Below is my column in The Hill on the January 6th Committee hearings and how the Democrats undermined the legitimacy of their investigation by breaking the long tradition of bipartisan and balanced membership on such special committees. Many of us support the effort to release more information and evidence on what occurred on that day. However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to forego even the pretense of a bipartisan and full inquiry.
Here is the column:
In 1924, Lord Gordon Hewart famously declared, “Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.” The lord chief justice of England, he believed that even a small allegation of possible bias by a court clerk meant justice was not seen to be done and, thus, was not done.
Lord Hewart’s quote came to mind while watching the opening night of the House’s Jan. 6 select committee public hearings. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) decided a year ago to break from tradition and blocked two Republican committee members selected by GOP leaders. In response, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pulled his other committee nominees, and Pelosi then seated two staunchly anti-Trump Republicans — Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyoming) and Adam Kinzinger (Illinois).
Congress has a long history of bipartisan investigatory and select committees. Many were formed during deep political rifts — yet, for 230 years, Congress maintained the need for bipartisan membership. That was the case with the Watergate committees, the House Committee on Assassinations, the Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions and other investigations. It would have been easy to stack the decks and limit the members by party on each of those committees, but past congressional leaders understood that the credibility of such investigations required balance, including opposing views.
Pelosi’s decision to gut that process was something of a signature muscle play. As a witness in the first Trump impeachment, I was highly critical of her insistence that the House would impeach before Christmas rather than conduct the traditional impeachment investigation with witnesses. Instead of building a more convincing case, Pelosi preferred to impeach with virtually no record, for a certain defeat in the Senate. In the second impeachment, she went one better: She held no hearing at all and pushed through the first “snap impeachment.”
The Jan. 6 committee was similarly stripped of any pretense. It was as subtle a political move as Pelosi’s ripping up President Trump’s State of the Union speech. Asked what she hoped to achieve from the committee on the first day of hearings, Pelosi tellingly referred to it as a “narrative.” It is the difference between seeing and simulating justice.
According to The New York Times, that narrative is meant to “recast the midterm message” and “give [Democrats] a platform for making a broader case about why they deserve to stay in power.” It was packaged with the help of a high-powered media figure brought in to help stage the event. Much of the media touted how the hearings would be “must-see TV” and would force voters “not to look away” from Trump’s “coup.” Countervailing evidence was edited out. Thus, Trump was shown calling for the protesters to “march” on the Capitol — but not his additional words to do so “peacefully.”
That withheld line from Trump would hardly have exonerated the former president. I publicly condemned Trump’s speech while it was being given, and I called for a bipartisan vote of censure over his responsibility in the Capitol riot. The new footage shown by the committee only magnified the revulsion many of us felt in watching this desecration of our Capitol and our constitutional process. However, such one-sided accounts rob these proceedings of a sense of authenticity and authority.
However, they deliver precisely what Pelosi demands: politics unburdened by process. Ironically, it is the very same dismissal of process and principle that is often attributed to Trump.
The shame is that it could have been so much more if the committee were balanced and allowed a broader scope of inquiry.
For example, the first two witnesses highlighted the ongoing controversy over the failure of Congress to adequately prepare for the riot despite repeated warnings from the executive branch. Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards and Nick Quested, a British documentarian, both noted the shocking absence of sufficient officers around the Capitol. Quested described “hundreds” of Proud Boys marching on the Capitol and seeing a single officer at one barricade; Edwards described a handful of officers holding back hundreds of protesters. Critical anti-riot equipment was not distributed or was affirmatively withheld. Security objectives were ignored, and even Edwards said officers were quickly and easily overrun due to lack of support.
Four days before the riot, records indicate the Capitol allegedly was asked if it wanted to request National Guard troops but declined. Yet The Washington Post and PolitiFact have insisted this is false. It would be useful to get the full story on what decisions were made — but House leaders appear to have curtailed inquiries into the failure to properly staff or equip officers at the scene, to erect fencing, or to call for the National Guard after the riot erupted.
This first hearing looked like the uncontested opening statement in a persona non grata proceeding, a hearing designed to denounce or expel an individual. Much of the evidence was designed to show that Trump repeatedly was told that he lost the election and thus had no good faith basis to challenge the election’s certification.
Well, many of us said exactly that two years ago. Moreover, if the effort is to convict Trump of being a narcissistic or craven person, you hardly need a select committee to make that case to the Democratic base or to much of the rest of America.
Perhaps the most surprising element in the start of the hearings is the person who was portrayed as the guardian of democracy: former Attorney General William Barr. After Democrats called for Barr to be impeached or even criminally charged, he was shown repeatedly as holding the line against Trump’s claims and demands. For those of us who have defended Barr for years, it was a welcome but weird sight to behold.
There is considerable evidence that Trump’s people planned for a certification challenge, but that was always anticipated. Not long after the election, I wrote about that possibility in what I called the “Death Star strategy.” It is not a crime to plan such a challenge, even without good cause. Without any direct connection to organizing or supporting the ensuing violence, that would remain a moral — not a legal — failure.
Indeed, if opposing views were allowed, then Republicans likely would call for the testimony of committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who voted to challenge the certification of the 2004 results of President George W. Bush’s reelection; committee member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sought to challenge Trump’s certification in 2016. Both did so under the very law that Trump’s congressional supporters used in 2020. And Pelosi and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) praised the challengeorganized by then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in 2004.
The difference, of course, is that while there were violent protests in 2016 in Washington, there was not a riot that breached the Capitol. Yet, given that history, it was more important than ever for House leaders to reinforce the credibility of this committee by adhering to the long-respected principle of bipartisan appointments.
But this is Speaker Pelosi’s — not Lord Hewart’s — “court,” where the only thing “manifestly and undoubtedly” guaranteed is politics, without the pretense of principle.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
Some words for the people that will not accept the facts and reality. “The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie” Mark Twain. …and….for those who still, and never will accept facts and reality, “No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot” M. Twain.
not a republocrat, not a demican, not a trump-lover… weird how always have to preface these points every time… havent voted, dont vote, it’s a completely pointless exercise…. having said all that, i follow politics as carefully as time allows…
what i find more astonishing than flatly stating “the election wasn’t stolen” and then putting on airs pretending there is some level of certainty to the statement, particularly considering the circumstance around the election, is frankly baffling to me.
i can remain completely agnostic on the issue of whether the election was or wasnt stolen but one thing i do know… the allegations have not enjoyed any level of serious objective investigative scrutiny at all.
and THAT trifle of a detail tells me more than enough.
Fed is the Blog Stooge who loves to present himself as some fresh, objective voice.
Fishy, why can’t you see that you are talking about yourself? You are not in possession of all the “facts and reality”…..it’s called propaganda, sweetheart.
So tell me……..is your ass aware that your head had moved in?
Ooh good one, Fishy.
I’m thinking the only way you’ll ever get laid is if you crawl up a chicken’s butt and wait.
Booyah.
Oh and Fishy, under Biden’s regime, beer now costs less than gas. Let’s Go Brandon!
White House Staffers Recall How Big Lie Began
“President Trump rejected the advice of his campaign experts on election night,” Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) alleged at the start of Monday’s hearing, “and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani”.
