Mayorkas says his critics on Capitol Hill ‘will not force’ him out

Posted on February 20, 2023 (Updated February 20, 2023) by Lauren Sforza

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a new interview that he will not be pushed out of his position amid efforts from some House Republicans to impeach him.

"They will not force me out," he told CNN's Chris Wallace on Sunday's episode of "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace."

Many House Republicans have repeatedly called to impeach Mayorkas, arguing that the secretary does not have "operational control" of the border despite repeated claims the border is secure.

Two articles of impeachment have now been levied against Mayorkas this year, alleging that Mayorkas lied to Congress about having control of the border and that he has failed in his duties to control the border.

The GOP's impeachment case against him is dependent on a 2006 law that states operational control of the border is defined as the prevention "of all unlawful entries." Critics have argued that this definition of operational control was commonly seen as impossible to meet.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called on Mayorkas to resign in November, saying that a House investigation will determine if an impeachment inquiry is warranted. The Department of Homeland Security has previously said that Mayorkas has no plans to resign.

Mayorkas said that he takes calls for his impeachment "seriously" and that he intends to appear before Congress when he is called to.

"I take them seriously," he said. "It is the leadership of the House that provided those remarks. I don't dismiss it by any measure, but what I do is I focus on my work."

He also added that he does not think he has done anything wrong.

"I think it is a disagreement over policy," he said. "And I think it is used for political purposes to continue a negative dialogue about a migration challenge that is not unique to the United States, to continue that dialogue to uplift it for political reasons."

The impeachment of cabinet members has been exceedingly rare throughout U.S. history.

Former President Grant’s secretary of war, William Belknap, was the only Cabinet member to be impeached in history. He resigned in 1876 before he would have been likely convicted for taking kickbacks for appointing a contractor to run a trading post in Oklahoma.

Fox News’ Chris Wallace Shuts Down Juan Williams After Comparing Cuomo To Trump

Posted on March 8, 2021 by John Hanson

On Sunday, Fox News host Chris Wallace laughingly shut down contributor Juan Williams, who tried to compare sexual harassment allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to those of Donald Trump.

Williams made his comments to Wallace during a discussion of the multiple accusations against Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Watch the segment below.

Wallace Asks Sunday Panel If Cuomo Can Survive

Wallace began by asking the panel if Cuomo had any path forward, considering not only the charges that he fudged the numbers of nursing homes deaths related to the COVID pandemic to make his administration look better, but also the multiple charges of sexual harassment.

Members of bother parties have called for Gov. Cuomo’s resignation or impeachment.

Wallace opened up:

“They say liberals were far too slow to recognize that Cuomo made a serious mistake when he issued this directive that seniors who were in nursing — or were in hospitals should be sent back to nursing homes and then there’s the whole question of cooking the books and they also note the fact that, it wasn’t so long ago that liberals were saying, you know, if a woman accuser comes forward — they certainly said this about Brett Kavanaugh — she must be believed.”

“Now they’re a little slower to say that, they be a lot slower, when it comes to Andrew Cuomo,” Wallace added.

“Maybe a lot slower.”

NEW YORK — The two top Democrats in New York's legislature withdrew their support for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday amid mounting allegations of sexual harassment and undercounting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. https://t.co/z372sDCfO5

— TimesDaily Newspaper (@TimesDaily) March 8, 2021

Fox News’ Juan Williams acknowledged that Cuomo’s nursing home policy had caused a larger number of deaths, but wondered if the governor had actually done anything illegal.

“I think that’s just bad decision-making,” Williams said. “I don’t know that there’s anything illegal and clearly people died and there’s a terrible price for all families who lost a loved one to pay, but it was a decision.”

“I’m still curious to what exactly anyone could say that was done illegally,” Williams added.

Williams then argued that there was a stronger case against Cuomo regarding the accusations of sexual harassment against him.

“You’re seeing a lot of Democrats who I think are resistant to the idea of a fourth term for Governor Cuomo and who see him as a bully and who has run them over,” Williams said.

