Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), who broke rank alongside 12 of his colleagues to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill last week, decried the politicization of his support for the bill from fellow Republicans.
Continue reading “BIF Supporting GOPer Decries Backlash As Trump Throws A Fit Over Legislation He Failed To Achieve”Trump and His Cornfield Still Haunt the GOP
You’ve probably seen reports that House Republicans are now considering stripping committee assignments from the 13 Republican members who voted for the bipartisan Biden infrastructure bill. It’s the latest DC GOP purity test. In a speech Monday at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner ex-President Trump ripped into the 13 as traitors to the GOP and to him. One of them, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis – the sole Republican from New York City – was there in the crowd appearing “visibly shaken,” according to a source who spoke to The New York Post. It is another reminder that while Republicans have numerous advantages going into 2022, managing the GOP is inherently difficult with ex-President Trump’s ever-changing list of Republicans he wants to wish to the cornfield because they weren’t nice to him.
Continue reading “Trump and His Cornfield Still Haunt the GOP”Hmmmm
Why do so many members of Trump’s inner circle and so many of his 2021/2022 endorsees have histories of spousal abuse, pulling guns on partners or accusations of strangulation?
Senators Call for Federal Investigation Into Liberty University’s Handling of Sexual Assaults. School Promises Independent Probe.
This post first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
Citing possible violations of federal law, three senators, including the two from Virginia, are pressing the U.S. Department of Education to investigate Liberty University’s handling of sexual assault claims.
Liberty’s board also voted Friday to open an “independent and comprehensive review” of the school office tasked with handling discrimination and abuse.
The review and congressional calls for a federal investigation come in the wake of ProPublica’s article last month detailing how Liberty has discouraged and dismissed students who filed reports of sexual assault. Women who went to school officials to report being raped recalled being threatened with punishment for breaking Liberty’s strict code of conduct. Others said that even Liberty University police officers discouraged them from pursuing sexual assault charges.
Like all universities that receive federal funds, the Virginia-based Liberty has to properly handle claims of sexual assault and violations of Title IX, the law banning colleges from discriminating on the basis of gender. Liberty students receive almost $800 million a year in federal aid.
Liberty University has not responded to requests for comment about its conduct or the senators’ call for an investigation.
“Any campus policy that deters or discourages a survivor of sexual assault from speaking out and seeking justice is wrong,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in a statement to ProPublica. “Students who bravely speak out deserve to be heard and to have their claims taken seriously. My office is urging the Department of Education to investigate these claims against Liberty and take appropriate action.”
Kaine introduced legislation two years ago that would require colleges to have an independent advocate available to support survivors of sexual assault.
Virginia’s other senator, Mark Warner, also a Democrat, likewise called on the school to “act immediately to remedy the issues alleged” and asked the Department of Education to “look into Liberty’s procedures.”
Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., also admonished the university for falling short of ensuring students’ rights to a safe campus environment.
A spokesperson for Casey said, “Our staff has been in touch with the Education Department,” after ProPublica’s investigation. “The revelations out of Liberty University are disturbing and must be investigated.”
Liberty’s announcement of an independent investigation follows a rally on the school’s Lynchburg campus last week that called for a comprehensive audit of the school’s culture and its structures around reporting sexual assault.
Advocate Rachael Denhollander, a former gymnast whose testimony helped lead to the conviction of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, spoke at the rally alongside 200 Liberty students and alumni. The rally coincided with an event for Liberty’s board of trustees.
Students and alumni say they are not satisfied with the school’s promise of a review of the office tasked with handling discrimination and abuse, arguing that the review is limited in scope and doesn’t assure transparency throughout the process.
“We requested a culture, structure and policy audit, not just a review of the office,” Dan Harris, an activist and current Liberty student, told ProPublica.
Liberty’s press release following the board meeting noted that school President Jerry Prevo also discussed efforts to increase campus security, including the installation of up to 1,000 security cameras and blue-light emergency boxes across campus.
