Tag: Mark Meadows

‘They’re not needed’: Trump allies fear ‘clown show’ if Jim Jordan or Matt Gaetz join impeachment defense team

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump’s fiercest allies aren’t expected to join his defense team in the Senate impeachment trial, but don’t expect them to quietly sit on the sidelines.

Trump allies have considered adding Reps. Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan and John Ratcliffe to the president’s official legal team, but advisers fear they’ll “grandstand” and turn the Senate trial into a “clown show,” reported Politico.

Three sources familiar with the situation say there seems to be no prohibition against House members serving on the president’s official defense team, but there’s not much appetite for that among Trump’s current lawyers. Continue reading.

Mark Meadows, top Trump ally, to retire from Congress

The Hill logoRep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a top ally of President Trump, announced Thursday morning that he will retire from Congress at the end of his term.

Meadows, a four-term lawmaker who represents part of western North Carolina, said in a statement that he “struggled” with leaving what he has long considered a “temporary job.”

“For everything there is a season. After prayerful consideration and discussion with family, today I’m announcing that my time serving Western North Carolina in Congress will come to a close at the end of this term,” Meadows said. “This was a decision I struggled with greatly.” Continue reading

‘That is not true’: Manic Republican Mark Meadows shut down by CNN host for repeating lies about Ukraine

AlterNet logoA fifteen-minute CNN interview with Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) wound down to an abrupt end on Sunday morning as the “State of the Union” host Dana Bash cut off the Trump defender’s insistence there was no quid pro quo offer from the president to Ukraine’s leadership, with the CNN host telling the GOP lawmaker, “That’s not true. I don’t want to debate about it.”

In an interview where Meadows continued to rage about former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, Bash finally brought up Trump’s phone call to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that led to the impeachment inquiry.

Discussing the call where Trump asked for a favor, Meadows pushed back after she said Trump, “Allegedly held up aid and he said it in this phone call.”

Continue reading

Republican Mark Meadows hammered for remaining silent while Trump attacks his ‘best friend’ Elijah Cummings

AlterNet logoOn Monday morning, a CNN panel called out Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), who has called Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) one of his best friends, for remaining silent as Donald Trump called Cummings a racist and accused him of corruption.

Showing a clip of Cummings rushing to Meadow’s defense during a Michael Cohen hearing after Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) accused him of racism, “New Day” host Alisyn Camerota slammed the GOP in general, but Meadows in particular.

“Where are the Republicans?” Camerota exclaimed. “Where are the Republican colleagues of Elijah Cummings who have worked with him? Where is Congressman Mark Meadows who would have us believe that Elijah Cummings is a dear friend of his?”

View the complete July 29 article by Tom Boggioni from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

Videos of Mark Meadows saying ‘send Obama home to Kenya’ resurface hours after he’s accused of racist stunt

After being accused of a “racist act” on Feb. 27, three instances emerged of Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) making birther comments about President Barack Obama. (Video: JM Rieger/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

(This post has been updated with a third video unearthed by the Fix’s JM Rieger.)

The most emotionally fraught moment during the Michael Cohen hearing had nothing directly to do with President Trump’s former lawyer but was a tense exchange after one lawmaker accused another of engaging in a racist act by bringing a black woman to the hearing “as a prop.”

Though the issue was mostly resolved during the hearing, the aftershocks of it continued Thursday with the resurfacing of three videos from 2012 of Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) making birther comments about President Barack Obama and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) going on CNN to reiterate her belief that Meadows’s actions were insensitive to people of color.

Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, was the last to speak at the end of the marathon Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday. She used her time to criticize Meadows — not by name — for bringing Lynne Patton, a black woman who has worked for the Trump family and now for the White House, to vouch for Trump not being racist.

View the complete February 28 article by Colby Itkowitz on The Washington Post website here.

GOP lawmakers introduce articles of impeachment against Rosenstein

The following article by Olivia Beavers was posted on the Hill website July 25, 2018:

A group of conservative House lawmakers on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the top Department of Justice (DOJ) official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

The introduction of the resolution is the latest sign of escalating efforts among conservatives to oust the DOJ’s No. 2 official.

Conservative members led by Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), along with nine co-sponsors, introduced the five articles shortly after a meeting with DOJ officials concerning document production.

View the complete article here.

NOTE:  While the articles weren’t moved forward before the House recessed for the summer, the House members have said they plan to pursue it this fall.

Donald Trump Is Already Using The Nunes Memo To Undermine The Russia Investigation

The following article by Daniel Marans was posted on the Huffington Post website February 3, 2018:

Credit: Evan Vucci, AP

Just a day after the release of an underwhelming Republican-authored House Intelligence Committee memo alleging inappropriate law enforcement spying on Donald Trump’s campaign, President Donald Trumpis already using it to cast aspersions on the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Trump’s pronouncement, issued in a Saturday morning tweet, supports the widely held view that the four-page partisan memo was designed to help Trump scuttle special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference and to cover up Trump campaign officials’ potential collusion with Russia. Continue reading “Donald Trump Is Already Using The Nunes Memo To Undermine The Russia Investigation”

Health-care fights could complicate 2018 funding deal

The following article by Nathaniel Weixel was posted on the Hill website December 28, 2017:

© Greg Nash

A host of health-care issues could complicate a deal to fund the government in what will be a hectic January for Congress.

Lawmakers agreed to a short-term continuing resolution that funds the government through Jan. 19. When they return, they will face a number of dicey issues with two weeks to reach a new full-year funding deal.

Among the big issues are finding a path to long-term funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and community health centers, a priority for Democrats. In the Senate, Republicans plan to take up two bills to help shore up ObamaCare insurance markets. But that will be a hard sell in the House, where conservatives oppose those measures. Continue reading “Health-care fights could complicate 2018 funding deal”