biggs, andy Rep 0 4%

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no merri

alec alum sedit caucus 4% troll caucus, racist

see MTG

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===

an 7 26 mirror

Republican voters in Arizona sent a litany of election deniers to the November ballot, chief among them the nominees for the top three statewide offices. But they’re far from the only ones who advanced to the general election.

The Grand Canyon State has long been at the center of the election conspiracy theories that have become a tenet of the modern Republican Party under President Donald Trump, who has been doggedly focused on false claims of election fraud over the past decade.

As the belief that elections are rife with fraud — at least when Democrats win — has transformed from fringe online discourse into a GOP article of faith, adherents and promoters of election conspiracy theories have been gaining more elected power.

But those views are growing more unpopular among voters, as issues such as affordability and the war in Iran take center stage.

“It is not sustainable, and people do not have an appetite for it. People want to have our elections be a process that helps us pick our leaders and then they want our leaders to lead for us,” Alex Gulotta, All Voting is Local Action’s Arizona state director, told the Arizona Mirror. “It is not winning people’s hearts and minds.”

Despite that, a growing number of election deniers are running for office in Arizona and across the country, according to Kelly Rader, research director at States United Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit that supports state officials protecting elections and has been tracking election deniers since 2022.

Arizona is one of four states — along with Colorado, Wisconsin and Tennessee — that have three or more election deniers running for statewide office, according to their analysis.

Nationally, nearly 75% of the states have an election denier running for a statewide or congressional office, Rader’s research found. That is 139 candidates across the country, among them 21 candidates for governor, nine running for secretary of state and eight running for attorney general, according to the data.

“Election denial is a comprehensive strategy to undermine trust in our elections so that Trump and his allies can challenge election results they don’t like,” Rader said. “As we move through the primaries and sprint toward the fall, we expect that Trump will continue pushing the same old election conspiracy theories. And we are closely watching which election denier candidates echo those claims in the months to come.”

Gulotta echoed those sentiments, adding that Trump’s continued denialism of the results of the 2020 election has helped fuel the fire for candidates to use the same rhetoric.

“I think as long as the president of the United States and his cronies are acting in a way that seeks to prevent voting and is really focused on denying the results of elections, we will continue to see this,” he said. “I am hoping we will grow out of it soon, hopefully another cycle or two.”

Rader said the corrosive effect of lies about election results has far-reaching effects, but was optimistic about the work being done by the nation’s election administrators to educate people and counter the conspiracies.

“Efforts to undermine confidence in legitimate election outcomes don’t just threaten individual races; they erode voter confidence and threaten one of the most important limits on presidential power,” she said. “The good news is that election officials across the country are educating voters, rebuilding trust, and working to ensure another free and fair election this year.”

It isn’t just election denialism that is on the ballot, either.

This year’s batch of conspiracy-minded candidates ranges from QAnon adherents to former “audit” workers. Some of them may be well known to most Arizonans, while others are newcomers to electoral politics.

The old guard

The top of the ticket in Arizona will be a who’s who of people who have been involved in election related conspiracy activities since 2020.

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs won the Republican party primary for Governor where he will square off against Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in November.

After Trump lost his 2020 re-election bid to Joe Biden, Biggs was front and center in Arizona and Congress trying to “Stop the Steal.” He joined fellow Arizona GOP Congressman Paul Gosar in spreading doubt about the results of the 2020 election and made claims of voter disenfranchisement that were not backed up by evidence.

Former Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers said Biggs called him the morning of January 6 asking him to sign onto a letter calling for the decertification of Arizona electors. Biggs, who voted to reject electoral votes for Biden from Arizona and other battleground states, would later allegedly seek a pardon from Trump for his involvement.

Two other prominent election deniers will also be at the top of the Arizona ticket.

State Rep. Alexander Kolodin, who won the GOP primary for secretary of state, has long pushed unfounded claims around the state’s elections.

