5 Stories From This Past Year That Prove Kevin McCarthy Is Not Deserving of House Speaker Role

Fox News host Tucker Carlson perhaps summed up yesterday’s chaos in the House the best, explaining why some true conservatives are not willing to vote for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker.

“Kevin McCarthy of California was going to be Speaker,” Carlson said. “But then a group of 20 Republican members stopped him.”

He added, “They stopped him because they decided that Kevin McCarthy is not conservative enough to represent a party that’s just taking back the House from Nancy Pelosi.”

“And they are definitely right about that.”

RELATED: Donald Trump Loudly Backs Kevin McCarthy for Speaker, Blames Mitch McConnell For Chaos in the House

McCarthy, though, has the strong backing of former President Donald Trump. He sports an 88% rating in the current session from the conservative Heritage Action group (though his lifetime score from FreedomWorks is under 70%.)

He even has support from consistently strong MAGA supporters like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

So what is the problem here? Why are 20 other right-leaning Republicans refusing to support his speakership?

“McCarthy is not especially conservative,” Carlson explains. “He is, in fact, ideologically agnostic. He’s flexible.”

And that flexibility has true conservatives concerned that he will be awarded the role and revert back to the all-too-familiar face of a false leader for the Republican message – like the Boehners and Ryans we’ve seen in the recent past.

Or, to revert back to McCarthy from 2012 to 2018, when his Heritage Action group rating was nearly indiscernible from Adam Kinzinger, ranging between 40% and 57%.

With that, we list off five stories from this past year alone that prove Kevin McCarthy may not be worthy of getting a clean vote for Speaker of the House.

Tried to Get MAGA Conservatives Banned From Twitter

In a move that is little different than that of Democrats and the FBI, McCarthy openly pondered the possibility of getting conservatives banned from social media.

Audio surfaced in April of the lawmaker denouncing fellow Republicans – particularly America First Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Mo Brooks (R-AL) – for ‘putting other lawmakers at risk’ with their comments about the 2020 election.

“Well, he’s putting people in jeopardy, and he doesn’t need to be doing this,” McCarthy said of Gaetz for referring to those unwilling to fight the 2020 election results as ‘anti-Trump.’ “We saw what people would do in the Capitol, you know?”

“Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away, too?” the California Republican would later ask.

His words prompted Carlson to denounce McCarthy as “a puppet of the Democratic Party.”

Caught On Audio Discussing Blaming Trump For Capitol Riot

More audiotapes released the following month featured McCarthy describing Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6th riot at the Capitol as “atrocious.”

He would later discuss options such as invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office but ultimately decided it would take “too long.”

“Look, what the president did is atrocious and totally wrong,” McCarthy said of Trump in a call recorded on January 8th.

What Trump did was urge protesters concerned about election integrity to make their voices “peacefully” and “patriotically” heard.

Actively Worked to Oust MAGA Republican Madison Cawthorn, Other America First Candidates

The Washington Post reported in September that McCarthy “worked” previously “to deny (Madison) Cawthorn a second term in office,” saying he had “lost my trust.”

Cawthorn had been endorsed by Trump at the time, but had accused members of Congress of using drugs and inviting him to an “orgy.”

The well-planned targeting by McCarthy didn’t simply focus on Madison Cawthorn. The House Republican leader also sought to keep other MAGA candidates out of Congress.

The Post wrote that Kevin McCarthy and his political machine were working to “systematically weed out GOP candidates” they felt might give him “trouble” as House Speaker.

It was also an effort to eliminate conservative candidates in districts where more moderate candidates were perceived to have a better chance of winning.

Said Before the Midterms GOP Would NOT Impeach Biden

McCarthy, just a couple of weeks before the midterm elections, took a motivating issue for many voters of impeaching President Biden and declared it would not happen.

In an interview with Punchbowl News, McCarthy admitted that should the GOP win back congressional control in the 2022 midterms, they would not pursue impeachment.

“I think the country doesn’t like impeachment used for political purposes at all,” said McCarthy. “If anyone ever rises to that occasion, you have to, but I think the country wants to heal and … start to see the system that actually works.”

He later lamented the fact that Democrats had sought the impeachment of Trump before he took office and suggested the GOP had to be better than that.

“You watch what the Democrats did – they all came out and said they would impeach before Trump was ever sworn in,” he said. “There wasn’t a purpose for it.”

If anything, that means they lowered the bar and that’s the level at which the GOP must fight back. If Trump were President and Democrats controlled the House, do you think they’d pump the breaks on impeachment and insist the country needs to heal?

