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Speaker Johnson Moves To Obstruct Probe Of Hegseth Signal Chats

Late Tuesday morning, April 29, CNN's Wolf Blitzer delivered some breaking news: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), according to Blitzer, "is taking steps to change House rules" in a way that "would effectively block an investigation into the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth's use of the Signal chat app."

Hegseth's critics are calling for him to resign in response to reports that he discussed a U.S. military operation in Yemen in two separate conversations on the messaging program Signal — a platform that, critics say, is not secure enough for discussing sensitive or classified information. President Donald Trump's defense secretary is also drawing criticism over firings at the Pentagon.

CNN reporter Manu Raju, who spoke to Johnson, told Blitzer, "He's defending this move, Wolf. He included a provision in a House rule that would essentially deny Democratic efforts to force a vote that would call for a probe into Pete Hegseth's use of the app Signal that became, of course, very famous over the last several weeks, in which he talked about military plans, strikes against the Houthis in advance of that happening."

Raju continued, "Now, these types of votes that actually call for an investigation typically fail. Minority parties try to do this pretty regularly against.… the party in power. But in this particular aspect, there's a chance that Democrats could succeed. So, the speaker is taking the extraordinary step of including language in House rules to deny the Democratic efforts altogether, preventing that from even coming to a vote before the full House."

Hegseth's problems, Raju noted, aren't Johnson's only reason for this move.

Raju told Blitzer, "And I just asked the speaker about this. He's done this now on multiple occasions — not just on this, but also, to deny efforts to target Trump on tariff policy. I asked him why he's protecting Donald Trump."

CNN aired a clip of Johnson saying, "No, we're using the rules of the House to prevent political hijinks and political stunts. And that's what the Democrats have. As I mentioned: no leader, no vision, no platform. All they have is obstruction. They're trying to target."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Far-Right Pastor Runs D.C. 'Boarding House' For GOP Legislators -- Including Speaker

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

For a project explicitly designed to influence Congress, Steve Berger’s operation has left a scant paper trail. The archconservative evangelical pastor, who started a D.C. nonprofit a few years ago to shape national policy, does not file lobbying reports. His group does not show up in campaign finance records.

There is a simple way to glimpse his effort’s expanding reach in Washington, however: Pay attention to who is walking out the front door of his Capitol Hill townhouse. New evidence suggests Berger may be running what amounts to a group house for conservative lawmakers, with multiple members of Congress living with him at his organization’s headquarters.

The six-bedroom, $3.7 million home is owned by a multimillion-dollar Republican donor.

Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican who is among President Donald Trump’s most aggressive allies in Congress, has been at the house on multiple days over the past two weeks, according to people who live in the area. Video reviewed by ProPublica showed Ogles leaving the townhouse with bags on February 27. As he left, he locked up the front door and pocketed the keys to the house.

As ProPublica reported last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson is living in the townhouse. And Dan Bishop, a former congressman from North Carolina now nominated for a powerful post in Trump’s White House, appears to have lived there until recently as well.

Berger has said his goal is to “disciple” members of Congress so what “they learn is then translated into policy.” He has claimed to have personally spurred legislation, saying a senator privately credited him with inspiring a bill.

Berger, Bishop and Ogles did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Johnson previously said the speaker pays fair-market rent for the part of the townhouse he occupies but didn’t answer questions about the specific rate. He said Johnson has not spoken to the pastor about “any matter of public policy.”

Ogles is in only his third year in Congress, but he’s drawn attention for his bombastic displays of fealty to Trump. He recently introduced a resolution to amend the Constitution so that Trump could serve a third term as president. He’s filed articles of impeachment against multiple judges who’ve ruled against the new administration. (Last week, Elon Musk posted a video of Ogles touting his impeachment efforts, set to the beat from the rap song “Shook Ones, Pt. II.”)

