January 6 Hearings Live

[lpetrich]

Dems deliver GOP ultimatum over Marjorie Taylor Greene - POLITICO - "They're moving to strip the controversial Republican of her committee assignments."

In the Education & Labor and the Budget Committees.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer delivered an ultimatum to McCarthy on Monday: Either Republicans move on their own to strip Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee assignments within 72 hours, or Democrats will bring the issue to the House floor.

The Democrats’ move, while highly unusual, comes amid intense fury within the Democratic Caucus over Greene’s long record of incendiary rhetoric, including peddling conspiracy theories that the nation’s deadliest mass shootings were staged. Greene also endorsed violence against Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats before she was elected to Congress.

I imagine MTG in Education Committee hearings sounding off about how school shootings were staged by the Deep State, complete with crisis actors.

Republicans, meanwhile, have been slow to act, with McCarthy saying only he’s planning to have a “conversation” with Greene about the mounting controversies sometime this week. The meeting between McCarthy and Greene has still not been scheduled, but could take place as early as Tuesday evening.

Is he trying to drag his feet on doing anything?

Democrats are already teeing up potential floor action if McCarthy doesn't act, scheduling a Rules Committee hearing for Wednesday afternoon on a resolution to strip Greene of her committee posts.

...
And over the weekend, Greene also claimed she has talked to Trump amid the firestorm and has his full backing. She followed that on Monday by telling One America News that she plans to visit Trump in Florida soon. That could make it even tougher for GOP leaders to punish Greene. Plus, Greene is under scrutiny for comments that she made before her time in Congress, making the issue of penalizing her more difficult.

 

[jab]

Dems deliver GOP ultimatum over Marjorie Taylor Greene - POLITICO - "They're moving to strip the controversial Republican of her committee assignments."

In the Education & Labor and the Budget Committees.

I imagine MTG in Education Committee hearings sounding off about how school shootings were staged by the Deep State, complete with crisis actors.

Is he trying to drag his feet on doing anything?

Democrats are already teeing up potential floor action if McCarthy doesn't act, scheduling a Rules Committee hearing for Wednesday afternoon on a resolution to strip Greene of her committee posts.

...
And over the weekend, Greene also claimed she has talked to Trump amid the firestorm and has his full backing. She followed that on Monday by telling One America News that she plans to visit Trump in Florida soon. That could make it even tougher for GOP leaders to punish Greene. Plus, Greene is under scrutiny for comments that she made before her time in Congress, making the issue of penalizing her more difficult.

Some of the comments were made while she was gearing up to get the Repug nomination.

 

[Elixir]

I imagine MTG in Education Committee hearings sounding off about how school shootings were staged by the Deep State, complete with crisis actors.

I imagine it's not just school shootings, but schools themselves that aren't real. The teachers are agents of The Deep State, well versed in propaganda techniques. They're brainwashing the kids into believing satanic witchcrafts like chemistry and physics while fattening them up for slaughter on cafeteria slop (basically soylent green).
Nobody sleeps during those hearings any more!

 

[Keith&Co.]

Nobody sleeps during those hearings any more!

Sure? Two hours with my feet on the desk, hat low over my eyes. "Heard it. Heard it. Colbert did it better. Yes, yes, hail Satan. Heard it. Wake me for the vote for 'stricken from the record.' "

 

[Elixir]

Nobody sleeps during those hearings any more!

Sure? Two hours with my feet on the desk, hat low over my eyes.

You're looking at her under the table, aren't you?
Perv.

 

[southernhybrid]

https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/the-jolt-dems-just-getting-started-with-marjorie-taylor-greene/SF7DMEOZL5GPFHRBIMTVECZMVE/

And here's the whackadoodle's response to the attempts to do remove her from the committees.

Greene’s swift response on Twitter: “The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully.”

Closer to home, Greene is putting her fellow Republicans in the no-win position of defending her and her dangerous conspiracies or taking on the Trump-loving Republicans who can’t seem to get enough of her.

