Clearly bothered, Marco Rubio responds to Val Demings’ Senate run with insults and arrogance

After tweeting last month that she's "seriously considering" running for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate seat, Rep. Val Demings, of Florida, confirmed on Wednesday that she's more than seriously considering it: she announced she's running. "I'm running for U.S. Senate because I will never tire of standing up for what is right," Demings said in a tweet. "Never tire of serving Florida. Never tire of doing good.”

In a 2 minute and 58 second campaign video, Demings said when asked where she got her "tireless faith that things can always get better," she got it in Jacksonville, Florida. "When you grow up in the South, poor, black, and female, you have to have faith in progress and opportunity," Demings said. “My father was a janitor, and my mother was a maid. She said, ‘Val, never grow tired of doing good. Never tire. Work hard, not just for yourself but for others.’”

I'm running for U.S. Senate because I will never tire of standing up for what is right. Never tire of serving Florida. Never tire of doing good. Join my campaign today: https://t.co/rHVPBuSzKU pic.twitter.com/HuWB80Mrxh

— Val Demings (@valdemings) June 9, 2021

Demings, a former Orlando police chief and the first woman to hold the title, was a House manager in former President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, and she has been an important voice in seeking accountability for his embarrassing response to the coronavirus pandemic. Rubio voted to protect Trump in the face of his second impeachment trial for inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol in January. A month earlier, the Florida Republican helped himself to a COVID-19 vaccination in short supply in his state at the time. 

He responded to Demings’ campaign announcement with the predictable arrogance and insults of a Florida Republican. “Look, I’ve always known that my opponent for the Senate was gonna be a far-left, liberal Democrat. Today, we just found out which one of them Chuck Schumer’s picked,” Rubio said in a video shared Wednesday on Twitter. “I’m looking forward to this campaign because it’s going to offer the people of Florida a very clear difference.”

No matter who wins the democratic Senate primary in #Florida my opponent will be a far left extremist#Sayfie #flpol pic.twitter.com/quy0pMUHS6

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 9, 2021

Rubio went on to call Demings a “do nothing House member with not a single significant legislative achievement in her time in Congress.” “By comparison one nonpartisan group ranked me the most effective Republican in the entire Senate,” Rubio said. He is referring to a ranking released by the Center for Effective Lawmaking in March that based his ranking on “107 bills he put forward, ten of which passed the Senate, and six of which became law” under the 116th Congress. Let’s not forget, the senator had a majority-Republican Senate working in his favor.

Federal voting rights legislation top of Democrats' agenda is being held up in the Senate by a filibuster requiring 60 votes instead of a simple majority for a vote on proposed legislation. The filibuster has been used as a partisan weapon for decades,” Demings told the Orlando Sentinel. “We were not elected to be obstructionists. … We were elected to get things done. And when we talk about protecting some of the most basic rights in this country, the filibuster blocks those things, and we need to get rid of it.”

But beyond the filibuster, the more important question with regards to Rubio’s legislative record boasted as effective is: Does an effective Republican equate to what’s best for most Floridians? The answer to that is a clear no. 

In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation on "disruptive protests" that could put protesters in jail for up to 15 years if police determine at least nine people took part in a riot. “Under this bill, peaceful protesters could be arrested and charged with a third-degree felony for ‘committing a riot’ even if they did not engage in any disorderly and violent conduct,” the ACLU of Florida said in a news release. “It would also prohibit local governments from determining how to allocate funding for police reform to address critical needs in their local communities and seek to protect counter-protesters from civil liability if they injure or kill a protester.” 

State legislators also passed a bill requiring voters to submit requests each election cycle to vote by mail."It would require voters to submit vote-by-mail requests each election cycle, restrict secure vote-by-mail drop boxes, and demand sensitive personal information from voters requesting a mail ballot,” the ACLU of Florida wrote in a news release. “Like the law recently passed in Georgia, this bill also criminalizes people who provide food or water to Floridians waiting in line to vote.”

Rubio has done nothing to enact the kind of federal legislation that would combat state-level voter suppression or anti-protest measures. “Marco Rubio voted against stimulus checks, he voted against COVID relief for our schools and our small businesses,” Demings said in the Orlando Sentinel. “And he voted against helping those on the frontlines, our first responders or teachers, our health care workers.” 

RELATED: Val Demings says she's 'seriously considering' running against Marco Rubio

RELATED: Florida governor rebrands bill to silence Black Lives Matter as response to Capitol riot

Val Demings says she’s ‘seriously considering’ running against Marco Rubio

Rep. Val Demings of Florida, is considering throwing her hat in the ring for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate seat next year instead of launching an expected bid for governor of the state. Her name was trending through much of the morning on Tuesday after Politico reported on the prospect of Demings running. “I'm humbled at the encouraging messages I'm seeing today,” she tweeted. “I know the stakes are too high for Republicans to stand in the way of getting things done for Floridians, which is why I'm seriously considering a run for the Senate. Stay tuned.” 

