It appears that Norm Pattis, a constitutional attorney representing Joe Biggs, has filed a motion citing extraordinary circumstances in the ongoing Proud Boys trial. Pattis’ standing in the case has been called into question due to his law license being suspended for six months for releasing confidential Sandy Hook files. This suspension is seen as convenient for the government, as Pattis is known for being a strong defender of the Constitution and is highly articulate. There are strong suspicions that the government has done wrong and that this will be revealed during the trial.
There are expected to be significant testimonies in the trial as well, and some witnesses are currently seeking immunity.
The trial is in the process of selecting a jury, with 48 jurors being called. Today there have been ongoing arguments about Pattis and defense witnesses but Judge Kelly aims to have the jury set by 5:45pm.
While these things are being argued, the defendants are being held in DC and should be provided with meals by marshals, a positive aspect of all this as the food in the jail is reportedly poor.
Alicia from the Gateway Pundit has also provided an update on Joe Biggs, stating that he is being treated like a terrorist despite having no history of violence and being a recipient of two purple hearts. Joe has recently been given a tablet, and supporters are encouraged to send money so that he can communicate with others while in jail.
America is ready for a deep reform of the prison system. There is also a call for equal treatment under the law as the current government uses its power against its political opponents.
Updates will be provided at noon and in the afternoon every day.
Massive crowd of Brazilians have descended on the capital of Brasilia to protest the stolen elections and are currently storming the National Congress. Police are using tear gas, Gunfire has been reported.
Reports put the number of protestors in the capital in the millions.
The brazilian have been protesting for 68 days now. And the supr br court just mocked us. Now people had enough. The brazilian congress is being invaded. People are not going to take a criminal in charge and clear rigged elections #BrazilianSpringpic.twitter.com/7S4jY85bTA
Opinion (very well informed & sourced) – Pete Santilli, Investigative Journalist for Red Voice Media
Since 2016/2017, I’ve had to gut-it-up for so many disastrous Trump administration picks from McMasters to Bolton to Pompeo. The final straw for me was sitting back; watching my favorite President Donald J. Trump push Kevin McCarthy across the finish line for Speaker of The House.
There are 2 possible scenarios which caused this grave error in judgment, both of which will be fully exposed in the coming days & months. (1) President Trump has no idea what the CIA-run Democrat party did to setup the criminal downfall of the entire Republican party, or (2) President Trump knows the truth, and is complicit in helping to cover-up for the secret shadow government which has overthrown our country.
I find it hard to believe that President Trump has a clue about what the CIA & Democrats just pulled. Sometimes he’s too naive for his own good, and if he knew about the FTX / Tether setup by the CIA, he still err’d in judgement thinking Kevin McCarthy will be able to cover-up facts unveiled thorough the investigation into foreign influence in the 2022 mid-terms.
Right out of the gates — DAY ONE — McCarthy, and especially with President Trump’s influential persuasion — must address the following three major investigations if our Constitutional Republic can survive. It’s that serious, and I will outline some of the details below for each. Incidentally, the information I am revealing in this article puts me, my sources and whistleblowers in grave imminent danger. You may ask why I am doing it — continue reading and you’ll quickly realize the full magnitude and implications of the information I’m making public. Pardon me for saying so, but I’ve lived my entire life advocating for carpet-bombing corrupt communist dictatorships
Since approximately October of 2017, I’ve been blessed with the experience, ability, discernment and confidence of some of the highest level sources any investigative journalist would work a lifetime to achieve. Based on the information I have gathered, and in light of the recent forced installation of a potentially “captured” speaker of the house, there can be no doubt that a scortched-earth strategy is critical at this stage of the coup upon America.
Of course, I will make a very strong case below for publicly demanding the following three things of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, but in bullet point summary, McCarthy MUST immediately, and with full transparency and force of the U.S. Government investigate the following three national security matters:
U.S. GOVERNMENT DIRECT INVOLVEMENT IN A “COLOR REVOLUTION” ON JANUARY 6TH – TO BE LEGALLY EXPOSED IN THE PROUD BOYS TRIAL-OF-THE-CENTURY.
MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT’s TEAM SPECIALIZED IN FACIAL RECOGNITION ARE BEGGING TO TESTIFY THAT THE FBI IS WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE THAT THE FACIAL RECOGNITION SCAN OF THE ENTIRE “FRONT LINE” OF THE INITIAL BREECH ON JANUARY 6th WERE “MAINLY FEDS”. UNTIL RECENTLY, NO ATTORNEY FOR THE JAN 6 DEFENDANTS HAS DEMANDING THIS INFORMATION AND IT CONTINUES TO BE COVERED UP.
SECRET SHADOW GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS IN ONLINE GAMING CHAT ROOMS AND PORN SITES RUN BY THE FBI/CIA FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMMITTING CRIMES AND FRAUD UPON THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
AT VERY HIGH RISK TO THEIR PERSONAL SAFETY AND SECURITY, HIGH LEVEL, CREDENTIALED INVESTIGATORS, CONTRACTORS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS HAVE ACCUMULATED A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE, SOME OF WHICH HAS BEEN FORMALLY & LEGALLY TRANSMITTED TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR INVESTIGATION, BUT HAS BEEN IGNORED.
FTX INTERNATIONAL MONEY LAUNDERING & FLOW FROM UKRAINE FOR THE PURPOSES OF INFLUENCING THE 2022 MID-TERM ELECTIONS IN VIOLATION OF EXEC ORDER 13848.
OVERWHELMING CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE EXISTS TO SUGGEST THAT HIGH LEVEL DNC OPERATIVES CONSPIRED TO SABOTAGE THE GOP WHEN THEY INEVITABLY TOOK THE HOUSE AND SENATE. AS A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY, MCCARTHY NEEDS TO IMMEDIATELY CONDUCT FULL INVESTIGATIONS & PUBLIC HEARINGS.
