Today a mob of Republican House members stormed the House secure hearing room and halted today’s scheduled hearing. Among the mobbers were Steve Scalise, Steve King, Louie Gohmert, Andy Biggs, Bradley Byrne, Mark Walker, Mo Brooks, and Debbie Lesko. The others are yet to be identified.
I’m hearing reports that Trump knew about and approved the riot in adance. I will link to something as soon as I find something linkable.
The group walked into the restricted area en masse, and chants of “let us in” were heard from outside.
A shouting match ensued between Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and some Democrats in the room as Schiff left to consult with the Sergeant at Arms, according to Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), who witnessed the scene.
At one point, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas), a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, started to collect the Republicans’ phones, appearing to realize having the electronics there was a bad idea, Connolly said.
Gohmert, one of Trump’s top defenders, used the opportunity to rail against what he described as injustice toward the president. Many Democrats sat watching, not wanting to engage.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper had been scheduled to testify this morning ‘about the mechanics of U.S. security assistance for Ukraine and the fallout from the White House’s decision to withhold it for several months over the summer,” WaPo says. The hearing was to have been held in a specially protected room known as a SCIF. SCIF stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. It’s an enclosed area used for processing sensitive information, so there is restricted access, no cell phones or recording devices allowed, etc.
By noon, several of the protesting members had apparently tweeted from inside the SCIF, a security breach. The area is tightly restricted to allow lawmakers to review sensitive material without the risk of surveillance, and cellphones are prohibited.
“Reporting from Adam B. Schiff’s secret chamber,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) wrote just before noon, two hours after Cooper’s testimony was scheduled to begin. Biggs stated that about 15 Republican lawmakers remained in the SCIF at that time.
Schiff’s staff declined to comment on whether Cooper’s testimony would be canceled for the day, given the disruption.
Twenty-some Republican Congressmen are staging a repeat Brooks Brother riot to stall the ongoing impeachment proceeding….
… In short, a bunch of Republican Congressmen are staging a faux riot in order to prevent DOD from telling Congress how the White House prevented them from following the law that prohibits the White House from withholding funds without a good reason that they share with Congress.
As I’ve said, even these men’s former colleague, Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, has admitted this is a crime. …
… There could be no more symbolic self-emasculation than this faux riot. And yet, over twenty men apparently are willing to trade away their own power like this.
It has been robustly predicted that once Trump’s defense had fallen apart, Republicans would respond by attacking the impeachment process. The predictions were on the money. What this is going to do to the inquiry going forward I do not know, but obviously these goons cannot be allowed to get away with this.
These guys are supposed to be grown, adult men??????? Representing the American people?????? Again, when did telling the truth become a crime??!! Under Trump America has become a scumbag country; and, probably will remain so with this kind of leadership and a severe lack of good manners.
Good questions.
To #1 No. (lackey children in adult bodies)
To #2 Hell no (sold out and for sale)
To #3 I hope that question is rhetorical as probably the rest are.
My question is how low can and will they go?
I retain hope they will not prevail and their misbehavior is punished severely and appropriately. If question #1 had yes potential, parents, schools, relatives and voters also need corrective measures. Poor examples and a national embarrassment they are, and the only excuse for this kind of action is a lame one.
Is Gaetz is auditioning for the Secretary of Energy position?
The repug's desperation is really starting to show.
Nah; he's auditioning for Fox News. They all are.
Speaking of Fox news..I haven't seen any clips of or heard any word of Sarah Sanders lately. Has she become a Fox news catch and kill? Or is she somebody who they just want to warehouse in their stable and pull her out when they feel the need to antagonize the Lib's.
They are repeating their tactics.
https://mobile.twitter.com/miekeeoyang/status/1187032800572125191?s=12&fbclid=IwAR0L4UaOz691gu898x_bC13LTuRNm_NbS3Dme0pOpnrUubsU2kKUSql8-Js
This is Obstruction of Justice – physically impeding a legal hearing being conducted according to House Rules and the Constitution. It's not being run to facilitate disruption and distraction but Nancy owns the House and Nancy makes the rules. When this goes over to the Senate for trial, does anyone think Mitch will consult with Democrats on the process?
There's no chance Barr will prosecute but I wish Nancy would remind the thugs that this might be deemed criminal under a different DOJ. I think Trump has decided to prevent impeachment by calling up the flying monkeys. Will he call for street violence? Will his cultists respond? If people are getting killed, will the Senate Republicans decide it's going too far?
Yeah, I'm paranoid, but am I wrong?
If people are getting killed, will Senate Republicans decide it’s going too far
“Thoughts and Prayers”, my friend. You already know the answer to your question. The various, frequent massacres that have been going on for years, have been innoculating the public to violence. “Thoughts and Prayers” is the Republican response, if they respond at all.
There’s a crucial threshold in the progress of fascism, which can be thought of as a cancer. That’s when an obvious crime is committed, and the government looks the other way.
Apart from the violence of his cult members, which Trump will certainly encourage, there’s the whole charade of impeachment itself. The House is going to present the clearest, textbook case for why Trump should be impeached, but is our government (the Senate) so crippled that it effectively “looks the other way”? I’m not optimistic.
Thoughts and prayers to Cthulhu, and to Skynet, and to Satan.
