User Controls
THE MAGA PARTY!,,, the GOP is dead, republicans are going down with the dems,, get ready for THE MAGA PARTY lefty's
-
2021-09-02 at 1:47 AM UTCThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
-
2021-09-02 at 11:45 AM UTCLooks like the evil warmongers are turning against Biden.
-
2021-09-02 at 4:18 PM UTCMake them
All
Go
And testify
Business Insider
A Trump Organization executive that prosecutors have been trying to flip will testify for a grand jury investigation into the company
jshamsian@insider.com (Jacob Shamsian,Erin Snodgrass)
Matthew Calamari Jr. is slated to testify for a grand jury in the Trump Organization investigation.
Manhattan DA prosecutors have sought the cooperation of the company executive.
Prosecutors are still in talks over his father, Trump Organization COO Matthew Calamari.
Matthew Calamari Jr., who serves as the Trump Organization's corporate director of security and is the son of the company's chief operating officer, is expected to testify in front of a grand jury this week as part of the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation into the company's finances.
Calamari Jr. was served a subpoena for his testimony, his attorney told Insider. Prosecutors have long sought the cooperation of Calamari Jr. and his father, Matthew Calamari, who has worked for the Trump Organization for decades. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the subpoena.
"I won't comment on the specifics, but if either of my clients are subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, they have no choice but to do so, and will appear and testify truthfully," Nicholas Gravante, who represents both Calamaris, told Insider. "As I have said repeatedly, they have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide."
Jeffrey McConney, the Trump Organization's controller, is also expected to testify in front of the grand jury this week, according to The Journal.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office has been running an investigation into the Trump Organization's finances since 2019. In July, it brought tax-related charges against the former president's company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. Weisselberg and attorneys for the Trump organization pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Journal reported in August that McConney was an anonymous unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment. McConney had already testified before the July indictments and was responsible for preparing the personal tax returns of the elder Matthew Calamari, according to the Journal.
Grand jury rules will allow Calamari Jr. to receive immunity in the probe for testifying and indicates prosecutors won't bring charges against him.
Prosecutors had reportedly been examining whether Matthew Calamari or Matthew Calamari Jr. didn't pay appropriate taxes on corporate benefits like apartments and cars. Gravante told Insider that he's in ongoing discussions with prosecutors over the elder Calamari's taxes.
"The tax treatment for his apartment and car was 100% justified because both were absolutely necessary for his job," he told Insider in an earlier statement. "I don't see how anyone acting in good faith could possibly charge him with a crime. He worked hand in glove with law enforcement day in and day out, 365 days a year. He's a model citizen." -
2021-09-02 at 6:10 PM UTC
-
2021-09-03 at 5:41 AM UTCThe Boston Globe
QAnon ‘poster boy’ for Capitol riot sent back to jail after violating court order to stay off Internet
Spencer S. Hsu
WASHINGTON — A self-described “poster boy” for the Jan. 6 Capitol riots was sent back to jail Thursday after breaking a federal judge’s orders to stay off the Internet — a lapse his lawyer attributed to his seeming addiction to the QAnon cult.
Douglas Jensen, 42, of Des Moines, became one of the most recognized members of the mob that day when he was recorded on widely shared video pursuing US Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up two flights of stairs inside the Capitol while searching for the just-evacuated Senate chamber, according to prosecutors.
Jensen — wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with a large “Q” and an eagle — came to Washington believing that members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence were going to be arrested for opposing President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, US District Judge Timothy Kelly said at a hearing Thursday.
“He was at the forefront of a mob deep inside the Capitol because he wanted a front row to see what would happen. . . . He wanted to be part of a revolution,” Kelly said, citing Jensen’s own statements.
Kelly said it was a “close call” when he released Jensen from jail July 13. At the time, the judge said he believed the union laborer’s explanations that after serving behind bars since Jan. 8, Jensen now recognized he had been deceived by “a pack of lies.”