There is absolutely no doubt, many people within the U.S. Government were involved in a conspiracy to perpetrate a “color revolution” and overthrow the United States of America on January 6th. Many internal whistleblowers within the U.S. Government who are directly involved in the January 6th investigation are desperately trying to open legal channels to convey evidence & testimony as to their knowledge of known government operatives tasked with entrapping and provocateuring the massive crowd peacefully assembled at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Former high-level FBI Special Agents and other retired government officials are acting as conduits between whistleblowers and the January 6 joint defense team to bring this vital evidence forward.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: U.S. Government officials involved in the January 6th investigation with knowledge of any wrongdoing or potentially incriminating evidence of the coup are strongly advised to seek legal counsel in order to securely, confidentially and properly convey their testimony in federal court, and especially to seek legal counsel regarding their culpability for not reporting crimes against the United States of America. Additionally, please be advised that you are being surveilled by the most sophisticated computer technology and software programs known to mankind. No communication is secure, especially and including attorney/client privileged communications. CONDUCT YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY. Make absolutely sure you have “insurance policies” to protect yourself from certain retaliation and/or Clinton-cide by criminals within the U.S. Government. The list of law enforcement officials who (a) had first hand knowledge of wrongdoing or evidence incriminating officials within the U.S. Government involved in the coup. and (b) committed suicide immediately after January 6th is overwhelming. Essentially, you have a decision to make. Remain silent and be brought up for treason, or risk death by exposing the real criminals who have overthrown our government. In my opinion, the only thing in the middle of the road is a “yellow line” and in this instance, yellow is the universal color designated for cowards.
If you’d like to know about the computer system being used to surveil every breath you take & move you make, look no further than the Interagency Training Facility (ITC) also known as Fort Washington Facility Building. 470 Tenants Include – NSA, CIA Office of Special Technology, Central Security Service (CSS). Whistleblowers have already testified and provided forensic evidence the the Obama Administration used the technology housed in this facility to commit an untold number of crimes against American citizens as well as for the purposes of overthrowing the U.S. Government. In fact, forensic evidence has also been provided to former FISA Court Judge Royce Lamberth in the Nevada District, as well as then FBI Senior Counsel James Baker — Yes, THAT Jame Baker who was recently fired by Elon Musk at Twitter for deleting internal company documents, reportedly exposing unlawful conduct between “private and public partnerships” (also know as fascist collusion).
Important highlight: Former CIA contractor working directly for John Brennan, James Clapper, et. al. has been blowing the whistle on the CIA/FBI’s crimes since 2012, and with the assistance of Senoir FBI Counsel and disgraced Twitter executive James Baker, has handed over 47 multi-terrabyte hard drives containing forensic evidence of almost every allegation brought forth by Neumann.
The U.S. Government has acknowledged in open federal court that this evidence; which includes evidence of high level government operatives utilizing child porn sites operated by the CIA and FBI. In fact, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts is alleged to have visited over 300 child porn sites for the purposes of communicating with criminals operating the “secret shadow government”.
Sources with first hand knowledge of the communications channels indicate that “child porn sites run by the CIA/FBI are the perfect means to communicate with as close to 100% operational security as you can get — if anyone leaks, the company [CIA] dispatches their compartmentalized rookie child-porn investigators, and you go to jail for a very long time. It’s the ultimate collateral they have hangin over your head — if you step out of line.” “That reminds me, back in the day, it’s how we were able to capture almost the entire leadership of Al Qaeda and ISIS, and it eventually became our preferred way to communicate with them — they love porn, especially child porn, and we would embed messaging in videos. It’s sick. But, they’re even sicker, and they made our covert comms go viral for 2 reasons…they love kiddie porn and get their orders…2 for the price of one. Why do you think military leaders in Afghanistan gave stand down orders & ROE to turn a blind eye to raping little boys — the were making content for the CIA; had the protection of McChrystal, and that’s why they killed that journo [Michael Hastings] because he made the fatal error of reporting those crimes to the FBI — who were are actually running the child porn sites used to communicate with Al Qaeda/ISIS. “
A Jan 6 “color revolution” operative Evan Neumann who was working for the CIA and their sister intelligence agency on January 6th has blown the whistle and is prepared to testify in the Jan 6th trials if given immunity and if called to do so, although he is concerned for his life if he comes forward to meet with corrupt U.S. Government officials, as he was already threatened by FBI agents in November 2021. Neumann, as well as sources and intermediaries who corroborate his story and have validated his documentary evidence indicated that the FBI’s warning to Neumann made it very clear that if he were to speak out in any manner, “incarceration would be the least of his concerns” especially since Neumann has been “known to communicate on child porn websites and chat forums over the past 10 years.”
January 6th Attorney Norm Pattis, who is representing Decorated Army SSgt Joseph Biggs, is no stranger to the topic of FBI agents running child porn websites and disseminating child sexual abuse on the internet. See: The FBI likely ran nearly half the child porn sites on the dark web in 2016 Pattis will likely be the most qualified Attorney to unveil the government’s long history of running chid porn sites for the “purposes of investigating pedophiles”.
Neumann is also prepared to provide forensically certifiable evidence that his CIA/FBI and Joint Terrorism Taskforce handlers use two mediums of covert communication worldwide: Internet gaming chat rooms, and for “higher level, operationally secure comms take place on U.S. government-run child porn websites worldwide. It’s typically how I receive orders for my next op, when I finish the job, I am told where to pick up my check, such as the local RV dealer, which is nothing more than a CIA store front. I have copies of the chat logs recorded on video, as well as the checks, pickup locations and audio recordings of the people who issued my checks laughing about how well I blended in at the Maidan without any help [from CIA disguises] because I look so f&^king Ukrainian. “
Through intermediaries, Neumann has conveyed the following warning message to the upper echelon of CIA/FBI intel services: “When you tell me I’m on my own — no cover — then that’s exactly where my loyalty will be from here on out. I have insurance, and no matter what you try to do to me, my friends and family, you’re about to see how I handle things on my own….and you will regret ever messing with Evan Neumann. Who knows, maybe I might show up on a live or recorded Zoom call right in the middle of the Proud Boys trial with my boy Dan Love. LOVE working with him, especially on January 6th. I would have never made it up front without him! By the way Pete, his black book has way more than what everyone knows publicly. He has insurance too. Why do you think he is still around?”
