutes-after-being-censured-rep-gosar-retweets-offending-aoc-video-1650542
Confirming, once again, the leading political group opposing honesty, justice, freedom from bigotry…is composed almost exclusively of Congressional Republicans.
“Florida congressman Matt Gaetz said would be willing to offer Kyle Rittenhouse an internship at his office if he is acquitted of murder.
Speaking to Newsmax’s Grant Stinchfield on Wednesday, Gaetz said he thinks the 18-year-old is not guilty of the charges and that the defendant was acting in self defense when he shot and killed two people and injured a third during a Black Lives Matter protest last August.” https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-kyle-rittenhouse-intern-trial-1650606
“GOP interest in offering Rittenhouse an internship gets weirder” https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-interest-offering-rittenhouse-internship-gets-weirder-n1284516
“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has introduced a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal — the legislative branch’s highest honor — to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who last week was found not guilty of homicide and other charges related to his fatal shooting of two men during a protest against police violence last year.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/greene-rittenhouse-congressional-gold-medal/2021/11/24/c09980d2-4d49-11ec-a1b9-9f12bd39487a_story.html
Greene introduced a bill Tuesday to give Rittenhouse the award. While the bill’s full text was not immediately available, a summary states that the measure would “award a Congressional Gold Medal to Kyle H. Rittenhouse, who protected the community of Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) riot.” https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6070/all-info
Kevin McCarthy gives longest House floor speech in history delaying Build Back Better vote https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/18/politics/build-back-better-house-vote/index.html
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) somehow finds a new low in baseless attacks on Biden banking nominee https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/the_latest/article_664dd064-48a4-11ec-bd9f-0b31c1904d35.html
“Our Foghorn Leghorn Republican senator little resembles his former Democratic self, but in Louisiana we know the type” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/22/our-foghorn-leghorn-republican-senator-little-resembles-his-former-democratic-self-louisiana-we-know-type/
https://images.dailykos.com/images/1007759/story_image/TMW2021-11-17color.png?1636912169
Another voter fraud accusation blows up in Republicans’ faces https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/21/politics/fact-check-republicans-voter-fraud-kirk-hartle/index.html
“Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top fundraiser for former President Donald Trump and the girlfriend of his son Donald Trump Jr., boasted to a GOP operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that helped fuel the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
…Guilfoyle’s texts, reviewed by ProPublica, represent the strongest indication yet that members of the Trump family circle were directly involved in the financing and organization of the rally. The attack on the Capitol that followed it left five dead and scores injured.” https://www.propublica.org/article/texts-show-kimberly-guilfoyle-bragged-about-raising-millions-for-rally-that-fueled-capitol-riot
Guilfoyle has continued her role as a major Trump fundraiser. In October, she was put at the helm of Trump’s super PAC, called Make America Great Again, Again!
Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert said Monday he will run for attorney general of Texas, joining a crowded field of GOP candidates looking to unseat incumbent Ken Paxton.
Gohmert represents Texas’s 1st Congressional District and has served in the House since 2005. Before he was elected to Congress, Gohmert was a state court judge. Following the 2020 presidential election, Gohmert filed a lawsuit [link] in federal court that sought to force then-Vice President Mike Pence to decide the outcome of the race, though it was dismissed. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/louie-gohmert-texas-attorney-general-candidate/
‘Nothing about this is normal’: RNC payments to Trump attorneys irk GOP officials https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/24/politics/trump-rnc-payments/index.html
“…Some of these same officials who spoke to CNN also questioned why the party would foot the legal bills of a self-professed billionaire who was sitting on a $102 million war chest as recently as July and has previously used his various political committees to cover legal costs. According to FEC filings from August, the former President’s Make America Great Again committee has paid Jones Day more than $37,000 since the beginning of the year, while his Make America Great Again super PAC has paid a combined $7.8 million to attorneys handling his lawsuits related to the 2020 election.”
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado apologized to “anyone in the Muslim community I offended” on Twitter Friday after video surfaced of her making anti-Muslim comments last weekend about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
In the video, posted last Saturday on Facebook from an event that day, Boebert implied Omar had been mistaken for a terrorist in an elevator on Capitol Hill. https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/26/politics/lauren-boebert-ilhan-omar-anti-muslim-comments/index.html
“Marjorie Taylor Greene Attacks Ilhan Omar, ‘Jihad Squad’ After Boebert Apology” https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-attacks-ilhan-omar-jihad-squad-after-boebert-apology-1653686
“Marjorie Taylor Greene and the death of the public political apology” https://theconversation.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-and-the-death-of-the-public-political-apology-154714
Marjorie Taylor Greene to Kevin McCarthy: Meet My Cultish Demands If You Ever Want To Be House Speaker.
McCarthy has become Trumpier in an undisguised effort to court the former president’s base. He’s still not Trumpy enough for Greene. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/11/marjorie-taylor-greene-to-kevin-mccarthy-meet-my-cultish-demands-if-you-ever-want-to-be-house-speaker
“Trumpist Election Deniers Descend Into High School Drama” https://www.thedailybeast.com/lin-wood-sidney-powell-and-michael-flynn-trumpist-election-deniers-descend-into-high-school-drama
“The former White House doctor who raved about Donald Trump’s “excellent” health to a skeptical public is now claiming that the disturbing new COVID-19 variant omicron is nothing but a midterm election ploy by the Democrats.
