One of the leading organizers of the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C., questioned Kentucky's election results after a Democratic governor won re-election.
Gov. Andy Beshear won a second term Tuesday over Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron in a state that Donald Trump won by 26 points in 2020, and Women for Trump head Amy Kremer didn't understand how that could be possible, especially since GOP candidates won in down-ballot races.
"I’ve heard a couple of different reasons for such a difference in the vote count for Governor, [secretary of state and attorney general]," Kremer posted on X. "They re-elected their Democrat Governor because he was an incumbent [and] candidates matter. It’s not an anti-incumbent year but I’m not buying any of that… Something is off here. Maybe 10 yrs ago, those explanations would be more believable But not in today’s world."
Beshear is one of the most popular governors in the U.S., at 60 percent approval, which is the highest for any Democratic governor in a red state and enjoys 41 percent approval among Trump voters – which is tied with Hawaii's Democratic Gov. Josh Green for the highest.
"There is no way this many Republicans voted for a Democrat governor," Kremer said. "It’s not plausible. On the other hand, there is no way that Democrats voted for a Dem governor and voted for a Republican SOS &/or a Republican AG or that they voted for the re-election of the Gov but didn’t vote for SOS or AG. The SOS controls elections & the AG is the top law enforcement officer in the state And Democrats left these blank?!?"
"Come on now…I was born in the morning, but not this morning," she added.
Beshear, whose father Steve Beshear was also a popular Kentucky governor from 2007 to 2015, helped attract major investment projects to the state, which currently has one of its highest budget surpluses ever, and voters have praised his leadership in several crises to hit the state – including the Covid-19 pandemic, major flooding and tornadoes, and a Louisville mass shooting that left one of his closest friends dead.
"I can’t make this make sense, but I’m not buying what they are selling," Kremer said. "If I lived in KY, I’d be looking at every down ballot race and asking for audits in every county, especially where totals are close. If it is legit, then the powers that be should have no problem with shining sunlight on the results."
SANFORD, N.C. — A former U.S. soldier-turned-neo-Nazi, who recently served a federal prison sentence for distributing bomb-making instructions for killing former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, protested outside a children’s story hour led by drag performers last month, Raw Story has confirmed.
Jarrett William Smith, 28, wore a skull mask and a shirt inscribed with the chilling words, “Support your local Einsatz-Kommando” to protest a drag show at a yoga studio in Sanford, N.C.
“Einsatz” refers to a Third Reich-era Nazi mobile death squad that assassinated political enemies, Jews and communists. The shirt also includes the Totenkopf “death’s head” skull that was utilized by Adolf Hitler’s Schutzstaffel paramilitary squad.
Smith, a resident of South Carolina, traveled to Sanford, N.C., where he met five other men and a child wearing masks and sunglasses. Together, they marched single-file down Main Street and joined a small group that included a local pastor on a public sidewalk behind the Sanford Yoga & Community Center, which was hosting a Halloween-themed drag story hour for about 15 children.
Raw Story identified Smith by matching the vehicle that he used to travel to the rally to a 2012 Honda registered in his name in Horry County, S.C., where he currently lives. Ryan Patrick, one of the men wearing skull masks, confirmed in an interview with Raw Story that Smith was also one of the skull-mask wearers and present beside him.
Smith’s presence at the protest does not appear to violate a law. But it indicates he’s back in the business of intimidation following his release from prison.
In 2019, prosecutors accused Smith of encouraging a federal informant to assassinate O’Rourke — a former congressman who’s run for president, U.S. Senate and Texas governor — with a car bomb.
Court documents also indicate that Smith, who law enforcement arrested at Fort Riley in Kansas in September 2019, encouraged users on an encrypted social media app to commit arson against an anti-fascist podcaster.
In February 2020, Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing information related to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction. A judge ultimately sentenced Smith to 30 months in prison.
Smith was released from prison in November 2021 after serving slightly more than 14 months, and earlier this year, he successfully petitioned for early termination of supervised release.
“Early termination of Mr. Smith’s supervised release poses no danger to public safety and is in the best interest of justice,” Smith’s federal public defender argued in a court filing. A federal judge in Kansas signed off on the order in July, noting that the government did not oppose the move, effectively cutting Smith’s probation in half — from three years to 18 months.
As part of the special conditions of Smith’s supervised release that U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Crabtree imposed, Smith was ordered to “not participate in any anti-government or tax protesting activities which endorse or encourage violence or associate with individuals who are known members of these groups, or possess any literature advocating or supporting these groups” during his probation.
Crabtree freed Smith from these conditions on July 14, when the same judge granted him early release from probation.
Smith, who lives in the Myrtle Beach area — a two-and-a-half hour drive from Sanford — could not be reached for comment, despite multiple efforts to contact him by phone and email, and through family members and his employer.
Rebecca Bongiorno, Smith’s mother, told Raw Story by email that his family would “speak to no one unless they can reverse this lie about him, both in the court and the media.” Asked to elaborate, Bongiorno cited unspecified accusations by then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi that she said “were thrown out of court.”
Mattivi declined to comment on Smith’s release from probation.
But Mattivi, who now directs the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, told Raw Story he left the U.S. Justice Department while Smith was serving his prison sentence. Mattivi has an extensive prosecutorial history on matters related to terrorism and explosives, having served as the lead prosecutor against the al Qaeda operative who masterminded the bombing of the USS Cole and led the team of prosecutors that convicted three militia members for plotting to bomb an apartment building where Somali Muslim immigrants lived and worshiped.
According to Smith’s motion, the government was represented by First U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard, who did not oppose Smith’s request for early termination of supervised release. In his order, Crabtree took note that the government did not oppose the request.
“Anyone who is sentenced to probation following conviction has a right to request early release,” Danielle Thomas, a spokesperson for the government, told Raw Story. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas respects the decision of the court in these matters, and we have nothing further to add.”
‘We want you gone’
Smith’s presence Oct. 15 in Sanford, a city of about 30,000 residents, was neither coincidental nor accidental.
And he had help in ensuring the atmosphere around the children’s story hour would be filled with tension.
Jarrett William Smith protests a drag story hour with a bullhorn outside a yoga center in Sanford, N.C. on Oct. 15, 2023.
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As observed by a Raw Story reporter, Smith led the group of masked men to a corner of the public sidewalk at the edge of a gravel parking lot behind the yoga studio in Sanford where two drag performers were reading to children.
They fell in behind Thomas Booher, a local pastor. Holding a Bible to his chest, Booher chastised a small group of pro-LGBTQ supporters stationed throughout the parking lot to protect the venue. Among them: yoga studio co-owner Mike Knapp.