Ogles’ short tenure is also notable for the pace of scandal that’s followed it. He has faced allegations that he inflated his resume, claiming alternatively to have been an economist, a member of law enforcement and an expert on international sex trafficking, NewsChannel 5 in Nashville reported. (Ogles has acknowledged at least one mistake on his resume but said that “my body of work speaks for itself.”)

Last year, the FBI seized his phone during an investigation and obtained a search warrant to review records associated with his personal email address. Federal investigators were seeking evidence related to potential campaign finance violations, according to a court filing. The scope of the FBI investigation remains unclear.

Perhaps no one is more responsible for Ogles’ rise in politics than Lee Beaman, the Tennessee businessman who owns the Capitol Hill townhouse. When Ogles announced a short-lived Senate bid in 2017, Beaman said he planned to raise $4 million to support the run. Beaman, whose wealth derives from a large car dealership chain, then served as campaign treasurer in Ogles’ successful 2022 run for the House.

Beaman and Berger have publicly advocated together for numerous specific policy changes, in areas including foreign affairs, fuel efficiency standards and removing barriers to firing federal employees. After the 2020 election, they both signed a letter declaring that Trump was the rightful winner and calling for Congress to overturn the results. (Beaman did not respond to requests for comment. ProPublica could not determine whether he and the pastor have discussed policy issues with Ogles during his time in Congress.)

In sermons, Berger has devoted long stretches to attacking the separation of church and state, as well as COVID-19 vaccines. The pastor used violent language to describe his disdain for “LGBTQ+ Pride” parades and “drag queen story hour” during an interview for a podcast in 2022, according to unpublished footage obtained by ProPublica.

“If I was left to myself, I’d take a baseball bat and beat the hell out of every single one of them. And not feel bad about it,” Berger said. “I have to go, ‘You know what? That’s probably not the will of God, is it?’ And obviously it’s not.”

Beyond his ownership of the townhouse, Beaman’s role in the pastor’s influence project is unclear. After Beaman purchased the house in 2021, a lawyer sought to change it from a single-family dwelling to a “boarding house/rooming house,” according to Washington, D.C., property records. Around that time, Berger’s nonprofit group, Ambassador Services International, registered the home as its address.

Members of Congress are allowed to live anywhere, as long as they pay fair-market rent, experts said. Discounts on rent are generally seen as improper gifts and prohibited by House ethics rules.

Beaman has said he got to know Ogles when Ogles was the Tennessee director of Americans for Prosperity, part of the Koch brothers’ political network. Beaman and Ogles joined forces to fight a mass transit project in Nashville and reportedly worked together on a successful effort to repeal the estate tax in their home state. After leaving the Koch network, Ogles served four years as the mayor of a Middle Tennessee county with a population of roughly 100,000. He held that role until 2022, when he was elected to Congress.

Ogles’ 2022 campaign was the subject of a blistering House ethics report released this year. The nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics concluded that there is “substantial reason to believe” that Ogles’ campaign had accepted illegally large donations and then falsely reported that the funds had come from Ogles himself. Ogles has said he is “confident that any reporting problem was at worst an honest mistake.” (Beaman was not named in the report and has not been accused of wrongdoing.)

The report said that Ogles refused to cooperate with the investigation. It recommended that the House Ethics Committee issue a subpoena to the congressman.

Reprinted with permission from Pro Publica

We're All Living In Donald Trump's Real-Life Twilight Zone

In a well-known episode of The Twilight Zone, titled “It’s a Good Life,” life isn’t at all good for those who dare anger six-year-old Anthony, who has the power to punish those who would contradict his wishes, no matter how nonsensical or cruel. Show creator Rod Serling, in his still chilling introduction, calls Anthony Fremont a “monster,” albeit one “with a cute, little boy face and blue guileless eyes. But when those eyes look at you, you better start thinking happy thoughts.”

Are we in the Twilight Zone?

America’s 78-year-old leader may not exile opponents to a “cornfield,” the name used for oblivion in that episode, or turn them into a grotesque jack-in-the-box, the fate of poor Dan Hollis when he lost his temper with little Anthony.

