Jaff's stupid shit

[Lov2fish]

Largest political money laundering scheme in a long time. Fuck them all.

[JAFF]

Ginni Thomas admits to January 6 committee she did not know of any evidence proving voter fraud

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...445ea1167d60e7

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Ginni Thomas, a conservative political activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told the January 6 panel that she regretted the 'tone and context' of numerous emails and texts sent in the aftermath of the 2020 election in the latest round of transcripts released by the Congressional committee on Friday.

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The panel wanted to speak with Thomas following revelations of email correspondence between Thomas and then-President Donald Trump's election attorney John Eastman - who supported the legal theory that claimed then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to overturn states' election results

Congressional investigators also had text messages between the 65-year-old and Mark Meadows, who at the time of the exchange of messages, was Chief of Staff to Trump. These messages showed Thomas urging Meadows to continue the fight to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

'Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!...You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America's constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.'

'I regret all of these texts,' Thomas voluntarily told the panel during a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill on September 29.

Virgina (Ginni) Thomas, left and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, right
Virgina (Ginni) Thomas, left and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, right
© Provided by Daily Mail
In her testimony, she expressed her embarrassment about personal text messages being made public but was concerned about allegations of voter discrepancies while texting with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

'It was an emotional time, and people were scared that there had been enough fraud happened that they weren't going to get to the bottom of it,' Thomas said.

When asked about evidence of voter fraud by January 6th committee member, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Thomas said, 'I can't say that I was familiar at that time with any specific evidence I was just hearing it from news reporters and friends on the ground, grassroots activist who were inside of various polling places that found things suspicious.'

Subsequent evidence emerged that Thomas encouraged state lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin to overturn the presidential election results.

Thomas told the committee that she 'hoped that state legislators could identify fraud and irregularities in a timely manner before it was too late.'

When investigators and members of the committee of the attack on the U.S. Capitol asked about her conversations at home, Thomas said she stays in the “political” lane at home and her husband stays in a “legal” lane.

“He’s uninterested in politics,” she said. “I did not speak with him at all about the details of my post-election activities, which were minimal.”

She later added, “He had no idea I was texting Mark Meadows about the election,” though she conceded that a “best friend” she had talked to in one text to Meadows was likely her husband.

Yeah, right.

[JAFF]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/polit...sed/index.html

Im going to just post some highlites so there will be limited scrolling.

The Joint Committee on Taxation, which reviewed the returns, flagged that Trump claimed a large number of questionable items on his tax returns, including eyebrow-raising amounts of interest he claims to have received from loans to his children that the bipartisan committee said could indicate Trump was disguising gifts.

The JCT argued that an auditor should investigate the loan agreements Trump made with his children, including the interest rates. If the interest Trump claims to have charged his children was not at market rate, for example, it could be considered a gift for tax purposes, requiring him to pay a higher tax rate on the money.

In each year of his presidency, for example, Trump claimed he received exactly $18,000 in interest on a loan he said he gave his daughter Ivanka Trump and $8,715 in interest from his son Donald Trump, Jr.. In 2017 to 2019, Trump said he received exactly $24,000 from his son Eric Trump, and Eric paid him $19,605 in interest in 2020.

That raises the question of whether “the loans were bona fide arm’s length transactions, or whether the transfers were disguised gifts that could trigger gift tax and a disallowance of interest deductions by the related borrowers,” the JCT said in its report.


There are also questions about Trump’s returns listing an identical amount of company expenses and income.

For example, in 2017, Trump claimed his business DJT Aerospace LLC, which operates Trump’s personal helicopter, claimed $42,965 in income. It also claimed the exact same amount – $42,965 – in expenses. In other words, every single dollar – to the dollar – that the company earned was negated by the company’s expenses, such as payroll, fuel and other items. That left the company with zero income – and nothing to tax.

Total expenses equaling total income is a statistical impossibility,” said Shiel, who added that the figures are not evidence something illegal was done. “It just doesn’t happen.”

The JCT in its report raised several similar questions. For example, it noted IRS auditors were investigating multiple so-called large unusual questionable items on Trump’s tax returns for which the regulator wanted Trump to provide supporting evidence to back up his claims.

Trump reported having foreign bank accounts between 2015 and 2020, including a bank account in China between 2015 and 2017, his tax returns show.

Trump was required to report the accounts to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The filings show that the former president maintained foreign bank accounts in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and China.

The China bank account, which was reported by The New York Times in 2020, was tied to Trump International Hotels Management’s business push in the country, Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten said at the time.

The 2020 disclosure of business dealings in China came as the Trump campaign sought to portray Biden as a “puppet” of China. Biden’s income tax returns and financial disclosures showed no business dealings or income from China.

The returns also show that Trump paid more in foreign taxes than in US federal income taxes in 2017, the first year of his presidency.