In addition to Ryan Patrick, the crew with Smith included Nicholas Garner Fisher, a 32-year-old self-identified “Nazi” skateboarder from Raleigh.
Fisher, like Smith, has a criminal record, with his record including convictions for illegally carrying a concealed gun.
In Telegram chats reviewed by Raw Story, Fisher has expressed hostility toward Black people. Of Black people using a skate park that he frequents, Fisher wrote, “If someone’s in my way, they get snaked by Fuhrer daddy and the skateparks are a no n----er zone.” Less than 10 days before the Sanford protest, he had posted on Telegram that he had been prevented from boarding a flight in Florida for using a racial slur.
In a written statement provided to Raw Story, Fisher did not confirm or deny that he was present at the protest in Sanford.
“Everyone was wearing a mask, and I reckon they were just concerned citizens as I was,” he said. “I can’t tell you who was there because of the masks.”
While Booher was speaking, some members of Smith’s group introduced themselves to Jere Brower, a local man who served about 30 days in the D.C. Jail for violating the curfew instituted by Mayor Muriel Bowser after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Brower attracted notoriety when coverage of his arrest noted his past association with Aryan Nations, a white power group that brought together racist skinheads and Klansmen in the 1980s and ’90s.
The 48-year-old Brower acknowledged to Raw Story in an interview last week that he has previous ties to the white power group Aryan Nations, but said that today he accepts that whiteness is not a precondition of American citizenship.
Brower told Raw Story that he did not know Smith at the time of the Oct. 15 protest in Sanford, but that members of the crew introduced themselves to him using their nicknames.
Brower had warned — in a comment on the yoga center’s Facebook page prior to the drag event — that he would be tracking who went into the building. He would be ready, he said, to call Child Protective Services, even though performing in drag in the presence of children is not illegal in North Carolina.
Brower tagged friends on a thread under a post on the yoga studio’s page announcing the event.
Some of the responders openly suggested violence. One of them replied by posting a drawing of a person dressed in the colors of the transgender flag colors hanging from a noose. Brower himself replied to a comment by one of the drag performers with a meme promoting the idea that trans people are prone to self-harm.
Smith’s crew coordinated their travel to the protest on Telegram, Patrick told Raw Story. Information about the protest came up in an online chat, he said. One member asked if anyone was going, and another responded affirmatively. Knowing Smith’s affinity for skull masks, Patrick said it was his idea that everyone should wear one so that they could “all look the same, more or less.”
During the protest, Brower ominously predicted, “This will be the last time.”
Smith raised a bullhorn. He slowly launched into a staccato harangue that gradually increased in intensity and volume.
“If you sit around wearing sexual-fetish gear to give yourself sexual pleasure, and you require the presence of children in order to attain that sexual pleasure, you are a pedophile!” he shouted, parroting a false accusation that drag show organizers and attendees are pedophiles.
Smith shook his head in disgust, and his foot slowly edged into the gravel parking lot.
One of the LGBTQ supporters approached and warned, “Hey, back up, man. Back up on the sidewalk.”
One of the members of Smith’s crew then stepped between the two men, and called the LGBTQ supporter a “f---ot.”
Smith resumed his tirade, seething with rage and frustration
“You do not represent us!” he yelled. “We do not want you here! We want you gone! Out of our town! Out of our state! And out of our country!”
LGBTQ supporters stand guard during a drag story hour at a yoga center while facing protesters led by Jarrett William Smith (holding bullhorn). Jordan Green/Raw Story
‘Kindness and support’
Inside the yoga center, drag performer Stormie Dae wielded a light saber and wore a headdress, heavy gray shawl, pants and knee-high boots while portraying the Star Wars character Ahsoka Tano.
Mx. Princexx Peritwinkle, the other performer, embodied the Muppet character Cookie Monster, wearing a floor-length, blue velvet dress with googly eyes. The two performers read books such as Gustavo the Shy Ghost, Calvin, and Creepy Carrots. They made candy bracelets with the children in attendance.
As a trans person, Mx. Princexx Peritwinkle told Raw Story that this performance name puts a “gender queer” spin on “the idea of princess.” Peritwinkle, whose real name Raw Story agreed to withhold for safety reasons, generally uses the ze/zim/zir pronouns.
“When I would go to drag shows, I would see Black and brown and queer and trans people being free and being their authentic selves,” Peritwinkle told Raw Story. “I was like, ‘How do I sign up?’ I learned a new way to sew a zipper and hem a skirt. It’s a space where I’m able to be free and be me and explore how I move my body and how I interact with the audience. There’s so much kindness and support. It feels good being onstage and seeing the audience live for the performance.”
Lindsey Knapp, a lawyer who has represented military veterans facing retaliation for reporting sexual assault, opened the Sanford Yoga & Community Center with her husband in 2020.
Located 30 miles from Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) — one of the largest military installations in the world — the yoga studio initially focused on providing trauma-informed services to veterans.
During the pandemic, the Knapps’ son came out as trans. Initially, they started an “LGBTQ kids hangout,” Lindsey said, adding that LGBTQ adults started asking for programming as well. Thus, the yoga center expanded into an LGBTQ resource center, incorporating drag shows as one among many queer-friendly activities, including a monthly game night and “sip and paint” sessions.
“My kiddo, when he came out as trans, I wanted to expose him to a lot of different trans humans so he could know he has options,” Lindsey said. “Not everybody who performs in drag events is trans and not every trans person performs in drag events. There are plenty of cisgender people who do drag. Drag in itself is just an art form. I enjoy it because it’s a lot of fun. It’s letting people be creative and use their attire in an effort to express themselves.”
Drag performers Stormie Dae (foreground) and Mx. Princexx Peritwinkle make bracelets with children during a drag story hour. Courtesy Sanford Yoga & Community Center
During the brief altercation between Smith’s crew and the LGBTQ supporters outside, one of the LGBTQ supporters called the Sanford police. Two officers showed up and informed the protesters that, because they didn’t have a permit, they could not use amplified devices and would need to stay on the sidewalk.
The police left. The energy at the protest began to flag. LGBTQ supporters maintained a line and stared down Smith’s crew. About 30 minutes before the conclusion of the drag story session, Smith and his cohort filed out. Most of the drag show protesters joined them in a nearby Dollar Store parking lot where they continued to talk before returning to their cars and driving away without further incident.
A track record of encouraging violence
The federal criminal complaint against Smith alleged that after enlisting in the Army in 2018, he led a group chat on Facebook with other extremists in which he bragged about his expertise in bomb-making.
“Oh yeah, I got knowledge of IEDs for days,” Smith wrote, referring to improvised explosive devices. “We can make cell phone IEDs in the style of the Afghans. I can teach you that.”
