1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Louie Gohmert's involvement in Jan. 6 riot and his pressure campaign on Pence has gone largely overlooked so far



Rep. Louie Gohmert's role in the Jan. 6 insurrection has gone largely overlooked by the public and investigators.

The Texas Republican filed a lawsuit Dec. 27 against then-vice president Mike Pence, who he argued should exert unilateral control over the electoral certification, and then went onto right-wing media to seemingly encourage violence to contest Donald Trump's election loss after a district court rejected his challenge, reported Politico.

"In effect, the ruling would be that you’ve got to go to the streets and be as violent as antifa and BLM,“ Gohmert said on Newsmax on Jan. 1, five days before the violent U.S. Capitol riot.

Pence allies have long suspected the twice-impeached one-term president was involved in Gohmert's pressure campaign, which was backed by lawyers associated with conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell, but it's unclear whether the House select committee is examining the Texas lawmaker's role in the insurrection, but at least one panelist agrees it played an important role in the violence on Jan. 6.

“It’s a significant detail in that it was part of a plan to isolate and coerce Pence,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).

Gohmert hoped to force Pence to ignore a 130-year-old law governing the certification of presidential elections, but the former vice president ultimately decided he did not have that authority to throw out election results -- and Pence allies say Trump was furious that the Justice Department intervened to defend him as the suit was swiftly rejected by federal district and appellate courts in Texas.

The GOP lawmaker did not respond to two emails sent by Politico asking about the lawsuit.

Gohmert has previous denied reports that he was among “multiple members of Congress [who] were intimately involved in planning both (former President Donald) Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss and the Jan. 6 events that turned violent.”

https://www.rawstory.com/louie-gohmert-jan-6/

[Rick Plant]

'Don’t worry about money': New charges show extensive coordination between extremist groups before Jan. 6



The arrests of two members of the Patriot Boys militia in northern Texas earlier this week raises new questions about outside funding to pay for tactical gear and travel to Washington, DC on Jan. 6, 2021, and broader coordination among the various groups that led the assault on the US Capitol.

According to the charging document for the two men, Lucas Denney, a US Army veteran and president of the Patriot Boys, recruited Donald Hazard to go to DC on Jan. 6 in a text on Christmas Day in 2020, simultaneously appointing him to serve as “sergeant at arms” for the militia.

“Hey, if your trip is paid for, can you go to DC?” Denney asked Hazard. “Don’t worry about money. Just get the days off if you can.”

The following day, Denney allegedly texted Hazard again, reporting: “Have plenty of money now. I just got a 1 thousand dollar donation from just one person for the trip. I have more donations coming in to [sic].” Denney then asked Hazard if he knew “any other guys that can go that’s like us and will fight, we could use them. And it will be paid for.”

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on who may have contributed funding to Denney to finance the Patriot Boys’ travel to DC.

READ: #PoleTosser rioter flagrantly taunts FBI, poses with GOPers and 'patrols' the border with his pals

The charging document also cites statements by Denney as early as Christmas day that indicate he was communicating with other right-wing paramilitary leaders, including chapter leaders of the Proud Boys, about plans for Jan. 6.

To date, 17 members of the Oath Keepers have been charged with conspiracy to stop, delay or hinder Congress’ certification of the electoral vote. Four different sets of Proud Boys have also been charged with conspiracy to stop, delay or hinder the electoral vote certification, and members of all but one of those sets also face charges of conspiracy to obstruct and interfere with law enforcement officers engaged in their official duties to protect the Capitol. Five men in the California Patriots-DC Brigade and three men in the Patriots 45 MAGA Gang have also been charged in separate conspiracy cases.

All of the defendants in those cases are accused only of conspiring with other members and affiliates of their particular groups. No cases have been brought so far that allege a wider conspiracy involving the multiple groups or unaffiliated individuals involved in the insurrection. But statements by Denney bolster the view that the insurrection involved coordination among the various groups.

“We will need linking up with Proud Boys though,” Denney allegedly told Hazard in a Dec. 25. “I’ve been in contact with a few different chapters and they’re helping us out with safe hotels to get.

