Altruistic World Online Library

by **admin** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:28 am

I taught Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz in law school. Clearly they didn't pay attention.: With their phony legal arguments and pandering to Trump's baseless claims, Cruz and Hawley's bad behavior sets a bad precedent.
by William N. Eskridge Jr.
Opinion contributor
USA Today
Published 8:00 a.m. ET Jan. 13, 2021 updated 1:02 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

As Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said, accountability for the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol to disrupt Congress’s Electoral College count rests not only with President Donald Trump, but also with those who “object(ed) to the results of a legitimate, democratic election.” Romney was referring to, among others, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), both alumni of my Legislation classes at Yale and Harvard Law Schools.

The Ivy Leaguers irresponsibly magnified the president’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud — but they tried to deepen that bogus indictment by pandering to those who "believe the election that just occurred, quote, was rigged," as Cruz put it, and with smart-sounding legal arguments criticizing judges and the legal process. They know the process worked normally because I taught them how the process works. Neither had a single constitutional or statutory point that had not been examined and rejected by a bipartisan bevy of judges and administrators.

Pennsylvania law under siege

The keystone state was Pennsylvania, where Hawley and Cruz were two of seven senators (along with 138 House members) voting to sustain objections to the lawfully chosen Electors. The congressional objectors largely avoided claims of fraud. Instead, they maintained that the rules followed in the Pennsylvania election were legally invalid. Their arguments disrespected the legal process established by the Constitution and statutes and interpreted responsibly by judges.

ONE TIME USE 1/7/2021 Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) gestures toward a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to protest the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's electoral college victory Jan. 6, 2021 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Some demonstrators later breached security and stormed the Capitol.

Sen. Hawley maintained that Congress was the proper forum for registering concerns about whether the Pennsylvania legislature’s 2019 law expanding mail-in voting violated the state constitution. Adopted by the GOP-dominated legislature, the law had never been challenged until after the 2020 election.

On Nov. 28, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Kelly v. Commonwealth that the post-election challenge came too late. Permitting the challenge would disenfranchise millions of voters who had relied on the law, a point also made by Trump-appointed Judge Stephanos Bibas in a related federal lawsuit. At no point in American history has a state or federal appellate court retroactively disenfranchised a state’s electorate in a presidential election for such a reason.

The Constitution does not vest Congress with authority to adjudicate state elections for compliance with state law. Article I, section 4 vests state legislatures with authority to prescribe the “Times, Places and Manner” for conducting congressional elections, with Congress only empowered to regulate by passing statutes. Article II, section 1 says that presidential electors in in each state are chosen “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct,” not as Congress would have preferred.

Phony legitimacy to fraud claims

Republican House members picked up where Hawley’s argument collapsed: They claimed that the Pennsylvania secretary of State and Supreme Court had “usurp(ed),” as Rep. Fred Keller (R-Pa.) put it, the role of the legislature when they interpreted the 2019 law to allow three days for mail-in ballots to arrive.

In Pennsylvania Democratic Party v. Boockvar, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court applied the statutory timetable for mail-in ballots to a COVID-saturated environment and in light of the Post Office’s announcement that mail deliveries would be delayed. Following legislatively enacted canons of statutory interpretation, including an admonition that courts should apply statutes to avoid constitutional problems, the Court found a “legislative intent” to allow flexibility under emergency circumstances.

As my former students Cruz and Hawley know, statutory interpretation following the established rules is not an example of “usurpation." Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, for whom Hawley clerked, the U.S. Supreme Court twice rebuffed Republicans in Boockvar.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas

What point was served by the congressional rehash of frequently litigated and universally unsuccessful legal objections to Pennsylvania’s process? Sens. Hawley and Cruz made virtually no constitutional or statutory arguments that had not been rejected by Republican as well as Democratic judges. Neither they nor the House objectors revealed any literacy in the state constitution or its statutory interpretation code. Their press releases and speeches lent phony legitimacy to the president’s incendiary claims — claims that resulted in bombs near Capitol Hill and a historic insurrection that may be connected to at least five deaths.

Their bad behavior set a bad precedent for Congress, which has never second-guessed state electoral procedures so thoroughly vetted by the judicial process.

Henceforth, sore losers in future elections may feel free to relitigate election-year lawsuits. Congress’s presidential vote-counting, which was once a ritual marking the peaceful transition of authority, might become another trench in hyperpartisan warfare or, worse, a quadrennial opportunity to delegitimize our democracy.

William N. Eskridge Jr. is the John A. Garver Professor of Law at the Yale Law School. His most recent book is "Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws" (Yale Press 2020) (co-authored with Christopher Riano).

by **admin** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:40 am

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar's Siblings Call for His Removal, Citing Involvement in Capitol Riot
by Katherine Fung
Newsweek
1/13/21 AT 11:38 AM EST

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

As the House votes on the impeachment of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, some are also calling for the removal of the Congress members involved in the U.S. Capitol riot.

