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      'A 10ft pole is not long enough': Matt Gaetz isolated in sex-trafficking scandal

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      The Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz appears increasingly politically isolated amid a spiralling scandal over a federal sex-trafficking investigation. Even for Donald Trump, one Republican political operative said, “a 10ft pole is not long enough”.Federal prosecutors are reportedly examining whether Gaetz and a political ally facing sex trafficking allegations may have paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex.Few Republicans have rushed to offer any kind of support to Gaetz, a three-term conservative provocateur known for support of Trump, high-volume attacks, sometimes against those in his own party, and frequent media appearances.The Associated Press reported that several lawmakers and aides who spoke on condition of anonymity said Gaetz’s prospects for remaining in Congress were complicated by his unpopularity in his own party.The Daily Beast, meanwhile, reported that advisers were pleading with the former president to keep quiet. Trump was reported to have said the affair seemed “really bad”, though he also thought the allegations could be a “smear” against Gaetz.“I don’t hope for anybody to be guilty of anything but it sounds like [Gaetz has] got a lot of explaining to do,” Barry Bennett, a longtime Republican operative and former Trump adviser, told the website.“People underestimate Donald Trump’s political ear … For something like this, a 10ft pole is not long enough. The former president should stay as far away from this as possible.”Fox News has also stayed quiet. As Vox reported, the Gaetz affair was not mentioned on the rightwing network on Thursday, or on Friday until the news anchor Brett Baier covered the allegations on his evening show.Gaetz has been a familiar presence on Fox News, according to Mediate appearing on the channel 18 times in March. Shortly before news of the allegations against him broke, he was reported to be considering retiring from Congress in order to pursue a media career.Any such plans are now under threat. The scrutiny of Gaetz reportedly stems from a justice department investigation of Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector indicted last year and accused of a number of federal crimes. He has pleaded not guilty.In addition, CNN has reported that Gaetz allegedly showed nude photos of women he slept with to colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives.Republican leaders have largely been silent. But Gaetz’s spokesman, Luke Ball, has resigned.Part of the investigation is examining whether Gaetz, 38, had sex with a 17-year-old and other underage girls and violated federal sex trafficking laws, sources told the AP, adding that federal agents suspect Greenberg may have enticed the girls and introduced some to Gaetz. Investigators are reported to be examining whether the two men had sex with the same girls.Details of the investigation were first reported by the New York Times, which also said Gaetz took ecstasy, an illegal drug, before having sex.Gaetz has said: “No part of the allegations against me are true.”Among rare lawmakers to express support for Gaetz is the freshman Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, another rising figure propelled by media appearances and baseless conspiracy theories.House minority leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters the accusations against Gaetz were “serious”. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, told reporters: “If in fact these allegations are true, of course being removed from the Judiciary committee is the least that could be done. From what we’ve heard so far, this would be a matter for the ethics committee.”The investigation into Gaetz has been extant since at least summer 2020 and has reportedly reached the highest levels of the justice department. Investigators have interviewed several witnesses and have been scrutinizing travel and financial records.Greenberg was the elected tax collector in Seminole county near Orlando when he resigned last June after his arrest on charges including stalking a political opponent, trafficking a minor for sex and illegally using a state database to create fake drivers licenses and other ID cards.Since then, the case has ballooned to more than 30 charges, including wire fraud and charges involving efforts to divert at least $400,000 from the tax collectors office into cryptocurrency for Greenberg’s own use. Other charges accuse him attempting to fraudulently obtain coronavirus relief funds.The justice department has a separate investigation into the extortion allegations, the AP reported. Gaetz has said his family has been cooperating with the FBI. More

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      Trump on the ballot again? Daughter-in-law Lara ponders Senate run