Pretended He’d Pull Back on Aid to Ukraine

McCarthy announced in late October that when the GOP takes control of the House, Ukraine would no longer be the benefactor of a “blank check” from the United States government.

“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” McCarthy said. “They just won’t do it. … It’s not a free blank check.”

About a week later, allies of the Republican lawmaker were furiously backpedaling on the statement.

“McCarthy was not saying, ‘We wouldn’t spend money.’ McCarthy was saying, ‘We’re gonna be accountable to the taxpayer for every dollar we spend,’” one lawmaker told CNN.

It was an effort, CNN said, to “soothe the House’s senior defense hawks.”

Which is a super-neat way to say he was talking out of both sides of his mouth.

The House will again convene at noon today with a fourth round of voting for Speaker of the House to be likely.

Trump has urged those in opposition to McCarthy’s speakership to “close the deal” and “take the victory.”

With this list of his behavior in recent memory, we’re not sure it would be a great victory.

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Swamp Rat Mitch McConnell Agrees With January 6 Committee on Trump Criminal Referral

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell seemingly celebrated the January 6 committee announcement of criminal referrals made against Donald Trump.

The highly partisan committee voted Monday to refer four criminal charges against Trump to the Biden Department of Justice over his alleged actions during the Capitol riot.

The panel suggested that President Biden’s DOJ investigate the former President for inciting insurrection, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiring to defraud the government, and conspiring to make a false statement.

McConnell still seemed pleased with the results, throwing in his lot with the Democrats and the liberal media.

“The entire nation knows who is responsible for that day,” he wrote in a statement following the news. “Beyond that, I don’t have any immediate observations.”

RELATED: Trump Slams RussiaGater Adam Schiff After He Claims January 6 Committee Will Charge Former President

Mitch McConnell Pleased With January 6 Committee’s Criminal Referrals Against Trump

Mitch McConnell, much like the Democrats, is pleased with the January 6 committee’s criminal referrals against former President Trump.

Mitch McConnell, much like the Democrats, believes there was an “insurrection” and that despite Trump urging protesters to make their voices heard “peacefully,” he is to blame.

Most Importantly, Mitch McConnell, much like the Democrats, views the Capitol riot as an opportunity to rid the nation of Trump once and for all.

According to a book titled, “This Will Not Pass,” Mitch was “exhilarated” that Trump had “totally discredited himself” just hours after the Capitol riot on January 6th.

He also took joy that Trump seemingly had ‘committed political suicide’ that day.

“I feel exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself,” McConnell said. “He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Couldn’t have happened at a better time.”

Who else gets “exhilarated” at the thought of Trump committing political suicide? Democrats and weepy eunuchs like Adam Kinzinger. How is Mitch McConnell any different?

RELATED: McConnell Blames Trump for Establishment Not Being Able to ‘Control’ GOP Primaries

Trump Responds

Donald Trump responded to the criminal referrals put forth by the January 6 committee on his Truth Social media platform. In one comment he noted the fact that the process of impeachment had already acquitted him of charges involving a so-called insurrection.

“The Fake charges made by the highly partisan Unselect Committee of January 6th have already been submitted, prosecuted, and tried in the form of Impeachment Hoax # 2,” he wrote. “I WON convincingly. Double Jeopardy anyone!”

“These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me,” Trump added. “It strengthens me.  What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

In another comment, Trump mocked the committee as the “Democratic Bureau of Investigation.”

The DBI “are out to keep me from running for president because they know I’ll win and that this whole business of prosecuting me is just like impeachment was,” he said, “a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party.”

As for McConnell melding his statement with the narrative of the January 6 committee, Trump has had numerous choice words for the “Broken Old Crow” in the past.

Trump has repeatedly taken shots at Mitch McConnell ever since the Senate Minority leader vowed to be “done with” him. 

The former President described Mitch as an “absolute loser” who has been giving Democrats “everything they want” and pressed the GOP to oust the Republican leader.

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With his latest statement on the criminal referrals, McConnell once again gave Democrats everything they want. A soundbite and affirmation that the committee’s work wasn’t a sham.

The GOP needs to repeal and replace him from leadership.

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McConnell on Jan. 6 criminal referral of Trump: ‘Entire nation knows who is responsible for that day’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday issued a terse response to the House Jan. 6 select committee’s decision to refer criminal charges against former President Trump to the Justice Department.  