Alex Sink, a former chief financial officer who unsuccessfully ran against former Florida governor and now-Sen. Rick Scott, told Politico he would’ve supported her bid for governor “but this is the right fit for her and for us.”

Rubio voted to protect former President Donald Trump when he was facing his second impeachment trial for inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol in January. A month earlier, the Florida Republican helped himself to a COVID-19 vaccination in short supply in his state at the time. “She’s going to draw a contrast between who she is and how she represents Florida vs. Marco Rubio, who a lot of people where I live never see him,” Sink said.

Demings tweeted on Tuesday: “This is my Twitter account as Representative for the People of Florida’s 10th District. For my campaign Twitter, see @val_demings.” On her campaign account, she had pinned a video in early May of her running for a seat in Congress and highlighted Rubio’s disappointing history as a senator.
“A great example of a flip-flopper,” Demings called Rubio on Friday then defined the phrase as ”when a Senator says that the former President ‘would shatter the party and the conservative movement’ and then raves he ‘was lucky enough to be one of his first posts’ in a fundraising email.” ”Leadership matters. Florida can do better,” Demings tweeted. She would be undeniably better.

Demings, a former Orlando police chief and the first woman to hold the title, was a House manager in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, and she has been an important voice in seeking accountability for the former president for his embarrassing response to the coronavirus pandemic. "At the very least, we ought to be able to have a leader that we can trust,” she told MSNBC last May. “We don’t have that right now.” Demings said at a point she was no longer able to “endure or bear” Trump’s daily coronavirus briefings because the words coming out of his mouth have been “unbelievable.” She said they “risk lives all over this country.”

"No one—the president or the governor here in Florida—should be taking a victory lap when people are continuing to lose their lives because of COVID-19,” Demings said.

She’s been just as outspoken about a movement that spread like wildfire to save Black lives following the death of George Floyd, who was unarmed when former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. "I believe that what Derek Chauvin did was brutal, it was senseless, and it was murder," she told the nonprofit website The 19th earlier this month. "We had no choice but to try to look at what we could do as a legislative body to make the system better and prevent tragedies like that from happening.”

legislation, which the House passed but Senate Republicans have stalled, would ban no-knock warrants, chokeholds, and racial and religious profiling as well as establish a national database to monitor police misconduct. “As members of Congress, our primary responsibility is the health, safety, and well-being of the American people," Demings said last June. "We have made progress. We've come a long way, but we still have a ways to go."

Demings spoke just as passionately when she attempted to prevent the GOP from holding hostage the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, a bipartisan effort aimed at discouraging hate crimes against Asian Americans in the wake of a deadly shooting at an Atlanta spa in March. Republicans tried to randomly tie the Hate Crimes Act to an amendment preventing police department defunding efforts. "I want to make it quite clear that this amendment is completely irrelevant," Demings said at a House Judiciary hearing in April. The Hate Crimes Act, which the Senate passed, is expected to pass the House soon despite Republican Rep. Jim Jordan trying repeatedly to derail the process and disrespect Demings in the process.

"I served as a law enforcement officer for 27 years,” Demings told her peers. “It is a tough job. And good police officers deserve your support.

“You know, it's interesting to see my colleagues on the other side of the aisle support the police when it is politically convenient to do so,” the Democrat added. “Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day. They deserve better, and the American people deserve ..."

Jordan tried to interrupt Demings, but she continued. “I have the floor Mr. Jordan. What? Did I strike a nerve?” the congresswoman asked. “Law enforcement officers deserve better than to be utilized as pawns.”

Demings instead of Rubio should be an easy decision for Floridians should the mother of three decide to run for his seat. Take a look at what Twitter users have to say about the prospect:

I may be the first Black woman to have run for Senate in Florida, but @RepValDemings is going to be the first to WIN! Let’s make is so. Let’s go BIG and INVEST in building a permanent community facing infrastructure that can actually disseminate the messaging to defeat the

— Pam Keith, Esq. (@PamKeithFL) May 18, 2021

Val Demings voted IN FAVOR of covid relief for Floridians. Marco Rubio voted AGAINST it. Your RT and small donation helps us blast him for his bad decision making, and defeat him in 2022. https://t.co/Bj8tAptG4o

— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) May 18, 2021

Representative Val Demings to run for senate against Marco Rubio. I support this 100%. Even if you don’t live in Florida, the entire nation needs to get behind this. pic.twitter.com/wZfNjgS8eM

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) May 18, 2021

Ask yourself this question every day for the next 19 months. What have you done today to help Val Demings unseat Marco Rubio?

— Chris Hahn (@ChristopherHahn) May 18, 2021

Shit just got real for Florida’s little political windsock. Hope ⁦@RepValDemings⁩ holds Rubio accountable for all the shape-shifting and putting craven politician ambition, over the needs of a Floridians. https://t.co/VxQTMzpv14

— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) May 18, 2021

RELATED: 43 Republicans turn their backs on their country to side with Trump, and we're listing them all

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Democrats lean on Ku Klux Klan Act to hold Trump and Giuliani accountable for Capitol riot

Republican enablers may have let former President Donald Trump get away with inciting a deadly Capitol riot, but his recent impeachment acquittal isn't squelching the seemingly endless and much-deserved flood of lawsuits against Trump. The NAACP, Rep. Bennie Thompson, of Mississippi, and the civil rights legal firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll filed a suit against the former commander in chief Tuesday in federal court.

