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Tag: elise stefanik
Rep. Elise Stefanik

Stefanik Secretly Promised Trump 'Aggressive' House GOP Attack On Prosecutor

A new CNN report details secret back channel talks between House Republicans and Donald Trump in which the former president exerts pressure on his congressional allies to do his bidding.

According to CNN's sources, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has emerged as House Republicans' point person for keeping Trump informed of their assorted investigations, and she recently promised the former president that the caucus would offer an "aggressive" response to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's potential indictment of him for his 2016 hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who serves on the House Oversight Committee, tells CNN that she also regularly spills details to Trump about Republicans' plans, and she says she's sometimes surprised at how much Trump already knows what's going on.

“I keep him up on everything that we’re doing,” she explains. “He seems very plugged in at all times. Sometimes I’m shocked at how he knows all these things. I’m like, ‘How do you know all this stuff?’”

CNN notes that it is unprecedented for a party to essentially let itself be used as a "shield" to protect a former president who is under multiple criminal investigations.

As of this writing, Trump has still not been indicted on any criminal charges.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Santos Drops Committees, But Constituents Demand His Resignation

Santos Drops Committees, But Defies Demands For His Resignation


Rep. George Santos (R-NY) told House Republicans in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday that he is stepping down from his committee assignments, House Republican Conference leader Rep. Elise Stefanik announced.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told CNN that Santos "felt like there was so much drama" around himself that he will resign from his two committee spots. Santos faces questions daily on Capitol Hill about the seemingly unending string of lies he's told about his background.

The news comes a day after Santos, who is under both state and federal investigation over his campaign finances and "numerous fabrications and inconsistencies" about his background, met privately with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, according to the New York Post.

"I met with George Santos yesterday and I think it was an appropriate decision that until he could clear everything up, he's off committees right now," McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill.

On Sunday, however, one day before Santos and McCarthy met, the Speaker dodged questions from CBS News' Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan about why he'd let Santos serve on committees when Santos is "under state, local, federal and international investigation." McCarthy didn't answer the question, instead pivoting to talk about proxy voting.

McCarthy has continued to stand by Santos, refusing to call on him to resign from Congress, even as more of Santos' campaign finance troubles and lies continue to emerge.

Mother Jones reported on January 27 that Santos' campaign finance reports contain the names of donors who don't exist. Other outlets have reported on questions about where hundreds of thousands of loans to Santos' campaign came from, and why Santos' campaign finance reports have dozens of suspicious expenditures.

Santos has also been caught lying about his supposed Jewish heritage, his work history, his charity work, and his education. He even claimed falsely that his mother died from cancer she contracted at the World Trade Center on 9/11; in fact, his mother was not in the country during the attack.

"The voters elected him to serve," McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill earlier in January. "If there is a concern, and he has to go through the Ethics, let him move through that."

With such a narrow majority on Capitol Hill, losing Santos would give McCarthy even less ability to pass legislation, something he is already struggling to do.

Santos' constituents, however, overwhelmingly want him to resign.

A new Siena College/Newsday poll published Tuesday found 78 percent of voters in New York's Third Congressional District want him to resign — including 71 percent of Republicans. That's an 18-point increase from earlier in January, when 60 percent of voters, and just 38 percent of Republicans, in the district wanted Santos to resign.

The Siena College poll found just seven percent of voters in the district view Santos favorably, and 63 percent of people who voted for him in November say they wouldn't have cast their ballot for him if they had known about his lies.

"His constituents view him unfavorably and they don’t want him to continue serving in Congress – by huge bipartisan margins rarely seen in today’s divided political climate," Siena College Poll director Don Levy said in a news release.

Even some of Santos' own House Republican colleagues from New York want Santos to resign.

"As I said, I think he should resign and focus on his defense," Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) told Politico's Olivia Beavers, adding that he does "welcome this decision" for Santos to step down from his committees.

Reprinted with permission from American Independent.

Stefanik Pushed Hard To Elect Santos -- And Now Blames Voters

Elise Stefanik Pushed Hard To Elect Santos -- And Now Blames Voters

One of the most powerful Republicans in the House of Representatives, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), used her reputation and geographic proximity to help get fellow New York Republican George Santos elected to Congress. But now, as her donors and his express anger at being misled and lied to, and ahead of what appears to be a likely federal investigation and possible prosecution against the freshman GOP lawmaker, Stefanik is blaming voters for electing him to Congress: “Ultimately voters make this decision,” she said Tuesday.

Stefanik is the Chair of the House Republican Conference, a role she was first elected to when the now former Congresswoman, Liz Cheney, was thrown out of GOP leadership for telling the truth about the January 6 insurrection and Donald Trump. Stefanik was re-elected to her role after the November election.

Amid Santos announcing on Tuesday he is temporarily recusing himself from the two committees he was appointed to, Stefanik was asked if she regretted supporting his candidacy.

Indeed, one of the top reasons Santos was elected was Stefanik’s endorsement – and all the donor money that came with it.

“Stefanik’s team was laser focused on electing Santos to Congress – more than just about any other race in the country,” a senior Republican strategist involved in campaigns before the midterms told CNN. “Another donor, who attended a fundraising luncheon with Stefanik and Santos, confirmed to CNN through a representative that ‘he donated to George Santos because of Elise Stefanik’s endorsement.'”

It wasn’t just her endorsements. It appears Stefanik took great interest in getting Santos elected. CNN also reported that a source “said that a top political aide for Stefanik was involved in campaigning for Santos. Multiple sources told CNN that aide was closely advising Santos’ campaign and involved in hiring people.”

Stefanik’s spokesperson denied the allegations.

In July, Santos tweeted that Stefanik “has been one of my strongest backers and closest friends. I fully stand with her vote today as she stood up for civil rights. I look forward to serving alongside her when I’m elected to Congress in November.”

In fact, this was the banner atop Santos’ Twitter account for a very long time, up until recently:

Here is Stefanik tweeting her “major announcement” – her endorsement of Santos – on August 11, 2001, more than a year before Election Day.

“Excited to endorse my friend and fellow America First conservative George Santos for Congress in #NY03. @Santos4Congress will take on NYC liberal elites and bring a new generation of GOP leadership to NY and America. He has my full support!”

And in May of last year: “WOW! Great lunch event for @Santos4Congress! We raised over $100,000 to help George FLIP #NY03 George has my complete and total endorsement and come November, New Yorkers will send George to Congress! #SaveNewYork #SaveAmerica”

She literally told voters that electing George Santos to Congress will “Save New York” and “Save America.”

On Tuesday, Stefanik told voters something very different: it’s their fault they voted for him, she said, taking no responsibility for her endorsements.

“Like all of my colleagues, particularly in New York State, I supported George Santos as the nominee, and the people of his district voted to elect him,” she told reporters – not once mentioning there was no Republican primary and Santos automatically became the Republican party’s nominee.

“Ultimately voters make this decision about who they elect to Congress,” Stefanik declared, wholly removing herself, her endorsements, and any possible assistance she or her campaign may have given to Santos or his campaign.

See the tweets and video above or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

House Republicans Launch Capitol Riot 'Counter-Programming' Cover-Up

House Republicans Launch Capitol Riot 'Counter-Programming' Cover-Up

Unrest in the Republican ranks has escalated into a mad scramble as pro-Trump House Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), hurriedly prepare counter-programming to defend former President Trump and denounce the House Select Committee, its findings, and Democrats.

A bipartisan panel of lawmakers investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection , the select committee held the first of its scheduled public hearings on Thursday evening, where it began to the findings of its almost year-long investigation into the insurrection, including “previously unseen material.”

Planning a push-back-harder strategy intended to please Trump and divert public attention away from the hearings will be a tall order for the MAGA coalition of House Republicans as they aren’t privy to what the select committee has uncovered.

On Wednesday, select committee staff correctly predicted that the hearings would show Trump as the central figure in a “coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.”

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), a leading figure in the House GOP effort to play defense, has said that he and his far-right coalition plan to make House Speaker Nancy Pelosi their prime target, Business Insiderreported on Thursday.

"Nancy Pelosi blocked us from the committee because she knows that those questions leave a trail of breadcrumbs right back to the Speaker's office," Banks said to reporters at the US Capitol.

Banks also told reporters that if he were a member of the House Select Committee, he would investigate the roles “Pelosi, the House sergeant at arms at the time, Capitol Police, the FBI, and the National Guard could have played in the attacks,” according to Business Insider.

Another House Republican reportedly marshaling the group’s efforts is Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who has also assailed Pelosi for the hearings. "I am working closely with President Trump, Leader Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, and my colleagues to help lead House Republicans in pushing back against lame-duck Speaker Pelosi's sham political witch-hunt," Stefanik said on Fox News.

Conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also got in on the act in a Monday tweet, saying, “Dems think people care about J6 after Dems caused violent riots w/ $2+ B in damage all over the US in '20. Yeah. Dig that hole deeper.”

McCarthy and other Republicans spearheading this effort at misdirection, including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who was subpoenaed along with McCarthy by the select committee but refused to cooperate, hope that their version of events will cast doubt on the select committee’s findings and arguments.

“We'll issue our report later in the year and it will have both facts as to why the Capitol was so unprepared and it will include recommendations the House should take up to prevent this from happening in the future,” said Mark Bednar, a spokesperson for McCarthy.

A Trump spokesperson, Taylor Budowich, in response to requests for comments, declined to outline what the GOP report would entail, but he confirmed that the conservative party’s leaders are fully on board with any plans to defend Trump during the hearings.

“The entire MAGA movement is united against this illegitimate committee and will work to ensure President Trump is defended against yet another Democrat show trial,” Budowich said. “Elected leaders and conservative organizations from every corner of our party are working together to ensure every American is informed by the truth, something the Fake News media is unwilling to do.”