A video of Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser, flashed on the screen above the dais in the Cannon Caucus Room. “The mayor was definitely intoxicated,” Miller testified.
“He was saying, ‘We won it, they’re stealing it from us,” Miller recounted. And “anyone who didn’t agree with that position was being weak.”
Trump campaign lawyer Matt Morgan, in his deposition, spoke about his conversations with outside counsel: “The general consensus was that law firms were not comfortable making the arguments that Rudy Giuliani was making.”
The committee played the deposition of Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager, in which he testified that he disassociated himself from Trump’s bogus election-fraud claims. “There were two groups,” he said, “my team and Rudy’s team.”
A Republican-appointed U.S. attorney from Georgia explained how he chased down the Giuliani allegation that a “black suitcase” stuffed with ballots was the “smoking gun”: It was “actually an official ballot box,” handled correctly.
A former Republican official from Pennsylvania testified about investigating Giuliani’s claim to the state legislature that 8,000 dead people voted. “Not only was there not evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania, there wasn’t evidence of eight.”
A supposed 68 percent error rate of Michigan voting machines? Trump Justice Department official Richard Donoghue’s deposition said the actual error rate was 0.0063 percent.
But the debunking of each zany conspiracy theory (“whack-a-mole” was Barr’s description) would only cause Trump to “move to another allegation,” Donoghue testified.
Edited From:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/13/jan-6-hearing-giuliani-drunk-trump/?fbclid=IwAR2bNKm1gRw-4AfAad4lfNVNqyZGGxekCANyuaQulvimJcVH3ehGX8Ni0zg
A cross examination would have revealed the lies
I interrupt the daily kvetching and teeth gnashing for wise words from Uncle Remus (James Baskett) with the assistance of Br’er Rabbit. Have a Zip-a-dee-doo-dah day
😉
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Pelosi is devoid of common sense, critical thinking and logic and pure obsession and hate is the only thing driving her; I really do think she has lost her mind.
The January 6th Witch Hunt Committee and the made for prime time dog and pony show is nothing but political propaganda to feed the obsessions of the Trump deranged. Trump is occupying rent free space in the minds of these Trump Derangement Syndrome afflicted people.
What the Democrats have intentionally done to themselves and politics since 2016 will go down in history as the darkest political times in the history of the USA to date, politically these times are much more divisive and much darker than the Civil War in the 1860’s. The Trump deranged and most Democrats I’ve seen are irretrievably broken with reality and have flushed their intelligence straight down the crapper with their obsessions and as long as these obsessed fools remain fixated on Donald Trump, their irrational social justice BS, and their transparent cultural and social moves towards totalitarianism the deeper into the abyss the USA will sink. If the obsessed Democrats aren’t careful they’ll drive the divided USA, that they intentionally created, into another bloody Civil War. What the Democrats are intentionally doing across the political spectrum must stop before there is no turning back.
Will The USA Survive The 21st Century Cultural Shift?
Witherspoon, I agree. Trump ‘is’ deranged and his lies live rent-free in the heads of supporters.
Steve has his opinions and they might be based on valid things. I think he is wrong, but that is OK. Most of the arguments against Trump have to do with superficial types of things. The arguments in his favor are based on Peace, the border, the economy, etc. Trump supporters are smart. People like you are dumber than $hite.
Steve warns:
“If the obsessed Democrats aren’t careful they’ll drive the divided USA, that they intentionally created, into another bloody Civil War.”
You can only hope for the fulfillment of the End Times so that the huge stockpile of weapons and ammunition you militiamen have stashed away won’t go to waste!
Jeff,
You’re a moronic troll.
Wrong again. I’m a retard- just ask Iowan.
I’m just curious if we could take a pole of all the posters on this blog. In the next 3 months, who will get an abortion. And in the next 48 hours, who will pay more than $5.00 for a gallon of gas. I think that would tell us what the most important issue is that’s facing all, not most Americans.
Dems are starting to get the hint. They have a process that cannot be defended by democrats, and hundreds of questions the committee refuses to consider. Even the party faithful can understand the bad optics and the “testimony” without cross examination, is antithetical to the Values of the United States.
January 6 panel Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) on Monday evening said the committee will not be making criminal referrals to the Justice Department.
“If the Department of Justice looks at it and assumes that there’s something that needs further review. I’m sure they’ll do it,” Thompson said to reporters.
When asked again if the January 6 committee would ever make a criminal referral “No, that’s not our job. Our job is to look at the facts and circumstances around January 6, what caused it and make recommendations after that.”
“They’re the prosecutors, not the legislative branch,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren said to reporters, backing up Bennie Thompson’s statement.
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1536460948629757956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1536460948629757956%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2022%2F06%2Fliz-cheney-throws-tantrum-january-6-panel-chairman-bennie-thompson-rules-trump-criminal-referral%2F
Too bad you’re not getting the hint…
What the Committee is doing is highlighting trump’s crimes of obstruction, certainly. But even more, they’re recognizing that a Garland led DOJ is wildly hesitant to be the first to prosecute an ex president for anything done in office. So they’re throwing breadcrumbs for how to go after trump for crimes he committed after he left office. It lets the DOJ go after trump for being the slimy f bag the whole world knows he is, but steers clear of creating precedent the R’s would gladly abuse on any D president, for any reason.
eb
but steers clear of creating precedent the R’s would gladly abuse on any D president, for any reason.
Steers clear of creating precedent?
Form a committee chosen entirely by the Majority party. That’s a neat little precedent.
Subpoena sitting members of Congress, of the minority Party. That’s precedent, that fosters working together
Subpoena close advisors the President, and haul them off in leg irons if they refuse. That’s great practice to follow.
Create a multi media presentation of highly edited and produced content, air it on all media. At the same time not allow any response, from another perspective.
Do all of this at the same time inflation is at historic highs, $8 trillion of printed money by the Pelosi Congress.
Pelosi refuses to consider a bill to protect Supreme Court Justices. A bill passed by a 50/50 Senate by unanimous consent.
$100’s of Bilions in money flowing to Ukraine, but babies are starving because Biden Shut down a manufacturing facility that made 30% of the Nations supply, never thinking about how that loss would create supply problems.
Shut down pipe lines, and cancel leases to drill, causing Fuel to more than double in price, with no let up in the increases.
Conference of the Americas is a disaster because Biden has alienated all of our allies.
All these hearings, all the media, not a single crime is mentioned. But you keep digging in the pile of horse manure. Logic demands a pony is there someplace.
“Form a committee chosen entirely by the Majority party.”
The membership of all House Select Committees is ultimately up to the Speaker. That’s long been part of the House rules. And the only reason that there weren’t also members chosen by McCarthy is because he himself chose to withdraw the remaining 3 members that he nominated. That’s a fact whether you can admit it or not.
“Subpoena sitting members of Congress”
Just like the Ethics Committee does. Do you object to that too?
“Subpoena close advisors the President”
Yes if they don’t come willingly. Just like the House Republicans did when they investigated Hillary Clinton.
“haul them off in leg irons if they refuse.”
You’re confusing the J6 Committee and the DOJ.
Never has a committee been formed by excluding the minority. NEVER.
Pelosi kicked of Republican members. From a committee that only has constitutional power to perform oversight, and gather information,in the pursuit of crafting legislation.