In the suit, the advocates allege that Trump, his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, and the hate groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers "conspired to incite" the march to the Capitol to disrupt “by the use of force, intimidation and threat,” Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. “The insurrection at the Capitol did not just spontaneously occur—it was the product of Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani lies about the election,” Joe Sellers, a partner at Cohen Milstein said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. “With the Senate failing to hold the President accountable, we must use the full weight of the legal system to do so. The judicial system was an essential bulwark against the President during his time in office, and its role in protecting our democracy against future extremism is more important than ever.”

Trump urged the march to the Capitol during his Save America rally on January 6, and an insurrection that left Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick dead, reportedly hit with a fire extinguisher, followed. More than a dozen other police officers were injured; three people died in medical emergencies; and one rioter was shot and killed when she attempted to breach the Capitol.

Thompson, the NAACP, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll cited the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 in their lawsuit, which is intended to “protect against conspiracies, through violence and intimidation, that sought to prevent Members of Congress from discharging their official duties.” 

The legal team stated in the suit:

“The insurrection at the Capitol was a direct, intended, and foreseeable result of the Defendants’ unlawful conspiracy. It was instigated according to a common plan that the Defendants pursued since the election held in November 2020, culminating in an assembly denominated as the “Save America” rally held at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, during which Defendants Trump and Giuliani incited a crowd of thousands to descend upon the Capitol in order to prevent or delay through the use of force the counting of Electoral College votes. As part of this unified plan to prevent the counting of Electoral College votes, Defendants Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, through their leadership, acted in concert to spearhead the assault on the Capitol while the angry mob that Defendants Trump and Giuliani incited descended on the Capitol. The carefully orchestrated series of events that unfolded at the Save America rally and the storming of the Capitol was no accident or coincidence. It was the intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the Electoral College.”

The NAACP cited in its news release a segment of Giuliani’s remarks at the Save America rally last month. “If we’re right, a lot of them will go to jail. So let’s have trial by combat,” the unscrupulous attorney said. The NAACP also quoted the former president in its release. “So we are going to … walk down Pennsylvania Avenue… we’re … going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country,” Trump said at the rally.

1 hour before MAGA stormed the Capitol: Trump: "We're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue... and we're going to the Capitol... we're going to try and give our Republicans ... the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country." He specifically incited it. pic.twitter.com/ROoVictxqa

— Brent Black (@brentalfloss) January 6, 2021

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement that Trump needs to be held accountable both "for deliberately inciting and colluding with white supremacists to stage a coup" and for "his continuing efforts to disenfranchise African-American voters." “The insurrection was the culmination of a carefully orchestrated, months-long plan to destroy democracy, to block the results of a fair and democratic election, and to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of African-American voters who cast valid ballots,” Johnson added. “Since our founding, the NAACP has gone to the courthouse to put an end to actions that discriminate against African-American voters. We are now bringing this case to continue our work to protect our democracy and make sure nothing like what happened on January 6th ever happens again.”

Thompson called January 6 "one of the most shameful days in our country’s history," and he added that "it was instigated by the President himself." “His gleeful support of violent white supremacists led to a breach of the Capitol that put my life, and that of my colleagues, in grave danger,” the congressman said. “It is by the slimmest of luck that the outcome was not deadlier.

“While the majority of Republicans in the Senate abdicated their responsibility to hold the President accountable, we must hold him accountable for the insurrection that he so blatantly planned,” he added. “Failure to do so will only invite this type of authoritarianism for the anti-democratic forces on the far right that are so intent on destroying our country.”

Rep. Thompson is also seeking punitive damages which is A+ trolling insofar as it may force Trump to admit he’s a broke ass. pic.twitter.com/vQY3IpWn2I

— ⚓️🚢Imani Gandy 🚢⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) February 16, 2021

43 Republicans turn their backs on their country to side with Trump, and we’re listing them all

Senate Republicans fumbled the ball on yet another impeachment trial Saturday, this time regarding former President Donald Trump’s reported efforts to incite a riot at the U.S. Capitol. "As far as I'm concerned, he should've been charged with murder and treason," MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart's beloved Aunt Gloria said Sunday on the show. A video clip of her virtual interview went viral, and for good reason. In the interview, she called to task the 43 Republicans who clearly showed no intention to vote against Trump despite his attempted destruction of our democracy. Aunt Gloria said Republicans missed an opportunity to break away from Trump. “Now I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “Is he still gon lead the party? And what is he gon have his people do next?

Whatever the answers turn out to be to those questions, remember the 43 Republicans who voted to protect Trump no matter the costs to the country. 

