Tag: Trump big lie

New recording reveals Trump called Georgia investigator leading signature match audit

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COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA — Channel 2 Action News has obtained a copy of a new phone call between former President Donald Trump and a lead investigator at the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.

The call gives a new look at the outside pressure that Georgia investigators faced while investigating allegations of election fraud in 2020.

“I won Georgia, I know that, by a lot. And the people know it and something happened. Something bad happened,” Trump can be heard saying in the call. Continue reading.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was in direct contact with rioters before and during Capitol breach, U.S. alleges

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U.S. prosecutors alleged Monday that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was in direct contact before, during and immediately after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach with members since charged with plotting to prevent Congress from confirming the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In a late-night court filing, prosecutors alleged that Rhodes directed the right-wing anti-government group to rally during the riot to the southeast steps of the Capitol, after which several members forcibly entered the east side of the building.

Prosecutors said they had recovered a chat called “DC OP: Jan 6 21” on the encrypted Signal messaging app that “shows that individuals, including those alleged to have conspired with [others], were actively planning to use force and violence.” Continue reading.

Capitol Police, DC National Guard leaders need emergency authority to act, review finds

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Task force led by Honoré recommends big changes to security apparatus

As part of the review of Capitol security after the Jan. 6 attack, retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré and his task force are recommending a boost to the Capitol Police chief’s authority in times of crisis, the deployment of a mobile fencing option and an upgrade in member security, along with changes to how law enforcement agencies in the region interact.

In January, Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected Honoré, well known for coordinating relief efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, to examine improving security at the Capitol complex. 

Congressional hearings in the past two months have exposed the structure of the Capitol Police Board as inefficient and ripe for an overhaul, a sentiment shared by a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers and those who have served on the board.  Continue reading.

Report urges sweeping changes to Capitol security after Jan. 6 attack

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The U.S. Capitol Police were “understaffed, insufficiently equipped, and inadequately trained” to protect the complex from the mob attack of Jan. 6, according to security experts reviewing the rampage who are recommending nearly 900 new officers and a retractable perimeter fence.

The 13-page report, authored by a team led by Ret. Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, identifies a host of inherent flaws in the Capitol’s intelligence-gathering, communications structure and power hierarchy that hobbled efforts to repel rioters that day.

The analysts are recommending a long list of reforms to Capitol Hill security, from conspicuous infrastructure changes — like permanent but retractable fencing — to more obscure adjustments, like the adoption of a mounted unit to patrol the grounds on horses. Continue reading.

In Trump’s GOP, They Can’t Handle The Truth

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Even if you don’t like or have never seen the 1992 film, or if you judge Jack Nicholson’s acting technique as, shall we say, a bit much, you can probably recite his signature outburst from “A Few Good Men,” with appropriate volume: “You can’t handle the truth!”

Why are so many in the GOP still insisting that the presidential election was rigged and that Donald Trump, the main attraction at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, is the “real” president? Why would a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — to avoid a repeat by the same forces who believed an election fraud lie — be a bad idea? Why all the squawking and attempts in some states to censor a social studies curriculum that presents a nuanced and complete history of a United States that has not always acknowledged the accomplishments and sacrifice of all its citizens?

Say it louder, Jack. I don’t think the Republicans present and represented at CPAC can hear you. Continue reading.

Georgia Prosecutor Recruits Top Racketeering Expert In Trump Probe

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One of the many criminal investigations of Donald Trump may have ramped up to another level this weekend. Specifically, the investigation into Trump’s efforts to compel Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to commit election fraud in his favor.

Last month, Fani Willis, the newly elected district attorney in Fulton County — home to Atlanta — began a criminal investigation into the shakedown, including the infamous January 2 phone call. We expected that it would be a classic slow-motion strangulation — the only proper way to take down a former president, especially one with a cult-like following. Things have moved along enough for Willis to empanel a grand jury as part of the investigation. Now, she has brought in one of the nation’s leading racketeering experts to assist in the investigation.

According to Reuters:

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has enlisted the help of Atlanta lawyer John Floyd, who wrote a national guide on prosecuting state racketeering cases. Floyd was hired recently to “provide help as needed” on matters involving racketeering, including the Trump investigation and other cases, said the source, who has direct knowledge of the situation. Continue reading.

Rep. Cheney Blasts GOP Members For ‘False Statements’

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House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney is publicly criticizing more than a dozen members of her own caucus who skipped work last week and lied about it. The GOP Congress members claimed in official filings that they were absent due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they actually were attending a right-wing political convention.

“No member should be filing false statements,” the Wyoming representative told CNN on Friday. “When you get into a situation where members are signing letters, no matter if they’re Republicans or Democrats, saying that they can’t be here in person because of the public health emergency and then going someplace else, I think that raises very serious questions and I think it’s an issue that has got to be addressed.”

Thirteen House Republicans took advantage last Friday of proxy voting rules — designed to let members work from home to curb the spread of the pandemic — to attend the CPAC conference in Orlando, Florida. Continue reading.

Supreme Court rejects final Trump bid to nullify 2020 election results

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The Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by former President Trump to nullify his electoral loss in Wisconsin, rejecting the former president’s final pending appeal over the results of the 2020 election. 

In an unsigned order without noted dissent, the justices declined to take up Trump’s lawsuit alleging Wisconsin election officials violated the Constitution by expanding absentee voting amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

The justices’ move brought an end to Trump’s scattershot and ineffective legal campaign to overturn President Biden’s victory and added to the abysmal post-election court record of Trump and his allies, which included more than 60 losses and just one narrow win. Continue reading.

Congresswoman drops social media report on Republicans who tried to overturn the election for Trump

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A Democratic congresswoman has just released a massive report detailing the social media posts of her Republican colleagues who tried to overturn the U.S. presidential election results.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who represents California, posted the nearly 2,000 page Social Media Review report on her government website on Friday. The report is broken down by state and includes archived social media posts from “Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were sworn-in to office in January 2021 and who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election.”

According to Rep. Lofgren, following the events of Jan. 6, when thousands of Trump supporters  stormed the U.S. Capitol, she instructed her staff to put together a review of public social media posts from members of Congress who voted to overturn the election results. The report also includes social media posts that correlate with the actions of that day, as well as any postings that claimed the 2020 presidential election results were illegitimate. Continue reading.

F.B.I. Finds Contact Between Proud Boys Member and Trump Associate Before Riot

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A leader of the far-right group separately said he had been in touch with Roger Stone, but an official said it was not the same contact investigators found through electronic communications records.

WASHINGTON — A member of the far-right nationalist Proud Boys was in communication with a person associated with the White House in the days just before the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Location, cellular and call record data revealed a call tying a Proud Boys member to the Trump White House, the official said. The F.B.I. has not determined what they discussed, and the official would not reveal the names of either party.

The connection revealed by the communications data comes as the F.B.I. intensifies its investigation of contacts among far-right extremists, Trump White House associates and conservative members of Congress in the days before the attack. Continue reading.