“We’ll all be staying in the same hotels that they are,” Denney added.

In a Dec. 31 Facebook message to an unidentified individual, Denney reportedly said: “A lot of the presidents and commanders of militias like myself are meeting on the 5th to organize and plan.” In another message sent at 2:09 a.m. that day, Denney wrote: “I’m still up chatting with all my brothers that are going to DC. All the presidents have been so busy organizing, planning and talking lol.”

Court documents that are publicly available do not indicate whether the Jan. 5 meeting actually took place.

The FBI declined to comment on whether the government plans to bring additional conspiracy charges that outline broader coordination among the various groups and unaffiliated individuals that were involved in the insurrection.

The recent arrests of two other men charged with assaulting law enforcement also point to the Proud Boys as a hub of broader organization for the Jan. 6 attack. The government alleges that Ethan Nordean, a Proud Boys leader in Seattle, texted Ronald Loehrke, a Marine Corps veteran whose name was saved as “Ron (Lisa’s friend)” in Nordean’s phone, and asked if he was coming to DC. Loehrke reportedly confirmed to Nordean that he was planning to make the trip. The government alleges that phone records show Loehrke was in contact with co-defendant James Haffner during the same time period.

Both Denney and Nordean used the term “front line” to describe where they expected fighters to be positioned in DC on Jan. 6, according to charging documents.

“I’m so pumped, brother,” Denney reportedly said in a Jan. 1 Facebook comment. “I can’t wait to be in the middle of it on the front line on the 6th.”

And according to the charging document for Ronald Loehrke and James Haffner, Nordean texted Loehrke on Dec. 27 to tell him he wanted him “on the front line” with him. Loehrke reportedly responded by saying, “Sounds good,” adding that he planned to bring three “Bad mother f*ckers” with him.

True to his word, Denney fought law enforcement on the west plaza of the Capitol. According to the government, he “grabbed and shoved a police officer,” attempted to grab a canister of crowd-control spray from another officer before swinging a long metal pole at him, and then launched a large tube toward a line of officers.

Later, according to the government, Denney relocated to the Lower West Terrace and joined a crowd of rioters in the tunnel, where they pushed a riot shield into and on top of a line of Metropolitan police officers. When Officer Michael Fanone was pulled into the crowd and down the steps about three minutes later, the government alleges that Denney swung his arm and fist at Fanone, grabbed him and pulled him further down the stairs.

Like Denney, Hazard is also accused of assaulting law enforcement at the Capitol.

Denney and Hazard were arrested earlier this week, and are being held in detention. A detention hearing for Hazard is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. in federal court in Fort Worth.

Similarly, the government alleges that Loehrke and Haffner positioned themselves near the front of a line of US Capitol police officers assembled in riot gear on the west plaza.

Loehrke reportedly admonished the other rioters for allowing themselves to be stopped by 25 officers. “Don’t back down, patriots!” he said. “The whole f*cking world is watching. Stand the f*ck up today!”

Multiple statements in the 42-page charging documents outlining Denney and Hazard’s alleged offenses indicate that funds donated to Patriot Boys were used to pay for tactical equipment, along with travel and lodging.

“I want to pick you up and take you to get a helmet and pick up some other gear,” Denney reportedly said to Hazard in a text on Dec. 30. Later, Denney told Hazard that he had “picked us each up a bottle of police grade pepper spray from the Fort Worth Police store…. I’ll have you a vest, too.”

And Denney reportedly thanked another unidentified individual for donating and said, “If you know anyone else that can donate, let them know about us. I still need more protective gear for some more of my guys and other supplies before we leave Sunday.”

It is unclear whether anyone else traveled to DC with Denney and Hazard, but in a Dec. 30 text message to Hazard, Denney is said to have reported that “we have 3 guys so far.” In a Facebook message to an unidentified individual on the same day, Denney reportedly said, “I have 5 of my guys going but I’m linking up with over 300 in DC.” In another message, Denney mentioned that “two of the guys” still needed helmets, vests and medical equipment.