“The entire nation knows who is responsible for that day. Beyond that, I don’t have any immediate observations,” McConnell said in a statement reacting to the House panel voting to refer four criminal charges against Trump to prosecutors in connection to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

The committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, recommended the Justice Department investigate Trump for inciting insurrection, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to make a false statement.  

The panel also recommended a formal ethics investigation of the role that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and several allies — Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) — played on Jan. 6 and in the days before.

McConnell's statement responding to the action on the other side of the Capitol was bolder than those from some members of his leadership team.

Retiring Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (Mo.) said he “had no idea” of the details of the referral.  

Incoming Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said, “I never heard of Congress instructing [the Justice Department] in that way."

She said the committee’s work was “obviously politicized.”  

McConnell denounced Trump on the Senate floor in February 2021 after the former president was acquitted on the impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection.  

“There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day,” McConnell said, after voting to acquit the president on the technical grounds that he no longer held the office.  

Since then, McConnell has regularly declined to comment when asked what responsibility Trump bore for spreading the unsubstantiated belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.  

Jan. 6 committee launches ethics complaint against McCarthy, other GOP lawmakers

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol escalated its clash with Republican lawmakers on Monday, recommending a formal ethics inquiry into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and other top allies of former President Trump for their refusal to cooperate with the probe.

The recommendations to the House Ethics Committee mark a milder step than the criminal referrals to the Justice Department that the select committee made Monday against Trump and several members of the former president’s inner circle for their role in the Capitol riot. 

But as a political matter, the ethics complaints will shine a bright light on the actions of McCarthy and three other prominent House Republicans — Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Andy Biggs (Ariz.) — in the lead-up to and the aftermath of the attack. Those actions ranged from attending Jan. 6 planning meetings with Trump at the White House, as Jordan had done, to having conversations with the then-president in the midst of the riot, as McCarthy had done. 

The committee had initially requested that those four lawmakers, among others, appear voluntarily before the panel. When the Republicans refused, the panel issued subpoenas for their testimony in May, almost a year into the sweeping investigation into Trump’s efforts to remain in power after his 2020 defeat. 

None of them complied with the inquest, arguing the select committee was, from the start, a political witch hunt orchestrated by Trump’s adversaries — most notably Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — to damage Trump’s chances of winning another term in the White House. Heightening those accusations, Trump last month announced his entrance into the 2024 presidential race.

During Monday’s gathering on Capitol Hill, the last in a long series of public forums to air its findings, the select committee argued that ignoring congressional subpoenas — even for sitting lawmakers — sets a dangerous precedent that will hobble Congress’s powers to function effectively as an oversight body.

It’s unclear if the Ethics panel will launch an investigation based on the select committee’s new recommendations. Unlike most other standing committees, membership on the Ethics panel is evenly divided between the parties. And the committee strives — at least rhetorically — to avoid the divisive partisan politicking that practically defines some of the other panels. 

Yet with just weeks left in the 117th Congress, there’s a small and closing window for the committee to launch any new probes while Democrats are still in the House majority. And it’s unlikely that a GOP-led Ethics panel would take the remarkable step of investigating the role of sitting Republicans in an event as polarizing as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 

Indeed, in a sign of how partisan Jan. 6 has become, McCarthy — who is vying to become Speaker next year and has outsize influence over committee chair spots — is vowing to investigate the Jan. 6 investigation as a first order of business in the new Congress.  

Heading into Monday’s forum, panel members seemed resigned to the idea that they had little recourse against McCarthy and the other Republicans who refused to cooperate in the short window before the panel sunsets.

"We don't have a lot of time right now," Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), one of the two Republicans on the select committee, told reporters last week. "That's the reality of where we're at."

By their own telling, each of the Republicans has information pertaining to the Jan. 6 attack that is relevant to the investigation. 

McCarthy had called Trump from the Capitol amid the attack, urging the president to call off his supporters, and he later went to the House floor to say Trump bore responsibility for the rampage. But despite initially supporting an outside investigation into the riot, McCarthy reversed course after Trump opposed the idea. 

Jordan, another close Trump ally, was among the most vocal proponents of Congress’s effort to overturn Trump’s defeat in certain closely contested states. He’d attended a meeting at the White House in late December of 2020, just weeks before Jan. 6, to help plan the Republicans’ strategy for blocking Congress’s vote to formalize President Biden’s victory. And he was on a conference call on Jan. 2, 2021, for the same purpose. Jordan also spoke with Trump more than once on Jan. 6. 

