Kevin McCarthy has now refused to appear voluntarily before the select committee investigating the January 6th insurrection. What’s important about this is that McCarthy is likely one of the few people with direct knowledge of Trump’s efforts to assist the insurrectionists as they were ransacking the Capitol building. According to numerous published reports, the ultimate source of which is almost certainly McCarthy himself, Trump told McCarthy in real time that he was barring the US military from stopping the insurrection in order to give his violent supporters time to ransack the Capitol and bring the official vote tabulation to a halt.
Continue reading “McCarthy Refuses to Testify About Trump’s Confession”GOP Sen. Very Concerned About Black Biden Nom’s Speeding Ticket ‘Rap Sheet’
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
A Very Troubling Past Indeed
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wants to know how Biden’s judicial nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, who is Black, can possibly have the integrity to be a federal judge given what she called his “rap sheet” of an entire three speeding tickets from over a decade ago that he didn’t pay for at first.
- One of the tickets was for him driving five miles over the speed limit.
- The nominee “thought he was above the law,” so “imagine how he’ll conduct himself if he’s confirmed as a federal judge” Blackburn argued.
- Blackburn flashed her congressional pin and was allowed to leave after a car she was riding in got pulled over by the U.S. Capitol Police in March, according to CNN.
- Just in case you’re curious, here’s what Blackburn had to say about Brett Kavanaugh.
McCarthy Refuses To Cooperate With Jan. 6 Panel
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made it clear on Wednesday night he has no intention of cooperating with the House Jan. 6 Select Committee’s request for information on his conversations with Trump after the insurrection.
- McCarthy claimed that his “private conversations” were “not remotely” related to the Capitol attack.
- “I have nothing else to add,” the Republican leader said.
- He also (predictably) accused the committee’s investigation of being politically motivated.
- Committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) didn’t rule out the possibility of subpoenaing McCarthy after he made his announcement. She told CNN that the panel was going to “evaluate” its options “but we will get to the truth.”
McEnany Met With Jan. 6 Panel
The Jan. 6 Committee had a virtual meeting with former White House press secretary and Trump 2020 campaign spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday, according to CNN.
Here’s a detailed list of everyone the Jan. 6 Committee’s either contacted for voluntary interviews or subpoenaed.
House To Pass Voting Rights Legislation Today
The lower house approved a rule last night to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act in an unrelated NASA bill (we explain that weird move here).
- Now the House will vote on the package in full today and send it over to the Senate, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated in a “Dear Colleague” letter last night.
- Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) still haven’t seemed to budge in their positions on tweaking the filibuster to pass voting reform despite pressure from Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
- Biden will meet with the Senate Democratic Caucus at the Capitol this afternoon to continue talks over the legislation.
Ohio Supreme Court Nixes GOP-Drawn District Map
Oh no you don’t: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday to toss out the map created by the Republican-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission, finding that the new lines qualified as partisan gerrymandering.
- One of the justices broke from her party to rule against the map, providing the key vote in the 4-3 decision.
- The commission has 10 days to draw a new map for review again.
Biden DOJ Fighting Against Financial Compensation For Separated Migrant Families
For all of the President’s talk about how Trump-era migrant family separations were a “human tragedy,” his Justice Department’s court battles tell a very different story.
Graham Won’t Vote For McConnell If He Doesn’t Start Being Nicer To Trump
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News host Sean Hannity last night that he was against making Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) the Senate majority leader unless the Kentucky Republican can “effectively work” with Trump because “I’m not going to vote for anybody that can’t have a working relationship with” the ex-president.
Yet Another GOPer Compares COVID-19 Safety Mandates To Holocaust
Why does this keep happening? Why do they keep making it necessary for the Auschwitz Memorial to tell them to knock it off?
Pillow Man Wants All Of America To Go To Jail
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has discovered that basically everyone in America did an election fraud in 2020 and it’s time for the country to become a supermax prison. “We have enough evidence to put everyone in prison for life, 300 and some million people,” he declared on Wednesday.
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
Where Things Stand: Greene Tiptoes Up To The Line Of Arguing That Guns Should Be Used Against Dems
It may be the 21st century, but the QAnon congresswoman is urging folks to take up arms against their sea of troubles.
During a podcast interview with none other than the bombastic former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) loudly nodded at the “Second Amendment” as a solution to the far-right’s problems — in this case the “tyrannical government,” aka (for her) Democrats. Greene suggested Democratic lawmakers are currently doing exactly what the founders feared when James Madison proposed the inclusion of Second Amendment rights in the Constitution.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: Greene Tiptoes Up To The Line Of Arguing That Guns Should Be Used Against Dems”Jan. 6 Committee Reveals Another Text From A Fox Host To Meadows
The Jan. 6 Committee on Wednesday revealed another text from a Fox News host to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, sent in the wake of the deadly Capitol insurrection last year.
In this case, the sender was Laura Ingraham. The text in question appeared in the committee’s request for voluntary cooperation from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Continue reading “Jan. 6 Committee Reveals Another Text From A Fox Host To Meadows”Senate Plans Out Next Steps In Voting Rights Push
After President Joe Biden’s big voting rights speech in Georgia Tuesday, Senate Democrats are mapping out a strategy to hold votes on rules changes.
The obstacles — as they were in the beginning, are now and ever shall be, Amen — are Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). Manchin has expressed openness to small technical changes to the filibuster; it’s unclear where Sinema is, aside from recently expressing support for the 60-vote threshold.
Expect a day of meetings with these two while we dig for clues to illuminate Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) plans. Schumer has promised a rules vote no later than Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, on Monday.
Jan. 6 Committee Requests Info From Minority Leader McCarthy
The House Jan. 6 Committee sent a letter on Wednesday asking House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for information about the insurrection.
Continue reading “Jan. 6 Committee Requests Info From Minority Leader McCarthy”The Administration’s Flawed COVID Messaging
One area of policy where I hoped the new Biden administration would excel was in its handling of the pandemic, but it has not done so. It wasn’t prepared for either the Delta or Omicron variants; it failed initially to acknowledge waning vaccine immunity and delayed access to boosters; it still doesn’t have an accurate count nationally of infections; and its public messaging on masks, tests, and vaccines has been confusing and sometimes misleading. That was epitomized by a statement from acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet L. Woodcock in the Senate hearings yesterday.
Continue reading “The Administration’s Flawed COVID Messaging”Kemp Pretends Karma Played A Role In Georgia Sports Wins After Backlash To Voting Laws
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Wednesday made a lame joke to distract from the severity of his state’s restrictive voting law a day after President Biden gave a speech urging the protection of voting rights in the state.
Continue reading “Kemp Pretends Karma Played A Role In Georgia Sports Wins After Backlash To Voting Laws”NBC: Gaetz’s Ex-Girlfriend Testifying In Front Of Grand Jury In Trafficking Probe
The federal probe into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is reportedly being investigated to determine whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, has reached a key development, according to two new reports.
Continue reading “NBC: Gaetz’s Ex-Girlfriend Testifying In Front Of Grand Jury In Trafficking Probe”Fauci Reiterates Omicron Will Infect Most. But That Doesn’t Necessarily Mean More Illness.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser, clarified his comments made Tuesday — that the Omicron variant will “ultimately find just about everybody” — during a COVID-19 response press briefing on Wednesday.
Continue reading “Fauci Reiterates Omicron Will Infect Most. But That Doesn’t Necessarily Mean More Illness.”