They are:

John Barrasso, of Wyoming;
Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee; 
Roy Blunt, of Missouri;
John Boozman, of Arkansas;
Mike Braun, of Indiana;
Shelley Capito, of West Virginia;
John Cornyn, of Texas;
Tom Cotton, of Arkansas;
Kevin Cramer, of North Dakota; 
Mike Crapo, of Idaho;
Ted Cruz, of Texas; 
Steve Daines; of Montana; 
Joni Ernst, of Iowa;
Deb Fischer, of Nebraska;
Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina;
Charles Grassley, of Iowa;
Bill Hagerty, of Tennessee;
Josh Hawley, of Missouri;
John Hoeven, of North Dakota;
Cindy Hyde-Smith, of Mississippi;
Jim Inhofe, of Oklahoma;
Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin;
John Kennedy, of Louisiana; 
James Lankford, of Oklahoma;
Mike Lee, of Utah;
Cynthia Lummis, of Wyoming;
Roger Marshall, of Kansas;
Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky;
Jerry Moran, of Kansas;
Rand Paul, of Kentucky;
Rob Portman, of Ohio;
James Risch, of Idaho;
Mike Rounds; of South Dakota;
Marco Rubio, of Florida;
Rick Scott, of Florida;
Tim Scott, of South Carolina;
Richard Shelby, of Alabama;
Dan Sullivan, of Arkansas;
John Thune, of South Dakota;
Thomas Tillis, of North Carolina;
Tommy Tuberville, of Alabama;
Roger Wicker, of Mississippi; and
Todd Young, of Indiana

These are the 43 Republican senators who voted to acquit Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial pic.twitter.com/Yly56FQGgb

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 14, 2021

These senators had every opportunity to read a transcript of Trump’s words to his followers at a riot dubbed “Save America,” which was held just before the riot at the Capitol. “We will never give up,” he said at the rally. “We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore, and that is what this is all about.” In a speech chock full of conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud, Trump directed the crowd to go to the Capitol.

"Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy,” the former president said. “After this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to walk down. We’re going to walk down, any one you want, but I think right here. We’re going walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong."

What followed was an insurrection that left Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick dead, reportedly hit with a fire extinguisher. More than a dozen other police officers were injured; three people died in medical emergencies; and one rioter was shot and killed when she attempted to breach the Capitol. “People need to make up their mind. Was this right?” Aunt Gloria asked. “And it was not right.”

.@CapehartJ's Aunt Gloria gives her analysis of the acquittal of Donald Trump in his second Senate #impeachment trial. #SundayShow pic.twitter.com/vwtgoN5VDk

— The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart (@TheSundayShow) February 14, 2021

President Joe Biden released his statement on Saturday:

“It was nearly two weeks ago that Jill and I paid our respects to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who laid in honor in the Rotunda after losing his life protecting the Capitol from a riotous, violent mob on January 6, 2021.

Today, 57 Senators – including a record 7 Republicans – voted to find former President Trump guilty for inciting that deadly insurrection on our very democracy. The Senate vote followed the bipartisan vote to impeach him by the House of Representatives. While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute. Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate Minority Leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a “disgraceful dereliction of duty” and “practically and morally responsible for provoking” the violence unleashed on the Capitol.

Tonight, I am thinking about those who bravely stood guard that January day. I’m thinking about all those who lost their lives, all those whose lives were threatened, and all those who are still today living with terror they lived through that day. And I’m thinking of those who demonstrated the courage to protect the integrity of our democracy – Democrats and Republicans, election officials and judges, elected representatives and poll workers – before and after the election.

This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant. That violence and extremism has no place in America. And that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.

That is how we end this uncivil war and heal the very soul of our nation. That is the task ahead. And it’s a task we must undertake together. As the United States of America.”

Hero Capitol police officer to receive highest honor Congress can bestow, Nancy Pelosi announces

Newly released security camera footage revealed that the Capitol police officer celebrated as a hero for diverting an angry mob away from legislators during the Jan. 6 insurrection also possibly saved the life of a specific legislator who didn’t realize he was in immediate danger. Sen. Mitt Romney didn't know he was approaching a white supremacist mob when he first encountered Officer Eugene Goodman in the hallway of the Capitol building, The Washington Post reported. Rep. Stacey Plaskett presented footage of the scene during the impeachment trial on Wednesday.

"You all may have seen footage of Officer Goodman previously, but there's more to his heroic story. In this security footage you can see Officer Goodman running to respond to the initial breach,” Plaskett said, narrating the footage. “Officer Goodman passes Senator Mitt Romney and directs him to turn around in order to get to safety. On the first floor just beneath them, the mob had already started to search for the Senate Chamber."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that she’s introducing legislation to award Goodman and other officers who stood guard during the insurrection with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow, Pelosi said in a press release. “The service of the Capitol Police force that day brings honor to our Democracy, and their accepting this Gold Medal will bring luster to this award,” she said in the release.