In 2017, Trump paid just $750 in US federal income taxes because of large carry-forward losses that he claimed in prior years, negating virtually all of his American tax liability. Yet Trump paid nearly $1 million in taxes to foreign countries that year.

Trump was required to report the accounts to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The filings show that the former president maintained foreign bank accounts in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and China.

The China bank account, which was reported by The New York Times in 2020, was tied to Trump International Hotels Management’s business push in the country, Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten said at the time.

The 2020 disclosure of business dealings in China came as the Trump campaign sought to portray Biden as a “puppet” of China. Biden’s income tax returns and financial disclosures showed no business dealings or income from China.

The returns also show that Trump paid more in foreign taxes than in US federal income taxes in 2017, the first year of his presidency.

In 2017, Trump paid just $750 in US federal income taxes because of large carry-forward losses that he claimed in prior years, negating virtually all of his American tax liability. Yet Trump paid nearly $1 million in taxes to foreign countries that year.

The fact that Trump paid foreign taxes isn’t in itself surprising, but it shows how Trump’s companies and businesses interests span the globe, and how those businesses are subject to local tax laws and regulations.

During his presidency, Trump pledged he would donate the entirety of his $400,000 salary to charity each year. He frequently boasted about donating parts of his quarterly paycheck to various government agencies.

“While the press doesn’t like writing about it, nor do I need them to, I donate my yearly Presidential salary of $400,000.00 to different agencies throughout the year,” Trump tweeted in March 2019.

If he donated his 2020 salary, he didn’t claim it on his taxes. Among the six years of tax returns the House Ways and Means Committee released, 2020 was the sole year in which Trump listed no donations to charity.

I dont know if Trump broke the law, but his lies about his financial ties to China are a problem. From a different article a wall street banker suggested trump should stop all the wild trading just put his money in an index fund, he would make more money

[JAFF]

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-ne...023/index.html

Republican shitshow. Democrats sitting around eating popcorn, watch the fun

[JAFF]

Day two.

No change. Republican train wreck gains momentum. Led by Matt Gaetz.

Reap what you sow.


https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-ne...-23/index.html

[JAFF]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...e24b92aef915d0

. The gold leaf accents on Donald Trump's political brand look to have lost their luster.

At the height of his influence entering the 2022 GOP primaries, Trump sought to shape the Republican Party in his image, his endorsement in competitive races ultimately coming to define who conservative voters supported and who they didn't.

One of those he endorsed was Kevin McCarthy, the ambitious California congressman who, shortly after the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, traveled to Mar-a-Lago to extend an olive branch after previously criticizing Trump.

The following summer, Trump responded with his endorsement of McCarthy, calling him a "strong and fearless" leader for the GOP of the future.

After McCarthy suffered three consecutive defeats in a ballot of his peers to start the 118th Congress on January 3, Trump—it seemed—was no longer sure: In an interview Tuesday with NBC News' Garrett Haake, Trump declined to respond to a specific question about whether he supported McCarthy, saying only "we'll see what happens" when pressed.

By Wednesday morning, Trump was sticking with McCarthy. In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Republicans to "NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT."

Within hours, the dynamics were already out of his hands.

In the fourth round of voting, 21 of the House's 223 Republican members declined to support McCarthy, with many saying he was too moderate, too entrenched in the Washington establishment, and too willing to capitulate to Democrats as he seeks to govern against a Democratic-led Senate and a Democratic White House.

Some of Trump's most ardent supporters in Congress—longtime anti-establishment figures like Matt Gaetz, Byron Donalds, Chip Roy, Ralph Norman and Lauren Boebert—were no longer listening to him, slamming Trump's pick on the floor of the House as a figure of the Washington, D.C., swamp Trump once swore to destroy.

"Even having my favorite president call us and tell us we need to knock this off," Boebert said on the House floor Wednesday ahead of the fifth round of voting. "I think it actually needs to be reversed. The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw."


Trump's office has been contacted for comment.

Though his success as a candidate has long relied on the support of those outside the Beltway, his personal brand outside of D.C. hasn't fared much better—particularly as others have succeeded in rattling cages more than he had.

Where an invitation to Mar-a-Lago was once the equivalent of a winning lottery ticket, the Florida mansion has—in the months since the Republican primaries—become something of a circus of far-right fringe figures, with recent guest lists featuring defeated Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, onetime North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn and white nationalist Nick Fuentes alongside longtime Trump sycophants like Rudy Giuliani, the disgraced former mayor of New York City.

During the announcement of his third campaign for president, reporters wrote of attendees they saw heading for the exits who were not allowed to leave, while the campaign itself has seemed void of energy, marked by poorly designed digital trading cards and an absence of the types of rallies that came to define the closing months of the 2022 midterms.

Even some of his children, whose names are inextricably connected to their father's, have largely sought to distance themselves from the Trump brand for other ventures, as the company he founded has been mired in a number of criminal cases in New York.

"While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena," his daughter Ivanka said in a statement after his announcement.

[omahacolt]

How is Gaetz even a thing?

dude is a garbage person

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

How is Gaetz even a thing?

dude is a garbage person

Welcome to the republican party, clown car head to the edge of a cliff

[JAFF]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/tech/...thy/index.html

It’s Tucker Carlson versus Sean Hannity in the Republican Party.

The divisions inside the GOP, being laid bare on national television via the dramatic fight between Kevin McCarthy and a faction of rebels over the House speakership, mirror the rift that has been forming for some time in right-wing media and which is strikingly clear in Fox News primetime.

Some corners of the right-wing media universe, represented by the Carlsons of the world, revel in the chaos. Carlson has made that clear on his broadcasts this week, effectively cheering on the Never Kevin camp in the House and arguing that what we are seeing on television — a paralyzed GOP unable after six votes to elect a House speaker — is healthy.


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“If you prefer democracy to oligarchy, if you prefer real debates about issues that actually matter, it’s pretty refreshing to see it,” Carlson said of the public infighting taking place in the House, which is set to go back into session at noon on Thursday.

Then there are the personalities and outlets that more closely align with Hannity, who has gone on record against the mutiny facing McCarthy and argued on the California congressman’s behalf.

To be clear, Hannity hasn’t outright bashed the Republicans staging the rebellion against McCarthy. He’s mostly played polite. And he’s tried downplaying the friction, insisting it’s not a crisis. But Hannity has represented the wing of right-wing media — and the larger GOP — that would like to see Republicans unite and not be consumed by disorder.

“Should Republicans have worked this all out in private, long before yesterday? Yeah, absolutely. And behind the scenes I spoke to many of them, and I urged them to work it out,” Hannity said Wednesday night. “They apparently did not listen to my advice.”

After those comments, Hannity invited on Rep. Lauren Boebert for an interview which turned quite combative. The Fox News host repeatedly pressed the far-right congresswoman on what the rebel group plans to do, given that they are clearly a small minority of the GOP. Hannity at times noted that Boebert was evading and not answering his simple questions.

“I asked you a simple question congresswoman. I feel like I’m getting an answer from a liberal,” an exasperated Hannity said toward the conclusion of the interview, in which Boebert repeatedly kept speaking over him.

Of course, while Hannity, McCarthy, and others might be frustrated with the rebels now, they all played roles in bolstering their power in recent years. Which is the irony that cuts straight to the heart of the matter.

Much like the Republican Party laid the groundwork over the years for the rise of Donald Trump, people like Hannity have laid the groundwork for the rise of people like Carlson. They’ve catered to their views, refused to call out their nonsense, and chosen to attack entities like the media instead of dealing with the own mess in their backyard.

Now they’re reaping what they sowed: a party comprised of a growing number of erratic figures who don’t mind — and even perhaps prefer — watching the world burn.

[JAFF]

https://thehill.com/homenews/3802324...-jan-6-attack/

. House Democrats, one GOP lawmaker mark Jan. 6 attack
BY REBECCA BEITSCH - 01/06/23 11:06 AM ET

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House Democrats — and one Republican — paused for a brief but emotional ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Gathering on the House steps with the families of officers who lost their lives in connection with the riot, lawmakers honored the fallen officers as well as those injured in the lengthy battle with those who stormed the Capitol.

“The Jan. 6 insurrection shook our republic to the core. For many in the Congress and across our country, the physical, psychological, and emotional scars are still raw. Yet, from the unspeakable horror sprang extraordinary heroism. Law enforcement heroes confronted the insurrectionists to protect the Capitol, the Congress and our Constitution, and it’s with great respect and admiration that we are joined by the families this morning,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said.
“Thank you to the families for considering us worthy to share your grief, to honor your loss.”
Family members or representatives read the names of each officer who died in connection with the riot: Capitol Police Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, and Metropolitan Police Officers Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida, and Kyle DeFreytag.
The family of Billy Evans, a Capitol Police officer who was killed after a man rammed into Capitol barricades and drew a knife on officers, were also present, his name read aloud by his two young sons.
The remembrance was held as the majority of the GOP gathered for a call to discuss a pending twelfth vote to determine who will serve as speaker of the House.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) appeared to be the only Republican in attendance for the Jan. 6 remembrance.

Lawmakers held a 140-second moment of silence, one second for each officer injured during the attack, the pause leaving audible tears and sniffling from elected officials as well as those in the crowd.
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“We stand here today with our democracy intact because of those officers. The violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol and attempted to halt the peaceful transfer of power, a cornerstone of our republic. They failed. They failed because of the bravery and valor of the United States Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department officers who fought heroically to defend our democracy,” incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said.
“We will never forget their sacrifice and we will never forget this day.”