All posts tagged "tim burchett"

'Dadgum!' GOP lawmaker unleashes on Pam Bondi over 'dirtbag' coverup

A Republican lawmaker who called on President Donald Trump to release as much information as possible regarding sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein voiced his "disappointment" with the way Attorney General Pam Bondi has handled the entire situation.

The New York Times quoted Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) calling the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury testimony "a good start,” then added that "he still wanted to see as many files as possible released."

On CNN Monday, Burchett doubled-down on his harsh critique of Bondi and his lack of trust in the DOJ.

"I have a saying: It's not how you start, it's how you finish," Burchett said. "If she finishes strong, then I would trust her. In the past, I didn't think that things that she had done were — I won't say appropriate — I just don't think they were as efficient as they could — the white binders that they gave out was pretty much information everybody already had. I think she took some bad advice on that."

Burchett gave Bondi some leeway since "they confirmed her very fast" after Trump's initial nominee, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) dropped out of contention to become AG.

"I suspect the learning curve was very steep. So yeah, I'm disappointed in her. I've been disappointed in her."

Burchett admitted that "generally, you don't speak out against somebody in your own party. But generally, I haven't really followed those rules. If I'm unhappy with somebody, I just say it.... I'm very much on transparency."

Earlier in the interview, Burchett said that although he wanted as much information about the Epstein case released as possible, it was important to "protect the innocent children" from having their names released. "Apparently, there's close to a thousand people this dirtbag offended, and I assume the devil is taking care of him right now. But I do not want to release those children's names and innocent people."

Burchett was careful to exonerate anybody who might be inadvertently associated with Epstein.

"If you flew on his plane, dadgum, it doesn't mean you're a pedophile...so I would hope there's some sort of filter or way we could screen that," he said.

Watch the clip below via CNN.

Lawmakers scrambled to cash in as Trump's bromance with Musk blossomed: report

New reporting by Forbes revealed that at least 10 members of Congress traded Tesla stock of up to $1.27 million after Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency.

The three dozen trades, which occurred after July 12, 2024, raised new concerns over congressional conflict of interest since Musk is now entrenched in the federal government.

Forbes cited data from Capitol Trades, which monitors congressional activity in the stock markets.

"The trades totaled between $340,000 and $1.27 million," Forbes reported, and were evenly split between buys and sells. Of the nine House members and one senator tracked, Forbes reported that "four Democrats bought Tesla shares and six sold, while two Republicans bought and one sold."

The most active trading came from Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who bought Tesla stock 11 times and made three sales, "all between $1,000 and $15,000," Forbes reported.

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"Other lawmakers who traded Tesla include Democrats Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Gil Cisneros Jr., Dwight Evans, Vincente Gonzalez, Julie Johnson and Morgan McGarvey; and Republican Reps. Rob Bresnahan Jr., Marjorie Taylor Greene and Michael Guest—Gonzalez sold shortly after buying, likely at a loss, while McGarvey appears to have made a gain in his wife’s IRA."

Greene, who chairs the House Oversight subcommittee overseeing Musk’s DOGE, has bought Tesla stock since September, with her trades "totaling between $9,000 and $135,000," Forbes reported.

According to his financial disclosure, Trump reported owning between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of Tesla shares as of May 2024.

Forbes quoted Delaney Marsco with government watchdog Campaign Legal Center, saying, “When they make these trades, it raises questions about possible conflicts of interest because they're also making laws at the same time. They also can move the market by tweeting about something, calling for a hearing or with just a press release.”

Two bills remain in committee that would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) filed the “No Corruption in Government Act” in January, while Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) submitted the “End Congressional Stock Trading Act” last month.

Read the Forbes story here.

'Oh come on!' GOP lawmaker snaps as CNN delivers civics lesson on Constitution

Republican Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) aimed his anger toward the news media when CNN's John Berman asked about the constitutional powers of federal judges on Tuesday.

Berman's question had to do with the attacks the Trump administration has aimed at U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who ordered planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to return to the United States instead of onward toward a prison in El Salvador. At issue was the Constitutional right to due process, which the detainees did not receive before being loaded onto the planes.

The administration ignored the judge's order, then publicly mocked him and refused to answer his questions at a Monday evening hearing.

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Burchett claimed he had "evidence" that the deportees "are criminals, and I'll never understand why CNN takes the side of a bunch of murderers that have come into our country illegally. And, I realize you all have...to make your stand, but that is complete nonsense. And the American public's not buying it. Listen, this is an act of war by these countries."