Goodman initially attracted praise when HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic tweeted footage of the officer diverting insurrectionists on Jan. 6. It has since been viewed more than 10 million times. “Just now realizing how much of a close call it was in the Senate,” Bobic tweeted. He told Good Morning America that certifying electoral votes from the presidential election, the act that the terrorist mob was trying to interrupt, is normally a routine practice, but last month, “a commotion” and “yelling” began during the process. "And I ran downstairs to the first floor of the Senate building, where I encountered this lone police officer courageously making a stand against the mob of 20 or so Trump supporters who breached the capitol itself and were trying to get upstairs,” Bobic said.

Here’s the scary moment when protesters initially got into the building from the first floor and made their way outside Senate chamber. pic.twitter.com/CfVIBsgywK

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 6, 2021

Goodman, with no gun in hand and no tactical gear, pushed the mob leader in an effort to bait him and ran in the opposite direction of the Senate Chamber. “They were yelling ‘Traitors. We want justice. This is our America. If we don’t stop this now, we won’t get justice. Trump won,’” Bobic told Good Morning America. At times, the insurrectionists chased Goodman slowly. 

“Officer Eugene Goodman’s heroic actions on Jan 6th saved countless lives & prevented a violent mob from breaching the Senate Chamber,” Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. tweeted Wednesday. “We all owe him a debt of gratitude.” 

Officer Eugene Goodman's heroic actions on Jan 6th saved countless lives & prevented a violent mob from breaching the Senate Chamber. Officer Goodman should be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his bravery & service. We all owe him a debt of gratitude. https://t.co/CMyoXB2uqj

— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) February 11, 2021

Read Pelosi’s complete letter:

"This week has been an historic one for the Country and the Congress.  We have been reminded of the extraordinary valor of the United States Capitol Police, the men and women who risked and gave their lives to save ours, becoming martyrs for our democracy.

The outstanding heroism and patriotism of our heroes deserve and demand our deepest appreciation, which is why I am honored to introduce legislation to pay tribute to the Capitol Police and other law enforcement personnel who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6 with the Congressional Gold Medal: the highest honor that the Congress can bestow.  The service of the Capitol Police force that day brings honor to our Democracy, and their accepting this Gold Medal will bring luster to this award.  A draft of this legislation is attached.

We must never forget the sacrifice of Officer Brian Sicknick, Officer Howard Liebengood, MPD Officer Jeffrey Smith and the more than 140 law enforcement officers who sustained physical injuries, or the courage of heroes such as Officer Eugene Goodman.  Indeed, we must stay vigilant against the “silent artillery of time,” as President Lincoln stated in his Lyceum Address – a speech that, fittingly, warned of the dire threat that mob insurrectionists could represent to our Democracy: “If [danger] ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad.  If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher."  We promised the families that we will never forget.”

RELATED: Hero cop comes face-to-face with man so out of touch with reality he seems to consider Trump God

‘Six people died’: More than 350 congressional staff members urge Senate to convict Trump

More than 350 congressional staff members signed an open letter Wednesday to the Senate, urging legislators to convict former President Donald Trump for inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “As Congressional employees, we don’t have a vote on whether to convict Donald J. Trump for his role in inciting the violent attack at the Capitol, but our Senators do,” the staffers said in the letter. “And for our sake, and the sake of the country, we ask that they vote to convict the former president and bar him from ever holding office again.” Trump called for his supporters to march to the Capitol to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory last month. “We will never give up,” he said at a Save America rally in Washington, D.C. “We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore, and that is what this is all about.”

With those words, he effectively ended a 230-year tradition of peaceful transitions of power, the congressional staffers pointed out. “Six people died. A Capitol Police officer—one of our co-workers who guards and greets us every day—was beaten to death,” they said. “The attack on our workplace was inspired by lies told by the former president and others about the results of the election in a baseless, months-long effort to reject votes lawfully cast by the American people.”

Those who signed the letter represent more than 100 offices from the House, 15 from the Senate, and 10 committees, CNN reported. "No one should have to experience something like this in their place of work," an unnamed staff member told CNN before the letter was released. "And I think it's important to tell this part of the story, because it's not just members of Congress who come to work at the Capitol every day. And it's not just staffers who work at the Capitol who were traumatized by what happened. And I think that is a piece of it.

“The trauma is there; the trauma is very real. And anytime that new pieces of information come out, you know, you're kind of re-traumatized.”

Read the workers’ complete letter below:

“We are staff who work for members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, where it is our honor and privilege to serve our country and our fellow Americans. We write this letter to share our own views and experiences, not the views of our employers. But on January 6, 2021, our workplace was attacked by a violent mob trying to stop the electoral college vote count. That mob was incited by former president Donald J. Trump and his political allies, some of whom we pass every day in the hallways at work.

Many of us attended school in the post-Columbine era and were trained to respond to active shooter situations in our classrooms. As the mob smashed through Capitol Police barricades, broke doors and windows, and charged into the Capitol with body armor and weapons, many of us hid behind chairs and under desks or barricaded ourselves in offices. Others watched on TV and frantically tried to reach bosses and colleagues as they fled for their lives.