Asked Monday about Greene booting a Chattanooga reporter from her town hall last week and her past endorsement of killing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Brian Kemp said only that Greene’s fate isn’t up to him.

She's also been bragging that she's raised over 1.6 million dollars since the criticisms of her started. What a crazy state I live in. On the one hand, we had enough votes to put two Democratic senators in Congress. On the other hand, we have a district that voted for the biggest looney tune in Congress, and naturally the Trumpsters love her. And, if anyone was wondering, there are still Trump signs in my neighborhood, but they are everywhere once you head toward the exurban areas.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/the-jolt-dems-just-getting-started-with-marjorie-taylor-greene/SF7DMEOZL5GPFHRBIMTVECZMVE/

And here's the whackadoodle's response to the attempts to do remove her from the committees.

Greene’s swift response on Twitter: “The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully.”

Closer to home, Greene is putting her fellow Republicans in the no-win position of defending her and her dangerous conspiracies or taking on the Trump-loving Republicans who can’t seem to get enough of her.

Asked Monday about Greene booting a Chattanooga reporter from her town hall last week and her past endorsement of killing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Brian Kemp said only that Greene’s fate isn’t up to him.

She's also been bragging that she's raised over 1.6 million dollars since the criticisms of her started. What a crazy state I live in. On the one hand, we had enough votes to put two Democratic senators in Congress. On the other hand, we have a district that voted for the biggest looney tune in Congress, and naturally the Trumpsters love her. And, if anyone was wondering, there are still Trump signs in my neighborhood, but they are everywhere once you head toward the exurban areas.

1.6m is a good indication that she isn't raising much money, but I don't suppose she has the intellect to understand that. She'd be bragging if she raised fifty bucks.

And I don't have to drive far to find lots of lingering signs for Dotard. If I didn't see them I'd be worried that they're planning something. But they're all gone in my neighborhood.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC Instagrammed last night about what a harrowing experience the 1/6 Capitol attacks were.

Instagram video by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez • Feb 1, 2021 at 9:18 PM

She started off by confessing that she once suffered a sexual assault, and that that experience left her very traumatized. She then continued with how there were premonitions of what was to happen in the days before, like a big crowd near her car of people who clearly didn't like her very much. They taunted her about her car, and she said that it was an electric car.

She and some fellow Congresspeople then tried to find out what security plan the Capitol Police had in place for that day, and they didn't say. They wanted to keep it a secret so that they wouldn't give it away. But it was Congresspeople who would really need to know, and I suspect that they may have been covering up a lack of a real plan for that day. AOC is in the Oversight Committee, and she may end up questioning a lot of the Capitol Police, DC Police, and military leadership about this.

She then got her second shot of COVID-19 vaccine, and when she returned, she had her first encounter. Someone had gotten into her office and was yelling "Where is she?" She hid in the bathroom and watched someone who looked like some Capitol Police officer, but one who didn't announce that he was from the CP, and one who didn't have a fellow officer with him. That seemed dangerous to her. Fortunately, a staffer named G was working that day, and G rescued her.

Then they tried to go to another building, and there was a mob outside it trying to get in. After going up, then down, a flight of stairs, she reached Katie Porter's office and KP herself was inside it. So the two and some staffers hunkered down there and some staffers created a barricade by dragging furniture into place. AOC requested some exercise clothing so she could escape in that clothing if necessary.

She compared Republicans to abusers who say that it would be some terrible misdeed to challenge them about their misbehavior.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC Says She is a Sexual Assault Survivor as She Recounts Capitol Hill Riots - The New York Times

“I haven’t told many people that in my life,” the Democratic congresswoman said of the revelation, which came during a harrowing recounting of her experiences amid the Capitol riot.

...
“I felt that if this was the journey that my life was taking, that, I felt that things were going to be OK, and that, you know, I had fulfilled my purpose,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion.

