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Congress Crime Donald Trump GOP Justice Department Social Media

Jim Jordan Gets Mocked For Telling DOJ To Turn Over Details Of Jack Smith’s Trump Investigation

As so often does, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) made a complete fool of himself today by demanding that the Justice Department share details of the ongoing investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Jack Smith into failed former president Donald Trump with him and the House Judiciary Committee, which he chairs.

According to The Federalist, Jordan sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland “demanding details about the extent of FBI involvement in a special counsel probe run by U.S. Attorney Jack Smith.”

Jordan’s letter also contained this: “The extent of the FBI’s bias and reckless disregard for truth, which Special Counsel John Durham laid out in painstaking detail, is nothing short of scandalous.”

Of course, that has zero to do with the investigation being conducted by Smith, and Jordan has absolutely no right to demand anything from Garland or the DOJ when it comes to an ongoing probe. No member of Congress has that power, no matter what committee he or she may chair.

And yet, Jordan made it sound as if he had the right to know everything regarding Smith, the FBI, and the Justice Department:

“Explain whether any FBI employees who have worked on Special Counsel Smith’s investigation previously worked on any other matters concerning President Trump, and explain whether Special Counsel Smith’s investigation relies on any information or material gathered exclusively by the FBI prior the Special Counsel’s appointment.”

In other words, Jordan knows that Smith is close to indicting Trump on multiple charges, including violating the Espionage Act and obstructing justice, and he wants to try and stick his nose into the investigation so the disgraced ex-president and his attorneys will know what to expect.

The Ohio Republican got a well-deserved mocking on Twitter:

Jordan won’t get a damn thing from Garland because DOJ policy is clear when it comes to ongoing investigations by the Justice Department: There will be no discussion of the matter, not even with Congress, until the investigation is completed.

Nice try, Gym, but once again you failed.

For more on the Smith investigation, watch this video from MSNBC:

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections

Georgia DA’s Investigation Of 2020 Election Fraud Has Expanded To ‘Several Other’ States

An investigation launched by Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis has now expanded to “several other” states, according to a new report from the Washington Post.

An Atlanta-area investigation of alleged election interference by former president Donald Trump and his allies has broadened to include activities in Washington, D.C., and several other states, according to two people with knowledge of the probe — a fresh sign that prosecutors may be building a sprawling case under Georgia’s racketeering laws.

Specifically, Willis is now looking at two companies the 2020 Trump campaign hired to look for voter fraud. When they came back with no proof of fraud, the results were deep sixed.

Since the firms searched for fraud in multiple states, Willis is now gathering evidence in those locations, too, the Post adds.

In recent days, Willis has sought information related to the Trump campaign hiring two firms to find voter fraud across the United States and then burying their findings when they did not find it, allegations that reach beyond Georgia’s borders, said the two individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the investigation. At least one of the firms has been subpoenaed by Fulton County investigators.

Georgia’s RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute is among the most inclusive in the country and allows prosecutors to build criminal cases for violations of both state and federal law. It also includes penalties of up to 20 years in state prison for those found guilty under the law.

“Georgia’s RICO statute is basically two specified criminal acts that have to be part of a pattern of behavior done with the same intent or to achieve a common result or that have distinguishing characteristics,” said John Malcolm, a former Atlanta-based federal prosecutor who is now a constitutional scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “That’s it. It’s very broad. That doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to charge a former president, but that also doesn’t mean she can’t do it or won’t do it.”

The Trump campaign spent over $1 million to hire the firms in question. The companies, Simpatico Software Systems and Berkeley Research Group, were unable to find any proof that the disgraced ex-president won the 2020 election. He contested election results in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The ex-president is also facing legal jeopardy in his home state of New York and from the Justice Department for allegedly taking classified documents from the White House and storing them at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

 

Categories
LGBT Issues Social Media

Right-Wingers Pitch An Online Hissy Fit After NASCAR Posts A ‘Happy Pride Month’ Tweet

Everywhere they look, political conservatives see signs that they’re under attack as American culture becomes more inclusive and accepting of alternative lifestyles and points of view.

Nowhere is that clearer than in the issue of LGBTQ rights, especially with Pride Month starting yesterday and ads going up around the internet calling for tolerance. As Philip Bump of the Washington Post notes, 2023 has become the “summer of anti-LGBTQ panic.

At its heart, this is a backlash from the right against a feared future. It’s an effort to change the country’s trajectory, blaming the current path on perceived indoctrination. The past few decades suggest that the right might soon discover that they aren’t creating a new road forward but, instead, a few last speed bumps.

NASCAR is one of the last bastions of “good ol’ boy” culture remaining, with its most fervent fans residing in the deep South, and now even that is become more inclusive, as proven by a tweet the organization sent out with the message, “We celebrate the LGBTQ+ community during #PrideMonth and beyond.”

That didn’t sit very well with right-wingers who compose the vast majority of NASCAR fans. After all, if you can’t watch cars going round and round and hate gay people at the same time, what in the hell has become of America??!!

