Tag: Trump big lie

Tampa man pleads guilty to felony in Jan. 6 Capitol riot; his recommended prison sentence could set bar for other cases

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A Tampa man who carried a Trump flag into the well of the Senate on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of storming the Capitol to obstruct Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, did not enter a cooperation deal with prosecutors, and he is not accused of any other wrongdoing or involvement with extremist groups.

In admitting to the stiffest felony count charged by prosecutors against individuals not otherwise accused of conspiracy or violence in the Capitol riot, Hodgkins faces a prison sentence of 15 to 21 months under federal guidelines. His sentencing is poised to become a test case watched by other defendants deciding whether to accept pleas, several defense lawyers said. Continue reading.

‘Striking, horrific and brutal’: Reporter details disturbing accusations against a 1/6 rioter in new filing

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Pennsylvania resident Ryan Samsel is among the many people facing federal criminal charges in connection with the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building. Scott MacFarlane, a reporter for WRC-TV Channel 4 (the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.) who is also an MSNBC contributor, discusses Samsel in a Twitter thread posted this week — and lays out some reasons why his case is especially troubling.

MacFarlane tweets, “WHOA!!! The filing just submitted in the Jan 6 prosecution of Ryan Samsel of Pennsylvania might” include “the most striking, horrific and brutal accusations I’ve read so far in *any* of these 460+ cases.”

MacFarlane reports that last week, Samsel asked to be released from the Washington, D.C. jail where he is being held, “citing injuries he allegedly suffered in (a) beating there.” Continue reading.

Trump’s delusional election claims will ‘get more intense’ the closer he gets to being indicted: NYT’s Haberman

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Former President Donald Trump is reportedly telling his associates that he expects to be “reinstated” as president by the end of the summer — and New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said that attorney Sidney Powell is to blame for planting that false idea in his head.

Appearing on CNN Wednesday, Haberman outlined how Trump has come to believe the delusional theories of both Powell and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, both of whom have falsely claimed to have definitively proof of the 2020 election being “stolen” from Trump.

“Is Trump regurgitating what he’s hearing from Lindell and what he’s hearing Sidney Powell say? I think that’s what this is,” she said. Continue reading.

‘You lied to them!’: Nicolle Wallace blasts Texas Republican who said voters believe in fraud so suppression is needed

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Over the weekend, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) proclaimed to CNN’s Jake Tapper that even though there wasn’t any actual voter fraud, that Texas should pass the voter suppression bills to make people feel better. MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace shouted through her television at him saying that it was he and Republicans like him who created the insecurity they now cite a need to fix.

“I think the intent, and I’m not in the state legislature, is to restore confidence in the elections that fraud isn’t taking place,” McCaul told Tapper. “Now, you make a good point, and I’m a federal prosecutor and in a court of law, that hasn’t really been born to bear. This may be more of an optics issue, restoring confidence with the American people. In my state, they actually do believe there was tremendous fraud.”

“They believe it because you all lied to them!” Wallace proclaimed. Continue reading.

‘A spit in the face’: Partner of fallen Capitol Police officer slams GOP lawmakers who blocked Jan. 6 commission

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The partner of fallen U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick is speaking out to express her frustration with Republican lawmakers who voted against the establishment of a commission to investigate the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. 

According to CBS News, Sicknick’s mother arrived on Capitol Hill last week with his former partner Sandra Garza. The two women hoped to lobby lawmakers to vote in favor of the Jan. 6 commission. However, her plea fell on deaf ears as Republican lawmakers ultimately blocked the measure.

Following the unfavorable vote, Garza sounded off with her opinion of their “dereliction of duty.” Continue reading.

With anti-election crusade, Trump reportedly has an endgame in mind

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Trump has reportedly told associates he hopes to be “reinstated” to the presidency by August. This entire line of thought is stark raving mad.

It was unsettling to see former White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn appear at a right-wing gathering over the weekend and endorse a military coup in the United States. Asked about Myanmar’s coup, the retired Army general specifically said, “I mean it, it should happen here.”

But a day earlier, attorney Sidney Powell appeared at the same event, and as the Washington Examiner noted, she went down a similarly outlandish path.

