Month: January 2022

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Capitol Insurrection GOP U.S. Senate

Something Josh Hawley Said 2 Days Before January 6 Has Come Back To Bite Him On The A*s

 

Back in January of last year, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) made an appearance on Fox News to discuss what some Republicans were planning to do in order to prevent the 2020 electoral votes from being certified during a joint session of Congress.

In the weeks before Hawley appeared on Fox, then-President Donald Trump and his surrogates had falsely asserted that the election had been stolen, votes had been counted twice, and some states destroyed ballots from historically GOP districts in states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. They never offered any proof of those assertions, but they repeated them day and night on right-wing media, including Fox News.

Hawley, however, seemed to telegraph that something big was planned for Jan. 6 when he was asked by Fox host Bret Baier:

“I want to pin you down on what you’re trying to do. Are you trying to say that Trump will be president after January 20?”

The senator replied:

“Well, that depends on what happens on Wednesday (Jan. 6).”

Baier retorted:

“No, it doesn’t.”

It most certainly didn’t depend on what happened on Wednesday, Jan. 6, because despite the horrific violence that took place that day, Congress reconvened and certified the electoral votes that made Joe Biden 46th President of the United States and relegated Donald Trump to the status of a failed, one-term loser who will likely go down in history as the worst president this country has ever had.

Hawley’s response during that Jan. 4 Fox interview also leaves him squarely in the sights of the House Select Committee on Jan. 6. There’s even the very real possibility that the senator will be subpoenaed for testimony and referred on criminal contempt charges if he refuses to obey the summons.

People like Hawley and others (i.e. Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz) appear to have been part of the larger conspiracy to stage a coup so that Trump could remain in office indefinitely. They should be called out, publicly shamed, and charged with whatever crimes are applicable for their actions.

 

Categories
Capitol Insurrection Fox News

The January 6 Committee Wants To Have A Long Talk With Sean Hannity About His Role In The Capitol Riots

The House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riots and insurrection which left five people dead is leaving no stone unturned, and is even requesting that Fox News host Sean Hannity voluntarily submit to cooperating with the panel, according to Axios.

The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to ask Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity for his voluntary cooperation with its investigation of the assault on the U.S. Capitol, a source with direct knowledge of the plan tells Axios.

Why it matters: Hannity is one of the most prominent media figures in America and was a close adviser to Donald Trump throughout his presidency. The committee revealed last month that Hannity texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the riot to urge him to get Trump to stop his supporters.

A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment on the possibility of Hannity being called, but Jay Sekulow, an attorney for the Fox News host, raised the predictable red herring of the First Amendment:

 “If true, any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press.”

It would? How would asking Hannity to answer questions intrude on his First Amendment protections, especially since he’s not really a journalist and mainly works as a paid propagandist and peddler of conspiracy theories?

While Hannity has condemned the storming of the Capitol, he’s been silent when it comes to criticizing failed, one-term former President Donald Trump for his role in what transpired on Jan. 6. Hannity has also been critical of the House Select Committee.

We already know that Hannity was in contact with then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as the rioting was taking place:

Committee officials have said Hannity was among several Fox News hosts who were texting Meadows during the riot.

“Can he [Trump] make a statement?” Hannity said in the texts, made public in mid-December. “Ask people to leave the Capitol.”

Hannity was also actively involved in the inner workings of the Trump administration, according to reports, Axios notes:

  • One former Trump aide sarcastically referred to Hannity as the “real chief of staff.” That was a gross overstatement, but it spoke to Hannity’s special access to Trump.
  • Such was Hannity’s influence with Trump that officials who wanted to persuade him often turned to the Fox News host to help get their ideas or action items across the line.
  • A phone call from Hannity to Trump carried more sway than a conversation between the president and many members of his own Cabinet.

Will Hannity agree to talk with the committee? What if he’s subpoenaed? If he chooses not to, he could be held in criminal contempt and jailed for up to two years.

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Jr. Ivanka Trump The Trump Organization

New York Attorney General Tish James Lays A Nasty Burn On Don Jr. And Ivanka

 

It was recently revealed that New York Attorney General Letitia James has subpoenaed Don Jr. and Ivanka, the two eldest children of failed, one-term former President Donald Trump, for testimony as part of an ongoing financial fraud investigation being conducted by her office.

As you’d expect, the two Trump kids say they won’t comply with the subpoenas and have gone to court to have them quashed, according to ABC News:

Former President Trump’s eldest son and daughter have refused to comply with subpoenas issued by the New York State attorney general’s office as it conducts a civil investigation into the way the family real estate business valued its holdings.