Russell Dye a spokesperson for Jordan dismissed the referral as “just another partisan and political stunt made by a Select Committee that knowingly altered evidence, blocked minority representation on a Committee for the first time in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives, and failed to respond to Mr. Jordan’s numerous letters and concerns surrounding the politicization and legitimacy of the Committee’s work.”

Perry, who rose in prominence as a staunch Trump defender during the former president’s first impeachment, has caught the attention of Jan. 6 investigators for his role in pushing Trump to install Jeffrey Clark as head of the Justice Department after the election. Clark was sympathetic to Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign, and Republicans saw him as an ally in the effort to use the Justice Department to keep Trump in office. 

Biggs, a former head of the far-right Freedom Caucus, had been a part of a campaign led by Arizona state lawmakers to seat a slate of alternative electors who would side with Trump despite his loss in the Grand Canyon State.  

A fifth GOP lawmaker, Rep. Mo Brooks (Ala.), had also been a target of investigators for his coordination with the Trump White House leading up to Jan. 6 as well as his combative speech on the Ellipse that morning, when Brooks, clad in body armorurged the crowd to “start taking down names and kicking ass.” 

Brooks, who lost a bid for Alabama Senate this year, is not returning to Capitol Hill next year, and the Jan. 6 committee did not include him on its list of ethics referrals.

Updated at 3:24 p.m.

Report: Mitch McConnell Said He’s ‘Done’ With ‘Crazy’ Trump Over Capitol Riot

Senator Mitch McConnell was considering a vote to convict Donald Trump in the impeachment trial over his alleged role in the Capitol riot and said he was “done with” the “crazy” former President over the incident.

The revelations surfaced in excerpts published from the upcoming book, Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump, written by Politico’s Rachael Bade and the Washington Post’s Karoun Demirjian.

Explaining that the vote to convict Trump would represent “one of the most pivotal votes of his career,” the authors indicated McConnell (R-KY) was all but certain the GOP would purge themselves of the then-President.

“But while McConnell was ready to be done with Trump, his party, it seemed, was not,” they wrote.

RELATED: Trump Slams ‘Broken Down Hack’ Mitch McConnell And His ‘Crazy Wife’

Mitch McConnell Said He’s ‘Done With’ Trump

The book excerpts provided by the Washington Post quickly put Mitch McConnell in AOC or Adam Kinzinger territory with his melodramatic reaction to the events of January 6.

They describe him as “stunned” at what “marauders” had done at the Capitol and illustrate a man “overcome with emotion at the trauma [his aides] experienced.”

The result was this promise: “We’ve all known that Trump is crazy,” McConnell told them. “I’m done with him. I will never speak to him again.”

And while the Senate Republican leader may have been prepared to move on, it became clear that the GOP didn’t have the votes to convict Trump, despite efforts by Liz Cheney (R-WY) to convince him to take action in short order, circumventing due process.

“She pressed him in a series of phone calls to bring the Senate back from a congressional recess before the Biden inauguration and quickly convict Trump before he left office,” the authors reveal.

“Republicans would follow his lead, she insisted to McConnell. And besides, Trump still posed an ongoing threat to the country.”

On that last point, according to the book, McConnell “did not disagree” though he knew the logistics would make a quick conviction impossible.

“We don’t disagree on the substance; we just disagree on the tactics,” he allegedly told Cheney. “Let’s just ignore him.”

RELATED: Report: Mitch McConnell Wants A Truce With Donald Trump

Trump Says McConnell is a Broken Down Hack

The latest book on the events surrounding the Capitol riot square with another previously published effort alleging Mitch McConnell admitted he was “exhilarated” that Trump had “totally discredited himself” over the entire ordeal.

He also took joy that Trump seemingly had ‘committed political suicide.’

“I feel exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself,” McConnell said. “He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Couldn’t have happened at a better time.”

McConnell, it seems according to a New York Times column from the authors of that particular book, thought the “The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us.”

Trump has repeatedly taken shots at Mitch McConnell ever since the Senate Minority leader vowed to be “done with” him.

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Just a few short weeks ago, as reported by The Political Insider, Trump took to social media to blast McConnell as a “broken down hack politician” and even made remarks about his “crazy wife.”

Last week, Trump described Mitch as an “absolute loser” who has been giving Democrats “everything they want.”

On Thursday he shared a column analyzing a new Civiqs poll indicating just 7% view McConnell favorably.

Trump has pressed the GOP to oust McConnell, whom he describes as a “Broken Old Crow,” from leadership.

