For a dude who's been in the slammer, this here trust fund baby is shockingly ignorant of how law works. This is what happens when Daddy makes sure you don't need to face the music, folks. https://t.co/kKinlqDbXN
— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) February 6, 2020
y'all know this dude stormed a scif, with a cell phone, and tweeted from INSIDE THE SCIF, during a closed hearing right? https://t.co/ntDXjMYof4
— ALT-immigration ?? (@ALT_uscis) February 6, 2020
BOOM: Bar complaint filed on GOP Rep Matt Gaetz for “grave misconduct.”
Filed by @MiamiDadeDems https://t.co/Q23V9vgOQ2
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 7, 2020
… The statement cites an instance in October 2019 when Gaetz and other Republicans entered the closed-door deposition of Pentagon official Laura Cooper during the impeachment proceedings against Trump. After demanding that Democrats hold open hearings, Gaetz and his colleagues remained in the meeting room for hours, eventually ordering pizza.
Gaetz also attempted to sit in on the deposition of former National Security Council member Fiona Hill in October 2019 but was asked to leave because he did not belong to the committee in charge of receiving Hill’s testimony.
In the complaint, a copy of which was sent to Newsweek by the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, Gaetz’s acts were described as “improper, unprofessional and unethical and were meant only to feed Gaetz’s unjustifiable large ego and penchant for grandstanding.”
“Impeachment proceedings are a legal process leading to a trial, and therefore covered by the Florida bar’s rules of conduct,” wrote Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Steve Simeonidis in the statement. “But Republican Attorney General Bill Barr isn’t going to hold a member of his own party responsible. So we must appeal to our state’s institutions to restrain this rogue lawyer who has obstructed the impeachment process twice, and generally treats the powers of his elected office like a personal plaything.”…
Most members would need a staffer to pre-tear. Not Pelosi. There’s a reason she’s Speaker. https://t.co/lCiqfi5PYb
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) February 5, 2020
If only the press in high dudgeon about Pelosi tearing up the speech had a quarter of that outrage about the fact that Trump violates the Presidential Records Act every day because he can’t just look at a doc then set it aside, he rips everything up
AKA he destroys evidence
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) February 6, 2020
I am tweeting this as if I made it myself even though @ManlnTheHoody made it – because he told me to and it’s funny.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) February 6, 2020
Jerzy Russian
Christ, what an asshole!
Bill Arnold
Re the Trump-tearing-up-documents ritual, here’s the original article:
Meet the guys who tape Trump’s papers back together – The president’s unofficial ‘filing system’ involves tearing up documents into pieces, even when they’re supposed to be preserved. (ANNIE KARNI, 06/10/2018)
bold mine:
dmsilev
From Gaetz’s letter, “Speaker Pelosi’s gesture was deeply offense.”
Do you even grammar, bro?
Biff Baxter
“She called us names”
Cacti
Now that the fascists have normalized Republican executive lawlessness, it’s on to the next step:
Criminalizing opposition to their party.
Wag
The last video made me smile
Mike in NC
Gaetz has a nasty face that begs to be introduced to a baseball bat.
Wag
@Cacti:
shit. I hadn’t put it that context. Bastards.
Bill Arnold
Re Mike Gaetz –
agitator-in-chief
‘A Tool’
More on Gaetz:
This DOES Sound Like Matt Gaetz! (Evan Hurst, January 15)
NotMax
Maybe he’ll try to replicate what Rand Paul did with accreditation, and start his own Bar Association?
//
Bill Arnold
@Cacti:
Constraints on behavior and tactics have been relaxed for everyone, by the Republicans. This will get interesting.
chris
The big news for me was that Matty went to law school and passed. Or did Dad buy it for him?
bucachon
Why hasn’t the Miami herald video of him during the national anthem at the Súper bowl gotten any play? It’s pretty fucking amazing
Bill Arnold
Some notes on today’s DJT news conference. It’s really pathetic as a reading. (I haven’t watched it.)
Transcript: Donald Trump Talks Impeachment Acquittal in News Conference, Calls Russia Investigation “Bullsh*t” (Feb 6, 2020)
This always cracks me up.
