Crooked Media - What A Day: Air Jordan

Once Republicans narrowly took back the House, manufactured scandals and abuse of oversight power were inevitable. Enter: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)!
 

• Jordan’s crowning moment was supposed to be a Thursday House Judiciary subcommittee hearing touting FBI “whistleblowers,” who, he claimed, would expose left-wing politicization of the bureau, and its unfair targeting of Donald Trump and his supporters, including January 6 rioters. Well, a day earlier, the FBI revoked the security clearances of three agents—including two of Jordan’s witnesses—who either took part in January 6, or later expressed opinions about it that called their “allegiance to the United States” into question.
   

• Jordan became chairman of the  House Judiciary Committee with the new Congress, and immediately announced the formation of new “task forces” dedicated to investigating the “weaponization of the federal government,” alleging, hilariously, that the FBI has been used as a tool to oppress conservatives. The idea that the FBI is a cudgel against conservatives is further undermined by the Bureau’s failure to appropriately investigate to right-wing domestic terrorist groups, and the well-documented problem of right-wing extremists in the FBI and law enforcement more broadly.  
   

• Nevertheless, for the past several months, GOP members of Congress have been courting any FBI agents whom they believe will echo the deranged argument that the Bureau and other intelligence agencies are tools of left-wing harassment, targeting Trump and his supporters. Even if Trump pays them to make that allegation. Let’s just remind everyone that the FBI is and has always been a conservative agency, and was full of conservative appointees before January 6. That hasn’t stopped Jordan from long alleging (with no actual proof yet) that he has “dozens” of whistleblowers at the ready.

So what do the ranking Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee actually have to support their conspiracy theory? Not much. 

•  The self-professed “whistleblowers” at the center of this investigation are former agents Marcus Allen, Stephen Friend, and Brett Gloss. The FBI revoked Gloss’s security clearance two-weeks ago after internal investigators determined that he was in the crowd on January 6 and later provided “false and/or misleading information” about what he saw. The report documenting that finding was sent to Jim Jordan by the FBI’s acting assistant director, Christopher Dunham. Did this new information deter Jordan from his villain’s quest? Of course not. 

• Jordan was, for back of a letter phrase, really on one during today’s hearing. He repeatedly denied requests from his Democratic colleagues to share the transcribed deposition of one of the GOP’s alleged “whistleblowers”then freaked the fuck out at Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) when Goldman read the rules, which require transcripts to be made available to all committee members. Jordan and his Republican colleagues are frothing at the mouth to smear the FBI’s executive assistant director of human resources Jennifer Leigh Moore. They claim Moore was part of carrying out a “purge” of FBI employees with conservative views (lol). According to an excerpt from her transcript Moore shared that she oversees the security clearances of about 38,000 employees, and only 32 are currently suspended.

Okay, Jim, you want to talk about weaponization of government? Let’s! Confronted with the fact that these “witnesses” have taken money from a Trump front group, Jordan again, freaked the fuck out and yelled “They got a family! How are they supposed to feed their family?” You’re right, Jim, there is literally no other way that they could. Excellent point. Airtight arguments all around. Can’t wait to see what you guys do next.

At the current rate of Trump’s legal troubles, every New Yorker is probably going to be put on a Trump jury sooner or later. Just remember to check your mail and Grab a Totally Impartial Potential Juror tee, now available at the Crooked Store. For the non-New Yorkers, you might not be able to establish a New York residency in time but if you miss this one at least you’ll have this shirt until you can catch the next one.
 

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Once again, we gotta talk about Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The 89-year-old Senator has officially returned to the Capitol after a two-month absence, yes, but new reports indicate that her recent health problems were even more serious than previously reported, and her latest interview with Slate, in which she denied having been away from the Senate at all is not inspiring confidence in her mental acuity or ability to fulfill her duties. Feinstein suffered several complications after being hospitalized for shingles back in February, including a previously-unreported case of encephalitis. Encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain, can leave patients with lasting memory and language problems, sleep disorders, periods of confusion, and other physical and cognitive challenges. Feinstein has already suffered substantial memory issues that have led many to question her fitness to serve. Even those who have long been close to Feinstein called her appearance “frightening” and worry it shows she was not ready to return to work. Calls for Feinstein to resign are not “misogynistic” as some Democratic establishment figures have intimated, particularly because Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has indicated that he would appoint a Black woman to serve as interim senator. California is a state of 40 million people, already under-represented by the unfairness of the Senate. It at least deserves two competent senators.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said a debt-limit deal is close at hand and he expects the House to vote on an agreement by next week. We’ll believe it when we see it, Kevin. 

The Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings upholding protections for social-media companies from lawsuits by users who have been victims of attacks by militant groups on their platforms under the Anti-Terrorism Act. 

Kowtowing to right-wing Christian outrage, the Los Angeles Dodgers disinvited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charity founded during the AIDS crisis, and will no longer be honoring them with the team’s Community Hero Award at LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles LGBT Center threatened to boycott Pride Night unless the Dodgers reverse course. 

A new Reuters poll published on Wednesday shows that more than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the negative effects of artificial intelligence, with 61 percent believing that it could threaten the future of humanity. 

On Thursday, tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists processed through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City as part of the celebration of “Jerusalem Day” which has increasingly become a Jewish-nationalist show of force meant to undermine and intimidate Palestinians in recent years. 

Floods in Northern Italy have killed at least 13 people and caused billions of euros worth of damage. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is expected to finally announce his 2024 presidential bid next week, which we're sure will be a great day for the worst people in America. 

Ukraine’s military intelligence and Russia’s Wagner mercenary group both reported further Russian retreats around the city of Bakhmut, as Ukraine moves forward with its most significant military advance ahead of its planned counteroffensive.

Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman alleges that 35 deputies in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are suspected members of notorious deputy gangs. Gangs within the LASD have garnered attention before, and the two in question today are the Executioners of the Compton station, and the Banditos operating out of the East L.A. station. Huntsman told the Los Angeles Times that his department “conducted incomplete internal affairs investigations into the Banditos and Executioners, failing to identify all members,” and therefore all deputies are being forced to show their tattoos and disclose the identity of anyone else who has them. There was almost immediate pushback from some deputies (I wonder why!!) who turned to the union that represents them to challenge the request. A 2021 state law gave inspectors general the authority to investigate law-enforcement gangs by requiring cooperation from all agencies. Although the letter doesn’t specify what happens if an individual deputy refuses to comply, the law states that failing to cooperate with an investigation into police misconduct can be grounds for decertification. But, you know, it sounds like this is a group of guys with nothing to hide, so I’m sure it will be fine!

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Pope Francis hopes to send personal peace envoys to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine to try to broker a ceasefire. 

Unemployment claims dipped more than expected last week, suggesting that labor markets are defying recession fears. 

Leadership for the Screen Actors Guild unanimously agreed to order a strike authorization vote as the Writers Guild of America strike continues without any movement from the studios. If the studios thought writers were annoying, just wait until ACTORS get involved.