Category: US House

Trump’s impeachment is unlikely to result in a conviction. But it may increase his chances of being criminally prosecuted

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If a U.S. Senate vote held this week is any indication, it’s most unlikely that former President Donald Trump will be convicted in his second impeachment trial: all but five Senate Republicans voted that the trial is unconstitutional. However, Law & Crime reporter Jerry Lambe stresses, in an article published after that vote, that although the Senate will probably acquit Trump a second time, the trial could increase Trump’s chances of facing a criminal prosecution.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky proposed a vote on the constitutionality of Trump’s second impeachment trial, arguing that the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president. The Democrat-controlled Senate voted 55-45 that the trial is constitutional — not unconstitutional — but most of the senators who voted in favor of the trial going forward were Democrats. The only GOP senators who disagreed with Paul’s resolution were Utah’s Mitt Romney, Maine’s Susan Collins, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey and Nebraska’s Ben Sasse.

Following the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building, the U.S. House of Representatives indicted Trump on one article of impeachment: incitement to insurrection. Paul knew that his resolution declaring the trial unconstitutional wouldn’t pass, but he wanted to force other senators to go on the record with where they stand — and most Senate Republicans obviously don’t believe the trial should even take place. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and other Republicans have been arguing that because Trump is no longer president, a Senate trial would be “pointless.” Continue reading.

Emmer Sells GOP to Marjorie Taylor Greene for $175,000


Emmer thanked Greene for campaign cash after it was revealed that Greene expressed support for executing prominent Democrats

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, based on new reporting from CNN, the Minnesota DFL Party is sharply criticizing Tom Emmer for selling his party out to Marjorie Taylor Greene in exchange for campaign cash. 

CNN recently reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), run by Tom Emmer, hosted a call to demand that Republican Representatives stop criticizing one another. On the call:

Continue reading “Emmer Sells GOP to Marjorie Taylor Greene for $175,000”

Rep. Dean Phillips: Exciting Changes in DC!

Hi Neighbors,

In addition to staying on the House Foreign Affairs and Ethics Committees, I’ve secured three exciting new positions for the 117th Congress – and I wanted you to be the first to know. I’m pleased to share with you that I’ll be joining the House Committee on Small Business – where I’ll Chair the Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations Subcommittee – along with the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. I will also help lead the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus as a newly-elected Vice Chair. 

There’s hard work ahead in the mission to restore Americans’ faith in our government and America’s standing in the world. Read more about my new positions below…

Continue reading “Rep. Dean Phillips: Exciting Changes in DC!”

Ghosts of our unsettled past

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The House managers walked quietly through Statuary Hall to present the single article of impeachment against former president Donald Trump to the Senate. Americans have now become deeply familiar with this civics lesson, one that features members of the House striding slowly through the hall as though they are part of a funeral procession. What once seemed so rare and arcane has now become a sad hum in the background — the contrails of an administration that the country may take a generation to shake.

The former president was impeached for a second time in the House of Representatives, most recently for “engaging in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” In other words, he egged on the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol early this month. And so on Monday evening, with the Capitol blessedly quiet and calm, one could hear the footfalls of the legislators on the stone floor as they walked two by two, solemnly focused on their task. A few camera shutters clicked, but mostly there was an eerie silence in a space that has been the location of so much tumult, so many emotions in such a short span of time.

The impeachment managers moved though a room filled with the ghosts of our distant past and the fresh memories of our troubled present. Continue reading.

Death threats and intimidation of public officials signal Trump’s autocratic legacy

As the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump approaches, federal officials are investigating threats to attack or kill members of Congress. This comes in the wake of the Capitol riot, when a mob stormed the building where members of the House and Senate were preparing to certify the presidential election. Some rioters reportedly threatened the lives of elected officials in both parties.

When the House took up impeachment proceedings, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives reportedly felt afraid to vote to impeach Trump – even fearing for their lives. A video also captured a group accosting Republican Lindsey Graham, a U.S. senator from South Carolina, screaming that he was a “traitor” after he declared that Joe Biden had been lawfully elected president. 

