US Politics

[Tracker]

Conservative activist arranged for Clarence Thomas’ wife to get secret payouts

Clarence Thomas' wife, "Ginni" Thomas, reportedly received tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work, and her name was intentionally left off of the paperwork.

Ginni Thomas received the funds from conservative activist Leonard Leo—who has also helped former President Donald Trump select judicial nominees—according to the Washington Post's investigation. The news comes at a time when Clarence Thomas himself is under firefor reportedly receiving undisclosed gifts.
Leo made the arrangements through former Trump Administration official Kellyanne Conway, according to the Washington Post's report.

"In January 2012, Leo instructed the GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway to bill a nonprofit group he advises and use that money to pay Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, the documents show," according to the report. "The same year, the nonprofit, the Judicial Education Project, filed a brief to the Supreme Court in a landmarkvoting rights case."

The investigation further uncovered the circumstances surrounding how the payments were made secret.

"Leo, a key figure in a network of nonprofits that has worked to support the nominations of conservative judges, told Conwaythat he wanted her to 'give' Ginni Thomas 'another $25K,' the documents show. He emphasized that the paperwork should have 'No mention of Ginni, of course,'" according to the Washington Post.

[bustamente]

So snippets of Trumps deposition are out, Americans who voted for him must be so proud, guys on trial and takes off to Scotland and tells the media over there that he will fly back to testify knowing full well that he will never testify because he is a stupid idiot. 

[Tracker]

Kentucky rioter gets 14 years for attacking police during Jan. 6 insurrection

A Kentucky man was just handed down the harshest-yet sentence among those who have been charged in connection with the insurrection attempt in January 2021, according to reports.

Peter Schwartz, who already had a history of criminal activity prior to the insurrection, reportedly threw a chair at officers and sprayed them with pepper spray as he and his then-wife stormed the Capitol.
Lawyers for Schwartz sought a sentence of four years and six months, arguing that his actions were based on a “misunderstanding” of what happened in the 2020 election, but U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta felt that 14 years was appropriate, Associated Press reports.

Mehta said Schwartz was a “soldier against democracy” who participated in “the kind of mayhem, chaos that had never been seen in the country’s history,” AP says.

The outlet added some additional quotes from Mehta to Schwartz:

“You are not a political prisoner,” the judge told him, the report says. “You’re not somebody who is standing up against injustice or fighting against an autocratic regime.”

https://www.alternet.org/kentucky-rioter-14-years-insurrection/

[Tracker]

At Least 8 Fake Electors Have Immunity In Georgia Election Probe

ATLANTA (AP) — The prosecutor investigating interference in the 2020 election in Georgia has agreed to immunity deals with at least eight Republican fake electors who signed a certificate falsely stating that then-President Donald Trump had won the state.

Defense attorney Kimberly Debrow revealed the existence of the immunity deals in a court filing Friday, saying her eight clients had accepted the agreements last month. The filing does not identify the eight people who were offered immunity deals.

Last July, a lawyer for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office revealed that each of the 16 people who signed the false elector certificate was a target of her investigation, which is examining whether Trump and his allies committed any crimes while trying to overturn his narrow election loss.

The 16 fake electors met at the state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, and signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had won the presidential election and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors.

The news of the immunity deals shows that Willis continues to work on her case as she prepares to make decisions on whether to seek charges this summer. In letters sent to law enforcement agencies late last month, she advised them to prepare adequate security as she intends to announce her charging decisions between mid-July and early September.

 

[Tracker]

Mississippi Gov. slammed for re-election bid launch of 'cosplaying' clip of him 'shooting' people of color

Mississippi’s Republican Governor Tate Reeves, who has the highest firearm mortality rate in the entire country, this week launched his re-election campaign with a video depicting him as Clint Eastwood shooting people of color.

Although the video (below) was released Tuesday, few seemed to notice until a Talking Points Memo article was published Friday afternoon.
“Reeves’ face is superimposed on Eastwood’s in clips from the classic Dollars trilogy movies. He’s seen cosplaying the white anti-hero, the Man with No Name, shooting at Mexican bandits with a Colt revolver and puffing on a cigarillo,” TPM’s Emine Yücel writes.

In addition to the inherent racism and violence in the video, there is no policy discussed, and not even any bragging about Reeves’ record.

https://www.alternet.org/mississippi-gov-reelection-cosplaying-shooting/

[Tracker]

A new report reveals that Leonard Leo paid Ginni Thomas tens of thousands of dollars, but the money was routed through Kellyanne Conway’s consulting company without mentioning Thomas.

