Marco Rubio hilariously fact-checked by Alexander Vindman’s wife: ‘You’re so bad at this’

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was hilariously shut down by the wife of retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Rubio tweeted a Politico story on the White House freezing military aid to Ukraine that was labeled “nonsense” by press secretary Jen Psaki.

“Remember when freezing military aid to Ukraine was an impeachable offense?” Rubio asked. Continue reading.

The problem with using the Squad as a proxy for ‘socialism’

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It is more than 500 days until he’s up for reelection, but Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) isn’t taking any chances.

In an interview with Fox News over the weekend, he bashed Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), a potential Democratic challenger in that race and one who is generally seen as most likely to earn her party’s nomination. He compared her to a group of House Democrats that calls itself “the Squad,” a group that includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.).

“None of them will admit to being a socialist. She probably won’t. But she certainly has voted for socialist things,” Rubio said of Demings. “How can you vote with the Squad 94 percent of the time and argue that you’re not an honorary member of that group? How can you vote with [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi 100 percent of the time and argue that you’re not a far-left, liberal extremist?” Continue reading.

How Marco Rubio turned the Senate Intel Committee into a Trump defensive team

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When Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) took over as acting chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the spring of 2020, he refocused the committee’s long-running investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Rubio turned the committee away from dispassionately investigating the myriad connections between the Kremlin and Donald Trump’s campaign into a Republican defense line between the compromised former president and the American public. Instead, Rubio aligned the committee with the Trump Administration itself, politicizing intelligence, downplaying Russian interference, white-washing Trump-Kremlin contacts and purposely deflecting attention from Russia to China.

Soon, Rubio publicly sparred with the committee vice chairman, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), over how much to reveal to the people before the 2020 election. They issued a heavily redacted fifth and final 950-page volume of the committee’s work on Aug. 18, just 77 days before Election Day. Continue reading.

‘The trial is stupid’: Marco Rubio battles Chris Wallace over Trump’s insurrection impeachment

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Sunday said that he will attempt to end former President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial because it is “stupid.”

Rubio make the remarks during an interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace.

“First of all, I think the trial is stupid,” Rubio said dismissively. “We already have a flaming fire in this country and it’s like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire.” Continue reading.

Rubio Threatens Senate Blockade Of Biden Cabinet Picks

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on Wednesday that the Senate should stop the tradition of granting deference to Cabinet nominees offered by President-elect Joe Biden. Rubio justified his position by claiming that Democrats “have been just so unfair” to Donald Trump.

“There’ll be a lot less deference given to presidential appointments because there was zero deference given to President Trump’s appointments,” Rubio told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Rubio added, “There’s just no way that Biden’s nominations are going to be treated like they traditionally have been treated under previous presidents, simply because the atmosphere in the Senate has changed.” Continue reading.

GOP senators mistake photo of Elijah Cummings for John Lewis in tribute

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska mixed up the two Black lawmakers on Saturday in an attempt to honor Lewis, who died Friday night.

WASHINGTON — In attempting to honor the late Rep. John Lewis after his death, two Republican senators mistakenly used a photo of Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died in October.

“It was an honor to know & be blessed with the opportunity to serve in Congress with JohnLewis a genuine & historic American hero. May the Lord grant him eternal peace,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote on Twitter, attaching a picture of himself in a conversation with Cummings.

Lewis, an icon of the civil rights movement, died Friday at 80 from pancreatic cancer. Continue reading.

McConnell taps Rubio as acting chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee

Axios logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will serve as the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee while a federal investigation into Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is ongoing.

The backdrop: Last week, the FBI seized Burr’s phone as part of an investigation into stock trades he made shortly before the coronavirus caused global markets to crash. The next day, McConnell announced that Burr would be stepping aside from his role as chairman of the committee during the duration of the investigation.

What they’re saying: “I am glad to announce that Senator Marco Rubio has accepted my invitation to serve as Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,” McConnell said in a statement Monday. Continue reading.

Journalists slam ‘petty, petulant’ Marco Rubio for claiming the media ‘can’t contain their glee’ over coronavirus pandemic

AlterNet logoFrom CNN and MSNBC to the New York Times and the Washington Post to Axios, countless journalists in the United States have been working tirelessly to bring accurate, up-to-date information on the coronavirus pandemic to the public. But as Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida sees it, journalists aren’t informing the public — they are celebrating the crisis. And a long list of journalists, in response, have been lambasting the Florida Republican on Twitter for his boneheaded attack.

On Sunday, March 29, Rubio tweeted, “Some in our media can’t contain their glee & delight in reporting that the U.S. has more #CoronaVirus cases than #China Beyond being grotesque, its bad journalism We have NO IDEA how many cases China really has but without any doubt its significantly more than why they admit to.” Continue reading “Journalists slam ‘petty, petulant’ Marco Rubio for claiming the media ‘can’t contain their glee’ over coronavirus pandemic”

Legal, security experts blast Rubio’s refusal to subpoena Bolton for Trump impeachment trial: ‘Utterly wrong and utterly ahistorical’

AlterNet logoAlthough former National Security Adviser John Bolton did not testify during House Democrats’ recent impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, he said in an official statement on Monday that he is “prepared to testify” during Trump’s Senate trial if subpoenaed. But Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, in response, is saying that he will not vote in favor of subpoenaing Bolton — and attorney Jerry Lambe, in a January 6 article for Law & Crime, notes that a long list of legal and security experts as well as some journalists are lambasting Rubio for his absurd position.

On Twitter, Rubio posted, “The testimony & evidence considered in a Senate impeachment trial should be the same testimony & evidence the House relied upon when they passed the Articles of Impeachment. Our job is to vote on what the House passed, not to conduct an open ended inquiry.”

Paul Rosenzweig, former deputy assistant secretary for policy in the Department of Homeland Security, tweeted, “Marco, that’s both utterly wrong and utterly ahistorical. In fact, to the contrary, in every impeachment since the founding, the Senate has taken some evidence.” Continue reading.

GOP senators challenge Trump on shutdown strategy

Several Senate Republicans on Wednesday challenged President Trump on his strategy for ending a 19-day shutdown during a closed-door meeting where they expressed specific concerns over the harm it is causing to federal workers and the economy.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who faces a tough reelection in a state Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, said she asked Trump to consider a bipartisan compromise that would give certain immigrants, known as Dreamers, a path to citizenship in exchange for border security money.

“I suggested that we take a look at the package that we put together last February and brought to the floor as a possible compromise,” Collins said, recounting her conversation with Trump during a closed-door lunch meeting in the Capitol.

View the complete January 9 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.