Among these are GOP Representative Paul Gosar's siblings, who are asking for their brother to be expelled from office.

"The message to my brother is that, you know, he must resign, if not be expelled, from Congress," Jennifer Gosar told CNN's Alisyn Camerota.

"The point in time to reach my brother, I think that's been past. I know that at this point, the most that we can do as citizens, as constituents, as the public, demand that the members of Congress involved be held accountable, and that includes expulsion," she added. "To my brother, I think the time is up. It's time to acknowledge the hurt and the hate."

Paul Gosar, a staunch Trump ally, has been one of the lawmakers identified by far-right activist Ali Alexander as being instrumental in helping plan the January 6 insurrection.

Alexander, who has identified himself as the individual who came up with the idea of storming of the Capitol, has told the press that he was regularly in contact with Paul Gosar, as well as Republican Representatives Andy Briggs and Mo Brooks.

Jennifer said she believes her brother was directly involved with the events that transpired at the U.S. Capitol from his regular contact with Alexander, his attendance and speech at the "Stop the Steal" rally that occurred before the riot and his contesting of the election results on the congressional floor.

She and her other brother, Tim Gosar, said they are not surprised by their sibling's involvement due to his "pretty right-wing to extremist" background.

"This has been a pattern of conduct, Alisyn, for as long as Paul has been a politician," Tim said on Wednesday.

"I would hearken people back to the start of his congressional career, where he was a birther, where he was saying that President Obama was an illegitimate president and not a U.S. citizen. He called the pope a leftist politician. In 2016, when President Trump won, he said elections have consequences. Get over it. 2017, he said that George Soros was a Nazi sympathizer and gave up his people to the Nazis," he elaborated to CNN.

Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar questions Gregory Monahan during the House Natural Resources Committee hearing on "Unanswered Questions About the U.S. Park Police's June 1 Attack on Peaceful Protesters at Lafayette Square" on July 28, 2020 in Washington, D.C. Gosar's siblings are calling for his removal from office after a "Stop the Steal" organizer identified the congressman as being involved in the January 6 Capitol riot.
BILL CLARK/AFP

Tim, who said his brother "played a big role" in the Capitol riot, said that the congressman has "lost sight of what character and integrity mean."

"He peddles in rumor, he peddles in propaganda and he lies consistently to the American people and to his constituents," Tim added.

This is not the first time the representative's family has spoken out against him. In 2018, six of Paul's siblings put out a campaign against his re-election in Arizona's 4th congressional district.

Tim said he is inclined to push for further action because Paul has "become more extreme, more radical, more dangerous," especially in his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Even before the election, he was telling people that COVID was overblown. That it was going to go away by the election. Suggesting that it was a hoax. That's dangerous," Tim said.

Arizona emerged as a COVID-19 hot spot during the summer and the state is once again facing a surge in infections. As of January 13, Arizona's department of health has reported over 641,000 confirmed cases and more than 10,000 deaths.

Newsweek reached out to Paul Gosar for comment but did not hear back before publication.

by **admin** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:52 am

2 Virginia police officers face federal charges in Capitol riots [Sergeant Thomas Robertson and Officer Jacob Fracker]
by Erin Donaghue
CBS News
JANUARY 13, 2021 / 5:40 PM
© 2021 CBS Interactive Inc.

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Two police officers in Rocky Mount, Virginia are facing federal charges in the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Sergeant Thomas Robertson and Officer Jacob Fracker have been charged with unlawful entry into a restricted area and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

According to a criminal complaint, Robertson and Fracker were photographed inside the Capitol building in front of a statue, with one seen pointing and the other making an obscene gesture. At the time of the riot, the two were off-duty from their jobs as police officers with the Rocky Mount Police Department, the complaint says.

The photo was shared initially only with other members of the Rocky Mount Police Department, but Robertson re-posted it to his own Facebook account after others shared the photo on social media, according to the complaint. In a comment on social media, Robertson allegedly said he was "proud" of the photo because it showed he and Fracker were "willing to put skin in the game," the complaint said.

Sergeant Thomas Robertson, right, and Officer Jacob Fracker, left, posted this photograph of themselves inside the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 riots to social media.
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR D.C.

A Facebook post by Fracker that has since been deleted allegedly read: "Lol to anyone who's possibly concerned about the picture of me going around... Sorry I hate freedom? …Not like I did anything illegal…y'all do what you feel you need to…"

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave as town officials investigate, according to CBS affiliate WDBJ. The police department notified federal authorities, the station said.

Robertson told the station he and Fracker were at the back of the Capitol building and did not see any rioting, violence or tear gas.

"We were allowed by Capitol police to be where we were and were given water bottles and told where we could go and where we couldn't," Robertson told the station.

