My thread covering the House Oversight hearing featuring Comer's "whistleblowers" begins here
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@SnapStream world historical shamelessness from Comer right off the bat
@SnapStream It's just the Burisma stuff, reheated -- the same basic conspiracy theory that played a leading role in Trump's first impeachment
@SnapStream Raskin: "I thought we might be here today on the matter that the chairman declared his top priority -- the crusade to find evidence of wrongdoing of President Biden -- but the majority's long-promised star witness turns out to be a fugitive from American justice."
@SnapStream Raskin: "One thing you will not hear today is any evidence by President Joe Biden or his administration."
@SnapStream Here's Jamie Raskin debunking the GOP's Hunter Biden conspiracy theories in sweeping fashion in under 2 minutes
@SnapStream Raskin: "If my GOP colleagues think that the treatment of millions of tax scofflaws or even the handful who face criminal prosecution like Hunter Biden is too lenient, I invite them to join us Dems in supporting the $80b for the IRS we included in the Inflation Reduction Act"
@SnapStream somebody is wearing an Ashli Babbitt "MURDERED BY CAPITOL POLICE" shirt behind the GOP witnesses
so far it seems like the big Republican bombshell is that Hunter Biden is bad at doing his taxes
Just realized there are some words missing in this tweet. Raskin's quote should read:
"One thing you will not hear today is any evidence *of wrongdoing* by President Joe Biden or his administration."
Raskin points out that a Trump appointed US attorney who investigated Hunter Biden recently debunked the allegations made by one of the Republican witnesses
Krishnamoorthi uses his questioning time to highlight that many of the concerns one of the Republican witnesses have pertain to things that happened during the Trump administration
Krishnamoorthi: Biden was not the president, was he? It's just a simple question sir
Ziegler: Can you rephrase?
Krishnamoorthi: Joe Biden was not the president during the primaries of 2020
(this is not going well for the GOP witnesses)
House Republicans believe that a bunch of Trump appointees should've been more balls to the wall in going after Hunter Biden which, okay, but it's not the own of the libs you think it is
Connelly on GOP hypocrisy: "We know when President Trump's hand-picked AG, William Barr, took the reins, he pressured officials to reduce the sentencing for Roger Stone and gloss over Robert Mueller's report"
every Republican questioner
Khanna to Shapley: "You have a history of wanting to charge people, and then people pushing back. By your own testimony under oath, you said about 90% of the time people are pushing back on what you want to do."
Khanna: "This is why we have a prosecutorial system where you don't get to decide, I don't get to decide. We have a whole system, and it turns out that often your recommendations on who should be charged differ from some of the other folks, and that's what happened in this case."
get a load of how Marjorie Taylor Greene began her questioning time
Goldman: "My understanding is that this committee was provided the suspicious activity reports on the condition it not publicize them, for the reason that they are not even allegations much less evidence of anything, and [Greene] has now just revealed it publicly."
Mfume on the absurdity of this hearing: "This is ludicrous. Beam me up, Scotty. There is no intelligent life down here" *rips paper*
If you appreciate me watching this Oversight/Hunter Biden hearing so you don't have to, please support my work by subscribing to my newsletter. I think you'll enjoy it & paid subscribers make my work possible, including these video threads here on Twitter. publicnotice.co/subscribe
AOC points out that Trump's attorney wrote to the Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan asking to investigate DA Bragg and then Jordan did it
AOC: "We are here today because Donald Trump is exerting an influence campaign ... if this committee is gonna go there, [we should] be willing to open investigations into the dismissal of charges against Ivanka Trump"
Rep. Shontel Brown: "In this Congress so far we've held more hearings on gas stoves than gun violence and culture wars than kitchen table issues."
Stanbury asks both witnesses if they've ever worked as a unregistered foreign agent or been fugitives, then says she felt it necessary to do so given House Republicans' recent track record with witnesses
Stansbury: "This is yet another attempt by the majority to turn this committee into another in-kind donation to the Trump campaign... it's important that the American people actually understand that the real criminal & actual threat to our democratic institutions is Donald Trump"
the poor woman behind Higgins
Garcia: "Today's hearing is like most of the majority's investigations and hearings. A lot of allegations. Zero proof. No receipts. But apparently, some dick pics."
Garcia has a picture of Jared and Ivanka behind him as he talks about "the Trump crime family." He quotes Chris Christie recently talking about the Trump's grifting.
lol
Garcia on Gal Luft: "Republicans were so desperate just last week to find somebody who could tell them what they wanted to hear that they promoted and collaborated with a Chinese spy."