Additionally, an FBI confidential source who was communicating with Smith asked him to recommend a political figure in Texas who would be a good candidate for assassination.
“Outside of Beto?” Smith responded. “I don’t know enough people that would be relevant enough to cause a change if they died.”
Meanwhile, according to an affidavit filed by the government, “Smith talked with the [confidential source] about killing members of the far-left group, Antifa, as well as destroying nearby cell tower or [a] local news station.”
In August 2019, the affidavit alleges that Smith told the confidential source “that the headquarters of a major American news network would be a suggested target, utilizing a vehicle bomb.”
During Smith’s sentencing in 2020, he sought to undercut the government’s case by hiring a retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives enforcement officer as an expert witness. The retired officer submitted a report that concluded that Smith’s advice was largely “incorrect or without sufficient detail to have anyone assemble a functioning explosive or incendiary device or weapon of mass destruction.”
According to the government, Smith’s advocacy for violence was motivated by an obscure Satanic belief system known as Quayinism.
Based on an interview following his arrest, an FBI agent wrote about Smith: “He gives information out freely to people who may use it for harm, for the glory of Quayinism, and his religion of anti-kosmik Satanism. He wants to cause chaos, as it brings back the realm of his religious beliefs, through the destruction of the universe.
“Smith said the idea of chaos in the world is a disruption and he can be an agent of chaos by enabling people with his knowledge,” the report continues. “Smith said that if the death of people isn’t affecting him, then he doesn’t see an issue.”
Although Smith was ultimately convicted only of distributing bomb-making instructions, the government also charged him with threatening interstate communication. While stationed at Fort Riley, Smith allegedly communicated a plan to burn down the home of a Michigan man identified in court documents only as “D.H.”
Matching the username “Anti-Kosmik 2182,” which was cited in Smith’s charging documents, anti-fascist researchers noted the user’s contributions to an energetic discussion on the encrypted social media app Telegram about how to respond to a podcast by Daniel Harper that discussed Atomwaffen and how the group drew inspiration from a text by an obscure neo-Nazi author.
“Ditch the car somewhere a few blocks away, take back alley trails in the woods, etc., and then come up to the house wearing a mask,” Anti-Kosmik 2182 wrote, according to a report by the Daily Beast. “I’m not saying do anything illegal, but I am saying it would be a real shame if all he has went up in literal flames.”
In another chat, according to screenshots from a neo-Nazi channel infiltrated by anti-fascist researchers, Smith provided instructions for assembling and setting off an improvised chlorine bomb.
“Good for clearing out a room or breaking up a meeting,” he wrote, while posting as Anti-Kosmik 2182.
Arson appears to be a consistent theme in Smith’s online communications, as well as in his music interests.
The 2019 chats show Smith advocating that someone burn down the trailer of a white supremacist Satanist whom Smith faulted for betraying the cause by supporting North Korea.
Arson is also a theme in the story of “Burzum,” the Norwegian black metal music project whose shirt Smith was wearing in Sanford on Oct. 15.
Burzum was a solo project of Norwegian musician Kristian Vikernes, who served a prison sentence from 1994 to 2009 for murder and arson related to a church-burning spree.
Vikernes was convicted for the murder of former bandmate Øysten Aarseth. Vikernes and his erstwhile musical collaborator “burned churches and desecrated cemeteries,” according to a report by Southern Poverty Law Center. In the early 1990s, Vikernes and Aarseth helped establish National Socialist black metal, a musical subgenre that is explicitly racist.
Smith’s arrest in late 2019 came at a time when the FBI carried out a significant crackdown against white supremacists and their alleged terror plots. Smith found himself at the epicenter and served prison time for his crime.
But since Smith’s release from prison in November 2021, the white power movement has rebounded with a proliferation of so-called “active clubs,” and other, more obscure neo-Nazi and fascist groups.
Smith’s documented history of calling for car-bombings and arson is striking in the current climate of intimidation against the LGBTQ community in which neo-Nazis and other far-right actors have threatened to shut down drag shows.
‘Greater risk’
For some observers, Smith’s presence at the drag show story hour indicates he hasn’t reformed himself.
“If Smith has remained involved in white supremacist activity, that would be concerning,” Jake Hyman, a spokesperson for ADL Center on Extremism, told Raw Story. “His sentence was relatively short, which makes him at greater risk to hold on to extreme views and perhaps even reoffend.”
As an example, Hyman cited Brandon Russell, an Atomwaffen leader who served prison time for possession of explosives, and then was arrested again roughly a year after his release for allegedly plotting an attack on the power grid.
Mx. Princexx Peritwinkle, one of the drag performers at the Sanford Yoga & Community Center on Oct. 15, is no stranger to threats from far-right protesters.
Last December, Peritwinkle participated in an ensemble drag performance at a downtown theater in Southern Pines, N.C. Peritwinkle stood alongside lead performer Naomi Dix as Dix addressed a throng of protesters outside the show. Peritwinkle was onstage that night right before a power outage disrupted the show.
The outage was caused by someone shooting out a substation in surrounding Moore County, resulting in a blackout that was celebrated by accelerationist neo-Nazis who embrace chaos and societal collapse as a precondition for establishing white ethno-states.
Peritwinkle’s mind would go back to that show in Southern Pines for several months when applying drag makeup. But over time the preoccupation with fear diminished and the joy of being in the moment while performing onstage returned.
“After the violence at the Moore County show, knowing that drag can be protested and can be met by so much animosity, I like to remind people that this gets me free,” Peritwinkle said. “It has a way of reaching queer, trans folks, young and old folks. For me, it’s so personal.”
Donald Trump's art of the dodge failed him in the New York City courtroom where the future of his eponymous empire hangs in the balance because, as his former attorney Michael Cohen told Raw Story on Tuesday, it revealed his Achilles heel.
"It only took them four hours to get him to crack," said Cohen. "Because he has no stamina."
"It's all about deception — more than just deception," Cohen said. "It's almost devious."
Trump, who has denied the wrongdoing alleged in the $250 million lawsuit, claims that he never explicitly said to change the documents to defraud banks or insurance companies. But Cohen argues Trump never says anything directly.
"With Trump, nothing is ever explicit," Cohen told Raw Story.
On the stand, Cohen testified he worked on statements of financial condition, complete listings of Trump Organization assets and liabilities, according to MSNBC's legal correspondent Lisa Rubin, who has been reporting from the courtroom. "
New YorkAttorney General Letitia James contends the Trump family purposefully inflated the company's worth in such documents and ultimately defrauded investors and lenders.
Cohen reportedly told the court the financial statements would be used to demonstrate how much the Trump Organization was worth and would be shared outside the company.