The complaint makes note of Robertson's claims to the media that he did not engage in violence and was escorted by Capitol police, but it points to another social media post by Robertson that read: "CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business ... The right IN ONE DAY took the f***** U.S. Capitol. Keep poking us."

"Robertson made these claims notwithstanding his previous posts that he had "attacked the government" and "took the f**** Capitol," the complaint read. "Moreover, at that date and time, the United States Capitol was on lockdown and the defendants' presence inside was without lawful authority."

Also on Wednesday, a Houston police officer was relieved of duty pending a disciplinary hearing for allegedly participating in the Capitol riots, a senior law enforcement official told CBS News. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the unnamed officer is an 18-year department veteran, according to CBS affiliate KHOU.

Acevedo said he expects that federal charges are forthcoming.

More than 70 people are already facing federal and local charges in the January 6 assault that left five dead. Hundreds more charges are expected as federal investigators comb tips, video and social media to identify and arrest suspects across the country. Those already charged face a variety of counts including unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, theft, assault and weapons violations. A team of senior federal prosecutors are investigating more serious charges including sedition and conspiracy related to the "most heinous" acts at the Capitol, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said Tuesday.

Erin Donaghue reports and writes for CBSNews.com on topics including criminal justice, social justice and culture.

by **admin** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 6:14 am

Capitol Police Officers Said They Wouldn’t Be Surprised If Members Of Congress Helped Plan The Attack: “We are the buffer, so that Congress doesn’t have to deal with the mess that they create in their respective districts.”
by Emmanuel Felton
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Last updated on January 13, 2021, at 10:11 p.m. ET

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Capitol Police officers in the Rotunda on Jan. 8, 2021. Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

After seeing one of their colleagues killed last Wednesday, Capitol Police officers are angry that Republican members of Congress refuse to submit to the security changes put in place since then, and say they wouldn’t even be surprised if some lawmakers helped organize the attack.

Officers told BuzzFeed News that members of Congress often see security as optional. Even after last week’s deadly attack, some Republican members refused to go through metal detectors, pushing their way past Capitol Police officers.

“Officers are fuming and there are mumbles of several walking off the job,” one officer with more than 10 years on the force told BuzzFeed News — just as Republicans took to the floor last night to rail against even basic security measures. At one point today, officers set up tables around the metal detectors in an effort to block Republicans from just walking by them.

One of the officers said it’s not unusual for members of Congress to bring dozens of people at once and insist that visitors be waved past security. Officers’ concerns were echoed by some Democrats who have been speaking out about the state of security at the Capitol, and the potential involvement of members in the planning of the insurrection.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill has alleged that some of her Republican colleagues led “reconnaissance” tours of the building ahead of the attack, though did not provide evidence to back up that claim. Rep. Val Demings, former chief of the Orlando Police Department, told CNN, “If any members of Congress participated, helped to organize, orchestrate … they need to be held accountable.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene spreads out her arms as she goes through security outside the House Chamber on Jan. 12, 2021. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / Getty Images

Two of the officers who spoke to BuzzFeed News said it wouldn’t surprise them if lawmakers had been involved. “There are definitely some members who need to be held to account once an investigation shows the totality of circumstances,” one said, in a sign of how betrayed some officers feel in the aftermath of the assault on the Capitol.

“Let’s be very clear, we are here for Congress,” a veteran officer said. “We are the buffer, so that Congress doesn’t have to deal with the mess that they create in their respective districts, so they don’t have to deal with the public. That’s primarily what our mission is — police work is kind of a second thought.”

Capitol Police officers also said they had lost faith in management following last week’s attack. Last weekend, two officers described scenes of chaos at the Capitol during Wednesday’s attack and the racism they faced. This prompted a third officer to open up about the dismal mood in the department, their lack of trust in leadership, and doubts that anything will really change.

“There would be a vote of no confidence in management right now if one took place,” said the officer, who has nearly two decades on the force. “There’s a collective anger right now, and there’s a ‘them and us’ mentality with management. It’s not good.” The Capitol Police did not respond to a series of requests from BuzzFeed News for comment.

The officers say the department seems better prepared for potential attacks between now and the inauguration of Joe Biden on Jan. 20. They said they have been told there will be at least 14,000 national guard members on hand to help keep the peace. Early this morning, management circulated a six-page intelligence assessment to officers outlining several events that they think have the potential to turn violent, they said.

But while officers say they hope to be better prepared for future attacks, they are still grappling with the toll that last week’s siege exacted on them and their colleagues. The third officer described how close they had been to opening fire on the mob: After nearly two decades on the force, the officer said, “I’ve never, ever, ever had physically or mentally been in a place where I’ve felt the need to use my weapon, and I was about five seconds from doing it on that day. I felt legitimate concern for my safety and the safety of the other few officers that were around me because to say we were outnumbered is a gross understatement.”