Those who have argued that it is time to move on from the events of that day, she said, were “using the same tactics of every other abuser who just tells you to move on.”

They were the tactics, she suggested, “of that man who touched you inappropriately at work, telling you to move on.”

“Are they going to believe you?” she said. “Or the adult who, you know, if they hurt you when you were a child and you grow up and you confront them about it, and they try to tell you that what happened never happened.”

“This,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez added, referring to holding those responsible for what happened on Jan. 6 accountable, is about “basic humanity.”

She continued to have strong words for certain Republican politicians.

Toward the end of her Instagram Live appearance, she lashed out at Mr. Cruz and Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, who had baselessly challenged Mr. Biden’s victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

“We knew that violence was expected,” she said. “We knew that that violence was predicated on someone telling the lie, the big lie, about our elections.”

Late Monday night, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez sought to drive home her point in messages posted on Twitter.

“My story isn’t the only story, nor is it the central story of what happened on Jan 6th,” she wrote in one. “It is just one story of many of those whose lives were endangered at the Capitol by the lies, threats, and violence fanned by the cowardice of people who chose personal gain above democracy.”

 

[lpetrich]

‘I thought I was going to die’: AOC personalizes insurrection, bringing up past sexual assault - POLITICO

She said members of Congress were aware of the risks days before the attack, adding that some of her colleagues had warned her to be careful on Jan. 6.

“These folks that tell us to move on, that it’s not a big deal, that we should forget what’s happened or even telling us to apologize, these are the same tactics as abusers,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “This is not about a difference of political opinion. This is about basic humanity.”

During the social media event, which attracted more than 160,000 viewers, Ocasio-Cortez also disclosed that she was a survivor of sexual assault — an experience that, she said, made her “struggle with the idea of being believed.”

“How I felt was: Not again,” she said. “I’m not going to let this happen again.”

...
“We cannot move on without accountability. We cannot heal without accountability,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And so all of these people who want to tell us to move on are doing so at their own convenience.”

What they are saying is that “‘I would do it again. I don’t regret it at all.’" she continued. “If that’s their stance, they continue to be a danger for their colleagues.”

Then about that man in a black beanie who searched her office for her.

“I just thought to myself that they got inside,” she said. “I really just felt like, if this is the plan for me, then people will be able to take it from here.”

“I thought I was going to die,” she continued.

 

[Rhea]

And I don't have to drive far to find lots of lingering signs for Dotard. If I didn't see them I'd be worried that they're planning something. But they're all gone in my neighborhood.

I still have them in my neighborhood. Some signs, some flags, some of those STUPID PATHETIC Trump-on-Stallone’s-body flags.

 

[ZiprHead]

And I don't have to drive far to find lots of lingering signs for Dotard. If I didn't see them I'd be worried that they're planning something. But they're all gone in my neighborhood.

I still have them in my neighborhood. Some signs, some flags, some of those STUPID PATHETIC Trump-on-Stallone’s-body flags.

There's still a few around here. And there's the guy that has a virtual shrine to Trump in his front yard. Three flag poles in the ground in front, three more on his house, Veterants for Trump signs, Christians for Trump signs, Lock Her Up signs, the works.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "My story isn’t the only story, nor is it the central story of what happened on Jan 6th.

It is just one story of many of those whose lives were endangered at the Capitol by the lies, threats, and violence fanned by the cowardice of people who chose personal gain above democracy." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Thanks for making the space for me, and hope we can all make space for others to tell their stories in the weeks to come.

And to those who wish to paper over their misdeeds by rushing us to all “move on” - we can move on when the individuals responsible are held to account." / Twitter

Rep. Katie Porter on hiding with AOC during Capitol riot

Rep. Katie Porter joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss what it was like to shelter Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in her office during the Capitol riot. She most remembers finding AOC a pair of sneakers “so that she could run if she literally needed to run for her life,” and AOC telling her, “I just hope I get to be a mom. I hope I don’t die today.”