BREAKING: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo admitted he made people “uncomfortable” but said he never inappropriately touched anyone amid allegations of sexual harassment. https://t.co/tixF8rUpUZ

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) March 3, 2021

Williams Compares Cuomo To Trump

Williams added, “I also would say I don’t see any independent investigation of Donald Trump and he faced far more serious charges of sexual assault, you know, even more than that, and I don’t see those kinds of calls coming from Republicans.”

Wallace responded to Williams, while chuckling, “Well, yes, but on the other hand, I don’t know we could say that Donald Trump went uninvestigated over the course over his four years in the presidency between the special counsel and two impeachments.”

While Trump never had an independent legal investigation, it’s also fair to say he was investigated plenty by the media.

A Google search on the topic brings nearly 35 million results – with some news outlets, like Business Insider and USA Today, returning results from just weeks before the 2020 election.

The Independent even tackled the subject after Election Day.

Watch the segment here:

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Lindsey Graham Says Mitch McConnell’s Anti-Trump Speech May Come Back To Bite Republicans

Posted on February 14, 2021 by LifeZette

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) went on Fox News on Sunday to say that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) post-impeachment speech in which he condemned President Donald Trump may come back to haunt Republicans.

Graham went so far as to say that with this speech, McConnell “put a load on the back of Republicans.”

McConnell’s Anti-Trump Speech

This came one day after McConnell claimed that Trump had committed “a disgraceful dereliction of duty” by his actions before last month’s Capitol riot, and was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.”

While interviewing Graham, Fox News host Chris Wallace said, “Let me ask you about one person that he might be mad at and tell me if he is or he isn’t, Mitch McConnell, who made a curious speech yesterday in which he basically said the president is guilty, but that the Senate doesn’t have the power to convict, to act against a former president.”

“What did he think of McConnell’s speech, what did you think of McConnell’s speech?” he added.

Graham Responds

“Well, number one, I was a bit surprised, but I heard this in 1998. I’ve been in three of the four impeachments,” Graham replied.

“I’m sorry about that. The bottom line — in 1998, you had a lot of Democrats acquit Clinton but got on the floor and said how bad he was,” he said. “You know, Nancy Pelosi called us all cowards. I don’t think most Republicans care what she thinks.”

“I think Senator McConnell’s speech, he got a load off a chest obviously, but unfortunately he put a load on the back of Republicans,” he added. “That speech you will see in 2022 campaigns.”

“I would imagine if you’re a Republican running in Arizona or Georgia or New Hampshire, where we have a chance to take back the Senate, they may be playing Senator McConnell’s speech and asking about it as a candidate,” Graham continued.

“I imagine if you’re an incumbent Republican, they’re going to be people asking you will you support Senator McConnell in the future,” he concluded. “So I like them, Senator McConnell. He worked well with President Trump. I think his speech is an outlier regarding how Republicans feel about all this.”

This piece was written by James Samson on February 14, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Karl Rove Warns Trump Will Be Convicted In The Senate If He Continues To Claim Election Fraud

Posted on January 18, 2021 by LifeZette

Republican strategist Karl Rove spoke out over the weekend to warn that Donald Trump will be convicted in the Senate by a bipartisan vote if he continues to claim that election fraud took place.

Chris Wallace Questions Karl Rove

“Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says that he is keeping an open mind about the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, a big difference, sharp difference, from his clear opposition from the very start of the first impeachment trial just a year ago,” said Fox News host Chris Wallace.

“What do you think, Karl, are the chances that 17 Senate Republicans, and that’s what it would take if all of the Democrats vote for conviction, 17 Senate Republicans would vote to convict Donald Trump and to keep them from running again?” he added.

Rove Issues Warning

“Normally we say not much chance, but I think Leader McConnell’s statement is a sign that every Republican Senator needs to take this seriously,” Rove replied. “I think it’s all going to boil down what’s the president’s defense.”

“Rudy Giuliani charted a very bad course for the president in the morning papers when he suggested that the argument was going to be in there couldn’t have been incitement because all the charges of widespread voter fraud are true,” he added.

“Well, those charges and the so-called experts that the campaign has mustered to advocate them have been rejected by over 50 courts with judges appointed by President Trump, President Obama, Present Bush, President Clinton, and I think even one Reagan justice,” Rove continued.