To Raw Story, Cohen said Trump signed off on those documents.
In Trump's fraud case, the question will be whether Judge Arthur Engoron believes Trump's contention that lower-level staffers took the initiative to inflate his net worth.
"Not only is it not believable," Cohen said of Trump's defense, "it’s ludicrous."
Cohen is not the only person to criticize Trump's performance on the witness stand Monday.
Judge Arthur Engoron repeatedly admonished the twice-impeached ex-president to answer prosecutors' questions and stop giving "irrelevant" testimony more suited to a campaign rally than a courtroom.
And legal experts say Trump made a "critical" admission when he agreed on the witness stand that a Deutsche Bank term loan agreement he verified and signed was issued "in order to induce lending."
The campaign committee of Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is refusing to explain in detail why his former deputy chief of staff, Margaret A. (Maggie) Harrell, paid the campaign almost $40,000 for “reimbursement for unauthorized expenses.”
Harrell paid $39,368.63 to Chip Roy for Congress on Feb. 10, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by Raw Story.
A Nov. 5 letter from the FEC to the campaign committee said, “This receipt appears to be related to an apparent unauthorized use of Committee funds. Although the Commission may take further legal action regarding this apparent improper use of Committee funds, any further clarifying information that you can provide will be taken into consideration.”
Harrell currently works for the Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative think tank in Naples, Fla.
When Raw Story reached Harrell by phone, she said she was at work and unavailable to discuss the issue. Harrell did not return a voicemail message left after work hours or a text Tuesday morning.
Roy’s office did not respond to Raw Story’s questions about whether it considers the “unauthorized expenses” to be thefts and whether Roy or his staff contacted law enforcement about the matter.
Roy’s office did send Raw Story two statements from Roy that failed to explain the exact nature of the reimbursement.
"Our campaign discovered unauthorized charges made during previous cycles and upon discovery, worked to obtain reimbursements for those charges and notified the FEC of the issue,” Roy’s first statement said. “Those reimbursements were made and reflected in the first quarter of this cycle.”
After follow-up questions from Raw Story, Roy issued another statement: "Upon a review of all transactions made in previous cycles, our campaign discovered some debit card transactions not officially authorized by the campaign, self-reported those charges to the FEC, and those reimbursements were made.”
The website LegiStorm said Harrell served as deputy chief of staff for Roy from November 2018 — when he was first elected to Congress — to March 2021. Before that, she was executive director of his campaign committee, Chip Roy for Congress.
“During the campaign, she got to know every inch of our district and its people,” Roy said in a November 2018 news release announcing Harrell’s position. “She is a woman of strong faith, has broad experience, and is a Capitol Hill veteran.”
Harrell was named Woman of the Year in 2019 by Young Conservatives of Texas.
While it’s unclear why Harrell had to reimburse Roy’s campaign, she received numerous payments from the campaign from 2018 to 2021 for “political strategy consulting.”
Chip Roy for Congress paid Harrell $75,083 in 2018 and $52,801 in 2020, according to FEC records.
That was in addition to her compensation as a member of Roy’s staff, federal records indicate.
Roy is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.
For those who thought Trump's $250 million New York civil fraud trial was nearing its conclusion after the ex-president delivered combative sworn testimony from the witness stand Monday – especially since the judge ruled in late September Trump was liable for fraud, and likely will have to dissolve his New York businesses – brace yourselves.
Legal experts are offering a preview of what comes next, and there will probably be a lot more, including more Trump on the witness stand.
"The New York attorney general will rest their case on Wednesday after Ivanka’s testimony. The defense will then examine Ivanka themselves (to economize on her time and travel), and after making a number of motions, they project they will start their case in chief Monday & finish by 12/15," reports MSNBC's Lisa Rubin on X.
Trump attorney Chris Kise will begin to present the defense's case on Monday, and the Trump family will return.
"Avid court watchers can therefore expect that some of the witnesses called already in the AG’s case — notably Eric, Don Jr. and Donald Trump himself — will appear again as witnesses in the defense’s case in chief," Rubin notes at MSNBC.
But even after the trial comes to an end, it may not be over.
"Team Trump is foreshadowing motions they will make at the conclusion of the AG’s case, such as a motion for a mistrial or directed verdict," Rubin also reports. "The lawyers are hinting that it has something to do with the subject of the existing gag order and likely concerns the judge’s principal law clerk, but not, as Trump attorney Aline Habba noted, her notes with Engoron."
Other legal experts say Trump's lawyers may be planning an appeal.
Former U.S. Attorney and former senior FBI official Chuck Rosenberg suggested Trump's witness stand outbursts that forced Judge Arthur Engoron at least twice to urge attorneys to "control" the ex-president, may be an effort to "goad" the judge into "some sort of mistake," such as responding injudiciously, which might help Trump in case there is an appeal.
Former U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg explores two possible motives for Donald Trump's outbursts on the stand today, including "trying to goad" Judge Engoron into saying something that could help Trump on appeal. pic.twitter.com/zY7R3TpOkj
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 6, 2023
But Trump earlier this afternoon may have sunk any chance for a successful appeal.
Andrew Weissmann, the well-known former FBI General Counsel who spent decades at DOJ, in a rare all-caps post, says Trump admitted his financial statements were tools to help him get bank loans.
"BREAKING," Weissmann wrote on X. "AG GETS TRUMP TO AGREE THAT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND TRUMP'S PERSONAL GUARANTY WERE TO INDUCE BANKS TO LEND MONEY. KEY FACT FOR THIS FRAUD CASE."
Professor of law and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance, also a former U.S. Attorney, says Trump's remarks, admitting his financial statements were created to "induce lending," is an "astonishing admission" and will hurt any chance Trump might have had on appeal.
"Not only is this an astonishing admission," Vance writes, "it will damage efforts to argue on appeal that the judge was wrong to grant judgement ahead of trial on the fraud claims. That is pretty much Trump's last gasp at saving his NY business."
House Republicans are growing sick of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) antics following the chaotic fight for the speaker's gavel.
The Georgia Republican had become a close ally of ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), which alienated her from her ex-friends in the House Freedom Caucus, and other Republicans already disliked her, so now Greene suddenly finds herself with few friends in the GOP caucus, reported The Daily Beast.
“There is no one I have heard from, dozens of members, who are happy with her, that trust her [or] confide in her,” said one Republican lawmaker who was once friends with Greene. “She’s continually seeking attention, building herself up while tearing others down. I have cut ties completely.”
Greene feuded with GOP lawmakers who broke against her resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) over her controversial comments about the war in the Gaza Strip, and Republicans questioned her nasty personal attacks on fellow conservatives.
