💣 The Disastrous 118th Congress - MAGA Mike Johnson Saved by Shadow Speaker Hakeem Jeffries

[Volkonski]

Warring GOP factions threaten to tank Johnson’s spy powers bill

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2 ... n-00141435

Two opposing factions of the House GOP are both threatening to tank the reauthorization of a critical intelligence surveillance tool as Republicans remain locked in a long-running standoff. One side of the debate views sweeping changes as vital to Americans’ privacy rights and the other warns new limits would critically undermine national security by effectively neutering the program.

The House clash — between Republican security hawks on the Intelligence Committee and GOP privacy advocates on the Judiciary Committee — is a particularly sore point for Johnson’s leadership. He’s facing criticism from every corner about how he’s handled the spy powers fight, with members predicting the bill would be blocked if Johnson tries to bring it up for a quick vote Thursday.

“There’s provisions in there that are just problematic. It hasn’t gone through regular order. It’s a whole mess,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a member of the Intelligence Committee. “That’s why we’ll probably just vote against the rule and take it down."

The House Rules Committee plans to meet on Wednesday to tee up the bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Both sides of the debate want votes on significant changes if it goes to the floor on Thursday.

Section 702 revolves around an authority that is intended to target foreigners abroad but has become controversial because of its ability to sweep up Americans’ information. The legislation set for consideration includes narrower changes than those preferred by the Judiciary Committee, notably forgoing strict warrant requirements related to American communications.

Privacy hawks are trying to amend the bill on the floor and add language to address two issues: Requiring a warrant before searching for Americans’ information and placing limits on the ability for data brokers to sell consumer information to law enforcement. A provision related to the latter was already tucked into the bill that leadership rolled out on Monday — which in turn has rankled the security advocates on the Intelligence Committee.

[MN-Skeptic]

Jake Sherman
@JakeSherman
BREAKING NEWS from me and @MicaSoellnerDC
--

MARK GREEN, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, will retire at the end of this Congress.

Green is in his first term atop the committee.

He is the FOURTH GOP committee chair to forgo reelection in 2024.

Mark Green is a Republican Representative from Tennessee.

[Slim Cognito]

I guess standing up to the orange shitgibbon is out of the question.

[Mr brolin]

If I hear one more instance of these privacy violating freaks squealing.... "If you've nothing to hide you've nothing to fear"...."It's for the children" .... ""only bad people hide things" I swear I'll go (verbally) biblical on them.

[Luke]

Off they go on vacation AGAIN. Tweeted about it and a lot of folks agree (650 so far) it's outrageous.

#RewardingFailure: Do-nothing MAGA House will be on vacation AGAIN Feb 16-28. America is paying for it. Budget deadlines start Mar 1. Aid to our allies. Border security. Helping Americans. MAGA Mike won't act on those. And the GOP wonders why they've lost 5 elections in a row (2018, 2020, 2 GA Senate seats 2021, "red trickle" 2022). The GOP can not govern. #VOTE #Elections2024

[Luke]

Last night after NY3, this popular MAGA was like gosh how? I replied and it's had over 1100 likes and lots of retweets. Fogbow is getting the word out!

Ryan James Girdusky @RyanGirdusky
Republicans are looking at the results in PA, OK, and NY and are saying what's going on. Why are we performing so badly?

We lost high propensity (mostly college educated white voters). We gained lots of low propensity voters who don't show up.

And the weirdness around conservative culture (T-Swift is a CIA plant, election was stolen, arrest women for having abortions) is only making these people run away more. It's hurting up and down the ballot almost everywhere we go.

And the fact that low propensity voters won't vote early because they believe in nonsensical conspiracies about voting machines means we can't make up for it with election day turnout. It's happening everywhere and could happen in November.

People need to be aware.

Luke Johnson @Orly_licious
It's not that complicated. The GOP isn't getting anything done. Chip Roy is still asking for One Thing Republicans have accomplished. A kabuki impeachment didn't help the border, and the GOP isn't doing anything to help Americans. After tonight, hard to see that changing.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/marge- ... t-managers

Speaker Mike Johnson wasted no time releasing his nominees in a House Resolution to serve as the "Impeachment Managers" for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Impeachment managers typically serve as prosecutors arguing the case, presenting evidence and witnesses, making opening and closing arguments to the Senate during an impeachment trial.

The list contains some real All-Stars. Perhaps the two that jump out are the most unhinged Members of the House: Marge Green and Clay Higgins. Other members include Andy Biggs, Andrew Garbarino, Ben Cline, August Pfluger, Harriet Hageman, and Laurel Lee.

Higgins was last seen posting a threat to Judge Engoron right before the Super Bowl using a depiction of a hit man from the Godfather, and Marge Greene is, well, Marge Greene. Enough said.

[Slim Cognito]

Jeez, I can't. I just can't.

[raison de arizona]

Andy Biggs? That will be a treat

Or something.