Berman interjected, "Congressman, the media didn't write the Constitution, the founding fathers did... All I'm asking you — and you are an elected member of Congress, and we certainly respect that role — what your advice is to the White House? Do you think that the White House has the responsibility to follow rulings from the federal judiciary?"

Burchett answered that Trump has the authority to protect the country from criminals, and blamed the judge for "taking the side of a bunch of criminals."

"He hasn't taken any side yet, congressman. All he's done is put a stay on the White House action here so that he can review their use of, their novel use, of the alien enemies —"

"Oh, come on! These guys, listen, these guys — the difference between God and these judges is God knows he's not one of these judges. They're arrogant. They practice this type of thing all the time. And when if you had a conservative one doing it, you all would be raising total hell."

"Again, congressman...no one's taking a side here. I'm asking you about the Constitution. Is asking about the Constitution taking a side?"

Watch the clip below via CNN.

CNN pulls plug as interview with MAGA congressman descends into shouting match

A contentious interview with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) got so out of control Tuesday that CNN anchor Pam Brown finally cut him off.

The discussion centered around Elon Musk's control of the Department of Government Efficiency and the myriad controversies surrounding his government cuts and access to sensitive data.

"What information do you actually have on what DOGE is doing with that data?" Brown asked. "What are your questions? What do you want to know? Certainly as a member of the oversight, you have some questions."

But Burchett replied by talking about how the "IRS is a nightmare."

Brown interrupted him, saying, "Look, I'm not saying there's no problems with government agencies or the IRS —"

"Hold on! You asked me a question," Burchett interrupted.

"But you're not answering it!" exclaimed a clearly frustrated Brown.

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Burchett went on about the IRS, and the two argued over each other until Burchett said, "Where were they fussing the last 3 or 4 years? I mean, we've had these different groups have had access, hundreds of different people have access to this that that are nowhere in the scope of what needs to be. And, yet, no one raised one peep about it. Now Elon Musk gets ahold of it and he's going to make some changes that need to be made, and you all are pitching a fit!"

"It's the same old line, man. You attack the message carrier."

"To be clear, we are not pitching a fit," Brown said. "As you said, a lot of people think it's a good thing to weed out waste, but these are fair questions to be asking, congressman, about these unelected people going in and having access to private information from Americans. How can you not be asking those questions? Those are very fair questions."

The back and forth about the "bloated government" continued, with Burchett asking, "Well, then why are y'all not exposing it?" Have y'all even talked about, hey, Mozambique. We sent them $10 million for circumcisions? I mean, goodness gracious, ma'am."

"OK, we've been covering at length where the money is going," Brown offered, before Burchett interrupted, "No you haven't! All y'all do is run down Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and you continuously do this, and that's why your ratings are in the tank!"

Brown finally had enough.

"All right, we're going to leave it there," she said, cutting Burchett off.

Watch the clip below or at this link via CNN.

'Just asking': CNN host presses GOP lawmaker on taxpayer money 'paying' for Gaza

Republican Rep. Tim Burchett (R-KY) snipped at John Berman Thursday as the CNN anchor tried to ask how he would feel about the U.S. "owning" Gaza.

At the top of the interview, Berman asked, "How much would you be willing to pay for Gaza?"

"Well, I think what the president is saying is, first of all, you've got bomb disposal that has to be taken care of," Burchett said, adding, "I think what President Trump is saying, it's not going to be an American territory. I believe he's saying, 'Let American capitalists get in there and turn that area around.'"

"Well, he wasn't talking just about bomb disposal," Berman said. "He was talking about a long-term ownership position. Those were his exact words two days ago. And this morning, just a short time ago, he said the Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States — turned over to the United States — by Israel at the conclusion — I'm just asking you, how much of the U.S. budget do you think should be devoted to that?"

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"Again, if y'all want me to talk, I will," Burchett said, causing Berman to pause and raise his eyebrows.

Burchett continued, "But that what he was saying, in my opinion, was that Americans would possibly have ownership in it, just like the Chinese have ownership in farm property in this country and in vital property near our military installations. I don't hear anybody raising cain about that. We ought to have the same opportunity there as the Chinese have in this country, and that's plenty."

"I hear what you're saying," Berman said, continuing, "Would you be willing to commit U.S. taxpayer dollars to ownership of parts of Gaza?"

