Tag: Justice Department

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Donald Trump GOP Justice Department The Trump Adminstration WTF?!

Evidence Suggests Some Congressional Republicans Could Still Be Charged For Jan. 6

While it’s been clear for some time now that former President Donald Trump was directly involved in fomenting the violence that took place on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol, reporting from The New York Times suggests that some Republicans in Congress also played a role in the efforts to subvert the 2020 election and keep power through a violent uprising.

Specifically, the Times reveals that notes taken by a top deputy to then-Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen point directly to a coordinated effort between Trump and members of Congress. Those notes, which were handwritten by deputy AG Richard Donoghue, report what Trump told Rosen:

“Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen.”

That, many legal experts said, is a literal smoking gun, and it means that several Republicans in Congress are facing indictment for their role in what transpired on that fateful day.

Philip Bump of The Washington Post focused in on the notation from Donoghue:

“What Donoghue’s notes suggest is that Trump had fully bought into the effort that would eventually become his Alamo: having Republican legislators block the electoral-vote counting due to take place at the Capitol on Jan. 6.”

Failing to certify counting of the electoral votes would have resulted in a Constitutional crisis. The added chaos of a riot at the Capitol would have provided the perfect opportunity for Trump to declare a national emergency and refuse to hand over the reins of power to Joe Biden. It also would have provided an “excuse” for a coup d’etat. And it would have even had the blessing of a faction in Congress.

Once again, quoting Philip Bump:

“Some congressional Republicans clearly did their best to aid Trump’s effort. On the morning of Jan. 6, (Rep Mo) Brooks spoke before Trump at a rally outside the White House. It was time, he said, to ‘start taking down names and kicking ass.’ It’s not clear if any of those in attendance did the former, but some clearly did the latter.”

Brooks, along with Reps. Jim Jordan, Jim Banks, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kevin McCarthy (and perhaps others) may well find themselves charged with crimes by the Justice Department.

 

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GOP Justice Department Religion

Garland Goes NUCLEAR On Republican For Accusing Him Of Religious Discrimination

Attorney General Merrick Garland went off on Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday when the congressman suggested that the Justice Department discriminates against Catholics who are opposed to abortion.

Van Drew began by remarking, “The two-tiered system of justice is clear and it’s clear to the American public. And the buck stops with the man in charge. That man is you. The actions of the DOJ are on you. The decline of Americans trust in our federal law enforcement is on you. The political weaponization of the DOJ is on you. Attorney General, I need a simple yes or no to the following. Just yes or no because we don’t have much time. Do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists, yes or no?”

The AG replied,  “Let me answer what you’ve said in that long list of-“

“Attorney General, I control the time. I’m gonna ask you to answer the questions I ask,” Van Drew insisted.

Garland: “You’ve controlled the time by asking me a substantial number of things and I –”

Van Drew:  “I didn’t ask you those things, I made a statement. Attorney General, through the chair I ask you, do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists? Answer the question.”

“I have no idea what traditional means here, let me just-” Garland insisted before Van Drew cut him off again.

“Catholics! Catholics that go to church.”

Garland: “May I answer your question? The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous! So absurd!”

Garland’s family fled from Russia due to anti-Semitism, and the fact that Van Drew would ask such a question clearly infuriated him.

Van Drew continued to press.

“Mr. Attorney General, it was your FBI that did this. It was your FBI that was sending — and we have the memos, we have the emails –were sending undercover agents into Catholic churches.”

The AG replied, “Both I and the director of the FBI have said that we were appalled by that memo.”

Mediaite notes that Van Drew was clearly referring to recent convictions of pro-life Catholics who blockaded family planning clinics:

Garland and Van Drew continued to spar over the DOJ’s treatment of religious Catholics. The former’s DOJ has been criticized for its zealous prosecution of pro-life activists. Last week, two 70+ year old women were found guilty of being “engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services.”

Here’s the video:

 

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Capitol Insurrection Crime January 6 Justice Department

J6 Rioter Facing Quadrupled Prison Sentence After Calling Prosecutors A ‘Clown Show’

A New York man convicted for taking part in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol could soon be facing a long time in prison as the result of an angry tirade he directed at federal prosecutors after he was convicted.

Frank Giustino was originally sentenced to three weeks incarceration for actions, but is now likely to get four months because he couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.

