Shortly after the January 6 House Select Committee presented testimony that six House Republicans asked failed former president Donald Trump for pardons in the final days of the Trump administration, two of the six named — Reps. Matt Gaetz (FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) — took to Twitter and began making posts that only succeeded in proving just how terrified they are of what the future holds for them.
What might that future entail? According to Norm Eisen, who served as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment trial, Gaetz and Greene are facing 15 years in jail and disqualification from ever holding public office:
Wow. Congressmen helping Trump on & before 1/6 & then demanding pardons.
Makes me think of 18 USC 201:
A public official who corruptly seeks anything of value in return for an official act or colluding in fraud shall be imprisoned for up to 15 years & disqualified from office
— Norm Eisen (norm.eisen on Threads) (@NormEisen) June 23, 2022
Such cold hard facts clearly triggered Gaetz and Greene.
The January 6 Committee is an unconstitutional political sideshow. It is rapidly losing the interest of the American people and now resorts to siccing federal law enforcement on political opponents.
Spreading gossip and lies is exactly what the January 6th Witch Hunt Committee is all about. pic.twitter.com/Z30AJd4tSX
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) June 23, 2022
That led to plenty of pushback on social media. Take a look:
“I heard that she asked White House Counsel’s Office for a pardon from Mr. Philbin.”
Patrick Philbin was Trump’s Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Counsel’s Office.
You asked for a pardon and you’re not even denying it.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 23, 2022
Oh Marge, there are receipts and it's pretty obvious this isn't a witch hunt. In the words of Eric Herschmann, “Get a good f*cking criminal defense lawyer. You’re going need it.”
Everything is falling apart for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Last Friday, she had to testify under oath as part of a hearing that will decide whether or not she’s allowed on the November midterm ballot.
On Monday, thousands of text messages related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection were released, and some of them showed that Greene was actively engaged in trying to carry out a coup that would have kept failed, one-term former President Donald Trump in office.
In one of the texts, Greene told then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows:
“In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall (sic) law. I don’t know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!”
On Tuesday, Greene sought refuge from the storm surrounding her by appearing on her good friend Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) “Firebrand” podcast, but that too wound up backfiring on her.
During in the interview, Gaetz remarked:
“People were accusing like Lauren Boebert of leading reconnaissance tours.”
Greene interjected:
“What? With her children and her husband?”
Gaetz continued:
“They were accusing you of like pipebombs, and here’s what people don’t know. The reason why Marjorie Taylor Greene has a total alibi from the pipebomb thing is that I have never seen this woman in a hoodie.”
Matt Gaetz brought up the subject today of people suspecting Marge Greene of being the J6 pipe bomber, and her facial reaction is interesting. He then says she has an alibi. pic.twitter.com/ecko5c16GZ
Be sure and note the expression on Greene’s face when Gaetz makes that “joke” about the pipe bombs planted in Washington, D.C. on the day of the Capitol riots. The perpetrator of that crime has yet to be taken into custody, as the Washington Post reported on January 29, 2021:
The explosive devices, which were placed blocks from one another at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees, have been largely overshadowed by the violent attempted insurrection at the Capitol. But finding the person suspected of planting both bombs remains a priority for federal authorities, who last week boosted the reward for tips leading to the person’s arrest from $50,000 to $75,000.
That one look from Greene set off a torrent of reaction on Twitter.
He’s her alibi … bc he’s never seen her in a hoodie. 😵💫
Remember, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also tried to argue that the attackers were “Antifa. Dressed like Trump supporters.” So did Louie Gohmert (R-TX).
During a House hearing on Tuesday with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) made a fool of himself by suggesting that the Defense Department is wasting taxpayer money on teaching “socialism” and diversity to U.S. troops.
When Gaetz made the bogus socialism claim, Austin immediately pushed back, remarking:
“Well, I certainly don’t agree with embracing socialism.”
Rather than let the Defense Secretary finish his remarks, Gaetz interrupted and went off on a rambling, fact-free rant:
“My follow-up question, if we don’t embrace it, why did the National Defense University put out a statement saying in this talk he will argue that the right answer lies in ending Western arrogance and promoting a new egalitarian horizon on a global scale, a new form of ecological and post-colonial socialism? So why would we invite people we don’t agree with to evangelize views and values that we don’t share at the National Defense University when we should be learning strategy about how to combat our enemies and make assessments that are accurate?”