Jensen agreed to abide by a judge’s orders imposing conditions for his release, including not accessing the Internet or using Internet-capable devices, including cellphones. The court’s point was to separate Jensen from the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, which the FBI has warned could encourage violence among some believers of its false founding claim that a cabal of Satan-worshipping “global elites” and “deep state” international child sex traffickers were engaged in plots to conduct a coup against Trump.
But two weeks after Jensen’s release, a court supervision officer found him alone in his garage streaming news from a right-wing site to a WiFi-enabled iPhone, according to court filings, and prosecutors moved to revoke bail.
Jensen later admitted he also spent two days watching a “cyber symposium” held by pillow magnate Mike Lindell to perpetuate false claims the 2020 election was hacked.
On Thursday, Jensen’s defense lawyer Christopher Davis said at first glance it might seem “Orwellian” that a man in his garage could be sent back to jail for streaming the news, but Davis conceded that Jensen had violated the judge’s plain orders.
“We know why we’re here. . . . Mr. Jensen knows he shouldn’t have done this,” Davis said.
“I do liken this to an addiction. Why else would anyone incarcerated in D.C. Jail for six months and just released do this? . . . I don’t have a good answer for this. I don’t think he does either,” Davis said.
Jensen has said he followed QAnon for four years, eventually spending most of his waking, nonworking hours pursuing it and becoming a “digital soldier” and “religious” adherent.
Jensen is now “in therapy, but what that is going to do, I don’t know,” Davis said. “I almost liken it to a compulsion. It just doesn’t add up. This is an intelligent man. I know this — he is not a bumbling idiot, in any sense of the word. He understands.”
Assistant US Attorney Mira Havill argued that Jensen claimed both that he felt deceived by QAnon, and that he remains captivated by it, saying, “He can’t have it both ways.”
“There are no additional conditions this court could impose to ensure that Mr. Jensen does not return to the habits that led him to the Capitol, resist police throughout the day and led him to jail” once before, Havill said.
Kelly said he found “clear and convincing evidence” that Jensen barely hesitated before violating court orders and was unlikely to abide by them in the future.
Kelly remanded Jensen to the custody of the US Marshal Service at the federal courthouse in Des Moines, and set a Sept. 24 hearing to assess the status of plea talks.
The QAnon conspiracy theory played a role in Jensen’s alleged, violent, and very serious conduct, the judge said, and “played a major role in a very, very serious event.” Jensen claimed he had experienced “a wake-up call that had ended his victimization,” but that appears not to have been completed, Kelly said.
Jensen has pleaded not guilty to a seven-count indictment that includes three felony charges: rioting, assaulting police, and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The FBI in a threat assessment dated June 4 this year noted the arrests of more than 20 self-identified QAnon adherents in the storming of the Capitol. The assessment said their presence underscored how the current environment “likely will continue to act as a catalyst for some to begin accepting the legitimacy of violent action.”
The FBI assessed that some domestic violent extremist adherents of QAnon likely will begin to believe they have an obligation to shift “towards engaging in real-world violence,” even as others disengage from the de-platformed movement.
Separately Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Federal Defender’s Office of Washington to appear next Thursday as possible “advisory counsel” for one of 17 Jan. 6 defendants represented by lawyer John Pierce, who has been reportedly hospitalized for nearly two weeks without explanation to judges or prosecutors. -
2021-09-03 at 2:31 PM UTC
Originally posted by stl1 WASHINGTON — A self-described “poster boy” for the Jan. 6 Capitol riots was sent back to jail Thursday after breaking a federal judge’s orders to stay off the Internet — a lapse his lawyer attributed to his seeming addiction to the QAnon cult.
How would you cope if you couldn't go on the internet? -
2021-09-03 at 2:32 PM UTCThe author of this post has returned to nothingness
-
2021-09-03 at 4:49 PM UTCCan we please just...
Make it
All just
Go
Away?
Rolling Stone
GOP Goes All Out to Avoid Accountability for Jan. 6 Insurrection
Peter Wade
Republicans are doing everything they can to thwart Congress’ inquiry into the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol, including by threatening to purge their party of members who participate in the select committee tasked with that investigation.
Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who has repeatedly spread Trump’s election lies, plans to send a letter Thursday to Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) asking him to boot from the Republican conference the two GOP members sitting on the select committee: Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Mich.). Biggs referred to the two Republicans — who have also vocally opposed former president Trump — as “two spies for the Democrats that we currently invite to [party] meetings, despite our inability to trust them.”
“We urge you to allow consideration of a proposed change to the rules for the Republican Conference regarding committee membership,” Biggs wrote in the letter. “This proposal is not because of a policy or political difference, but because some members have chosen to work with the Democrats to investigate and potentially remove Republican members from the House.”
Also this week, McCarthy issued a threat to communications companies that comply with the select committee’s investigation into the Capitol attack, warning that the GOP “will not forget” what these companies did, should Republicans regain control of the House. In a statement, McCarthy said that “attempts to strong-arm private companies to turn over individuals’ private data would put every American with a phone or computer in the crosshairs of a surveillance state run by Democrat politicians.”
McCarthy’s threat was in response to a request the committee sent Monday to tech and social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft and Signal and telecom companies such as Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T, asking them to hold onto “metadata, subscriber information, technical usage information, and content of communications for the listed individuals.”
If these companies comply, McCarthy warned, they may be in violation of federal law (although, McCarthy did not specify which laws) and “are subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States.”
In a statement on Twitter, the select committee responded to McCarthy, saying that it has only “asked companies not to destroy records that may help answer questions for the American people.” The statement continued, “The committee’s efforts won’t be deterred by those who want to whitewash or cover up the events of January 6th, or obstruct our investigation.”
According to former Obama ethics chief Norman Eisen and attorney Fred Wertheimer, who wrote an op-ed in Politico, McCarthy’s remarks may violate both House Rules and “may… run afoul of federal criminal law” against obstructing inquiries by Congress.
Undeterred by obstructionism from a number of Republicans, on Thursday, Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) announced that Cheney would serve as vice-chair of the investigative committee, a move that is certain to further anger members of her party.
“We are fortunate to have a partner of such strength and courage, and I look forward to continuing our work together as we uncover the facts, tell the American people the full story of January 6th, and ensure that nothing like that day ever happens again,” Thompson said of Cheney.
Cheney issued a statement of her own, saying, “We owe it to the American people to investigate everything that led up to, and transpired on, January 6th. We will not be deterred by threats or attempted obstruction and we will not rest until our task is complete.”
The Republican obstruction is a logical extension of the Deal with the Donald that the party’s elected officials made after he won the primary election in 2016. Trump was a pathway to power — the power to appoint conservative justices and enact a pro-corporate and anti-worker legislative agenda. The party leaders looked the other way on his bigotry and xenophobia and incompetence, and they dismissed legitimate concerns over his embrace of authoritarianism as “alarmism.”
It was a deal from which there was no going back, and Republicans were intractably the party of Trump long before he incited a mob to attack the Capitol in January. They know that Trump is responsible and they know they’re complicit as well, and so they’re fighting the investigation at every turn, falsely claiming it’s a partisan exercise and hoping like hell that Americans fall for the ruse. -
2021-09-03 at 4:58 PM UTCThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
-
2021-09-03 at 10:29 PM UTCtreason seems to be the word of the day
-
2021-09-03 at 10:34 PM UTCI'd be pissed off at stl1 if I didn't have a logitech fast scroll mouse.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
-
2021-09-03 at 11:48 PM UTCsilly MAGATS
Tricks are for dicks -
2021-09-04 at 12:52 AM UTC
-
2021-09-04 at 9:53 AM UTC
This is still one of the funniest pics of all time. -
2021-09-04 at 2:51 PM UTCMake it
All
Go
Away (or we'll shut you down)
The Hill
Watchdog group seeks ethics probe over McCarthy's Jan. 6 comments
Rebecca Beitsch
A public interest group is calling for an ethics investigation into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after he told communications companies that the GOP "will not forget" if they turn phone and email records over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) argues that both McCarthy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) violated House rules by threatening to retaliate against companies that comply with legal requests.
The House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol sent letters to 35 tech and communications firms Monday asking for a trove of documents, including for personal communications of those involved with the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6 - a group likely to include lawmakers.