[Volkonski]

Senate Looks to Quickly Reject Mayorkas Impeachment Charges in Speedy Trial

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/us/p ... trial.html

Democrats are planning to dispense with the charges against the homeland security secretary with a fast dismissal vote or an accelerated trial in which he would almost certainly be acquitted.

Senate leaders plan to move quickly this month to reject the articles of impeachment against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, setting up a speedy trial in hopes of preventing House Republicans from turning the chamber into a political spectacle.

Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has not yet determined exactly how to go about truncating the proceedings, according to people familiar with the continuing discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe plans that were still under development. But he is aiming for quick action, beginning on Feb. 28, the day the House is expected to deliver the charges, that could be over in just a couple of days.

Mr. Schumer still has almost two weeks before House managers plan to formally present senators with the articles of impeachment against Mr. Mayorkas, which the House narrowly approved on Tuesday on a second try after they were defeated the week before. They accuse the secretary of refusing to enforce immigration laws and breaching the public trust regarding the state of the U.S. border with Mexico, effectively declaring President Biden’s immigration policies a constitutional crime.

Senate leaders are betting that there is enough Democratic anger and Republican exasperation at the precedent-breaking nature of the charges — and with the way Mr. Mayorkas’s impeachment was handled — to swiftly exonerate him, either by throwing out the charges entirely or by moving to bring the proceedings to an early close.

And they have no doubt that they would have the votes to acquit him. A conviction would require a two-thirds majority, meaning that at least 18 senators on the Democratic side would have to join Republicans in finding Mr. Mayorkas guilty.

“These charges are a total sham — really shameful — and they deserve absolutely no dignity,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Judiciary Committee. “They’re purely a political stunt by the far-right fringe of the MAGA movement and, I think, should be dismissed summarily.”

Under the Constitution, the Senate must consider impeachment charges approved by the House, meaning that a trial of some sort, with senators sworn in as jurors, is unavoidable once the articles are delivered. But from that point on, there are many options for how to proceed.

[RTH10260]

Off they go on vacation AGAIN. Tweeted about it and a lot of folks agree (650 so far) it's outrageous.

#RewardingFailure: Do-nothing MAGA House will be on vacation AGAIN Feb 16-28. America is paying for it. Budget deadlines start Mar 1. Aid to our allies. Border security. Helping Americans. MAGA Mike won't act on those. And the GOP wonders why they've lost 5 elections in a row (2018, 2020, 2 GA Senate seats 2021, "red trickle" 2022). The GOP can not govern. #VOTE #Elections2024

https://twitter.com/Orly_licious/status ... 9614277092

BUT... But... But... what will they do on Feb 29 - the only day they have in four years to stand out

[raison de arizona]

All bow before the Great Cheeto!

EXCLUSIVE: “Representatives, is Mike Johnson taking orders from Donald Trump?”

Rep. Troy Nehls: “If he’s not, he should.”

[AndyinPA]

https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-co ... 86d25e490b

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green on Wednesday announced that he won’t run for a fourth term, pointing to the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just the day before as among the reasons it is “time for me to return home.”

“Our country – and our Congress – is broken beyond most means of repair,” Green said in a statement. “I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington.”

As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Green was a driving force behind the Mayorkas impeachment push over border security in a deeply partisan and highly unusual attack on a Cabinet official. His panel conducted a months-long investigation of Mayorkas, his policies and his management of the department, ultimately concluding Tuesday that his conduct in office amounted to “high crimes and misdemeanors” worthy of impeachment.

[AndyinPA]

https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-cong ... af1927b9de

MUNICH (AP) — A Republican opponent of new U.S. funding for Ukraine argued at an international security conference Sunday that the package stuck in Congress wouldn’t “fundamentally change the reality” on the ground and that Russia has an incentive to negotiate peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and others have advocated passage of the $60 billion in aid at the Munich Security Conference, which coincided with Ukraine withdrawing troops from the eastern city of Avdiivka after months of intense combat.

But Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican and ally of Donald Trump, said “the problem in Ukraine … is that there’s no clear end point” and that the U.S. doesn’t make enough weapons to support wars in eastern Europe, the Middle East and “potentially a contingency in East Asia.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson insists he won’t be “rushed” into approving the $95.3 billion foreign aid package from the Senate that includes the help for Ukraine, despite overwhelming support from most Democrats and almost half the Republicans.

[pipistrelle]

https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-cong ... af1927b9de

I'll never understand the popularity of his book. I'd guess most of it was a fabrication, but even if true it wasn't interesting, insightful, or even a good read. The more stupid that comes out of him, the more I wonder why.

[Dave from down under]

But Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican and ally of Donald Trump, said “the problem in Ukraine … is that there’s no clear end point”

There is:
Russia withdraws behind the 2012 borders and pay restitution for it’s invasions and support of separatists.

But for Vance that is not an option.