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Trump Vows Pardons, Government Apology For January 6 Defendants

Donald Trump vowed, assuming he were to run and win a second term in 2024, to pardon convicted protesters from the January 6 riot at the Capitol.

“I mean full pardons with an apology to many,” he told conservative radio host Wendy Bell.

Trump also revealed that he has been “financially supporting” some of the defendants and railed against federal prosecutors who, in his view, are treating them harshly.

“They were in my office actually two days ago. It’s very much on my mind. It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to them. What they’ve done to these people, it’s disgraceful,” said Trump.

Trump has yet to officially announce a run in 2024, though he has hinted often and strongly.

RELATED: MAGA Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls For Biden’s Impeachment Following ‘President Butterbeans’ Divisive Speech

Trump Vows January 6 Pardons, Biden Calls Them Enemies of the Nation

The former President’s comments came hours before Joe Biden delivered a thoroughly divisive speech slamming ‘MAGA Republicans’ as a threat to the nation.

“There is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country,” Biden told supporters Thursday night.

Biden then asserted a need to level with the American people about the supposed dangers presented by their Republican-voting friends and family.

“It is my duty — my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful,” he continued. 
 
“And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution.  They do not believe in the rule of law.  They do not recognize the will of the people,” said Biden. “They refuse to accept the results of a free election.”

This is rich coming from a man who once agreed with a voter that Trump was an “illegitimate president in my mind” and even suggested the 2022 midterms “could easily be illegitimate.”

RELATED: Mitch McConnell At Odds With Trump: Opposes Pardons For January 6 Rioters

RINOs Don’t Support the Pardons

This isn’t the first time Trump has mentioned pardons for January 6 rioters, a platform which puts him at odds with some GOP Senators.

“If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly,” he vowed in January. “If that requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.”

Those comments led to Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) nearly having an aneurysm.

“I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes,” McConnell responded.

Graham flatly opposed the move saying, “No, I don’t want to send any signal that it was OK to defile the Capitol.”

Added Graham: “I think it’s inappropriate … I don’t want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future.”

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Do you know what’s more likely to lead to riots in the future? This kind of crap …

At a rally in February, Trump reiterated his promise to treat January 6 defendants fairly by issuing pardons. In an interview around the same time, he responded to Graham’s comments.

“Well, Lindsey Graham’s wrong. I mean, Lindsey’s a nice guy, but he’s a RINO. Lindsey’s wrong,” Trump said.

“Lindsey Graham doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about if he says that,” he added.

On Thursday he accused federal prosecutors in the “radical left system” of being “sick” over the way they treat Capitol riot defendants.

“These people are sick. There’s something wrong with them. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. They’re sick. And they’re cold,” he said. “They’re the most coldhearted people, they don’t care about families, they don’t care about anything.”

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Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Defends Clarence Thomas Amid Calls For Impeachment: ‘Cares Deeply About The Court’

Amidst calls for his impeachment by some Democrats, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has found an unlikely defender – Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Sotomayor offered praise for her colleague, stating he is a very personable individual who “cares deeply” about the integrity of the court.

“Justice Thomas is the one justice in the building that literally knows every employee’s name, every one of them,” she told attendees of the American Constitution Society’s 2022 national convention on Thursday.

“And not only does he know their names, he remembers their families’ names and histories.” 

She said despite their differences of opinion on how to help people, they maintain a friendship because she knows Thomas is a “man who cares deeply about the court as an institution … about the people who work here.”

RELATED: AOC Calls To Impeach Clarence Thomas, The Only Black Supreme Court Justice

Sonia Sotomayor Defends Clarence Thomas

Sonia Sotomayor’s kind words towards Clarence Thomas were a rare moment of positivity for the longest-serving justice, the second black justice, and the most conservative member currently serving on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor hasn’t always lobbed kindness towards conservatives on the Supreme Court, however.

In oral arguments regarding Roe v. Wade, she suggested the Court was not considering the law itself, but rather seeking to pursue its reversal due to the makeup of the justices.

“Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?” she asked.

RELATED: Justice Clarence Thomas Hammers the Media: ‘I’ll Leave the Court When I Do My Job As Poorly As You Do Yours’

They Want Him Gone

Sonia Sotomayor’s comment comes as Democrats have been actively calling for Thomas’ impeachment due to the alleged conduct of his wife, Virginia Thomas.

Reports have surfaced that Thomas’ wife exchanged text messages with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and other officials about alleged election fraud.