Beyond outside funding, coordination with the Proud Boys and other “militia” groups, the Denney-Hazard charging document indicates that Denney had foreknowledge that something significant was going to happen at the Capitol on Jan. 6. In a Facebook message to an unidentified individual on Dec. 29, Denney reported; “Got the room booked and plans to meet with about 1 thousand other guys that we are all in a Intel chatroom together.”

On Dec. 30, Denney reportedly shared two similar digital posters on Facebook, each with the hashtage #OccupyCongress, along with the date of Jan. 6, 2021. One read, “Stand up! Get Loud!” It specified the time to be at the Capitol as “noon.” Rioters initially breached the entrance of the Pennsylvania Avenue Walkway leading onto the Capitol grounds at 12:50 p.m., while President Trump was still speaking at the Ellipse.

The other #OccupyCongress poster shared by Denney included the text, “If they won’t hear us, they will fear us. Election fraud is the reason.”

According to the charging document, Denney told an unidentified individual on Facebook: “Trump is calling this rally himself. It’s the day that Congress is going to try and certify the electoral college. But Pence can deny the ones coming from the states where the fraud took place. So, we are thinking Trump wants us there to keep the area from being burned down by antifa thugs when they get mad…. Biden ain’t getting into office.”

Denney’s statement about the purpose of going to DC echoed a comment made by Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes on Christmas day in a Signal thread for Florida members of the militia group.

“I think Congress will screw [Trump over],” Rhodes reportedly said in the “OKFL Hangout” thread. “The only change [sic] we/he has is if we scare the spombleprofglidnoctobuns out of them and convince them it will be torches and pitchforks time is [sic] they don’t do the right thing. But I don’t think they will listen.”

In his text exchange with Hazard on Christmas day, Denney promised, “So, the 6th is going to be bigger than the last rally. I can’t tell you everything I know over media here but it’s gonna be big. Millions and millions will be there, I can tell you that.”

To an unidentified individual on Facebook, Denney messaged on Jan. 5: “Things are going to be happening here. Trump is going to be speaking to everyone Wed before everyone marches to the capital. Rumour has it that he may march with us. I’ll tell you more when you get here on where to be and what time so you have the best seats.”

Steve Bannon, the former White House strategist and the CEO of Trump’s 2016 campaign, reportedly made a similar statement to his podcast listeners on Jan. 5.

“All hell will break loose tomorrow,” Bannon said. “It will be quite extraordinarily different. All I can say is, strap in. Tomorrow is game day. So many people said, ‘Man, if I was in a revolution I would be in Washington.’ Well, this is your time in history.”

In the early morning hours of Jan. 6, Denney relayed the message to a friend on Facebook.

“Trump speaking to us around 11am; then we march to the capital and after that we have special plan that I can’t say right now over Facebook,” Denney wrote. “But keep an eye out for live feed tomorrow from me. Tomorrow will be historic.”

https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-riot-coordination/

[Rick Plant]

Author of Trump coup PowerPoint presentation hit with Jan. 6th Committee subpoena



The man who wrote the infamous PowerPoint presentation outlining how former President Donald Trump could stay in power despite losing the 2020 election by declaring a "national emergency" has just been subpoenaed by the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riots.

The committee announced on Thursday that it had subpoenaed Phil Waldron, whose now-infamous PowerPoint presentation was given to the committee by former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.

"The document he reportedly provided to Administration officials and Members of Congress is an alarming blueprint for overturning a nationwide election," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS). "The Select Committee needs to hear from him about all these activities. We expect him to comply with the law and provide records and testimony as the Select Committee continues its work to get answers for the American people about January 6th."

Waldron's PowerPoint contained multiple false claims about the Chinese government completely infiltrating America's voting machines, and also recommended declaring all voting done through voting machines to be invalid.

"The electronic voting machines are shifting votes from Trump to Biden," the presentation wrote in justifying tossing out all votes cast electronically. "The election fraud perpetrated used the major brands of machines Dominion and ES&S."

https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-riot-committee-subpoenas-2656056201/

[Rick Plant]

How the January 6 committee finally exposed Trump's empire of lies

If politics still turned on truth and facts, this would be the week when the lie-filled foundations of Donald Trump's movement imploded, destroying his apparent dream of a return to power after the 2024 election.