The ranking member followed Pelosi lead, and removed the rest of the Republicans, because the minority always gets all of their picks. That’s precedent.
No matter the lies told, the American people are telling the dems, a committee that has only exhibited political pandering, is a waste of time, and not worthy of any interest.
Please don’t be so mentally limited that you believe the opposite of what actually transpired in the formation of the J6 Committee.
eb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_commission#:~:text=The%20National%20Commission%20to%20Investigate%20the%20January%206,Katko%2C%20and%20would%20have%20consisted%20of%20an%20equal
eb
The minority party was not excluded. You are simply too dishonest to admit that Cheney and Kinzinger are Republicans.
“Pelosi kicked of Republican members”
Pelosi refused to accept 2 of the 5 Republicans that McCarthy nominated. They weren’t “kicked off,” because they were never members of the Committee. For the umpteenth time, the membership of EVERY non-permanent Select Committee is determined by the Speaker per the House rules — rules that long predate Pelosi’s Speakership.
“The ranking member followed Pelosi lead, and removed the rest of the Republicans, because the minority always gets all of their picks. That’s precedent.”
BS. You’re ignorant of the House rules AND about the history of select committee membership:
“House committees are of three distinct types: (1) standing committees, whose members are elected by the House, (2) select committees (also called special committees), whose members are appointed by the Speaker, and (3) joint committees, whose members are chosen according to the provisions of the statute or concurrent resolution creating them. Variations of these three categories are discussed in later sections. …
“Until 1911, the members and the chairs of the standing and select committees of the House were generally appointed by the Speaker, although in rare instances a committee chose its own chair. See 4 Hinds Sec. 4524. Since 1911, standing committee chairs and members have been elected by the House as part of a three-step procedure. … Furthermore, the Speaker has retained the authority, under clause 11 of rule I, to appoint Members to select committees. Manual Sec. 637. …
“Select (or special) committees were used extensively by the House during the early Congresses. In the Jeffersonian era, it was common practice to refer each proposal to a select committee created to draft the appropriate legislative language for the measure. Manual Sec. 401. By the Third Congress, 350 select committees had been named. … In the modern era, select committees are created primarily to investigate conditions or events. … For further discussion on the establishment of select committees, see Guidelines for the Establishment of Select Committees, Committee on Rules, 98-1, February, 1983. … The House has established more than 20 select committees since passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.”
Source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-HPRACTICE-112/html/GPO-HPRACTICE-112-12.htm
“the American people are telling the dems …”
I’m as much a member of “the American people” as you are, and you do not speak for many American people.
The advocacy, no matter the party affiliation, is to attack one side of the coin. It requires a counterbalance. If you can’t understand that, you can’t understand anything, and are worthless to listen to.
Hillary was never President, and oversight of govt agencies is within the power of congress
Ethics committee is congress self policing
Garland is taking orders from Pelosi, or, who ever is running the Oval Office. Garland has proven himself a man of little gravitas, and nothing but a malleable piece in the DC swamp
Anonymous:
As Turley pointed out, Pelosi refused to allow the minority party their own choice in members. That’s not only precedent, it’s interfering with the minority party’s participation.
You might be fine with it, because it’s not directed at your own party. However, you know it’s wrong because if Republicans did this to Democrats, it would be called a “Constitutional crisis.”
The rise of tyranny is often enabled by those who make excuses because every step along the way, they like the immediate results.
More of Karen’s BS. McCarthy chose Jordan for the Comittee: Jordan was directly involved in the insurrection and is a demonstrable moron, bereft of anything resembling integrity. You speak of tyranny, but are a blind disciple of the most-corrupt, most-incompetent person ever to occupy the White House. He cheated to win despite losing the popular vote. He tried to cheat again, but it didn’t work. Americans turned out in record numbers to vote him out of office. Before Election Day, he set the stage for the insurrection by claiming that the only way he could lose would be by a “rigged election”, even though every poll predicted his loss. He DID lose, but his ego wouldn’t allow him to accept rejection, so he started lying. He is still lying.
THERE ARE TWO REPUBLICANS on the Committee, but they aren’t pro-Trump Republicans, so they don’t count. But people like you only hear the message that the process isn’t fair. You probably didn’t watch, but what Fox omitted from its punditry is the fact that other than the officer who suffered a traumatic brain injury and the reporter embedded with the Proud Boys, all of the witnesses were Trup-insiders: Ivanka Trump, Bill Barr, members of Trump’s campaign–not Democrats. They all said he not only lost fair and square, but that Trump KNOWS HE LOST.
You want to know what tyranny is? Look at the bloated orange wrinkled face of the one you worship. He would do literally anything to stay in power, a power he cheated to get in the first place. Despite polls showing he would lose, and being told by all of his insiders, except a drunken Giuliani, that he lost, he declared victory anyway and then did everything possible to make it true. He tried to prevent mail ballots from being counted in swing states he believed he was entitled to win because as the ballots were tallied, his early lead vanished, which is exactly what he was told to expect. Next came the litigation, all of which he lost due to no factual foundation. Then the “Stop the Steal” tours to raise money, purportedly for litigation costs to fight the will of the majority of the American people, but as it turns out, that’s not where the money went. The tours were to stir up the faithful. Then the bullying: trying to get Pence to violate his oath to the Constitution by rejecting certified votes, the fraudulent alternate “electors” who committed felonies when they signed false certification forms saying Trump won when he didn’t, and then pressure on state election officials: “I just need you to find 11,780 votes” as one example. Meanwhile, at the Willard Hotel, a war room was set up and there was collusion with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, among others, to storm the Capitol to prevent Biden’s victory from being certified. They had a weapons cache at a Virginia hotel, waiting for the signal from Trump to move in and take over Congress. Trump was a no-show. But you think that the Jan 6th Committee is engaging in “tyranny” because the Republicans on the Committee aren’t biased in favor of Trump? You are the penultimate disciple–blind to reality and truth.
Face it, Trump was right about almost everything. Trump was not on board with the Great Reset Build Back Better agenda or starting yet another endless war to satisfy the MIC corruption. Trump wanted energy independence, not the bullsh*t we see happening now with Biden begging dictators for more oil. The entire establishment could not allow a second Trump term, so they rigged it and stole the election to install their puppet Biden. It’s obvious to most anyone who paid close attention.
Trump has never been right about anything in his pathetic spoiled life, which includes 3 failed marriages. Before his daddy got dementia, he bailed Trump out of one financial mess after another, but when his finances were taken over by a conservator, that’s when the bankruptcies started–6 of them. There’s literally thousands of lawsuits for failing to pay valid debts. The list of Trump failures is long: Trump Magazine, “Paris is Out”–flopped Broadway play, USFL N.J. Generals, 3 Trump casinos, Trump, the board game, Trump Shuttle, Trump-branded beverages: 2 beers, vodka and soft drinks, Trump University($25M payout for fraud), Trump Tower, Florida, Go Trump Travel Agency, Trump Mortgage Company, Trump Steaks, Trump Steakhouse (Las Vegas), Trump International Hotel and “From the Desk of Donald Trump” newsletter that flopped.