“You voted to kick me out of the Freedom Caucus, but keep CNN wannabe Ken Buck and vaping groping Lauren Boebert and you voted with the Democrats to protect Terrorist Tlaib,” Greene posted on X, responding to a comment from Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX). “You hate Trump, certified Biden’s election, and could care less about J6 defendants being persecuted.”
A GOP lawmaker who was formerly a Greene ally confronted her over a list of 23 Republicans who broke with her on the Tlaib censure, and a source said “she responded viscerally.”
“She’s creating her own enemies through unprovoked, unwarned, and unsubstantiated attacks,” said the GOP lawmaker who had confronted her. “Embarrassing herself through launching attacks she later has to retract due to their inaccuracies.”
MAGA Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) agreed that Greene was losing friends in Congress, but her star remains undiminished in Donald Trump's inner circle.
“Trumpworld loves our dear MTG,” said one Trump adviser.
“She’s the most loyal soldier in Congress and has been there since day one,” said another Trumpworld operative. “She is often his mouthpiece.”
A Republican congressional candidate in one of the nation's most competitive 2024 House races has publicly disclosed his personal finances, as required by federal law, after a Raw Story investigation revealed he had failed to do so.
Tom Barrett, a former Michigan state senator and representative who is running for the House seat in Michigan’s 7th District, filed his candidate financial disclosure report on Nov. 2, a day after Raw Story reported he was nearly three months late in filing his disclosure.
Barrett's campaign told Raw Story on Oct. 31 that he was "in the process of filing."
Barrett reported more than three-dozen retirement investments between himself and his spouse, along with up to $15,000 each in two bank accounts, according to the Nov. 2 disclosure. He reported earning $29,000 in contracted services for Valley Strategies, LLC.
Per the guidelines from the House Committee on Ethics and the Ethics in Government Act, Barrett needed to file his financial disclosure 30 days after registering his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and raising at least $5,000.
According to a Raw Story review of federal election fundraising data, Barrett filed his statement of candidacy on July 7 and raised $5,000 by July 10, meaning his disclosure was due Aug. 9.
The Ethics in Government Act says that “knowing and willful failure to file, report required information on, or falsification of a public financial disclosure report” could be subject to investigation by the Department of Justice.
Such an offense would have a maximum civil penalty of $71,316 and a maximum criminal penalty of five years in federal prison plus a fine of up to $250,000, according to 2023 guidance from the House Committee on Ethics, although it’s exceedingly rare that this law is enforced to its full extent, if it’s enforced at all.
Nevertheless, numerous members of Congress have themselves violated federal laws governing how federal lawmakers disclosure their personal finances. Some lawmakers have introduced legislation that would stiffen penalties for non-compliance or even ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
This will be Barrett’s second time running for the House seat in the Michigan swing district, losing by five points to Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2022.
He is set to face Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr., a former state senator and legislative director for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Slotkin will be vacating her seat to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
In this column for the New York Times, Christian conservative David French called out newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnsons (R-LA) for using the Bible as a shield as he engages in rank dishonesty
French began by admitting he and Johnson both worked for the same Christian law firm before explaining they have taken very different paths since that time.
Focusing on Johnson saying in an interview that he can apply biblical teachings to any "issue under the sun," the columnist took exception to the broad reading.
After writing, "The Bible says a great deal about a great number of subjects, but it is open to interpretation on many and silent on many more," French added, "It turns out that the Bible isn’t actually a clear guide to 'any issue under the sun.' You can read it from cover to cover, believe every word you read and still not know the 'Christian' policy on a vast majority of contested issues."
Using that as a leaping off point, French explained that all Christians understand the biblical teachings about "honesty" — and that is where Johnson comes up short when it comes to his defense of Donald Trump and his attempt to steal the 2020 presidential elecxtion..
Touching on "Mike Johnson’s refusal to answer a question about the effort to overturn the 2020 election," French wrote, "There is a reason that effort is called the Big Lie. It was one of the most comprehensively and transparently dishonest political movements in American history. And Mike Johnson was in the middle of it."
Cutting to the chase, he wrote, "Johnson is a very nice person, and — unlike Trump — he makes his points with a quite reasonable tone of voice. But pleasant-sounding lies are still lies. I know Johnson to be a smart man and a good lawyer, which is why I was gobsmacked to see him promote the same theories as some of the most corrupt and incompetent lawyers in American legal life."
Recalling, once again, Johnson's reliance on the Bible for his political opinions, the New York Times columnist suggested he take a deeper look at one of the greater lessons he should have taken away.
"The Bible that sits on Johnson’s shelf, the one that tells him what to think about 'any issue under the sun,' may not tell us how to formulate immigration policy or how much money to send to Ukraine. But it does condemn dishonesty, it does condemn cruelty, and if there is a clear theme that echoes throughout its pages, it’s one that 'MAGA Mike Johnson' and his legion of evangelical supporters should take to heart: The ends do not justify the means," he lectured.
Wire fraud. Tax evasion. Money laundering. Sexual abuse. Child pornography. Since 1980, more than two dozen members of Congress have been indicted for such crimes, some spending years in prison.
But because of a series of legal loopholes, not a single former federal lawmaker who has applied for retirement benefits has ever lost their taxpayer-funded congressional pension, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management told Raw Story.
And the latest federally indicted congressman, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), might just keep his pension, too, even if he is found guilty at his trial scheduled for May. Menendez, who has served 17 years in the Senate and says he’s committed no crime, faces up to 50 years in federal prison across four charges related to allegedly acting as foreign agent of Egypt and taking bribes while serving as a public official.
Menendez’s future pension cost to taxpayers? About $70,100 per year, estimates Demian Brady, vice president of research for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. Exact pension amounts are not made publicly available by the government.
“Even if he were convicted, he could still receive his pension funds for probably a couple of years” thanks to legal loopholes, said Craig Holman, a Capitol Hill lobbyist on ethics and campaign finance rules for the nonprofit Public Citizen.
The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) and Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act are the latest legislation to outline the circumstances that would strip congressional felons of their pensions. But only certain crimes strictly related to their congressional duties would lead to pension disqualification.
The Office of Personnel Management determines eligibility for pension benefits based on the laws once a former member applies.
“The problem with all these laws that would revoke pensions for members of Congress is that the convictions have to be entirely related to their official duties, so if they're convicted of some crimes that half involved their official duties and half involve robbery or something outside their official duties, then they don't lose their pensions,” Holman said. “Usually, these convictions are broader than just corruption crimes in Congress, and that's why it isn't generally enforced.”
While appealing their cases, former legislators can keep collecting their pensions, too.