A petition by the far-left group MoveOn.org calling for Thomas’ impeachment has eclipsed 236,000 signatures. Politico reports that House Democrats are “outraged” over the situation with his wife and they have the option to impeach.

Far-left Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is demanding Thomas resign or face impeachment for what she has determined are ethical breaches.

“Clarence Thomas should resign,” AOC tweeted.

“If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.”

Sotomayor made a widely panned false claim about the seriousness of COVID infection in children during oral arguments over the Biden administration’s efforts to mandate vaccines.

“We have over 100,000 children, which we’ve never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators” due to the coronavirus, she said.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky would later state that the Supreme Court Justice was wrong, pointing out at the time there were 3,500 children in the hospital.

Thomas meanwhile, joked to the media about when he’d be leaving the Supreme Court.

“One of the things I’d say in response to the media is when they talk about, especially early on, about the way I did my job, I said ‘I will absolutely leave the court when I do my job as poorly as you do yours,'” he recalled. “And that was meant as a compliment really.”

The audience erupted in laughter.

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Trump Pens Epic 12-Page Response To Jan. 6 Hearings, Hints At Announcing 2024 Campaign

Former President Donald Trump issued a massive 12-page rebuttal to the ongoing January 6th Congressional hearings that have accused him of inciting an insurrection, and the product is pure Trump.

The bulk of Trump’s response focused on his continued allegations of election integrity issues, but includes revealing passages on what he believes are the Democrats’ real intentions behind the hearings.

President Trump asserts that the Democrats on the “Unselect Pseudo-Committee” are merely trying to distract the American people from the dining room table issues affecting voters leading up to the midterms. He also claims these hearings are primarily an attempt to subvert his ability to run for President again in 2024. 

Let’s look at what else the former President had to say in this unprecedented action from a former leader of the free world.

RELATED: Newly Released Jan. 6 Documents Reveal Officer Never Filed Report In Shooting Death of Ashli Babbitt

Smoke and Mirrors

It’s no secret that the expectation is the Democrats are poised to receive a severe whipping during the coming 2022 midterms. The chances they will lose the majority in at least one if not both houses of Congress are high.

Trump states in his dissertation:

“They (the Democrats) are desperate to change the narrative of a failing nation, without even making mention of the havoc and death caused by the radical left just months earlier.”

An homage to the state of the union today and the summer riots in 2020, he goes on to state:

“They (the Democrats) are hoping that these hearings will somehow alter their failing prospects.”

Trump and other GOP members claim that the hearings are meant to distract from economic issues such as inflation and skyrocketing gas prices. Additionally, the idea is to refocus the American voter on what happened on January 6th instead of what is happening now with rising crime and increased divisive rhetoric surrounding various social issues.

RELATED: One Of The January 6 Committee’s Conspiracy Theories About Riot Debunked By Capitol Police

An Eye Towards 2024

Since Biden’s inauguration, the former President has hinted that he is contemplating another run at the highest seat in all the land. With Trump endorsing candidates polling well and polling quite well himself, this has got to have the Democrats worried.

Trump states it plainly:

“This is merely an attempt to stop a man that is leading in every poll, against both Republicans and Democrats by wide margins, from running again for the Presidency.”

So how does the committee accomplish that alleged goal? That remains to be seen. The plan seems to be to link Trump and his allies to the claim that they deliberately lied to Americans about election fraud which then spurred the events that transpired at the Capitol on January 6th.

READ MORE: Trump’s full 12-page statement here.

Testimony from some of Trump’s former closest confidants, including his daughter, reveals that, for the most part, people were not supporting the President’s election fraud claims. Furthermore it appears they repeatedly said as much to the President. Therefore there doesn’t seem to be clear evidence that the President didn’t and, for that matter, still doesn’t believe his claims. 

The fact that he spends the bulk of his rebuttal attempting to convince Americans of his claims points to the probability that he still believes them regardless of the evidence. So then the next question is, did he purposely incite the violence?

Again, the hearing’s ability to prove intent to incite remains to be seen. Even if the committee believes they can prove anything, the decision to prosecute the former President lies with the Justice Department.

Will It Move The Needle?

According to Pew Research Poll from January, a minority believe Trump has “a lot” of responsibility for the Capitol riot. That’s down from a majority in January, 2021.

Those numbers make it hard to see how pursuing further than these hearings could help the Democrats. Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens of Michigan says the value of these hearings is to have “more honest conversations” regarding the events of January 6th.