We had energy independence under Obama. Trump never validly got a first term–he cheated with the help of Russian hacker, and that has been proven. He never got even a 50% approval rating. He started a trade war with China, causing a shortage of computer chips which has caused a shortage of consumer goods that has resulted in higher prices due to supply failing to meet demand since Biden turned around the economy. He botched the pandemic, causing it to go on longer and be much worse than it had to be by lying about the seriousness, by dominating news conferences with the CDC, refusing to wear a mask and trying to project blame onto China instead of listening to infectious disease experts. The country was mostly shut down for 2 years. Kids are still behind on their school work. Factories and businesses shut down, and the supply chain still hasn’t caught up. He alienated our NATO and EU allies by running his big mouth, all of which emboldened Putin to believe that he could just invade Ukraine without consequence. Biden has brought NATO alllies together, something Trump could never do. Unemployment was above 10% when Americans voted him out of office in an election that saw a record turnout. Because he drew down troops in Afghanistan from 14,000 to 2,500, this set the stage for the problems with withdrawal that Republicans try to blame Biden for. He never even negotiated for an air base or presence in Afghanistan. So much for the master dealmaker.
You can believe the fairy tale that Donald is a self-made boy wonder billionare, that he didn’t cheat his way into office, that “the entire establishment” rigged and stole an election that your hero was predicted to lose, but if you look at the trajectory of his life and long string of failures, it’s not surprising that he took the successful economy he inherited from Obama and turned it into a disaster, not to mention his utter incompetence in handlling the pandemic that resulted in 130,000 unnecessary American deaths. Biden set a record for turning around the 10% unemployment left by Trump and conquered COVID. It’s obvious to anyone who looks at Trump’s life and all of the problems he’s had that he just a massive narcissist who constantly lies and who has no leadership skills whatsoever.
We’ve got a president in office right now who constantly lies, is delusional, demented, has no leadership skills whatsoever, is bought and paid for by China, has never had a ‘real job’ in the ‘real world,’ is corrupt as hell, dumb as a rock, has a completely f’d up son and family of shameless grifters, plus a classless wife who insists on being called “Dr” with her cheap Ed.D because she didn’t like seeing mail addressed to “Sen. and Mrs. Biden.”
We are paying more than ever for gas, for basics, for food, IF we can find what we need, whether baby formula, tampons, or kleenex, and no one can afford to pay rent, buy a home, or fill up their gas tank to get to their min. wage job. Thanks Joe Biden for making America suffer NEEDLESSLY. And then LYING about it all day long.
Trump was the best president in our generation — FOR Americans. That is a FACT. First Lady Melania was class with grace, she was strong, smart and kind. She was a magnificent first lady, unlike the classless Jersey Jill ‘you must call me “Dr” we’ve got now.
“We had energy independence under Obama.” Another lie. FACT: If America increased its energy production while Obama was in the White House, it was despite of his policies, not because of them.
Ha! The running joke was that Obama carried over enough Bush appointees in the Energy Dept. that it amounted to being a 3rd term of the Bush administration….
BS posturing aside though…., a largely unacknowledged accomplishment of the Obama administration was that solar power scaled significantly under his watch and got much more affordable. It was actually a benefit of the stimulus plan he was forced to put in due to Bush crashing the economy, as has become standard fare under R control of the executive branch. So while there was the negative of actually upping the oil drilling from the Bush years, there was also the positive of upping sustainable…
Like it or not, drilling and burning fossil fuels is not a positive. Time to wake up on that one.
eb
Karen,
I’m going to remind you that you asked me to apologize in an earlier exchange, and I did, and in that exchange, I asked you to acknowledge your mistakes, and you didn’t: https://jonathanturley.org/2022/05/11/the-mob-is-right-georgetown-law-professor-calls-supports-aggressive-protests-at-the-homes-of-justices/comment-page-4/#comment-2186953
So I do not have faith that this will be a productive exchange.
“As Turley pointed out, Pelosi refused to allow the minority party their own choice in members.”
And as he omitted, that is the nature of non-permanent Select Committee membership, per the House rules, so it is nothing new. See my June 14, 4:52 PM comment to iowan2, where I quote some of those rules and link to one of the relevant House documents about this.
“if Republicans did this to Democrats, it would be called a “Constitutional crisis.””
Not by me. Because I know that the House rules specify that the membership of non-permanent House Select Committees is left to the Speaker, per longstanding rules, and this is not the first time that committee membership has been totally determined by the Speaker.
Can you acknowledge the fact that Pelosi’s actions were consistent with longstanding House rules?
Can you acknowledge the fact that Pelosi was willing to seat the other three Republicans nominated by McCarthy (the 3 other than Jordan and Banks), but McCarthy withdrew those nominations?
Can you acknowledge the fact that the House originally passed legislation to create a bipartisan National Commission with members chosen equally by both the Republicans and Democrats in both chambers, where the Democrats would not have had any control over the members chosen by the Republicans (and vice versa), but the Senate Republicans filibustered it, which is why there’s only a House Select Committee?
TDS has fried your neurons into a smoldering heap of unintelligible goo. The election was rigged to elect Biden, why else was voting stopped in the middle of the night and Republican poll watchers were forced to leave the premises in Georgia, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Madison? Only to have voting resume a few hours later with only “democrat” vote tabulators present. And then, and only then did Biden magically surge to the win?? Don’t say it didn’t happen moron, it’s all on video.
What you describe did not occur. Apparently you misunderstood the video you’re referring to, perhaps due to listening to people who lie to you.
That’s all an appropriate response on the Committee’s end. They’re investigating with an eye towards whether any new legislation is needed and/or whether existing legislation (like the ECA) should be updated. The DOJ is the entity that carries out criminal investigations.
Schiff has said the quite part out loud. He said it is critical to hold Trump accountable.
Not a power of Congress.
Just curious Iowan (and I’ll assume you meant ‘quiet’ rather than ‘quite’)…, but why is that part somehow meant to be quiet? Why is holding Trump accountable a negative in your opinion? Granted it is up to the DOJ to do the holding…, but trump was clearly a criminal president that actively engaged in obstruction and extortion in office, and looks like mail and wire fraud on the way out the door.
eb
Eb,
Not that it would make a difference to the lying Trumpists, criminally convicting Trump is imperative to put everyone on the record: do you believe in our system of justice or a corrupt “Deep State.”
Of course, Garland knows that he dare not prosecute Trump unless he has an open and shut case because as history proves- if you go after a monarch, even a former monarch as in this case, failure is not an option. A final unappealable conviction will not convince everyone (despite the fact that Turley would not undermine it). On the other hand, an acquittal would be exploited by Trumpists to justify the persecution of NeverTrumpers and not unlikely our internment.
Congress does not have the constitutional power to conduct criminal investigations.
Joe Biden is already a lame duck president.
How can anybody guarantee that out of roughly 160,000,000 votes, there was no fraud committed?
I haven’t heard anyone claim there was “no fraud committed,” and we already know that some fraudulent votes were cast, because people have been prosecuted for voting fraud. The issue is where there was enough fraud to shift the results, and there is no evidence of that.
There is definitely loads of evidence including videos, testimony, missing tapes and ballots, loads of laws that weren’t followed along with a couple of trillion bits that show what happened during the election.