But it is the ex-President's greatest, most subversive victory that his empire of falsehoods will surely survive new disclosures that lay bare his own abuses of power and the voter-mocking deceit of his political and media enablers.
While there has already been a steady accumulation of shocking evidence of Trump's coup attempt on January 6 and the emptiness of his election fraud claims, recent days put the saga into a horrifying new light. They brought the clearest indicators yet that the entire Make America Great Again infrastructure and Trump's potential next White House campaign rest on hogwash and the whitewashing of history.

The House select committee probing the January 6 insurrection has released fresh details of the elaborate behind-the-scenes plot to subvert the certification of President Joe Biden's election. There's embarrassing new evidence of how conservative media stars were privately alarmed by the attack by Trump's mob but quickly reverted to amplifying his lies to millions of Americans they willfully deceived. And a major new Associated Press survey of 2020 swing states contested by Trump found cases of voter fraud were sparse and far from the nationwide conspiracy he claims. There are separate reports that three Florida residents were recently arrested and charged with election fraud -- two of whom were registered Republicans.

This week will be remembered for Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the vice chair of the House committee, bringing receipts that exposed the hypocrisy of Trump's extended orbit.

Texts from Republican lawmakers, Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News prime-time anchors to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows show that they knew the attack on the Capitol was a disaster and wanted it to stop.
Yet those same conservative heroes are part of a political media operation that spent the last 11 months obscuring what really happened, in many cases denying the truth of Biden's election win and fueling lies about voter fraud that are feeding anti-democratic extremism. All to preserve a meal ticket named Trump.

In another development fraught with chilling implications, the committee revealed that Meadows wrote in an email that the National Guard would be present to "protect pro Trump people" on January 6. It was the latest example of a habit of weaponizing sacred American institutions for Trump's political gain.

The former President, meanwhile, encapsulated perverted political values that now rule much of the Republican Party and will likely produce its next presidential nominee. He recently declared that former Vice President Mike Pence had been "mortally wounded" because he had refused to steal the election during his ceremonial role in certifying Biden's victory. The ex-President was giving voice to a GOP incentive system that now rewards coup attempts and despotic behavior over honoring the Constitution.

The scale of the evidence coming to light this week is remarkable. But daily bombshells about what happened on January 6 often have the effect of diminishing the shock value of Trump-related outrages. And voters have pressing concerns like the rising cost of living and a pandemic that will shortly drag into a third year. Yet this week's developments are important not just because they chart the staggering breadth of Trump's election conspiracy. They are also exposing the lies on which his future political prospects are built -- and on which multiple Republican-run states have passed laws that make it harder to vote and easier to steal future elections.

Trump's biggest confidence trick

There has always been an aura of a con man about Trump, from his days as a bankruptcy-plagued real estate chancer who adopted a persona as the master of the art of the deal. His presidency opened with false claims about the size of his inauguration crowd that in retrospect augured an administration constructed on untruths -- or what his former senior aide Kellyanne Conway once dubbed "alternative facts."

It is now clear that his big lie that "frankly, we did win this election" is the most audacious and damaging confidence trick of his career.

A few Trump supporters are seeing the light, including Dustin Stockton, one of the organizers of the January 6 rally that preceded the insurrection, who found himself subpoenaed by the House committee -- and lacks the means to wage a legal battle like Trump's wealthy political guru Steve Bannon.

"Essentially, he abandons people when the going gets tough for people. And, you know, in some ways, it's embarrassing to think that in a lot of ways, we bought into what essentially turned out to be a bluff or a con," Stockton told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday.

Yet Stockton is an outlier. Trump's popularity among Republican voters makes him the preemptive favorite for the GOP's 2024 nomination. He has the power to shape the political careers of those willing to accept his extremism -- as his raft of endorsements of midterm election candidates, nationally and in the states, shows. The Trump story, meanwhile, makes millions for conservative media outlets and stars -- giving them an incentive to promote a false alternative reality that has won over legions of viewers.

The mendacity of the conservative media propaganda machine was exposed by Cheney's reading aloud of texts sent to Meadows by several Fox News powerhouses, including Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity, pleading with Meadows to get Trump to intervene on January 6.

"Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home," Ingraham texted. "This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy." Hannity asked the-then chief of staff whether Trump could make a statement that would tell the people at the Capitol to leave.

Both anchors later condemned the violence on January 6. But they have been among Fox News personalities who attack the investigation as a political vendetta against Trump rather than a probe into one of the worst assaults on democracy in American political history. And television disinformation is only a small part of the problem; social media networks teem with falsehoods about the election and boost Trump's lies in what is almost a fact-free zone.

Trump's Orwellian method

Trump's enablers have reacted to the disclosures of recent days by adopting the signature move of their leader -- spinning a false reality to excuse his behavior and mislead his supporters about what really happened.

Meadows, for instance, appeared on Hannity's show on Monday and concocted a story that contradicts reports that the former President had cooled his heels and watched on TV as his rioting supporters marauded through the Capitol.

"At the end of the day, they're going to find that not only did the President act, but he acted quickly," Meadows said. The former chief of staff has since been cited for criminal contempt by the House for refusing a subpoena to testify to the committee. His tactic was familiar from previous Trump scandals, as he pivoted away from the truth to create a more palatable tale for Trump supporters that absolved the ex-President of culpability.

The approach recalled Trump's own when his pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky to open an investigation into then-candidate Biden and his son Hunter came out. The ex-President simply insisted that their call was "perfect," even though a White House transcript showed repeated abuses of power as he used military aid as a carrot -- a transgression that led to his first impeachment.

This Trump gambit -- also used by conservative news outlets every day -- recalls the party's reality-defying "War is Peace" slogan in George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four." Trump explained his method in a less literal way in 2018 when instructing followers to distrust their own eyes and non-partisan media and to believe only him. "What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening," he said.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/16/politics/donald-trump-january-6-committee-republicans-fox-news/index.html

[Rick Plant]

Cop-assaulting MAGA rioter gets longest January 6th prison sentence yet



Robert Scott Palmer, a Florida man who assaulted Capitol Police during the January 6 Capitol attack, got slapped with a five-year prison sentence on Friday, the longest sentence handed out yet in cases related to the deadly Trump-incited riots.

NBC News reports that the 54-year-old Palmer was sentenced to 63 months in prison for assaulting multiple officers during the January 6th riots.

"Prosecutors said he threw a wooden plank the police, then picked up a fire extinguisher and sprayed its contents at a line of officers, throwing the canister at them after it was empty," writes NBC News. "A few minutes later, prosecutors said, he picked up the fire extinguisher and threw it at them a second time and assaulted another group of officers with a metal pole, throwing it like a spear."

Palmer earlier this week made a bid for leniency when he expressed regret for his actions and blamed former President Donald Trump for lying to his supporters about a "stolen" election.

"[We] were lied to by... the sitting president, as well as those acting on his behalf," Palmer wrote.

Nonetheless, that didn't stop U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan from coming down hard on him in her ruling.

"It has to be made clear that trying to violently overthrow the government, trying to stop the peaceful transition of power, and assaulting law enforcement officers in that effort is going to be met with absolutely certain punishment," she said Friday.

https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-rioter-sentence-2656063330/

[Rick Plant]

Good! Should have gotten a longer sentence.

Proud Boys supporter who vowed Dem senator would be 'swinging with the fish' gets 3 years in prison



On Friday, BuzzFeed News reported that a Proud Boys supporter who issued violent threats against elected officials including Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) has been sentenced to 33 months in prison.

"Eduard Florea used the social media app Parler to issue the threats against elected officials, trying to gather others to join him before the Jan. 6 insurrection, when a mob of supporters of then-president Donald Trump stormed the Capitol," reported Salvador Hernandez.

The report cited a social media post dated January 5th in which Florea said "'Warnock is going to have a hard time casting votes for communist policies when he's swinging with the f***ing fish... It's time to unleash some violence."

Florea ultimately did not travel to the Capitol himself on January 6, but pleaded guilty in August to transmitting threats. He was also convicted of illegally possessing ammunition, having been banned from doing so after a 2013 felony conviction.