Meanwhile, Liberty University filed a temporary restraining order against its former chief of communications, Scott Lamb, alleging he violated school confidentiality agreements by releasing internal emails to the media.
The school is suing Lamb for the misuse of “trade secrets.”
Lamb told ProPublica he was fired for raising concerns about the school’s handling of sexual assaults. Lamb, who filed a lawsuit against the school last month, said Liberty has engaged in a “conspiracy of silence.”
Trump’s Circle Is Full Of Men Accused Of Threatening Behavior, Harassment, Violence
The dozens of accusations of sexual assault and harassment levied against Donald Trump over the years are inseparable from his political identity. But Trump has also endorsed several candidates for office who have been accused by those who know them of domestic violence, threatening behavior or sexual harassment.
Continue reading “Trump’s Circle Is Full Of Men Accused Of Threatening Behavior, Harassment, Violence”Trump-Backed Senate Candidate Accused By Wife Of Abuse Ranted About ‘Woman Tyrants’
Note: We won’t have a Morning Memo tomorrow. Happy Veteran’s Day!
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Hey Guess Who Hates Women
Sean Parnell, the Trump-endorsed Pennsylvania Senate candidate whose wife has accused him of strangling her, expressed some decidedly unhinged opinions about women during a Fox Nation interview last year.
- Parnell scoffed at the idea that women could be happy and successful without men. That “nonsense” has “done nothing but raise one generation of woman tyrants after the next,” he complained.
- He bemoaned the end of the time when women had to rely on men, arguing that women used to be attracted to men because men could protect them from dinosaurs (which, uh, went extinct millions of years before humans existed).
- Parnell also complained about seeing women on Instagram posting selfies with “narcissistic” duck faces.
- The year-old interview was surfaced by an oppo research group Tuesday, the same day as a court hearing in a long-running custody dispute between Parnell and his estranged wife, who has accused him of abusing her and their children. Parnell has denied the accusations.
Prosecutors Recommend Prison For QAnon Shaman
“QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley (aka the guy who marched through the Capitol with a spear while wearing fake horns and facepaint on Jan. 6) should go to prison for 51 months, the government argued in a new filing last night.
- Prosecutors called Chansley the “public face” of the Capitol insurrection in their 28-page document.
- In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Chansley pleading guilty in September to felony obstruction of Congress.
Judge Shoots Down Trump’s Executive Privilege Gambit
In a major blow to Trump’s efforts to block the sweeping investigation into his role in the Capitol insurrection, federal judge Tanya Chutkan rejected the ex-president’s claim that the White House documents sought by the House Jan. 6 panel in its subpoena were protected by executive privilege.
- Now the National Archives are required to release the documents by Friday. Chutkan let the committee’s subpoena stand without alterations, so it’ll be all the records the panel requested starting i April 2020.
- Chutkan reminded Trump in her ruling that presidents aren’t kings. She also reminded him that he isn’t president anymore.
- Trump immediately took steps to appeal the ruling.
Stephen Miller Won’t Say If He’ll Comply With Jan. 6 Subpoena
Ex-White House senior adviser Steven Miller was vague about whether he’d cooperate with House Jan. 6 select committee’s subpoena last night:
- The committee had also targeted former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in the same batch of subpoenas yesterday.
A Glimmer Of Hope In Climate Change Fight
Renewable energy in the U.S. from solar and wind nearly quadrupled between 2011 and 2020, according to a new report by the Environment America Research and Policy Center and nonpartisan research organization Frontier Group.
- If the current rate of growth continues, it would put the U.S. on track to reach Biden’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.
- There are at least two big factors in the new numbers, according to the researchers: 1) Renewable energy has become way less expensive and 2) states have steadily enacted more robust policies to expand renewable energy use.