Here is a postal worker stuffing ballots in the mail in box. Are they seriously saying this didn’t happen???….https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/06/hey-bill-barr-breaking-surveillance-video-shows-man-wearing-street-clothes-exiting-passenger-seat-post-office-truck-detroit-dumps-stack-ballots-dropbox-twice-video/
This story disappeared pretty fast….
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/06/flashback-former-ag-barr-shut-investigations-trailer-load-288000-ballots-pa-new-york-2020-election-barr-refused-provide-whistleblower-protection-no/
Mr. Turley, the J6 election protest was peaceful. Many facets of it might not have been civil and responsible. But under the circumstances, the fraud committed by the DOJ; Deep State, Democrats to steal the election from the rightful winner of the White House, I think the protestors acted under far more control than the left-wing radical protestors for the Democrats and the baby-killers, and were as much of an insurrection as any of Trump’s rallies of America-loving patriots. So for you to act as if our judicial system is a functioning entity and all things will be worked out in the Mafia DOJ/FBI is laughable and pulled out of pure fantasy and makes me suspect you are a typical lefty pretending to be in his right mind and balanced under the law. Pure poppycock stop pretending and be real.
2000 Mules… says it all. The older tech & math illiterate people Barr who laughed at this movie is typical of the type. Thier tech illiteracy is the reason why the left got away with it. You’d have to be a brain-dead fool to believe Biden got 81 million votes, but the tech illiterates fall for it.
Barr was correct that in the absence of photographic evidence of people depositing ballots, the cell phone data alone is insufficient to prove that anyone fraudulently deposited ballots.
Or that, even if the data was correct, that all, or most, of those ballots were for Biden.
The most likely scenario about the ’20 election is that trump is enraged, and delusionary, about the fact his attempts at rigging the election didn’t work.
eb
The law is written that ballott drop off boxes are only to be used by the voter, are close household members. Ballott harvesting is not allowed by legislation.
All well and good. 2000 Mules proves nothing though…
https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-usa-mules-idUSL2N2XJ0OQ
eb
A short primer for the really stupid: Q&A
• “Ballot harvesting” is a pejorative term for dropping off completed ballots for people besides yourself. The practice is legal in several states but largely illegal in the states”
FALSE
The mules engaged in ballot trafficking, which is illegal in all states. Ballot harvesting, legal in some states, has to do with taking a limited number of ballots from family members or dependent people directly to the dropbox.
That was not done! The ballots were picked up from a central source (ILLEGAL) and then transported to drop boxes in ILLEGAL numbers. There was no relationship between the mule and the one voting, which was also illegal.
This was BALLOT TRAFFICKING which is ILLEGAL in all fifty states.
========
“The film contains no evidence of such payments in other states in 2020.”
The evidence is overwhelming, including videos, whistleblowers, and people interviewed who didn’t know what was happening but filled in the empty pieces about what was happening with the ballots.
It was BALLOT TRAFFICKING WHICH IS ILLEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES.
====
“Plus, experts say cellphone location data, even at its most advanced, can only reliably track a smartphone within a few meters — not close enough to know whether someone actually dropped off a ballot or just walked or drove nearby.”
One doesn’t repeatedly go by drop boxes in the middle of the night 10 times, suddenly wearing gloves to prevent fingerprint detection.
Cellphone location data was good enough that their data located a criminal who performed a criminal act where they were checking pings. They gave the police the information, and the criminal was arrested. So much for this type of garbage from the left.
“There’s always a pretty healthy amount of uncertainty that comes with this.”
But the uncertainty disappears as the number of times at the dropbox and the center increases. That is why they didn’t use only three events. They used ten times which would be a far outlier. Videos and other information fill in more of the details.
The quote is uneducated. The commenter should see the film and stop parroting what the left wants to hear. He needs to state the truth.
“What’s more, ballot drop boxes are often intentionally placed in busy areas, such as college campuses, libraries, government buildings and apartment complexes — increasing the likelihood that innocent citizens got caught in the group’s dragnet, Striegel said.”
3 AM in the morning would be unusual.
“Similarly, there are plenty of legitimate reasons why someone might be visiting both a nonprofit’s office and one of those busy areas. ”
Would they end up at a ballot box ten times? Of course not. One needs to see the film because the data debunk these bogus statements.
=====
“A video of a voter dropping off a stack of ballots at a drop box is not itself proof of any wrongdoing, since most states have legal exceptions that let people drop off ballots on behalf of family members and household members.”
But that means they take the ballot directly from the person to the ballot box, or the ballot becomes illegal. They were taking ballots from an illegal center. That is known as BALLOT TRAFFICKING.
They were BALLOT TRAFFICKING which is illegal in all 50 states.
“And True the Vote did not get surveillance footage of drop boxes in Philadelphia, so the group based this claim solely on cellphone ”
So, according to the article, Philadelphia was the exception, and the other places proved the film’s argument. There was further evidence in Philadelphia. Cameras at ballot boxes are not the only cameras available. But that provides the question, where were the cameras and what happened to the film? It sounds like there was even more unlawful activity going on in Philadelphia.
Barr was incorrect because the photographic evidence that was illegally disposed of shows enough pieces of the pie to convict. A documentary can’t include so many hours of photographic evidence. It would be too long. Their job is to show a small fraction of the existence. They did that.
These types of complaints are bull.
You are correct. Thank you.
Jamie says:
“You’d have to be a brain-dead fool to believe Biden got 81 million votes”
Add Turley to that list.
Turley didn’t guarantee that Biden got 81 million votes. Only you are on that brain-dead list. Jaimie is correct.
Ana Nimity says of Turley:
“So for you to act as if our judicial system is a functioning entity and all things will be worked out in the Mafia DOJ/FBI is laughable and pulled out of pure fantasy and makes me suspect you are a typical lefty pretending to be in his right mind and balanced under the law. Pure poppycock stop pretending and be real.”
See? The Trumpists are turning on NeverTrumper Turley. What did I say?
Jeff keeps repeating the same stupidity. Jeff doesn’t know what a Never Trumper is. That is stupidity, because it has been pointed out repeatedly. Why should anyone listen to this ignorant repetitive fool when all he does is spout his ignorance?
ana nimity wrote, “Mr. Turley, the J6 election protest was peaceful. Many facets of it might not have been civil and responsible. But under the circumstances, the fraud committed by the DOJ; Deep State, Democrats to steal the election from the rightful winner of the White House, I think the protestors acted under far more control than the left-wing radical protestors for the Democrats and the baby-killers, and were as much of an insurrection as any of Trump’s rallies of America-loving patriots. So for you to act as if our judicial system is a functioning entity and all things will be worked out in the Mafia DOJ/FBI is laughable and pulled out of pure fantasy and makes me suspect you are a typical lefty pretending to be in his right mind and balanced under the law. Pure poppycock stop pretending and be real.”
That comment is signature significant of what a power hungry narcissist hiding behind the facade of anonymity that has lost touch with much of reality would say, you sound like the Republican antithesis of Nancy Pelosi – pure unadulterated unhinged propaganda. Are you actually Donald Trump or are you his paid media troll apprentice?
I get the distinct feeling that Donald Trump himself or Trump parrots are trolling these threads. If you’re out there Donald cowardly trolling these threads hiding behind anonymity be a real man and reveal yourself.