But Donald Trump can be just as destructive if you fail to show due deference or, worse yet, cross him. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discovered, Trump may suspend aid to your country until you accept the lie that Ukraine was the aggressor villain in its war with Russia.

You and your job could be “on the bubble,” the president’s words, if you refuse to obey unelected billionaire Elon Musk’s orders to justify your usefulness by listing five accomplishments that pass muster with 19-year-old tech bros drunk on power.

Trump’s Department of Justice, under orders from yet another unqualified white man, could fire or demote you for doing your job, that job being the hard work of investigating and successfully prosecuting January 6 rioters and criminals. Acting U.S. attorney in Washington Ed Martin may not have any previous experience as a federal prosecutor, but the “Stop the Steal” movement veteran is great at revenge.

And, by the way, isn’t it the American people’s Department of Justice?

At Tuesday night’s speech to Congress, watching reactions from those present, you had to keep reminding yourself that members represent the people. Republican elected officials holding recent town halls in their home districts have seemed surprised when being asked substantive questions by voters expecting answers.

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina has a solution: Stop having in-person interactions. Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, recommended a virtual or Facebook Live option instead, according to reporting from The New York Times, perhaps fearing the images of heated interactions will reverberate come election time.

Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana agreed, blaming mostly “Democrat activists who don’t live in the district” for the ruckus. I’m sure some bona fide Republicans have questions about cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the wisdom of Musk running around with a chainsaw ready to slash everything except his own companies’ ties to agencies he’s regulating.

But here’s my question for Johnson: Even if those with questions happen to be Democrats, don’t they also have a voice in American politics, or does GOP control mean everyone else needs to sit down, shut up, and take their medicine?

Trump’s speech stretched to an hour and 40 minutes, resembling one of Fidel Castro’s legendary marathons, full of self-serving bluster and superlatives labeling everything the best that ever was.

At the speech, it was a Democrat, Rep. Al Green of Texas, who stood up in loud protest as Trump falsely claimed a mandate for his drastic actions. For getting into what the late Democratic Rep. John Lewis — who once led a sit-in on the House floor — might call “good trouble,” Speaker Johnson has threatened Green with “censure.”

Compliant congressional Republicans are mighty afraid of being banished to the “cornfield,” or in their case, being primaried, thus possibly losing power and their own federal paychecks. They were quick to leap to their feet at nearly every utterance of Trump at his speech, a few looking both terrified and embarrassed.

Apparently, turning your back on the idea of a multiracial and inclusive democracy, where different kinds of people with different gifts and opinions can thrive, is no problem, especially if you never bought into that ideal in the first place.

Trump, wearing that smirk he favors, especially when he’s bullying a perceived enemy, may seldom make sense; but he revels in the power. Sometimes, I think he gets a special thrill when he forces Republican officials to change their minds on an issue once held dear.

As Washington political denizens venture back home, if they dare, constituents’ angry pleas won’t be able to compete with the specter of the president’s disapproving gaze.

“When those eyes look at you, you better start thinking happy thoughts.”

Mary C. Curtis has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Charlotte Observer, as national correspondent for Politics Daily, and is a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project. She is host of the CQ Roll Call "Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis" podcast. Follow her on X @mcurtisnc3.

Republican Party Warns Members And Senators: No More Town Halls!

Following a wave of humiliating viral videos capturing congressional Republicans being berated by their own outraged constituents at town halls nationwide, GOP lawmakers are now being told to stop holding such events altogether.

Last month, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) "tried asking for unity at his 'community coffee' event," but "his audience had screamed, cussed and called him a Nazi," The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. "The crowd was furious that Obernolte had defended the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers. They yelled when he said he was glad billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was 'looking at all of the waste' in the federal budget."

"And in reference to Trump, they shouted: 'No king! No king! No king!'"

This week, President Donald Trump, without providing any proof or evidence, claimed that voters caught on camera confronting their elected representatives at town halls—largely in outrage over the mass termination of tens of thousands of government employees and the cancellation of critical, life-saving programs, under the eye of Musk and his DOGE team—were actually "paid" operatives and suggested they were Democratic shills. His allegation has been swiftly echoed by numerous Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and their MAGA supporters.

On Tuesday, in a closed-door meeting among House Republicans, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), "very dramatically told members to put down their phones and listen," reportedThe Wall Street Journal's Olivia Beavers.

"He said no one should be doing town halls. Likened it to 2017, [he] said the protests at town halls and district offices are going to get even worse. Another congresswoman got up and complained that they’ve been picketing at her house and targeting her kid, this source says." Beavers noted that Hudson meant in-person town halls.

Democratic House Judiciary Committee chief counsel Joshua Breisblatt went even further: "this has hardcore 2010 vibes..." he remarked, appearing to refer to the Tea Party's anti-Obamacare town halls.

Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman added that Rep. Hudson "told Republicans they should be doing tele town halls instead of in person town halls. He said it is a more efficient way to reach constituents. And he said Dems will send someone to an in-person event to get a viral clip."

Hudson "said Democratic activists are hijacking town halls to organize, drowning out constituents with real issues. He said virtual events could reach thousands of constituents."

That claim targeting Democrats does not appear to align with numerous viral videos with millions of views on social media platforms, like this one, which has been viewed nearly 5 million times on just one social media platform in just three days:

— (@)

Sherman also reported that it was Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-C) who "said that people are harassing her children at her house."

"Hudson said the paid resistance people are out there like in 2017,” The Daily Beast's Juliegrace Brufke added.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) responded to the 2017 comment: "Republicans think pissed off voters showing up at their town halls are 'paid resistance.' Did the 'paid resistance' cause them to lose 41 seats in the House the next year, too?"

The Bulwark's Sam Stein reported that some House Democrats said if Republicans won't do in-person town halls, they will hold them — in Republican districts.

Bipartisan criticism came swiftly.

"If you don't have the courage to face your constituents -- the majority of whom just voted for you -- you certainly don't have the courage to stand up for your country," charged Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL). "Cowardice is the opposite of leadership. And it's all the @GOP has."

Five-term Republican former Rep. Justin Amash blasted his former colleagues: "If you can’t handle contentious town hall meetings, then you shouldn’t be in Congress. Who cares if a questioner has an agenda? An honest legislator doesn’t fear these exchanges. They always represent an opportunity to persuade constituents, even if you can’t sway the questioner."

Although not a member of Congress, Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz, the former vice presidential nominee, offered to hold town halls himself.

"If your Republican representative won’t meet with you because their agenda is so unpopular, maybe a Democrat will. Hell, maybe I will. If your congressman refuses to meet, I’ll come host an event in their district to help local Democrats beat ‘em," he vowed.

Vox senior politics correspondent Andrew Prokop remarked, "House GOP advised to hide from their constituents rather than try to publicly defend the Trump/Musk agenda."

Democratic strategist Matt Corridoni added, “'Stop talking to your constituents' is one hell of a message."

Town halls are a rich tradition in America, as University of Texas political science professor Mark Hand wrote in 2023:

"The first town halls in America were mini governments, not Q&A sessions—and we don’t really know where they came from. Today, when a representative goes back to their district, it’s mostly listening and responding carefully to constituent concerns. But the first town hall meetings in Massachusetts in the 1630s were experiments in community-level direct democracy, a tradition that continues today in some Massachusetts towns," he wrote.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

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Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

Speaker Johnson Moves To Obstruct Probe Of Hegseth Signal Chats

Far-Right Pastor Runs D.C. 'Boarding House' For GOP Legislators -- Including Speaker

We're All Living In Donald Trump's Real-Life Twilight Zone

Republican Party Warns Members And Senators: No More Town Halls!

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