KP noted that AOC is usually very polite and personable, but on this occasion, AOC barely noticed her and was opening lots of doors. KP asked if she could help her with anything. "I am looking for where I'm going to hide."

KP recalled that when the Capitol Police ordered the evacuation of the Cannon Office Building, they didn't say where the people in that building ought to go.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Thank you @katieporteroc for holding it down that day you’re a wonderful friend" / Twitter
noting
Justin Baragona on Twitter: "Katie Porter recounts how she and AOC hid in her office during the Jan. 6 insurrectionist riot.

"I'm a mom. I'm calm. I have everything we need. We can live for like a month in this office. And she said, 'I hope I get to be a mom, I hope I don’t die today.'" (video link)" / Twitter

Someone noted something interesting:
Mango on Twitter: "@justinbaragona Am I the only one noticing warren’s books at her bookshelf? (pic link)" / Twitter

Bixbay on Twitter: "@AOC @katieporteroc A staffer loaned her a pair of sneakers in case she needed to run for her life?! Let that sink in.." / Twitter

Sherrilyn Ifill on Twitter: "Are you hearing @RepKatiePorter describe how @aoc took shelter in Porter’s office on Jan. 6th on @TheLastWord?
Porter: I’m a Mom. I have enough for us the stay in this ofc for a month.
AOC: I hope I get to be a Mom. I hope I don’t die today. This country should feel shame." / Twitter


hannah gais on Twitter: ".@AOC now on Cruz et al.: "We are not safe with people who hold positions of power who are willing to endanger the lives of others if they think it'll score a political point."" / Twitter

Mike Spangenberg on Twitter: "One of the many important points @AOC made on IG tonight was that without accountability, when given the opportunity, Cruz and Hawley will do it again. She’s absolutely right." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Mondaire Jones on Twitter: "I shared @AOC’s concern about being locked in the same room as my Republican colleagues on January 6th.

They had incited an insurrection, and were live-tweeting our whereabouts.

Some of them continue to pose a threat to everyone who works in the Capitol. They must be expelled. https://t.co/YCLBizX5ab" / Twitter
noting
Rep. Jones: ‘You cannot trust’ some members of Congress

Congressman Mondaire Jones (D-NY) joins Lawrence O’Donnell to describe the chaotic scene inside the Capitol as invaders breached the building on January 6th. Rep. Jones says safety was still a concern once Congress members were inside a secure location because “you cannot trust a number of these people and that is an extraordinary thing to say about your colleagues in the United States Congress.”

MJ describing exiting through a side door, and taking refuge in a very unsafe location: a cafeteria room. After moving to the purportedly safe location, he noted that some 200 of his Republican colleagues refused to wear lower-face masks. Even though one of their number had died of COVID-19. He was more worried about getting COVID-19 than being attacked by the mob.

AOC refused to go there because of concerns about some Congresspeople being 5th columnists, live-tweeting where the Speaker was.

 

[lpetrich]

Report - dfp-tx-move-on-media.pdf
then
Data for Progress on Twitter: "NEW TX POLL: A majority of Texas voters (51%) — and 52% of Texas Independents — support Ted Cruz’s resignation following his role in inciting the January 6th insurrection.

Our latest poll w/ @MoveOn: (links)" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Senator Ted Cruz deliberately and knowingly amplified specific lies fueling violent attackers. In doing so, he contributed to the carnage of Jan 6th. His actions since show that if given similar political opportunity, he would choose to do it again.

He must resign. Texans agree." / Twitter

Ocasio-Cortez Says She is a Survivor of Sexual Assault - Spectrum News NY1 article
then
Spectrum News NY1 on Twitter: ""The reason I'm getting emotional in this moment is because these folks who tell us to move on, these are the same tactics of abusers," @AOC said about some GOP lawmakers who have suggested it's time to "move on" from the January 6 attack. #NY1Politics (link)" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Republicans demanding that accountability is “divisive” and that we must “move on” from the attack on our country without recourse are taking a page from the playbooks of abusers.