Undeniable evidence of election fraud in 2020 is available. If the January 6th committee was ligitimate and provided for proper cross examination it might be able to answer the questions: who did it, how was it done and could it change the election.
“The Data Integrity Group, a group of data scientists, has been dissecting publicly available data on the presidential election in multiple states. Most recently, in Pennsylvania, they found over 432,000 votes were removed from President Donald Trump in at least 15 counties.
Time-series election data shows Trump’s votes decreasing in various counties at many time points, instead of increasing. In an election, as you count votes, you typically only see vote increments, not decrements—unless some error occurred that needs to be assessed.
The group also testified before the Georgia Senate that more than 30,000 votes were removed from President Trump in Georgia.”
Smithy:
I googled the Data Integrity Group and all I could find was this article by an obscure grad student named Nick Depsky. Depsky correctly points out that the Data Integrity Group has no serious presence online. They are essentially a phantom organization. Very little can be found regarding even the principals of this group.
https://nickdepsky.medium.com/the-data-integrity-group-and-its-claims-of-election-fraud-debunked-c8307867667c
Their analysis is correct. You are forced to kill the messenger.
And as is abundantly clear, you’re a stooge.
eb
A stooge, by definition, is a poster that does nothing but smear the source, and never addresses the evidence.
Spoken by a true expert.
eb
AND not only does Lizzy claim 2000 Mules has been debunked BUT they are blocking questions about the USPS semi-truck that hauled 240.000 ballots from NY to Penn. in the middle of the night on Nov. 3rd/4th.
Rudy Was Drunk.. And Trump Listened!
White House Staffers Recall Birth Of Big Lie
“President Trump rejected the advice of his campaign experts on election night,” Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) alleged at the start of Monday’s hearing, “and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani”.
A video of Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser, flashed on the screen above the dais in the Cannon Caucus Room. “The mayor was definitely intoxicated,” Miller testified.
“He was saying, ‘We won it, they’re stealing it from us,” Miller recounted. And “anyone who didn’t agree with that position was being weak.”
Trump campaign lawyer Matt Morgan, in his deposition, spoke about his conversations with outside counsel: “The general consensus was that law firms were not comfortable making the arguments that Rudy Giuliani was making.”
The committee played the deposition of Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager, in which he testified that he disassociated himself from Trump’s bogus election-fraud claims. “There were two groups,” he said, “my team and Rudy’s team.”
A Republican-appointed U.S. attorney from Georgia explained how he chased down the Giuliani allegation that a “black suitcase” stuffed with ballots was the “smoking gun”: It was “actually an official ballot box,” handled correctly.
A former Republican official from Pennsylvania testified about investigating Giuliani’s claim to the state legislature that 8,000 dead people voted. “Not only was there not evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania, there wasn’t evidence of eight.”
A supposed 68 percent error rate of Michigan voting machines? Trump Justice Department official Richard Donoghue’s deposition said the actual error rate was 0.0063 percent.
But the debunking of each zany conspiracy theory (“whack-a-mole” was Barr’s description) would only cause Trump to “move to another allegation,” Donoghue testified.
Edited From:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/13/jan-6-hearing-giuliani-drunk-trump/?fbclid=IwAR2bNKm1gRw-4AfAad4lfNVNqyZGGxekCANyuaQulvimJcVH3ehGX8Ni0zg
The evidence is 2000 mules, it took over a year to figure it out. Common sense people knew Biden couldn’t get 81 million votes… it’s obvious.
Stooge, you’ve got NOTHING.
So what legislation is this bit of theater going to inform?
Election reform…
eb
Lying about Rudy being drunk aids in election reform legislation?
Asked and answered multiple times. You consistently ignore the answer. Among the legislation is the ECA.
A cross examination of the witnesses would have impeached their testimony
Yet you present no evidence of that. Give an example. Quote a witness, state what they should have been asked, show how you know that the answer to your question “would have impeached their testimony.”
Sea Lion
How can I or anyone do any of those things. The Committee is % picked by Pelosi.
Having committee members chosen by the minority party assures witnesses are cross examined. Lacking opportunity to impeach a witness under oath, lies are guaranteed.
The United States is founded on an adversarial justice system. Something Pelosi avoids because it proves the narrative is a lie.
In other words, you have no actual evidence, only belief.
…’.ignorance is bliss’ and this blissful expose sounds like MSNBC…. Just because so-and-so said there was no crime means nothing. None of these ‘names’ are computer experts nor listened to them. Computer Crime is almost impossible to prove… this is where there was a lot of action in the middle of the night…. there were crypotologists whose reports on this, showing the data movement, were ignored….
Rudy drank only his favorite drink. Diet Pepsi That night
I do not understand how somebody as intelligent as Turley can be so unenlightened on 1/6. You know why no video is released and only certain witnesses are called – because Trump did nothing.
If Trump did what they said then videos would show it. If things happened as they said then people wouldn’t be held without due process.
Nobody died but on protestor. It is crazy how overblown this whole thing is.
Word is no LEO died on 1/6/21, but 5 Trump supporters did die on that day.
Of course it’s understandable as none of the old media will bring that up, they’re not in the facts biz, they get paid by govt intel outfits.
Knowledge and Wisdom are different. Mr Turley has more knowledge about the rule of law until he doesn’t. I didn’t need 2000 mules to know the election was rigged. In 1948 LBJ pulled off the same scam against Coke Stevenson. Robert Caro won a Pulitzer for Means of Ascent. The ballots were delivered in the same handwriting and same ink to give Johnson the ‘Win’. And the Beat Goes On.
Blacknorton says:
“Mr Turley has more knowledge about the rule of law until he doesn’t. I didn’t need 2000 mules to know the election was rigged.”
One more disaffected Trumpist who can’t understand the unmistakable fact that Turley is and has always been a NeverTrumper.
Turley is starting to have Obama syndrome; “I” & “me He used to comment on law. Now he preens about his point of view. I guess he thinks he can run for something in the future or hope for a cushy job.
Taft says:
“I do not understand how somebody as intelligent as Turley can be so unenlightened on 1/6.”
One more disaffected Trumpist who can’t understand the unmistakable fact that Turley is and has been a NeverTrumper.
Jeff,
My technology ignorance is showing again. Cannot respond to your post of June 14, 0730.
You say ” this code 187 does not define a fetus as a human being. It’s human OR a fetus. They are not identical”.
A fetus is defined by the presence of all of the major body organs, though they might not be fully developed and functional and some not yet situated in their final anatomical location.
You ask me what is the issue? The issue is that many proponents of abortion advocate for a woman’s right to get an abortion up to the time of delivery.
I take it that you don’t agree with that position, right?
Actually, Paul, very few pro-choice people “advocate for a woman’s right to get an abortion up to the time of delivery,” unless the woman’s life is endangered. Women still die in childbirth.
Most people don’t advocate for an abortion up to the time of delivery, but the Democrat Party pushes in that direction. Now the Democrats are inciting people to kill a Supreme Court Justice. That is the type of people we are dealing with.
Anon, Just trying to get Jeff to clearly define his position. Which he has not. Viability is a key factor here. And needs to be established before we can have an intelligent conversation here .I don’t want to get into a ” that depends on what the definition of is, is” type of discourse.