Kolodin was one of the key attorneys for Trump’s campaign who challenged the 2020 election results in the state and has represented a number of prominent election deniers. Kolodin was sanctioned by the Arizona State Bar in 2023 for his part in lawsuits challenging the 2020 election that made implausible and evidence-free claims of massive election fraud. He represented Trump’s campaign in the so-called “kraken” lawsuit in Arizona that was based on claims made by people with no actual knowledge of the elections.

In his time in the legislature, Kolodin has pushed for sweeping changes to Arizona election laws largely based on election conspiracy theories.

Then there’s GOP attorney general nominee Warren Petersen, who currently serves as president of the Arizona Senate. He, along with former Senate President Karen Fann, oversaw the partisan “audit” that the Senate conducted in 2021 to scour for fraud in Maricopa County’s election the year before. It found no evidence of fraud, and actually concluded that Biden won the election in the state’s largest county.

Earlier this year, he handed over material from that election review to the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice.

Other prominent election deniers also won their primaries, including Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff. On top of believing the 2020 election was fraudulent, Rogers has also engaged with white nationalists and other extremists.

She’ll also likely be joined in the Senate again by Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, who has openly embraced QAnon and spread conspiracy theories about the Department of Child Safety.

In its simplest form, QAnon is a conspiracy theory that alleges that a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles are running a global sex-trafficking ring, control world governments and are trying to bring down President Donald Trump — who is himself single-handedly dismantling the cabal.

Farnsworth and Rogers also will be joined by the QAnon-posting and January-6-insurrection-attending Sen. Janae Shamp, who ran uncontested in her primary.

Another prominent election denier who won their primary is former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.

Lamb worked with other far-right sheriffs and a group that was involved with the widely debunked film “2000 Mules” to police polling locations in 2022. Lamb won his primary despite lurid allegations about his sex life and the release of a racist chat he had with a border vigilante.

If he wins his election — which is likely, as his district is deep red — he’ll join fellow election denier U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, who unsuccessfully tried to claim election fraud led to his 280-vote loss to Kris Mayes in the 2022 contest for attorney general.

The new class

Among the well-known pushers of conspiracy theories in the state are some new faces that are seeking political power.

For instance, Michelle Altherr is seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Brian Fernandez in the Democrat-leaning Legislative District 23.

Altherr worked at the partisan election “audit,” citing it as one of the main reasons she has gotten into politics. She has long been a presence at Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meetings, where she has spread unfounded claims of election fraud.

Another new face is James Rogers, who won his primary for the state House of Representatives in Legislative District 10. Rogers has represented Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, a known election denier, as part of the America First Legal law firm, which was started by top Trump advisor Stephen Miller.

The law firm was also behind a failed lawsuit that attempted to change how Arizona counties use drop boxes and maintain voter rolls.

Then there’s Mylie Biggs, Andy Biggs’ daughter, who won an uncontested race to represent Legislative District 14 in the state Senate.

Last year, during an appearance on The Matt MacCurdy program, she said that she doesn’t believe women should hold public office. On that same podcast, the younger Biggs said she has a fondness for conspiracy theories, telling the host to not get her “started on 9/11.”

Early voting for the general election starts on Sept. 19 for military and overseas voters and early voting for everyone else begins on Oct. 7. The last day voters can register to vote and apply for an early ballot is Oct. 5. Voters can find more information and register to vote at this link.

NOTE BS GOP REBOOT LOUDERMILK

see retaliation LIE GASLT REVIS // FASCISM

AN 7 26 CAND FOR GOV?

Arizona was once a deep-red state known for the conservative GOP politics of Sen. Barry Goldwater and his successor, John McCain. But these days, Arizona is a swing state that has a Democratic governor (Katie Hobbs) and two Democratic U.S. senators (Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego) yet went to Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. According to New York Times reporters Reis Thebault and Kellen Browning, Arizona Republicans are having a heated debate over two competing visions for their party — one that finds far-right MAGA culture warriors up against the type of traditional conservatives who dominated Arizona politics for decades.

"The bombastic, culture-war brand of politics embraced by Mr. Trump's most vocal allies in Arizona has proved a poor fit with the moderate Arizona voters who often decide statewide contests," Thebault and Browning report in the Times. "They have repeatedly passed over Republican firebrands, including Kari Lake and Blake Masters, in favor of Democrats they see as less extreme.

Some Republicans fear the party is poised to repeat its mistake this year by nominating (Rep. Andy) Biggs in Tuesday's GOP primary to face Gov. Katie Hobbs, a vulnerable Democratic incumbent, in November. Seeking to alleviate those concerns, Mr. Biggs has spent much of his campaign attempting to persuade voters that he is more electable than Ms. Lake, whose polarizing comments and baseless claims of election fraud alienated independents and even some Republicans during her unsuccessful bids for governor and Senate."

Biggs, who formerly chaired the House Freedom Caucus, is known for being a far-right Trump ally. But according to Thebault and Browning, he is trying to appear more moderate as he competes for Arizona's 2026 GOP gubernatorial nomination.

"On the debate stage last month in Arizona," the Times reporters note, "Rep. Andy Biggs, the leading candidate in the state's Republican primary for governor, did not try to convince voters that he was the most conservative candidate in the race. He did not tout his Freedom Caucus bona fides, nor his push to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Instead, he styled himself as a bipartisan dealmaker who has worked with Democrats, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. 'Here's the bottom line: I know how to reach across the aisle,' Mr. Biggs said during the debate."

Arizona Republicans, according to Thebault and Browning, "have been at war with one another up and down the ballot, from the governor's contest to lower-profile races." Turning Point USA, the right-wing group founded by the late Charlie Kirk, has been heavily involved in Arizona GOP primaries — and the Times reporters note that the group's "heavy hand has begun to draw backlash."

Veteran GOP strategist/pollster Paul Bentz told the Times, "The dominant force in the primary at this point is the MAGA wing. It's a contest to see who can be the most MAGA."

RWW MISC

07/21/2026

Judd Legum @ Popular Information: ICE is lying about body cams. These documents prove it.

In February 2026, months after ICE’s $75 billion windfall, Acting Director Todd Lyons said that only 3,000 of ICE’s 13,000 officers wore body cams. ICE was avoiding compliance with the policy by simply not ordering many body cams.

Robert Reich @ Substack: Trump’s Two Killing Fields

In the Trump manosphere, violence is seen as a sign of virility. When that virility is challenged, the automatic response is to escalate the violence.

Yunior Rivers @ Democracy Docket: Trump’s DOJ launched a new ‘election integrity’ website. It’s riddled with errors

The errors would be embarrassing on any federal website. On this one, they also appear to serve an ideological purpose.

Hannah Knowles @ The Washington Post: A religious sect is at the heart of an old fight getting attention in a GOP race

Rep. Andy Biggs, the party’s likely nominee for Arizona governor, faced criticism from fellow Republicans over his handling of a small police force more than a decade ago.

David Edwards @ Raw Story: Turning Point silences GOP whistleblowers invited to speak against Trump-backed candidate

Allies of Turning Point USA blocked two people with sexual misconduct allegations against a Trump-backed Arizona congressional candidate from speaking at a Republican district meeting. The candidate is former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is running for Arizona's 5th Congressional District on a platform of "God, family, and freedom" with President Donald Trump's endorsement.

Spencer MacNaughton and Sean Robinson @ Uncloseted Media: ‘Hand Jobs, Oral Sex and Anal’: Pete Hegseth's Pastor Wants Gay Men Prosecuted for These Acts

Doug Wilson believes the U.S. should become a Christian theocracy, married women shouldn’t have the right to vote and gay sex should be illegal.

OMFG

AN 9 25

WASHINGTON — At the insistence of President Donald Trump, U.S. House Republicans launched a new Jan. 6 investigation earlier this month. This time, though, the GOP is investigating the investigators, namely the bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, which finished its exhaustive work two years ago.

“I want to see all the docs and find out how many lies were told by the people that were sitting on that committee,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) — who was referred to the Ethics Committee after refusing a request to testify from the first Jan. 6 panel — told Raw Story. “That's what I want.”

While the vote setting up the initial Jan. 6 select committee was bipartisan, earlier this month the new Select Subcommittee on January 6 was approved on a party line vote.

“Trying to rewrite history, that's just kind of clearly what they've done since January 6th, so this all fits the narrative,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), who served on the initial committee, which disbanded before the GOP took the House in 2023, told Raw Story. “It’s dangerous.”

IFrame Content

It’s not just Democrats waving warning flags. Moderate Republicans say their leaders are making a mistake.

“I just feel like both sides lost their minds, because having the debate again is kind of bad for the nation,” retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told Raw Story.

Regardless, Trump wants it.

Unlike a GOP-led J6 investigation in the last Congress, this time House Republicans have subpoena power and are promising to use it.

‘What are they looking for?’

Before releasing their 845-page report in 2022, the bipartisan Jan. 6 committee interviewed upwards of 1,000 witnesses and reviewed more than a million pages of documents.

That’s why its chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and other former members decry the new GOP effort.

“The question is what are they looking for? We have no idea. We stand by the work of the committee. Anybody — whoever — wanted to come talk to us, we invited them,” Thompson told Raw Story before dismissing what he sees as an effort to change the narrative.

“They're trying to, but it doesn't change the facts,” Thompson said.

Republicans beg to differ.

“The sham committee did an injustice,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) told Raw Story. “The only thing they did is they wanted to blame Trump for everything. They weren't out there to seek the truth. We have an opportunity now to help kind of clear the air and let the American people know.”

On Jan. 6 2021, Trump told supporters to “fight like hell” in support of his lie that the 2020 election was stolen. They then marched from the White House to the Capitol, most seeking to block certification of Joe Biden’s win.

Nine deaths have been linked to the riot, including law enforcement suicides. After returning to power, Trump issued more than 1,500 pardons or acts of clemency, affecting convictions for offenses as serious as seditious conspiracy.

*Nehls is one of five Republicans on the new J6 subcommittee. He’s already come to many conclusions, as laid out in his 2022 book, The Big Fraud: What Democrats Don’t Want You to Know about January 6, the 2020 Election, and a Whole Lot Else.

“Why was the Capitol so ill prepared that day?” Nehls asked Raw Story. “I tell you why, because the leadership of the Capitol Police and others didn't want to share the intelligence reports, and they were f------ clear.

“It was quite clear that things were going to get stupid up here.”

Nehls isn’t the only Republican pushing a narrative. In December, the new subcommittee chair, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), released a report recommending former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), a member of the original J6 panel, be investigated by the FBI “for potential criminal witness tampering.”

"Right now, we're casting a pretty broad net trying to bring in any documents that were not preserved or we don't currently have," Loudermilk said. “Basically going out to all the organizations that provided information to the original select committee.”

“How much is your job, as you see it, or your mandate, to investigate the original J6 committee?” Raw Story pressed. “Or how much is your job investigating what happened Jan. 6, 2021?”

“It's both,” Loudermilk said, “because there are decisions being made in some elements based off that report that should not be made. In fact, because that's the official report, they've literally ruined people's lives from that.”

Loudermilk has plenty of questions.

“Did the FBI have actionable intelligence that this was happening? And what did they do with it? Did they pass it to Capitol Police? Was it passed on? Same with Homeland Security. We're investigating there, and we have reason to believe they had intelligence, it wasn't passed on.”

After an 18-month investigation, the bipartisan committee referred Trump to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. Loudermilk and other Republicans claim much remained unanswered.

“How did this Capitol get breached? Regardless of who did it, it should have never been breached,” Loudermilk said.

“An unarmed mob was able to get in the Capitol, you can't find anything in their report about that. ‘Pipe bombs’ are mentioned five times only in passing, but ‘Donald Trump’ was mentioned over a thousand. So that's why we're looking into it.”