Rove Doubles Down

“So if it’s the Rudy Giuliani defense, there is a strong likelihood that more than 17 Republicans will because essentially that argument is this was justified, the attack on the Capital and the attempt to end the congressional hearing on certifying the election was justified because all these charges are true and frankly they aren’t.”

“They have been given every opportunity to prove them in a court of law and have failed to do so,” Rove concluded. “I think it really boils down to what’s the defense that the president is going to make, and if it is Rudy Giuliani’s defense, I think it raises the likelihood of more than 17 Republicans voting for conviction.”

Trump was impeached for a second time last week by the House, and a Senate impeachment trial is expected to take place after the inauguration of Joe Biden later this week.

This piece was written by James Samson on January 18, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Obama To Biden: We Always Took Responsibility For Our Mistakes

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Rusty Weiss

Former President Barack Obama had a sit down with Joe Biden where the duo spoke about how their administration always took responsibility for their mistakes.

Biden posted a video to his Twitter account of the socially-distanced meeting along with the caption “44 + 46,” a reference to their possible presidential line numbers.

The video is a teaser of the conversation between the previous president and vice president.

In the clip, Biden and Obama criticize President Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Can you imagine standing up when you were president and saying ‘it’s not my responsibility. I take no responsibility.’ Literally. Literally,” Biden asked.

“Those words didn’t come out of our mouths when we were in office,” replied Obama.

44 + 46
7.23.20 pic.twitter.com/ZCQ2SazieH

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 22, 2020

Blamed Benghazi on a YouTube Video

Now, when you’re dealing with two skilled and accomplished liars in Biden and Obama, there is a lot to unpack in their comments. Even with just a couple of short sentences.

Let’s begin with Biden’s claim that Trump hasn’t taken responsibility for the pandemic.

While it is true that the President said he doesn’t “take responsibility at all” over four months ago when it was clear that Democrats had impeded congressional efforts to address COVID-19 by hosting an impeachment circus, more recent comments have differed.

In an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, he said: “I take responsibility always for everything because it’s ultimately my job, too. I have to get everybody in line.”

As for Obama saying of shirking responsibility that “those words didn’t come out of our mouths” – what absolute gall.

This was an administration – from Obama to Biden, down to Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice – who refused responsibility for the Benghazi terrorist attack in 2012 that killed four Americans, instead deliberately crafting a lie to the public involving an obscure anti-Muslim YouTube video.

At first, they tossed Rice under the bus, forcing her on news stations to repeat the lie over and over again. Clinton would later be tossed under the bus as well.

It took several weeks for Obama to suggest he took any responsibility for the lives lost in Libya, and only did so as the controversy refused to subside and he faced election against Mitt Romney.

Biden, on the other hand, continued to lie.

44 + 46 =’s 90 … 45 x 2 =’s 90 but only one @realDonaldTrump gives America First 100%. #MAGA #MakeAmericaGreatAgain @GOP @GOPChairwoman #Trump2020

— David Webb (@davidwebbshow) July 22, 2020

Doesn’t Stop at Benghazi

When did Obama and Biden take responsibility for spying on Trump’s presidential campaign? We must have missed it.

Some Obama-era officials may have no choice but to accept responsibility for the biggest political scandal of our time according to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

In discussing the investigation by U.S. Attorney John Durham into the origins of the Russia collusion probe, Meadows said he “expect(s) indictments.”

“It’s all starting to come unraveled,” he said. “It’s all unraveling. And I tell you, it’s time that people go to jail and people are indicted.”

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows says more documents will be revealed that further prove the FBI illegally spied on President Trump and his associates.

“It’s time that people go to jail and people are indicted” for the Russia hoax! pic.twitter.com/3jvCFbI0MX

— Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) July 20, 2020

Aside from that, Obama and Biden took responsibility for everything else.

Just kidding.

One of Obama’s favorite targets for finger-pointing was his predecessor, former President George W. Bush:

And, of course, Obama blamed Fox News for everything that ailed his failure of a presidency. He blamed Russia for Hillary’s 2016 election loss. Not the fact that he was essentially on the ballot for a third term by proxy.

Despite their claims in the Biden video, passing the buck during difficult times was a hallmark of the Obama presidency.

The post Obama To Biden: We Always Took Responsibility For Our Mistakes appeared first on The Political Insider.