Paul, in your attempt to get Jeff to clarify his position, it’s best not to introduce false claims like “many proponents of abortion advocate for a woman’s right to get an abortion up to the time of delivery.”
Anon, I am not going to get into a sematic argument over what number of people constitute ” many”.
But thanks for your input.
Paul,
I don’t weigh in on the abortion debate except to say that I dispute the notion that the fetus is a “baby” at conception. Religious people would have you believe that a woman is bearing a baby immediately after being inseminated even before she turns in bed to her lover smoking a cigarette and asks him, “What are you thinking?”
Human life.
Jeff, I can tell that you are a lawyer. By your avoidance of my original question, maybe you should run for office. Or maybe apply for press secretary. You couldn’t possibly be worse than the current one. My original question was framed in a way that was looking for clarification of the Peterson verdict vs. abortion rights. You were the one that cited the statute.
My question was not about abortion rights per se’.
So I ask you again, as an officer of the court ,how do you square that circle? Was what was in Laci’s womb a human being at the time she was murdered in YOUR OPINION?
I consider myself a religious person and I do not believe that life begins at conception.
And I don’t smoke.
If the baby was viable, it’s murder. It’s also murder being married.
Jeff, Thank you. If we ever meet for dinner, I will make sure my wife is not present.
Don’t know if you follow hockey, but I took some $ left over from football and bet Colorado with 7 to 1 odds in February. They are in the finals.
If I win, I will be able to afford any wine you choose. Provided it is under $1,000. I drink beer.
As tantalizing as your evolving online paramour relationship seems to you, Jeff is not that into you. Have some self-respect dude, not that Jeff has any
FOTroll
Anon, my response to you will not be allowed on this platform. But I can give you a hint. The first word starts with an F. The second word starts with a Y.
Hahaha, Jeff and Paul, sitting in a tree…
Where in the law does it talk about viability being required to consider what was in Laci’s womb to be a human being?
“Pelosi’s Court; How the Jan 6 Committee undermined its own legitimacy”
We need more “nevertrumpers” just like Turley!
Turley is stating his REGRET that the damning findings revealed by the committee may be undermined by Pelosi’s decision. He does NOT challenge a word it’s star witness Barr has leveled at Trump because Turley at heart is a NeverTrumper.
Turley’s first paragraph states;
“Below is my column in The Hill on the January 6th Committee hearings and how the Democrats undermined the legitimacy of their investigation by breaking the long tradition of bipartisan and balanced membership on such special committees. **Many of us support the effort to release more information and evidence on what occurred on that day. However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to forego even the pretense of a bipartisan and full inquiry**” (emphasis * added)
This echos Turley’s comments on a previous article where he said that the J6 committee has a partisan composition and agenda and that it lacks transparency.
We need more nevertrumpers like Turley!
Still reading minds.
We all know they stole the Election Mr Turley, until you guys force those thugs to be held accountable no one takes anyone in Washington serious anymore. They PRINT MONEY as a way of theft, that way my ban savings worth crashes as their planned inflation fleeces me.
Ron,
I got news for you. Turley has never stated nor even intimated that the election was stolen. He is a NeverTrumper who supports Bill Barr who has become Trump’s chief nemesis.
” Turley has never stated nor even intimated that the election was stolen. He is a NeverTrumper”
Turley has never said the election was the most secure. He is not a Never Trumper. Several people have told you that you don’t know how to use the term.
While campaigning for President, Joe Biden told a voter “I guarantee you we are going to end fossil fuel.”
Which is why gas is now over $5/gallon and getting higher every week.
Joe Biden wants you to suffer and feel the pain.
He’s not doing what he COULD do about it because it is his policy goal: Make America Suffer Again.
and so…who watches this trial circus?
Jeff, Natascha and the 20 Anonymous’s to name a few…
And Turley.
Touche’
No one should fee safe in Biden’s anti-American regime with its two-tier system of injustice. Republicans and Trump supporters are being targeted and hunted. No more sitting quietly on the sidelines. All hands on deck!
‘I know you don’t act actually care, but while you’re busy playing politics in DC, Yellowstone Park is flooding … roads washed away, bridges washed away. You might want to at least pretend to give a damn, Liz Cheney.’ ~a Wyoming constituent
*Kick Liz to the curb Wyoming. You know what to do.
American citizens are the most sophisticated consumers of information in the world. They ignore this political kangaroo court in droves. At best all networks got 20 million viewers for some it which is about 6% of the population for SOME of it. Six percent is the equivalent of getting just the cherry on a chocolate sundae. Everything else said is just noise.
More people watched/listened than that. That # doesn’t include people who watched via streaming (I generally watch hearings on c-span.org), people who watched later, people who listened to the hearing on the radio but didn’t watch.
Aninny:
Yeah it was the topic of choice at bathhouses and abortion clinics around the country. Everybody else was talking about $5.00 gas and $4.00 eggs.
Mespo shows he doesn’t understand how people consume media these days.
And referring to his above comment, I don’t know if I’d use the word sophisticated. More like jaded. Look, we know trump did whatever the Committee will prove he did. We know he paired with Putin and the Russians to play the EC in ’16. We know he extorted Ukraine. Hell, we know he even pissed on hookers in that bed that Obama once slept in. All of this makes total sense to anyone who has actually seen trump work or actually knows him in the least bit.
The question is, will enough people rally enough faith in the American political system to actually crush the apathy that produces someone like trump (and the republican party in general)? It will require D’s to take a stand against the most powerful political party in this country — that being the corporate lobby. R’s will *never* do it.
What will get people motivated to crush the R party on the part of D’s? A big victory against one of lobby’s that dog walk Washington on a regular basis. Take your pick…, oil lobby, insurance lobby, pharmaceutical lobby, gun lobby, the banking lobby…, whatever. Until this happens there will be people who won’t even really believe the fact that the vote they possess that’s being actively stolen from them by R’s will even really make a difference.
Biden could jump 30 points in the polls — tomorrow — by going after oil companies for price gouging in a demonstrative way. Will he go for broke? Doubtful…, he still believes the R’s are who he has to back room it with.
eb
Not that I’m maintaining the trite leftist sentiment that ‘it doesn’t really matter who gets elected’ is anywhere near correct. It’s completely false, as we all know…
It is true that, faced with the level of bad faith that R’s present, D’s have to completely rearrange what their efforts toward being centrist consist of. They basically have to be willing to run someone like Joe Manchin off of being in charge of the Energy Committee (and basically out of Washington)…
D’s moment of safety no longer exists as it once did.
eb
Karen confesses about Trump:
“nonplussed by the outrage at Trump’s abrasive rhetoric”
“his braggart ways”
“Sure, his ego is large”
“While I wish Trump rarely mentioned himself”
Uh oh. Now that Trump is being exposed as the “carnival snake charmer” that Turley pegged him years ago, she is distancing herself from her past unqualified embrace of him.
Predictable. Pretty soon they will ask, “Trump who?”
Let’s visit the return to the mythical land of Civility.