“Your congressional pension is not forfeited until you are finally convicted, so that means until all your opportunities for appealing your case expire,” Brady said, pointing to former Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) as an example of a convicted felon who continued to collect pension funds while appealing his 10-year sentence for a racketeering conspiracy.
And for members of Congress who collect pensions while appealing, they don’t have to repay any annuities they collect even if the original verdict is upheld.
What does this mean for Menendez? Were he convicted, then still found guilty upon appeal, he would lose his pension benefits going forward but wouldn’t have to repay any pension collected while appealing, Holman said.
“What Menendez is being charged with would be covered to eliminate his pension. The big loophole is that he still receives pensions until all his appeals are exhausted,” Holman said.
Menendez could ultimately keep his pension if he isn’t convicted of the charges that would strip him of his pension; if he is convicted of charges unrelated to his congressional duties; or the Office of Personnel Management deems him eligible for the benefit when he applies.
Legislators need to have served in office at least five years to be eligible to collect a pension. This means that another federally indicted current member of Congress, freshman Rep. George Santos (R-NY), wouldn’t be able to collect a pension unless he got reelected for another two terms.
Santos said he plans to run for re-election even as he faces trial, so if he is reelected and serves at least five years, he would become eligible to collect a pension.
Some members convicted of corruption who could potentially lose their pension just haven’t turned 62 yet, the age when members who’ve served at least five years become eligible to withdraw pension funds.
It’s unknown whether Jackson will be denied his pension until he applies for benefits with the Office of Personnel Management.
For members who’ve served 20 years in Congress, they can begin collecting a pension at age 50, and legislators with at least 25 years of service can begin collecting at any age, as noted in a July 2023 Congressional Research Service report.
‘Held to the highest standard’
Some members of Congress are pushing for new legislation that would close loopholes related to legally troubled members of Congress receiving pensions.
Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) co-sponsored the No CORRUPTION Act, which would immediately strip members of Congress of their pensions upon felony convictions.
“The American people expect their elected officials to be held to the highest standard and do the right thing because members of Congress are here to serve them,” Scott said in a statement to Raw Story. “It’s common sense that if you’re a member of Congress and are convicted of a crime involving public corruption, you forfeit your right to all pension benefits provided to you by taxpayers and hardworking families — period. The No CORRUPTION Act is a good step to hold elected officials accountable, protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money and put an end to Washington dysfunction.”
The No CORRUPTION Act passed the Senate in the summer and is awaiting a House vote. Shortly after Menendez was indicted on Sept. 22, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) reintroduced the House companion bill of the No CORRUPTION Act.
"For too long, loopholes have made it possible for corrupt Washington politicians convicted of felonies to continue collecting taxpayer-funded pensions – that’s unacceptable,” Rosen said in a statement. “It’s why I worked across the aisle to find a commonsense solution to prohibit these corrupt officials from receiving a pension.”
Breaking down the pension loopholes
The first legislation enacted to restrict some government officials from collecting their pensions was the Hiss Act. Passed in 1954, it’s designed to take away pensions from government officials convicted of national security crimes such as treason, espionage and sabotage, or who pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying in such cases.
The law was named as such as it intended to remove the pension of former State Department official Alger Hiss after he was convicted of perjury for denying he conducted espionage for the Soviet Union. In 1972, his revoked pension was reinstated as it was declared unconstitutional for the law to be applied retroactively, The New York Times reported.
In 1961, the law was amended to restore pensions to employees who were convicted of minor crimes not related to national security.
It wasn’t until 2007 that further reform was passed in the form of HLOGA, which expanded forfeiture provisions to include corruption, election crimes or misconduct in office.
The reform was prompted by public outrage that numerous legislators convicted of corruption were still collecting pensions.
Among them: Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), who collected about $64,000 annually in pension payments despite being sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence for tax evasion, bribery and fraud, and former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL), who collected an estimated $125,000 annual pension after going to prison for misuse of taxpayer funds.
The 2012 federal conflicts-of-interest and financial disclosure law, the STOCK Act, added additional provisions to amend pension forfeiture such as expanding the covered crimes related to corruption. It also extended the time frame for when a convicted member of Congress would be subject to forfeiture, according to a 2012 memo from the Congressional Research Service.
But loopholes remained. Convicted congressional felons could still collect their pensions while they appealed their convictions. Embattled federal lawmakers could also keep their pensions by taking plea deals for crimes not related to the pension forfeiture provisions.
For example, former Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) pleaded guilty to obstructing and impeding internal revenue laws after her previous convictions, for which she served prison time, were vacated on appeals due to a jury issue. The lesser charges were not covered under the legal pension forfeiture provisions, Brady said.
She continues to collect her estimated $71,000 per year pension, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. Taxpayers have paid her approximately $448,400 through the end of 2022, according to the foundation.
“So she got a nice break there, so she still gets her pension,” Brady said.
Pardons, meanwhile, equal pensions.
When, for example, Donald Trump was president, he pardoned several congressional felons, including former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ), who was found guilty in 2013 of 17 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, extortion, racketeering and money laundering.
Renzi, who did not reach minimum retirement age until mid-2020, began collecting an estimated $16,000 pension in 2021, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimated.
“Those who have been in office long enough then have their rights and privileges for the pension restored,” Brady said.
Trump also pardoned former Rep. Mark D. Siljander (R-MI), who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice after being indicted on money laundering and obstruction of justice charges.
Former Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), who pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making false statements to law enforcement officials, stood to have his pension denied but was pardoned by Trump, becoming eligible for a $10,555 annual congressional pension.
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA) pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to steal campaign funds, which is a crime that is not specified as a pension disqualifier in HLOGA or the STOCK Act, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. Trump also pardoned him as well, and he remains eligible for a $29,000 annual pension.
“Legislation needs to be amended to at minimum show that when someone is convicted of a crime of corruption that they should not keep their pensions or that at least their pension should be diminished in some fashion,” said Dick Simpson, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and co-author of Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality. “The easiest is simply to deny them their pensions from that point forward.”
Two judges in two separate Donald Trump trials in one day were forced to take extraordinary protective measures based on the actions of the defendant or his attorneys, and his followers.
While the protective measures are rare they are not unprecedented, but they underscore the threats the justice system is facing from the ex-president’s followers.
Friday afternoon in the $250 million civil fraud case against the ex-president, his two adult sons, and his company, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron expanded the gag order he had imposed on Donald Trump to include Trump’s attorneys, and threatened “serious sanctions” should they violate it. On Thursday two of Trump’s attorneys targeted the judge’s principal law clerk, actions that Trump had taken in earlier weeks, which initiated the imposition of the limited gag order.
