David Pepper Profile picture
Dec 20 25 tweets 5 min read Read on X
🚨

Republican AGs Hiding Their Tracks on Jan. 6

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Yesterday was a big day when it comes to potential accountability for January 6. (Like most of my readers, I still have a hard time seeing Trump ultimately disqualified, so we should plan and prepare accordingly.)

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But what’s also interesting is that the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling may have implications far beyond Donald Trump—because that same disqualification clause applies to anyone holding a federal or state office who…

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“engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

This clearly applies to members of Congress who engaged in the same behavior Trump did.

And it even sweeps more broadly than that, into state offices.

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Which may partly explain the twisted story I’m about to share….

I know this is going to sound crazy.

But you, at least those of you from Ohio (along with a number of other red states), are helping foot the bill to keep secret the involvement of important officials from…

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across the country in the insurrection of January 6.

And not just any officials.

The top law officers of numerous states—the Attorneys General.

Sounds crazy I know, so read on…

And as always, I’ve brought receipts.

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It still doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves, but an unfortunately named group called RAGA played a significant role in January 6.

What’s RAGA?

It’s the acronym for the Republican Attorneys General Association.

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Who’s part of that outfit?

Pretty much every Republican State Attorney General in the nation.

Now, a state Attorney General used to be one of those positions that felt above politics: Protecting consumers. Supporting law enforcement. Representing the state in court.

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Protecting victims. And so on. Why would that work be partisan?

Good question. It wasn’t that partisan a few years back.

But recently, these positions have indeed grown more partisan. Far more than we expect from our AG, these people have now become absurdly political.

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Example?

When he was Attorney General, Mike DeWine filed or joined cases around the nation trying to stop the Affordable Care Act.

And to stop women from accessing birth control coverage through private health plans.

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More recently, the Ohio Attorney General (Dave Yost) went on Fox News to cast doubt on the story that a 10-year old rape victim had been forced to go to Indiana for abortion care because of Ohio’s ban.

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And he was followed in infamy by Indiana’s Attorney General, who lashed out at that Indiana doctor in a way that ultimately led to a reprimand by the Indiana Supreme Court.

So yeah, they’re getting absurdly political.

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So if individual AGs are getting political, wait until they all get together privately!

I once stumbled onto a RAGA conference while on a family vacation, and overheard conversations about “CRT” long before the topic became a household name.

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An Attorney General candidate told others he was going to “run on CRT.” For Attorney General?!? So that’s how political they’ve gotten.

But as political as they may have become, it’s still stunning that this group of officials played a prominent role in January 6.

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After all, these are people who work with law enforcement every day.

Their duty is to uphold the rule of law more generally. I mean, look at this GIF from their website:

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Each of these stated goals, you’d think, would lead them to be appalled by the events of January 6.

So why the hell were they part of it?

And how exactly were they involved?

Well, their 501(c)(4) arm, called the “Rule of Law Defense Fund,” was listed as part of the…

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group of organizations—alongside Stop the Steal, Turning Point Action and Tea Party Patriots—who together organized the “Stop the Steal Rally” with President Trump on January 6:

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“Take a stand with President Trump and the #StopTheSteal coalition and be at the The Ellipse (President’s Park) at 7am. The fate of our nation depends on it.”

The Rule of Law Defense Fund also sent out a Robocall instructing people when and where to go.

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And the call made it clear that they knew the plan: “At 1:00 p.m., we will march to the Capitol building and call on congress to stop the steal. We are hoping patriots like you will join us to continue to fight to protect the integrity of our elections.”

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Think about it…the top law officials of dozens of states encouraging and supporting the Stop the Steal rally…including the march to the Capitol that led to a full-blown insurrection.

Does that count as “giv[ing] aid or comfort”?

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Of course, these traces of participation beg many questions about the extent of their involvement, knowledge, communications w others, and so on. Which AGs talked to whom? Were staff involved? Which AGs specifically signed off on or were part of RAGA involvement? And so on.

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Big questions, especially in light of yesterday.

They haven’t been too forthcoming, it appears.

But those details might potentially come out thanks to a group called the Center for Media and Democracy, which started digging in a few years back to

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find answers about the inner workings of RAGA and Attorneys General like David Yost.

And this is where these officials’ attempt to cover their tracks comes in—and yes, where your own tax dollars are potentially being spent to foot the bill to cover their tracks.

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The Center for Media and Democracy filed suit in early 2020 to get more information about a certain meeting and set of actions involving AG Yost and RAGA that drew suspicion.