The three officers, who spoke with BuzzFeed News on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, lay ultimate blame for what happened on Jan. 6 at the feet of their managers, who they said appeared utterly blindsided by the attack, despite weeks of open planning by the conspirators online. All three officers said their managers put them in an impossible situation on that day.

“I’m raging. I was involved in the fray and thankfully I wasn’t too severely injured, but I have a coworker who was hit in the back with a pipe, he’s been out since Wednesday,” the third officer said. “I have another coworker that was knocked out cold. We just had an officer commit suicide, and [Officer Brian] Sicknick died. All of this stuff happened and if [management] would have taken appropriate actions, I think that it would have mitigated the situation exponentially.”

The veteran officer said they were so outnumbered and unprepared that at times he had to stand by helpless as colleagues were viciously attacked. “We came to this door and they were like five or six officers on the other side,” they said. “And it was very heart-wrenching for me because there was nothing that we could do for them. There were literally hundreds, thousands of people on the other side of this door and [the officers are] literally [pinned] against the wall, but we can’t open the door because if we opened the door, they’re going to get crushed and these people are going to pretty much take over.”

All three officers say that few provisions were made ahead of last Wednesday’s insurrection to prevent officers from being completely overrun. Usually, on a day when police leaders are expecting a big protest or riot, they’d organize a roll call, where they’d inform officers of the perceived threats and give them information about what to expect. The three officers said no such meeting occurred on Wednesday morning. Each of the officers separately pointed out that management didn’t even take “simple measures” ahead of the attack like building a temporary barrier around the Capitol ahead of time.

One officer talked about how infuriating it was to see workers putting up barriers only after the attack had taken place.

Workers install more robust fencing along the east side of the Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021 — the day after the attack. Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

“At 3 in the morning, when we finally got a chance to leave after the demonstration, they had the people coming in to put up those 8 feet barriers that they have now,” one officer said. “Twelve to 14 hours later, they have most of this thing up — it took them 12 hours to get that shit up. And you couldn’t have done it beforehand from all the warnings that these people told them. They knew the group was coming. They knew the group was coming.”

Leadership was totally absent that day, they added.

“The people above, I have no respect for them,” they said. “I personally didn’t hear any radio calls from any [senior officials]. I mean, nothing.” Chief Steven Sund, the officers say, was not heard on the radio once that day.

With approximately 2,000 employees and a $515 million budget, the agency, the officers say, had tools at its disposal to prevent the attack on the Capitol — the money, the intelligence suggesting Trump’s supporters could get violent, and a chief with extensive expertise in policing protests and large events. Sund, who has since resigned, was previously a commander of the Washington, DC, Police Department’s Special Operations Division. Among his responsibilities was overseeing “civil disturbance units,” specialized units that respond to mass protests. As a commander, he also served as a lead planner for the 2009 and 2013 presidential inaugurations.

The agency is overseen by Congress itself. Its oversight board comprises the chief, the architect of the Capitol, and both sergeants at arms for the House and the Senate.

“We have a whole intel section,” one officer said. “There were plenty of indicators that this was going to be way more than the routine … this is a situation our intelligence apparatus either dropped the ball or [management] just said they didn’t care.”

Two of the officers, both of them Black, specifically compared last Wednesday’s attack with how management handled the Black Lives Matter protests this summer, and said that the contrast is stark.

“This summer, when we had the BLM protest, it was all hands on deck,” one officer said. “I mean we had an abundance of bodies and support … the amount of people that they had available was astounding. They were pretty much working us to the ground … on [Wednesday], there was none of that.”

“Let me just say this: If the same posture was taken Wednesday, that was taken the summer, with the BLM protests, it would have been totally different,” he added. “I think [last Wednesday] was the result of a mixture of arrogance and incompetence, but I also think a group of Black people and brown people are a lot scarier to [management] than a group of white people. I don’t want to say that, but that’s just me being as objective as I can be.”

According to one officer, the force is “male dominated” and “white dominated,” adding that “minority officers aren’t treated the same.”

The officers said the incompetence on display last Wednesday wasn’t an aberration, but instead the result of years of mismanagement by the agency’s leadership — and by extension their ultimate bosses, the 535 members of the Congress. Officers describe an environment where they are frequently disrespected by members of Congress and treated more like security guards or even personal security detail than as sworn police officers.

Each of the officers said the department needs a complete overhaul of its culture, but one predicted Congress would simply throw money at the problem rather than enact real change.

“I think that we will probably get a 20% increase in our budget, because it came to Congress’s doorstep and when things touch them, they pretty much just write a check and say whatever you need is what you get,” said one officer. “There has to be a complete and utter rehaul of the culture, but people are resistant to that in every shape or form.”

“You can’t throw money at culture,” he added. The veteran officer thinks that transparency, not money, is the answer.