The Washington Post reported:

Leo, an adviser to the Judicial Education Project and a key figure in a network of nonprofits that has worked to support the nominations of conservative judges, told Conway that he wanted her to “give” Ginni Thomas “another $25K,” the documents show. He emphasized that the paperwork should have “No mention of Ginni, of course.”

Conway’s firm, the Polling Company, sent the Judicial Education Project a $25,000 bill that day. Per Leo’s instructions, it listed the purpose as “Supplement for Constitution Polling and Opinion Consulting,” the documents show.

Leonard Leo’s name has been in the news lately because he may have caused The Federalist Society to violate its tax-exempt status so that he could secure a $1/6 billion donation for partisan activism.

There is no documented evidence that Ginni Thomas ever did any work for the Judicial Education Project or Kellyanne Conway’s polling company. It appears that Leo was slipping money to the Ginni and Clarence Thomas while he had business before the Supreme Court.

[JCon]

16 hours ago, bustamente said:

So snippets of Trumps deposition are out, Americans who voted for him must be so proud, guys on trial and takes off to Scotland and tells the media over there that he will fly back to testify knowing full well that he will never testify because he is a stupid idiot. 

Didn't the judge call his bluff and told him to come back? Trump told everyone he wanted to testify but couldn't get back in time so the judge gave him time. Like everything Trump says, it was a lie. 

[Tracker]

5 minutes ago, JCon said:

Didn't the judge call his bluff and told him to come back? Trump told everyone he wanted to testify but couldn't get back in time so the judge gave him time. Like everything Trump says, it was a lie. 

The deposition that Trump previously made was a stunning display of his arrogance and stupidity. He made no apology for his "grab 'em" comment and even insulted the plaintiff's lawyer. during the trial, Trump's motivation for attacking her was identified- apparently just before 'the (alleged) rape, she made a remark that he likely construed as dismissive of him. Trump does not take that sort of thing lightly and retaliation is mandatory for him. This is gonna cost him a lot of money, but not enough in my view.

[HardCoreBlue]

1 minute ago, JCon said:

Didn't the judge call his bluff and told him to come back? Trump told everyone he wanted to testify but couldn't get back in time so the judge gave him time. Like everything Trump says, it was a lie. 

What you say is fact and well documented since he was born basically.  What fascinates me is how his approach has trickled down into forums like this on the world wide web. 

Outright lying, distorting information to seed doubt and gaslighting to get a charge out of well meaning regular folk from all walks of life coming from many different types of political ideologies does not mean you're playing Devils advocate and not to be taken seriously.

Responding to these the outlandish claims that have no evidence to back it up is not being tired and embarrassing. But here we are with a few who cryptically cast everyone as embarrassing and all equally bad because someone comes in hot with drivel.

That makes me sad and that's what I'm seeing from my perch.

You want to talk about being tired and embarrassed in what we now tolerate and what we don't tolerate, that's where I'm at.

 

[JCon]

3 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

You want to talk about being tired and embarrassed in what we now tolerate and what we don't tolerate, that's where I'm at.

Yup, same here. You can lie without any pushback. And, when someone pushes back, they cry and whine and yell catchphrases at you like some sort of gotcha. Little minds. 

[17to85]

Trump occasionally tells the truth though... like when he said he loved the poorly educated... or when he said his personality stopped developing at 6 years old.

[Tracker]

56 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Trump occasionally tells the truth though... like when he said he loved the poorly educated... or when he said his personality stopped developing at 6 years old.

And when he said he could shoot someone in public and still be loved by his followers. 

[bustamente]

2 hours ago, JCon said:

Didn't the judge call his bluff and told him to come back? Trump told everyone he wanted to testify but couldn't get back in time so the judge gave him time. Like everything Trump says, it was a lie. 

The Judge did this so that Trump can't appeal on the fact that he wasn't given the opportunity to testify even though everyone knows that he will never testify cause he is a full blown liar and idiot.

[bustamente]

Another day that ends in Y so here's another mass shooting in Texas. The next time a politician fighting back crocodile tears and offers thoughts and prayers people need to yell out liars and frauds.

[iHeart]

37 minutes ago, bustamente said:

Another day that ends in Y so here's another mass shooting in Texas. The next time a politician fighting back crocodile tears and offers thoughts and prayers people need to yell out liars and frauds.

thankfully from what I saw on CNN one suspect seems to be dead

[bustamente]

Well of course not you idiot, first of all the guy in the picture never played in the NFL, doesn't live in Texas and is currently going after the guy that you bootlick

 

[JCon]

He wants gun control and is soft on crime? The GOP just knows their base is stupid. 