And wouldn’t you know it, the man who spends much of his time lecturing governments across

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Ohio about their need to provide access to public records, and explains (correctly) that public records “belong to the people,” wants to shield his public records and avoid a deposition about his interactions with RAGA

And all his buddies from around the country are coming

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to his aid. Because they too don’t want these documents coming out.

To read the rest on their effort to shield these documents, and how you’re paying for it, go here: open.substack.com/pub/davidpeppe…

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More from @DavidPepper

Dec 21
Riddle me This

A 🧵

Imagine on January 6, 2017, the following happening:

Thousands of Democrats holding “Yes We Can” signs gather in front of the White House, having flown in from all over the country.

Numerous speakers rail against the election outcome, saying…

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…that the results were so close in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, it’s clear that Clinton won.

She should be president!

Then, Obama steps to the mic, and says:

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“All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-right Republicans, which is what they're doing.

And stolen by the fake news media. That's what they've done and what they're doing. We will never give up, we will never concede…”

3/
Read 25 tweets
Dec 18
🚨 🚨

The Republicans Who “Know Better”

A 🧵

These days, the Republicans considered to “know better” are treated with added credibility by the media and broader political elite.

They’re the ones sought out as the wise voices of reason in this fraught and divided time.

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The mature, measured ones while others (like me, probably) are treated as a little too alarmist about the state of democracy.

Interviewed all the time, often on the Sunday shows.

Lots of panel discussions and lectures on college campuses.

Honorary degrees, even.

2/
And the discussion often falls into how we can all start working together. (“Like we used to”). And they nod and say they’re trying. And the host or interviewer nods along in assent; the audience claps along.

But while they come across as less extreme than Trump in those…

3/
Read 18 tweets
Dec 17
The Deep Danger of Those Who “Know Better” Going Along

A 🧵

A few years back, I explained why Republicans w more moderate reputations, the ones who “know better” yet go along w extremism, play such a dangerous role in the advance of anti-democracy extremism.

As we watch…

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Trump’s deep dive into fascistic, white supremacist rhetoric get even worse of late, what I wrote then is even more pressing now.

And almost a decade of experience has confirmed that risk.

So let me state the case again:

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The late poet Maya Angelou said it best: “‘Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.

Her wisdom offers one of the central lessons…

3/
Read 16 tweets
Dec 16
🚨 🚨

BREAKING: Great news in NC

A 🧵

I could tell the first time we talked.

The new North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman, in her mid-20s, didn’t just believe in running everywhere.

@abreezeclayton gave the candidates running in the toughest districts a name:

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“Champion Candidates.”

Because, as she says, by running in those tough districts, these heroes are championing the Democratic cause and values.

And from my standpoint, they’re championing democracy itself.

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Now THAT is how you show that you value running in these tough districts—which means you value running everywhere.

Well, Chairwoman Clayton got to work finding those champion candidates, in a state that’s seen a non-stop attack on democracy as brutal as any state.

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Read 11 tweets
Dec 12
🚨 The Texas Nightmare

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What played out in Texas in recent days sums up the nightmare brought on by Dobbs in countless states, and faced by millions of women: A woman being forced to endure excruciating delays as she confronts a serious risk to her health and makes…

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the most private of health care decisions, all in the public eye.

She’s ultimately forced to leave her own state to exercise her own reproductive choices. Then the highest court declares that even her serious condition is still not enough to meet the health “exception” to…

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Texas’s abortion ban.

Then there’s the horrific certainty of how many women in Texas and other states will find themselves in the same position Kate Cox did, but won’t have a lawyer to press their case, or the means to escape to a state where they can get treatment?

3/
Read 24 tweets
Dec 11
🚨 🚨

NEW WHITEBOARD — The Dining Room Where It Happened!

It’s the biggest bribery scandal in Ohio history, and suddenly a guy (Husted, running for Gov in ‘26) involved in so much of the timeline is losing his memory.

So let me refresh his recollection.

WATCH, RT and…

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Here are the receipts:

1. Here is the December 18, 2018 exchange between Sam Randazzo (indicted last week) and First Energy executives about the PUCO opening (Randazzo soon is appointed chair) and a requested 4.3M payment

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Here is the December 19 exchange where the FE executives agree to the $4.3M payment (the executives later agree it was a bribe), tell him they will pay all at once, and ask him: “Don’t forget us about us”

Boy are they confident he’ll get appointed, aren’t they?

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Read 8 tweets

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