Judge Engoron “wrote that since the trial started, his chambers ‘have been inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters and packages,” Axios reported.
“The First Amendment right of defendants and their attorneys to comment on my staff is far and away outweighed by the need to protect them from threats and physical harm,” Engoron added. On Thursday the judge was so outraged by the targeting of his law clerk he reportedly pounded the bench and warned the attorneys.
“The order restricts attorneys in the case from making public statements that refer to any confidential communications between Engoron and his staff,” Axios adds. Engoron accused Trump’s lawyers including Chris Kise, Alina Habba, and Clifford Robert, of having “made, on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks about my Principal Law Clerk.”
As MSNBC’s Lisa Rubin noted, also on Friday, in a separate civil case, the remaining one brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan – citing the gag order imposed by Judge Engoron – ordered the jurors in the upcoming Carroll case must remain anonymous.
Judge Kaplan wrote, if jurors’ identities “were disclosed, there would be a strong likelihood of unwanted media attention to the jurors, influence attempts, and/or harassment or worse by supporters of Mr. Trump [and/or by Mr. Trump himself] Indeed, in the very recent past, Mr. Trump has been fined twice for violating a gag order issued by a New York judge in response to comments made by Mr. Trump in relation to the judge’s clerk. In view of Mr. Trump’s repeated public statements with respect to the plaintiff [E. Jean Carroll] and court in this case as well as in other cases against him, and the extensive media coverage that this case already has received and that is likely to increase once the trial is imminent or underway, the Court finds that there is strong reason to believe the jury requires … protections.”
The order bans the “names, addresses, and places of employment of prospective jurors … as well as jurors who ultimately are selected … shall not be revealed.”
He also ordered U.S. Marshal Service to transport the jurors to and from. undisclosed locations before and after each trial day “at which the jurors can assemble or from which they may return to their respective residences.”
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, an election denier with ties to former President Donald Trump, has paid a fine for violating federal election laws during his losing 2020 run in Kansas for the U.S. Senate.
Kobach's political committee paid fines of $5,060 and $405.75, according to documents released by the Federal Election Commission and exclusively reviewed by Raw Story. The fines stem from the committee knowingly renting an email list well below market value from We Build The Wall Inc., an organization that was later revealed to be a criminal enterprise.
Kobach served as general counsel and a board member of We Build The Wall. Three leaders of We Build The Wall, which raised private money to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, are in prison for stealing money from donors.
The FEC had not released details about Kobach’s fine payments until this week, after Raw Story inquired about them. Additionally, the FEC released records documenting a $24,534.21 federal fine paid by We Build The Wall.
An FEC spokesperson Judith Ingram called it an “administrative oversight.”
Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon received a presidential pardon for federal charges related to his work with We Build the Wall. Bannon, however, faces trial in May on state-level charges in New York.
Kobach, a far-right former Kansas secretary of state and chair of the state Republican Party, is a hardliner on voting restrictions and immigration policies.
He was appointed by Trump as the vice chairman of a voting integrity commission that failed to find evidence of fraud during the 2016 election, despite Trump’s false claim that he had won the popular vote.
An image of the check Kobach for Senate sent the Federal Election Commission to pay one of two fines the agency issued the committee. Source: Federal Election Commission
Meanwhile, an ex-employee is accusing Giuliani of sexual assault. The IRS says Giuliani owes massive back taxes. A motley cast of detractors, ranging from his former lawyers to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, are suing the former New York City Mayor and Trump attorney over a variety of alleged misdeeds.
But at The Citadel, South Carolina’s public military college, Giuliani still ranks among the storied school’s most lauded awardees — the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree.
And unlike several other schools, including the University of Rhode Island, Drexel University and Middlebury College, which have stripped Giuliani of honorary degrees, The Citadel’s leadership has expressed no interest in revoking the honorary degree in public administration it bestowed upon Giuliani in 2007.
Giuliani’s team praised The Citadel for letting Giuliani keep his honorary degree.
"I'm not surprised by The Citadel's appropriate decision to protect the honorary degree awarded to Mayor Rudy Giuliani — a man who locked up the Mafia, cleaned up New York City and comforted the nation following September 11th,” Ted Goodman, a Giuliani adviser and spokesman, told Raw Story.
“The Citadel, which stresses the importance of honor, duty and respect, is a national treasure and certainly a place any young student should consider when deciding on where to pursue an education,” Goodman added.
At least four other colleges — Georgetown University, Syracuse University, St. John Fisher University and Loyola University Maryland — have likewise allowed Giuliani to retain honorary degrees they awarded him years ago.
But none of them prize and project honor, ethics and lawfulness quite like The Citadel.
The 181-year-old military college’s Honor Code, for example, unequivocally states that cadets “will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.”
Regarding “honor,” The Citadel’s statement of “core values” decrees: “The commitment to honor extends beyond the gates of The Citadel and is a life-long obligation to moral and ethical behavior. In addition, honor includes integrity; ‘doing the right thing when no one is watching.’ Finally, honorable behavior includes exercising the moral courage to ‘do the right thing when everyone is watching’.”
The schools that revoked Giuliani’s honorary degrees cited what they considered the former New York mayor’s lies and deceptions, as well as his legal and patriotic failures, in reaching their decisions.
Rhode Island University President Marc Parlange concluded that Giuliani had “encouraged domestic terrorist behavior."
Giuliani aided “an insurrection against democracy itself,” Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton declared.
Drexel admonished Giuliani for “undermining the public’s faith in our democratic institutions and in the integrity of our judicial system."
For Michael Mullinax — a retired Army lieutenant colonel, former South Carolina state senator and 1967 graduate of The Citadel — The Citadel’s Board of Visitors, which alone has the power to grant and revoke honorary degrees, has no choice but to rescind the degree it gave Giuliani.
“The Citadel has always stood for three principles: DUTY, HONOR, AND COUNTRY. Rudy Giuliani does not represent any of those values, and if you as the leaders of The Citadel are not willing to take a stand against this corrupt politician, then you certainly have failed in your duties to The Citadel and its honorable alumni,” Mullinax wrote Aug. 14 in a letter addressed to Gen. Glenn Walters, The Citadel’s president, and Col. Dylan Goff, chairman of The Citadel’s Board of Visitors.
The letter further states of Giuliani: “There is no question of his action in attempting to overturn the valid election results of 2020, and his making of false and debunked allegations about rigged voting machines, polling place fraud, and other outlandish claims.”
Raw Storyobtained the letter, which is stamped “RECEIVED” by Walters’ office on Aug. 22, through a South Carolina Freedom of Information Act request.
Reached by phone this week, Mullinax told Raw Story that he has not received a response from any official at The Citadel, which he said is “disappointing."