“San Francisco 49ers won SuperBowl LIV 20 to nothing!”
This was very offensive.
Comey handed the election to DJT. Firing him was really really stupid.
He just makes shit up. He has no real understanding of how much he is loathed by many 10s of millions of patriotic Americans. He might have never heard of “broken glass Democrats” or that there are 10s of millions of them.
SFAW
For a guy who could barely handle being the parking lot attendant at a bar, he sure thinks highly of his own intellect. Trying to give Louie Gohmert a run for his money. Maybe they should give Dunning-Kruger an “a/k/a” — as in “a/k/a the Gaetz Effect”?
He is such an asshole, and I dearly hope he pisses off the wrong person, outside of the halls of Congress.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@chris: I was thinking the Floriduh bar exam must be pretty easy.
ziggy
@bucachon: Got lost in the crazy news cycle. But it was posted on CNN and a few other places. No good way to interpret it, and I can’t see his behavior improving from here on out.
TriassicSands
Pelosi didn’t “destroy” an official government document. She just created two where once there was only one. Magic!
Bill Arnold
@bucachon:
I had a hard time finding a copy of that video that plays in my browser: here’s one from twitter:
Yeah, other attendees had hands over their hearts.
A Ghost To Most
I’d say something snarky about Florida man, but I’m saving it for the regular emails I send to Cory Gardner.
Shalimar
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The Florida Bar Exam has one of fhe lowest pass rates in the country. I don’t know how Gaetz passed it.
zhena gogolia
@Bill Arnold:
Somebody in the beginning is speaking Russian.
zhena gogolia
@bucachon:
It’s used to great effect in this marvelous ad:
LongHairedWeirdo
@Bill Arnold: that’s why I am, to be honest, really glad they filed a bar complaint.
The Republicans abuse their elected office, and the presumption of good faith, without ever facing any consequences. It’s about time someone started pointing out that the abuse of legal process is literally destroying the republic, and started demanding that the institutions that are supposed to police such abuses pay some attention.
I’d like to know what bar thinks it’s fine if Bill Barr disregards the best interest of his client, in favor of a third party (i.e.: deliberately favoring DJT over his client, the United States of America).
Duane
@Bill Arnold: Looked like a person who didn’t take their meds. The height of hypocrisy. Should make effective campaign ads.
J R in WV
@Bill Arnold:
Every time I think I have seen Trump hit the nadir of his behavior, then right away he hits a far lower nadir in front of everyone.
I’m not big on the Pledge or the Anthem, myself, but I do know how to behave so that I don’t offend those for whom it is a big deal. Know what I mean?
Trump can’t do that any more, or doesn’t care to, perhaps never did care.
LongHairedWeirdo
@Shalimar:
I can’t say how hard a bar exam is, but keep in mind, the bar exam isn’t intended to measure ethics or wisdom, only the ability to correctly apply (or argue?) the law.
Frankly, Gaetz’s willingness to throw everything against the wall, just in case something sticks, sounds like the sort of thing expected by the bar exam. A good lawyer is expected to bring up everything meaningfully relevant and relevantly meaningful. Always looking for one more cheap shot to take probably helps.
debbie
The Gaetz complaint is like Pepto-Bismal on the stomach ulcer that was Trump’s statement this afternoon.
debbie
@Bill Arnold:
He seems somewhat tipsy. //
LongHairedWeirdo
@J R in WV:
I assume anyone who is all pet/cuddle/kiss the flag has no real respect for it. It’s not there for touchy-feeling; what kind of dolt would be proud of such behavior?
It’s like… geez. I was raised catholic, okay? And the crucifix – Jesus on the cross – is a big symbol. And if you had a life-sized crucifix, and someone wanted to show piety, by kissing the figure of Jesus, well, that might be okay – there was even a special mass where all participants were called forward to kiss the feet of a crucifix. Those are things that are done. What Trump does to the flag – it strikes me as going up to the crucifix and giving it a great, big ol’ hug. It seems weird, creepy, and inappropriate; it seems to scream that he has absolutely *no* respect for it.
