Steve Bannon has been indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress, D.C. federal prosecutors announced on Friday.
Continue reading “Federal Grand Jury Indicts Bannon For Contempt Of Congress”Here’s Why All The Inflation Fearmongering Over The Reconciliation Bill Is Nonsense
A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that prices rose in October and are hovering at a notably high point has triggered a full-on Democratic panic attack over the fate of the reconciliation bill.
Continue reading “Here’s Why All The Inflation Fearmongering Over The Reconciliation Bill Is Nonsense”Cheney Backs Censuring ‘Avowed White Nationalist’ Gosar Over Violent AOC Vid
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) is putting Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) on blast after the far-right Republican posted a graphic anime-style video of him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and attacking President Joe Biden on social media earlier this week.
Continue reading “Cheney Backs Censuring ‘Avowed White Nationalist’ Gosar Over Violent AOC Vid”Five Points On Russia’s Saber Rattling In Eastern Europe
Western officials have been paying closer attention to Eastern Europe in recent weeks.
Continue reading “Five Points On Russia’s Saber Rattling In Eastern Europe”Listen To This: To BBB Or Not To BBB
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Josh and Kate discuss what comes next for the reconciliation bill, as well as some early indications of what the 2022 Senate battlefield might look like.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.
Long Island Man Charged For Threat Against Republican Who Voted For Infrastructure Bill
A Long Island man was arrested for threatening the life of a Republican congressman who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure spending bill, just the latest in an emerging pattern of threats aimed at Republicans who’ve worked with Democrats.
Continue reading “Long Island Man Charged For Threat Against Republican Who Voted For Infrastructure Bill”Murkowski Launches Reelection Bid In Face Of Trump’s Wrath
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced on Friday morning that she’s running for reelection in the 2022 midterms as her party’s leader goes on a warpath to oust every pro-impeachment Republican lawmaker from Congress.
Continue reading “Murkowski Launches Reelection Bid In Face Of Trump’s Wrath”Thinking about Rittenhouse and Right Wing Murder Safaris
Court observers appear divided on whether the Kyle Rittenhouse trial is headed to a hung jury or an outright acquittal. Very few seem to think the case is headed toward a conviction. That’s very jarring because many of us see it as obvious that Rittenhouse is unquestionably the guilty party, even if precisely what he is guilty of may be open to interpretation and despite the fact that the nature of self-defense laws in many states give the defense plenty of room to work with even in a case like this. Setting aside the technical components of first degree murder charges where this trial seems deeply unjust. Rittenhouse traveled to Wisconsin loaded for bear looking for trouble, found it and the law says that’s okay. That is compounded by the way the right in the US has made Rittenhouse into a folk hero.
But I’ve tried to distill down just what gets to me about this case. And here’s what I’ve come up with.
Continue reading “Thinking about Rittenhouse and Right Wing Murder Safaris”Trump Defends Deranged ‘Hang Pence’ Chants: ‘People Were Very Angry’
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Very Fine People
Trump fully stands by his supporters shouting “Hang Pence!” as they were storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, new audio of his interview with reporter Jonathan Karl reveals.
- “Well, the people were very angry,” the ex-president told Karl in an interview for his upcoming book, “Betrayal.”
- Trump argued that the mob’s anger was justified because it was common sense for Pence to have halted the count due to voter fraud (for the millionth time, there was no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election).
- Trump said that he wasn’t worried about Pence during the insurrection because the vice president was “well protected.”
Far-Right Extremist Runs To Court In Fear Of Antifascist’s Tweets
Adam Kiefer, a California man documented marching with Proud Boys, wearing Proud Boys regalia and throwing punches at far-right protests, got a temporary restraining order against an antifascist who tweeted visual evidence that appeared to show him at the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
- Kiefer denies being at the insurrection and being a Proud Boy, and he claims the antifascist is harassing him by tweeting about him.
- But Kiefer’s gambit looks like it could backfire spectacularly: The antifascist is fighting back with a motion accusing him of abusing the courts as a censorship tool, and if the antifascist is successfully, Kiefer could get saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Jan. 6 Panel Fires Warning Shot After Meadows Signals Defiance
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the chair of the House Jan. 6 select committee, sent a letter to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ lawyer yesterday demanding he comply with the panel’s subpoena.
- Thompson rejected Meadows’ claims of executive privilege and asserted Meadows must still appear in front of the panel Friday at 10:00 a.m. ET and provide the requested documents.
- Meadows’ continued refusal to cooperate with the committee would be interpreted as “willful non-compliance,” Thompson warned, and the panel would thus consider slapping Meadows with contempt charges.
GOP Ohio Senate Candidate Digs Heels In Rank Anti-Semitism
Mark Pukita, a Republican Senate candidate in Ohio, doubled down yesterday on a campaign radio ad that questioned primary frontrunner Josh Mandel’s Jewish faith for courting Christian evangelicals.
- The ad accused Mandel of being a “phony caricature.”
- Pukita defended the ad, arguing that all he did was point out that his opponent was Jewish. “Everybody should know that though, right?” he asked.
Defense In Ahmaud Arbery Case Complains About Black Pastors At Trial
A defense attorney for one of the three white vigilantes who allegedly murdered Ahmaud Arbery, who was Black, got upset that Rev. Al Sharpton showed up at the criminal trial on Thursday. The lawyer said that he didn’t want “any more Black pastors” to sit with Arbery’s family, claiming their presence would be “intimidating.”
Must-Reads
“For a 96-Year-Old Veteran, the Parade Came to Him” – The New York Times
“An Air Force sergeant killed himself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The note he left is heartbreaking.” – The Washington Post
Murkowski’s Running For Reelection
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced her reelection plans this morning.
- Trump has vowed revenge against Murkowski for voting to convict him during his second impeachment trial and also for criticizing him in general. In June last year, he pledged to endorse any potential primary challenger with a “pulse” who runs against Murkowski.
- The Alaska Republican Party has dutifully followed Trump’s lead. It passed a resolution to censure the senator and has endorsed a challenger, former state commissioner Kelly Tshibaka.
- The National Republican Senatorial Committee is still backing Murkowski.
What Is Happening Here?
The former president went an extra mile while cosplaying as president yesterday, announcing that he sent his former acting DNI Ric Grenell to the Kosovo-Serbia border as “my Envoy Ambassador.”
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Holiday Livewire: Appeals Court Gives Trump Relief, Temporarily
A federal appeals court has granted former President Trump’s request to halt the release of documents to the Jan. 6 select committee, but in doing so the court also fast-tracked the appeal, setting oral arguments for later this month.
The National Archives was due to comply with a subpoena from the panel and release an initial batch of documents on Friday. That has now been put on hold.
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