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      The Trump flags and yard signs are still up. Flags that shout “Impeach Biden” fly on the back of pickup trucks. “Most people here believe Donald Trump is still the president,” says Nancy Allen of her neighborhood in Shelby, North Carolina. “And I call him President Trump.”Allen might get the chance to vote Trump again sooner than expected. But it will not be for Donald or his politically ambitious daughter Ivanka. Instead the former president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, a North Carolina native, is considering a run for the US Senate next year.“If she decides to run, I will campaign for her,” added Allen, 74, who used to run a business in Wilmington, where Lara Trump (née Yunaska) was born and raised and where her parents still live. “She’s very approachable: it’s amazing that she’s just like one of us. She has no airs about her at all. She’s a people’s person.“She is well known all across the state, which is very important, and I think she is good and she would win. Henry, my husband, said yesterday that it would be a landslide if if she ran.”Lara, 38, a former TV producer who has also worked as a chef and personal trainer, married Eric Trump at his father’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2014. Since becoming a member of the family, she has displayed the zeal of the convert and proved an ardent champion of the “Make America great again” movement.Lara played up her local roots when addressing rallies for the president in North Carolina and her bio on Twitter, where she amassed 1.2m followers, says simply: “NC girl in NYC #MAGA.” She also led Women for Trump events, hosted numerous campaign video streams and, after her father-in-law’s defeat, unabashedly pushed false claims of voter fraud.She told Sean Hannity, a host on the conservative Fox News network, on 5 December: “I want to make it very clear to the American people: this is not over. So don’t for a second think that Joe Biden is going to be sworn in on January 20th.”This week Lara returned to the spotlight in more ways than one. She conducted Trump’s first on-camera interview since leaving the White House on her online show The Right View, but the conversation was removed from Facebook and Instagram because he has been banned from those platforms for incendiary comments.It also emerged that Lara is joining Fox News as a paid on-air contributor – a potential boost to her political brand ahead of a possible run for the Senate seat in North Carolina to be vacated next year by retiring Republican Richard Burr. She told the Fox & Friends programme on Monday that she has not “officially made a decision, but hopefully sometime soon”.Such a move would require her to sever ties with Fox News, according to the network’s policy. It would also represent the first electoral test of the Trump name since 2020 and underline how the former president’s children and their partners have emerged as some of his most influential allies and surrogates.Don Jr’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News presenter, campaigned vigorously for the president and went viral with a Republican national convention address that ended with a crescendo: “The best is yet to come!” Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, served a senior White House adviser with a portfolio so sprawling that it was ridiculed by critics.The surprise, perhaps, is that the first standard-bearer would be Lara rather than Ivanka, who amid much speculation has ruled out a run for the Senate in Florida.Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said: “She would be what I think Donald Trump hoped Ivanka would be. She would become the avatar for the Trump family name. She looks like a Trump, she talks like a Trump.“Every president has wanted his children or grandchildren to run for office for a long time. Trump is no different. This is a daughter-in-law, but it doesn’t matter, and we’ll see. Maybe she can do whatever Ivanka can’t do and appeal to suburban college educated women who defected from Trump.”How Lara fares in at the ballot box could also offer clues to the presidential election, Schiller added, even if Donald Trump himself decides not to run again. “By Lara Trump running in North Carolina, the Trump brand get tested and, if she’s successful, that’s an indication that the Trump brand might do well in 2024 in the presidential race, which may lead to pushing Don Jr out there to run for president.“There are a lot of other people who want to run for president in the Republican party in 2024. You’re going to see a very complicated dance between prominent Republicans and the Trump children and Trump himself in the next two years because they want his support but they do not want them to get too successful because that will crowd them all out.”There is no guarantee that Lara would win a Republican primary where the Trump name might turn from asset into liability. Rivals could include Mark Meadows, a former congressman from North Carolina who became Trump’s chief of staff. Burr, the outgoing senator, voted in favour of convicting Trump at his impeachment trial following the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said: “There are going to be other candidates on the Republican side in North Carolina and some of them are going to both claim loyalty to Donald Trump to try to neutralise that but also suggest to voters that they have a better chance of beating a fairly competitive Democratic candidate come the general election.“Because one thing we know about Donald Trump – and this will be part of the political genetics here – is that he’s a turnoff for independents.”Trump won North Carolina by just 1.3% against Joe Biden, significantly less than his margin in 2016. Democrats hope that the state can trend in the same direction as Georgia and Virginia, where anti-Trump resistance was a rallying point.Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist based in South Carolina who works in North Carolina frequently, said: “The demographics of North Carolina still would give us real possibilities, real opportunities to do the unthinkable, just like we did in Georgia in January.“I think that the timing is right, the environment is right and Republicans are going to have a fight on their hands that they did not expect for that Senate seat. The same way Georgia was key to the Senate in the 2020 cycle, I think North Carolina will be just as key for the 2022 cycle.” More

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      US Capitol: police officer and suspect dead after vehicle rams barrier – live

      by

      Key events

      Show

      5.07pm EDT
      17:07

      Biden orders White House flags at half staff

      5.01pm EDT
      17:01

      Today so far

      4.41pm EDT
      16:41

      Major League Baseball pulls All-Star Game from Georgia over voting law

      4.26pm EDT
      16:26

      Pelosi mourns killed USCP officer as ‘a martyr for our democracy’

      4.20pm EDT
      16:20

      USCP identifies killed officer as William ‘Billy’ Evans

      3.20pm EDT
      15:20

      USCP lifts Capitol lockdown after car attack

      2.53pm EDT
      14:53

      Police: ‘It does not appear to be terrorism related’

      Live feed

      Show

      5.49pm EDT
      17:49

      Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the homeland security, has released a statement in response to the attack at the Capitol this afternoon.
      “My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and colleagues of the U.S. Capitol Police Officer who lost his life today protecting the very symbol of our democracy,” Mayorkas said.
      “There is still much to be determined about this attack and DHS offers its full support to Capitol Police and DC Mayor Bowser.”
      USCP has identified the officer killed in the attack as William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force.

      5.44pm EDT
      17:44

      After two deadly attacks on the US Capitol mere months apart, questions are being raised about whether security measures, which were enhanced after Jan. 6, are extensive enough, Vox reports.
      A review of the security released last month found that the Capitol Police are “understaffed, insufficiently equipped, and inadequately trained” to defend the nation’s seat of government from future attacks.
      In a 15-page draft report, commissioned by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, retired Army Lt. Gen Russel Honoré called for adding 854 officers, including 424 to specialize in intelligence, dignitary protection, and operational planning.
      He also recommended additional fencing, specifically barriers that are “easily erected and deconstructed.”

      Scott Taylor 7 News I-Team
      (@ScottTaylorTV)
      More of my interview with former @FBI agent Brad Garrett about today’s attack at the U.S. Capitol. @BradInvestigate tells me the current threat is too high not to add more security at the Capitol. @7NewsDC pic.twitter.com/xQSQFoW56n

      April 2, 2021

      Roughly 4-miles of 7-foot-high “non-scalable” metal fencing was set up around the Capitol complex following the Jan. 6 riot but it was taken down in March, according to Vox.
      Rep. Tim Ryan told reporters today that new permanent additions to security are being considered by lawmakers. “We’ll be reviewing everything, at this point, including the fencing,” he said, emphasizing that there are still many unknowns about today’s incident
      “We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves without knowing that we have the ability to protect the Capitol, to harden the Capitol,” he added.

      5.07pm EDT
      17:07

      Biden orders White House flags at half staff

      Gabrielle Canon here, signing in from the west coast to take you through the Friday afternoon news.
      President Biden has issued a statement on today’s violent attack at the US Capitol that resulted in the death of Officer William Evens and left another US Capitol police officer injured.
      “We know what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol, everyone who works there, and those who protect it,” Biden said in the statement, after expressing his condolences to Evans’ family. His death is the second line-of-duty death this year for the Capitol police, who also lost an officer during the Jan. 6 attack, and the 7th in the agency’s history, according to the Associated Press.
      Here is Biden’s full statement:

      Jill and I were heartbroken to learn of the violent attack at a security checkpoint on the U.S. Capitol grounds, which killed Officer William Evans of the U.S. Capitol Police, and left a fellow officer fighting for his life. We send our heartfelt condolences to Officer Evans’ family, and everyone grieving his loss. We know what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol, everyone who works there, and those who protect it.
      I have been receiving ongoing briefings from my Homeland Security Advisor, and will be getting further updates as the investigation proceeds.
      I want to express the nation’s gratitude to the Capitol Police, the National Guard Immediate Response Force, and others who quickly responded to this attack. As we mourn the loss of yet another courageous Capitol Police officer, I have ordered that the White House flags be lowered to half-mast.

      Updated
      at 5.16pm EDT

      5.01pm EDT
      17:01

      Today so far

      That’s it from me on this sad day in Washington. My west coast colleague, Gabrielle Canon, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
      Here’s where the day stands so far:

      US Capitol Police officer William “Billy” Evans was killed after a car rammed through a security barrier at the Capitol this afternoon. The acting USCP chief, Yogananda Pittman, said a suspect attempted to drive through the barrier and then exited his car wielding a knife. The suspect lunged at the two officers present, and at least one of the officers opened fire on the man, who later died of his injuries.
      The Capitol attack did not appear to be terrorism-related, the acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of DC said. At an afternoon press conference, acting MPD chief Robert Contee said it did not appear the Capitol was under active threat. The lockdown at the Capitol was lifted soon afterwards.
      Nancy Pelosi mourned Evans as “a martyr for our democracy”. The House speaker said in a statement, “Today, once again, these heroes risked their lives to protect our Capitol and our Country, with the same extraordinary selflessness and spirit of service seen on January 6. On behalf of the entire House, we are profoundly grateful.” A spokesperson for Pelosi also said the Capitol flags will be lowered to half-staff in honor of Evans.
      The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is being moved out of Georgia over the state’s new voting law. The law, which Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed late last month, restricts access to voting, and it has been widely criticized by Democrats and voting rights activists.
      Fully vaccinated Americans can travel without quarantining, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. According to the CDC’s newest guidelines, vaccinated individuals can travel without getting tested for coronavirus or quarantining after their return. The agency said such travel is low-risk for those who have been vaccinated.

      Gabrielle will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

      4.41pm EDT
      16:41

      Major League Baseball pulls All-Star Game from Georgia over voting law

      The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:
      Major League Baseball will not hold the annual All-Star Game in Atlanta this year after Georgia passed a new law that makes it significantly harder to vote.
      The announcement is perhaps the most consequential action taken since Georgia governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed the measure into law. Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola spoke out against the bill this week, but faced criticism for not doing so earlier, when their influence could have had a significant impact on the legislation.
      “I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB draft,” Rob Manfred, the league’s commissioner, said in a statement. “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.”
      The Georgia law implements new requirements for mail-in voting, a process voters in the state used in record numbers without evidence of fraud in 2020.

      4.26pm EDT
      16:26

      Pelosi mourns killed USCP officer as ‘a martyr for our democracy’

      House speaker Nancy Pelosi has released a statement mourning the loss of US Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” Evans in this afternoon’s attack.
      “Today, America’s heart has been broken by the tragic and heroic death of one of our Capitol Police heroes: Officer William Evans. He is a martyr for our democracy,” the Democratic speaker said.
      “Members of Congress, staff and Capitol workers, and indeed all Americans are united in appreciation for the courage of the U.S. Capitol Police. Today, once again, these heroes risked their lives to protect our Capitol and our Country, with the same extraordinary selflessness and spirit of service seen on January 6. On behalf of the entire House, we are profoundly grateful.”
      Pelosi pledged that Congress was ready to “assist law enforcement with a swift and comprehensive investigation into this heinous attack”.
      “May we always remember the heroism of those who have given their lives to defend our Democracy,” the speaker said. “May it be a comfort to the family of Officer Evans that so many mourn with them and pray for them at this sad time.”

      4.20pm EDT
      16:20

      USCP identifies killed officer as William ‘Billy’ Evans

      The US Capitol Police has identified the officer who was killed in the attack this afternoon as William “Billy” Evans.
      “It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the passing of Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans this afternoon from injuries he sustained following an attack at the North Barricade by a lone assailant,” USCP acting chief Yogananda Pittman said in a statement.

      U.S. Capitol Police
      (@CapitolPolice)
      Statement on the Loss of USCP Colleague Officer William “Billy” Evans: https://t.co/JMAEbTcbAp pic.twitter.com/DPvkAv5ptO

      April 2, 2021

      Pittman noted Evans, who succumbed to his injuries after being struck by a car that rammed through a security barrier, had been a member of the USCP force for 18 years.
      “He began his USCP service on March 7, 2003, and was a member of the Capitol Division’s First Responder’s Unit,” Pittman said. “Please keep Officer Evans and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”

      4.17pm EDT
      16:17

      Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat of Hawaii, offered his thoughts to the US Capitol Police, after an officer died in the attack this afternoon.
      “Being a Capitol Police officer has never been more difficult or more stressful. All the love and comfort in the world to them and their family members,” Schatz said on Twitter.

      Brian Schatz
      (@brianschatz)
      Being a Capitol Police officer has never been more difficult or more stressful. All the love and comfort in the world to them and their family members.

      April 2, 2021

      This is the second line-of-duty death for the USCP since January, when Officer Brian Sicknick succumbed to his injuries from the Capitol insurrection.
      Prior to 2021, a total of four USCP officers had died in the line of duty in the entire history of the force, according to the USCP website.

      4.06pm EDT
      16:06

      Martin Pengelly

      The House and Senate are not in session but some elected officials and staff were in the building on Friday, as a car rammed a security barrier on the grounds.
      Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California, spoke to CNN from his car, where he said officers had told him to go after he came back to the Capitol from going out for lunch.
      “It’s really sad,” he said. “Once the barriers were removed we were moving back to some sense of normalcy, but this just shows the level of risk there still is.
      “I can’t imagine saying that going to the United States Capitol to represent your constituents is actually a dangerous thing.”

      3.50pm EDT
      15:50

      Noah Green, a 25-year-old man from Indiana, is the suspect who rammed through a Capitol security checkpoint in his car this afternoon, according to NBC News.

      Tom Winter
      (@Tom_Winter)
      BREAKING / NBC News: Multiple senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation say Noah Green, 25 year old male, from Indiana is the person who attacked the Capitol today. Reported by @PeteWilliamsNBC @jonathan4ny and myself.

      April 2, 2021

      US Capitol Police has said the suspect exited the vehicle wielding a knife and was then shot by at least one of the officers present. He later succumbed to his injuries and died.

      3.45pm EDT
      15:45

      The US Capitol Police has provided the latest information on the attack that occurred this afternoon.
      According to USCP, a man in a blue sedan charged a security barrier at the Capitol, striking two officers. The man then exited the vehicle with a knife and ran toward the officers.
      At least one of the officers drew their weapon and shot the suspect, who succumbed to his injuries about 30 minutes later. One of the USCP officers who was hit by the car also died of his injuries.

      U.S. Capitol Police
      (@CapitolPolice)
      UPDATE: Here is the latest information. pic.twitter.com/GOVaMv8EXk

      April 2, 2021

      3.31pm EDT
      15:31

      Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said he was “heartbroken” for the US Capitol Police officer who was killed today, after a car rammed through a security barrier.
      “I’m praying for the officer injured and his family. We’re in their debt,” the Democratic leader said on Twitter. “We thank the Capitol Police, National Guard, & first responders for all they do to protect the Capitol and those inside.”

      Chuck Schumer
      (@SenSchumer)
      I’m heartbroken for the officer killed today defending our Capitol and for his family. I’m praying for the officer injured and his family.We’re in their debtWe thank the Capitol Police, National Guard, & first responders for all they do to protect the Capitol and those inside

      April 2, 2021

      3.20pm EDT
      15:20

      USCP lifts Capitol lockdown after car attack

      The US Capitol Police has lifted the lockdown on the Capitol grounds, about two hours after a car rammed a security barrier and injured two USCP officers, killing one of them.
      But the police force noted the area immediately surrounding the attack site is still under restricted access as officials continue to process the scene.

      U.S. Capitol Police
      (@CapitolPolice)
      The USCP has cleared the external security threat incident located at all of the U.S. Capitol Campus buildings, however the area around the crime scene will continue to be restricted and individuals should follow police direction. pic.twitter.com/6SXr5WJmcE

      April 2, 2021

      Updated
      at 3.21pm EDT More

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      DoJ reportedly investigating whether Matt Gaetz paid women for sex

      by

      One of Donald Trump’s loudest cheerleaders in the US Congress is under federal investigation over allegations that he paid for sex with women recruited online, according to a media report.Matt Gaetz, a Republican congressman from Florida, is one of the former president’s most ardent supporters and frequently appeared on TV to promote his lies about a stolen election.But the 38-year-old’s rapid ascent is threatened by a strange, sordid and escalating scandal that includes a report by CNN that he allegedly showed nude photos of women he slept with to colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives.The crisis for Gaetz began this week when it was reported that the justice department is investigating claims that he had a sexual relationship with an underage girl and paid the 17-year-old to travel with him, potentially breaking interstate sex trafficking laws.Gaetz denied the allegation and sought to deflect it by suggesting that he and his father are the victims of an “organised crime extortion”.But there was a further twist when it was reported that scrutiny of Gaetz stems from a separate justice department investigation into one of his allies, Florida politician Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on sex trafficking and other charges that he stalked a political opponent.Greenberg was involved with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments, the New York Times reported on Thursday. Greenberg “initially met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances, according to three people with knowledge of the encounters”, the paper said.“Mr Greenberg introduced the women to Mr Gaetz, who also had sex with them, the people said.”The New York Times said it obtained receipts from mobile apps that show payments from Gaetz and Greenberg to one of the women, and a payment from Greenberg to a second woman. “The women told their friends that the payments were for sex with the two men, according to two people familiar with the conversations.”Gaetz took ecstasy, an illegal drug, before having sex, the paper’s sources also claimed.The congressman vehemently denies the reports. His office said in a statement: “Matt Gaetz has never paid for sex. Matt Gaetz refutes all the disgusting allegations completely. Matt Gaetz has never ever been on any such websites whatsoever. Matt Gaetz cherishes the relationships in his past and looks forward to marrying the love of his life.”But adding to a sense of growing momentum against him, a separate report from CNN, based on anonymous sources, told how Gaetz showed off images of women on his phone – sometimes on the House floor – and talked openly about having sex with them. “It was a point of pride,” one source told the network.And on Friday Gaetz’s communications director, Luke Ball, resigned. A statement said: “The office of Congressman Matt Gaetz and Luke Ball have agreed that it would be best to part ways. We thank him for his time in our office, and we wish him the best moving forward.”Gaetz, who came to Congress in 2017, is among a pro-Trump coterie that has found a smash-mouth style and talent to outrage is a short cut to political stardom via rightwing media. He even travelled to Wyoming to hold a rally demanding that Liz Cheney, the No 3 Republican in the House, resign over her vote to impeach Trump following the 6 January riot at the US Capitol.But the congressman is also the latest in a long list of Trump allies to be tarnished by proven or alleged wrongdoing, with some ending up behind bars. So far the ex-president has remained silence on the issue and few of his followers have taken a firm position.Kevin McCarthy, the Republican minority leader in the House and a staunch Trump supporter, said on Wednesday that he would not strip Gaetz of his committee assignments until the case against is established.McCarthy told Fox News: “Those are serious implications. If it comes out to be true, yes, we would remove him, if that was the case. But right now, Matt Gaetz says that it’s not true and we don’t have any information. So let’s get all the information.”But Democrats are urging McCarthy to remove Gaetz the House judiciary committee, which oversees the justice department. On Wednesday Ted Lieu, a Democratic congressman from California, tweeted that Gaetz should not be “sitting on the Congressional Committee that has oversight over the Department that is investigating him”.And Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, told reporters: “If in fact these allegations are true, of course being removed from the Judiciary committee is the least that could be done. From what we’ve heard so far, this would be a matter for the ethics committee.”The ethics committee, consisting of five members from each party, can recommend punishments ranging from a reprimand, or formal rebuke, to expulsion. The full House would have to approve such actions, with expulsion requiring a two-thirds majority.Gaetz – whose Twitter bio says “Florida man. Fiancé. Firebrand. America First” – posted to his 1m followers on Thursday: “The allegations against me are FALSE. The extortion of my family by a former DOJ official is REAL. DOJ has the tapes. Please release them.” More

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      in US Politics

      Finally, Georgia companies speak out on voting law

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      Happy Thursday,As Georgia lawmakers debated significant new voting restrictions over the last month, many of the most powerful companies in the state stayed neutral. Now, nearly a week after governor Brian Kemp signed the measure, companies are pivoting and speaking out more forcefully on the measure.Sign up for the Guardian’s Fight to Vote newsletterSeveral of the country’s leading Black executives penned a letter Wednesday urging the business community to protest more forcefully. “There is no middle ground here,” Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, who led the effort, told the New York Times. Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of pharmaceutical company Merck, told the Times he only really started paying attention to the Georgia measure once it passed. “There seems to be no one speaking out,” he told the Times. “We thought if we spoke up, it might lead to a situation where others felt the responsibility to speak up.”Sure enough, other companies have started to criticize the measure.The first was Delta Airlines, one of several Georgia-based companies that has issued muted statements over the last few weeks as activists pressured them to take a stand. Ed Bastian, the company’s CEO, finally issued a clear rebuke of the measure on Wednesday. The law, Bastian wrote, was “unacceptable”.“After having time to now fully understand all that is in the bill, coupled with discussions with leaders and employees in the Black community, it’s evident that the bill includes provisions that will make it harder for many underrepresented voters, particularly Black voters, to exercise their constitutional right to elect their representatives. That is wrong,” he wrote.“The entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections. This is simply not true,” he said.The comments reportedly infuriated Republicans in the Georgia legislature, who were considering punishing the airline, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Kemp said he was caught off guard by the statements.Republicans in the Georgia legislature made a last minute effort Wednesday to punish Delta for its opposition, advancing a measure that would strip a tax break for the airline. The measure ultimately failed, but Republicans made it clear they were sending a warning.“They like our public policy when we’re doing things that benefit them,” David Ralston, the speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.“You don’t feed a dog that bites your hand. You got to keep that in mind sometimes.”James Quincey, the CEO of Coca-Cola, which like Delta had declined to publicly take a stance on the bill, also condemned it on Wednesday. “This legislation is unacceptable. It is a step backwards,” he told CNBC. “This legislation is wrong and needs to be remedied and we will continue to advocate for it both in private and now even more clearly in public.”Activists welcomed the statements from companies, but warned that words would not be enough. “We’re just getting started!” tweeted Cliff Albright, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter, one of the groups that has been pressuring businesses to take a stand. Now that the statements are (belatedly) more forceful, we need the words joined by more forceful actions. We have a few ideas for them….”Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, told the Guardian earlier this month that the companies have some of the most powerful lobbyists and believed powerful public statements during the legislative process could have killed the legislation. On Wednesday, Ufot urged the companies to speak up against voting restrictions pending in other states.“This is where the problem lies,” she said in a statement.” Conversations with Black and Brown leaders must happen at all stages and all areas of decision-making, not after the damage is done. Here’s the lesson: listen to Black and Brown people. Listen to young voters. Listen to new voters. We are the future, and our voices matter.”“Its too little, too late,” said Deborah Scott, the executive director of Georgia Stand-Up, a civic action group that on Wednesday called for a boycott of Georgia over the law. “We’re glad they’re making these statements. We wish they would have made them 20 days ago, 10 days ago, before it was passed. I think the pressure activist groups are putting on them are making them say that. But they could have stopped it a long time ago had they made a statement.”Also worth watching…
      Crystal Mason, the Texas woman sentenced to five years in prison for mistakenly voting while ineligible in 2016, will get another chance to appeal her conviction, Texas’s highest criminal court announced Wednesday. Mason’s case attracted national outcry because of the severity of her conviction and because Mason was never told she couldn’t vote.
      Rita Hart, an Iowa Democrat, announced Wednesday that she was withdrawing her contest to a US House race she lost by just six votes to Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Her campaign claimed it had identified 22 ballots that went uncounted and was asking the US House to investigate and overturn the election. Republicans had rallied around Miller-Meeks, pointing to the fact that Hart declined to pursue her case in state court before asking Congress to step in. More

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      NRA’s grassroots clout still formidable with Republicans despite legal setbacks

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      The once all-powerful National Rifle Association is mired in legal and financial woes but its 5 million members still exert hefty grassroots influence with most Republicans as a fresh gun control debate in Congress heats up, say gun experts and NRA veterans.The NRA’s grassroots clout – via the Internet, letters, phone and other tools – coupled with the influence wielded by millions of other gun owners, keep many Republican allies fighting almost reflexively against gun curbs, notwithstanding recent NRA problems including electoral setbacks, staff cuts, drops in member dues revenue and legal threats, according to analysts.Which means that even after two mass shootings in March in Atlanta, Georgia and Boulder, Colorado spurred the House to pass bills to ban assault weapons and require mandatory background checks on gun purchases, the outlook in the evenly divided Senate to pass these bills seems very slim – unless filibuster rules are changed, say analysts.Still, NRA and Republican sources say if a weaker background check bill than the House passed one is introduced it may have enough Republican support in the Senate to pass as a compromise measure.To be sure, the NRA’s political strength by some key measures is markedly less than in recent years.After giving Donald Trump a huge boost in 2016 with over $30m in ad spending to help him win the White House, the NRA had a much smaller presence in 2020 to Trump’s and the Republican party’s dismay. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRA’s spending in 2020 fell to $29.4m from $54.4m in 2016.What’s more in 2018, gun control advocates were credited with helping the Democrats take back control of the House in 2018 as their spending for the first time edged the NRA’s spending. And in 2019, the NRA’s revenue from its members dues declined from 2018 when it was $170m to $113m.Nonetheless, the NRA’s grassroots muscle remains formidable and is working to block the House passed measures.“The NRA is in a weakened condition, and their very future is at stake,” said Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at SUNY Cortland and author of several books on guns, in an interview. “But the gun rights movement is deeply embedded in the GOP. Even though the NRA as an organization is seriously weakened, grassroots supporters are still out there, and are willing to act on the issue.”“For the GOP, support for gun rights from its gun base is pretty much on autopilot,” Spitzer added.Moreover, Spitzer noted that the Senate prospects for the two bills that passed the House seem dim. “The divisions between the two parties are sharper than in the past. Democrats are clearly behind strong gun laws, and Republicans are mostly opposed.”“The filibuster is the real stumbling block,” he added. “ We’ve seen this movie before.”Similarly, a former senior NRA official touted the group’s grassroots strength.“The grassroots of gun owners are still a political force with or without the NRA. Even though the NRA has had significant problems and continues too, they will raise more money” to fend off new gun curbs, if past experience holds.But the ex-official cautioned that “if they changed the filibuster rule, all bets are off”.Further, the NRA veteran noted that he thought a weaker background checks bill like one sponsored in previous sessions by Senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Pat Toomey, a Republican, had a decent chance of getting enough Republican votes to pass the Senate if Democrats accepted it as a fallback option.Republican operative and lobbyist Charlie Black agreed that the less onerous bill like that previously backed by Manchin and Toomey has a good shot of getting through the Senate if Democratic leaders embraced it.But Black noted that the odds of the House’s mandatory checks bill passing the Senate are slim. “You’re not going to get the House bill through the Senate,” Black said in an interview.President Joe Biden has called on the Senate to pass the House measures which he called “common sense”, but at his first press conference last week gave mixed signals about how hard he will push for them.Just 10 days before the Boulder shooter killed 10 people, the NRA weighed in on Twitter and applauded a Colorado court ruling blocking a Boulder assault weapons ban enacted in 2018 which it had sought to overturn.However, the NRA and its leadership remain mired in legal and political battles to defeat the New York attorney general’s lawsuit that accused the nonprofit NRA, which has been chartered in the state for 150 years, of mismanagement and corruption.The lawsuit that attorney general Letitia James filed charges last summer that the NRA’s veteran chief executive Wayne LaPierre and a few other top NRA leaders looted the group costing it about $64m in just the three prior years.LaPierre was accused of self dealing by letting the NRA pay for millions of dollars of junkets with his wife and other family members to Europe, the Bahamas and other scenic spots.LaPierre and NRA lawyer William Brewer III have denounced the lawsuit as fueled by “political animus”, noting that James is a Democrat. And Brewer has said the NRA has taken steps to correct its financial problems including replacing some senior staffers. The NRA’s long-time top lobbyist Chris Cox, who had become a critic of LaPierre, was forced out in 2019.But the NRA’s 76 member board was mostly in the dark this January, when NRA leaders announced it was filing for bankruptcy in Texas where it hoped to incorporate, steps that two NRA veterans say were aimed at thwarting James’s probe.James has filed a motion seeking to halt the NRA’s bankruptcy move, and a bankruptcy judge in Texas is slated to hold a hearing on 5 April on the matter.On Sunday the NRA held an emergency board meeting in Dallas specifically to get the board to “retroactively” ratify the bankruptcy action before the 5 April hearing , say two NRA sources.Despite all the NRA’s legal and political maneuvering, Black sounds bullish that the House bills won’t get through the Senate.“The NRA’s grassroots is still active and powerful and influential with members of Congress,” he said. More

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      Delta and Coca-Cola pivot on Georgia’s restrictive voting law: 'It's unacceptable'

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      Sign up for the Guardian’s Fight to Vote newsletterAfter weeks of pressure from activists some major companies and prominent Black executives are taking a somewhat harder line in speaking out against a new law in Georgia to restrict voting access.Delta Airlines, one of the Georgia-based companies that declined to speak out as the measure moved through the legislature, issued a forceful statement on Wednesday, saying the law was “unacceptable”.“After having time to now fully understand all that is in the bill, coupled with discussions with leaders and employees in the Black community, it’s evident that the bill includes provisions that will make it harder for many underrepresented voters, particularly Black voters, to exercise their constitutional right to elect their representatives. That is wrong.” Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO, wrote in a company memo on Wednesday.“The entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections. This is simply not true. Unfortunately, that excuse is being used in states across the nation that are attempting to pass similar legislation to restrict voting rights,” he added.The statement is an abrupt reversal for Delta, which for weeks declined to say it explicitly opposed the Georgia measure. Two weeks ago, when the measure was being crafted in the state legislature, a Delta spokesperson told the Guardian that “ensuring an election system that promotes broad voter participation, equal access to the polls, and fair, secure elections processes are critical to voter confidence and creates an environment that ensures everyone’s vote is counted”.Delta’s statement came just after some of America’s top Black business leaders and CEOs released a letter condemning widespread efforts across the United States to make it harder to vote. “There is no middle ground here,” Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, told The New York Times, which first reported on the letter. “You either are for more people voting, or you want to suppress the vote.”James Quincey, the CEO of Coca-Cola, which has largely stayed quiet over the last few weeks, also pivoted his company’s stance on Wednesday.“This legislation is unacceptable. It is a step backwards,” he told CNBC. “This legislation is wrong and needs to be remedied and we will continue to advocate for it both in private and now even more clearly in public.”Asked why he took so long to issue a full-throated condemnation of the law, Quincey insisted the company has “always” opposed the legislation, even though it has declined to say that for weeks.The Georgia law requires voters to provide identification when they request and return absentee ballots, limits the availability of absentee drop boxes, reduces the length of runoff elections, allows for unlimited challenges to voter qualifications, and gives Republicans in the state legislature more influence over the state election board as well as a pathway to meddle with local boards. The law also makes it illegal to provide food or water to anyone standing in line to vote.Nse Ufot, the CEO of the New Georgia Project, one of the groups leading the pressure campaign, welcomed the statement from Delta, even though she said it was “late”.“This is where the problem lies. Conversations with Black and Brown leaders must happen at all stages and all areas of decision-making, not after the damage is done. Here’s the lesson: listen to Black and Brown people,” she said in a statement. She added that the company should now call out voting restrictions advancing through other state legislatures and support sweeping voting rights legislation in Congress.Deborah Scott, the executive director of Georgia Stand-Up, another civic action group, called for a boycott of Georgia and Coca-Cola on Wednesday.“Although condemning Georgia’s anti-democratic moves is right and vocal support is welcome, the most effective response is one that will hit the pocketbooks of Georgia’s ruling elite – an economic boycott of the state,” she said in a statement. “This is a historic opportunity, comparable to other watershed civil rights moments such as the Montgomery bus boycott and Selma.”While Delta insisted it worked behind the scenes to remove some of the most onerous restrictions in the measure, the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, said he was surprised by the company’s stance.“Today’s statement by Delta CEO Ed Bastian stands in stark contrast to our conversations with the company, ignores the content of the new law, and unfortunately continues to spread the same false attacks being repeated by partisan activists,” Kemp said, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Since 2018, Delta has donated more than 41,600 to lawmakers who backed voting restrictions, according to Popular Information, an independent newsletter.A senior Republican also told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that lawmakers were weighing ways to punish the company after a statement that was “akin to Delta shooting us in the face with a shotgun without telling us it was coming.”The chatter among Republicans about retaliating is growing. Rs are amazed Delta didn’t wait until tomorrow – when leg session is over – to issue this statement. “This is the level of anger that makes people creative,” says one. “That should scare the shit out of them.” #gapol— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) March 31, 2021
      Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons football team also released a statement on Tuesday condemning the new law.“Every voice and every vote matters and should be heard through our democratic process in Georgia. The right to vote is simply sacred. We should be working to make voting easier, not harder for every eligible citizen,” Blank said in a statement on Tuesday. Spokespeople for both the Atlanta Braves and Hawks, the city’s baseball and basketball teams respectively, declined to comment on the measure on Tuesday.Corporations have signaled a willingness to speak out on controversial issues in recent years, from LGBTQ+ rights to the environment. But observers in recent weeks have questioned why companies have not brought the same force to opposing voting rights in Georgia.“They are looking at their best business interests, and when the pressure from one side increases, they essentially realize ‘hey look there’s a side where I need to weigh in and at this point I need to step up and make my opinion clear,’” said Tarun Kushwaha, a marketing professor at George Mason University. “My hunch is that the Georgia, Atlanta, based organizations were slow at doing this is they feared that there might be repercussions for them. Repercussions not just in terms of customers, but repercussions from the legislature.”Beyond Delta, activists have also singled out Coca-Cola, UPS, Home Depot, Aflac, and Southern Company to oppose the measure. Last week, leaders of the sixth district of the AME church, representing more than 500 Black churches in Georgia, went even further and called for a Coca-Cola boycott.There have also been growing calls for sports officials to sanction Georgia over the law. The president of the Major League Baseball players’ union indicated he was open to discussion about moving the league’s All Star Game from Atlanta this summer. The National Black Justice Coalition has also called on the PGA Tour to move the Master’s golf tournament out of Georgia. More