Dr. Ronny Jackson, now a Republican MAGA congressman from Texas, scoffed at the variant the World Health Organization has deemed “highly transmissible” and “concerning.” https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-doctor-raved-trumps-024430725.html
“The prospect of a government shutdown grew on Wednesday as a small group of conservative Republicans demanded a vote to defund President Biden’s vaccine mandate in exchange for letting a stopgap funding measure pass by Friday’s deadline.” https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/583937-gop-fears-boomerang-as-threat-of-government-shutdown-grows
“We are going to take power after this next election. When we do, it’s not going to be the days of Paul Ryan, Trey Gowdy, and no real oversight.
It’s going to be the days of @Jim_Jordan, @MTGreenee, @DrPaulGosar, and myself doing everything to get the answers to our questions.”
Representative Matt Gaetz, R Florida, 1st District (12/7/21) https://twitter.com/repmattgaetz/status/1468302203819462656?s=21
“Is Rep. Jim Jordan among the least effective members of Congress? Researchers at the Center for Effective Lawmaking – a joint project between academics at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University – seem to think so.
The organization last week released a report evaluating how successful individual Congress members were at moving their legislative agenda items through Congress over the past two years. It examined the bills each member sponsored, whether they advanced through the legislative process and were signed into law, and the significance of that legislation. It ranked members within their own parties to avoid penalizing those in the legislative minority.
The study rated Jordan as the 202nd most effective Republican in the House of Representatives out of 205 it examined.” https://www.cleveland.com/open/2021/03/university-study-deems-jim-jordan-ineffective-at-passing-legislation-says-other-ohioans-get-better-results.html
Rep. Jim Jordan forwarded a text message to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on January 5, outlining a legal theory that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to stand in the way of the certification of the 2020 election. https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/politics/jim-jordan-mark-meadows-text/index.html
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is facing criticism for requesting federal aid for his home state despite his long track record of opposing aid for other regions recovering from disasters.
Kentucky was one of several Midwestern states rocked by tornadoes over the weekend. The storms decimated large portions of towns, and as many as 70 people are believed to have been killed in Western Kentucky. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sen-rand-pauls-aid-request-tornado-damage-faces/story?id=81730941
Biden has already pledged to help Kentucky and other impacted states recover from the tragedy.
“The federal government is not going to walk away,” Biden said during remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday. “This is one of those times when we aren’t Democrats or Republicans. Sounds like hyperbole, but it’s real. We’re all Americans. We stand together as the United States of America.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has extended an invitation to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to speak with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. https://theweek.com/politics/1008478/kevin-mccarthy-invited-to-sit-for-interview-with-jan-6-house-committee
Congressman Jim Jordan refuses to cooperate with 6 January committee https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/10/us-capitol-attack-jim-jordan-refuses-cooperate
In a Sunday night letter to the committee chair, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the Trump ally accused the panel of “an outrageous abuse” of its authority.
He also claimed “an unprecedented and inappropriate demand to examine the basis for a colleague’s decision on a particular matter pending before the House of Representatives”.
“This request is far outside the bounds of any legitimate inquiry,” he said, “violates core constitutional principles and would serve to further erode legislative norms.”
Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who was also closely involved in Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his election defeat, has also refused to cooperate.
Michigan Representative Haley Stevens says she is “concerned” about the mental state of her colleague, Marjorie Taylor Greene after the Georgia Republican suggested that “Second Amendment rights” should be used against Democrats” https://www.newsweek.com/haley-stevens-says-capitol-police-must-address-marjorie-taylor-greenes-dangerous-threats-1668854
Kevin McCarthy’s path to speakership enters final but treacherous leg https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/21/politics/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-gop-conference/index.html
“…The shift in the balance of power within the House GOP conference — from institutionalists like John Boehner to conservative rabble-rousers like Jim Jordan — is reflected in McCarthy’s own evolution from young establishment Republican to dedicated Trump ally.”
On Wednesday, while the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee was holding a virtual hearing on how toxic chemicals are killing U.S. soldiers, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) took the hearing as an opportunity to clean and fiddle with his gun. https://www.thedailybeast.com/madison-cawthorn-cleans-gun-during-veterans-affairs-hearing
“The 14th Amendment Threat to Madison Cawthorn’s Congressional Career Is Real : The North Carolina State Board of Elections has asserted it has the authority to remove him from the ballot.” https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a39038567/madison-cawthorn-14th-amendment-ballot-north-carolina/
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same…”
When U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson paid a rare visit to the Wisconsin State Capitol last fall to meet with legislative leaders, the expected agenda was to discuss dismantling the state elections commission, newly released text messages between top legislative staff members suggest. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/11/ron-johnson-capitol-visit-aimed-at-ending-elections-agency-texts-show/6719767001/
The messages were obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel under the state’s public records law.
In a statement, Johnson reiterated his position that the state Legislature should “reclaim its constitutional authority over federal elections” and said they also should “act to defend its oversight authority over state agencies, like WEC [Wisconsin Elections Commission], that they have created.”
When asked if Johnson’s statement referred to specifically dismantling the WEC as the text message suggested, a spokeswoman said “It should be taken as how he wrote it, not what the text messages say.”
GOP Rep. Jim Jordan says a Trump statement that suggested the execution of former Hillary Clinton campaign aides was ‘right on target’ https://www.businessinsider.com/jim-jordan-trump-right-on-target-suggest-executing-clinton-aides-2022-2