Shocking Tapes! How The NRA Grappled With Columbine Shooting
In the immediate aftermath of the 1999 Columbine high school massacre, the head honchos of the National Rifle Association frantically calculated how to clean up their image, according to tapes of their conference calls published by NPR.
- One leader who recognized the NRA was in “deep shit” floated a $1 million victims fund, but another official rejected the idea out of concern that it would look like the gun group was admitting fault for the shooting.
- That fear was also at the center of their internal debate over whether to move forward with a NRA convention in Denver that was coming up in just a few days–only miles away from the scene of the shooting.
- Both the gun industry and GOP lawmakers were asking the NRA for guidance in the fallout of the shooting, according to the executives.
- The NRA leaders also didn’t seem to think too highly of their group’s more fervent members: Choice words included “nuts,” “fruitcakes,” “wackos,” “hillbillies” and “idiots.”
Talking To Trumpers Who Harassed Election Officials
Reuters got ahold of nine Trump supporters who admitted to trying to terrorize election workers with threatening or hostile phone calls.
- All of them claimed they didn’t do anything wrong, and only two regretted that their messages had scared the officials.
- Seven of them targeted election workers outside their home states.
- One of the harassers was triggered by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s goofy “Cyber Symposium” on election fraud in August. He subsequently sent Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold a Facebook message telling her that he hopes she dies and he knows where she sleeps.
More Than A Dozen Trump Appointees Violated Hatch Act
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) revealed in a newly released report that 13 senior Trump administration officials used their official authority to push for the then-president’s reelection during the 2020 election cycle in violation of the Hatch Act.
- 11 of the officials flouted the law by praising Trump’s campaign or bashing Biden during official interviews or media appearances, according to the OSC:
- White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway
- White House senior adviser Jared Kushner
- White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany
- White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows
- White House senior adviser Stephen Miller
- National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien
- White House communications director Alyssa Farah
- Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short
- White House deputy press secretary Brian Morgenstern
- Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette
- U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman
- Two officials violated the Hatch Act by mixing their official duties with RNC festivities, the OSC found:
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, by taping a speech for the RNC during an official trip to Jerusalem.
- Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, by presiding over a naturalization ceremony for the purpose of creating video content for the convention.
- However, Trump holding the 2020 Republican National Convention at the White House wasn’t a Hatch Act violation, the OSC said, because the president and vice president are exempt from the law and the event was produced by non-federal employees.
WTF Read Of The Day
“Inside the bitter, nasty feud over making daylight saving time permanent” – Politico
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A Big and Necessary Defeat for Trump
The ruling out tonight from US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is a big one. The decision can and certainly will be appealed. Trump actually tried to appeal the decision in advance of it even coming out. But Chutkan’s ruling vindicates the principle – long assumed and all but inevitable in the logic of the constitution and the office of the presidency it creates – that decisions about executive privilege inhere in the office and thus the current occupant of the office. Which is to say, Joe Biden.
As Chutkan puts it succintly: “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.”
Continue reading “A Big and Necessary Defeat for Trump”Judge Shoots Down Trump Attempt To Block Jan. 6 Probe
Former President Trump cannot block the House Jan. 6 Committee from accessing executive branch records created during his administration, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday evening.
Continue reading “Judge Shoots Down Trump Attempt To Block Jan. 6 Probe”‘It’s Got To Stop’: Biden Jabs House GOPers Targeting Colleagues Who Voted For BIF
President Biden on Tuesday slammed House Republicans for reportedly trying to organize an effort to strip the 13 members of their caucus who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill last week of their committee assignments.
Continue reading “‘It’s Got To Stop’: Biden Jabs House GOPers Targeting Colleagues Who Voted For BIF”Where Things Stand: What Might Become An Intra-MAGA Primary Fight Gets Off To A Messy Start
It appears that Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) might be trying to run for attorney general of his home state. “Might be” and “trying” are the key terms here.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: What Might Become An Intra-MAGA Primary Fight Gets Off To A Messy Start”