Scott MacFarlane of CBS News reports that Giustino showed “no remorse for his conduct on January 6” and instead presented “himself as the victim,” all the while referring to “the prosecution as a ‘clown show’ and a ‘nuisance.'”

“Giustino’s behavior in Court further evinces his belief that the attack on the Capitol was righteous… necessitating a sentence that will deter him from similar conduct,” prosecutors argue.

While it’s rare for prosecutors to call for an increase in a sentence, Giustino appears to have given then exactly the proof they need that an enhancement is justified.

Giustino previously proved his complete lack of respect for the law by firing his attorney and demanding that he be allowed to represent himself even though the judge in the case informed him that a lawyer could help him negotiate a lower sentence.

 

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Crime Donald Trump

Next Indictment From Jack Smith Will Include 30-45 Charges Against Trump: Report

Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith is preparing to file what’s known as a “superseding indictment” against failed former president Donald Trump in the coming weeks, and the filing could include up to 45 new charges against the ex-president, according to Andrew Feinberg of The Independent.

The new indictment would include even more serious charges than the ones Trump is already facing.

The team of federal prosecutors working under Special Counsel Jack Smith is currently prepared to add an “additional 30 to 45 charges” in addition to the 37-count indictment brought against Mr Trump on 8 June, either in a superseding indictment in the same Florida court or in a different federal judicial district. In either case, they would do so using evidence against the ex-president that has not yet been publicly acknowledged by the department, including other recordings prosecutors have obtained which reveal Mr Trump making incriminating statements.

Smith is also planning to bring charges against several of Trump’s attorneys, including those who helped him spread lies about the 2020 election being stolen, which would include Rudy Giuliani, who has met with Justice Department investigators about what role he played in attempts to overturn the last presidential election.

A source familiar with the matter has said Mr Smith’s office will “most definitely” bring some charges against Mr Giuliani for his work on Mr Trump’s behalf in the weeks between the November 2020 election and the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol.

In addition to the laundry list of federal charges Trump is facing, he is also expected to be indicted in Fulton County, Georgia by District Attorney Fani Willis, who is also looking into efforts by Trump and his surrogates to have him declared the winner despite the fact that President Joe Biden won in an electoral landslide.

That probe, which is being conducted by Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, is expected to result in multiple indictments which could be unveiled as early as next month. Ms Willis, who last year oversaw a special purpose grand jury probe into efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to reverse his loss to Mr Biden in Georgia, is reportedly considering indictments against the ex-president, his former attorney, top Republican figures in the state, as well as Mr Trump’s final White House chief of staff, ex-North Carolina congressman Mark Meadows.

In his home state of New York, Trump has already been indicted for falsifying business records to hide hush money payments made to adult film Stormy Daniels. And his company, the Trump Organization, is also being put under the microscope by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is expected to use civil charges to dismantle the company and dissolve its assets.

 

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Congress GOP Justice Department

WATCH: Jim Jordan’s ‘Weaponization’ Witness Gets Humiliated When Asked About His Revoked Security Clearance

This hasn’t been a very good day for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Jordan’s committee held a hearing this morning regarding the so-called “weaponization” of the Justice Department against failed and indicted former president Donald Trump, and his first “whistleblower” was quickly discredited with a line of questioning about why he lost his security clearance when he worked for the FBI.

The witness/whistleblower, Steve Friend, who served as an agent in the Miami FBI office was asked by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), “You … claim that your top secret security clearance was improperly revoked. Yet an independent investigation concluded that you demonstrated a number of security concerns, which included that you refused to execute a court-ordered arrest warrant, and when you downloaded documents from intelligence systems to an unauthorized removable flash drive.”

Friend said nothing, so Wasserman Schultz continued:

“The cherry on top could be your unauthorized recording of executive management, which, as I’m sure you know, violates Florida law, along with your unsanctioned interviews with Sputnik News, established by the Russian government in 2014 and fully owned by the Kremlin and Putin’s cronies.”

The congresswoman concluded her remarks by noting, “I think it’s clear who is weaponizing government.”

Jordan’s other witness, FBI agent Marcus Allen, also lost his security clearance because he refused to share information with fellow agents regarding January 6 suspects who were under investigation.

It’d be tempting to call Jordan’s bogus hearings a dog and pony show, but that would be an insult to dogs, ponies, and shows.