On January 6, the former President broke America’s 230-year legacy of the peaceful transition of power when he incited a mob to disrupt the counting of electoral college votes. Six people died. A Capitol Police officer—one of our co-workers who guards and greets us every day—was beaten to death. The attack on our workplace was inspired by lies told by the former president and others about the results of the election in a baseless, months-long effort to reject votes lawfully cast by the American people.

Our Constitution only works when we believe in it and defend it. It’s a shared commitment to equal justice, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of our differences. Any person who doesn’t share these beliefs has no place representing the American people, now or in the future. The use of violence and lies to overturn an election is not worthy of debate. Either you stand with the republic or against it.

As Congressional employees, we don’t have a vote on whether to convict Donald J. Trump for his role in inciting the violent attack at the Capitol, but our Senators do. And for our sake, and the sake of the country, we ask that they vote to convict the former president and bar him from ever holding office again.”

As Trump’s legal team respectfully resigns, his supporters join Dems in blaming him for Capitol riot

Former President Donald Trump is apparently having some trouble finding legal representation in his upcoming impeachment trial. All five lawyers, including former federal litigators and Trump’s anticipated lead attorneys Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, have quit less than two weeks before the trial is scheduled to begin the week of February 8, unnamed sources told CNN. Other attorneys with the good sense to distance themselves from Trump include South Carolina lawyers Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris and Josh Howard, a North Carolina attorney who worked on the Monica Lewinsky investigation during former President Bill Clinton's time in office, CNN reported.

"A person familiar with the situation called it a ‘mutual" decision,’ New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman tweeted Saturday. "Bowers has been noticeably muted for someone leading a Trump defense, choosing not to talk to most reporters. The person familiar with the situation said there was no chemistry between Bowers and Trump."

Bowers has been noticeably muted for someone leading a Trump defense, choosing not to talk to most reporters. The person familiar with the situation said there was no chemistry between Bowers and Trump.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 31, 2021

The legal team’s decision to leave reportedly boiled down to a disagreement about legal strategy in the case, with Trump wanting them to argue the clearly unwinnable case that he's a victim of mass election fraud. The reality TV star’s better case is that impeaching a former president is unconstitutional, but even that is a toss-up considering it’s not actually mentioned in the constitution, legal scholars told various news agencies. Trump’s team—and by team, I mean the few remaining people linked to his presidency who aren’t desperately trying to distance themselves from him—is clutching to the constitutionality argument.  

"The Democrats' efforts to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional and so bad for our country,” Trump’s former campaign adviser Jason Miller told CNN. “In fact, 45 Senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional. We have done much work, but have not made a final decision on our legal team, which will be made shortly."

Despite GOP sentiments these days that impeaching a former president is unconstitutional, Rep. Matt Gaetz argued the exact opposite point on Twitter Dec. 4, 2019, when Trump suggested former President Barack Obama should be impeached for his stance on healthcare. “You actually can impeach a former President, FWIW”, Gaetz tweeted.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said in a statement The Washington Post obtained that the Senate “lacks constitutional authority to conduct impeachment proceedings against a former president.” “The Founders designed the impeachment process as a way to remove officeholders from public office — not an inquest against private citizens,” Cotton said.

The Post’s fact-checking team, however, gave a less definitive analysis:

“Some argue it’s impossible to impeach former officials. Some say it’s possible — if Congress wants to ban them from holding federal office again. One scholar said a definitive answer would come only after a court battle on these issues.

For now, no court appears to have ruled on this question, the text of the Constitution doesn’t spell out the answer, and past practice in Congress is an inconclusive guide.” 

What’s more conclusive is just how much damage Trump did when he made repeated claims of widespread election fraud then challenged his supporters to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. “We will never give up. “We will never concede. It doesn't happen,” Trump said at the Save America rally before the riot at the Capitol. “You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore, and that is what this is all about.” 

Ten House Republicans joined 222 Democrats in a vote to impeach Trump on January 13, and as it turns out, even supporters of the former president who are charged in connection to the Capitol riot are now arguing Trump made them do it, CNN reportedJacob Anthony Chansley otherwise known as the “QAnon shaman” who appeared horned, shirtless, and draped in bearskin during the riot, said through an attorney that he was "duped" by Trump, according to CNN. Chansley was arrested earlier this month on federal charges of “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority” and violent entry, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

"You become very self-interested very quickly when you've been charged by the Department of Justice," Elie Honig, a former federal litigator and CNN analyst, said on the news network. "Whatever political mission these people thought they were on while invading the Capitol, now that they might get locked up, they'll point the finger wherever they need to. Political goals now go out the window."