“Giuliani has disregarded the oath of office that he once took, he disregarded the Constitution of the United States, he had disregarded the ideals and morals and what we were taught at The Citadel and in the military,” Mullinax said from his law office in South Carolina. “I’m disappointed in the failure to act by the administration of The Citadel, including its current president and the current Board of Visitors. I would hope that they would act sooner rather than later.”
Raw Story posed a series of questions to The Citadel about Giuliani’s honorary degree. Among them:
Is The Citadel's Board of Visitors formally or informally considering any action related to the 2007 honorary degree that The Citadel bestowed upon former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani?
If The Citadel's Board of Visitors is not formally or informally considering any action related to the 2007 honorary degree that The Citadel bestowed upon Giuliani: Why has it decided not to do so, in light of Giuliani facing felony charges in the state of Georgia and various other legal and ethical troubles, including the suspension of his law licenses?
Does The Citadel consider Giuliani, as someone who has received an honorary degree from the school, to be a man of "eminence and distinction" — stated criteria for being awarded an honorary degree from The Citadel?
Does The Citadel consider Giuliani to be a role model for The Cidadel's cadets?
To what degree is The Citadel concerned, if at all, that Mr. Giuliani helped overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election?
Raw Story also asked why The Citadel had not responded to Mullinax’s letter.
The Citadel’s spokesman, Zachary Watson, declined to comment, saying the school has nothing to say “at this time” about Giuliani’s honorary degree or Mullinax’s concerns.
Internal emails previously obtained by Raw Story through the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act indicated that top officials at The Citadel sought in recent months to close ranks and deflect attention from Giuliani’s honorary degree.
“It’s quite disturbing to me,” Mullinax told Raw Story. “The Citadel’s principles — those principles are not in Rudy Giuliani’s gambit of life at this point. He has demonstrated that he is not qualified, nor should he be a role model for anyone now, much less the cadets at The Citadel.”
In contrast, Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesman, says his esteem for The Citadel is high.
WASHINGTON – Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) isn’t just proud of his faith. He believes his God sent him to Washington to legislate the Bible.
“I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this. I believe that scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God raises up those in authority,” Johnson told his House colleagues when he first addressed them from the speaker’s rostrum last week.
Johnson’s a Baptist. So is Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who served as Democratic leader for eight years. But Hoyer says that’s about where the comparisons end.
Hoyer and other Democrats are monitoring the extent to which Johnson infuses the House speakership with religion, now that he has the speaker’s gavel.
“He obviously has a record that does not speak to moderation,” Hoyer said. “I talked to him and I congratulated him on being speaker and I said, ‘It is hard to be bipartisan. It's easier to be with your clique or faction or side of the aisle. What is difficult is to know that we are one nation under God, indivisible.’”
Some Republicans, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA),claim the mantle ‘Christian nationalist,’ but Johnson doesn’t, even if he asserts that America was founded as a Christian nation — it wasn’t — and wants to make society reflect the Bible.
Just because Johnson isn’t a digital bomb thrower doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous, according to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
“He's got much better manners than Matt Gaetz or Marjorie Taylor Greene or Donald Trump, and he's a knowledgeable guy,” Raskin said. “Having said that, his politics tend towards the theocratic direction, and he's a leading champion of federal abortion ban. He's anti-gay. He opposes all gun safety measures. So he is a MAGA extremist in substance.”
Raskin says Johnson is emblematic of a broader transformation of today’s GOP.
“It demonstrates that there are no public policy values that unify the Republican caucus anymore. They don't have a secular program, so they have fallen back on theocracy as the final binding mechanism of their caucus,” Raskin said.
Democrats are making much ado about nothing, according to Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), one of the louder evangelical voices in Congress.
“If your faith only affects your weekends, that's not really a faith. That's a hobby. A hobby is something you do on weekends. Faith should affect how you treat other people, how you treat your spouse, how you drive, how you interact with people you agree or disagree with,” Lankford told Raw Story.
Many Democrats read the same Bible as Johnson, yet come to drastically different conclusions than him.
“I have concerns about what his faith apparently teaches him about homosexuality, women and women's rights, the trans community — LGBTQ community,” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) told Raw Story. “I’m a person of faith. I always think: What would Jesus think? I think Jesus would just lift people up where they are. Just the way they are. Just the way they are.”
Dean served with Johnson on the Judiciary Committee and says he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“He’s anti so many of the things that I hold dear and value and am here to fight for. The wicked things he’s said in connection to abortion,” Dean said. “As a member of the Judiciary Committee, what always bothers me is when anybody spews lie after lie after insinuation after disinformation, and sadly, the speaker … has been guilty of that over and over again.”
Johnson’s religiosity has already factored into one political priority: campaign fundraising.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is fundraising off Speaker Mike Johnson's religious faith, urging supporters to "help Speaker Johnson bring his pro-God, pro-family agenda to America!" Credit: NRCC fundraising message
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) this week blasted a message to supporters with the subject line, “Are you praying for our new Speaker?”
The email urged them to “sign” a “prayer card” for Johnson. Those who offer up their name, email address, cell phone number and ZIP code are then asked to donate between $15 and $1,000 to the NRCC, the House campaign arm of the Republican Party.
“We need to hit our donor goal so we can help Speaker Johnson bring his pro-God, pro-family agenda to America!” the NRCC proclaimed.
Johnson himself sent a similar message.
A fundraising message on Nov. 2, 2023, from House Speaker Mike Johnson's congressional campaign committee. Credit: Mike Johnson for Louisiana
"I know our country is in desperate need of prayer," he wrote today in a fundraising email from his congressional campaign committee. "Today I am asking if you share my faith in God and for the future of our nations, you'll join us. We cannot allow the radical Left to destroy the ideals our country was founded on."
Johnson then asks supporters to donate between $5 and $3,300 — the legal maximum for one election — to his campaign committee.
LGBTQ supporters stand guard during a drag story hour at a yoga center while facing protesters led by Jarrett William Smith (holding bullhorn). Jordan Green/Raw Story
Drag performers Stormie Dae (foreground) and Mx. Princexx Peritwinkle make bracelets with children during a drag story hour. Courtesy Sanford Yoga & Community Center
An image of the check Kobach for Senate sent the Federal Election Commission to pay one of two fines the agency issued the committee. Source: Federal Election Commission 
The National Republican Congressional Committee is fundraising off Speaker Mike Johnson's religious faith, urging supporters to "help Speaker Johnson bring his pro-God, pro-family agenda to America!" Credit: NRCC fundraising message
A fundraising message on Nov. 2, 2023, from House Speaker Mike Johnson's congressional campaign committee. Credit: