Enjoy good journalism?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Value Raw Story?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
Paul Gosar's defense of his 'Big Lie' is that there never even was an insurrection by Trump supporters
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) argued that there should not be an ethics investigation into his role in the fatal January 6th insurrection because it wasn't actually an insurrection.
On March 10th, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) sent a letter to the House Ethics Committee calling for an investigation into Gosar.
"In the weeks and days leading up to the riot, Representative Gosar urged supporters to take action against election certification, repeatedly insisting that the election had been stolen and participating in rallies alleging voter fraud," Jayapal charged.
Among the five bullet points Jayapal used to make the case, one noted conspiracy theorist Ali Alexander said Gosar had helped plan the events and called him "the spirit animal of this movement." Another noted out Gosar's speech at the rally preceding the riots, when he said, "You get to go back home once we conquer the Hill [and] Donald Trump is returned to being president."
Gosar is now arguing in a response to the Ethics Committee that there was not an insurrection as he repeated his "Big Lie" about election fraud and complained about "Blue Anon" -- which is how some on the far right fringes have labeled those who call out their conspiracy theories.
Even though the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol chanted "hang Mike Pence," Gosar claims it is "fundamentally ignorant" to state that there was an insurrection.
Kevin McCarthy argued GOP is the party of Abraham Lincoln, not racism. It did not go well.
After four years of a Republican President who worked almost daily to spread or lend support to racism, white nationalism, or white supremacism – including having top advisors inside the White House who embraced those ideologies – House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is having a hard time tamping down the Pandora’s Box of hate Donald Trump unleashed.
McCarthy has refused to take a strong stand against the most dangerous members of his caucus, trying to allow the extremist Congressmen and Congresswomen to actively lie, disrupt House business, and spread hate on a daily basis. Because they are raising millions.
In response to Republican white supremacist members of Congress Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona announcing they are forming the “America First Caucus,” McCarthy tried to stand up to those radicals, as Forbes notes, via tweet.
It did not go well.
The America First Caucus’s “platform” says “a certain intellectual boldness is needed amongst members of the AFC to follow in President Trump's footsteps, and potentially step on some toes and sacrifice sacred cows for the good of the American nation.”
It’s focus? All the current GOP buzzwords, like “Election Fraud,” “Sovereignty,” “Big Tech,” “Immigration,” “America First Education,” and “The Chinese Communist Party,” among others.
One portion that is raising a lot of eyebrows talks not about America’s “Judeo-Christian” heritage, which the far right often uses to single out some immigrants, but another term that narrows that opening even further: “America is a nation with a border, and a culture, strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions.”
Late Friday afternoon McCarthy tried to push back.
“America is built on the idea that we are all created equal and success is earned through honest, hard work. It isn't built on identity, race, or religion,” he tweeted. “The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln & the party of more opportunity for all Americans—not nativist dog whistles.”
The Republican Party, even decades before Donald Trump, has been the party of nativist dog whistles, as many reminded him.
Here’s what some are saying.
New revelations about the Donald Trump era continue to be revealed, it was only on Thursday that the federal government revealed new details on the 2016 Trump campaign's collusion with Russia.
But the New York Times editor who literally wrote the book on Trump and Deutsche bank is worried about one of his sources.
David Enrich, author of Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction, posted a plea for help on Twitter.
"Val Broeksmit -- a longtime source about Deutsche Bank -- is missing," Enrich tweeted, complete with Broeksmit's @BikiniRobotArmy handle.
"He was last seen on April 6 in Los Angeles, his girfriend says," Enrich reported.
He noted a missing persons report was filed with the Los Angeles Police Department.
"I am very worried about Val's safety. Please spread the word," Enrich urged.
Val Broeksmit @BikiniRobotArmy – a longtime source about Deutsche Bank – is missing.
He was last seen on April 6 in Los Angeles, his girlfriend says. A missing persons report has been filed with @LAPDHQ.
I am very worried about Val's safety. Please spread the word. pic.twitter.com/lvrMPvk5pl
— David Enrich (@davidenrich) April 16, 2021
Copyright © 2021 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | For corrections or concerns, please email corrections@rawstory.com.

Don't Sit on the Sidelines of History. Join Raw Story Investigates and Go Ad-Free. Support Honest Journalism.

Subscribe Annually
$95 / year — Just $7.91/month
Subscribe Monthly
$1 trial
I want to Support More
$14.99 per month