1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

'So many pieces falling together’: Jan. 6 panel nails GOP’s Scott Perry as ‘leading conduit’ for Trump's election theft ploy



A Republican congressman has landed in the crosshairs of the House select committee, but he's been on investigators' minds all along.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) has been asked to turn over documents and sit down with committee members to discuss his role in Donald Trump's attempt to install loyalist Jeffrey Clark as attorney general ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and Washington Post reporter Jacqueline Alemany told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" what investigators already know.

"My colleague Tom Hamburger and I confirmed that Scott Perry was, in fact, the lawmaker who did send that text to Mark Meadows that Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) read aloud last week to direct [Mark] Meadows to please check your Signal [encrypted app] and that immediately, I think, piqued the interest of the investigators," Alemany said.

"Look, this letter is a significant step forward for the committee and for the reporters that have been covering the committee since its inception in July or earlier this summer," she continued. "It's always been a question of how the panel is going to handle getting sitting lawmakers to cooperate with them, as we knew from the very beginning that people like [House minority leader] Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), [Rep.] Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Scott Perry were in touch with the president and his inner circle about the effort to overturn the result of the 2020 election."

"But Scott Perry, in particular, is of interest," Alemany said. "We found reporting that he's the leading conduit from the House GOP to the White House in terms of trying to effort the challenge to the 2020 election, and he's been on the mind of congressional investigators really for a whole year now. When the Senate Judiciary Committee released their report in October, they cited Perry as someone who was integrally involved with these efforts. They had already gotten evidence that [Rep. Bennie] Thompson echoed yesterday that he was directly pressuring [Department of Justice] officials to investigate these various fringe conspiracy theories. He also acknowledged in those interviews with the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was the person who introduced Mark Meadows to Jeffery Clark, who has also become a central player."

"So there are so many different pieces that are kind of falling together here," Alemany added. "But he big question remains whether Scott Perry is going to cooperate and how far this committee is going to go in getting a sitting member of Congress to actually comply with this investigation."

[Rick Plant]

Glad she got what she deserved. 7 charges!

Beverly Hills salon owner's life in shambles as she faces seven Capitol riot charges: report



According to a deep dive into the lives of three Capitol rioters, looking at how they came to be at the Jan 6th insurrection and where they are today, Intelligencer's Kerry Howley writes that a Beverly Hills salon owner who became one of the more recognizable faces of the riot is destitute as she faces seven counts to which she has pleaded not guilty.

Prior to her arrest, Gina Bisignano was living the good life as the owner of Gina’s Eyelashes and Skincare in the wealthy community and now she is awaiting trial on counts ranging from Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds to Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds after her business shut down and what money she had has been used up fighting for her freedom.

As the report notes, "Two days after the riot, Gina appeared on Infowars to share video she had taken," which, in turn, helped lead to her arrest before being granted bail.

However that didn't last long, with Howley reporting that prosecutors appealed and told the court, "Her sincere belief in conspiracy theories and the absence of rational, evidence-based decision-making show that she is extraordinarily unlikely to accept the legitimacy of this court’s orders," which led a judge to order her bail revoked that left her languishing in a Los Angeles jail before later being transported to Grady County Detention Center in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

According to Howley, "By late February, in Grady County, she had been imprisoned in one facility or another for over a month, during which she saw the sun exactly once: on the long day when she was transferred from L.A. to Oklahoma," adding that a judge finally agreed to her supervised release as she awaited trial.

Upon her release, the report states, "Gina had no ID, no credit card, no way to get home, and it was not clear what she would do on the scrubby, sidewalkless Oklahoma streets onto which she was being dumped."

Bisignano was then taken in immediately by a woman only identified as Rachel "whose church friend had seen a post on Facebook about a woman who needed help."

"Rachel took Gina to Sonic and placed a large Diet Coke in her hands before taking her to the 122-acre farm where she lived with her mother and father," Howley reported, "Soon Rachel would drive Gina to another home, the home of the friend she knew from Martha Road Baptist Church. In this home, the kitchen would smell of cookies a man had made for his friends at work, a round woman would root around for clothes that would not fit Gina’s slim form, and the couple’s autistic son, David, would give up his bed for her."

She added, "Gina had not slept on a mattress in many weeks. In too-big sweatpants tied at the waist, Gina stood in a boy’s room in rural Oklahoma, beside his bed, under a WWE poster. She crawled in, pulled the covers over her head, and wept."

As for Bisingnano's court date, the website of the U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C, still states, "Defendant remains on home detention. Status conference set for 9/2/21 at 2 pm.," with Reuters reporting on September 16th that a judge has refused her request to end her house arrest order and to allow her to have her ankle bracelet monitor removed.

