US House 21 , CD3 DFL

As Ex-Girlfriend Flips For Prosecutors, Gaetz Insists He’s Ignoring Scandal

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has tried to set up a smokescreen, insisting he’s “not focused on scandal” as news breaks his ex-girlfriend has flipped and is now cooperating with federal authorities, just like his former “wingman,” Joel Greenberg.

Gaetz, who is under federal investigation for possible sex trafficking and possible sex with a 17-year old girl, in a Friday interview tried to minimize the charges against his friend, Greenberg, by suggesting he is in jail for defamation. Greenberg was facing dozens of charges, but currently the list stands at just six felonies after he entered a plea deal on Monday. Legal experts expect he is handing federal prosecutors evidence against the Florida GOP Congressman.

Meanwhile, federal authorities investigating Gaetz “have secured the cooperation of the congressman’s ex-girlfriend,” CNN reports. Continue reading.

Why service members charged in the Capitol riot are staying in uniform — for now

Within days of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, some people who participated were fired from their jobs when images showing them storming the building appeared online.

But the process is playing out differently for service members charged in the riot.

Commanders are waiting for legal proceedings at the Justice Department before they make administrative decisions for charged troops, defense officials have said. Continue reading.

Republicans try but can’t escape Jan. 6

Republicans would really like to move beyond Jan. 6, but it’s not going very well.

Four months into the Biden administration, as GOP leaders are racing to shift the focus away from the violent attack by a pro-Trump mob at the Capitol, they’re being forced to confront the rampage at every turn.

Democrats are charging ahead with plans for deep-dive investigations into the assault. Continue reading.

Greene calls Pelosi ‘mentally ill,’ compares her House mask policy to the Holocaust

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday blasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) over her mask policy for the House floor, likening it to the Holocaust.

“This woman is mentally ill,” Greene said on Real America’s Voice. “You know, we can look back at a time in history when people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany. And this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about.”

The comments mark the latest in a string of controversial remarks for Greene. Continue reading.

Rep. Dean Phillips (CD3) Statement on the Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death

WASHINGTON, DC ― Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) released the following statement on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death, as police reform negotiations continue, led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers that includes Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Phillips’s colleagues on the Problem Solvers Caucus:

“It was one year ago, today. George Floyd’s murder finally forced our country to acknowledge and confront the systemic racism that has ended too many Black lives and dreams. And while progress is being made, justice and opportunity for all requires a collective commitment. As we stand at the cusp of a bipartisan agreement on policing reforms to ensure accountability and enhance safety for all Americans, I urge President Biden and Congressional leaders to choose what is just over what is easy. Inaction is unacceptable, and the time is now.”

GOP efforts to downplay danger of Capitol riot increase

Attempts to whitewash the violence of the Jan. 6 insurrection and cast the rioters as sympathetic characters are becoming increasingly common among Republican members of Congress.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) this week said it was a “false narrative” to say “there were thousands of armed insurrectionists breaching the Capitol,” while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said the rioters charged with crimes were facing overly harsh treatment in jail and questioned why Congress isn’t also investigating liberal protests over racial justice last year that at times turned violent.

Other Republicans in recent days have falsely claimed the rioters weren’t armed and questioned whether people in the mob were really former President Trump’s supporters. One GOP lawmaker compared one image of the Capitol breach to a “normal tourist visit.”

Park Center Student Wins Congressional Art Competition Hosted by Rep. Phillips

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) congratulated Tai Nguyen for winning the 2021 Congressional Art Competition in Minnesota’s Third District. Tai’s beautiful piece, Entrenched Blossoms, was selected by a panel of expert judges and will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol alongside winning artwork from across the country for one year.

“I want to issue a heartfelt congratulations to Tai for winning this year’s Congressional Art Competition,”said Rep. Phillips. “All of our student artists showed remarkable resilience, spirit, and skill in their pieces, which were among the most moving and impressive my office has seen in the three years we’ve hosted the Congressional Art Competition.”

The House of Representatives has sponsored this nationwide high school arts competition every spring since 1982, and more than 650,000 students have participated over three decades. In Minnesota’s Third District, a panel of expert judges including Ken Herren, artist and CEO of Your Art’s Desire, Stephanie Frey, Minnesota artist and art educator, and Jenny Stice, another Minnesota artist and art educator, reviewed 47 pieces from students at nine high schools for originality and technical skill. Second place was awarded to Tess Nelson from PiM Arts High School, third place was awarded to Matthew Macmillan from Maple Grove, fourth place was awarded to Noreen Si from Bloomington Jefferson, and fifth place was awarded to Marie Heyda from Providence Academy.

Republican leaders’ claim that the Jan. 6 commission bill would not allow GOP staff hires

“Remember, this commission, the appointment of the chair goes to Schumer and Pelosi and they appoint the staff. All the staff would be Democrats.”

— House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in an interview on “The Ingraham Angle” on Fox News, May 18

Commission staff “would only be appointed by the Democrat chairman” and “Republicans would not have a say in that.”

— Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), in remarks, May 19

“We need to read the fine print. Even though the commission appears to be balanced, my staff tells me that in fact the majority — the chair, who will be determined by Pelosi and Schumer — control all the staff hiring.”

— Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), in a news conference, May 18

The House passed a bill to establish an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, similar to the 9/11 Commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The vote on Wednesday was 252 to 175, with 35 Republicans joining all Democrats in support.

The Jan. 6 commission members would be split equally between Democrats and Republicans. But they would need a staff: investigators, lawyers, aides, the works. Continue reading.

30 House Republicans introduce bill to stop government from fighting racism

The bill was filed by Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah.

Thirty House Republicans on Friday introduced legislation that would prevent the federal government from supporting efforts to fight racism, sexism, and gender discrimination.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) and has 29 co-sponsors, including Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Brian Mast (R-FL), Chip Roy (R-TX), and Ronny Jackson (R-TX).

H.R. 3235, if passed, would reinstate an executive order issued by Donald Trump that prevented the federal government from funding programs that included material on combating racism and gender stereotypes in the workplace. Continue reading.

Opinion: The threat of violence now infuses GOP politics. We should all be afraid.

American politics is being conducted under the threat of violence.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who has a talent for constructive bluntness, describes a political atmosphere within the GOP heavy with fear. “If you look at the vote to impeach,” she said recently, “there were members who told me that they were afraid for their own security — afraid, in some instances, for their lives.” The events of Jan. 6 have only intensified the alarm. When Donald Trump insists he is “still the rightful president,” Cheney wrote in an op-ed for The Post, he “repeats these words now with full knowledge that exactly this type of language provoked violence on Jan. 6.” And there’s good reason, Cheney argued, “to believe that Trump’s language can provoke violence again.”

Sometimes political events force us to step back in awe, or horror, or both. The (former) third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives has accused a former president of her party of employing the threat of violence as a tool of intimidation. And election officials around the country — Republican and Democratic — can attest to the results: Death threats. Racist harassment. Armed protesters at their homes. Continue reading.

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