"At a court hearing following his arrest, a prosecutor said Florea had told the FBI he'd applied to join the white nationalist group Proud Boys, the New York Times reported," Hernandez wrote. "He posted online using an account with the handle LoneWolfWar to issue the threatening messages."

The Proud Boys, a self-described "Western Chauvinist" group known for their violent street brawls, have been heavily implicated in the Capitol attack, with members involved at the incident. They have been subpoenaed for information by the House committee investigating the attack, along with the far-right paramilitary group the Oath Keepers.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/proud-boy-threats-sentencing-florea


Jan. 6 investigators eye role of 'foreign adversaries' in Capitol insurrection

A House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection may soon hire new staff members to examine the possible role of foreign adversaries in former president Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The committee, which already has about 40 staff members, is also considering whether to hire additional investigators to help analyze "the vast amount of information that Mr. Trump’s supporters posted on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Parler and YouTube in the weeks before and after the attack," the New York Times reported Friday.

"These digital footprints could help congressional investigators connect players and events, or bring to light details that witnesses might not know or remember," the NYT reported.

In addition to further scrutinizing the social media information, the committee reportedly wants "to understand whether foreign governments were able to exploit and deepen social divisions created by Mr. Trump’s refusal to concede his election loss."

"Foreign adversaries have long tried to damage America’s national security interests by exacerbating social unrest and polarization," the newspaper reported. "The committee has also discussed examining whether foreign adversaries had any other connections to the assault on Congress, according to a person briefed on that part of the inquiry."

Read the full story:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/us/politics/january-6-committee-capitol-riot.html


Trump's coup accomplices have been exposed -- and they're sitting in Congress



Around this time one year ago, Donald Trump was leaning heavily on the Justice Department (DOJ) to help him overturn the presidential election. According to notes taken by top DOJ official Richard Donoghue, after attorney general Bill Barr had abruptly skedaddled out of town before the proverbial manure hit the fan, the president called up the newly installed acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and told him "just say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen."

That Nixonian "request" was denied by Rosen, since it would have been a bald-faced lie but as we later learned, the White House was also plotting with an obscure DOJ lawyer named Jeffrey Clark to put the heat on Rosen to squeeze state election officials in states Trump claimed without evidence had been stolen from him. Rosen was told that Trump planned for Clark to replace him if he didn't comply but Rosen resisted and Trump backed off after his own White House counsel convinced him that there would be mass resignations at the DOJ if he followed through. Other than one congressman from Pennsylvania, a Republican by the name of Scott Perry who had reportedly called up Donoghue to threaten him into doing Clark's bidding, until now we didn't know exactly who the "R. Congressmen" were. Now The New York Times reports that Trump's accomplices were none other than the members of the House's far-right Freedom Caucus.

The Times names Jim Jordan of Ohio, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Louis Gohmert of Texas, Mo Brooks of Alabama and Pennsylvania's Perry, who is described by the Times as the coordinator of the plans to replace the attorney general with the compliant Clark. They all worked closely with one of the original founders of the Freedom Caucus, Mark Meadows, the former North Carolina congressman who served as Trump's chief of staff.

The Times reports on a previously unknown meeting that took place shortly after the election which included Jordan, Perry and Meadows along with White House adviser Stephen Miller, Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Jordan claims it was purely a media strategy meeting. But when it comes to The Big Lie, that amounts to a strategy to overturn the election. Everything flowed from that. These Freedom Caucus members were all over TV spreading falsehoods about voter fraud. They pressured Republican officials and ran around chasing rumors of foreign interference. And after Barr announced that the DOJ had found no evidence of fraud, they smeared the FBI and the DOJ in the press. That's when they turned their full attention to overturning the election, focusing on January 6th.

Gohmert sued vice president Mike Pence to force him to nullify the election. (The case was thrown out of court.) Perry forwarded a letter from some Pennsylvania state legislators to Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House, asking them to delay the certification which they had no authority to do.

And they met personally with the president to make plans to "stop the sedition."