RELATED: The second impeachment of Donald Trump is underway, and this time, several Republicans are on board

RELATED: Traitor to democracy was just impeached. Again

RELATED: Federal prosecutors and former senior DOJ officials say video evidence is damning against Trump

Jurors want Attorney General Daniel Cameron impeached for shameless lies in Breonna Taylor case

Three grand jurors in the Breonna Taylor case have had enough of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s lies and manipulation, and on Friday they decided to do something about it. They filed a petition with the Kentucky House of Representatives calling for Cameron's impeachment after he failed to even mention a homicide charge in his presentation to the jury last September, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, died on March 13 after officers smashed through her door while she was sleeping and fired 32 times into her apartment, hitting her six times. But Cameron only presented to the jury three wanton endangerment charges, regarding shots fired into a neighboring apartment. Kevin Glogower, the lawyer representing the three grand jurors, said in the petition: “The Grand Jurors did not choose this battle. This battle chose them."

Glogower told the Courier-Journal that the jurors were “randomly selected” and “terribly misused by the most powerful law enforcement official in Kentucky,” adding that “Mr. Cameron continues to blatantly disregard the truth.”

Officers have said they were responding to a shot fired by Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who has maintained that he thought intruders were breaking into his girlfriend's home instead of police. Officers used a no-knock drug warrant for Taylor’s ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover to justify their presence in Taylor’s home, but Glover didn’t live at Taylor’s house and was already in police custody at the time of the shooting. Det. Joshua Jaynes, who secured the drug warrant, and Det. Myles Cosgrove, who fired the shot the FBI determined killed Taylor, were officially fired this month for their roles in the deadly shooting, the Louisville Metro Police Department confirmed to media on Jan. 6.

Brett Hankison, who is accused of blindly firing 10 shots into Taylor’s home during the raid, was also fired, but Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who shot Taylor five times, was only reassigned to administrative work. Mattingly was injured in the incident when Walker shot the cop, Cameron said during a news conference on Sept. 23.

Cameron used the press event to allege that the grand jury “agreed” that Mattingly and Cosgrove were “justified in their return of deadly fire after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker.” While dodging a question about whether homicide charges were presented to the jury, the prosecutor instead claimed that his office presented “all the information” and jurors “were walked through all the homicide offenses.”

Jurors maintain that simply is not true. “Neither Cameron nor anyone from his office mentioned any homicide offense to the grand jury,” they said in their petition, obtained by the Courier-Journal. “Not only were no homicide offenses presented as alleged, no charges of any kind were presented to the Grand Jury other than the three wanton endangerment charges against Detective Hankinson."

RELATED: In bombshell interview, grand jurors in Breonna Taylor case call out Kentucky AG’s lies

RELATED: Six months after killing Breonna Taylor, Kentucky grand jury indicts 1 officer for 'endangerment'

RELATED: NYTimes video reconstructs Breonna Taylor's murder

Behind closed doors, apparently 21 Senate Republicans are just as sick of Trump as the rest of us

Journalist Carl Bernstein is reminding us all that he owes Senate Republicans nothing, least of all protection as they cower in public and let President Donald Trump make a mockery of our democracy. Bernstein tweeted Sunday: “I'm not violating any pledge of journalistic confidentially in reporting this: 21 Republican Sens–in convos w/ colleagues, staff members, lobbyists, W. House aides–have repeatedly expressed extreme contempt for Trump & his fitness to be POTUS.”

They represent almost 40% of the 53 Senate Republicans. “With few exceptions, their craven public silence has helped enable Trump’s most grievous conduct—including undermining and discrediting the US the electoral system,” Bernstein tweeted

He listed senators:

  • Rob Portman, of Ohio;
  • Lamar Alexander, of Tennessee;
  • Ben Sasse, of Nebraska;
  • Roy Blunt, of Missouri;
  • Susan Collins, of Maine;
  • Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska;
  • John Cornyn, of Texas;
  • John Thune, of South Dakota;
  • Mitt Romney, of Utah;
  • Mike Braun, of Indiana;
  • Todd Young, of Indiana;
  • Tim Scott, of South Carolina;
  • Rick Scott, of Florida;
  • Marco Rubio, of Florida;
  • Chuck Grassley, of Iowa;
  • Richard Burr, of North Carolina;
  • Pat Toomey, of Pennsylvania;
  • Martha McSally, of Arizona;
  • Jerry Moran, of Kansas;
  • Pat Roberts, of Kansas; and
  • Richard Shelby of Alabama

Rubio's inclusion on the list comes as no surprise. He called Trump "a con artist" about to take over the Republican party in 2016. And much opportunistic flip-flopping aside, the Florida senator has ceased many opportunities since then to criticize the Trump administration. Bernstein, however, told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota it wasn’t just Rubio, that most of those he listed were “happy to see Donald Trump defeated in this election” as long as Senate Republicans remained in control. 

“We are witnessing the mad king in the final days of his reign willing to scorch the earth of his country and bring down the whole system,” Bernstein said, “to undermine our whole democracy, strip it of its legitimacy, poison the confidence of our people in our institutions and the constitution for Donald Trump's own petulant, selfish, rabid ends."

"We have a President of the United States for the first time in our history sabotaging this country. That’s where we are."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist said Republicans know what Trump has done “to undermine confidence in our institution.” They are living through a pandemic, witnessing Trump’s “homicidal negligence” that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans,” he said. “McConnell knows what’s going on,” Bernstein said. “And finally I’m told in the last 24/48 hours, I believe he and some others are attempting to find a way to somehow bring the country off the ledge that we are on because of the mad king and what he is doing.”

