Category: US House

Matt Gaetz Bahamas trip with female escorts triggered the sex-trafficking investigation: CBS

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CBS News revealed Wednesday that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took a trip to the Bahamas in late 2018 or early 2019 that triggered the sex trafficking investigation, sources revealed.

According to the report, “Gaetz was on that trip with a marijuana entrepreneur and hand surgeon named Jason Pirozzolo, who allegedly paid for the travel expenses, accommodations, and female escorts.”

The Justice Department is investigating to determine if the escorts were illegally trafficked across state or international lines for sex with Gaetz or merely as escorts that do not provide anything other than companionship. Continue reading.

Democrats hope to extend new insurance subsidies before 2022 midterms

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Lawmakers say they plan to extend enhanced premium tax credits but haven’t laid out a specific plan for doing so

Health insurance shoppers who buy coverage on the state and federal exchanges are likely to see a discount in their premiums as soon as next month, thanks to the recent COVID-19 relief law, but prices could rise again in 2023 if Congress doesn’t extend new subsidies before then.

As Democrats consider what aspects of their health agenda their next legislative push may include, lawmakers say they plan to extend the enhanced premium tax credits that were authorized through 2022 in the COVID-19 relief law enacted last month, but they haven’t laid out a specific plan for doing so. 

The law increases the size of tax credit subsidies so that no one shopping on a state or federal health insurance exchange would pay more than 8.5 percent of their income on premiums in 2021 or 2022. In the past, people with income of more than four times the federal poverty level did not qualify for any subsidies for the insurance, and that limit would return if the extra help expires.  Continue reading.

There’s No Place Like Home

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Hi Neighbors,

Congress was in recess last week, so I spent a beautiful few days at home in Minnesota. From a ride along with Hennepin County paramedics to visiting the Mall of America vaccination site, it was a busy and informative trip. I do my best to tour small businesses, schools, and organizations in our community whenever I’m home. If you know of somewhere that you think I should visit, let me know by filling out a meeting request form here. I’m already looking forward to my next trip home, but, in the meantime, read on to see some of what I did this time around: 

Vaccinations – and More – at the Mall of America

We know Minnesota is the best, and now we have one more award to back us up. Our state ranks first in getting safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines into arms. That requires a lot of teamwork, something we Minnesotans have in high supply. I visited a community vaccination at the Mall of America this week, where an army of amazing medical professionals and volunteers have administered more than 50,000 doses (and counting)! 

Continue reading “There’s No Place Like Home”

GOP’s ‘Working Class’ Agenda Is A Feeble Echo Of Fox News Obsessions

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Political parties often respond to electoral defeat by spending time contemplating, with varying degrees of seriousness and success, why they lost and how they need to change their approach to win in the future. Following President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection, for example, the Republican Party commissioned and published a 100-page report which pinned the blame on Mitt Romney’s weakness with Hispanic voters and called for a more benign policy toward undocumented immigrants. But the party backed off after a revolt by prominent right-wing media commentators, and in 2016, Donald Trump seized the GOP nomination and eventually the presidency with a nativist campaign that both halves of the 2012 Republican ticket criticized as racist.

GOP leaders are trying to avoid a similar scenario in the wake of Trump’s 2020 defeat. They are circulating a memo that seeks to chart the party’s course by keeping it closely aligned with the former president — and with Fox News.

The document represents another datapoint in the ongoing merger of the right-wing media and Republican politics. Under Presidents Bush and Obama, Fox served as the GOP’s communications arm. With Trump’s ascent, the feedback loop between the network and the administration gave Fox unrivaled influence. Now, the Republican Party seems to have completely capitulated to the whims of its propagandists. Continue reading.

Matt Gaetz, Loyal for Years to Trump, Is Said to Have Sought a Blanket Pardon

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The congressman was at the time under investigation over whether he violated sex trafficking laws, though it was unclear what he knew of the inquiry.

Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, was one of President Donald J. Trump’s most vocal allies during his term, publicly pledging loyalty and even signing a letter nominating the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s term, Mr. Gaetz sought something in return. He privately asked the White House for blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed, according to two people told of the discussions.