Attorney Sidney Powell, who is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for spreading allegedly defamatory claims about the 2020 election, insisted on Saturday former President Donald Trump could “simply be reinstated” as president and fill the rest of President Joe Biden’s term.

To the delight of attendees, Powell specifically declared, “It should be that [Trump] can simply be reinstated, that a new inauguration date is set.” Continue reading.

How did America reach the point where one party is openly rejecting the democratic process?

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A Reuters/Ipsos poll released in April 2021 indicates that a majority of Republicans feel that the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. On January 6, when Congress convened to count and certify the electoral votes, 147 Republican members of the House of Representative voted against certification even after a mob had taken over the U.S. Capitol. This is unprecedented. Never before has a major political party rejected the results of a presidential election. What caused this phenomenon? When and how did forces come together resulting in an attack on democracy by a major political party?

American history is replete with presidential elections that could have been justifiably challenged. Many times results have been less than clear-cut and controversial. Before the 12th Amendment each elector would cast two votes. The candidate with the most votes became president and the runner-up vice-president. In the 1800 election, Jefferson and Burr, the Democratic Republicans, tied for first. It was left to the House of Representatives controlled by the Federalists to decide whether Jefferson or Burr would be president. They chose Jefferson, who was then accepted by all sides as our third president. Today it would be inconceivable for a Republican Congress to decide which Democrat is elected president. But that happened in 1800 as the Federalists accepted the Electoral College system as prescribed by the Founding Fathers.

In 1824, Andrew Jackson got the most popular votes but nobody won a majority of electoral votes. The House of Representatives then elected John Quincy Adams president with the support of failed candidate Henry Clay. Jacksonians complained of a “corrupt bargain,” but Adams was accepted as president. Continue reading.

The GOP push to revisit 2020 has worrisome implications for future elections

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Donald Trump’s “big lie” has spawned a movement that under the guise of assuring election integrity threatens to do the opposite, potentially affecting the election process with questionable challenges that could block or delay the certification of results and undermine an essential pillar of democratic governance.

Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 results has kept alive the fiction that the election was stolen or the process was deeply corrupted. That fiction — fueled by conspiracy theories — has encouraged members of his party, elected officials and ordinary citizens, to take steps to address this; these actions could lead to worse outcomes in the future.

For some Americans, the 2020 election isn’t over, as unsubstantiated claims of fraud or widespread irregularities prompt continuing efforts to reexamine ballots and voting machines. Continue reading.

Four more indicted in alleged Jan. 6 Oath Keepers conspiracy to obstruct election vote in Congress

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Four more Oath Keepers associates have been indicted and three were arrested in Florida in recent days in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, bringing the number of co-defendants charged in the largest conspiracy case from that day to 16, court records show.

Joseph Hackett, 51, of Sarasota, Fla., Jason Dolan, 44, of Wellington, Fla., and William Isaacs, 21, of Kissimmee, Fla., each face multiple counts in an indictment handed up Wednesday and unsealed Sunday in Washington. The three appeared Thursday before U.S. magistrates in Tampa, West Palm Beach and Orlando.

The name of a fourth defendant not known to be in custody was redacted. Continue reading.

‘Inside Job?’: Republican strategist explains how GOP’s vote against the Jan. 6 commission really looks

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Conservatives seem happy to lie about everything from election fraud to Sandy Hook, until it’s time to go to court.

One Republican strategist has a relatively different take on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. While an overwhelming number of Americans have blamed former President Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection, one strategist actually views the entire ordeal as an “inside job.” 

On Friday, May 28, Rick Wilson appeared on The Dean Obeidallah Show where he expressed frustration over House and Senate Republicans’ failure to support the establishment of the Jan. 6 commission. where he expressed frustration over House and Senate Republicans’ failure to support the establishment of the Jan. 6 commission.While the commission would have opened the door for a thorough investigation into the U.S. Capitol insurrection, Republican lawmakers managed to block the effort by way of the filibuster. 

According to the longtime Republican, the lawmakers’ efforts appear to be relative to an “inside job.” When asked how Democratic lawmakers should move forward politically, Wilson laid out his arguments. Continue reading.