According to an order signed Judge Carl J. Nichols, located on Pacer, Bisignano was scheduled to report for a hearing on Dec. 21 , with the judge admonishing her and her attorney for skipping a previously scheduled one on Dec. 14 by writing, "This is not the first time timely attendance has been a problem in this case," and that "additional failures to appear timely will be looked upon even more unfavorably."

You can read the more detailed Intelligencer report here.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/12/january-6-insurrection-us-capitol-riots.html

[Rick Plant]

Jim Bob Elliott is the latest Capitol attacker to be indicted for allegedly beating cops with a flag pole



The Justice Department has officially indicted James Robert Elliott, 24, known as "Jim Bob" on six counts for his involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Illinois man was arrested for assaulting law enforcement with a flag pole, classified as a dangerous weapon in the indictment. Other charges include civil disorder, assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon said the DOJ statement.

He is one of many Capitol attackers who are being linked to violence against police, after the DOJ has largely focused on those who merely breached the building.

Elliott adds to 700 other people indicted for their participation in the attack that attempted to stop the counting of the Electoral College. Of those 700 people arrested, 220 have been charged with assaulting law enforcement.

"The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Chicago and Washington Field Offices," the report note.

Flags are allowed at protests, but poles have always been banned at events near the White House and the U.S. Capitol because the poles can be used as a weapon.

"It was very scary, because I thought I was going to lose my life," said US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell when testifying before Congress. "Then I started getting beat up with a flagpole, with a flag, the American flag that I swore to defend here and overseas. And I don't know how I got this strength, but I hit that person so hard that they let me go. I started backpedaling."

https://www.rawstory.com/flag-pole-attacker-indicted/

[Rick Plant]

House investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection just took an unexpected turn: report



Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has become a key focal point for the House Select Committee's investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, according to The Washington Post's Jacqueline Alemany.

Per Politicus USA, the investigative committee has released a new report that suggests Perry was part of a small group that may have worked to help plan the insurrection that took place on Jan. 6.

Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Jacqueline Alemany shared details about what she could confirm regarding Perry and his communication with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

“My colleague Tom Hamburger and I confirmed that Scott Perry was, in fact, the lawmaker who did send that text to Mark Meadows that Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) read aloud last week to direct [Mark] Meadows to please check your Signal [encrypted app] and that immediately, I think, piqued the interest of the investigators,” Alemany said.

Alemany went on to share details about the latest letter and how it could make lawmakers more inclined to cooperate with the committee investigating.

“Look, this letter is a significant step forward for the committee and for the reporters that have been covering the committee since its inception in July or earlier this summer," Alemany said. "It’s always been a question of how the panel is going to handle getting sitting lawmakers to cooperate with them, as we knew from the very beginning that people like [House minority leader] Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), [Rep.] Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Scott Perry were in touch with the president and his inner circle about the effort to overturn the result of the 2020 election.”

The Committee is also said to have plans to question Perry about his involvement in Trump's previous plan to fire “Acting Attorney-General Jeff Rosen” and install his own ally Jeffery Clark as "Acting-Attorney General." Alemany reported that Perry was "directly involved in the effort to install Clark, which may expose Perry to more criminal liability than even a role in the riot on January 6th."

“… They had already gotten evidence that [Rep. Bennie] Thompson echoed yesterday that [Perry] was directly pressuring [Department of Justice] officials to investigate these various fringe conspiracy theories. He also acknowledged in those interviews with the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was the person who introduced Mark Meadows to Jeffery Clark, who has also become a central player. So there are so many different pieces that are kind of falling together here."

Despite the angle the investigative committee chooses to pursue, Politicus USA notes that "Perry is squarely in the middle of the Select Committee’s investigation and that the Committee already has significant evidence that concerns him as it seeks his testimony."

[Rick Plant]

Jan. 6 committee wants to speak to Jim Jordan about his conversations with Trump



The House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has called Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to appear and answer questions before them. Jordan was almost appointed to the committee by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

“We understand that you had at least one and possibly multiple communications with President Trump on January 6th," the letter explains. "We would like to discuss each such communication with you in detail. And we also wish to inquire about any communications you had on January 5th or 6th with those in the Willard War Room, the Trump legal team, White House personnel or others involved in organizing or planning the actions and strategies for January 6th."

Jordan was asked twice by reporters if he had spoken to Trump on Jan. 6. Each time he stumbled over his words, seemingly confused, saying that he talks to the president frequently but wouldn't clarify any specifics.

The Committee explains that because the scope of their investigation involves Jan. 6 and what lead to Jan. 6, it wrote to Jordan "we would also like to ask you about any discussions involving the possibility of presidential pardons for individuals involved in any aspect of January 6th or the planning for January 6th. When you were asked during a Rules Committee hearing on October 20, 2021, whether you would be willing to share with the Select Committee the information you have regarding January 6th and events leading up to the day, you responded, 'I've said all along, 'I have nothing to hide.' I've been straightforward all along."