There is an argument that some of us would like to have an honest conversation. I, for one, have been curious as to why there wasn’t more security on-site before the planned demonstration.

Will the hearings cover some of the security questions that have come up? I guess we will have to stay tuned.

Drama is what the Democrats are hoping for and why they hired James Goldston, the former President of ABC News, to produce the hearings as if it were a Hollywood production rather than a Congressional hearing. The hope is that it would grip the American people like a real-time documentary drama.

CNN’s Brian Stelter said about 20 million people tuned into last Thursday’s hearing. It seems like a lot but pales compared to the 38 million that tuned into the State of the Union.

RELATED: AOC Tears Up Having To Relive January 6 Footage: ‘I Am So Angry’

Following His Own Beat

The former President isn’t known for ‘falling in line.’ However, the GOP has tried very hard to have a united effort to focus on the economy and other areas where Democrats and the Biden administration are in the doghouse with the American public.

Trump’s 12-page paper focusing mainly on claims he won the Presidency goes against the GOP narrative at large. A former Trump White House aide put it:

“I think it’s fine to correct the record…but I think the vast majority of the energy should be spent on the economic issues.”

I feel this won’t be the last we hear of the former President. With more hearings scheduled, it’s sure to make for must-see TV if you can afford your cable bill or streaming subscription by then.

Read Trump’s full 12-page statement about the January 6 Committee here.

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These are the lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee

The House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection will start holding public hearings Thursday, looking to draw national attention to witness testimony and evidence gathered during nearly a year of investigating.

The committee is made up of nine House members — seven Democrats and two Republicans. It formed last summer, about six months after the U.S. Capitol riot, to investigate the attack and events and communications around it.

After an attempt to form a bipartisan commission with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) moved forward in appointing the entire committee.

Here are the members serving on the House Jan. 6 committee and some of their comments on the panel's work thus far.

Bennie Thompson 

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) serves as chairman of the committee. Thompson has led the committee since its inception. He has said there is “no question” that the Jan. 6 insurrection was a premeditated attack based on the evidence the committee has received.

He has called his role leading the committee “ironic” given his background as a Black man from “one of the most racist states.”

Liz Cheney 

Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) serves as the vice chairwoman and is one of two Republican members on the committee. Thompson said in September that her appointment underscores the “bipartisan nature” of the committee’s work. 

But Cheney has faced sharp criticism as a result of her decision to participate in the committee’s investigation and her rebukes of former President Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. House Republicans voted to remove Cheney as conference chairwoman last May, and she is now facing a Trump-endorsed challenger for her primary in August. 

Cheney said last month hat Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results is a "threat we have never faced before."

Adam Kinzinger 

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), the other Republican serving on the committee, has also faced pushback after he voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the Capitol insurrection and joined the Jan. 6 committee. Kinzinger announced in October that he would not seek reelection to his seat, ending a 12-year career in the House. He has remained one of the most vocal GOP critics of Trump. 

Kinzinger was not originally a member of the committee, but Pelosi appointed him after McCarthy pulled his picks from consideration. 

McCarthy denied blaming Trump for the insurrection immediately following the attack, but tapes later revealed that he did, which Kinzinger said showed that Republican leaders think their voters are “dumb.”

Pete Aguilar 

Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, argued in March in favor of the Justice Department bringing contempt charges against witnesses who have refused to cooperate despite subpoenas from the committee. 

The Justice Department has brought charges for contempt of Congress against former Trump strategist Stephen Bannon and former trade adviser Peter Navarro but has not charged his former chief of staff Mark Meadows or Dan Scavino, his former deputy chief of staff for communications, who have also been subpoenaed by the committee.

Zoe Lofgren 

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, said in March on PBS’s “NewsHour” that what unfolded during the riot was a more serious threat to American democracy than Watergate. In April, she said the members of the House Jan. 6 committee are “not afraid” to release any information or call any witness to testify. 

The committee has issued subpoenas for a range of witnesses, including Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. who spoke at the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse near the White House. Multiple family members have voluntarily cooperated, including the former president's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. 

The committee has not said who will testify during its upcoming slate of eight hearings.

Elaine Luria 

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) said in an interview in late March that Kushner’s interview with the committee was “really valuable” to the investigation.

Luria also called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to act on the contempt charges the committee has recommended. 

“Attorney General Garland, do your job so we can do ours,” she said at a meeting where the committee forwarded its recommendation for charges against Scavino and Navarro. 

Stephanie Murphy 

Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said in February that the committee needs to be aware of the impact its actions could have moving forward.

“The people who were involved were at all levels of government — local, state and federal — and the unprecedented nature of the event has led us to be very careful about how we proceed in the investigation because we are setting precedents,” Murphy told The Hill at the time. 

“But we will be thorough in how we get all the information,” she added. 

Jamie Raskin 

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led the House impeachment case against Trump in January, has been vocal about the Jan. 6 committee’s findings and what the American people will learn from the public hearings.

He said Monday that the committee members have found evidence on Trump that is “a lot more than incitement.” Trump was impeached following the insurrection for incitement, but the Senate did not reach the requisite two-thirds majority vote needed to convict him.

Raskin told Washington Post Live on Tuesday that the hearing this week will “tell a story of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election.” 

Adam Schiff 

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) emphasized on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the hearing this week will be the first time there will be a “comprehensive narrative” on the events surrounding the insurrection.

He said “a number of bombshells” have already been released during the committee’s investigation but that there is more to be revealed. Schiff is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which was at the center of the investigation in Trump's first impeachment for allegedly soliciting foreign help in an election.

Trump Inexplicably Endorses GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Despite Jan. 6 Resignation Plot

President Donald Trump endorsed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as “an outstanding Representative” and a “strong and fearless Leader” in a Truth Social post Saturday, despite revelations of McCarthy’s plot to ask Trump to resign after the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

McCarthy, widely considered to become the Speaker of the House if Republicans win the midterm elections in November, represents California’s 23rd Congressional District.

“In Congress, Kevin is a tireless advocate for the people of Bakersfield and the Central Valley,” Trump said. “He is working incredibly hard to Stop Inflation, Deliver Water Solutions, and hold Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi Accountable for their catastrophic failures and dereliction of duty.”

Trump made this endorsement despite McCarthy’s resignation comments that came to light in April. 

RELATED: Tucker Rips GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy As Democrat ‘Puppet’ After Audio Surfaces of McCarthy Ripping Trump Supporters

McCarthy’s Plot to Remove Trump

McCarthy was caught on a recording with Republican leaders discussing a plan to ask President Trump to resign following the political fallout of the January 6 riot.

In the conversation, Never Trump Republican and January 6th Committee member Liz Cheney asked if McCarthy has discussed resignation with Trump. McCarthy replied that he had not asked the President yet, but he planned to do so.

“Again, the only discussion I would have with him is that, I think this will pass [Congress]” McCarhty said. “And it will be my recommendation [Trump] should resign. I mean, that would be my take. But I don’t think he would take it. But I don’t know.”

The item before Congress appears to be what would become the second impeachment case against Trump.

The comments were first reported by two New York Times reporters, Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin, in their book “This Will Not Pass.” 

Despite the recording, McCarthy vehemently denied making any comments about asking Trump to resign in a statement he posted to Twitter.

“The New York Time’s reporting on me is totally false and wrong,” McCarthy tweeted. “It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda. This promotional book tour is no different. If the reporters were interested in truth why would they ask for comment after the book was printed?”

“The past year and a half have proven that our country was better off when President Trump was in the White House…”

Whatever was discussed on the Jan. 10 phone call with Representative Cheney never came to fruition.

RELATED: GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Caught On Audio Discussing Removing Trump From Office, Blaming Him For Capitol Riot

Trump Likes to Pick Winners

Trump’s base of MAGA voters was clearly miffed by the McCarthy endorsement, especially considering his resignation plot. Following Trump’s endorsement of the Congressman, his supporters booed the mention of McCarthy’s name at a rally over the weekend.

Twitter mentions of McCarthy’s endorsement refer to him as a RINO who lets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) take advantage of him. 

So, what could explain Trump’s endorsement of McCarthy? Trump’s endorsements range an assortment of candidates.

They are not all the same brand of MAGA Republicans as Trump himself, but Trump likes to pick winners and there is no other Republican running in McCarthy’s race who could beat him. It may be as simple as that.

Trump explained his reasons for backing McCarthy in his own statement on Truth Social, where he listed a number of areas where McCarthy is leading Republicans in Congress. 

“As Leader, Kevin is building a commitment to Americas platform to grow our economy, fight big tech censorship, secure the border, strengthen our military, defend the Second Amendment, improve our health care, restore American energy independence, support our brave veterans, and uphold the Rule of Law and American values.”

He concludes the endorsement saying, “Kevin McCarthy has my Complete and Total Endorsement for California’s 23rd Congressional District!”

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