Around that time, Mr. Gaetz was also publicly calling for broad pardons from Mr. Trump to thwart what he termed the “bloodlust” of their political opponents. But Justice Department investigators had begun questioning Mr. Gaetz’s associates about his conduct, including whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old that violated sex trafficking laws, in an inquiry that grew out of the case of an indicted associate in Florida. Continue reading.

MAGA Riot Lawsuit Against Trump Keeps Getting Bigger

The NAACP’s expanded suit will include more members of Congress, and the amended complaint adds additional information regarding the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

A federal lawsuit alleging that former President Donald Trump, his lawyer, and far-right extremists at the U.S. Capitol conspired to deprive Americans of their civil rights by disrupting the count of Joe Biden’s electoral college victory with the Jan. 6 riot is expanding this week.

Lawyers for the NAACP, which brought the suit early this year on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), are set to file an amended complaint on Wednesday adding 10 new plaintiffs, two people familiar with the matter saie. The new plaintiffs will include other members of Congress, and the amended complaint is said to include additional information about the deadly Jan. 6 riot in Washington, D.C., which then-President Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani are accused of inciting, the sources added.

The addition of new plaintiffs was first reported by The New York Times on Tuesday. Continue reading.

Why some Republicans switched votes on bills they previously supported

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Lawmakers changed positions on legislation about policing, guns, immigration, anti-discrimination

Twenty House Republicans switched from voting “yes” last Congress to “no” this year on Democrat-led bills dealing with issues such as gun sales, women’s rights and immigration.

Of roughly a dozen bills Democrats brought back to the House floor this year because they died in the GOP-controlled Senate last session, most still received some GOP support. But seven saw at least one previous Republican supporter drop off.

The rise in GOP opposition may seem connected to the 2022 midterm elections, when House Democrats’ tenuous hold on power is at stake and Republican moderates may face heat in primaries. But in interviews and statements, the vote-switchers mostly cited policy and process, saying Democrats dropped GOP-backed provisions from some bills and declined to incorporate Republican input into others. Continue reading.

Florida’s Trump country stands with Gaetz

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MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Most well-known Republicans are doing their best to avoid Matt Gaetz — but not conservatives in his ruby-red district in Florida’s Panhandle.

As the embattled 38-year-old congressman denies sex trafficking allegations at the center of a still unwinding federal investigation, Republicans in the heart of Trump country are deeply suspicious of the accusations and still support him.

“I believe this is nothing more than fake news,” said Larry Hetu, a Gulf Breeze activist who is part of a group trying to get a local bridge renamed after former President Donald Trump. “I don’t believe anything coming from the mainstream media. Rep. Gaetz has denied it all.” Continue reading.

Republican battle with MLB intensifies

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Republicans are spoiling for a high-profile fight with MLB as they ramp up pressure on the league’s commissioner to reverse a decision to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia’s new voting law.

GOP lawmakers are publicly scrutinizing Commissioner Rob Manfred’s membership at Georgia’s exclusive Augusta National Golf Club and threatening to take away MLB’s long-held antitrust exemption.

The fight is quickly spreading to other states as well, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) saying he won’t throw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener after MLB adopted “what has turned out to be a false narrative about Georgia’s election law reforms.” Continue reading.

Ex-Lawmaker: Gaetz Opposed ‘Revenge Porn’ Restrictions In Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — While serving in the Florida Legislature, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz opposed a bill meant to stop people from sharing sexually explicit images of their ex-lovers because Gaetz believed that recipients of those images had a right to share them, according to the sponsor of the legislation.

Former state Rep. Tom Goodson, a Republican from Brevard County, spent three years sponsoring legislation to outlaw nonconsensual pornography — sometimes called “revenge porn.”

And Goodson said Monday that Gaetz was the chief opponent to that legislation. Goodson said he remembered a meeting in which Gaetz said that if someone sends an intimate image to their romantic partner, then that image becomes the partner’s property to use however they want. Continue reading.