Garcia to Comer: "You were the one hyping up a Chinese spy and arms dealer for weeks."
Larry Kudlow just had Marjorie Taylor Greene on his show and somehow didn't ask her about waving around nudes of Hunter Biden
Comer less than a year ago on Republicans fixating on sordid details from Hunter's personal life: "I think that's very counter to a credible investigation.
The Oversight/Hunter Biden hearing is in recess for a few minutes, so let me work in a plug. If you appreciate this thread, please support my work by subscribing to my newsletter. You'll enjoy it & paid subscribers are what make my coverage possible. Thx! publicnotice.co/subscribe
Rep. Crockett: "We should be looking at the fact that in 2017, Trump's first year in office, he also made $6.5m from China his tax returns show. The source of the China payments is not clear from the returns ... the difference is, Trump was the president when he made this money."
Comer defends Trump receiving mysterious payments from China while he was president
Goldman to Shapley: "In your opening statement, you said that the WhatsApp message that we've been talking about shows Hunter Biden discussing business with his father. Could you show me where in the text message it says anything about discussing business?"
"That doesn't sound much like Joe Biden was involved in whatever Hunter Biden was doing with the CEFC if Hunter is telling him that he's trying to do business with him, does it?" -- Goldman is having his way with Shapley
Moskowitz: "We didn't hear a lot about Joe Biden. Why? Because he didn't do anything ... Jared Kushner gets $2 billion from the Saudis even though he oversaw Mideast peace. Totally kosher ... [House Republicans] have no credibility."
Moskowitz to GOP witnesses: "Trump has called people like you so-called whistleblowers, fake whistleblowers, partisan people, political hack jobs, scams, frauds, traitors, cowards, spies, losers, clowns, thugs, puppets, unelected bureaucrats, the swamp, & my fave, the deep state"
After 5 hours, I'm tapping out of this Oversight hearing. If you appreciate this thread, please support my work by subscribing to my newsletter. Paid subscribers make all my work possible, including coverage of big hearings here on Twitter. Thanks! publicnotice.co/subscribe
My video thread on Jim Jordan's "weaponization" hearing featuring RFK Jr begins here
Let me begin by saying that if you appreciate me spending my day watching this hearing so you don't have to, please support my work by subscribing to my newsletter. I think you'll like it and paid subscribers make my work possible, including these threads. publicnotice.co/subscribe
Jim Jordan begins the hearing by amplifying right-wing claims that Hank Aaron, who was 86, died because of the Covid vaccine
I'm going to put together a thread of Wray's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Follow along starting here if interested 👇
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@SnapStream Nadler on House Republicans: "They seem incapable of assigning any agency or responsibility to Donald Trump for problems that are Trump's and Trump's alone."
this may seem obvious, especially to someone like me who has been immersed in this stuff for a decade, but something that really hit me when i took a little break from work these past few weeks is just how irredeemably stupid our politics is (🧵)
to be clear, this is a Republican problem. Dems mostly still operate in the realm of policy and its impact. but on the right it's all culture wars, bigotry, and conspiracies all the time - and their views are impervious to facts and reason, except when they're directly harmed
it's tempting to disengage w/ the right-wing craziness, but how do you understand politics in red states without having some familiarity with MAGA victimhood complexes & the latest conspiracy theory that has elected Rs talking about impeaching Biden? they control the House!
Biden, delivering his "Bidenomics" speech in Chicago, says trickle-down economics "has failed America's middle-class for decades now"
Biden on "Bidenomics": "Today, the US has the highest economic growth rate, leading world economies, since the pandemic ... more jobs in 2 years than any president has ever made in 4."
Biden hits Republicans for being against the infrastructure bill before they touted it: "There's a guy named Tuberville from Alabama who announced that he strongly opposed the legislation. Now he's hailing its passage [makes sign of the cross]."
Father's Day thread for my dad, Bob Rupar (@RTRupar), who passed away yesterday following a long, courageous battle with cancer. He was a great man and lived an inspiring life until his last breath, which he took surrounded by family. He wanted to stay but knew it was time to go.
My last conversation with my dad happened 9 days ago. He was clearly not feeling good but we watched a baseball game together and he entertained his grandson Owen. I would've spent less time whining about the Twins had I known I wouldn't have a chance to talk to him again.
He wrote theme songs both for Owen and Mia. Longtime followers probably remember “Mia May That's My Name.” It breaks my heart that my dad won't get to see his grandkids grow up, but I'm grateful for the time we all had together. He was a wonderful grandpa.