"I don't want our military over there. I don't want boots on the ground that gets our people killed and gets into another conflict, which we don't need to be in and we can't afford," Burchett said. "I think, again, if American entrepreneurs want to invest over there, I think it's a great opportunity and i think it could turn that area around for those folks over there and get rid of some of their worthless leadership."

Watch the clip below via CNN or click the link.

'Baseless': MSNBC host delivers searing takedown of election-denying Republican lawmaker

An MSNBC host leveled a MAGA Republican lawmaker Tuesday night who joined colleagues and allies in calling Vice President Kamala Harris a "DEI" hire, referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Stephanie Ruhle called out the GOP for bringing race into the conversation when talking about Harris, who President Joe Biden endorsed to replace him on the ticket after he dropped out of the presidential race over the weekend.

Ruhle played a clip of Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett telling CNN that Biden in 2020 said he wanted to "hire a Black female for vice president."

"What about white females? What about any other group?" asked Burchett. "When you go down that route, you take mediocrity and that's what they have right now as vice president."

When the reporter asked Burchett specifically if he believes Harris was a "DEI hire," he replied, "One hundred percent she was a DEI hire."

Ruhle delivered a brutal fact-check to Burchett, noting Harris served as the district attorney for San Francisco, attorney general for California, a U.S. senator, and currently as vice president. As for the "man who called her a 'mediocre DEI hire?'"

"He's a longtime state lawmaker and then he became a congressman. In Congress, he challenged the results of the 2020 election. After a school shooting in his state last year, he said there was no role for Congress to do anything about mass shootings, and he openly said he believes that not only does the U.S. have a UFO, it is currently trying to reverse engineer it."

Ruhle called Burchett's remarks a "ridiculous, baseless, targeted" attack.

Watch the clip below or at this link here.

GOP lawmaker calls Trump's Secret Service agents 'DEI hires' for being too short

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) claimed that Donald Trump's Secret Service agents allowed him to be shot over the weekend because they were "DEI hires" who were too short.

Burchett made the remarks Wednesday during an interview with War Room guest host Natalie Winters at the Republican National Convention.

"We had our, not our B team out there guarding President Trump, but our C team, a bunch of DEI hires that are that much shorter," he asserted. "That iconic picture of President Trump raising his fist, that should have never been able to be had because that Secret Service agent should have been taller than the president."

"Their job is to take a bullet for the president," he insisted. "They failed at their job. They cowered in fear, and they should have never been in that position."

Burchett observed that Trump's protection at the Republican convention "were some burly dudes over six feet tall."

"And you saw the ones that were there, he added. "They were, some of them were five foot or less."

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In fact, agents were not on the stage with Trump during the assassination attempt. There is no evidence a taller agent could have stopped the former president from being shot.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion — or DEI — policies traditionally aim to prevent racial, ethnic, and gender disparities. Height is not a trait that the policies address.

A day after the shooting, Burchett blamed a "DEI person" in the Secret Service for the assassination attempt.

Watch the video below from Real America's Voice or click here.

Kevin McCarthy can’t stop losing. Nancy Mace can’t stop loving it.

WASHINGTON — In the territory Kevin McCarthy once ruled with a wooden, if limp, gavel, Republicans in the House of Representatives spent the week laughing off the former House speaker for meddling in GOP primaries — then getting walloped.

McCarthy and his allies were dealt a stunning defeat in the Palmetto State when Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) turned heads for destroying her Republican primary opponent by some 27 points.

McCarthy’s rarely at the Capitol, but this week, he found his name transformed into a punchline (again).

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“Anybody that maintains that level of bitterness for that long, I feel sorry for ya,” Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) — one of the eight who last year helped end McCarthy’s speakership — told Raw Story at the Capitol this week.

McCarthy and his allies dropped more than $2 million on Mace’s race. But from day one, Mace told Raw Story, she wasn’t afraid of Team McCathy’s effort to get behind her opponent, Catherine Templeton, who served in former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s cabinet.

“She's a puppet to Kevin McCarthy,” Mace told Raw Story this spring. “Like, that doesn't sell in my district. My district wants someone who's going to be conservative but an independent voice.”

Even with millions of dollars in outside spending flooding her opponent from McCarthy-allied super PAC American Prosperity Alliance, Mace still demolished Templeton on Tuesday.

Even Republicans who like McCarthy weren’t impressed with his poor primary showing.

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“I don't think it’s personal — well, with McCarthy, it probably was personal,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) — a friend of Mace — told Raw Story. “She stuck in there and had a message.”

