DC Unrest Megathread

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/rebeccaballhaus/status/1347361238645436416

[brucejoel99]

Sorry if this has been answered, but does whomever is acting Secretary in Transportation and Education have the same “vote” on 25th amendment procedure that Chao and DeVos did? Do we know who they are yet? Does Trump decide (who is *acting*) or was it predetermined who is next in authority?

We don't know because it's never been constitutionally tested; the Deputy Secretaries take over until Trump says otherwise; their role is predetermined, but because Chao/DeVos resigned (instead of being fired), he can temporarily name whomever he wants under the provisions of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act so long as whomever he names is Senate-confirmed (or on the same pay scale as Senate-confirmed officials).

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1347584903324594177

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/Tom_Winter/status/1347629081752428551

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/1347658039130796037
https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1347659495489613824

[brucejoel99]

I think we all owe Harris an apology for making fun of her "ban Trump's Twitter" platform during the primaries, honestly. He genuinely is far more dangerous with access to the platform than without.

BRTD in shambles rn

[brucejoel99]

Walls: closing in

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-trump-impeachment-attack/2021/01/09/62e4aea0-5289-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html

Three days after a mob attack on the U.S. Capitol carried out in President Trump's name, Republican leaders have yet to outline plans to hold anyone accountable or to alter a platform and priorities lashed to the outgoing Republican president.

Trump and some congressional Republicans, meanwhile, stepped up their efforts Saturday to head off Democratic efforts to impeach Trump over what they call his incitement of violence.

Behind closed doors, Trump and his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner have encouraged allies to fight against a potential impeachment by issuing statements on social media or elsewhere that discourage or condemn the move, people familiar with the calls said.

[...]

Trump has not spoken to Pence since before the assault, when he urged Pence to try to block congressional certification of Biden's victory, according to two people familiar with the relationship, who like others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the president's actions on the record. Trump remains angry at Pence for refusing to do as Trump wished.

Pence plans to attend Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, a person familiar with his plans said Saturday. Trump has said he will not attend, breaking a long-standing tradition.

Trump remained out of sight Saturday, and unnaturally silent. Twitter had permanently revoked his account on Friday evening, removing his accustomed direct broadcast system to nearly 90 million followers.

Trump spent much of the day Saturday railing about Twitter taking his account, according to two officials. The president has not said anything about the five people who died in the attack, including a Capitol Police officer, nor has he moved to lower the flags of the U.S. government in their honor. He does not plan to make that order and has complained to advisers that he is being treated unfairly, two people familiar with his comments said.

Some White House officials are concerned about the president's liability from a broader investigation into the event. Trump knew for days there would be a march and wanted to participate himself, only to be thwarted for his own security, officials said.

A number of lawyers who participated in Trump's last impeachment defense, including Jay Sekulow, Pat Philbin and Pat Cipollone, would be unlikely to participate this time in defending the president, one adviser said. Possibilities include Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, or defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, the adviser said.

Party officials remain torn over what to do about Trump in the final days - with many ready to cut ties but wary because the party's grass-roots activists and supporters are still largely with him.

"If you can replicate his draw amongst rural, working-class voters without the insanity, you have a permanent governing majority," said Josh Holmes, a top adviser to McConnell.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/KannoYoungs/status/1348752728282030085

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/forecasterenten/status/1349124536868999169

[brucejoel99]

When Steve Doocy is the voice of reason...

https://twitter.com/revrrlewis/status/1349328568933896192

[brucejoel99]

Because of course:

https://twitter.com/StevenBeynon/status/1349438835332177920

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/AnaCabrera/status/1349461808688594949

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/LisaMirandoCNN/status/1349465514691751939

[brucejoel99]

It says it's a rule change (the fines). So they don't need to pass a bill (Senate + Biden) for this?

I wonder if there's a 27th Amendment issue there.

Eh, I don't think there's an issue to be had here. House Rules aren't a "law," which is what the 27th Amendment pertains to, & in any event, this doesn't actually change their rate of compensation so much as it'll permanently withhold compensation that they've otherwise earned.

[brucejoel99]

As Donald Trump puts out statements written by his sane lawyers to try and defend himself, one of his insane lawyers makes a statement of his own.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1349521903686455298

Is this real life?

is this just fantasy?

Caught in a landslide

no escape from reality

Open your eyes

Look up to the skies & see

[brucejoel99]

I don't understand why members of the House need to be fined for refusing to walk through metal detectors.

Just deny entry.  Can they walk onto a plane without going thru one?

They are lawfully elected members of a national legislature, not customers conducting a transaction.

It also seems like a petty tyranny, which is why I asked about it. What conceivable safety benefit is there to scanning the bodies of every member?

I somewhat agree with this, but violence has happened on the House floor in the past between members. Given how crazy some of these new people are, I honestly wouldn't put it past them to lose their cool and start waving a gun around.

So members of Congress can be trusted to vote on every piece of legislation affecting the country, but not to refrain from shooting their colleagues?

And we're supposed to take this seriously as a threat because Boebert likes to showboat about gun laws and violence in the House was a thing before electricity?

I take the riot extremely seriously but unless there's a much stronger case for it that no one is discussing, this seems like obvious security theater and a form of it that betrays some deeply undemocratic instincts. It would be more honest if those making the argument were willing to acknowledge that.

30 Representatives attesting to the report of a fellow member of Congress breaching COVID restrictions by giving an unauthorized tour to suspicious visitors who ended up being associated with the storming a day before the storming seems like enough of a reasonable case to me.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1350130106069635072

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/JesseDamiani/status/1351197878987927552
https://twitter.com/JesseDamiani/status/1351217658662891535

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/JesseDamiani/status/1351197878987927552
https://twitter.com/JesseDamiani/status/1351217658662891535

Does anyone know if she ends up being expelled from congress would that mean she'd be barred running again?

It would not.  Expulsion from Congress is specifically distinct from impeachment, and there is no constitutional provision for disqualification of an expelled member.

Unless they try to invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment as part of her hypothetical expulsion, of course, which would undoubtedly make for an interesting test case.

[brucejoel99]

If it's a non-freshman member, my money's on Andy Biggs.

[brucejoel99]

So we finally have an answer as to what authority Pence supposedly had to order the activation of the DC National Guard. In contrast to earlier reports, it turns out that it was never Pence who did so. Rather, it was the President, but with a twist:

https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1392547232721907713
Honestly, you have to give them some mad props. After all, they followed their orders & did whatever was necessary to protect the demonstrators' constitutionally protected right to go to prison.