It’s sadly unsurprising. After 4 years of fealty to Trump, it seems many GOP have turned into him." / Twitter

 

[blastula]

Rep. Katie Porter on hiding with AOC during Capitol riot

Rep. Katie Porter joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss what it was like to shelter Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in her office during the Capitol riot. She most remembers finding AOC a pair of sneakers “so that she could run if she literally needed to run for her life,” and AOC telling her, “I just hope I get to be a mom. I hope I don’t die today.”

KP noted that AOC is usually very polite and personable, but on this occasion, AOC barely noticed her and was opening lots of doors. KP asked if she could help her with anything. "I am looking for where I'm going to hide."

KP recalled that when the Capitol Police ordered the evacuation of the Cannon Office Building, they didn't say where the people in that building ought to go.

AOC, final girl.

 

[Treedbear]

McConnell says ‘loony lies’ spread by Marjorie Taylor Greene are a ‘cancer’ on G.O.P. - The New York Times
noting
McConnell says Taylor Greene's embrace of conspiracy theories a 'cancer' to GOP, country | TheHill
He criticized embrace of

“loony lies and conspiracy theories” as a “cancer for the Republican Party.”
...

...

As Colbert said tonight "Yes, it's cancer, but, I will point out, five years ago the GOP found a suspicious lump, and then nominated the tumor for President."

 

[lpetrich]

Scrutiny grows over National Guard presence at Capitol | TheHill

House votes to enact fines against lawmakers who don't comply with metal detectors | TheHill - "Fines of $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for the second are now in effect."

AOC, final girl.

Final girl?

Democrats moving swiftly to remove Greene from committees | TheHill

The House Rules Committee on Wednesday will consider a resolution, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), to strip Greene of her seats on two committees — Budget as well as Education and Labor — citing unspecified "conduct she has exhibited."

The announcement comes after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spoke with his counterpart, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), about the scandals surrounding Greene, a conservative firebrand just weeks into her first term.

House Republicans gear up for conference meeting amid party civil war | TheHill

Like whether Liz Cheney can continue in the House Republican leadership after displeasing all the Trumpies in the party.

 

[lpetrich]

More of Jonathan Swan's "Off the Rails" series.

Off the rails: Inside Trump's campaign to coerce Pence into overturning the election - Axios

Episode 7: Trump turns on Pence. Trump believes the vice president can solve all his problems by simply refusing to certify the Electoral College results. It's a simple test of loyalty: Trump or the U.S. Constitution.

"The end is coming, Donald."

The Lincoln Project was running ads that troll Trump: "The end is coming, Donald. ... On Jan. 6, Mike Pence will put the nail in your political coffin."

President Trump, furious, told his vice president to send the Lincoln Project gang a cease-and-desist letter. In reality, this would only have further delighted Trump's tormentors and provided ammo for another ad. Marc Short, chief of staff to Mike Pence, consulted officials on the Trump campaign. Their advice: Just ignore it.

...
"There's zero fucking chance Trump knows what happens on Jan. 6," Schmidt told ex-GOP strategist Rick Wilson and other Lincoln Project members on a team conference call at 11 a.m. later that morning. "Oh my God," Wilson responded, bursting into laughter. "There's no way he does."

...
Trump had been fed more and more disinformation that the vice president had the power to reengineer the Electoral College vote. With a last gasp, he seized this confected idea and blew life into it.

...
Trump's outside lawyers were filling his mind with junk legal theories about Pence's constitutional authorities.

This raises a big question. What if Trump's advisers had refused to advocate the kookier theories? That may mean keeping some of those theories' advocates away from Trump. Since he can allegedly be manipulated by what's put on his desk and what he sees on Fox & Friends, that strategy may have made an impact.

But it would have been a difficult task to frame a defeat as a triumph. Something like "See? No temper tantrums. No sore losing."