Security personnel set up a metal detector in front of an entrance to the House chamber on Jan. 12, 2021. Joshua Roberts / Reuters

“We don’t have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. How can you not be transparent? That’s just mind-boggling,” they said. Because the Capitol Police force reports to Congress, which is not subject to freedom of information laws, it is hard to know what is really going on. “[Transparency] would improve this department on every level. We’re paid by the taxpayers — they should be able to access anything that goes on within this department within reason.”

In addition to Sund, both the House and the Senate sergeants at arms quit. This is a welcome move among the officers who spoke to BuzzFeed News; one of them said, “The sergeant of arms is full of shit.”

Another said the only reason there has been any accountability for leadership is because the attack was such a national event.

“I think letting them resign is letting them off easy,” said the veteran who has been with the department for nearly 20 years. “A lot of people got hurt that didn’t have to be hurt. Simple measures could have been put in place to mitigate this.”

The officer said: “I have too many coworkers and friends that are out right now and it’s not right … It’s not a case of, OK, this was an unfortunate situation, people didn’t do their jobs and they put us in a situation where we were set up to fail. It’s not right. Sicknick was a good dude, and he didn’t deserve [to die].”

Kendall Taggart contributed reporting to this article.

by **admin** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 1:15 am

Pro-Trump Attorney Lin Wood Not of 'Sufficient Character' to Practice Law, Decides Judge
by Katherine Fung
1/12/21 AT 1:40 PM EST

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

A Delaware Superior Court judge slammed pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood in a Monday decision, revoking Wood's right to represent ex-Trump aide Carter Page in a defamation suit stemming from the Mueller investigation.

"The conduct of Mr. Wood, albeit not in my jurisdiction, exhibited a toxic stew of mendacity, prevarication and surprising incompetence," Judge Craig Karsnitz wrote.

Karsnitz said that he is required to "ensure that those practicing before me are of sufficient character, and conduct themselves with sufficient civility and truthfulness," particularly when out-of-state counsel is selected. Wood is based in Georgia.

Noting Wood's involvement in the Trump campaign's unsuccessful efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, the judge wrote that he became concerned after reviewing the decisions made in lawsuits Wood filed in Georgia and Wisconsin courts.

He noted that the case in Georgia was "textbook frivolous litigation," which included "an error-ridden affidavit," and that the complaint Wood filed in Wisconsin "would not survive a law school civil procedure class."

"What has been shown in Court decisions of our sister States satisfies me that it would be inappropriate and inadvisable to continue Mr. Wood's permission to practice before this court," Karsnitz said. "I acknowledge that I preside over a small part of the legal world in a small state. However, we take pride in our bar."

"Prior to the pandemic, I watched daily counsel practice before me in a civil, ethical way to tirelessly advance the interests of their clients," he added. "It would dishonor them were I to allow this pro hac vice order to stand."

Attorneys Lin Wood, center, and Mark Stephen, left, speak to the media about their client, British rescue diver Vernon Unsworth, rear, as they arrive at US District Court on December 3, 2019 in Los Angeles. Wood was removed from a Delaware lawsuit by the judge after the attorney was found to not be of "sufficient character" to practice law. APU GOMES/STRINGER

Karsnitz also made mention of Wood's tweets, specifically one calling for the arrest and execution of Vice President Mike Pence ...

and another against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts "too disgusting and outrageous to repeat"—tweets which the judge said partly "incited" the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Karsnitz said while he is "not here to litigate if Mr. Wood was ultimately the source of incitement," there is "no doubt these tweets, and many other things, incited these riots."

The decision comes three weeks after Karsnitz ordered Wood to explain why his involvement in the election lawsuits would not disqualify him from representing Page, who is accusing Oath Inc.'s subsidiary Yahoo! of "maliciously" publishing "false accusations" that Page was "secretly plotting with Russian leaders to sabotage the 2016 presidential election."

Page, a former foreign-policy adviser to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, was investigated by the Department of Justice but never charged in connection to the election interference.

In his response submitted last week, Wood focused on the fact that none of the conduct Karsnitz pointed too had taken place in his court.

Karsnitz wrote that Wood's response "was not helpful regarding the issue of the appropriateness and advisability" of allowing the attorney to represent Page in Delaware and revoked Wood's privilege to represent Page in the case.

Newsweek reached out to Wood for comment but did not hear back before publication.

by **admin** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 2:07 am

Capitol riot fueled by deep network of GOP statehouse support: Stolen election lie had backing from party’s governing class at every level, extending far beyond Congress and the White House.
by David Siders
Politico
01/13/2021 04:30 AM EST

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans is given the oath of office Dec. 14, 2020, in Charleston, W.Va. He resigned after the Capitol riot. | Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP

One month before the riot at the Capitol, more than 60 Republican state lawmakers from Pennsylvania signed onto a letter urging the state’s congressional delegation to object to results of the presidential election. Across the border in Maryland, a Republican state legislator helped organize buses to take people to the protest that preceded the riot. A West Virginia lawmaker went even further, donning a helmet as he filmed himself rushing the Capitol.

As the Republican Party begins to reckon with the fallout from the deadly insurrection, it’s being forced to confront a disquieting truth: the lie that ultimately led to the violence — that the election was stolen from President Donald Trump — drew far-reaching support from the party’s governing class at every level, extending far beyond Congress and reaching deep into America’s statehouses.

Lawmakers from more than a dozen states attended the Jan. 6 rally, while scores more cheered on the “Stop the Steal” movement from afar. And in the days since the insurrection, these Republicans continued to question the election while giving air to debunked claims that antifa or other leftist agitators — not pro-Trump rioters — were primarily responsible for the destruction that followed.

“I wouldn’t trust a word that comes out of the FBI’s mouth at this point,” Mark Finchem, a Republican state representative from Arizona, said when asked about an FBI briefing of House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy that suggested no reason to believe antifa was involved.

Like many other Republican state lawmakers elected by pro-Trump Republicans who remain distrustful of the election, Finchem, who attended the rally but did not storm the building, said his job is to represent his constituents, and “if that means I need to fight off the establishment types, I’m good with that.”

One week after the deadly insurrection and the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, institutionalist Republicans are desperate to move the party past the events of last week. But in statehouses across the country, the prospect of a clean break has never seemed more remote.

In Nevada, newly elected Assemblywoman Annie Black, facing calls to resign after attending the rally preceding the riot, told her supporters, “I’m not going anywhere,” defending her attendance at an event she said was “marred by some fringe elements.” In Florida, state Rep. Anthony Sabatini on Tuesday was tweeting lists of Republicans “WITH courage” and those without, the latter group including Republican Sens. Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski, who have been critical of Trump. He called Rep. Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican who plans to support Trump’s impeachment, a “national security threat.”

Pat Garofalo, a Republican state representative from Minnesota, said that in the riot last week “there was a political epiphany for most Republicans that this is over, this is ridiculous … this is banana republic s---, we don’t do that.”

But even if “no one is standing up and saying that this was justified,” as Garofalo said, the idea that Trump had been robbed of the election was not far from home. Several of his colleagues had participated in a reportedly peaceful “Storm the Capitol” rally in Minnesota the same day the national Capitol was desecrated.

For Republicans involved in promoting Trump’s claims about election fraud, the recriminations have been swift. Major corporate donors have announced they will withhold contributions from Republican lawmakers who objected to certifying the Electoral College votes last week. Facebook and Instagram permanently banned a top organizer of the “Stop the Steal” protest on Capitol Hill. One Republican group pledged to raise $50 million to help Republican lawmakers fend off potential primary challenges if they vote to impeach Trump, and as many as 10 Republican House members are reportedly considering doing just that.

But Trumpism was never primarily a feature of Washington, as state lawmakers who are attuned to their GOP constituencies know. A large majority of Republicans said after the election that they did not think it was free or fair, and fewer than one in five Republicans said after the riot last week that Trump should resign.

The physical violence represented a fringe element of the party. But the reason that Republicans were in Washington — loyalty to Trump, frustration with the election — is a fairly mainstream GOP position in many places. And so, too, is disbelief in the party’s culpability.

“I don’t know that widespread means it’s a majority opinion or a prevailing opinion, but there are certainly a significant number of Republicans who have fallen for the myth that this was some a antifa-instigated event, which it was not,” said Ron Nehring, a former California Republican Party chairman who served as Sen. Ted Cruz’s spokesman in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Nehring compared the moment for Republicans to one confronting the GOP in the 1960s, when William F. Buckley helped distance the party from racists and “kooks.” “Today, the same must be done again with adherents of QAnon and the Proud Boys and similar groups,” Nehring said.

Lamenting that “not enough Republican leaders have made clear that, ‘No, the election in fact was not stolen,'” he said, “I’ve spent 32 years in the Republican Party, and I’m not going to allow it to be defined by a bunch of racists and lunatics just because they put on a MAGA hat.”

There have been sanctions for elected officials present at the Capitol as the mob breached the building. Del. Derrick Evans, the West Virginia lawmaker who entered the Capitol, faces criminal charges and resigned. Maryland Del. Daniel L. Cox, who helped organize buses to the rally and who called Vice President Mike Pence a “traitor,” was rebuked by the state’s Republican governor, Larry Hogan. And Democrats in states across the country have appealed for Republicans who participated in any part of the rally to leave office, as well.

But Republicans are largely more accommodating of their ranks. In Arizona, Finchem said he’s been getting encouraging emails from around the country. He and other lawmakers who attended the rally are finding support in their own caucuses, as well.

In Alaska, where a Republican state lawmaker, David Eastman, has come under scrutiny for attending the rally and promoting claims about antifa, longtime state Sen. John Coghill regretted that rhetoric in American politics had reached a point where “people are accusing each other of inciting a riot.”

