GOP’s Jim Jordan outraged after DOJ refuses to investigate bizarre Italian space laser election fraud theory

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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is outraged over a new conspiracy theory he says the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) refuses to investigate. According to Above the Law, Jordan actually believes Italian laser satellites swayed the 2020 presidential election in President Joe Biden’s favor. 

“That is a problem,” the Ohio congressman said on Wednesday during the House Oversight Committee hearing for Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He referred to a cache of emails that highlighted the Trump White House’s mounting pressure on the DOJ to interfere with the presidential election.

“When the chief of staff to the president of the United States asks someone in the executive branch to do something, and they basically give him the finger, I think that’s the problem we should be looking into.” Continue reading.

Eric Swalwell reveals shocking thing Republican did after refusing to shake DC cop’s hand

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On CNN Wednesday, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) shredded his nearly two dozen Republican colleagues who voted against giving medals to Capitol Police officers who pushed back the rioters on January 6.

“To honor Donald Trump, you now have to dishonor the police, that’s the only explanation I have for you,” said Swalwell. “Officer Fanone and Officer Harry Dunn stopped by my office earlier today unannounced. They popped in, I chatted with them for a while. They told me how much it hurt to watch the vote yesterday where 21 Republicans voted against giving these hero officers the gold medals. They said they wanted to embark on going to those offices to meet the members of Congress, tell them about their experience and hopefully change their minds.”

“So Fanone called me about 20 minutes after he left my office and he was enraged,” continued Swalwell. “He said, is this really how it works around here? … He said that Congressman Clyde, after he refused to shake his hand, pulled out his cell phone and started recording him like he was some sort of criminal, that he had to document the interaction. That’s just where these guys are right now. I saw Clyde on the floor, scared for his life as all of us were, and I saw the brave officers who put their lives in front of ours and everyone else in that building. This is just no way to treat them.” Continue reading.

Alex Jones Says He Coordinated With White House On January 6

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Before Donald Trump’s presidency, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars was considered a fringe outlet in right-wing media circles; even former Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly dismissed Jones as a buffoon. But the Trump White House treated Infowars like a serious news organization, and according to Free Speech TV, Jones “is now claiming that he coordinated with the Trump White House on the events of January 6.”

Free Speech TV, in a page for David Pakman’s show, explains, “The Infowars host made the claim last week that he even put up $500,000 of his own money to make it happen. Jones said, ‘The White House told me three days before: We’re going to have you lead the march.’ He went on to say that 30 minutes before the end of Trump’s speech at the Rotunda, the Secret Service planned to take Jones out of the crowd to the spot where the march was supposed to begin. He went on to say, ‘Trump will tell people: Go, and I’m going to meet you at the Capitol.’ Jones’ statements are basically a full-on admission about his involvement in the riots, although he can always hide behind saying he did not intend for the rally to get violent.”

Pakman, however, stressed that Jones has a long history of lying. Continue reading.

Trump cost himself re-election by bleeding GOP support in Arizona: Bipartisan audit

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A bipartisan audit of Arizona’s presidential election found Donald Trump blew his shot at re-election.

As Republicans look for spurious evidence of fraud in an audit of Maricopa County’s ballots, a bipartisan group conducted their own unofficial examination that found GOP voters disenchanted with the former president were key to Joe Biden’s win in that county, reported KNXV-TV.

The review was conducted by Benny White, a Republican who ran for Pima County recorder, along with Democrat Larry Moore and independent Tim Halvorsen, who are two retired executives from the election company Clear Ballot, and they pored over a public database of cast votes to study voter patterns and behavior. Continue reading.

Republican governors’ misleading spin on new voting restrictions

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Courts across the country rejected President Donald Trump’s claims of massive election fraud in 2020, but his falsehoods have taken on a life of their own, as new voting restrictions pile up in Republican-controlled states.

At least 14 states have enacted laws this year that tighten the rules around casting ballots. Hundreds of bills pending in statehouses would institute new voting restrictions, as this Washington Post tracker shows, and many of the Republican lawmakers sponsoring those proposals are echoing Trump’s false claims that loose election laws allowed the 2020 White House race to be tainted by fraud.