Austin attempted to explain that the military often studies possible new strategies and better ways to prepare members of the armed forces, but yet again Gaetz refused to let Austin finish his remarks:
“Mr. Secretary, I’ve shared with you the context. The context wasn’t to better understand socialism so we can defeat it, the context wasn’t learn about it so that we can offer countermeasures. The concept was that it’s time for socialism, and the reason I know that’s the context is because the lecture was pulled from a book written entitled Time for Socialism.”
When Austin tried to get more information about what Gaetz was referring to, the congressman refused to let him speak:
“I control the time. You guys have been blowing a lot of calls lately on matters of strategy, Mr. Secretary. You guys told us that Russia couldn’t lose, that the Taliban couldn’t immediately win. I guess I’m wondering, what about the $773 billion that you’re requesting today is going to help you make assessments that are accurate in the face of so many blown calls?”
The Defense chief did manage to get a barb in at Gaetz, telling him:
“The fact that you’re embarrassed by your country. That’s what you’re saying.”
That led Gaetz to accuse Austin of being too interested in diversity:
“Maybe we would be better at home if the National Defense University actually worked a little more on strategy and a little less on woke-ism. That was baked into your flawed assessment. I saw that the Obama administration tried to starve our military and it seems the Biden administration is trying to starve our military by force-feeding it woke-ism.”
“Woke-ism” is not a thing. It’s a buzzword created by right-wingers who are looking for ways to attack the men and women of the U.S. military while simultaneously claiming they support the troops.
They also claim that anyone who disagrees with them hates the United States. But the real hatred is theirs, and they cannot stand when someone dares to disagree with their bigoted, narrow-minded view of the world.
Something very strange is going on with Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, and it doesn’t bode well for how he’ll respond on the day indictments for child sex trafficking are handed down against him and he’s facing the prospect of life in prison.
Gaetz posted three tweets earlier today that on the surface seem like little more than a vapid commentary on a Newsweek article he came across with the title “All-male cheetah pack kill leader in bloody coup.”
That prompted the Florida congressman to follow-up with this:
Cheetahs and House Leadership races, huh? Well, the current leader of House Republicans is Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who said Wednesday he agrees with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that the January 6 attack on the Capitol was indeed “a violent insurrection.”
Asked McCarthy if he agreed it was a “violent insurrection,” as McConnell said, House GOP leader said: “Yeah. I agree. Anyone who broke into this building, I mean, no one would disagree with that.” He added: “The RNC was not referring to that” on legitimate political discourse
It’s tempting to say that Gaetz was aiming his tweets at McConnell, but he referenced “House Leadership races,” so that narrows down who he’s referring to.
No matter how you look at it, however, it sounds like a direct threat of some violent action that Gaetz is formulating, even though the chance he’ll still be a free man when such decisions are made is fading by the day, because another person with knowledge of the accusations against Gaetz has now entered a guilty plea and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, according to Politico:
A Florida collectibles dealer connected to the federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz formally entered a guilty plea in Orlando on Wednesday, marking another twist in the ongoing probe into the Republican congressman.
Joe Ellicott, known as “Big Joe,” pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit fraud and drug charges and has agreed to cooperate with federal authorities. Ellicott is a relatively minor figure in the ongoing Gaetz probe but was listed on a federal grand jury subpoena in December 2020 along with Gaetz and several other men.
Here’s some free advice for Kevin McCarthy in light of the Gaetz’s tweets: You might want to increase your security detail and keep a close eye on the perv from Florida.
Like so many Republicans in the Age of Trump, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has absolutely no shame, no remorse, and no discernable intellect.
If you doubt that, consider that Gaetz stood on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday and demanded that those who sexually harass others be held accountable for their actions.
Gaetz’s comments were made on the floor of the House in support of a bill that would end mandatory arbitration for workplace sexual harassment claims.
Here’s what Gaetz had the gall to say despite the fact that he’s currently under federal investigation for allegedly engaging in the sexual trafficking of an underage girl:
“Here is the question presented: Should sexual harassers who work for big businesses get to pick their juries in advance? I believe that the populist, nationalist right approach is to believe that the Article 3 courts, that we have set up for any and all, function as the proper venue. But for tens of millions of American workers, that courthouse door is locked!”
Keep in mind this is the same Matt Gaetz who was the only member of Congress to vote against an anti-human trafficking bill in 2017, Politifact has confirmed:
Gaetz really was the only vote against an anti-human trafficking bill that Trump signed into law. The reason he offered at the time was not on the bill’s substance, but in favor of limiting government.
The Florida Republican was so pleased with his speech on Monday that he posted a video of it on his Twitter account:
For the fourth consecutive year, I rise as one of the few but faithful Republicans in strong support of HR 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Harassment Act.https://t.co/WMyQz2h5yGpic.twitter.com/El4rMy7NMF