I wonder if, when people cheer on such behavior, it bonds them together more strongly? Getting people to do something they know is a bit “just plain wrong” *can* bind them together, I reckon. And if that *is* the case, is Trump cunning enough to understand that? I think he might be… by getting the GOP to cover for everything he’s done (and he’s done a lot), I think he’s bound them that much more tightly.
(And, of course, even those who aren’t bound by shared-evil get into a situation where, if they say “yeah, it was wrong to extort Ukraine and try to get baseless investigations started” people could reasonably ask “then why didn’t you speak up the other 999 times when he was showing he’d do exactly this?”.)
debbie
Huh. My local news just reported Gym Jordan has been named the ranking Republican member on the House Judiciary Committee. Will Devin sue? //
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Looks like Wilmer is gonna lose both his best state in Iowa and his neighboring state of New Hampshire to a 37 year old small town mayor.
What an embarrassment.
Uncle Omar
I have a question regarding the SoU dust-ups. Did Drumpf refuse to shake Nancy Smash’s hand before or after she doubled her copy of the “speech?” Not that it matters, but since I didn’t watch it and that’s all the dim-witted media can talk about, I’d like to know the order of things.
SFAW
@Uncle Omar:
I think the handshake BS was before he started, and the tearing was after he was done.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Duane
@LongHairedWeirdo: Getting people to do something that is wrong strikes me as peer pressure. Children succumb to it easily. Adults are suppose to know better. Says a lot about today’s Republican party. Never grew up.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@debbie: Devin’s on Intelligence.
debbie
@Uncle Omar:
Yes, before he spoke, when he handed her a copy of his speech.
debbie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Ah, then that Collins guy will be suing — or at least shouting a lot.
PJ
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: The DNC clearly has rigged NH against Bernie like it rigged Iowa!
debbie
Colbert was great tonight. He called Trump’s appearance at the prayer breakfast the Ramble on the Mount.
randy khan
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Speaking of oxymorons.
leeleeFL
@dmsilev: I am disappoint!
randy khan
The request for the criminal referral (which of course isn’t remotely happening) is incredibly weird. Forget how stupid he is to include, think how stupid his staff must have been to decide to put it in there in the first place.
Kent
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: This is more or less the perfect setup for Bloomberg if the top 4 split the NH vote 4 ways like this with no one getting above 25%. Not that I’m a Bloomberg fan, but if I am forced to choose between grumpy-B and baby-B I’ll be very billionaire-B curious.
SFAW
18 USC 2071: [i.e., what Gaetz says may have been violated]
(a)
Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
(b)
Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.
I guess I’m amazed that Gaetz didn’t propose Speaker Pelosi be executed for Treason.
Someone should demand to see any and all records that Gaetz has handled, possessed, taken custody of, etc., during his term as Representative. After all, every accusation is a confession with these assholes.
Kent
@SFAW: I know I’m preaching to the choir but for fuck’s sake. The US Capitol is an absolute daily blizzard of paperwork: Reports, draft report, bills, analyses, draft analysis, speeches, draft speeches, correspondence, etc. etc. I imagine that the recycling bins and shredders around the Capitol generate several dumpster-loads of paper recycling every damn day they are in session. I imagine during any other year’s SOTU, Pelosi probably would have just left the speech on her desk and her staff would have tossed it into the recycling bin. It isn’t Pelosi’s job to archive copies of executive-branch documents.
By Gaetz’s logic every single Senator, Congressman, and all of their staff need to be jailed because every single one of them tosses Federal documents in the garbage, shredder, or recycling bin every single day.
LongHairedWeirdo
@Duane: yes, but getting people to do something wrong for a purpose seems to have some kind of bonding power.
It’s like, imagine there’s a Republican caucus that initiated new members by making them spit (or worse) on a picture of Nancy Pelosi. (I have no reason to suspect such a group of people exist; I just invented a story that seemed not too implausible.)