And now we know from the Times' reporting that the PowerPoint coup plot was forwarded to Meadows by none other than Jim Jordan --- who Trump awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom after the insurrection. (That would be the same Jim Jordan who Kevin McCarthy had the chutzpah to attempt to install on the Jan. 6th Committee.)

The "R. Congressmen" were up to their necks in coup plots. But that's not surprising. If anyone had told me five years ago that we'd have an attempted coup in America I would have assumed that the Freedom Caucus would be involved. They've been practicing for years on their own party.

When the Freedom Caucus was formed in 2015, Mark Meadows was one of its founding members. So was Mick Mulvaney, another former Trump chief of staff, and current Florida Governor Ron Desantis among others, like Jordan. They presented themselves as dedicated to fiscal conservatism and re-establishing congressional prerogatives but from the start it was clear that their prime directive was to make the GOP leadership miserable and drive Democrats to drink.

Meadows went even beyond the caucus at times, unintentionally showing the way forward. He challenged then House Speaker John Boehner's leadership by deploying an obscure procedure that hadn't been used since 1910. It failed, but it riled up the right-wing media and the base in a way that only Trump has since mastered. With their in-your-face extremism they managed to create so much chaos in the GOP caucus that House Speaker John Boehner was eventually forced out.

They refused to vote for his assumed successor, Kevin McCarthy of California, helping to doom his candidacy and instead they got Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan, an up and coming conservative superstar who had run for Vice President on the ticket with Mitt Romney in 2012. Ryan was considered one of their own at the time, although he wasn't a formal member of the Freedom Caucus. But that didn't really work out all that well either. They made Ryan's life hell too and he ended up quitting politics altogether in 2018.

The truth is that the Freedom Caucus has been running the House Republican caucus in a reign of terror for over half a decade now and if they manage to take the majority in 2022, Kevin McCarthy is likely to have a big fight on his hands. He's never been one of them and despite his desperate attempts to ingratiate himself with Trump, the Freedom Caucus is going to want to put a homeboy in charge for real. That person is almost surely going to be Jim Jordan, the man who helped Mark Meadows plot the attempted coup.

These people have been fighting a guerilla war against their own party for years and were the perfect choice to be Trump's personal henchmen. In many ways they paved the way for his mafioso style of governance. And you can bet that as Trump goes around the country wreaking revenge on all those who betrayed him over the next few years, the Freedom Caucus will be right there with him. When it comes to stabbing fellow Republicans in the back, they are professionals.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-s-coup-accomplices-have-been-exposed-and-they-re-sitting-in-congress/

[Rick Plant]

'Stop the Steal' organizer fingered the GOP lawmakers he communicated with to House riot committee



According to a report from Politico, Ali Alexander -- one of the principles behind the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the storming of the U.S. Capitol -- has handed over names of Republican Party lawmakers he was in communication with prior to the events on Jan 6th.

The report notes Alexander revealed the names in the lawsuit he filed attempting to block the House committee from accessing his phone records.

The report notes that, in the late Friday court filing, Alexander admits he had "a few phone conversations" with Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and engaged in a "text exchange with Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL)."

Politico reports that Alexander also implicated Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) saying he was in contact in person “and never by phone, to the best of his recollection,” according to his lawyers.

According to Politico's Kyle Cheney, "Alexander’s testimony underscores the degree to which the select committee continues to probe the roles of their Republican colleagues in efforts to promote former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud — and their potential support for fringe figures who helped gather people in Washington on Jan. 6, the day Congress was required to certify the 2020 election results."

He adds, "The panel hasn’t formally requested testimony from any of the GOP lawmakers yet but has continued to ask witnesses about Gosar, Biggs, Brooks and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who helped push a strategy to use the Department of Justice to promote the fraud claims."

The report also adds that Alexander was in contact with Trump campaign official Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is also the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., on the morning of the insurrection, but that it was just a courtesy call where she thanked him for organizing the rally.

Read More Here:

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/18/stop-the-steal-founder-jan-6-committee-gop-lawmakers-525345

[Rick Plant]

Kinzinger: It's 'possible' some GOP colleagues are responsible for Jan. 6 attack
He said the committee isn't ruling out issuing subpoenas to members of Congress

Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Sunday "it’s possible" some of his GOP colleagues in Congress are responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol but added he's not ready to "go to that point" yet, because he wants to "let the facts dictate it."

