For January 6 Conspirators, Karma Is a Bitch
The glacial pace of investigations into the Former Guy’s attempts to stay in office is picking up, even as his allies compete for the title of Shittiest American, 2022.
Republican pseudo-electors from seven states submitted Electoral College certificates in support of Trump, and it now appears as though these were not just some random acts of fealty to Dear Leader.
Trump electors from five states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin—certified that they were in fact the “duly elected and qualified Electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America” and said the former president had won the ballot count in each of their states.
The five phony certificates were nearly identical in language, right down to the fonts. The strong implication: Somebody somewhere was running this show.
It would seem that Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, was right in the middle of this election-fraud forgery.
Here’s a text from Meadows to Rick Perry, Trump’s former energy secretary, released by the House Select Committee, laying out the plan:
HERE’s an AGRESSIVE STRATEGY: Why can t the states of GA NC PENN and other R controlled state houses declare this is BS (where conflicts and election not called that night) and just send their own electors to vote and have it go to the SCOTUS.
Then there’s this…
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow pointed out a language change in former Vice President’s announcements during the electoral vote count indicating that he knew something squirrely was up. There have been several reports indicating that the former President spent the days leading up to January 6 putting intense pressure on Pence to take actions disrupting the certification process.
Mike Pence’s rewording is significant in light of a (later retracted) announcement saying that Senate Pro Tem President Chuck Grassley would be presiding over certification of electoral college votes.
Time Out– At this point in today’s narrative I want to remind readers of the certainty of Republican outrage over just about anything being an indication that they are in fact doing those things.
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Rudy Giuliani and the legal team involved in filing conspiracy-ladened lawsuits on behalf of the former President were subpoenaed on Tuesday by the House Select Committee investigating the events of January 6.
From the New York Times:
In addition to Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and a ringleader of the group, the panel subpoenaed three others: Jenna Ellis, who drafted a memo on how Mr. Trump could overturn the election by exploiting an obscure law; Sidney Powell, a lawyer whose organization raised millions of dollars based on false claims that election machines were rigged; and Boris Epshteyn, who pursued allegations of election fraud in Nevada and Arizona and participated in a call with Mr. Trump on the morning of Jan. 6, “during which options were discussed to delay the certification of election results,” the committee said.
“The four individuals we’ve subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to overturn the election results or were in direct contact with the former president about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes,” Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the chairman of the committee, said in a statement.
I don’t know if the committee’s announcement that it is in possession of Eric Trump’s and Kimberly Guilfoyle’s cell phone records is connected to all of the above storylines, but it certainly is… interesting.
I do know the reported indecision within the committee over whether or not to subpoena members of congress proves that there are people who haven’t acknowledged the nihilism within the GOP leadership. Supposedly they’re afraid that, if the GOP gains control of the House in November, Democrats will face a barrage of subpoenas and investigations.
It does not make any difference what the January 6 Committee does, the GOP (should they win) will be coming for blood. Just look around at what Republicans are doing on a daily basis; if it’s nasty, they’re all for it. They have become the party of pettiness, cruelty, and spite.
I understand, I really do, about the fear of becoming what you oppose in critical situations like this. This business of destroying democracy as we know it has just gone too far. The people involved in what I hope is merely a reactionary spasm are just plain evil. They’re entitled to their opinions, fine, but we’ve passed the point where compromise is a rational option.
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I supposed I should provide a few examples of why I don’t think compromising with these folk is a worthy endeavor. There is no halfway with this kind of garbage...
Florida is preparing to take the manufactured fury over teaching a realistic (and inclusive) view of history in schools to a new level, with Gov. Ron DeSantis-approved legislation prohibiting public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination.
The state run by people who oppose government overreach is also considering legislation mandating the playing of the national anthem before games by professional sports teams playing in the state. The legislature committee couldn’t identify an instance where the anthem wasn’t being played, but approved it anyway.
Maskhole at the Supreme Court… Nina Totenberg at NPR reports on Justice Sotomayer’s absence at a recent Supreme Court hearing:
…the situation had changed with the omicron surge, and according to court sources, Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to people who were unmasked. Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up.
They all did. Except Gorsuch, who, as it happens, sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. His continued refusal since then has also meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices' weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone.
Finally…
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