[HardCoreBlue]

25 minutes ago, bustamente said:

Well of course not you idiot, first of all the guy in the picture never played in the NFL, doesn't live in Texas and is currently going after the guy that you bootlick

 

Even people like Ted Cruz, MGT, LB and MG could randomly shoot someone (as long as they weren't a white maga)in broad daylight and it wouldn't even make a dent in how Magats feel.

In fact, it would probably embolden them even more and might actually pick up a few extra supporters.

[rebusrankin]

16 hours ago, bustamente said:

Another day that ends in Y so here's another mass shooting in Texas. The next time a politician fighting back crocodile tears and offers thoughts and prayers people need to yell out liars and frauds.

You know what bugs me about thoughts and prayers? The lack of action. As it says in James, faith without works is dead. So sure pray AND do something (name a gun control measure).

[bustamente]

Lets not forget Wheels and what a POS he is. You must feed me more deaths as they sustain my appetite for power 

 

[Mark F]

On 2023-05-06 at 5:29 AM, Tracker said:

Mississippi’s Republican Governor Tate Reeves,

also involved in diverting 94000000 poverty relief funds to pals, such as brett favre, who directed millions to a volleyball facility.

doesnt seem to matter. 

nihilism. nothing has meaning. morals are woke.

https://www.liberationnews.org/steal-from-the-poor-give-to-the-rich-welfare-fraud-in-

mississippi/

"The state’s Department of Human Resources, the agency responsible for distributing federal funds to poor families, gave millions of dollars of these funds instead to wealthy, politically-connected Mississippians for their pet sports projects and athletes, and for meals at expensive steak houses. State auditor Shad White called this case “some of the largest fraud in state history.”

$94 million stolen from the poor

On July 22, the Mississippi State Department of Human Resources fired a lawyer investigating $94 million in misspent welfare funds. The lawyer, J. Brad Pigott, was fired a week after filing a subpoena for records from the University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation concerning $5 million in welfare funds the foundation had misappropriated for a volleyball stadium on Southern Mississippi’s campus."

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Mark F

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.rawstory.com/now-its-gods-fault-texas-republican-slammed-for-claiming-the-almighty-controls-shootings-2659975683/

[JCon]

1 hour ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

https://www.rawstory.com/now-its-gods-fault-texas-republican-slammed-for-claiming-the-almighty-controls-shootings-2659975683/

It's always the imaginary friend's fault. 

[Tracker]

8 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

You know what bugs me about thoughts and prayers? The lack of action. As it says in James, faith without works is dead. So sure pray AND do something (name a gun control measure).

Texas mall shooter wore neo-Nazi symbol and shared 'white-supremacist content online': report

The man who murdered eight people using an AR-15 at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, Saturday likely identified with neo-Nazi beliefs, The Washington Post reports.

Allen resident Mauricio Garcio, according to The Post wore a "patch on his chest" at the time of the shooting that read "RWDS," meaning "Right Wing Death Squad," a "phrase popular among right wing extremists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists." Additionally, NBC reports Garcia "interacted with neo-Nazi and white supremacist content online."

Last year, an Anti-Defamation League's Center (ADLC) on Extremism report revealed "all extremist-related murders in 2022 were committed by right-wing extremists," adding, "More than four out of five extremist-related murders last year were committed by white supremacist right-wing extremists."

The report also noted "nearly all extremist-related mass killings were committed by right-wing extremists, and warns the number of those mass murders 'is of growing concern.'"

An official familiar with the matter told NBC not only did Garcia engage with neo-Nazi content online, but he also posted such content himself.

Regarding the issue of gun violence specifically pertaining to Texas, The Post reports:

In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 4,613 firearms-related deaths in Texas. The state's annual death toll from guns has increased steadily since 2014.

Led by Abbott, Texas has moved in recent years to loosen restrictions on firearms. In 2021, the state began allowing permitless carry so residents can carry handguns in public without a license. The state 'does not specifically put restrictions on who can carry a long gun such as a rifle or shotgun,' according to a Texas government website.

ADLC's report added the "main threat in the near future will likely be white supremacist shooters," noting, "The increase in the number of mass killing attempts, meanwhile, is one of the most alarming trends in recent years."

[bustamente]

Deadline passes and of course Trump will not testify, that won't stop him from saying the crooked Judge wouldn't let him testify and is still not his type