Judge has sentenced Treniss Evans to 20 days jail in Capitol riot case. Feds argued Evans raised a megaphone while inside and declared “bring ‘em in”.. and drank whiskey in Congressional conference room
But his sentencing hearing.... was unlike any I've seen
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Evans spoke at his sentencing hearing... for nearly two hours. He was admonished by court for repeating himself, for interrupting the judge and for speaking too quickly
Among his statements: "Sure, I drank a shot of my whiskey, then.... someone else's whiskey" on Jan 6
Evans used the refrain used by so many Jan 6 defendants .. saying he was "caught up in the moment"
But some of his exchanges with judge were unique. He said, after the 2020 election, the "courts failed the people.. and Congress failed the people"
Still questioning 2020
Treniss Evans leaned in hard on his political views... saying America is tired of hearing about the investigation of January 6. He said "In January, with the new Congress, there'll be new types of investigations"
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Treniss Evans blamed Black Lives Matter and Antifa for violence and said he was "appalled by the violence on January 20, 2017"
He told judge: "If you give me 10 years in prison, I'm not gonna change what I saw on social media"
He hinted at a future run for Congress
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Judge Dabney Friedrich countered many of Evans' arguments.
When Evans argued "The window was destroyed before I got there"...
Friedrich questioned: "But you knew the window was broken, you didn't think that was an accident, did you?"
At times Evans cut off the judge mid-sentence. When Evans said "How would we have known the (Capitol) was restricted?" on Jan 6...
The judge responded: "Well there were alarms blaring!"
Evans complained of a "two-tiered" justice system, referenced comments by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX).. hinted at a future political run some more
Several times Evans alleged police were taking selfies & exchanging hugs with people in the mob
Evans said, several times, that he drove "1500 miles" to get to DC on Jan 6, after having canvassed in Georgia. He said there was never violence at the "Stop the Steal" rallies he'd attended. And said he sang the national anthem 5-7 times aloud in DC on Jan 6
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At one point of Evans' remarks, the judge responded: "What you say doesn't ring true"
After the lengthy, at times political, remarks.. Treniss Evans was unable to avoid a jail sentence. 20 days jail, $5000 fine, 3-years probation
The Justice Dept was seeking 60-days jail. So this strategy didn’t noticeably hurt Evans
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Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says he was denied a prison visit to Peter Navarro.. and it’s now sparking a review of the US Bureau of Prisons by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee
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GOP-led Judicary Cmte has asked director of Bureau of Prisons to testify at public hearing next month, to question decision to deny recent interview/meeting between Navarro & Rep. Gaetz
Navarro is serving 4-month prison sentence at fed prison in Miami for contempt of Congress
Judiciary Committee GOP wrote, “On May 6, 2024, a member of the Committee informed the House of Representatives that you denied his request to meet with Peter Navarro, who is currently in federal custody. You allegedly denied this request because Dr. Navarro was “too notorious” to meet with a Member of Congress...."
Prosecutors argue Bozell overran police lines, smashed open a Senate window and "After brazenly facilitating the mob’s access to the building, Bozell was in the 1st group of the rioters to enter the Capitol. He joined others in a menacing pursuit of.. (Officer) up a staircase"
FLASH: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) & his wife have been indicted
Justice Dept alleges they accepted at least $598,000 in bribes from two foreign entities:
1) oil & gas company wholly owned & controlled by Government of Azerbaijan
2) a bank headquartered in Mexico City"
Justice Dept charging document against Rep. Henry Cuellar (more): "Cuellar promised to use the power and prestige of his office to advance Azerbaijan’s and Foreign Bank-1’s interests in the United States"
Indictment (more): "The bribe payments were laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar. Cuellar performed little or no legitimate work under the sham contracts"
Judge sentences Capitol riot defendant Ryan Nichols to 5 years prison and a whopping $200,000 fine
Feds argued he was equipped w/ ballistic plate & crowbar.. "proclaimed on Facebook that “we’re bringing the wrath of God, and there’s not a F**ING thing you can do to stop it,” “If Pence doesn’t do the right thing, WE FIGHT"
Feds argued Nichols was "featured in video of the so-called choir of January 6 defendants, although it is unclear if the defendant has received any funds from his participation because organizers stated the Choir’s 'proceeds do not benefit families of people who assaulted a police officer”
Justice Dept alleged Nichols posted on Christmas Eve 2020: "Any Democrat found guilty of treason should be executed.. Any Republican found guilty of treason should be VIOLENTLY executed!... It’ll be fixed January 6th, or the Patriots will fix it ourselves"
Some interesting exchanges at House Subcommittee on Weaponization of Federal Govt hearing just now .. into Biden Administration efforts to combat COVID misinformation and conspiracy theories...
At outset of hearing, one House Democrat called for the disbanding of the committee, "It is safe to say this effort is not even in the same league as the January 6th Committee"
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House Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) accused the Biden Administration of using "bias" seeking to kick people off of Facebook and "censorship" as Admin. countered COVID claims on social media
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Biden Administration COVID advisor Andy Slavitt argued about the successes of the President in responding to COVID pandemic:
"The number of COVID deaths were reduced over the 139 days of my tenure by 90%, from over 4000 on day 1 to 400—the lowest since the pandemic began. By June 2021, COVID-19 had dropped from the top cause of deaths to the 7th"
Scorching criticisms of Supreme Court handling of Trump "presidential immunity" argument from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), a Jan 6 Select Cmte member, on MSNBC
"Rather than decide the case before them, they are going off on tangents that will lead to further delay"
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Rep. Lofgren (D-CA): "It can't be in our system that a president who tried to overturn the government to stay in power will not be tried before the next election. This is really outrageous."
Rep. Lofgren (more) to MSNBC: "He has indicated an intention to be dictator on day one. He said that he intends to.. terminate parts of the constitution. He doesn't intend to live under the rule of law. He is a grave threat to the constitutional order. It looks like his partners in crime will be the Supreme Court"