January 1, President Calls Republicans Who Oppose Him ‘Human Scum’

This Day in History | 1861

Western Union completes the first transcontinental telegraph line.

Good Morning Middle Americans!

Tell us how you really feel Mr. President.  Our Commander-in-chief laid into never-Trump Republicans like Mitt Romney – calling them “human scum”. But in all seriousness – President Trump might actually be feeling the walls closing in on him. While his support from Republicans remains strong, many people are growing more and more curious as to why Trump’s supporters are not doing more to confront the allegations directly.  I mean they are, with a constant chorus of “no quid-pro-quo” and all that. But Congressional Republicans seem to be more concerned about the process of this on-going impeachment saga.  

Yesterday a group of House GOP members stormed a closed door meeting to disrupt the testimony of a pentagon official. The questions were about the military aide that was headed to Ukraine.  Some of the Republicans who stormed the meeting were members of the committee holding the hearing, meaning they had access and didn’t have to barge in.  So it was to prove a point. Or was to disrupt the potentially damning testimony of the witness? 

You should also take a look at the story we have about Mark Zuckerberg’s day of testimony on Capitol Hill. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez clearly had done her homework. And Zuckerberg looked lost at times.  There were also some moments of hilarity, and some very dumb posturing by AOC and fellow squad member Rep. Ayana Pressley. We have links to read about and watch Zuckerberg’s Q&A with Congress below. 

Finally, Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) has become the first female to face an ethics probe into her sexual relationship with paid staffer. It’s a sordid affair that includes a leaked nude photo of Hill combing the hair of the staffer in question. Oh yeah, Hill’s husband was also part of the “thruple”.  

Read all about it!

– Fraser Dixon 

Human Scum: Donald Trump on Never-Trump Republicans

(USA Today) – Having attacked some of his critics as “Do Nothing Democrats,” President Donald Trump reserved a harsher term Wednesday for “Never Trumper Republicans” who continue to opposed him amid an impeachment inquiry. 

“Human scum.”

“The Never Trumper Republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats,” Trump tweeted Thursday. “Watch out for them, they are human scum!”

Read more about Trump’s thoughts on never-Trump Republicans

Chaos in Congress: Republicans Disrupt ‘Secret’ Deposition

(The Daily Beast) – House Republicans took their impeachment grievances to a more confrontational level on Wednesday, barging into a secure facility during a closed-door witness deposition and refusing to leave until Democrats held open hearings.

The gambit—cooked up by the pro-Trump brawler Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and endorsed by House GOP leadership—derailed the closed-door deposition of Laura Cooper, a Pentagon official with jurisdiction over Ukraine policy, before it even started. And it left Democrats indignant that their colleagues had violated long standing rules about interviewing witnesses in classified settings.

Read more about the GOP crashing yesterday’s closed door hearing from the Daily Beast

AOC Gets Fiesty with Zuckerberg Over Fake Political Ads, Conservatives 

(The Guardian) – Mark Zuckerberg faced a grueling examination from the Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday, with questions over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and Facebook’s reluctance to police political advertising.

Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers grilled the Facebook CEO during a hearing in front of the US House of Representatives financial services committee regarding the launch of Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, Libra.

You can watch the exchange here and read more about Zuck’s day on Capitol Hill here

CA Congresswoman Becomes First Female Subject of Ethics Probe After Leaked Nude Photo 

(Washington Examiner) – Rep. Katie Hill, subject of a new House Ethics Committee inquiry over an alleged relationship with a staff member, is the first female lawmaker to face such a charge.

The first-term California Democrat denies she ever had an inappropriate relationship with her legislative director, Graham Kelly, as alleged by her estranged husband, Kenny Heslep. The pair are in the midst of divorce proceedings, and Heslep also alleges he, Hill, and a staff member on her successful 2018 campaign for a northern Los Angeles County seat were engaged in an intimate relationship, including explicit photos that appeared on the conservative site RedState.

Read more about Rep. Katie Hill’s nude pic, and her sexual relationship with a staffer here