The Illinois Republican also revealed that the committee investigating the insurrection is not ruling out issuing subpoenas for sitting members of Congress.

"Nobody -- member of Congress, former president, nobody -- in America is above the law," Kinzinger told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

Kinzinger, who announced in October he will not seek reelection to Congress, was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump following the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and is one of two Republicans serving on the committee. He said the committee would subpoena Trump if they determine it’s necessary.

"Nobody should be above the law, but we also recognize we can get the information without him at this point, and, obviously, when you subpoena the former president, that comes with a whole kind of, you know, circus environment," Kinzinger said. "But if we need him, we'll do it."

Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., on Tuesday night joined Democrats in the House in voting to hold Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in contempt of Congress. Meadows defied a subpoena to appear for a deposition before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Prior to the vote, members of the committee unveiled text messages sent to Meadows during the attack on the Capitol, reading aloud texts from Republican lawmakers, Fox News personalities and the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., that implored Meadows to get Trump to denounce the rioters. Rep Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was one of the GOP lawmakers whose texts to Meadows were revealed, his office confirmed.

The new messages were part of the approximately 9,000 documents Meadows turned over to the committee, before he reversed course and decided to not cooperate with the investigation. The House previously voted to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena by the Jan. 6 committee.

Kinzinger said he’s "not sure" whether Meadows knew how damaging the text messages would be, but emphasized he had no choice given the committee's legal authority.

"I will tell you, yes, there are more texts out there we haven’t released," he added.

During debate on the House floor before the vote, Cheney emphasized the importance of Meadows' testimony. "Mr. Meadows' testimony will bear on another key question before this committee. Did Donald Trump through action or inaction corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress' official proceedings to count electoral votes?" Cheney said.

Karl pressed Kinzinger on the possibility of the Justice Department filing criminal charges based on what the committee finds, given that it is a crime to obstruct the official proceedings of Congress.

"Are you sending a message that the Justice Department should be prosecuting not just those that broke into the building on Jan. 6, but should be prosecuting Donald Trump himself or at least investigating that possibility?" Karl asked.

"I think investigating that possibility, for sure," Kinzinger responded. "Our committee is getting more information than law enforcement agencies and DOJ, because we’ve had the power and the ability to get that done."

"Whatever information we get will be public record, and the DOJ should take a look, particularly if there's criminal charges to be filed, because again, the big thing is as bad as it was on Jan. 6, there's really nothing in place to stop another one from happening again," he added. "If somebody broke the law, it is so essential that we send the message that you are not untouchable as president -- you're not untouchable as a former president."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday in an interview with Spectrum News he looks forward to seeing what the Jan. 6 committee finds in its probe, effectively endorsing the work of the commission after he had opposed its creation. "I think that what they're seeking to find out is something that public needs to know," McConnell said.

"That's not exactly what Kevin McCarthy, the leader over there in the House, is saying," Karl pointed out, alluding to the fact that the two GOP leaders in the House and Senate have juxtaposing views toward the investigation.

"Right," Kinzinger replied, laughing. "Look, I mean -- I got to tell you, so, you know, say what you want about Mitch McConnell. He obviously holds his cards very close. I think that was a very powerful statement and I appreciate it."

Kinzinger, who along with Cheney has faced harsh backlash for sitting on the committee, criticized McCarthy for not doing something similar.

"Kevin McCarthy, on the other hand, has not said a word about anything, except for that Donald Trump is probably the greatest president to ever exist," Kinzinger said. "Kevin McCarthy himself I think made Donald Trump relevant again when two weeks after Jan. 6 or so, he went back down to Mar-a-Lago and brought him back to political life by putting his arm around him and taking that picture and basically sending the signal to the rest of the Republicans that were pretty quiet at this moment, that we got to get back on the Trump train."

"He bears responsibility for that," he added. "I don't think history books are going to be kind to him."

Watch video in link below:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kinzinger-gop-colleagues-responsible-jan-attack/story?id=81834432