Former Vice President Mike Pence says he was “proud” to certify the 2020 election results.
Former Attorney General William Barr says he knew former President Trump’s claims of election fraud were “bullshit.”
And former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will come out with a new book later this year arguing that the Republican Party needs to push back against conspiracy theories and grievance politics — a clear shot at Trump and his most hardcore MAGA fans. Continue reading.
A D.C. police officer on Tuesday recalled fearing for his life when he was attacked outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 by a man using his fists and a flagpole. The officer also expressed the dismay he later felt on learning that the man charged with assaulting him is a former police officer and military veteran, Thomas Webster.
“Mr. Webster trained for years to show restraint in times of chaos, ensure public safety and protect public order,” the officer wrote in a statement read aloud by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Mirell during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington. “He deliberately chose to dishonor himself, as well as fellow former service officers, motivated by what we now know was political ignorance.”
Webster, 55, served in the U.S. Marine Corps and spent 20 years in the New York Police Department, according to court filings. He has been detained since his arrest in February, one of about 50 defendants jailed pending trial of the roughly 500 accused of participating in the riot at the Capitol. Continue reading.
One month after congressional Republicans blocked a bipartisan investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection, congressional Republicans are demanding a bipartisan investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
The House in May passed by a vote of 252-175 a bill that would have created a bipartisan commission modeled on the one that investigated the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The bill, the result of a compromise between Republican Rep. John Katko of New York and Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, was nearly identical to a January GOP proposal. It would have established an outside panel with an even number of Democratic and Republican appointees.
But just 35 Republicans joined the Democratic majority in voting for it after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy refused to support it and Donald Trump instructed Republican lawmakers to block the legislation. Continue reading.
The Republican president of the Wisconsin State Senate sent a groveling letter to former President Donald Trump last week after the twice-impeached former president criticized his party for not overturning the results of the 2020 election.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Wisconsin State Sen. Chris Kapenga last week tried to smooth over tensions between the Wisconsin GOP and the former president after Trump accused them of “working hard to cover up election corruption” and “actively trying to prevent a Forensic Audit of the election results.”
“Wisconsin Republican leaders Robin Vos, Chris Kapenga, and Devin LeMahieu, are working hard to cover up election corruption, in Wisconsin,” Trump ranted in a statement last Friday. Continue reading.
A new poll shows that a partisan audit of votes cast in the 2020 presidential election could ultimately backfire on Republicans who appear on future ballots in Arizona, especially if they express support for the bogus effort.
Sean Noble, a top GOP operative in the state, told Politicoof the controversial recount in Maricopa County, “it’s a failure, it’s a joke,” adding that Republicans in other states should “avoid it. The election is long over, time to look forward.”
Fernand Amandi, whose firm conducted the poll, said: “As bloody red meat for the MAGA Republican base, the audit is manna from heaven, but the problem is that Arizona is not a red state anymore. It’s a swing state. The audit may be serving two interests: firing up the MAGA base but giving Democrats the opportunity to make the case to Arizona voters to stick with them.” Continue reading.
According to a report from AL.com, Donald Trump’s plan to hold a July 4th weekend rally at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park on the western shore of Mobile Bay has been shot down by park commissioners over concerns about its possible content.
In a statement chairman of the commission, Bill Tunnell explained the board thought Trump’s rally “…was going to be a partisan political event, rather than just a patriotic event planned for that evening,” which is why they denied the permit.
“Tunnell says commissioners sought an opinion from the attorney general’s office in late May. NBC 15 News obtained Attorney General Steve Marshall’s response which stated there was little time for a formal opinion to be rendered but did note the park may be used for political events provided access is ‘available for all political parties and candidates on an equal basis,'” NBC 15 News reported. Continue reading.
The authors of a new book about former President Donald Trump’s handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic told CNN’s Erica Hill on Tuesday that Trump last year angrily chewed out Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci for making him feel “depressed” about the novel coronavirus pandemic.
While appearing on CNN, Washington Post reporters Damian Paletta and Yasmine Abutaleb explained the delicate balance that Birx and other public health officials had to strike in trying to get Trump to back public health measures aimed at containing the virus.
All the same, Paletta said, no amount of flattery delivered by Birx could help her escape Trump’s wrath. Continue reading.
In yet another excerpt from Michael Wolff’s third book on Donald Trump’s administration, Business Insider is reporting that the former president’s negotiations to become a contributor to the Parler social media platform broke down over censorship.
Specifically, a demand that Trump’s critics be banned.
According to Wolff, representatives for the former president — who has been banned from Twitter and Facebook — made a pitch for him to join Parler in return for a significant portion of the site’s revenue. However, the insistence that critics of Trump be banned led to the deal falling apart. Continue reading.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has named Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to serve on the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol by a mob of pro-Trump supporters.
The House voted to form the panel on Wednesday despite GOP opposition. Cheney voted in favor of forming it.
Cheney was recently dumped by GOP leadership over her criticisms of former President Trump.
It was a curious time for Sonny Perdue to close a real estate deal.
In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue’s company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America.
Had anyone noticed, it would have prompted questions ahead of his confirmation, a period when most nominees lie low and avoid potential controversy. The former governor of Georgia did not disclose the deal — there was no legal requirement to do so. Continue reading.
