Another Reason To Flip The House

Bad faith MAGAt cultists in the House of Representatives have been looking for payback for the convicted felon Malignant Loser's two impeachments ever since they came to power.  Lacking any real evidence of malfeasance from President Biden, they proceeded nonetheless.  Quoting Steve Benen at length:

American history is filled with examples of ridiculous congressional investigations, but the House GOP’s crusade against President Joe Biden is certainly among the most cringeworthy. Even plenty of Republicans have admitted as much.

Following months of humiliating failures, Politico reported in the spring that behind the scenes, GOP officials were quietly admitting that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s impeachment crusade had been “hobbled by embarrassing setbacks.” Punchbowl News, meanwhile, quoted a House Republican leadership aide who said Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan were “becoming the chairmen who cried wolf.”

The more they tried to get their investigation back on track, the more embarrassing their investigation became.

It now appears the entire effort has run its course and come to an ignominious end. NBC News reported:

The Republican-led House committees investigating whether to impeach President Joe Biden released their long-awaited report about their findings Monday morning, arguing that Biden has committed impeachable conduct but deferring to the full House on whether to pursue a formal impeachment.

The full, 291-page document is available online, but by any fair measure, it lands with a thud: The House Republicans’ report breaks no new ground and presented no credible evidence of wrongdoing. What’s more, Comer, Jordan, et al. released the findings while members are still on vacation and Capitol Hill is quiet, probably in the hopes of embarrassing the incumbent president ahead of his appearance at the opening night of the Democratic National Convention.

Of course, in order to actually embarrass Biden, the report would have to include damaging information. This one does not.

Making matters worse, it has no doubt occurred to the far-right committee chairmen that they’ve failed on multiple levels: House Republicans spent a year and a half desperately searching for evidence of crimes that were never committed, in the hopes of undermining a Democratic incumbent’s re-election plans that were ultimately put aside.

In other words, GOP lawmakers failed to make a compelling case against a candidate who’s retiring anyway.

So, what happens now? In theory, the impeachment report will be referred to House Republican leaders who will decide whether to hold an impeachment vote against the president. In practice, GOP leaders know they don’t have the votes to impeach the president without credible evidence of wrongdoing, so this entire misguided ordeal will likely fade into oblivion.

As for Comer’s reputation, it appears unlikely to recover. The Kentuckian’s fellow Republicans have used words like “clueless” and “embarrassing” to describe his anti-Biden investigation, and the scope and scale of his fiasco won’t soon be forgotten.

Voters shouldn't forget how this Republican- led Congress has wasted its time on political hit jobs and internal loon warfare instead of addressing the issues of real importance to the American public (remember the bipartisan immigration reform bill?).  This baseless "impeachment" report, engineered by the likes of "Clouseau" Comer and Gym Jordan, is just the latest reason why voters need to flip the House of Representatives to Democrats in November and see what it's like to have intelligent adults in charge.

Another Speaker Vote This Morning? (UPDATED)

 

That question mark in the header reflects the chaos reigning in the House Crackpot Republican caucus after more than 2 weeks of dysfunction over electing a Speaker of the House.  The latest plan (subject to change of course) is for a third vote to be held today following a morning press conference by insurrectionist MAGAt nominee Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan.  The WaPo's Aaron Blake:

Thursday brought one of the most embarrassing episodes yet in the GOP’s arduous 16-day quest to find someone — anyone — who can get the votes to be House speaker. With the realization that that might not be possible at this juncture apparently setting in, Republicans set about forging a temporary fix that seemed potentially agreeable to much of the House: giving acting speaker pro tempore Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.) more power to conduct vital business while everyone figured out a longer-term solution.

GOP speaker-nominee Jim Jordan even endorsed the plan, apparently believing that time could heal the wounds suffered by his sputtering speaker bid and give him another shot later on.

Then the party summarily rejected Jordan’s leadership — again.

Jordan announced Thursday afternoon that the plan was no longer in the works.

The back- stabbing nihilism at the core of the caucus may well have accounted for the latest train wreck:

That Jordan would even attempt something so haphazard and immediately doomed speaks to the fact that he’s running out of ideas. And he’s surely not alone in that distinction.