It’s easy to look at this and think how stoopid these republicans are, that dumb-a**ed Matt Gaetz embarrassing himself again. They want us to laugh it off as much ado about nothing. But does anyone think Gaetz and his band of goons didn’t know that (a) this was a deposition for a witness; (b) republicans on the committee were part of the proceedings and (c) barging into a hearing like that with phones was against House rules if not illegal? Every one of those cretins knew that this was not “Adam Schiff impeaching trump in secret proceedings” as Gaetz claimed before the cameras. This was a stunt designed to confuse TV viewers who may not understand the process. And as stupid as it was, it can be very effective in misleading some of the public about the proceedings.
For this reason, the democrats MUST exact consequences. Gaetz and company know with a DOJ and AG wholly owned by Trump they will face no legal consequences as they probably should. But Pelosi is Speaker, and she can sanction them at least for violating House rules. Democrats should have at least held a press conference later that would have taken no more than five minutes to explain the facts about the process.
Until democrats start using what power they have that does not require the participation of DOJ, there will continue to be this disrespect for the rule of law. Republicans do stuff like this because they know they can and face zero consequences. They see the democrats have been loath to use any of their power to enforce anything.
As for violence, I just read this morning of a MLB umpire who said that if Trump is impeached he’s buying an AR-15. Republican antics may seem funny at times, but this is no laughing matter. This is serious stuff.
My thought is that Gaetz's stunt works to their disadvantage because it only draws greater attention to Trump's upcoming impeachment. And any advantage it does manage to gain will be gained from a pool of extremely low information voters.
I think the size of the opposing forces has already be drawn, and those numbers on Trump's side of the equation will never rise above what they stand at already. If anything, the number of Trump supporters will only decrease as the details and story line emerges.
The repug's are desperate to shift the narrative, and they don't have tools to effect that result, so all they can do now is create a circus to discourage and turn people off to the whole process with their fuckin' buffoonery.
How does that expression go?…Desperate men take desperate measures.
Nancy Pelosi didn't make these rules. A Republican majority made them in 2015. John Boehner signed it. 27 of the thugs who tried to forcibly stop the business of the US Congress voted for the rules that forbade them to be there. 12 of them were authorized to be there; they just decided they'd rather try to shut things down by force rather than participate in American governance.
And yes, Trump knew; it was probably his 'idea' (to use the word generously). It'll happen again, only it won't be members of Congress this time, and we'll be in full Reichstag territory.
This could very well happen at every state Board of Elections in November 2020. Only they won't be members of Congress either.
Yeah, I'm paranoid but am I wrong?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rob-drake-baseball-umpire-mlb-civil-war-if-trump-impeached/
What I fear is that even though the case for impeachment will be as clear as day, it won't be enough to persuade the 20 or so Republicans needed in the Senate.
I read over at TPM that Ghouliani was orchestrating an interview – from Vienna – with the corrupt Ukranian prosecutor – who will gladly provide "dirt" on the Bidens. The interview was to appear on "Hannity", and could've happened had the FBI not arrested Rudy's pals at the airport.
In short, the Republicans are pulling out the stops. There's a newly elected CA Congresswoman, Katie Hill, from a couple districts over, who made the news over a supposed affair with someone in her campaign. Nude photos and everything. She's probably fine as a freshman legislator, but anything the right wing smear machine can kick up will be used to swift boat her good and hard.
Others have said that the only way to get the 20 Republicans needed to convict, and surmount the propaganda/smear machine is through massive demonstrations. I'm sure this will be organized, but I also suspect a lot of people would stay home because of the (right wing) gun nuts.
Come on back to the fold.. all is forgiven!
It seems to me that these Republican congresscritters should, at minimum, lose any and all committee assignments they may have. Perhaps that will signal that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.
Here's what I find funny (ya gotta look for something to laugh at in these times) about this "Schnook's Brothers Riot:"
Some of the GOP flying-baboons "protesting" yesterday were already IN THOSE HEARINGS, since they're on the committee's!
They just rarely went, or if they did go, they left early.
So, some of these sycophantic tRUMP ass-lickers yelling "Let us in," could have just walked-in, listened, and adked questions.
They just prefer stunts to substance!
So, all of the thugs in the Conservative (bowel) movement, are all just 'Rebels Without a Clue!'
Gulag, EVERYTHING is designed with a single purpose. To deflect from the fact that Trump used his presidential authority to get a foreign government to assist in Trump's campaign by smearing a rival.
Forget quid pro quo. Ignore phones in a secure area. Don't debate process. The identity of the whistleblower is not an issue. The TRUTH os the issue. Trump DID commit an impeachable offense with the evidence of the transcript ALONE. The word "Biden" is in the transcript three times. "corruption" zero times. Burisma, Zero times. It was a hit on Biden regardless of whether aid was held up to force that investigation!
But there are idiots on tv that think Democrats should listen to Republican concerns blah blah blah
Republicans should thank God it is behind closed doors because it is damning testimony.
The lev and igor show goes on. The Syria birthday present for Putin and gift for erdogan goes on. The destruction of epa usda etc goes on.
What we need is charges for eisenberg the wh lawyer for obstruction. (Need a new doj)We need to know what pot us promised erdogan and pro quo.
The original "Brooks Brothers riot" was a mob of relatively young Republican staffers who made a lot of noise and seemed to be having fun. The cameras couldn't resist.
The march down the stairs looked like a funeral procession by old folks who couldn't think of an excuse not to attend. It's not going to move public opinion. The real show will be the live hearings next month. Republicans should prepare by taking some acting lessons and getting younger.