Those of us were nonplussed by the outrage at Trump’s abrasive rhetoric. For decades, we had been called environment-killer, racist, Nazi, homophobe, Islamophobe, white supremacist, bigot if we disagreed with ANY aspect of ANY Democrat policy. When we promoted the advantages of domestic oil production and the ensuing protection against high gas prices, we were told we would kill the planet in 12 years. But not if we bought that oil from Venezuela, Russia, or the ME and burned fossil fuels to ship it here over vulnerable marine ecosystems. Support a work requirement for welfare? Don’t debate the merits! You hate the poor! Point out the violent pro-crime, anti-cop, antisemitic rhetoric of BLM? You’re a white supremacist!
When Trump got elected, there were howls that we needed a “return to civility.” Civility to whom? Because it sure wasn’t offered to conservatives. Ad hominem is brave if it’s directed at a Republican.
Democrats just weren’t used to getting insulted. When they are treated with civility, but call us savage names, that’s “civil”. That’s fine, because Democrats get to redefine any word they choose. Disagree? Bigot!
They called Trump narcissist for his braggart ways. He often touted his own accomplishments as the best ever. Sure, his ego is large, however, who among prominent Democrats is humble? Is Joe Biden humble, with all his back door dealings through his son Hunter Biden? Is a man humble who bragged about the quid pro quo with Ukraine, getting the prosecutor fired who was investigating Hunter? Of course not, but Joe Biden is more subtle about it. You have to actually pay attention to his actions to understand the scope of his ego. Is Nancy Pelosi humble? She always proclaimed there was a “Constitutional crisis” in order to get her way, even urging uprisings. That’s manipulative without regard for public safety. That’s not humble. Is AOC humble when she rants about needing old people to get out of her way so she can push Che Guevara policies? Nope. But Trump is bourgeoise, while they proclaim themselves the polished, holier than thou ruling elite.
These politicians all live in glass houses. While I wish Trump rarely mentioned himself, and instead outlined the success of policy and teamwork, what’s most important is the work product. Trump excelled at logistics, which is how designed and implemented Operation Warp Speed, despite Democrats confidently predicting his failure. We had the lowest black unemployment ever recorded, better black standard of living, better gas prices, better national security. We had baby formula in every grocery store. A more secure border. Booming economy. Protection of Constitutional rights. Total access given to the press.
With Biden, we’ve had Afghanistan, Russia invading Ukraine (again), hungry babies, uncontrolled illegal immigration in the millions, rampant crime, demoralized police, the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, avoidance of the press, unaffordable gas…
Karen S.
We can always expect you to post with truth and facts.
Bill Barr was forced on Trump.
Well, duh!
William “Mr. Deep Deep State” Barr does the bidding of the “swamp”; his acting is poor, his thespian skills nonexistent.
The “Deep Deep State” Senate provides “advice and consent” in the form of “Deep Deep State” appointees.
It is a strategy designed to cause Americans to lose, and the “Deep Deep State” to win every time.
Americans have not yet discovered that government really is severely restricted and limited by the Constitution, and Americans were provided maximal, near-total freedom.
Whatever will Americans do when they discover the true breadth and scope of their virtually limitless freedom?
Eisenhower admonished Americans as to the burgeoning Military/Industrial Complex, aka Deep Deep State.
The Founders admonished as to submission thereto:
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
– Declaration of Independence, 1776
George states:
“William “Mr. Deep Deep State” Barr does the bidding of the “swamp”; his acting is poor, his thespian skills nonexistent.”
And NeverTrumper Turley? Does his unwavering support of the truthfulness of Barr implicate him in the “Deep Deep State” or merely the “Deep State,” that is, not so deep as Barr?
Deep enough
“Bill Barr was forced on Trump.”
What utter BS. Trump was President and could have nominated anyone he wanted for AG.
Anonymous,
Barr began his resignation letter by giving false cover to Trump’s Big Lie:
“I appreciate the opportunity to update you this afternoon on the Department’s review of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election and how these allegations will continue to be pursued. At a time when the country is so deeply divided, it is incumbent on all levels of government, and all agencies acting within their purview, to do all we can to assure the integrity of elections and
promote public confidence in their outcome.”
https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/attorney-general-william-barr-resignation-letter/b82836cf0fe20bf8/full.pdf
Barr told Trump these voter fraud allegations were BS and resigned partly because his opinion was being ignored. A patriot to his country would have come forward to acknowledge publicly that Trump was delusional and being ill-served by his enablers.
Will we hear Turley criticize Barr’s duplicity?
Nope.
Merrick Garland is Obama, Rice, Jarrett and Joke Biden’s Hatchet Man, who allied with the communist (liberal, progressive, socialist, democrat, RINO) school boards and teachers unions that brutally and savagely attacked the patriotic American parents of public school students, whom the communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs) were targeting with their communist (liberal, progressive, socialist, democrat, RINO) propaganda and indoctrination.
William “Mr. Deep Deep State” Barr supports Joke “Patient Deep Deep State” Biden, offering no serious criticism or opposition.
President Donald J. Trump (Actual) refused entry into the Deep Deep State, turning down its filthy money, and has been viciously and relentlessly assailed and excoriated in a politically violent coup, having his clear and intuitive re-election stolen, a corrupt, worn out dementia patient ensconced in his office.
The Deep Deep State transitioned to “kinder, gentler” coups.
When John F. Kennedy had his re-election stolen, no one denied it.
George,
Who would have thought that Barr would become the committee’s star witness and Trump’s chief accuser? You are not alone among the Trumpists on this blog who are fuming that Turley will NOT vilify him. Far from denouncing Barr, is there anyone in the media who sings his praises more than Turley? At every opportunity, Turley defends Barr’s impeccable integrity, and in so doing, he implicitly pushes the dagger deeper into the back of every Trumpist.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it- Turley is a NeverTrumper. Now, you people will finally believe me.
Barr is tech illiterate… which is why he doesn’t understand 2000 Mules. Note that no one has been able to prove that 2000 mules is anything other than the truth about what happened.
Jamie,
Wake up. There’s no there there.
Did you see 2000 Mules?
No.
After Barr laughed outloud about this debunked movie? You really think I would let myself be scammed out of money to see it?
It didn’t sound like Barr is the one laughing. You were scammed long ago by the left and never realized it.
Even D’Souza doesn’t claim that it’s proof.
“At every opportunity, Turley defends Barr’s impeccable integrity, and in so doing, he implicitly pushes the dagger deeper into the back of every Trumpist.”
That remains to be seen. Barr appears to be beholden to the state and made a fool of his reputation in his testimony. Break it down, and one sees him arguing based on falsities. However, I’ll wait until Turley comments in more depth on the subject. Agreement is not the issue. Logic and fact are. Those are two things Jeff has to brush up on.
However, what is Turley’s opinion of the Jan6 Committee? Not great.
If Jeff places so much weight on every word Turley utters, he should note that Turley has a low regard for how Pelosi has handled the committee and that the committee isn’t balanced.
Here are a few quotes from Turley.
“However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to forego even the pretense of a bipartisan and full inquiry.”
“However, such one-sided accounts rob these proceedings of a sense of authenticity and authority.”
“Pelosi demands: politics unburdened by process.”
“failure of Congress to adequately prepare for the riot despite “ {Ultimately a Pelosi responsibility. This adds credence to those that add Pelosi’s great responsibility for the violence and more.}
And been further harassed, impeached and convicted by Deep Deep State RINO Senators.
Oh, —- yeah!