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Michael Cohen suggests Trump issued secret pardons for himself and his kids in case of indictments
January 24, 2021
Appearing on MSNBC on Sunday afternoon with host Alex Witt, former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen stated he believes the former president issued secret pardons for himself and his kids while still in office -- with the intent on making them public only if they are needed.
Speaking with the host, Cohen -- who lost his law license when he went to jail -- said he was puzzled why Trump never self-pardoned when he could, adding that the one thing the president fears is serving time in jail.
<p>That, he explained, caused him to come up with an interesting theory of "pocket pardons" that could be used at a later date as -- essentially -- "get out of jail free" cards.</p><p>"I had put out a tweet talking about how Trump did not pardon himself or he did not pardon his children or Rudy Giuliani, and after a while, of course, knowing Donald Trump for well over a decade -- almost a decade and a half as I do -- I started thinking to myself it doesn't really make sense because it's not like Donald Trump, so what am I missing?" Cohen explained. </p><p>"What are we missing as Americans? And I kind of think I figured it out," he elaborated. "I think Donald Trump actually has given himself the pardon. I think he also has pocket pardons for his children and for Rudy [Giuliani] and it's already stashed somewhere that, if and when they do get indicted and that there's a criminal conviction, federal criminal conviction, brought against him, he already has the pardons in hand."</p><p>"So I started searching over the weekend for whether or not the Constitution requires that pardons be disclosed to the American people and to the press, and I couldn't find anything that said that it does, and that to me is more in line with what <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-criminal-2650062308/" target="_self">George Conway is trying to say about how Donald Trump</a> doesn't care about the law, how he will skirt the law, how he will do anything to benefit himself, and that includes even, you know, doing something like this with a pocket pardon," he added.</p><p>He further noted that, if his theory is true, it would be contested in the courts, which is a Trump specialty when trying to delay the inevitable.</p><p>Watch below:</p><p><br/></p>
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Josh Hawley defended militia members after Oklahoma City bombing and Mark Fuhrman after OJ trial
January 24, 2021
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) exhibited "warning signs" of an extremist sympathizer long before he sided with a mob of people who set out to attack the U.S. Capitol, according to a recent report.
The Kansas City Star revealed on Sunday that Hawley has a history of standing up for racists and extremists that stunned his early mentors.
<p>According to the <em>Star</em>, Hawley spoke up for the rights of militia members after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and defended L.A. police detective Mark Fuhrman against charges of racism following the trial of O.J. Simpson.</p><p>“Many of the people populating these movements are not radical, right-wing, pro-assault weapons freaks as they were originally stereotyped," Hawley wrote regarding militia groups following the bombing. “Dismissed by the media and treated with disdain by their elected leaders, these citizens come together and form groups that often draw more media fire as anti-government hate gatherings."</p><p>Hawley also argued in his writings that Fuhrman was unfairly called a racist after his use of racial slurs came to light during the Simpson trial.</p><p>“In this politically correct society, derogatory labels such as 'racist' are widely misused, and our ability to have open debate is eroding," he opined.</p><p>"Since the Capitol rampage,<strong> </strong>Hawley's <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article248346830.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mentors have disavowed</a> him," the <em>Star</em> report explained. "Donors have <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article248424220.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">demanded refunds</a>. Colleagues have called for <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article248370825.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">his resignation or expulsion.</a> And those who helped guide his career are asking themselves if they missed something essential about their former mentee."<br/></p><p>David Kennedy, a Stanford professor who served Hawley's academic adviser, told the paper that he felt "a little bamboozled" after learning the details of the senator's past.<br/></p><p>Read the <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article248663695.html">entire report</a> from <em>The Kansas City Star</em>.</p>
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GOP reeling after historic defeat: ‘Political disaster doesn’t begin to describe how bad this is for Republicans’
January 24, 2021
A new report from Roll Call details some of the many challenges facing the Republican Party as it looks to an uncertain future following former President Donald Trump's electoral defeat.
As the party turns its focus to the 2022 midterms, it remains "divided over Trump, their midterm prospects and the state of the GOP itself," Roll Call's Bridget Bowman, Kate Ackley, and Stephanie Akin report.
<p> While some, like Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), insist the Republican Party is "very unified" when compared with their Democratic counterparts, the reality is that many in the GOP, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), are bracing for primary challenges. Some McConnell allies told Roll Call they're anticipating "'a large-scale campaign' to block far-right candidates in primaries." </p><p> Trump has already made it clear that he intends to "<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2021/01/06/they-will-get-primaried-trump-allies-threaten-republicans-who-wont-object-to-electoral-college/?sh=506c73b71855" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">primary the hell</a>" out of any Republicans who didn't back the president's effort to overturn the election. </p><p> "Political disaster doesn't begin to describe how bad this is for Republicans," GOP consultant Alex Conant said. </p><p> "The 2022 primaries are going to be where those tensions get tested," former Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Ryan A. Costello told Roll Call. </p><p> And former National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) head Rep. Thomas M. Davis III likewise cautioned the party against allowing Trump to maintain control even after it suffered crippling defeat in under his leadership. </p><p> "The more Trump hangs around, the intensity, as we saw in Georgia, stays with Democrats," Davis said. </p><p> While <a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/madison-cawthorn-2650090945/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some new Republican House members have made their allegiance to Trump known</a>, others are taking a different approach to attract voters in the party. One such congresswoman is Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who told "Meet the Press" on Sunday that she wants "to be a new voice for the Republican Party." </p><p> "That's one of the reasons I've spoken out so strongly against the president, against these QAnon conspiracy theorists that led us in a constitutional crisis," Mace said. </p><p> But Mace's goal of uniting a party that rejects the very same conspiracy and cynicism Trump embraced (loudly) over the past 5 years may be far-fetched, at best. As GOP consultant Mike DuHaime told Roll Call, "if the party behaves like it has in the last two months, we shouldn't count on any success." </p>
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