Other members of the so-called “Gaetz Eight” say McCarthy miscalculated when crossing Mace at home.

“Not surprising. She's a great candidate,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told Raw Story.

Her win was never guaranteed. Mace has had a complicated history with GOP leaders, namely, former President Donald Trump, who called her “crazy” and “a terrible person” during the 2022 midterms.

This time around, Mace netted Trump’s endorsement. Burchett says Mace’s independent streak makes her formidable.

“She's fiery, and everybody alway says things like, ‘Oh, I can't believe that person did this or did that’ — I mean, from their perspective, but she represents her people and her people apparently like her,” Burchett said.

McCarthy may net a win in Virginia this week

The saga’s far from over. McCarthy and his allies are still gunning to oust members of the gang of eight who ended his speakership. Next on the list: Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-VA).

On June 18, Republicans in Virginia’s 5th District will decide Good’s fate when they cast their primary ballots either for him or state Sen. John McGuire.

After Good backed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in this year’s Republican presidential primary — before declaring his allegiance to Trump once DeSantis threw in the proverbial towel — McGuire netted Trump’s endorsement.

The race has attracted a staggering $20 million in outside spending, with McGuire slightly edging out Good in fundraising — $1.2 million to $1.1 million as of the end of May. Pundits are closely watching the race to see if McCarthy and company can knock out one of the Republicans who ingloriously retired him.

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Still, Good says, bring it on.

“I don't think the people of the 5th District are gonna let their seat be bought by D.C.-California swamp interests, but that's clearly who's funding my opponent’s campaign,” Good told Raw Story earlier this year.

In Florida, the former speaker’s aides vetted Aaron Dimmock before the Navy veteran announced a late challenge to McCarthy’s forever foe, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

Florida’s primary for its congressional delegation is Aug. 20. While Gaetz now has to beat back a challenge, he was this week laughing McCarthy off after the former speaker and his allies got “smoked in the low country of South Carolina.”

Still, Gaetz feels the challenge in his own backyard, though he says he’s undeterred.

“We’ve been outspent four, five, nine-to-one,” Gaetz said. “The people are coming. My movement is coming. We’re hot on their heels.”

‘Mean girl on a revenge tour’: Kevin McCarthy has knives out for his ‘Gaetz 8’ tormentors

WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may have been publicly beat down before being booted out of power after just 269 days on the job, but his presence is still being felt in the GOP.

And McCarthy’s got some scores to settle first.

McCarthy’s allies have been on the offense against some of the eight far-right Republicans who cost him his coveted speaker’s gavel last fall and prompted his resignation in December.

Super Tuesday provides McCarthyites an opportunity: Three of the House GOP’s “Gaetz Eight,” as they’ve been dubbed in some corners of Capitol Hill, are on their state’s respective primary ballots. More primaries will soon follow.

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While a longshot, McCarthy’s set on exacting revenge at the ballot box and knocking them out. He’s raising campaign cash for their primary opponents, rallying the old GOP guard to challenge these incumbents and, whenever possible, undercutting and belittling them with what little stature the third shortest serving speaker in U.S. history still maintains.

Many Republicans say this was inevitable after what the former speaker had to so publicly endure.

“Politics is a contact sport. They wanted to get rid of Kevin, were they going to assume he wasn't going to retaliate? That's human nature,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) told Raw Story. “That's what I knew was going to happen.”

“What’s that say about him?” Raw Story inquired. “Isn't that literally kind of making their case? Putting personality over party?”

“I don't think so. People hold grudges,” Donalds said. “I would just say this: If there’s a job I've been trying to get for 20 years, and you take that away from me, you think I'm just turning the other cheek? Nope. I'm not. I'm not surprised, and they shouldn't be either.”

Others in the party are angry, especially because they say the former speaker amassed huge sums of political money purely because donors trusted him to help maintain Republicans' majority in the House.

“People are really pissed?” Raw Story inquired.

“They should be,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told Raw Story. “Let’s use it to advance conservative principles. Anything but vendettas. It’s not right. I don't know how he feels good about that.”

Norman’s fellow South Carlonian, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), has the biggest target on her back from McCarthy, and she’s been letting it be known that she’s warring with McCarthy.

“He’s acting like a mean girl on a revenge tour,” Mace told Raw Story. “It’s mind numbing. I've always been against the establishment, and you're going to recruit the establishment to run against me?”