Like other Republicans, Coghill places blame for what he called a “revved up” political climate on Democrats as well as Republicans. Despite courts finding no evidence of widespread fraud, he said that in the absence of a more rigorous examination of the vote, “conspiracy theories, accusations, they can run rampant.”

Coghill, whose father was a signer of the state Constitution and who will leave the Senate next week after 22 years in elected office, said, “I think there’s enough blame to go on both sides.”

In the Republican Party’s base in the states, that view appears likely to have more currency than any interest in rooting out.

In Maryland, Del. Neil Parrott, called it “very unfortunate” that his colleague, Cox, was facing criticism for attending the rally.

“The vast majority of people were simply there to support fair elections,” said Parrott, who traveled to Pennsylvania to observe ballot counting after the election. “They had no idea that some people were going to try to take over the rally and make it violent.”

Parrott said that “party infighting is not going to help us now” and that, instead, “it’s time for Republicans to get back to the basics, like why do we care about less government, lower taxes, giving power back to the people.”

Likening the political options available to Republicans to sports, he said, “Sometimes your plays get too complicated, you need to go back to the basics.”

Matt Dixon contributed to this report.

by **admin** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 2:55 am

Alabama Coup Klutz Klan: Traitors Mo Brooks, Tuberville and company should resign
by J.D. Crowe | jdcrowe@al.com
Alabama (AL.com)
Updated Jan 11, 2021; Posted Jan 11, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

This is an opinion cartoon.

For inciting and supporting an attempted coup, by failing to stand up against lies and misinformation from their Trump Lord, and for being spineless sycophants instead of leaders, these goober traitors should all resign. Or be dissolved by a stain remover.

by **admin** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 3:02 am

Hallmark asks Sens. Hawley, Marshall to return campaign contributions
by Tod Palmer
kssshb.com
Posted at 12:26 PM, Jan 11, 2021 and last updated 12:53 PM, Jan 12, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) questions Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz during a Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 18, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hallmark is asking Sens. Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall to return campaign contributions made by its political action committee in the wake of the deadly Capitol riot last week.

“Hallmark believes the peaceful transition of power is part of the bedrock of our democratic system, and we abhor violence of any kind,” the company said in a statement confirming the request. “The recent actions of Senators Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall do not reflect our company’s values. As a result, HALLPAC requested Sens. Hawley and Marshall to return all HALLPAC campaign contributions.”

Hawley and Marshall were among 147 members of Congress, all Republicans, who voted against certifying Electoral College electors from two states last Wednesday in the hours after rioters overran the Capitol after a Trump rally.

HALLPAC, which is Hallmark’s political action committee, donated $5,000 to Marshall’s campaign and $3,000 to Hawley's campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Marshall, a Kansas Republican, defeated Barbara Bollier in November in one of the nation's most expensive and tightly contested races. He takes over retiring Sen. Pat Roberts’ congressional seat.

The company did not make a donation to Bollier’s campaign.

Hallmark said in its statement that HALLPAC “supports elected leaders from a wide variety of viewpoints—including Democrats, Republicans and Independents.”

The company contributed $95,500 to federal candidates in 2019-20 with nearly two-third, or $63,000, going to support Republicans.

HALLPAC also gave money to several other congress members who voted against certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory even after the proceeding last Wednesday were interrupted by the deadly riot that left five people dead.

Reps. Sam Graves ($6,000) and Vicky Hartzler ($2,000) of Missouri along with Reps. Ron Estes ($2,000), Tracey Mann ($2,000) and Jake LaTurner ($1,000).

All five representatives voted against certification of Arizona’s Electoral College electors and all except LaTurner, who tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the House Chamber, voted against certification of Pennsylvania’s electors.

The PAC contributed to three other representatives who voted against certification, Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer ($5,000) and Bill Long ($1,000) of Missouri and Rep. Kevin McCarthy ($5,000), a California Republican and the House Minority Leader.

Additionally, HALLPAC, which has consistently spent more in support of Republican candidates since 1990, donated $5,000 to the Hawley Victory Committee, according to 2019-20 records.

Hallmark wouldn't say if it would ask any other candidates to refund donations, but said it was pausing donations as it reviews its policies.

"We have no additional comments beyond what we shared yesterday (Monday)," a company spokesperson said in a statement emailed Tuesday to 41 Action News. "HALLPAC is currently evaluating its giving policies and does not plan to make any contributions until that process is complete."

HALLPAC also gave $3,000 to former Rep. Steve Watkins, a Kansas Republican who LaTurner defeated during the August primary before winning the seat in November’s general election.

Hallmark’s PAC also donated to two Democratic lawmakers from the Kansas City area. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri received $10,000, which was the largest donation made to any campaign, and Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas received $6,000.