Of course, that was the very same mindset during the 1950s and 60s when it came to civil rights for black Americans. How dare these people want to eat in the same restaurants and have the same opportunities!

As you’d expect, many NASCAR acolytes vented their bigotry and rage in response to the Pride Month tweet.

 

Categories
Congress GOP Joe Biden

FBI-Biden Documents GOP Is Demanding Likely Came From A Conspiracy Cooked Up By Rudy Giuliani: Report

For weeks now, Republicans in the House and Senate have been demanding that FBI Director Christopher Wray “hand over” documents that allegedly mention a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden that supposedly took place when he served as vice president in the Obama administration.

But those documents — which Wray has refused to provide but made clear can be viewed at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. — appear to have a genesis in one of the most notorious liars on the planet: Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has also served as an attorney to failed former president Donald Trump, according to CNN.

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday offered to let House Oversight Chair James Comer view an internal law enforcement document at FBI headquarters that Republicans believe will shed light on an allegation that then-Vice President Joe Biden was involved in a criminal scheme with a foreign national, the chairman said in a statement.

The document has origins in a tranche of documents that Rudy Giuliani provided to the Justice Department in 2020, people briefed on the matter said.

The allegations of wrongdoing by the then-vice president, many originating from sources in Ukraine, were dubious enough that Attorney General William Barr in early 2020 directed that they be reviewed by a US attorney in Pittsburgh, in part because Barr was concerned that Giuliani’s document tranche could taint the ongoing Hunter Biden investigation overseen by the Delaware US attorney.

More specifically, the documents in question appear to be what are known as 1023s.

A 1023 is standard among federal law enforcement. It lists whatever claims being made by an informant, but it doesn’t provide any evidence that the claims might be true or supported by evidence. It’s a bit like going to the police and telling them you think your neighbor is running a meth lab. Your report isn’t based on facts or evidence, so it’s just an allegation, the sort of thing that anyone can make, especially in order to harm someone they don’t like.

You may recall that during the 2020 election, Giuliani freely admitted that he had traveled to Ukraine on numerous occasions in order to obtain dirt on Joe Biden in an effort to help Trump win reelection. Of course, Giuliani spews so much bullshit that he’s not taken seriously by anyone that isn’t willing to suspend disbelief when he starts talking, so his “proof” was little more than second-hand utterances from questionable characters, many of whom had ties to Russia.

And then today we learned that Republicans aren’t even interested in determining if the accusations in the documents are real, with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) admitting, “Let’s put it this way, there’s accusations in it. But it’s not for me to make a judgment about whether these accusations are accurate or not.”

If Republicans think some document that originated with Rudy Giuliani is the proof they need to impeach President Biden, then they’re even more delusional than Rudy himself.

 

Categories
Congress GOP Joe Biden U.S. Senate WTF?!

Chuck Grassley Says He Doesn’t Care If Bogus Accusations Against Joe Biden Are True Or Not

Just how worried are Republicans that President Joe Biden will win a second term in office come 2024? So much so that they’re now saying the quiet part out loud and admitting that they don’t give a damn if their spurious accusations against the president are true or not.

During an appearance on Fox, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley was asked about a document in the possession of the FBI that House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) claims is proof of criminal activity by Biden when he was vice president in the Obama administration.

Lawmakers can review the document at FBI headquarters if they want, but Comer and Grassley are demanding that it be given to them, which would be a violation of Bureau policy.

“Well, it’s not good enough for me,” Grassley said. “We asked for the document a month ago, it has been subpoenaed. We’re doing the constitutional job of oversight. I have read that document. If he would read it and it is an unclassified document, he admits it exists and we aren’t interested in whether or not the accusations against vice president Biden are accurate or not. We are responsible for making sure the FBI does its job, and that’s what we want to know.”

It should be noted that Grassley refused to say what findings might be made from the document or what crime it would prove.

“If he (Wray) would read it, he would know that all the excuses he is giving us that he wants to protect sources, and that’s important to protect sources, but that’s not an issue with this document the way I read it,” Grassley claimed. “He ought to come forth. They’ve got to produce this document. They are up against what the Durham report has said about the shortcomings and political bias of the FBI this is just one more example of them not being forthcoming to the public because the public’s business ought to be public. and there is no reason for an unclassified document to be held in secret.”

Does the document prove any wrongdoing by Biden? Grassley admitted that it’s not “damning,” but added, “Let’s put it this way, there’s accusations in it. But it’s not for me to make a judgment about whether these accusations are accurate or not, it’s up to my job to make sure the FBI is doing their job, and that’s what this is all about as far as I’m concerned. Public’s business ought to be public.”

The GOP is in full spin mode because they know their savior, Donald Trump, is about to be indicted for espionage and other crimes. They want to try and chum the waters so they can suggest that anything Trump might have done are no worse than the imaginary “crimes” they want accuse Biden of committing.

It’s not just pathetic, it’s downright comical.