To be sure, there are very understandable reasons this wasn’t workable, personal feelings about McHenry aside. Some opposed the idea of a temporary speaker on constitutional grounds. Some Jordan opponents probably feared this could keep his bid alive, by giving him a couple months of McHenry potentially working with the Democrats (whose votes would help install him) to run against. And you can bet more than a few Republicans viewed this, correctly, as the capitulation to Democrats that it would be.

After all, this would have been Republicans effectively surrendering their ability to govern themselves, however temporarily. There is very little precedent for a bipartisan coalition electing a speaker for a reason. And while this arrangement probably wouldn’t have involved the kind of concessions that are often given to the minority party in coalition governments, it would set the House on an unpredictable course...

Since when has this caucus shown it can govern itself, particularly after former Squeaker McCarthy bargained away his speakership to get the votes of the likes of Rep. Matt "Teen Spirit" Gaetz?  This is a party of misfits who fundamentally don't believe in government, or that government should work;  you may have noted the applause that erupted on their side when Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar noted that Gym had never passed a piece of legislation in 16 years in the House.  They're there to perform, to disrupt, to obstruct.

So, we'll see what happens this morning, or this afternoon, or tomorrow, or next week, as these clowns fumble around trying to elect a leader who won't be a leader at all.

UPDATE:  Gym's press conference launched early, and to most observers (including Fox "News") it was a bizarre nothingburger.  Thread by Aaron Rupar here.

UPDATE II:  As expected, Trump-backed Gym is going down in flames for the third time, losing more Republican votes with each ballot.

UPDATE III:  There it is --

 

Final vote tally. The two dems that weren’t there are Vicente González and Payne. pic.twitter.com/6WzJBdbsOB

— Mueller, She Wrote 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@MuellerSheWrote) October 20, 2023

UPDATE IV:  Now Gym has lost a secret ballot in the caucus and is no longer the Republican nominee for Speaker;  vote was 86 for Gym, 112 against --

 

Margin was large, sources tell me.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 20, 2023

(Photo:  Gym strategerizing with mini- Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry / Alex Brandon, AP)

 

Intimidation Tactics Backfired On "Gym" Jordan

 

Displaying the right-wing authoritarian mentality of a thug, would be Speaker of the House and sexual predator protector Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan (Insurrection-OH) and his allies tried over the weekend to threaten and coerce Republican members to vote for him yesterday. The vote failed when all Dems and 20 Republicans voted against the extreme and intemperate Gym for Speaker. Now, Politico is reporting that the pressure tactics used by Jordan and his allies backfired, and only strengthened their resolve to deny the "legislative terrorist" the position:

"The Ohio Republican’s most vocal GOP defectors during Tuesday’s failed speaker vote said they were pressured to back Jordan by party bosses back home and national conservatives with big megaphones. Most of those skeptics viewed it as a coordinated push with a threatening theme: Vote for Jordan — or else.

The arm-twisting campaign, which in many cases included veiled threats of primary challenges, was meant to help rally support behind Jordan’s candidacy. Instead, it has put the Judiciary chair’s bid on life support and threatened to plunge House Republicans deeper into turmoil with no clear way out. [snip]

He’s not the only one who faced significant pressure. Other Republicans, too, told POLITICO they have received a barrage of calls from local conservative leaders. They blame the onslaught on his backers even though, by all accounts, he isn’t directly involved. Even some of Jordan’s supporters acknowledge that the aggressive moves have set him back ahead of a potential second speaker ballot."  (our emphasis)

The bullying tactics are vintage Jordan, who is one of the most extreme and reckless members of his conference. In his desperation to gain the Speakership and ram through a national abortion ban, defund the Federal cases against his cult leader the Malignant Loser, and stage baseless investigations and an impeachment of President Biden, he may lose more votes when another ballot is taken today:

"Acknowledging that his speaker bid is in limbo, Jordan punted his plan to hold a second vote on Tuesday after Republicans privately warned he was at risk of seeing his opponents’ numbers grow. Instead, he is expected to huddle with allies and make calls in an attempt to get his bid back on track before a second vote as soon as Wednesday."  (our emphasis)

Let's hope the opposition's numbers do grow and that we see Gym's dangerous bid to be second in line for the Presidency fail miserably. 

 

A Vote On Gym Jordan Likely Today (UPDATED)

After a weekend of high pressure tactics on wavering House Republicans, sexual predator protector and participant in the January 6 coup planning Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan may get a vote today for Speaker of the House. Jordan reportedly was busy making promises and threats to such former "no" voters as Rep. Mike Rogers (Sedition-AL) and Rep. Ann Wagner (Sedition-MO), persuading them to agree to vote "yes" on his nomination. Jordan and his allies have threatened holdouts to unleash the MAGA base on them if they don't fall in line. Despite that, there appear to be more than enough Republicans voting "no" to deny him the job.

Jordan has been a force on the extreme right, and has been "endorsed" by the Malignant Loser who appreciates Jordan's efforts to defund the Federal prosecutions against him. He heads the bogus Biden impeachment show, and, as a member of the Putin caucus, opposes aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Malignant Loser's friend and co-conspirator Vladimir Putin. He's voted against keeping the Government open and against raising the debt ceiling (when Dems are in the White House). Former Republican Speaker John Boehner has referred to Jordan as a "terrorist" given his nihilism and opposition to legislation.

A few days ago, former Rep. Liz Cheney predicted that if the radical Gym were to be elected Speaker, it would cost Republicans the House in the 2024 elections. If the nation didn't have to be put through Gym's "terrorism" first, that alone would be worth applauding.

UPDATE: Gym loses the first vote, getting only 200 of the 217 he needed to become Speaker. Twenty Republicans voted for other members, including Rep. Kevin "Qevin" McCarthy and Rep. Steve "David Duke Lite" Scalise.  The House is now in recess, presumably to allow Gym and his fans time to bribe, plead with, and threaten the Republicans who denied him their votes.

(photo: Getty Images)

 

"Weaponization" Subcommittee Weaponizes MAGA FBI Agents At Hearing

Let's have a look at the three FBI "whistleblowers" who testified today in front of crackpot predator protector Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan's meta- projection "weaponization of government" subcommittee:

The FBI has revoked the security clearances of three agents for issues related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a letter from the bureau to congressional investigators obtained by ABC News.

One of the agents was among the pro-Trump mob at the U.S. Capitol, according to the FBI, and the two others are alleged to have hindered investigative efforts.

At least two of the agents -- Steve Friend and Marcus Allen -- are expected to testify Thursday before the Republican-led House select subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government as part of its probe into the federal government's purported wrongdoings against conservatives.  [snip]

According to the letter, agent Brett Gloss knowingly entered a restricted zone around the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, in violation of the law.

"The FBI reviewed communications in which Mr. Gloss expressed support for the protestors' unauthorized entry into the Capitol building and support for their criminal acts against the U.S," said the letter, which was sent Wednesday.

The letter also said Gloss provided false or misleading information during an interview about what he observed at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and whether he entered the restricted zone.

The agents' security clearances were revoked earlier this month, the letter said.

"Specifically, the Security Division found Mr. Allen espoused alternative theories to coworkers verbally and in emails and instant messages sent on the FBI systems, in apparent attempts to hinder investigative activity," the letter to investigators said, alleging that Allen failed to provide relevant information about criminal activity at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The bureau also says that Friend refused to participate in a court-authorized search and arrest of a criminal suspect and also espoused an alternate narrative of Jan. 6.

In addition to these concerns, the FBI also said in their letter that Friend would post sensitive FBI information on his social media accounts and did an interview with a Russian news agency without approval from the FBI's office of public affairs. (our emphasis)

These three are prime examples of the failure to screen out fascists during the hiring process.  They clearly violated their oaths to "support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic" and "to faithfully discharge the duties of the office..."  They placed allegiance to the corrupt coup plotter above allegiance to the country and to our democratic form of government, and now Gym paraded them in front of his kangaroo subcommittee in the continuing effort by Christofascist Republicans to whitewash the January 6 insurrection.  

We need to continue to note who these un-American, coup- friendly people are for posterity (if not for prosecution).

BONUS:  Here's what former FBI counterintelligence official Frank Figliuzzi had to say about the hearing --

 

"Essentially Jim Jordan wasn't ready for this. The FBI has called his bluff with this letter... It means the FBI's about had it with the myth that they're retaliating against employees for merely expressing conservative opinions" - @FrankFigliuzzi1 w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/DWMx9zQjcS

— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) May 18, 2023

 

(Photo:  Gym conferring with alleged sexual predator Matt Gaetz on the subcommittee/ Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)