[RTH10260]

a week ago

Scoop: House GOP plots lengthy probe on Biden's age to keep it in spotlight

Mike Allen, author of Axios AM
Feb 13, 2024

House Republicans are activating a weekslong, perhaps monthslong, plan to keep questions about President Biden's mental state in the spotlight, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Sources close to House GOP leaders are blunt that they don't think it even matters what they find. These sources think that any fight will make the White House look bad — and keep a huge Biden vulnerability in the headlines.

The GOP planning includes hearings and possibly even subpoenas for documents and recordings.
Three House committee chairs wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland last evening to demand a transcript — plus any recordings — of Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Hur wrote he won't charge the president with mishandling classified documents, but wrote that Biden suffers from a "poor memory."
Next, we're told, House Republicans plan to seek testimony from Hur — and would ask him both about how Biden's storage of sensitive documents could have hurt national security, and about the president's mental acuity in the interview.

The attorney general acknowledged on "60 Minutes" in October that "usually, the special counsels have testified at the end of their reports."
What we're hearing: Hur's testimony could be blockbuster. Even some Democrats think so. And they think it would be worse because of the Biden team's combative response.

Democrats will try to undermine anything Hur says because he was nominated by then-President Trump. But Hur can point to past praise from Democrats about his professionalism. A person close to Biden quipped: "With the newfound GOP interest in classified documents, maybe they'll have a field hearing at Mar-a-Lago, in the flooded server room."



https://www.axios.com/2024/02/13/biden- ... hur-report

[RTH10260]

Biden’s brother to be deposed on Wednesday in GOP impeachment inquiry

by Mychael Schnell and Mike Lillis -
02/20/24 6:11 PM ET

James Biden will appear before Republicans for a private interview In February 2024 as lawmakers seek to regain some momentum in their monthslong impeachment inquiry into his brother, President Joe Biden.

James Biden, the president’s brother, is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee behind closed doors on Wednesday, the first of two high-profile testimonies the panel will hear this month as part of its impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

Republicans leading the investigation have alleged that the president was deeply involved in family business dealings — including those of his younger brother — that were tainted by corruption and influence peddling that hinged on the powerful Biden name.

The Republicans have yet to provide clear evidence backing those claims, however, and they’re hoping that the younger Biden’s testimony on Wednesday will yield the smoking gun they’ve so far failed to dig up.

His appearance comes just days after an explosive Politico investigation found that James Biden had invoked his brother’s name in negotiations with a rural healthcare company, Americore Health, which would later collapse into bankruptcy — an issue Oversight Republicans are vowing to broach during Wednesday’s testimony.

“He once again has a lot to answer,” Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.), a member of the Oversight Committee, said on Fox News Tuesday. “It’s great to see that he’s finally coming in for this interview. A year ago, I think that the administration would have denied that they would ever have Biden family members coming before the Oversight Committee as part of this impeachment inquiry.”

“This is going to be a very important moment in this investigation,” he added.

Yet Republicans are facing their own challenges in the impeachment investigation.



https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4479 ... t-inquiry/

[Kendra]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/20/politics ... index.html

The former FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens’ dealings in Ukraine told investigators after his arrest that Russian intelligence officials were involved in passing information to him about Hunter Biden, prosecutors said Tuesday in a new court filing, noting that the information was false.

Prosecutors also said Alexander Smirnov has been “actively peddling new lies that could impact US elections” after meeting with Russian spies late last year and that the fallout from his previous false bribery accusations about the Bidens “continue to be felt to this day.”

Smirnov claims to have “extensive and extremely recent” contacts with foreign intelligence officials, prosecutors said in the filing. They said he previously told the FBI that he has longstanding and extensive contacts with Russian spies, including individuals he said were high-level intelligence officers or command Russian assassins abroad.

Prosecutors with special counsel David Weiss’ team said Tuesday that Smirnov has maintained those ties and noted that, in a post-arrest interview last week, “Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about Businessperson 1,” referring to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

[June bug]

Why is a good portion of the CNN story crossed out?

Never mind; it’s no longer crossed out.

[Kendra]

Why is a good portion of the CNN story crossed out?

Never mind; it’s no longer crossed out.

My bad, I had no idea how I did that. Thought I fixed it before anyone saw it

[June bug]

Why is a good portion of the CNN story crossed out?

Never mind; it’s no longer crossed out.

My bad, I had no idea how I did that. Thought I fixed it before anyone saw it

It’s all good. You really worked fast!

[Kendra]

Anderson Cooper just had a nice chat with Dan Goldman. If anyone spots a clip, please post, but otherwise worth queuing up the show to watch for yourself.

[Slim Cognito]

Putin just murdered a pilot who defected. Is Smirnov next?

[raison de arizona]

Anderson Cooper just had a nice chat with Dan Goldman. If anyone spots a clip, please post, but otherwise worth queuing up the show to watch for yourself.

A former FBI informant charged with lying about the Biden family has told investigators that Russian intelligence officials were involved in passing information to him about Hunter Biden, prosecutors said in a new filing. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) talks about it with Anderson.