These threats do not simply reflect increased levels of anger and depravity among individual Americans. Rather, they appear to be evidence of a more systemic use of fear and intimidation in U.S. politics, seeking to force fealty from Republicans and reinforce the authoritarian turn that defined Donald Trump’s leadership. Continue reading.

The GOP’s answer to its post-Trump blues: More Trump

For a moment, it looked like the Republican Party was getting some distance from the former president. Not anymore.

For a moment, it looked like Donald Trump might be losing his iron grip on the GOP. In the wake of the deadly Capitol riot, 10 House Republicans joined Democrats in their vote to impeach him. Several other Republicans openlysuggested at least censuring the president. 

Not anymore.

Local and state Republican parties are censuring Republicans for disloyalty in states across the country. The lawmakers who broke with him are weathering a storm of criticism from Trump-adoring constituents at home, with punitive primary challenges already taking shape. In Washington, party leaders who once suggested Trump bore some responsibility for the Jan. 6 violence are backtracking. Continue reading.

Corporations dodge questions on permanent donation bans

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Campaign finance experts are increasingly skeptical that the companies vowing to freeze political contributions to Republicans who objected to the Electoral College results will carry out those pledges in a meaningful way. 

Fortune 500 companies like Amazon and Comcast announced a halt to donations in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol, decrying attacks on the democratic process and peaceful transition of power.

But many of the statements left wiggle room for corporate PACs to provide indirect financial support or resume direct support for the 147 Republicans who cast doubt on the legitimacy of President Biden’s electoral victory. Continue reading.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s endorsement of conspiracy theories, violence sparks calls for her resignation — again

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Marjorie Taylor Greene openly supported and spread conspiracy theories for years, yet her northwest Georgia district elected her to Congress by a wide margin. Now, in office for a little over three weeks, she is facing a second round of calls for her resignation after a string of reports revealed her repeated endorsements of political violence and extremism.

The latest revelations include: videos in which Greene, a Republican, parrots bogus claims by suggesting the mass shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Fla., were staged; a Facebook post that expresses support for a dangerous conspiracy theory about child abuse; and a pattern of online activity approving of the execution of Democratic leaders and federal agents.

Several prominent Democrats and activist groups are arguing Greene should resign or be removed from elected office, and a small number of GOP lawmakers have also criticized her after her posts and comments resurfaced. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), according to Axios, “plans to have a conversation” with Greene, who has dismissed the denunciations as attempts to “cancel” her. Continue reading.

GOP digs in on preserving Trump tax cuts

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Republicans are signaling a determination to protect their 2017 tax-cut law and prevent President Biden from making good on campaign pledges to partially undo the measure.

The tax law, enacted after GOP lawmakers sought for years to slash rates for individuals and businesses, was one of former President Trump’s biggest legislative accomplishments. But with Democratic control of Congress, Biden has new avenues for delivering on his 2020 promises.

Biden has called for rolling back the Trump tax cuts on people making above $400,000 a year and to partially reverse the reduction in the corporate tax rate. And even though he has indicated tax increases are not his most immediate priority, Biden has noted they could be a way to finance his spending priorities down the line. Continue reading.

‘THIS IS ME’: Rioters flaunt involvement in Capitol siege

WASHINGTON — These suspects weren’t exactly in hiding. 

“THIS IS ME,” one man posted on Instagram with a hand emoji pointing to himself in a picture of the violent mob descending on the U.S. Capitol. “Sooo we’ve stormed Capitol Hill lol,” one woman texted someone while inside the building. “I just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol,” another wrote on Facebook about a selfie he took inside during the Jan. 6 riot. 

In dozens of cases, supporters of President Donald Trump downright flaunted their activity on social media on the day of the deadly insurrection. Some, apparently realizing they were in trouble with the law, deleted their accounts only to discover their friends and family members had already taken screenshots of their selfies, videos and comments and sent them to the FBI. Continue reading.