“The establishment” means Catherine Templeton, an attorney who former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) tapped to be her director of Labor, Licensing and Regulation before she came in third in the Republican Party’s 2018 gubernatorial primary.

Templeton did not reply to an interview request, but she recently netted the endorsement of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and her campaign claims moment is building ahead of South Carolina's June 11 Republican primary.

Mace laughs off the full court press from what she sees as the Washington establishment.

“He could not have picked a worse opponent,” Mace said. “She's a puppet to Kevin McCarthy. Like, that doesn't sell in my district. My district wants someone who's going to be conservative, but an independent voice. They don't want a puppet to Kevin McCarthy.”

‘He didn’t stay’

A week after South Carlonians vote — on June 18, 2024 — Virginia Republicans will decide whether to stick with Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) or ditch the newly minted chair of the far-right Freedom Caucus for Virginia state Sen. John McGuire (R).

McGuire netted the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) after Good initially endorsed former Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in this year’s presidential primary. And last quarter, McGuire outraised Good by a few thousand dollars, which is not a good position for an incumbent to be in.

In January, Good tried to cuddle up to Trump by endorsing him after DeSantis bowed out. While Good is now moving to the MAGA end of the GOP spectrum, and he laughs off McCarthy’s presence in his district.

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“I think he ought to come and campaign for my opponent. He’s funding my opponent's campaign. I think my opponent should bring him in to campaign for him. I think that'd be terrific,” Good told Raw Story.

The barbs in the contest are getting swampy.

“I don't think the people of the 5th District [of Virginia] are gonna let their seat be bought by D.C.-California swamp interests, but that's clearly who's funding my opponent’s campaign,” Good said. “Heck, McCarthy's bragging — his affiliates are bragging about their funding this campaign and others — so I think they ought to just come and campaign for my opponent. That'd be terrific.”

Further south, in Tennessee, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) has been able to fend off potential primary challengers, in part by having Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) come down to host a fundraiser for him in February.

Burchett has had a bone to pick with McCarthy since the former speaker allegedly elbowed him in the back at the U.S. Capitol. And there’s a lot of time between now and the state’s GOP primary on Aug. 1, 2024.

“I knew he was going to. I knew it when I made that decision. I knew he’d use his $17 million that was given to him by Republicans to beat Democrats, obviously. But that's the world we live in,” Burchett told Raw Story about McCarthy striking back.

“Does this show you were right?” Raw Story asked.

“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Burchett said. “He didn't stay. You know he said he cared about the party, but then he leaves after he’s dethroned and puts us in a worse spot. So I think that shows exactly — and it goes back to the last thing he said to me was, ‘I really want to be speaker.’”

Sharp elbows

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) is the only member of the Gaetz Eight that pushed McCarthy out who’s retiring after this year. He’s not surprised McCarthy’s trying to weigh into local GOP politics.

“It’s Kevin. That's why he had trouble leading us, because it’s who he is,” Buck told Raw Story.

“It’s akin to hitting somebody in the back with an elbow.”

Close McCarthy confidant Brian O. Walsh — a consultant with Red Print Strategy — is spearheading the longshot effort, as Politico first reported. He couldn’t be reached for comment.

McCarthy may be active behind the political scenes, but on Capitol Hill he’s become largely an afterthought.

“He couldn't beat us in Washington, you think he's gonna beat us playing an away game?” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said to Raw Story through a laugh.

One thing’s clear, there’s no McCarthy remorse from the “Gaetz Eight.”

“That’s his prerogative. He’s a private citizen now, he can do what he wants,” Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) told Raw Story.

Many other Republicans want to stay out of the mini-civil war still raging in their party.

“What do you think of McCarthy going after some of your colleagues from beyond the grave? Or from the grave?” Raw Story asked.

“You said that, I did not,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) replied through a laugh. “I'm not a big fan of internecine warfare.”

Perry is the recent former head of the fringe-right Freedom Caucus — a group that was a constant thorn in McCarthy’s side before evolving and derailing Johnson’s speakership agenda.

Regardless of whether Perry’s a fan, it seems internecine warfare follows the Freedom Caucus wherever it goes.

That’s why McCarthy still has many cheerleaders in Congress, especially now that the party’s most far-right wing has blocked, gutted and then opposed all efforts to fund the government long-term during this divided session of Congress.

“The ding dongs wouldn't vote for it, because I guess it looks like they wanted to hang McCarthy,” a senior California Republican who asked for anonymity to discuss his colleagues told Raw Story, before they added. “I’m glad for him.”