The 21 Senators Carl Bernstein names would be enough for an emergency impeachment and removal of Trump. They should’ve stood up during the Ukraine impeachment instead of voting to not even hear evidence. https://t.co/6KWuQhxz2a

— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) November 23, 2020

RELATED: 'It's over': GOP leaders start to come to grips with reality of Trump's loss

The Georgia runoff is Jan. 5. Click here to request an absentee ballot. Early in-person voting starts Dec. 14. And REGISTER TO VOTE here by Dec. 7.

And give $3 right now to rip the Senate majority from Mitch McConnell’s cold dead hands.

Hillary Clinton has to be tired of waiting 4 years for the country to realize she was right

Hillary Clinton called it four years ago when she pointed out then-Republican nominee Donald Trump’s propensity to cry system rigging when he happened to face an undesired result. "You know, every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is is rigged against him," she said during the final presidential debate of 2016. "He lost the Iowa caucus. He lost the Wisconsin primary. He said the Republican primary was rigged against him. Then Trump University gets sued for fraud and racketeering; he claims the court system and the federal judge is rigged against him. There was even a time when he didn't get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged against him. This, this is a mindset. This is how Donald thinks, and it's funny. But it's also really troubling."

Most of us are seeing the “really troubling” part now amid Trump’s effort and Republican leaders’ collective blind eye to discrediting Trump’s election loss to President-elect Joe Biden. Former national security advisor John Bolton said Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Trump isn’t exactly acting out of character, so it’s time for other Republicans to start setting a better example. “It's critical for other Republican leaders to stand up and explain what actually happened: Donald Trump lost what, by any evidence we have so far, was a free and fair election,” Bolton said.

#MarchForTrump #TrumpConcede #MillionMAGAMarch She warned us. Just sayin pic.twitter.com/kbeX7O9L1r

— sketchy_Jeff (@sketchy_jeff) November 14, 2020

I remember with great detail when the former secretary of state had to concede the 2016 election to a reality TV star. I can't imagine the humility that took, but she did it. Trump at least gets to concede to a former vice president, but he’s making no such concession by his account. He’s instead taken to his usual name-calling and alleging that the election was “rigged” against him. 

Rudy will be interviewed by @MariaBartiromo at 10:00 A.M. NOW! https://t.co/ExPIgqtIAV

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020

“John Bolton was one of the dumbest people in government that I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ to work with,” the president tweeted Sunday. “A sullen, dull and quiet guy, he added nothing to National Security except, ‘Gee, let’s go to war.’ Also, illegally released much Classified Information. A real dope!”

NEW: Former National Security Adviser John Bolton urges GOP leadership to "explain to our voters... that in fact Trump has lost the election and that these claims of election fraud are baseless." https://t.co/z6SZ06zbP3 pic.twitter.com/GyXya7xYAv

— ABC News (@ABC) November 15, 2020

That “dope” has been through five presidential transitions, Bolton pointed out on Twitter. “...and every day that he delays under the pretense that he's simply asking for his legal remedies ultimately is to the country's disadvantage,” Bolton said of the president.

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Bolton also negated the previously floated theory that accepting the election results would cost Republican leaders too high a political price. "Well, I have trust in the Republican voters. I believe that if their leaders explain to them that Trump lost fair and square, and that the facts do not support his claims that the election was stolen, that they will come to accept it,” Bolton said. “But if they only hear from Donald Trump it’s not unnatural for them to think, ‘since nobody else on our side of the aisle is disagreeing that what he’s saying is accurate,’ and I think that lays the basis for real distrust in the system, casting doubt on the integrity of our electoral system, the constitutional process.”

Fmr. US national security adviser John Bolton says history will remember Donald Trump "as a failed President." "He missed a huge... range of opportunities internationally for the United States because he couldn't focus his attention long enough to develop coherent policies." pic.twitter.com/dVEHaLloXk

— CNN (@CNN) November 15, 2020

Bolton’s not wrong, a bit hypocritical considering he wasn’t exactly willing to take a step outside of party lines to divulge details that could’ve been useful during Trump’s impeachment hearings. Then, he was perfectly content solely dangling knowledge of the president’s alleged quid pro quo to promote sales of his book, but now he’s calling on the same Republicans he mimicked in cowardice to risk themselves to acknowledge the truth. Something in me says it just doesn’t work that way, but I’ll admit it would be nice. "We need Republicans to tell the truth too,” Bolton said. “It's not that hard." Apparently, it is. 

RELATED: Trump's lawsuit against John Bolton is pointless, incompetent, and weak

The Georgia run-off is January 5th. Request an absentee ballot by Nov. 18. Early in-person voting starts Dec. 14. And REGISTER TO VOTE here by Dec. 7.

And give $3 right now to rip the Senate majority from Mitch McConnell’s cold dead hands.