“A dispute has arisen between the OAG and the Individual Trump Parties regarding the Subpoenas,” a document filed Monday said.

Despite the attempt to have the subpoenas quashed, most legal experts say courts will rule in favor of AG James because she’s investigating possible criminal behavior.

James also made it clear that all the stonewalling in the world won’t keep her from moving forward, sending out this tweet aimed directly at Don Jr. and Ivanka:

Sounds like Junior and Vanky had better start prepping for their depositions, and they’d better make damn sure they don’t lie under oath.

 

Categories
Melania Trump WTF?!

Strapped For Cash? Melania Is Suddenly Selling All Sorts Of Things

Something very strange is going on with former First Lady Melania Trump, and it’s setting off speculation that she’s trying to cash in on what little celebrity cache she still has left before her name fades into complete irrelevance.

A couple of weeks ago, Melania announced she was offering up a non-fungible token (NFT) piece of artwork featuring her eyes, as USA Today reported:

Former first lady Melania Trump announced on Thursday that she will begin selling NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, becoming the latest personality to embrace the hot digital collectible trend. 

“I am proud to announce my new NFT endeavor, which embodies my passion for the arts, and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative,” she said in a Thursday statement shared on social media.  

Trump  confirmed in the statement that she is starting a platform that will “release NFTs in regular intervals.” 

An NFT is a piece of data verifying that you have ownership of a digital item, such as a piece of artwork. The items can also include a video clip, a tweet and more.  

And now we learn that the ex-president’s wife is auctioning off a white hat she wore when French President Emmanuel Macron visited the United States in 2018:

In a statement from her office, Trump said that, in addition to the hat, the auction lot will include a watercolor by Marc-Antoine Coulon — a French artist who drew her eyes for her NFT last month — as well as what the statement defines as “an exclusive digital artwork NFT with motion.” The NFT, the second Trump has sold in less than a month, features the drawing of the hat with some animation.

The centerpiece of the auction, the custom white hat, which Trump has signed, was created for Trump by her personal stylist, Hervé Pierre, to match the $2,105 white crepe Michael Kors Collection suit Trump wore for the daytime ceremonies at the White House attended by Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron.

Why the sudden rush to sell off memorabilia by Melania? Twitter users had some thoughts on the matter:

https://twitter.com/B52Malmet/status/1478376150070145027?s=20
https://twitter.com/JohnDesrocher1/status/1478358890781851654?s=20

The most important question of all: How much is Melania hoping to raise with these auctions before she files for divorce?

 

Categories
Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump

House 1/6 Committee Is Considering A Charge Of ‘Seditious Conspiracy’ For Donald Trump

A former U.S. Attorney says that it appears the House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol insurrection is seriously considering referring failed, one-term former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department on a charge of seditious conspiracy.

Barbara McQuade, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan for seven years, made her remarks during an interview with Andrea Mitchell while appearing on MSNBC.

Mitchell asked McQuade about comments made by Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) the top Republican on the Jan. 6 committee:

“Congresswoman Cheney was saying that there are several criminal statutes in play as to whether or not there could be some enhanced penalties or some issue regarding the former president’s actions that day. What laws do you think could be used against the former president if it’s approved that he was criminally negligent by not calling off the rioters or do you think new laws would have to be enacted?”

McQuade replied:

“No, I think there are current laws on the books that could be applied there. I don’t know that negligence alone is going to be enough, but as Congresswoman Cheney has recited on occasion, there is a crime making it illegal to corruptly impede or obstruct an official proceeding, which includes proceedings before Congress. If he [Trump] had the power to stop that riot from happening and to permit the vote to go forward, his failure to do that could be that effort to corruptly obstruct the official proceeding. It may be, you know.”

And then McQuade brought up the most serious possible charge: Seditious conspiracy:

“We’ve got this 187 minutes when he sat and did nothing despite the fact that he knew that this violence and destruction was occurring. Is it because it was all part of a larger plan? So I think, in addition to that obstruction statute that Congresswoman Cheney has mentioned, I think we could also look at conspiracy to defraud the United States — that just means trying to impede the normal functioning of government — all the way up to seditious conspiracy. I think all of those potential crimes are in play.”

What exactly is the definition of seditious conspiracy? According to 18 U.S. Code § 2384:

“If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.”

Twenty years in federal prison. Considering that Donald Trump is already 75, he’d die while incarcerated. And considering what he’s done to this country, he deserves to never see freedom again.