If you’re a decent human being, you realize this is grossly disrespectful and awful. But if you did it, and were cheered for doing it, that ugly feeling seems to bring about a bond that wouldn’t be there without it.
Well, it seems to me that necking-and-petting the American flag could be the same sort of thing. Someone is doing it, they’re all cheering it, they’re all kinda aware that this is sick, but that’s okay, because it’s *us*, you see, not *THEM*.
Yick. I hate using the first person, but you see what I mean – it’s okay that the clique is doing this, because it’s the clique; and if those outside the clique think it’s ugly, that’s another source of grievance against those unworthy folks.
Apropos of nothing, I would kind of expect the response would be that much more virulent – if a prominent liberal said “Trump’s flag fondling is gross”, I bet the trumpies would be that much more vicious, because, wow, truth hurts, especially when it’s lost in dat river in Egypt.
Duane
@LongHairedWeirdo: So it’s like joining the Federalist Society. (I can easily imagine spitting on a picture of Pelosi as their initiation rite.)
Anne Laurie
@bucachon:
If we’re talking about Trump, not Gaetz… that clip was *so* weird that it set a lot of people talking about senile dementia. Just too uncomfortable for most major media to Go There, I suspect.
Anne Laurie
It’s pretty clear that Gaetz is concerned with only two objectives: (a) kissing up to Trump in the most public way possible; and (b) getting a good gig with the Wingnut Wurlitzer, whether or not he stays in office.
His staff has to be slightly brighter than Gaetz, competent enough to more-or-less correctly fill out the paperwork, and to get these stunts in the media. Most of us have had the misfortune to work for at least one boss with similar proclivities.
But if they were really smart, they’d find a better host to parasitize.
Anne Laurie
@Kent: The assumption, among the media closest to New Hampshire, has been for months that the state was Bernie’s to lose. He scratches all their libertarian/anti-authority itches. Plus it was assumed that Biden or-one-of-the-other-moderates (pronounced, on tv, as a single word) would take Iowa, and NH loves loves loves to ‘contradict’ Iowa.
Buttigieg, right now, is scratching a lot of those same itches… plus he has that ‘fresh new candidate’ smell which low-info voters and crossover pranksters (Reps and ‘independents’ can & often do vote in the NH Democratic primary) love.
In fact, I think the Bernistas’ worst mistake in screaming about the RIGGED! Iowa caucus fustercluck is that they gave the kewl young ‘moderate, yet hip’ candidate a much larger platform by insisting on his audacity!!!! for daring to presume! that he could just steal St. Bernie’s spotlight. Nobody outside the pre-committed Buttigieg community was paying attention beyond the ‘all top candidates claim victory’ level until the BernieBros started spreading conspiracy theories & sharing some pretty homophobic anti-Pete memes.
rikyrah
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Both Wilmer and Warren are next door to New Hampshire. Why would Biden think that he could do well there?!?
J R in WV
Regarding group bonding from shared illegal activities, that was part of the purpose of KKK lynchings during Jim Crow anti-reconstruction fights in the early 1900s. A standard fascist organizing tool for centuries.
No surprise to see it in the current fascist movement, from Charlottesville to Portland OR. Beatings, vandalism, threats, violence, all part of their organization plan.
Anne Laurie
Lotsa cranky old people, basically. Bernie was supposed to be the local favorite, and ‘Fauxahontas’ the automatic loser; Granite Staters who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a damned commie were expected to vote Biden by default.
A considerable number of those elderly cranks are now claiming they’ll vote for that nice young man who knows how to tie a proper tie & doesn’t take any backtalk from ‘those people’, ifyouknowwhatImean… and I’m pretty sure you do!
(To be fair, I don’t think Buttigieg or his campaign are encouraging the racists, but the more other campaigns complain about his tenure in South Bend, the more racists consider him ‘one of our own’.)
Matt McIrvin
Um, as far as I can tell, “how law works” today is:
1. Trump appoints judges
2. Judges do Trump’s bidding
Are we absolutely sure Pelosi won’t go to prison for this?
LongHairedWeirdo
@Duane: Precisely :-).