Why was the FBI tasked with scaring off & silencing Neumann? More importantly, why did the FBI let Neumann go? We will soon find out when the FBI provides documentation of their investigation of his Ukrainian friends who Neumann met after the Ukraine “color revolution” in 2004 / 2005 and who was kindly “guided around town” by Evan Neumann on behalf of the entity who wanted to overthrow the U.S. Government:
If you’re reading this article and some of this doesn’t make sense; don’t worry. The exact specific messaging laid out in the above paragraphs—written specifically for “them”— will send chills down the spines of the deep state. Don’t worry about my scotched-earth policy potentially putting my life in jeopardy. I’ve not only learned about how dirty these dirty rotten bastards are, I’ve learned how to beat them at their own game — and have 2 federal trials in the win column to prove it. Although I’ve already enjoyed being at the winning side of their $100 million+ prosecution of the Bundy Defendants, if I were not blessed with being a Bundy Defendant, I would never have earned the trust of the high level sources who are now coming to me — we’re on the precipice of scoring the biggest win in our nation’s history . As in our trials, not even a leftist corrupt judge will be able to stop the truth from coming out.
Important note to the Jan 6th Proud Boys defense attorneys: Although each of you have known for months (or at least should have, because I gave it to you and you ignored it), now I’m giving the following advice on a silver platter: SUBMIT A MOTION TO DEMAND DANIEL P. LOVE’s FBI 302 report be provided to the Defendants. If they don’t have one, then call Danial P. Love to the witness stand and ask him 4 questions: (1) What is his current job. (2) Are you a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and (3) where were you on January 6th (4) Is this you removing restricted area barricades in front of the U.S. Capitol.
After you subpoena Danial P. Love as a witness, please be sure to have Norm Pattis or Roger Roots call me, Peter T. Santilli, to the witness stand to give testimony of EVERYTHING I am providing in this article, as well as provide documentation of everything I’m alleging here — especially copies of the 47 disks that are in “safe keeping” at the CIA’s Office of Inspector General.
Who knows, I might also feel confident enough to get a copy of the 3-6 disks that the TSA (at the behest of “Twitter-evidence-deleter-in-Chief) James Baker had stolen from Dennis Montgomery prior to submitting them to his designated FBI Special Agents in Miramar, Florida. (those disks reportedly contain evidence related to the Obama Administration’s surveillance and collection of blackmail collateral on high level Israeli Intelligence officers/agents, and possibly Israeli Intelligence operatives communicating with ISIS on child porn sites.)
Who knows, I might go FULL SCORCHED EARTH and come with Whistleblower & Federal Special Agent Larry Wooten, who wrote “Larry Wooten 2” in the Bundy Trials — So explosive. So scathing. So incriminating against the U.S. Goverrnment, that every attorney was threatened with jail time if they revealed its contents; exposing the U.S. Government’s sources, methods and entrapment techniques almost identical to what they’ve done with the January 6th “color revolution”.
The Secret Shadow Government / Deep State was so panicked about losing the 2022 mid-terms, they employed an old, stale tactic whereby they infiltrate their opponent who is expected to win against them, and send high-powered campaign finance attorneys, campaign manager, etc. to intentionally sabotage their “books” and violate FEC campaign finance laws. Essentially, their operatives infiltrate, frame the campaign with FEC law violations, manufacture evidence, and intentionally leave a paper trail of corruption and demonstrative of intent. Once the candidate wins, the DNC calls for an investigation into FEC law violations. The so-called “winning”, naive candidate who was swarmed by saboteurs who cook the books & frame the fraud is left stunned and off track from governing as the lawfare industrial complex is activated. Eventually, the elected official is indicted and never stands a chance in a Federal Judiciary stacked with Judges who have a trail of porn websites they’ve been visiting to receive orders from the Deep State. Congressman Steve Stockman is living proof of what happens to anyone who crosses the Obama/Clinton/Bush/Biden crime syndicate. See: Steve Stockman, former Texas congressman, sentenced to 10 years in federal prison
There is an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence of this type of sabotage operation being employed
Here’s a timeline snapshot of events that took place leading up to the 2022 mid-term elections:
July 2017 – FTX Founded. By October 2021, the four-year-old firm landed a staggering $25 billion valuation.
November 2017 – Sam Bankman-Fried co-founded Alameda Research as a quantitative trading firm, after he left his job at Jane Street Capital.
January 14, 2022 – FTX launches $2B Venture Fund with Amy Wu, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Jan-November 2022 – FACTS: A source with inside knowledge and documentation, all of which has also been corroborated with a private contractor for the U.S. Government tracked “dark web communication” on internet gaming sites and porn websites run by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Source and contractor whistleblower have both agreed to testify under oath about their knowledge of secret shadow government dark-web communications via gaming and porn sites . CIA and Democrat Operatives devised a plan to sabotage the Republican party by intentionally funneling FTX dark money through the Bahamas; to Ukraine and back to GOP and DNC political campaigns for the purposes of influencing the 2022 mid-term elections. Essentially, Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Chick Schumer, et al determined they would lose the House and possibly the Senate, and executed a plan to sabotage the Republican Party through Kevin McCarthy with FTX funds via Ukraine. Proper investigation of this scheme will show high level Democrat operatives willing to sacrifice undesirable members of their own party so as to provide cover.
Jan-November 2022 – Sam Bankman-Fried gave millions of dollars to Democrats, making him the party’s second-biggest individual donor in the 2022 election cycle. One of his former top lieutenants, Ryan Salame, was also a massive donor but backed Republicans.
September 8, 2022 – Sam Bankman-Fried met with Biden aide Ricchetti at the White House, but the visit did not show up on the visitor’s logs. His brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried, is recorded in a March meeting of his own and then took part in the May 13 session for a total of at least five this year that involved one or both of the brothers.
November 2, 2022 – FTX Collapses
December 9, 2022 – SBF Indicted. US prosecutors are alleging a slew of misconduct, including allegedly conspiring with others to use corporate money and shadow donors for political contributions and misusing billions of dollars of customers’ funds lent to FTX’s sister company Alameda Research.
It’s very obvious that Kevin McCarthy has a lot on his plate but leading the world’s largest bureaucracy. In my well informed opinion, he must either make these national security issues a top priority, or we can legitimately consider him to be yet another captured entity within our Constitutional Republic. Imagine if he refrains from investigating FTX because he may be implicated in the campaign finance scheme. Imagine the FBI’s leverage over him if these crimes are not publicly dislosed.
Imagine how panicked these criminals are after reading this article.
Imagine how helpless they feel if they are smart enough to understand that there’s NOTHING they can do to stop this information from coming out.
Imagine how much regret the FBI feels after making the biggest mistake of their criminals lives — releasing me from federal detention in October 2017 and then losing over $100 million to prosecute the Bundy Defendants.
Imagine how shocked they will be when they discover that their worst days are yet to come.
God Bless America.
p.s. To those who would do everything in the power to prevent this information from reaching millions of people around the world: When you wrongfully and unlawfully put me me in shackles in an attempt to silence me, how did that work out for you? This time around, you won’t be able to catch me off guard. Make any move; come anywhere near me; try ANYTHING and that’s when the really bad stuff comes to out. I’m actually smirking as I type these words, knowing you too stupid & will not stop trying to suppress the information contained in this article. As a Christian man, I should not dare you or hope you’ll make the dumbest move you’ve ever made. I want you to just stand down in favor of the US. Constitution & the American family. If you chose otherwise, please don’t blame me for what happens next.
We have all heard about the horrible conditions at the DC- Gulag and the Northern Neck. We can now add Alexandria Detention Center to the list of gulags where the guards delight in making the J6ers’s lives miserable.
We already know that the food is horrible forcing defendants to buy from the commissary which does not have healthy food either. Kind of a scam you would think since commissary prices are way above the normal price range for goods.
The weather is cold up in Virginia and the temperature in cells is often too cold. Inmates have to buy warm underwear at the commissary to try and keep warm, another added expense these families do not need.
Deputy Juares at Alexandria is the current perpetrator.
Dominic asked Deputy Juarez if she was going to open the food slot so he could warm up his food and coffee. She said”NO”! Dominic said everybody does that . He doesn’t eat the food trays. He survives on his commissary. She said” I don’t know what all the other Deputies do but I’m not opening it”!
Dominic said time to threaten with the Media! Plus call Governor Youngkins office. Joe Biggs said she does this to him also.
A CALL FOR HELP! My sons being harassed by a Deputy named Juarez on block C-2 in the Alexandria Virginia Jail. She refuses to give him toilet paper or let him warm up his food. He doesn’t get out of his cell until 11:00 tonight. PLEASE call the jail with me to stop this! Thank you!
Dominic’s mom added later today:
So much for helping Dominic. My son was on a call with his legal team and they shut down the call. They wrote him up for a disciplinary act because he yelled at Deputy Juarez. Now he has No tablet for communication or allowed out. You complain and it just gets worse. I haven’t broken down in a bit but this put me over the edge. ? His trial resumes on January 3rd.
Dominic Pezzola # 281564 Alexandria Virginia Cell Block 2-C born 6/25/77. Governor Hochuls # is 1-518-474-8390
Another inmate says: She’s bad! She’s controlling and won’t let him change the channel! She won’t bring liquid with their meals.
How to Help!
Secretary of Public Safety – Rose Durbin in charge of the Department of Correction should collect complaints but she seems to refuse to answer and direct people back to the jail.
CALL THE US MARSHALLS SERVICE AT ☎️(703) 740-8400
?Write: United States Marshals Service Office of Professional Responsibility, Internal Affairs Landover Operations Center 3601 Pensy Drive Landover, MD 20785.
?Email: https://ift.tt/4EXFtbL and file a complaint.
(SUBMIT FORM button does not work, so save completed forms and email it to) ?Internal.affairs@usdoj.gov
January 7, 2023 at 10:02AM Kevin McCarthy Elected as Speaker of the House for the 118th Congress
It took 15 votes beginning Jan. 3, but Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) finally gained enough votes to be elected the 55th Speaker of the House of Representatives in a nail-bitingly close election that ran past midnight in the lower chamber of the U.S. Capitol.
McCarthy’s 216 votes total bested Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who received the votes of all 212 Democrats present in the chamber in all but one of the 15 votes that began a little after noon Jan. 3 when the 118th Congress convened for the day. Jeffries received 211 on an earlier vote when Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) missed balloting for surgery.
McCarthy’s victory was made possible when the six remaining populist conservative dissidents who had opposed him from the first vote all voted present. That reduced the number of members voting to 428, which reduced McCarthy’s magic number from 218 to 216.
When it became clear that McCarthy had finally secured the Speaker’s chair, the Republican side of the House chamber celebrated, with many hugging their new leader, shaking hands, laughing, and slapping one another on the back. McCarthy gave an especially spirited hug to his House Majority Leader, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.). McCarthy also posed for selfies with a number of his fellow Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
During a 14th vote about an hour and a half earlier, when everybody in the chamber realized at the end of the roll call that only one more vote was needed to put McCarthy into the Speaker’s seat, highly animated conversations took place as members tried to persuade Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) or Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) to switch their vote.
But then Gaetz changed his mind and agreed to vote for McCarthy, and a motion to adjourn was defeated, and a 15th vote was to then be taken. Gaetz ended up voting present during the 15th round of voting.
U.S. Rep.-elect Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) (L) and Rep.-elect Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) (R) talk to Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in the House Chamber during the fourth day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Speaker elections have been one-ballot affairs for the most part in recent years, so McCarthy’s inability to close the deal was a historic departure. Not since before the Civil War has the House required more than 13 ballots to pick a new speaker.
The last time more than 13 ballots were required to elect a speaker was the 36th Congress, which took between Dec. 5, 1859, and Feb. 1, 1860, to settle on William Pennington, a New Jersey Republican.
During a quick news conference with journalists outside the House chamber shortly after the 13th ballot, McCarthy expressed confidence in the outcome when the House would reconvene later in the evening, saying, “This is the great part because it took this long, now we learned how to govern. So now we’ll be able to get the job done,” he said.
McCarthy had succeeded in switching 13 of the 20 earlier in the day when the votes were counted for the 12th time. Members assembled at noon for the fourth day of speaking, debating, negotiating, and voting in the historic effort to name a successor to now-former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
U.S. Rep.-elect Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) is restrained by Rep.-elect Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) after getting into an argument with Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) walks away, in the House Chamber during the fourth day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
When the 12th ballots were counted, McCarthy had 213 votes, besting for the first time Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who has received all 212 Democratic votes on every ballot. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who voted for McCarthy, received four, while Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who also voted for McCarthy, got three votes.
McCarthy had won 200–203 votes on all of the previous ballots taken. By converting 13 of the 20 to his side, McCarthy moved tantalizingly closer to becoming House speaker.
All of the converts were significant, but especially so on Jan. 6 were House Freedom Caucus (HFC) Chairman Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the three key leaders of the dissident group.
Other dissidents coming over on the 12th vote to McCarthy were Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), and Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas).
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) voted for McCarthy after voting “present” in six previous ballots.
The U.S. Capitol Building is seen at night as the House of Representatives continues to work to elect a New Speaker for the 118th Congress on Jan. 6, 2023. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The great obstacle to resolving the contest has been the 20 dissidents demanding multiple reforms in House procedures to empower rank-and-file members and decrease the power of the speaker.
Shortly after the 12th balloting, Perry, whose HFC has been the heart of the dissident movement since last summer, told reporters outside the House chamber that he’s enthusiastic about the concessions from McCarthy and the resulting changes that will follow in how the House conducts its business.
“I trust the framework of the agreement that we have. Quite honestly, the biggest win is the overall framework of it, there’s not one singular thing. You have accountability for the most powerful person in the building. You have changes in how we’re going to spend and allocate money here that are going to be historic, we’re going to be able to finally stop the Senate from rolling us,” Perry said.
“We’re going to see more conservative representation on important committees … we’re going to deal with earmarks differently. All those things about the motion to vacate, the motion to vacate is accountability. One person should be able to make the motion, one person, but the whole body has to vote on it,” Perry continued.
“But it needs to be what Thomas Jefferson envisioned it to be because the most powerful person must be held accountable, not only to the American people, but to the purse, the members of this body,” he said.
U.S. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) (L) embraces Rep.-elect Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in the House Chamber during the fourth day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2023, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Perry also insisted that the dissidents were not seeking concessions to benefit themselves personally but rather to change the way the House works.
“We’re asking for things to change how this institution works because it doesn’t work for the American people. And we just stood firm, demanded it. Now it makes it difficult for sure. Because this place operates on the status quo, the status quo serves this town, we are sick and tired of it,” he explained.
Before Friday, the dissidents had cast votes for a string of candidates, including Donalds, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Rep. Ken Hern (R-Okla.), and Jordan.
And, while the members voted, McCarthy and his team, including incoming House Republican Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), engaged in intensive negotiations with Roy, Perry, Biggs, and Donalds, among the dissident group.
McCarthy made multiple concessions to the dissidents and a draft written agreement was circulated late on Jan. 5. McCarthy expressed confidence before Jan. 6’s session convened that “good progress” was being made in the negotiations. His confidence was confirmed in the 13th ballot.
Congressional Correspondent
Congressional Correspondent for The Epoch Times.
Madalina covers the U.S. Congress for The Epoch Times.
January 6, 2023 at 04:46PM. Mother of Ashli Babbitt Arrested by Capitol Police (Video)
The mother of Ashli Babbitt, Micki Witthoeft, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police at a protest Friday afternoon in Washington, D.C. marking the second anniversary of her daughter’s killing by Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd during the January 6th riot.
Micki Witthoeft was part of a group of protesters walking westbound on Independence Avenue between the Capitol and House office buildings. A trailing police officer in a marked car tried to order the protesters to move to the sidewalk away from the Capitol. The protesters ignored the warning and continued marching, with Witthoeft on the outside in the middle of a traffic lane.
Capitol Police set up a roadblock and ordered the protesters to cross the street to the sidewalk or be arrested. After an officer shoulder checked Witthoeft where she tried to move past him, Witthoeft turned her back to the officers and offered to be arrested. She was immediately cuffed and taken into custody.
While being detained, Witthoeft says, “Capitol Police suck ass!”
D.C. law says spontaneous street protests are allowed, but that police must give three verbal warnings that can be clearly heard and understood before arrests can be made. It is not clear of the Capitol Police followed the prescribed procedure.
The march from a rally in front of the Supreme Court down First Street to the arrest on Independence Avenue can be seen at about the three hour mark on the video below. The protesters did not try to block the entire street, staying in the curb lane.
January 6, 2023 at 07:08AM How The Court Works: The Justices’ Conference | Supreme Court Historical Society
Of the cases remaining, the Justices screen the problems closely—by a process they explain freely in outline. They meet on Wednesdays and Fridays during the term in a conference room as secret as any in government. In a capital full of classified matters, and full of leaks, the Court keeps private matters private. Reporters may speculate; but details of discussion are never disclosed, and the vote is revealed only when a decision is announced. No outsider enters the room during conference. The junior Associate Justice acts as “doorkeeper,” sending for reference material, for instance, and receiving it at the door. “We could not function as a court if our conferences were public,” Justice Blackmun once explained, “There are just the nine of us, no more…[W]e can say what we initially believe, only to be proved wrong by the honing effect of conference and agreement and disagreement.”
Five minutes before conference time, 9:30 or 10 a.m., the Justices are summoned. They exchange ritual handshakes and settle down at the long table. The Chief sits at the east end; the other Justices sit at places they have chosen in order of their seniority. Before each Justice is a copy of the day’s agenda. Each decides when he or she should refrain from taking any part in a case.
The Chief Justice opens the discussion, summarizing each case. The senior Associate Justice speaks next, and comment passes down the line. To be accepted for review, a case needs only four votes, fewer than the majority required for a decision on the case itself. Counsel for the litigants are directed to submit their printed briefs so that each Justice has a set several weeks before argument.
Paradoxically, perhaps—in light of the complete confidentiality of the conference—the Supreme Court is one of the most open of government agencies and one of the most public of courts. It acts only on matters of public record; it hears counsel’s arguments in public; all its orders and opinions are on the record; all materials presented to the Court for reaching its decisions are available to the public.
All conference decisions are published. The disagreements among the Justices are fully exposed to the public in the written opinions, and on occasion the language of dissent becomes vehement.
When the vote has been taken on a case, the writing of an opinion is assigned—by the Chief if he voted with the majority, otherwise by the senior Justice of the majority. Dissenters may agree among themselves on who will explain their view. Any Justice, concurring or dissenting, may write an individual opinion to emphasize a special point.
How American spies used false claims of Russian election interference to bring the tech giant to heel — RT World News
Files reveal how the specter of Moscow’s supposed underhand ways was used to subjugate the platform to the US Democratic Party
In a pair of blockbuster #TwitterFiles threads, this week, journalist Matt Taibbi has blown open, even wider, the media giant’s concerning collusion with the US national security state. The former Rolling Stone writer exposed how political pressure from the US Democratic Party very effectively forced the company to endorse the lie that its platform was extensively weaponized by Russia, with hugely significant consequences.
Find the “Russian trace” at any cost
The first, boldly titled ‘How Twitter Let the Intelligence Community In’, documents how in August 2017, despite dubious allegations that Russian bots and trolls were responsible for the election of Donald Trump in the mainstream media reaching fever pitch, Twitter’s hierarchy knew its platform wasn’t riddled with malign Kremlin-directed actors.
In internal emails, the company’s senior executives and communications professionals almost mocked the idea that it was overrun with Russian bots. They could neither detect “a big correlation” in account activity related to the November 2016 election, nor any “larger patterns” at all. They forecast potentially taking action against less than 25 users. As such, it was decided to simply ignore approaches from the media on the issue.
The next month, Twitter informed the Senate it had suspended 22 possible Russian accounts, and 179 others with “possible links” to those accounts. Senator Mark Warner, a ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, immediately held a high-profile press conference to denounce the social network’s response as “frankly inadequate on every level.”
Such pressure, combined with bitter, twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton declaring, “It’s time for Twitter to stop dragging its heels and live up to the fact that its platform is being used as a tool for cyber-warfare,” forced the social network to set up a dedicated “Russia task force” to investigate the issue. It did – and found nothing. “No evidence of a coordinated approach” between accounts flagged as potentially Kremlin-run was identified, despite an “exhaustive” internal investigation.
In all, after manually scouring through the posts of thousands of accounts flagged as “suspicious” by external actors, they found that just 32 were questionable, 17 of which were connected with Russia, and only two had spent any money on advertising – one being RT, which was specifically given favorable marketing offers by Twitter before the election.
Again, senior Democratic party officials were enraged by these results. What followed was a flurry of unhinged, sensationalist news stories, claiming Twitter was either covering up the Kremlin’s dirty work for sinister reasons, either by lying about the issue, or actively deleting reams of incriminating data to cover its own tracks.
“Were Twitter a contractor for the FSB … they could not have built a more effective disinformation platform,” professor Thomas Rid, an adviser to the Intelligence Committee, remarked to Politico at the time.
Surrender to politics
None of this was true. But it provided the Democrats with ammunition to threaten regulations on Twitter’s political advertising, which could’ve been extremely costly to the company’s revenue. This sent senior staffers into a panic, which was only intensified by the timely leak of a database of thousands of alleged Russian bots and trolls to major media outlets by the Intelligence Committee. This resulted in a flood of aggressive queries from journalists.
Realizing the pressure would only keep mounting – as media outlets and politicians had decided this absolutely was a major scandal, irrespective of the available evidence, and were going to keep pushing until they got what they wanted – Twitter kowtowed, and publicly declared bots and trolls were in fact a massive issue on its platform, and it would be proactive in rooting out such activity in future.
Internally, Twitter executives settled on an informal, secret policy for dealing with rogue actors on the network. Publicly, they would stick to the line content was removed and users were banned “at our sole discretion,” while privately they would “off-board” anything and everything “identified by the US intelligence community as a state-sponsored entity conducting cyber-operations,” without argument.
Twitter had actively invited US spies to run its moderation process, without anyone knowing, and on the explicit internal understanding they would not be leaving. That sinister penetration widened substantially when Covid-19 arrived in the US, and again the bogeyman of Kremlin “disinformation” was the battering ram.
In February 2020, US State Department intelligence wing the Global Engagement Center published a report, “Russian Disinformation Apparatus Taking Advantage of Coronavirus Concerns.” It claimed that a vast network of bots and trolls controlled by Moscow and amplified by China and Iran was pumping endless propaganda “describing the Coronavirus as an engineered bioweapon.”
The report’s criteria for determining if an account was a bot or troll was, unbelievably, whether the user followed “two or more” Chinese diplomats. The 250,000-strong network included Western government officials, and media outlets, including CNN. Such a weak evidentiary foundation did not deter mainstream journalists publishing countless stories endorsing the report’s findings.
Twitter staff, likely due to past experience at this point, could see what the Center was up to – namely, attempting to “insert themselves” into the “content moderation club” through which Google, Twitter and Facebook were controlled by the FBI, DHS, and other US government agencies. Executives at these tech giants were unanimously opposed to the Center’s inclusion, not least due to its “mandate for offensive” information operations to “promote American interests.”
Hell under the heel
After years of bending over backwards to placate the Democratic establishment, Twitter attempted to push back. Over a series of internal emails, various executives spelled out deep concerns about allowing the Center any influence over the platform, and initially rejected an FBI request for the organization to be included in the moderation club’s regular ‘industry call’. It was felt the Center’s involvement would pose “major risks … especially as the election heats up.”
Eventually, the FBI offered a compromise – the CIA, NSA, and Global Engagement Center would be able to simply listen to the industry calls, but wouldn’t be active participants. Twitter relented, a decision its higher-ups seem to have quickly come to regret. Before long, the social network was being bombarded with requests to censor content and ban users from every US government body under the sun.
This extended to US government officials asking for users to be banned because they didn’t personally like an individual in question. Notorious House Intelligence Committee chief Adam Schiff, a Democrat, once asked Twitter to ban journalist Paul Sperry, due to his critical reporting on the Committee’s work. After initially refusing, Sperry was later suspended.
Almost every other request was granted immediately, even those from the Global Engagement Center. This included demands to ban independent media outlets falsely claimed to be “GRU-controlled” and linked “to the Russian government.” In one email, a former CIA staffer remarked that Twitter would soon be unable to deny a single request. “Our window on that is closing,” they said.
In the weeks before the 2020 Presidential election, Twitter was flooded with demands from so many officials, departments and agencies, they were confused and overworked. If action wasn’t taken promptly, followup emails quickly appeared, asking if action had yet been taken, and if not, why, and when it would be.
In one request, an FBI official even apologized “in advance for your workload.” Once, a no doubt exhausted senior attorney at the social network complained internally, “my inbox is really f***ed up at this point.”
Previous #TwitterFiles threads exposed how the FBI paid the social network $3 million to process its requests. Based on the most recent disclosures, it’s clear the company and its staff were significantly underpaid for their efforts. Future releases promise yet further bombshell revelations, but the long-hidden truths divulged so far should prompt every Twitter user to reflect how the site for many years in secret operated as an effective wing of the US intelligence – and may well still do so.
Matt Gaetz Calls McCarthy A “Squatter” For Prematurely Moving Into Speaker’s Office
Update (2228ET): In a hilarious cap to today’s chaos surrounding the GOP House Speaker vote, anti-McCarthy Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida wrote to the Architect of the Capitol to ask how long McCarthy – who prematurely moved in to the Speaker’s office – would be able to occupy the room “before he is considered a squatter.”
* * *
Update (1836ET): The day ended without the election of a House Speaker, as support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) waned throughout the day.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), meanwhile, saw his stock rise with each of Tuesday’s three votes.
As The Epoch Times notes, in the first vote of a tumultuous first day of the 118th Congress, McCarthy, the California Republican who led the party to regain the majority in the November 2022 mid-term election, fell 15 votes short of the 218 he needed to become Speaker of the House.
McCarthy received 203 votes from Republican colleagues, while 212 Democrats voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who will serve as House Minority Leader in 2023. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz), the leader of the anti-McCarthy members, received 10 votes. A handful of Republicans voted for candidates who were not nominated.
Second Vote
Incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) cited Saint Paul’s admonition about “finishing the race” as he nominated House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for Speaker of the House.
In his floor speech, Jordan said the House must do three basic things in 2023, including getting the U.S. border with Mexico under control and restoring U.S. military strength, stopping profligate spending by Democrats, and conducting a comprehensive oversight effort of President Joe Biden’s administration.
“We have to do the Oversight and Investigations that needs to be done. This idea that bureaucrats who never put their name on the ballot but think they run the country, who assaulted our constituents’ First Amendment liberties. they need to be held accountable,” Jordan said.
“That has to happen, we need to do it. We need to do it in a way that’s consistent with the Constitution, but we need to do it vigorously and aggressively. That is part of our duty as members of this body,” Jordan continued.
Jordan’s nomination of McCarthy followed the California Republican’s failure to marshall a majority of the 434 Members of the Representatives assembled earlier in the day for the first vote on a new Speaker.
Jeffries was also nominated a second time. Then Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) nominated Jordan, despite the fact the Ohio Republican made clear he continued to support McCarthy. Then the second ballot roll call was called.
All of the 19 Republicans who opposed McCarthy in the first ballot shifted their votes to Jordan, including Biggs. While McCarthy gained the same 203 votes he received in the first balloting, which again left him short of the needed majority of 218. All 212 Democrats again voted for Jeffries.
One of those who voted for Jordan was House Freedom Caucus (HFC) Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who during the second ballot posted on Twitter his determination to fight McCarthy no matter how many ballots are required.
“I stand firmly committed to changing the status quo no matter how many ballots this takes. If McCarthy had fought nearly as hard to defeat the failed, toxic policies of the Biden Administration as he has for himself, he would be Speaker of the House right now,” Perry wrote.
Tension is building on the House floor among Republicans. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told Fox News that “If all they want is somebody other than Kevin, let’s be candid. Steve Scalise is supporting Kevin, Jim Jordan is supporting Kevin. As a matter of fact, every member of the leadership team, including every ranking member without becoming a chairman, is supporting Kevin. So we are in a situation in which the 19 have to explain what they want.”
Democrats were quick to seize on the GOP confusion, with Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) issuing a statement following the first vote observing that “Hunter Thompson was right: ‘When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.’ This is what a Republican majority gets us: chaos.”
“Democrats are here and ready to do our jobs for the country. Republican disarray is standing in the way.”
Third Vote
House Republicans remained deadlocked after voting for the third time Tuesday without giving enough votes to make McCarthy the new Speaker of the House.
McCarthy lost one vote—Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)—on the third vote of the day for a total of 202 votes. Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New York had the highest total with 212, with all of his Democratic colleagues but no Republicans voting for him.
Incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) drew 20 votes, but his own ballot went to McCarthy for the third time. Jordan received 19 votes on the second ballot.
The conservative rebels who have held firm against McCarthy and coalesced around Jordan on the third ballot remained steadfastly determined to keep their California colleague from succeeding Democrat Nancy Pelosi, also of California, as the new Speaker.
In an impassioned speech nominating Jordan on the third ballot, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) put the issue between McCarthy and the dissidents as one of how best to stand up to President Joe Biden and the Senate Democratic majority.
“How many times have we been down here giving speeches, and there’s not a soul in the chamber? Yet this is what it takes to get 435 People in the chamber and have an actual debate,” Roy told the chamber.
“The American people are watching, and that’s a good thing. What we’re doing is exercising our rights to vote and have a debate and have a discussion about the future of this country through the decision of choosing a speaker.
“This is not personal. It’s not. This is about the future of the country. This is about the direction of the country.”
Republican Infighting
That vote capped a frenzied two days of back-room bargaining and media posturing by McCarthy and his supporters and a small group of dissident populist conservatives who demanded and got a host of reform concessions, but still voted no on the first ballot.
The bottom line for the dissidents was they just don’t trust McCarthy to be the agent of change they believe must lead the House in what they are determined to make the last two years of President Joe Biden’s tenure in the White House.
“I came to a broken and dysfunctional Congress to change it. Advancing the long-standing pecking order one notch has no prospect of doing that. Many don’t want to change it,” Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) posted on Twitter just before the first vote.
“Kevin McCarthy is not the right candidate to be Speaker. He has perpetuated the Washington status quo that makes this body one of the most unsuccessful and unpopular institutions in the country. This is not about personality or who has ‘earned’ the position, it is about serving the American people. I will not support the status quo,” Bishop continued.
In the final minutes before the new House assembled for the speaker contest, a clearly exasperated and frustrated McCarthy told reporters: “I have the record for the longest speech ever on the floor. I don’t have a problem getting a record for the most votes for Speaker, too.”
He was referring to his more than 90-minute December address to the House in opposition to Biden’s $1.8 trillion omnibus spending bill.
Update (1455ET): Kevin McCarthy has lost the second tally for Speaker of the House.
Of note, when this happened in 1923, it went to nine ballots.
And look who’s gaining steam…
* * *
Update (1310ET): Not even a quarter of the way through roll call, and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has failed to secure enough votes to become Speaker of the House – which will push the contest into a multiple-ballot vote.
According to the Washington Post‘s Paul Kane, the last time this happened was 1923.
After McCarthy fails to get 218 votes on the first ballot, the Freedom Caucus antagonists have signaled that they will start backing another yet-unnamed candidate on the second ballot. The Daily Beast reported Monday night that that person is Ohio Rep. JIM JORDAN, the longtime McCarthy critic-turned-ally.
The Ohio Republican, however, has no shot at being speaker — something that his adoring conservative colleagues know very well. But, per the Daily Beast story, that’s not the point: They’re hoping to peel off more Republicans to back Jordan, aiming to have McCarthy’s vote count decrease from the first ballot to the second.
It’s an open question how long today will go until someone nominates a viable candidate for the gavel — someone like STEVE SCALISE (R-La.) or PATRICK McHENRY (R-N.C.). And there’s a fear that if one of these member’s names is called too early in the process, the conference will turn on them.
Buckle up. It’s going to be a long day.
* * *
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave a Tuesday morning speech imploring fellow Republicans to elect him as Speaker of the House, as several notable members of the GOP have openly opposed McCarthy.
According to Axios, McCarthy has given hardliners nearly everything they’ve asked for, however he still hasn’t secured enough votes for the position, meaning that for the first time in 100 years, the House will likely hold multiple ballots for the speaker.
In his Tuesday speech, McCarthy listed all the concessions he’s made to the right, and pointed out that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) praised elements of his rules package. Gaetz, notably, has spearheaded the anti-McCarthy movement within the chamber.
“I’ve earned this job,” said McCarthy, after running through everything he’s done to become speaker – to which Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) reportedly shook his head, according to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman.
“This is bullshit,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in response to McCarthy’s speech.
In December, Gaetz said he wouldn’t vote for McCarthy because he’s “just a shill of the establishment.”
McCarthy also got into an argument with Rep. Perry, who accused McCarthy of having no track record on spending bills.
McCarthy’s supporters chime in:
In addition to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), McCarthy has the support of neocon Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), who has called McCarthy’s detractors “enemies” and “narcissists.”
“They are enemies now. They have made it clear that they prefer a Democrat agenda than a Republican,” Crenshaw told CNN‘s Manu Raju.
“This handful of members is very clearly looking for notoriety over principle. That’s what it is. And anyone who suggests differently is in some kind of make believe fantasy reality. It’s not, it’s not true,” he continued, adding “They lost those debates.”
“That should have been the end of it because that’s how a team works, right? But if you’re a narcissist, … then you’ll keep going. And you’ll threaten to tear down the team for the benefit of the Democrats just because of your own sense of self importance.”
Another McCarthy supporter, Mike Rogers (R-AL), said the GOP should bar McCarthy dissenters from getting committee slots – an idea Chip Roy didn’t like.
Here’s Roy in December explaining the situation;
According to Axios, this could become a war of attrition in which “[a] good number of pro-McCarthy House Republicans are hoping some of the holdouts are bluffing and looking for a show — and will ultimately get worn down enough during the process to cave for McCarthy.”
The likely candidate to replace McCarthy, in the unlikely event he pulls out, is Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who said he won’t run against McCarthy but has been quietly preparing for this scenario.
January 3, 2023 at 04:48PM Kevin McCarthy Suffers Historic Defeat; Here’s What Happens Next….
For the first time since 1923, the House Speaker vote will require a second ballot as Kevin McCarthy has NOT secured enough votes to win the speakership.
This marks the first time in almost a century that the majority’s nominee has required another vote. As voting continued, eleven Republicans voted for someone other than McCarthy, preventing him from achieving the 218 threshold.
During the first round of voting, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona was nominated as an alternative Republican candidate to McCarthy. Biggs had previously challenged McCarthy in a GOP conference meeting late last year and received seven of the eleven alternate GOP votes in the first round.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, known for their hardline stance, had indicated in the days leading up to the vote that they would nominate a new candidate for Republicans to support after the first vote.
This Fox News segment reveals what will happens next:
The Congressional Expert on the Fox News panel says other candidates could emerge from the Republican Party if McCarthy doesn’t gain the votes in a 1st or 2nd vote.
More analysis:
When it was Matt Gaetz’s turn to speak his mind on the House Speaker vote, he sounded the alarm over swamp Republican’s attempts to install Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.
Congress is reconvening to vote on whether or not McCarthy should become House Speaker and it is unknown whether or not he has the votes.
“House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told colleagues that “I’ve earned this job” in a defiant closed-door speech ahead of what is expected to be a contentious vote for speaker,” the Washington Post reports. “Shortly before the new House was set to convene, McCarthy’s GOP foes remained adamant that they would oppose his speakership, which could lead to multiple ballots before a leader of the chamber emerges.”
The contentious battle for House Speaker is causing many rifts within the Republican party.
Rep. Gaetz revealed that things are so bad that establishment Republicans are threatening those who do not vote for McCarthy with removal from House committees.
“But we were threatened by my committee chairman to be on the Arms Services, Mr. Rodgers, that if we did not vote for Mr. McCarthy that we would be removed from committees,” Gaetz said.
“Our position is that if Kevin McCarthy is the speaker of the house and we don’t have an ability to ensure that there is umf behind the agenda and energy behind our oversight, then our committee assignments don’t mean that much anyway,” he slammed.
“I’m not here to participate in some puppet show where we pass a bunch of messaging bills, send them to the Senate, watch them die, fail to use leverage and don’t hold the Biden Administration accountable,” Gaetz said. “I don’t want to relive the Benghazi experience where it’s just theatre pretending to be oversight”
WATCH:
Here is another clip:
Lauren Boebert announced she voted for Jim Jordan for House Speaker:
