US Capitol attack

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump accepted ‘some responsibility’ for Capitol attack, McCarthy audio reveals

      by

      Trump accepted ‘some responsibility’ for Capitol attack, McCarthy audio revealsHouse Republican leader says ex-president ‘told me he does have some responsibility’ in clips released by New York Times New audio clips reveal that the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, held Donald Trump responsible in the immediate aftermath of the January 6 Capitol riot, and that Trump himself accepted “some responsibility” for the insurrection.The explosive clips were released by the New York Times on Thursday and Friday after an earlier report said McCarthy and the Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, initially believed Trump to be responsible for the attack, and both privately expressed anger against him.Speaking in Seattle on Friday, Joe Biden addressed the reports.“This ain’t your father’s Republican party,” the president said. “All you got to do is look what’s being played out this morning, the tape that was released …“This is the Maga [Make America Great Again] party now … these guys are a different breed of cat. They’re not like those I served with [in the US Senate] for so many years, and the people who know better are afraid to act better because they know they’ll be primaried.“They come to me and say: ‘Joe, I want to be with you on such and such but I can’t because I’ll be primaried, I’ll lose my race.’ Folks, this has got to start to change.”In one released clip, from a 10 January 2021 call with House GOP leaders, McCarthy can be heard answering a question from the Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, who had a leadership role at the time. Cheney asked McCarthy if he believed Trump would resign if Congress passed a 25th amendment resolution, which would declare Trump incapable of holding office.“My gut tells me no. I am seriously thinking about having that conversation with him tonight,” he said. “The only discussion I would have with him is I think [the resolution] will pass, and it would be my recommendation that he should resign.“That would be my take, but I don’t think he would take it. But I don’t know.”In a second clip from 11 January, McCarthy can be heard detailing a conversation with Trump where he asked the former president if he believed he had any responsibility for the attack.McCarthy says: “Well, let me be very clear to all of you, and I’ve been very clear to the president: he bears responsibility for his words and actions. No ifs, ands or buts. I asked him personally today, ‘Does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened?’ He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened and he needs to acknowledge that.”McCarthy did not immediately respond to the release of the audio clips. Nor did Trump, though the Washington Post reported that the two men had spoken. Trump, the paper said, was “not upset about McCarthy’s remarks and … glad the Republican leader didn’t follow through” on his threat to demand Trump’s resignation, “which Trump saw as a sign of his continued grip on the Republican party”.A spokesperson for Cheney said she did not release the tape and did not know who leaked it.In a statement on Thursday, before the clip was released, McCarthy made a blanket denial of the Times report saying that it is “totally false and wrong”.“It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further the liberal agenda,” he said. “The corporate media is more concerned with profiting from manufactured political intrigue from politically-motivated sources.“Our country has suffered enough under failed one-party Democrat rule, and no amount of media ignorance and bias will stop Americans from delivering a clear message this fall that it is time for change.”The Times story, reporting for which comes from an upcoming book. This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, detailed scathing comments against Trump Republican leaders made in the days after the Capitol insurrection.McCarthy reportedly told colleagues in private: “I’ve had it with this guy,” adding: “What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend it and nobody should defend it.”McConnell reportedly told senior advisers: “If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is.“The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us,” McConnell said, according to the book.Although McConnell criticized Trump publicly for his role in the attack, he voted to acquit the former president in his impeachment trial. He also said he would support Trump should Trump be the 2024 Republican nominee.McCarthy, for his part, did a more complete about-face: he has claimed Trump was unaware of the attack until McCarthy told him it was happening. McCarthy has also condemned the special House panel that is investigating the insurrection and refused to cooperate with its inquiry on conversations he had with Trump after the attack.TopicsRepublicansUS Capitol attackUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Marjorie Taylor Greene appears in court over attempt to bar her from Congress

      by

      Marjorie Taylor Greene appears in court over attempt to bar her from CongressEffort, brought by voters and liberal groups, to ban Republican for aiding the Capitol attack comes under the 14th amendment

      US politics – live coverage
      The far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared in court in Georgia on Friday for a hearing in an attempt to bar her from Congress for aiding the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.Republican leader Kevin McCarthy considered urging Trump to quit, audio revealsRead moreA lawyer for Greene, James Bopp, tried to portray her as a “victim” of the Capitol attack, rather than an instigator.Ron Fein, for the challengers, said: “The most powerful witness against Marjorie Taylor Greene’s candidacy … is Marjorie Taylor Greene herself.”Greene, who testified, is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgia’s 24 May primary and has been endorsed by Donald Trump.The administrative judge overseeing the hearing will present his findings to Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, who will then determine whether Greene is qualified.Raffensperger, a Republican, stood up to Trump when the then president tried to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. Raffensperger has said that as a result, he feared for his family’s safety.In a statement on Thursday, Trump incorrectly blamed Raffensperger and the Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, for allowing the challenge against Greene, saying she was “going through hell in their attempt to unseat her”.The effort to bar Greene from re-election was brought by a coalition of voters and liberal groups and comes under the 14th amendment to the US constitution.Passed after the civil war, the amendment was written to prevent anyone sitting in Congress if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies” of the constitution.On Friday, some in the room in Atlanta cheered and applauded as Greene took her seat – prompting the judge to later say such behaviour would not be tolerated. Matt Gaetz of Florida, another far-right Republican and Trump supporter, was in the room. He tweeted: “I’m here in Atlanta to support ⁦[Greene] against the assault on democracy that is this effort to remove her from the ballot.”As the hearing began, Greene tweeted: “Only the People have the right to choose who they send to Congress.”Supporters of Trump attacked Congress on 6 January 2021 in an attempt to stop certification of his defeat by Biden, in service of Trump’s lies about electoral fraud.A bipartisan Senate committee connected seven deaths to the riot. More than 100 officers were hurt. About 800 people, including members of far-right and militia groups, have been charged, some with seditious conspiracy. Trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection but acquitted. A House investigation continues.Organisers of events on January 6 have said Greene communicated with them. Greene has denied it and said she does not encourage violence. In October, however, she told a podcast hosted by Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist: “January 6 was just a riot at the Capitol and if you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants.”After the riot, Greene was one of 147 Republicans in Congress who objected to results in battleground states.An effort to use the 14th amendment against Madison Cawthorn, a Trump ally from North Carolina, was unsuccessful, after a judge ruled an 1872 civil war amnesty law was not merely retroactive. In Greene’s case, a federal judge said the 1872 law did not apply.In Atlanta on Friday, Bopp said the challengers were making a very serious charge.“They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th district of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot,” he said, adding that Greene “did not engage in the attack on the Capitol”.Greene met Trump about objections to state results because of concerns about voter fraud, Bopp said. At the time of the riot, he said, she was at the Capitol urging people via social media to be safe and remain calm.“Representative Greene was a victim of this attack,” Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger.The challenge opened with questioning of a historian about the 14th amendment and uprisings including the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, which was quashed by George Washington.Ron Fein, a lawyer for the voters who filed the challenge, said Greene took an oath but broke it by engaging in an insurrection. Unlike past insurrections, Fein said: “The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt.”Although Greene was not on the steps of the Capitol, she played an important role in stoking Republican fury, Fein said. The day before the insurrection, Greene posted: “It’s our 1776 moment!” on the conservative-friendly Parler platform.“The most powerful witness against Marjorie Taylor Greene’s candidacy … the most powerful witness in establishing that she crossed the line into engagement in insurrection is Marjorie Taylor Greene herself,” Fein said.Bopp raised frequent objections. When Greene took the stand, the lawyer Andrew Celli became frustrated when she did not directly answer or said he was speculating.Celli asked the court “to acknowledge that this is an adverse witness” and said: “Ms Greene, I’m just asking questions.”“I’m just answering,” Greene said.Celli asked Greene about posts on social media and other statements. Greene repeatedly said she did not recall them.Whenever Celli suggested Greene endorsed the use of violence to interrupt the certification of the electoral votes, Greene said she did not support violence and was encouraging peaceful protest.Celli played a clip of an interview the day before the riot in which Greene referred to “our 1776 moment”. Asked if she was aware some Trump supporters saw that as a call to violence, Greene said that was not her intention and she was talking about plans to object to electoral votes.“I was talking about the courage to object,” she said.The Associated Press contributed reportingTopicsUS politicsUS Capitol attackRepublicansGeorgianewsReuse this content More

    • 188 Shares139 Views

      in Elections

      Leaked audio contradicts Kevin McCarthy’s denial that he considered asking Trump to resign – live

      by

      US politics liveRepublicansLeaked audio contradicts Kevin McCarthy’s denial that he considered asking Trump to resign – live
      Top House Republican denied he made such request
      Russia-Ukraine blog – follow the latest news
      Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email
      LIVE Updated 10m agoMartin Pengelly (now), Lauren Arataniand Richard Luscombe (earlier)Fri 22 Apr 2022 11.12 EDTFirst published on Fri 22 Apr 2022 09.06 EDT Show key events onlyLive feedShow key events onlyThe Marjorie Taylor Greene hearing on Atlanta is back in session now, with the far-right Republican congresswoma testifying as liberal groups and voters try to bar her from Congress under the 14th amendment to the US constitution, which bars those who have engaged in sedition or rebellion.“Please try to refrain from clapping and shouting,” an official asked attendees, after a raucous opening including clapping and cheering for Greene when she walked in.The judge agreed, saying: “That will not happen.”The hearing opened with a presentation in Greene’s defence. Those seeking to bar her from Congress began with extensive questioning of a historian about what the 14th amendment means and about past rebellions, including the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, which was quashed by George Washington.The historical conversation continued after the break.Underlining the circus-like aspect of the hearing, the far-right Florida congressman Matt Gaetz was attending and tweeting, at one point criticising the case against Greene and calling the hearing a “Total Kangaroo Court”.House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy spoke with Donald Trump last night about the audio that was leaked to the New York Times that reveals McCarthy was considering telling Trump to resign. Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the call, the Washington Post reports that Trump told McCarthy that he’s not mad at McCarthy (insert sigh of relief) and that he is glad McCarthy didn’t follow through on that plan. McCarthy has not responded to the leaked audio of his conversations with Republicans. The sources told the Post that House Republicans are waiting for Trump to release his official statement to determine how – and if – they should support McCarthy amid the Times’ report. “If Trump comes out and says [McCarthy] lost my faith and can’t be speaker, that is bold. That will move people. If he puts out a statement complaining — he complains about McConnell all the time and hasn’t threatened his position in leadership,” said one Republican congressional aide who asked for anonymity to discuss private conversations.The far right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene was cheered into court in Georgia on Friday, for a hearing in an attempt by a coalition of voters and liberal groups to bar her from Congress under the 14th amendment to the US constitution, for aiding the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.Some people in the courtroom cheered and applauded as Greene took her seat.As the hearing began, Greene tweeted: “Only the People have the right to choose who they send to Congress.”The 14th amendment, passed after the civil war, says: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”Supporters of Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol in an attempt to stop certification of his defeat by Joe Biden, an attack mounted in service of Trump’s lies about electoral fraud. A bipartisan Senate committee connected seven deaths to the riot. More than 100 law enforcement officers were hurt. About 800 people, including members of far-right and militia groups, have been charged, some with seditious conspiracy. A House investigation continues.Trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection – and acquitted when Senate Republicans stayed loyal.Organisers of events in Washington on January 6 have tied Greene to their efforts. Greene has denied such links and said she does not encourage violence.In October, however, she told a radio show: “January 6 was just a riot at the Capitol and if you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants.”After the riot, Greene was one of 147 Republicans in Congress who went ahead with objections to results in battleground states.An effort to use the 14th amendment against Madison Cawthorn, a far-right Republican from North Carolina, was unsuccessful, after a judge ruled an 1872 civil war amnesty law was not merely retroactive.In Greene’s case, a federal judge said the 1872 law did not apply and allowed the hearing on Friday to proceed.Greene’s full tweet as her hearing began read as follows: “Republicans must protect election integrity. It’s one of the most important issues in our country. When the People lose their right to vote and their freedom to choose their representatives, our country is lost. Only the People have the right to choose who they send to Congress.”The hearing opened with a presentation in her defence. Matt Gaetz of Florida, another far-right Republican congressman, was pictured in the room.The hearing is streaming here.The New York Times just released another clip of Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy telling Republican leaders that he believes Donald Trump was responsible for the January 6 insurrection.In the clip, McCarthy can be heard detailing a conversation he had with Trump where he asked the former president whether he believes he had responsibility for the attack. “Well, let me be very clear to all of you, and I’ve been very clear to the president: He bears responsibility for his words and actions. No if’s, and’s or but’s. I asked him personally today, “Does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened?” He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened and he needs to acknowledge that,” McCarthy said in the clip, which was just played live on CNN. The audio comes from a call that took place January 11, 2021.Seems like the special house panel investigating the January 6 insurrection is planning to hold its public hearings in June. The committee had previously suggested that the hearings would be held next month. Representative Jamie Raskin, a prominent Democrat on the committee, has been making the rounds hyping up the findings of the committee to the press. He recently told NBC News: “The hearings will tell a story that will really blow the roof off the House.” He also said that the committee plans on holding the hearings in June.Earlier this week, Raskin told the Guardian that the committee is “going to tell the whole story of everything that happened. There was a violent insurrection and an attempted coup and we were saved by Mike Pence’s refusal to go along with that plan.” The hearings in June will be televised and will be the first time the public will get a direct look at the investigations into the attack that are underway. About 800 people have been charged with crimes committed in relation to the Capitol attack over the last year.The Washington Post obtained records that show Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows was simultaneously registered to vote in three different states – North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina – until last week.“The overlap lasted about three weeks, and it might have continued if revelations about Meadows’s voting record had not attracted scrutiny in North Carolina. Meadows is still registered in Virginia and South Carolina,” writes Glenn Kessler, writer for the Post’s “Fact Checker” column. This isn’t the first revelation that Meadows is registered to vote in multiple states. The New Yorker reported in March that the former South Carolina senator and his wife, Debra, submitted voter registration forms that linked to a mobile home in North Carolina, even though the couple did not actually live there. North Carolina recently removed Meadows from its voter rolls and is investigating potential voter fraud. The irony, of course, is that Meadows has become outspoken about the voter fraud that he believed happened in 2020. Meadows has been critical of “lowered” standards for mail-in ballots.Some analysis about the released audio clip of Kevin McCarthy considering telling Donald Trump to resign: The McCarthy tape is the same rolling crisis of bad faith going on since 2016. Large chunks of the party said, or say in private, Trump is unfit and dangerous. Every race features all MAGA candidates, the divide is who’s coded to donors and backers as secretly believing it too.— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) April 22, 2022
      “The McCarthy tape is the same rolling crisis of bad faith going on since 2016. Large chunks of the party said, or say in private, Trump is unfit and dangerous,” writes Benjy Sarlin of NBC on Twitter. This brings to mind a great piece from New York Magazine by Olivia Nuzzi that was published in October 2020, right before the presidential election. Nuzzi profiles an anonymous Republican source who, like the many anonymous sources who were prolific at talking to the media during Trump’s presidency, privately bashed Trump while publicly supporting him. While McCarthy didn’t hide behind anonymity per se, the leak of the audio clip reveals how pervasive private sentiments against Trump were, just as the breadth of anonymous sourcing that was seen during the Trump presidency demonstrated. The subject of the piece grapples with his anonymous criticism of Trump. “It’s hard to go up against the president of your own party – even if he’s not really a Republican.” And, he notes, “If you don’t like Trump, but you like money, and you’re willing to be vocal about how much we need to reelect him, there’s a lot of money to be made this year.” The source said that while some Republicans may have seen supporting Trump as a way to “prevent the worst stuff from happening”, keeping a close eye on him, he admitted that “it’s definitely self-serving.” “I mean, once you grow up, life is all about contradictions.” Good morning readers of the US politics blog, and happy Earth Day!It’s not such a happy one for the House minority leader and Donald Trump apologist Kevin McCarthy, who appears to have been caught in a lie over whether he said he would seek the former president’s resignation in the aftermath of the 6 January Capitol riot.The backstory is that yesterday, the top House Republican angrily denied claims in a new book by New York Times journalists Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin that he was so outraged with Trump’s incitement of the insurrection that he said he would push him to quit.Unfortunately for McCarthy, there’s a stunning audio recording of him saying just that to Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney, whom he helped oust from party leadership when she didn’t follow the would-be House speaker’s reversal back to Trump acolyte.We’ll have plenty more on that today.Developments in the Ukraine conflict can be found on our 24-hour live blog here.And here’s what else we’re watching in the US today:
      Joe Biden travels to Washington state, where he will talk about the climate crisis and reveal steps to “safeguard the nation’s forests”.
      Later, in Auburn, the president will deliver another address about his plans to lower healthcare and energy prices.
      The extremist Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is set to appear in a Georgia courtroom at a hearing to determine if she should be disqualified from seeking re-election for supporting the 6 January insurrection.
      TopicsRepublicansUS politics liveUS politicsDonald TrumpUS Capitol attackJoe BidenReuse this content More

    • 138 Shares109 Views

      in Elections

      Republican leader Kevin McCarthy considered urging Trump to quit, audio reveals

      by

      Republican leader Kevin McCarthy considered urging Trump to quit, audio revealsMcCarthy told Liz Cheney he was ‘seriously thinking about having that conversation’ with then president following Capitol attack A new audio clip reveals that House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy considered asking Donald Trump to resign as president in the immediate aftermath of the January 6 Capitol insurrection.The explosive clip was released by the New York Times and played on MSNBC Thursday night, just half a day after McCarthy released a lengthy denial of an earlier Times report that said he and the Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, initially both held Trump responsible for the attack, and both privately expressed anger against him.In the clip, which is a soundbite from a call with House GOP leaders, McCarthy can be heard answering a question from Republican representative Liz Cheney, who was in party leadership at the time. Cheney asked McCarthy if he believed Trump would resign if Congress successfully passed a 25th amendment resolution, which would declare Trump incapable of holding office.“My gut tells me no. I am seriously thinking about having that conversation with him tonight,” he said. “The only discussion I would have with him is I think [the resolution] will pass, and it would be my recommendation that he should resign.“That would be my take, but I don’t think he would take it. But I don’t know.”In a statement on Thursday morning before the clip was released, McCarthy made a blanket denial of the New York Times report saying that it is “totally false and wrong”.“It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further the liberal agenda,” the statement read. “The corporate media is more concerned with profiting from manufactured political intrigue from politically-motivated sources.“Our country has suffered enough under failed one-party Democrat rule, and no amount of media ignorance and bias will stop Americans from delivering a clear message this fall that it is time for change.”McCarthy has not responded to the release of the audio clip. A spokesperson for Cheney, who is also heard on the clip, said she did not release the tape and does not know who leaked it.The Times story, the reporting for which comes from the upcoming book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, detailed scathing comments against Trump that Republican leaders made in the days after the Capitol insurrection.McCarthy reportedly told colleagues in private: “I’ve had it with this guy,” adding: “What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend it and nobody should defend it.”Meanwhile, McConnell reportedly told two of his senior advisers: “If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is.“The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us,” McConnell said, according to the book.Although McConnell criticized Trump publicly for his role in the attack, he voted to acquit the former president in his impeachment trial. He also said he would support Trump should Trump be the 2024 Republican nominee.McCarthy, for his part, did a more complete about-face: he has claimed that Trump was unaware of the attack until McCarthy broke the news to him that it was happening. He has also condemned the special House panel that is investigating the insurrection and refused to cooperate with its inquiry on conversations he had with Trump after the attack.TopicsRepublicansUS Capitol attackUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Donald Trump Jr to appear before House Capitol attack panel – report

      by

      Donald Trump Jr to appear before House Capitol attack panel – reportThe meeting comes in the wake of other family members such as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner testifying to the committee Donald Trump Jr. has agreed to meet in the near future with the US House of Representatives panel that is investigating the 6 January 2021, attack on the US Capitol, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing a source.Ivanka Trump testifies before panel investigating Capitol attackRead moreTrump, the eldest son of former president Donald Trump, is set to meet with the House committee of his own will and without the threat of a subpoena, the outlet said without reporting when the testimony was scheduled.A request for comment from the House committee investigating the Capitol siege was not immediately returned.The meeting would come in the wake of appearances by other Trump family members before the select committee investigating the events that lead to the deadly raid on the Capitol building in protest against the result of the 2020 presidential election.Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter and one of his senior White House advisers, testified for about eight hours earlier this month days after Jared Kushner, her husband and former White House adviser, testified to the committee. TopicsUS Capitol attackDonald Trump JrDonald TrumpUS politicsIvanka TrumpJared KushnernewsReuse this content More

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in US Politics

      Top two Republicans blamed Trump for Capitol attack, book says

      by

      Top two Republicans blamed Trump for Capitol attack, book saysNew book reveals post-insurrection anger from Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, who said of Trump: ‘I’ve had it with this guy’ In the days after the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, the two top Republican leaders in Congress, privately told associates that they believed Donald Trump should be held responsible for the attack.A new report from the New York Times, the reporting for which comes from a forthcoming book by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns called This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, details private conversations that McCarthy and McConnell had with colleagues revealing the extent of their anger toward Trump.“I’ve had it with this guy,” McCarthy reportedly told a group of Republicans in the immediate aftermath of the attack.The leaders floated the idea of impeachment with their colleagues, though both men ultimately voted against holding Trump responsible in Democratic-led impeachment proceedings.On a phone call with several top House Republicans, McCarthy allegedly said that Trump had been “atrocious and totally wrong” and blamed him for “inciting people”. He inquired about invoking the 25th amendment, which involves the removal of a president from office.McCarthy, the book reports, went on to tell colleagues that his plan was to tell Trump to resign. “What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend it and nobody should defend it,” he said.Other top Republicans chimed in supporting the idea of moving away from Trump, including Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who said that the party should think of a “post-Trump Republican House” and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, who brought up the possibility of censuring the president. Scalise and Emmer voted against Trump’s impeachment.McCarthy also spoke of his wish that the big tech companies would de-platform Republican lawmakers, as Twitter and Facebook did with Trump following the insurrection, who had also played a role in stoking the insurrection.“We can’t put up with that,” McCarthy said. “Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away, too?”A spokesperson for McCarthy told the New York Times that McCarthy “never said that particular members should be removed from Twitter”.It appears that McCarthy and other top Republicans paid more heed to warnings that their Republican base would retaliate if House members publicly denounced Trump. Bill Johnson, a congressman from Ohio, told McCarthy that his voters would “go ballistic” if they criticized Trump.“I’m just telling you that that’s the kind of thing that we’re dealing with, with our base,” Johnson reportedly said.In a statement to the New York Times, a spokesperson for McCarthy said that he “never said he’d call Trump to say he should resign”.Meanwhile, McConnell met with two longtime advisers over lunch in Kentucky on 11 January, five days after the insurrection. He spoke to the men about the upcoming impeachment proceedings led by the Democrats.“The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us,” McConnell said. “If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is.”Several senior Republican senators believed that McConnell was leaning toward impeachment once the proceedings would get to the Senate. The Democratic Senate leader, Chuck Schumer, told associates that he believed McConnell’s frustration with Trump could push him toward impeachment, but said “I don’t trust him, and I would not count on it.”While McCarthy and McConnell acknowledged Trump’s responsibility in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, both men quickly went back to publicly supporting Trump. In April 2021, McCarthy told Fox News that Trump was unaware that the attack was happening until McCarthy broke the news to him.“He didn’t see it, but he ended the call … telling me he’ll put something out to make sure to stop this.”As the special House panel investigating the attack prepares to hold public hearings next month, McCarthy has denounced the committee’s investigation, refusing to cooperate with its inquiry on conversations the leader had with Trump in the days after the attack.McConnell, meanwhile, has taken a more supportive stance of the committee, saying in December that he believes their investigation is “something the public needs to know”. Still, the Senate minority leader said he would “absolutely” support Trump if he was the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.TopicsUS Capitol attackUS politicsDonald TrumpRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      Top Republicans held ‘atrocious’ Trump responsible for Capitol attack, book says

      by

      Top Republicans held ‘atrocious’ Trump responsible for Capitol attack, book saysNew book reveals post-insurrection anger from Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, who said of Trump: ‘I’ve had it with this guy’ In the days after the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, the two top Republican leaders in Congress, privately told associates that they believed Donald Trump should be held responsible for the attack.A new report from the New York Times, the reporting for which comes from a forthcoming book by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns called This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, details private conversations that McCarthy and McConnell had with colleagues revealing the extent of their anger toward Trump.“I’ve had it with this guy,” McCarthy reportedly told a group of Republicans in the immediate aftermath of the attack.The leaders floated the idea of impeachment with their colleagues, though both men ultimately voted to acquit Trump in Democratic-led impeachment proceedings.On a phone call with several top House Republicans, McCarthy allegedly said that Trump had been “atrocious and totally wrong” and blamed him for “inciting people”. He inquired about invoking the 25th amendment, which involves the removal of a president from office.McCarthy, the book reports, went on to tell colleagues that his plan was to tell Trump to resign. “What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend it and nobody should defend it,” he said.Other top Republicans chimed in supporting the idea of moving away from Trump, including Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who said that the party should think of a “post-Trump Republican House” and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, who brought up the possibility of censuring the president. Scalise and Emmer voted against Trump’s impeachment.McCarthy also spoke of his wish that the big tech companies would de-platform Republican lawmakers, as Twitter and Facebook did with Trump following the insurrection, who had also played a role in stoking the insurrection.“We can’t put up with that,” McCarthy said. “Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away, too?”A spokesperson for McCarthy told the New York Times that McCarthy “never said that particularly members should be removed from Twitter”.It appears that McCarthy and other top Republicans heeded more to warnings that their Republican base would retaliate if House members publicly denounced Trump. Bill Johnson, a congressman from Ohio, told McCarthy that his voters would “go ballistic” if they criticized Trump.“I’m just telling you that that’s the kind of thing that we’re dealing with, with out base,” Johnson reportedly said.In a statement to the New York Times, a spokesperson for McCarthy said that he “never said he’d call Trump to say he should resign”.Meanwhile, McConnell met with two longtime advisers over lunch in Kentucky on January 11, five days after the insurrection. He spoke to the men about the upcoming impeachment proceedings led by the Democrats.“The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us,” McConnell said. “If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is.”Several senior Republican senators believed that McConnell was leaning toward impeachment once the proceedings would get to the Senate. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer told associates that he believed McConnell’s frustration with Trump could push him toward impeachment, but said “I don’t trust him, and I would not count on it.”While McCarthy and McConnell acknowledged Trump’s responsibility in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, both men quickly went back to publicly supporting Trump. In April 2021, McCarthy told Fox News that Trump was unaware that the attack was happening until McCarthy broke the news to him.“He didn’t see it, but he ended the call … telling me he’ll put something out to make sure to stop this.”As the special House panel investigating the attack prepares to hold public hearings next month, McCarthy has denounced the committee’s investigation, refusing to cooperate with its inquiry on conversations the leader had with Trump in the days after the attack.McConnell, meanwhile, has taken a more supportive stance of the committee, saying in December that he believes their investigation is “something the public needs to know”. Still, the Senate minority leader said he would “absolutely” support Trump if he was the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.TopicsUS Capitol attackUS politicsDonald TrumpRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Capitol rioter caught after FBI finds recording of him boasting to Uber driver

      by

      Capitol rioter caught after FBI finds recording of him boasting to Uber driverA 15-month long investigation resulted in Jerry Braun’s arrest on 12 April; he’s been charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct On 6 January 2021, Jerry Braun hailed an Uber in Washington DC and got in the car, nursing a bleeding eye wound. The Uber driver noticed and asked, “So, has it been violent all day?”“Well it started around, right when I got there. I tore down the barricades,” Braun bragged.The conversation, captured on video by the driver’s recording device installed on the dashboard, triggered a 15-month long investigation by the FBI. Earlier this month, on 12 April, Braun was finally arrested by federal authorities and charged with violent entry or disorderly conduct, obstruction during civil disorder, and entering and remaining on restricted grounds, according to an affidavit by Lucas Bauers, FBI special agent.January 6 ‘was a coup organized by the president’, says Jamie RaskinRead moreBraun boasted openly to the Uber driver about his involvement in the deadly riots, which resulted in the deaths of five people. When he explained he’d torn down the barricades, the driver asked, “You did? Why?”“Well, because, so we could get to the Capitol,” Braun replied.The driver asked, “Well, how’d that work out for ya?”“Well, it looks like, uh, Biden’s gonna be our president,” said Braun.The Uber driver’s tip to the authorities identified Braun as “Jerry Last Name Unknown”, according to court documents. The car dropped him off at a Holiday Inn in Arlington, Virginia; authorities searched the booking records to discover that Braun had checked in as “JD Braun” on 5 January and checked out two days later. He had listed his phone number and an address in South El Monte, California.Authorities then compared the Uber image of Braun with a California Department of Motor Vehicles photo of him. With a positive match, they began to pore over images and video footage taken on the day of the riot, searching for Braun.“Agents reviewed several images on the webpage, including one of the digital images that depicts an individual with a white beard, wearing a black face mask covering his nose and chin, black sunglasses, a black beanie hat, black gloves, and a dark colored jacket with a hood,” said the affidavit.“The individual’s white beard is coming out from underneath the black mask, and a backpack shoulder strap is seen over the individual’s left shoulder,” it added.Authorities also noticed a pocket holding a pen and paper with graphics “near the individual’s left shoulder”. Upon enlarging the image, they found the following text: “23-359-4”, “Ask For JD”, and a website, shotgunshock.com – the website of a South El Monte-based store that sells motorcycle air-suspension systems.Officials accessed the Google cached version of the site and found an email address, shotgunshock@yahoo.com – which turned out to be the same address associated with Braun’s Uber account – and a phone number that was registered with the AT&T Corporation under “Jerry Braun”, according to court documents.The affidavit included screenshots of video footage that showed Braun “physically struggling with law-enforcement officers using a barricade”. At one point, Braun is also seen with a wooden plank in his hands. “The officer body camera videos show Braun in possession of the wood plank, controlling the wood plank and maneuvering the wood plank towards law enforcement officers in an aggressive manner,” the affidavit said.“In one instance … Braun extends the wood plank and physically strikes an individual who is wearing a helmet with the text ‘PRESS’ displayed across the front (the photographer) and appears to be taking photographs with a camera,” it added.“Braun and the photographer appear to exchange words. Braun then strikes the photographer with his left hand, and subsequently strikes the photographer once more with the wood plank.”On 8 November, authorities executed a search warrant in Braun’s California residence and found clothing he appeared to wear at the riot. They also seized Braun’s cellphone, which included a selfie of his eye wound as well as text message exchanges in which Braun wrote, “Occupied the capitol”, and “Hand to hand combat”, in reference to videos he took at the riot.When authorities asked Braun if he had anything to say during the search, Braun replied, “Guilty.” Authorities then asked him what he was guilty of, to which he said, “Everything.”More than 800 people have been charged for their involvement in the riot, of which more than 250 have so far pled guilty.TopicsUS Capitol attackWashington DCUS politicsUberDonald TrumpJoe BidennewsReuse this content More