Read the full letter below:




Capitol riot committee is playing 'hardball' with Jim Jordan -- and he's 'earned' it: CNN's Elie Honig

On Wednesday's edition of CNN's "The Situation Room," former federal prosecutor Elie Honig broke down the significance of the House Select Committee's decision to seek information from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on his involvement in former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

"It may be wishful thinking that Congressman Jordan will voluntarily cooperate with the committee, but he is a critical figure in this investigation, isn't he?" asked anchor Wolf Blitzer.

"He is," said Honig. "The committee has made clear they're playing hardball, that they're going to pursue the truth no matter who may hold the truth, up to and including their own colleagues in Congress. Jim Jordan is not being picked on here just for fun. He has absolutely earned this request for information which could soon become a subpoena, because we know for a fact that Jim Jordan spoke with Donald Trump on January 6th."

"Jim Jordan has now admitted that, sort of reluctantly, in a way, he's not super proud of what he talked about with Donald Trump on January 6th," added Honig. "So there is a real reason and purpose behind this subpoena. Jim Jordan has said he has nothing to hide, and soon we'll see if he can back up that talk."

Watch below:

Jim Jordan has repeatedly 'tripped over' his story about communications with Trump: CNN's Bolduan

On Wednesday's edition of CNN's "OutFront," anchor Kate Bolduan and former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean discussed the new push by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack to get information from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

"One key question with Jordan, really ever since January 6th, has been what were his communications with Donald Trump on January 6th?" said Bolduan. "Because the question has become all the more interesting as Jordan himself has tripped over answering it multiple times. Let me play this for you."

"I have talked to the president so many — I can't remember all the days I have talked to him but I certainly talked to the president. I spoke with him that day after? I think after? I don't know if I spoke with him in the morning or not. I — I just don't know," said Jordan in the first clip.

"Of course I talked to the president. I talked to him that day. I have been clear about that. I don't recall the number of times," said Jordan in the second clip.

"John, what do you do with that?" asked Bolduan.

"Well, that's not the normal Jordan answer," said Dean. "He is pretty crisp and pretty clear on most of his answers. His mind is probably trying to calculate, well, what kind of exposure do I have at this stage in answering that question? And I think he does have exposure because of the texts he forwarded the day before. I'll tell you, if they ever start pursuing conspiracy charges, he walked right into a conspiracy to obstruct Congress. To — was it a seditious conspiracy? May — may well have been. So I think he knows he has exposure, and if he ever is in front of that committee, he will probably have to take the [Fifth Amendment]. That's probably another reason he doesn't want to go."

Watch below:

Jim Jordan ‘has priors’: Dem draws parallel between Capitol riot probe and Ohio State abuse scandal



Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan suggested Wednesday night that he will refuse to cooperate with the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection — saying he has "real concerns" about the panel.

A short time later, California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell appeared on MSNBC to discuss Jordan's response to the committee's request for him to testify.

"I'm not a Harvard lawyer, but the way that he has talked about his involvement certainly makes him relevant, and the way that he is now moonwalking away from the responsibility to testify, to me, makes him probably complicit," Swalwell said, calling the insurrection "an incident of workplace violence."

"At any workplace if this happened, and you were in contact with somebody who was responsible for the workplace violence, if you didn't do anything wrong, if you had nothing to do with it, you would raise your hand and say, 'Let me help to make our workplace safer,'" Swalwell said. "And the fact that he does not want to cooperate just puts him in the category of people who had some role or some knowledge of what Donald Trump wanted to do."

"And oh, by the way, this guy probably has priors, because it's not the first time he's been accused of witnessing a crime and then not wanting to report it or help investigators," Swalwell added, referring to Jordan's role in a s*x-abuse scandal at Ohio State University, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach.

MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell responded to Swalwell by noting that former members of the Ohio State wrestling team "have said under oath that he (Jordan) knew that players on that team were being sexually abused by a physician, and he did absolutely nothing about it."

Watch Swalwell's full interview below:

[Rick Plant]

Violent MAGA rioters are getting pandemic relief loans forgiven despite their crimes

The Small Business Administration has been forgiving pandemic relief loans issued to insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The loans were issued under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was part of the $2 trillion CARES Act signed by former president Donald Trump in March 2020. The PPP program was designed to cover payroll for small businesses, which could apply to have the loans forgiven if they could show that the money was used for intended purposes.

"Amazingly, some of the people who received the money responded, less than a year later, by attempting to kill the very legislators who put the program in place—the ones who kept their businesses afloat and employees able to survive," the Daily Dot reported Wednesday. "But the government is forgiving them anyway. In a review of PPP data obtained from ProPublica, the Daily Dot discovered many well-known Capitol insurrectionists have had their loans forgiven, some being absolved of nearly a million dollars in funds."

Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys, had a $12,502 loan for his home-contracting business forgiven in June despite that fact that he remains incarcerated, having been denied bail.

Russell Taylor, a member of the Three Percenters, received two loans totaling more than $1 million for his graphic design company. One of the loans was issued after the insurrection, and both have been forgiven.

George Pierre Tanios allegedly assaulted officer Brian Sicknick, who died from stroke a day after the insurrection. One day after Sicknick's death, on Jan. 8, Tanios had a $52,110 loan for his West Virginia sandwich shop forgiven.

"Other high-profile insurrectionists at the Capitol that day also received loan forgiveness," the Daily Dot reported. "That includes Dr. Simone Gold, who spreads misinformation about COVID-19 and received $20,833, and Trump booster Brandon Straka, who received two loans totaling $33,154."

According to the SBA, people who are incarcerated or under indictment for felonies are barred from applying for PPP loans. However, there is no such restriction when it comes to seeking forgiveness for the loans.

Read the full story:

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/capitol-rioters-ppp-loans-forgiven/

[Rick Plant]

Good. This scumbag belongs in prison!

Michael Flynn's lawsuit against the January 6th committee tossed by judge one day after being filed



It did not take long for a judge to toss out former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn's lawsuit against the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th riots at the United States Capitol building.

NBC News reports that a federal judge in Florida refused to grant Flynn a temporary restraining order that would have blocked the committee from accessing his communications records in the weeks leading up to the Capitol riots.

Flynn had asked the judge to block the committee from obtaining his records on Tuesday, which means it took the court just one day to throw out his complaint.

"U.S. District Court Judge Mary Scriven in Tampa said Flynn’s motion... failed for two reasons, including a lack of urgency," writes NBC News' Pete Williams. "The judge noted that the committee postponed Flynn’s deposition to 'a date to be determined.' And while the committee's subpoena said he should produce the documents it requested by Nov. 23, 'there is no evidence in the record as to the date by which the select committee now expects Flynn to comply with its document requests.'"

Because of this, the judge concluded that there is no proof that Flynn "will face immediate and irreparable harm" that would have justified a restraining order against the committee.

Flynn was also supposed to have appeared before the committee to testify this week.

Read More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/judge-denies-michael-flynn-s-request-restraining-order-against-jan-n1286507?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma


Proud Boy pleads guilty to conspiracy charge in January 6th case that has major implications for other rioters



A member of the Proud Boys who took part in the January 6th Capitol riots has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in a case that has major implications for other Capitol rioters.

As reported by NBC 4 Washington's Scott MacFarlane, 34-year-old Proud Boy Matthew Greene of Syracuse, New York pleaded guilty both to conspiracy and obstructing an official congressional proceeding.

"Prosecutors accused Greene of 'advertising' that he was a 'first degree Proud Boy' on social media," reports MacFarlane. "And he allegedly sent encrypted message on Jan 6 saying 'We took the Capitol.'"

MacFarlane also reports that Greene has accepted a plea deal in which he will spend between 41 months and 51 months in prison.

The conspiracy charge is particularly noteworthy because it could implicate any fellow Proud Boys and other assorted rioters who took part in conspiring with Greene to commit violence at the Capitol.

Politico's Kyle Cheney reports that Greene's plea deal includes a deal to cooperate with other government prosecutions, which means that Greene likely has information that can implicate others in the conspiracy.

Read More:

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1473736086493048839

https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1473736024362823681


Proud Boy who allegedly vowed to 'kill them all' at MAGA riot set to plead guilty



On Thursday NBC4 Washington's Scott MacFarlane, the key correspondent covering the January 6 Capitol insurrection trials, reported that Matthew Greene, a Proud Boy from New York City, is set to plead guilty to his role in the attack.

@MacFarlaneNews "BIG, BIG HEARING at 2pm today in DC federal court

Accused Proud Boys Jan 6 conspirator Matthew Greene of Syracuse is scheduled to plead guilty.  This could be a breakthrough in a large & particularly high level US Capitol riot case

Standby"

Greene, a high-profile defendant, was accused of "conspiracy involving terrorism," as well as illegal gun charges after an FBI raid on his home uncovered his stockpile. He allegedly shared guerrilla tactics with co-conspirators on the encrypted messaging app Telegram and planned for killing any politicians they could capture, and witnesses of the attack at the Capitol described hearing him proclaim "we'll kill them all."

The Proud Boys are a self-described "Western Chauvinist" group, with ties to white supremacists. They are infamous for violent street fights, and were heavily implicated at the Capitol attack.

https://www.rawstory.com/proud-boys-2656091836/