Dark Day
You have likely seen the news by now, but a quick recap of today’s dark events: a group of Democratic lawmakers who have served in the military or in national security posted a video on Facebook Tuesday morning calling on members of the military to “stand up” for the nation’s laws and the Constitution. They outlined the ways in which the Trump administration has been weaponizing the military against American civilians in recent months and reminded service members that “you can refuse illegal orders.”
Trump, of course, had an entirely diabolical reaction to the video, which featured Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Jason Crow (D-CO). The president repeatedly posted on Truth Social, calling for the veteran lawmakers to be arrested and suggesting they should be put to death. He also reposted other Truth Social users who said they should be hanged.
The death threats were clear and explicit.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand,” Trump said in the Truth Social post. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he continued.
It is an escalation of his retribution vows to investigate and punish his political foes by orders of magnitude. And Democratic members of Congress are taking the threats seriously. The same cannot be said of Republican leadership, which we will get into more below.
In a joint statement, House Democratic leadership condemned Trump’s death threats and announced that leadership has been in contact with law enforcement about protecting those who were singled out by Trump. Here’s the statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA):
Representatives Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan and Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin all served our country with tremendous patriotism and distinction. We unequivocally condemn Donald Trump’s disgusting and dangerous death threats against Members of Congress and call on House Republicans to forcefully do the same.
Donald Trump incited a violent attack on the Capitol on January 6th as part of a treacherous attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The President’s violent and unhinged rhetoric against American patriots is consistent with his well-documented history of attacking prisoners of war, Gold Star families and war heroes. There is no bottom when it comes to Donald Trump.
We have been in contact with the House Sergeant at Arms and the United States Capitol Police to ensure the safety of these Members and their families. Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed.
The lawmakers who were singled out by Trump also put out a joint statement, doubling down on their initial message and saying, “No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation.” Slotkin also released a video.
“I would hope that people of all backgrounds, Democrat, Republican, Independent, would agree that threatening death for people you disagree with is beyond the pale for who we are as Americans,” she said.
— Nicole LaFond
Republicans Are … Not Too Worried About Trump’s Death Threats
Congressional GOP leadership and some rank-and-file Republicans largely dodged questions all day when asked about Trump’s social media posts calling for a group of congressional Democrats to be hanged.
When asked about Trump’s posts, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) tried to deflect and point the finger at Democrats who said troops can refuse to follow “illegal orders.”
“That was wildly inappropriate,” Johnson said on Thursday. “It is very dangerous. You have leading members of Congress telling troops to disobey orders. I think that’s unprecedented in American history … I know young soldiers, airmen, sailors — they don’t need that kind of nonsense from people in Congress.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also tried to deflect.
“What those folks did was ill-advised, unnecessary and clearly provocative,” Thune said. “But I certainly don’t agree with the president’s conclusion on how we ought to handle it.”
Meanwhile Sen. John Kennedy completely dodged the question.
“I don’t have anything for you,” Kennedy said when asked about Trump’s posts, according to the Independent.
— Emine Yücel
GOP Sens Warn Bondi to Act Fast
Two Republican senators are urging the Justice Department to act quickly in releasing the files it has on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested on child sex trafficking charges before he died of suicide in prison in 2019. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters there would be backlash if Attorney General Pam Bondi drags her feet.
“You can adjust for whatever investigations are going on, but if you do a blanket hold, I think that they’re going to have a lot of people angry,” Tillis said. “I think they would do well to figure how to release as much as possible and then have a very well-articulated reason for that which they can’t. … It would add fuel to the fire if they don’t produce something meaningful.”
— Nicole LaFond
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The latest on the Abrego Garcia case from David Kurtz: Trump DOJ Defies Another Court Order in Abrego Garcia Case
Update on the Trump’s admin’s botched case against protesters in Chicago: Trump Admin Retreats From ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Cases Against Chicago Protestors
Morning Memo: Will Emil Bove Have to Testify in AEA Contempt Of Court Inquiry?
Josh Kovensky: Trump Admin Terrorist Designations Show Latest Attempt to Target Domestic Enemies
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Anyone who watched the video of the Democrats and was offended is a fascist.
Mike, you’re a fascist.
Edit: cat
Draft dodger and unrepentant criminal DJT is guilty of multiple high crimes and misdemeanors. We know what needs to be done.
Has he reached rock bottom now?
No. We’re not even to act five yet, but Birnam Wood is looking ominous and dark.
Mike Johnson: “That was wildly inappropriate,” Johnson said on Thursday. “It is very dangerous. You have leading members of Congress telling troops to disobey orders.”
Karoline Leavitt: “If this were Republican members of Congress who were encouraging members of the military and members of our United States government to defy orders from the president and from the chain of command, this entire room would be up in arms.”
Er, Mr Speaker? Madam Spokeswoman? I think you left out a word.
It’s the difference between saying, “Russia has not launched a nuke at the US,” and “Russia has launched a nuke against the US.” Sometimes just one little word makes all the difference!
Johnson and Leavitt are actively trying to erase in the public mind the difference between what’s legal and what’s illegal. In that they are joining Trump in encouraging violence against Democratic members of congress.