"If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States," McCarthy wrote.
"If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget and will stand with Americans to hold them fully accountable under the law," he said.
McCarthy did not cite which law prohibits telecommunications companies from complying with the committee's request.
Rep. Swalwell: McCarthy wants to ‘bury the evidence’ of GOP's involvement on 1/6
While communications companies often seek to alert those whose records will be turned over, it's not clear if complying with the request would violate the law given Congress's investigative authority.
"House rules require members to uphold the laws of the United States and to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the House. The threats of Reps. McCarthy and Greene do neither. Threatening retaliation for complying with legally valid document demands and preservation requests appears to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1505, which prohibits obstructing congressional investigations, and does not reflect creditably on the House," CREW President Noah Bookbinder wrote in a complaint filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Like McCarthy, Greene told Fox News this week that companies would face ramifications for compliance with the requests.
"If these telecommunications companies, if they go along with this, they will be shut down. And that's a promise," she told Fox's Tucker Carlson on Tuesday.
Greene's records have reportedly been requested by the committee, according to CNN. The news outlet also found the committee would seek the phone records of GOP Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Madison Cawthorn (N.C.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Jody Hice (Ga.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio), whom Republicans once tapped to serve on the committee.
Following McCarthy's comment, the committee said it would not be deterred in its work.
"The Select Committee is investigating the violent attack on the Capitol and attempt to overturn the results of last year's election," a committee spokesperson said Tuesday.
"We've asked companies not to destroy records that may help answer questions for the American people. The committee's efforts won't be deterred by those who want to whitewash or cover up the events of January 6th, or obstruct our investigation."
The Office of Congressional Ethics declined to comment while representatives for McCarthy and Greene did not immediately respond to The Hill. -
2021-09-04 at 2:52 PM UTC
-
2021-09-04 at 2:54 PM UTC
-
2021-09-04 at 6:39 PM UTC
-
2021-09-06 at 3:05 AM UTC
-
2021-09-06 at 5:08 AM UTCThe only thing Trump won was one of the very worst rankings ever for a United States President.
Business Insider
Historians rank Trump among worst presidents in US history, new C-SPAN survey shows
insider@insider.com (John Haltiwanger)
Historians ranked Trump lower than any president in the past 150 years in a new C-SPAN survey.
Trump landed at No. 41 out of 44 presidents.
Barack Obama came in 10th, while Abraham Lincoln sat in the top spot.
Former President Donald Trump, a former reality-TV star who's famously obsessed with ratings, is unlikely to appreciate C-SPAN's new survey of presidential leadership. Historians who participated in the survey ranked Trump among the worst US presidents.
Out of 44 presidents reviewed for the survey by 142 historians and professional observers of the presidency, Trump landed at 41st, the lowest ranking of any president in the past 150 years. The only presidents who ranked lower than Trump were Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan.
William Henry Harrison, who died 32 days into his presidency and had the shortest tenure of any commander in chief, ranked just above Trump.
This was the first time Trump was ranked in C-SPAN's survey, the fourth in a series. Since 2000, C-SPAN has surveyed historians at every change in a presidential administration.
C-SPAN said there was a 50% increase in the number of historians and professional observers who participated from 2017, adding diversity in race, gender, age, and philosophy.
Of the 10 characteristics of leadership the presidents were graded on, Trump's highest ratings were in "public persuasion" and "economic management." His lowest marks were in "moral authority" and "administrative skills," for which Trump received the worst ratings of any US president.
Trump is one of the few single-term presidents and the only president to be impeached twice. Months after leaving office, Trump has still not acknowledged that Joe Biden defeated him fairly. His lies about the election helped provoke the fatal insurrection at the Capitol on January 6 and have fueled divisions in the US while raising fears among scholars about the future of American democracy.
Other recent presidents' rankings in the C-SPAN survey changed from 2017. Barack Obama, for example, rose to 10th from 12th; he fell just behind Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. George W. Bush moved up to 29th after landing in the 33rd spot in 2017.
Abraham Lincoln snagged the top spot, followed by George Washington.