The Fact Checker dug into statements from three of the Republican governors who have signed voting restrictions into law this year: Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia and Doug Ducey of Arizona. Continue reading.

Republican Madison Cawthorn upholds Viet Cong militants as Second Amendment heroes

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Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) had an awkward moment with a Newsmax host Wednesday evening when discussing why AR-15s and military weapons should continue to be legal for anyone to use.

Cawthorn tried to argue that assault rifles are necessary to protect America against the federal government, which he works for. 

“If anybody ever wants to say ‘oh, well you know what, citizens with a few small arms fire would never be able to stop the federal government’ – I absolutely disagree. Ask the Viet Cong how they handled the Marines and the Army in Vietnam,” said Cawthorn.  Continue reading.

DFL Party Statement on Juneteenth

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA  – DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement in commemoration of Juneteenth: 

“On this day, June 19th, 1865, some of the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. Juneteenth was the end of the beginning of one of the most important undertakings in our nation’s history: the ongoing work of granting full equality and dignity to African Americans. 

“Working to achieve that equality is especially important here in Minnesota, where we have some of the worst racial disparities in the nation that stand as an unacceptable obstacle to so many Black Minnesotans. We cannot tolerate the current Tale of Two Minnesotas that has our state as one of the best in the nation if you are white and one of the worst if you are Black.”

Continue reading “DFL Party Statement on Juneteenth”

Justice Dept. Ends Criminal Inquiry and Lawsuit on John Bolton’s Book

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President Donald J. Trump had pressured the department to use its legal powers to stop his former national security adviser from publishing embarrassing details about him.

The Justice Department closed a criminal investigation into whether a disparaging memoir by President Donald J. Trump’s national security adviser John R. Bolton illegally disclosed classified information and dropped a lawsuit aimed at recouping profits from the book, according to Mr. Bolton and a court document filed on Wednesday.

The agreement ends an effort that began under the Trump administration to silence Mr. Bolton after Mr. Trump waged a campaign pressuring investigators to prosecute him. Dropping the legal action against him is a rebuke by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland of the previous administration’s use of government power to suppress former Trump officials who became critics of Mr. Trump.

“We argued from the outset that neither action was justifiable because they were initiated only as a result of President Trump’s politically motivated order to prevent publication of the ambassador’s book before the 2020 election,” said Mr. Bolton’s lawyer, Charles J. Cooper. Continue reading.

UBLC Introduces Bill Making Juneteenth State Holiday

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Following the federal government’s recent declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, members of the Minnesota United Black Legislative Caucus (UBLC) plan to introduce a bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday. The UBLC released the following statement on this important holiday:

“As we look forward to celebrating and honoring the 155th Juneteenth today, it is important that we recognize the significance of this holiday throughout Minnesota. Juneteenth recognizes the end of a dark era of American history and allows us to acknowledge how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. This recognition of American history is important, but it does not signify the end of our work. In a time when laws are being passed across the nation which seek to suppress voting rights, block the teaching of America’s full history, and disinvest in Black communities, we know that we must continue to fight to reach a true justice. We look forward to seeing this bill pass into law and wish all Minnesotans a very happy Juneteenth!”

The United Black Legislative Caucus includes Representatives Esther Agbaje (59B), Cedrick Frazier (45A), Hodan Hassan (62A), Athena Hollins (66B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), John Thompson (67A), and Senators Bobby Joe Champion (59), Omar Fateh (62). The People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus stands in solidarity with the UBLC.

Khan sworn in as chairwoman of FTC in surprise White House move

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Chopra’s nomination to lead CFPB awaits Senate action

Antitrust scholar and Big Tech critic Lina Khan was sworn in as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday after President Joe Biden unexpectedly elevated her to the agency’s top post.

Khan, 32, was confirmed by the Senate to serve as a commissioner Tuesday. She’ll take the agency’s reins from acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democrat appointed by former President Donald Trump.

With the addition of Khan the commission now has a 3-2 Democratic majority. Democrat Rohit Chopra is expected to leave the commission soon. He has been nominated by Biden to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Biden could have used his departure to nominate a chairperson for the FTC, making Khan’s elevation a surprise. Continue reading.