HALLPAC also contributed $2,500 to Rep. Ann Wagner, a Missouri Republican from the St. Louis area, who did not vote against certifying any Electoral College results.

by **admin** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 3:19 am

Talk radio company orders hosts to stop suggesting election was stolen from Trump
by Zack Budryk
The Hill
01/11/21 11:22 AM

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

A talk radio company that employs some of the nation’s most popular conservative radio hosts has issued a memo barring talent from spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.

“We need to help induce national calm NOW,” wrote an executive with Cumulus Media in a Wednesday directive, the same day as the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, according to The Washington Post.

Brian Philips, the company’s executive vice president, went on to say Cumulus and its program syndication branch, Westwood One, “will not tolerate any suggestion that the election has not ended. The election has been resolved and there are no alternate acceptable ‘paths’. ”

“If you transgress this policy, you can expect to separate from the company immediately,” he added.

Cumulus hosts include Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino. Rush Limbaugh, who is broadcast on numerous Cumulus stations but syndicated by Premiere Networks, is not subject to the directive.

It remains to be seen whether hosts like Levin who have built a strong personal brand will abide by the memo and whether Cumulus would be willing to take major disciplinary action if they do not. As recently as Thursday, a day after the riot, Levin seemingly denied responsibility for inciting the unrest, saying: “I’m not stirring up a damn thing. Everything I say is based on principle and mission. Everything is based on liberty, family, faith, the Constitution. ... My enemies and my critics can’t say the same.”

Michael Harrison, the publisher of Talkers magazine, said the memo represented the corporate side of the talk radio industry pulling rank on on-air talent who often present themselves as independent from outside influence.

“Corporations have always called the tune ultimately,” he told the Post. “Everyone pays attention to the guys at the top and always has.”

Tech and social media companies have also clamped down on potential incitement in the wake of the riots. Twitter has banned President Trump’s account, as well as those of several leaders in the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, heavily represented among the mobs.

by **admin** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 3:26 am

Prosecutors weigh ‘heavy hammer’ — felony murder — for rioters in Capitol officer’s death
by Neal Augenstein | @AugensteinWTOP
wtopnews
January 11, 2021, 7:19 AM

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

As federal prosecutors file charges against rioters who took part in last Wednesday’s violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol, investigators continue to gather evidence in the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries sustained during the attack.

While most murder investigations focus on the person or persons who caused the fatal injury, former federal prosecutor Tim Heaphy said prosecutors could charge many rioters with felony murder, even if they were nowhere near Sicknick.

Heaphy led the months-long investigation into the law enforcement performance before, during, and after the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Heaphy was the U.S. Attorney for Western District of Virginia from December 2009 through January 2015, appointed by President Barack Obama.

Under the doctrine of felony murder, which applies in the District of Columbia, any murder that occurs during the commission of one of several underlying felonies is chargeable as felony murder.

“The classic example is if three guys go to rob a convenience store, and one guy is the getaway driver. If in the commission of the robbery, the clerk was shot and killed, all three of the participants in the robbery of the store are potentially guilty of felony murder,” said Heaphy.

On Jan. 6, hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump broke through barricades and into the U.S. Capitol, as Congress worked to count the electoral votes to affirm President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory.

In the federal murder code, 11 underlying felonies which can be part of a felony murder charge are listed — one which could be applicable to the Jan. 6 takeover is burglary.

“You could look at the storming of the doors of the Capitol by that riotous mob as burglary. If they went in with the intent to steal, disrupt proceedings, to commit other offenses, they committed burglary. And, therefore, a murder that occurred during the course of a burglary could be potentially charged as felony murder,” Heaphy said.

The mere act of breaking into the Capitol doesn’t constitute burglary, Heaphy said. Prosecutors would need to prove that they intended to do something criminal, once they were inside.

“Let’s say somebody storms the Capitol with the intent to disrupt Congress, or steal the sign outside of Speaker Pelosi’s door, and there’s a murder that occurs in the midst of that, he could be charged with felony murder,” Heaphy said.

As with any crime, federal or state, prosecutors have to weigh whether charges can be sustained in court.

In this case, with the crimes committed on federal property, and in the death of a federal employee, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — which prosecutes cases in both federal and local courts — would have the felony murder count at its disposal.

“That’s why it is such a friend to the prosecutor,” Heaphy said.

“It’s a pretty heavy hammer to charge accomplices, to charge aiders and abettors, who don’t necessarily intend to murder — if they’re going to engage in felonious conduct, they are potentially responsible for the consequences of that conduct, if death ensues.”

Asked whether Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin and Acting Principal U.S. Attorney Ken Kohl had ruled out filing felony murder charges in connections with Sicknick’s death, spokeswoman Shelia Miller said: “Since this is a pending death investigation, we cannot comment at this time.”

Prosecutors have not named any suspects in connection with the physical altercation that led to Sicknick’s death. A federal conviction for first-degree murder in the District of Columbia, unlike in D.C. Superior Court, is eligible for the death penalty.

Altruistic World Online Library

Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certification

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Who is online