Tag: Trump election fraud lie

GOP downplays Jan. 6 violence: Like a ‘normal tourist visit’

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Republican after Republican on Wednesday repeatedly sought to downplay the violence of the Jan. 6 insurrection, with one Georgia lawmaker likening the mobs overwhelming Capitol Police and vandalizing Capitol offices to a “normal tourist visit.”

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) made the tourist comment, saying that calling what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6 an insurrection “is a boldfaced lie.”

“Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking videos and pictures,” the first-term lawmaker said. “You know, if you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from Jan. 6, you’d think it was a normal tourist visit.” Continue reading.

At hearing, Republicans recast Jan. 6 rioters as victims

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At hearing, Republicans recast Jan. 6 rioters as victims

Less than an hour after Republicans ousted Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from her role in conference leadership for criticizing former President Donald Trump, House Republicans sought to recast the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, with the rioters now assuming the role of victims.

Wednesday’s House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing featured testimony from former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, who were in office on Jan. 6, along with Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee. 

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., argued that there was something untoward about federal law enforcement seeking the public’s help in tracking down individuals for whom there’s photo and video evidence of potential violations of federal law. Continue reading.

Cheney on Trump: ‘I will do everything I can’ to keep him away from the White House

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Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) vowed following House Republicans’ Wednesday vote to remove her as GOP conference chairwoman to do everything she can to keep former President Trump from returning to power. 

Sources inside a closed-door session Wednesday morning said lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to oust Cheney, who had attracted growing pushback from Trump allies in Congress for repeatedly refuting his claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and blaming him for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

In remarks to reporters immediately following the vote, Cheney doubled down on her vow to continue countering Trump’s message, saying, “We must go forward based on truth.”  Continue reading.

The Big Lie That Makes Vladimir Putin Smile

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There’s a word to describe political movements that emphasize ethnic, racial and religious solidarity over citizenship and pluralistic values, but it has unpleasant historical associations. Using it only causes political conversations to end in bitterness and name-calling.

So let us simply observe that what’s going on in today’s Republican Party represents the seeming fulfillment of Vladimir Putin’s ambitions for the Trump presidency. Undermining confidence in elections has long been Job One in the Kremlin: discrediting democracy to promote strongman rule. But Putin’s too cynical to understand America.

It matters not to him that the strongman in question is an incompetent blowhard, a clownish figure in elevator shoes. One of America’s two dominant political parties is in the process of losing its collective mind. Indeed the very preposterousness of Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” about being cheated out of an election he lost by seven million votes—claims rejected for lack of evidence in more than sixty courts of law—only enhances their allure for conspiratorial thinkers. Continue reading.

What’s Trump’s endgame in his crusade against the election results?

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As far as Trump is concerned, power was taken from him, so power must be returned to him. That’s bonkers, but he doesn’t appear to care.

One of the principal GOP criticisms against House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. is that she’s been preoccupied with telling the truth about the 2020 presidential election. It’s a foolish argument for a variety of reasons, but it’s nevertheless at the heart of the effort to purge Cheney from her leadership post.

It was against this backdrop that Donald Trump — the one many congressional Republicans are desperate to impress and satisfy — published this item last night to his weird new blog.

“The major Michigan Election Fraud case has just filed a bombshell pleading claiming votes were intentionally switched from President Trump to Joe Biden. The number of votes is MASSIVE and determinative. This will prove true in numerous other States. All Republicans must UNIFY and not let this happen. If a thief robs a jewelry store of all of its diamonds (the 2020 Presidential Election), the diamonds must be returned.”

From there, the former president whined a bit about U.S. news organizations that “refuse” to buy into his conspiracy theories about his 2020 defeat. Continue reading.

Schumer: ‘The big lie is spreading like a cancer’ among GOP

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Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered fiery criticism of Republicans on Tuesday for efforts around the country to tighten voter laws amid unproven claims made by former President Trump that the 2020 election was stolen.

Schumer, speaking at a Senate Rules Committee meeting on a sweeping elections overhaul bill, accused Republicans of trying to act upon the “big lie that the election was stolen” to “placate” and “please” Trump.

“Unfortunately, the big lie is spreading like a cancer among Republicans. It’s enveloping and consuming the Republican Party, in both houses of Congress,” Schumer said. Continue reading.

DFL Party Statement on the Ousting of Representative Cheney

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement following Representative Liz Cheney’s ousting from Republican Party leadership: 

“Donald Trump’s lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections led to the storming of the United States Capitol in a violent attempt to overthrow American democracy. Congressional Republicans just removed Representative Liz Cheney from party leadership for acknowledging that basic fact, fighting back against those lies, and voting to hold the perpetrator accountable.

“Representatives Hagedorn, Emmer, Fischbach, and Stauber should have joined Cheney in working to stop the Big Lie from becoming part of Republican dogma. Instead, they meekly sat back and allowed Cheney to take the fall for standing up for truth, for the rule of law, and for our democracy. This act of political cowardice on the part of Minnesota’s Republican Congressional delegation should not be forgiven and it must not be forgotten.

“It is abundantly clear that the Republican Party is now the party of Donald Trump, the Big Lie, and the January insurrection, and every single Republican who allowed that to happen should be deeply ashamed of the miserable and morally bankrupt state of their party.”

House Republicans vote to remove Liz Cheney from leadership

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House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as conference chair in a voice vote Wednesday, capping months of growing backlash over her criticisms of former President Trump, according to two sources in the room.

Why it matters: The stunning removal of the No. 3 House Republican over her condemnation of Trump’s election lies reflects the influence the former president still retains over the GOP. 

The big picture: The vote marks the most significant turning point in an internal party feud that is unlikely to subside any time soon. Continue reading.

Trump Guilty Of ‘Egging On’ Capitol Riot, Says Facebook Oversight Panel Co-Chair

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Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump encouraged the Capitol rioters and so earned his Facebook ban, but the social media giant’s rules are in “shambles” and need fixing, the co-chair of the network’s oversight panel said Sunday.

The panel agreed just days ago that Facebook was right to oust the ex-president for his comments regarding the deadly January 6 rampage, though it sidestepped an overall decision on whether he will ever be allowed back.

“He issued these statements which were just egging on — with perfunctory asking for peace — but mostly he was just egging them on to continue,” oversight body co-chair Michael McConnell told Fox News Sunday. Continue reading.

Failure to communicate: The Capitol Police leadership gap on Jan. 6

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Lack of direction, preparation, according to rank-and-file officers

On the morning of Jan. 6, as a group of Capitol Police officers was being briefed on what to expect before a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, a captain told them to be on the lookout for a handful of people wanted for crimes from previous Make America Great Again protests.

The captain also discussed the Proud Boys, an extremist group that would play a substantial role in the violent insurrection, and advised that many people in the crowd could be armed. 

But when asked what the response should be if the officers did encounter armed protesters, the captain’s reply was useless, according to one officer on duty that day. Continue reading.