In fact, court records show rioters were armed with weapons including firearms, tasers and knives, as well as makeshift implements used to attack police.

Loudermilk was investigated by the initial Jan. 6 committee after video surfaced of him giving a Capitol tour the day before the attack. Like other Republicans, he refused to sit for an interview.

‘Run the tape’

Democrats plan to hammer home that Loudermilk and other Republicans repeatedly rebuffed fact-finding efforts.

“We can go back to some of the people who didn't testify before and who blew off their subpoenas to see if they're ready to testify,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told Raw Story.

Since serving on the initial Jan. 6 committee, Raskin has become top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, making him an ex-officio member of the GOP’s new panel.

While he dismisses the investigation, Raskin promises to use his perch to highlight the terror of Jan. 6, 2021.

“It's going to be an opportunity for us to talk about the tremendous damage inflicted on the police,” Raskin said.

While Raskin is the only carryover from the initial select committee, other alumni also see Trump’s effort to rehash Jan. 6 as a chance to remind the nation of the attempt to overturn the will of the people that culminated in the brutal attack.

“Ridiculous, but it will give us an opportunity to run the tape over and over again. Why do they want to do this?” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) told Raw Story.

“We found the facts. We posted them. It's terabytes of information. Anyone can get it. They're trying to erase history.”

‘Whitewashing’

Even some in Trump’s own party are questioning his goal.

“Why can't we just say those who hurt cops, they were wrong?” Bacon told Raw Story.

“They deserve to be punished — 140 cops were injured. I don't know why we can't have just some honesty, that there were some bad apples in this whole crowd. They deserve to be punished.”

Not according to Trump, who granted blanket pardons. Democrats see the new committee as an extension of that effort.

“The president, on day one, pardoning 1,500 insurrectionists, criminals — violent criminals — was a whitewashing, an attempt to rewrite history,” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) told Raw Story. “Most importantly, he was pardoning himself. This is a continuation of that.

“It's so infuriating. Just distraction, that's what the administration wants. A little more whitewashing. Absolutely.”

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AN 5 26

President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim that he won the 2020 presidential election — and now that fabrication is fueling the agendas for a new generation of potential Republican governors.

Michigan Republican strategist Jason Cabel Roe argued that the emphasis on supporting Trump’s election denial is “silly because they know better,” wrote The Washington Post's Dan Merica, Patrick Marley and Clara Ence Morse. The former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party then added “but, you know, it’s still what the base wants to hear.” Despite this obsession, however, Roe added that voters are far more concerned about the economy and the price of gas.

“There’s enough muddying of what everybody’s feelings are about election integrity at this point — and maybe even a little exhaustion with relitigating an election that was six years ago — that I just don’t know that it really matters to voters,” Roe explained. His position was supported by a March NBC News poll which determined voters are mostly concerned with inflation and the cost of living, followed by threats to democracy.

The Republicans running for governor in their respective states on election denier platforms include Minnesota's Mike Lindell, who founded MyPillow; Arizona's Rep. Andy Biggs; Georgia's Lt. Gov. Burt Jones; Pennsylvania’s Republican treasurer's Stacy Garrity; Wisconsin's Rep. Tom Tiffany; Michigan's state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt and Rep. John James; and California's Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

In addition to demonstrating their fealty to Trump, election denying also means these candidates could try throwing out valid vote counting efforts in the 2028 presidential election if urged by the White House.

“This is an important issue,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, a group preparing to make Republicans’ history of election denialism a key issue in 2026, said at a speech. “But it’s not the only issue, and it shouldn’t necessarily be the lead thing. Almost everyone in this economy is struggling because of [Trump] and these folks that are running, these election deniers, were willing to do anything for this president. So, their past attempts to steal an election were to steal it for a guy that’s made life tougher. They’re certainly not going to stand up to him to try to make life easier.”

As conservative columnist George F. Will wrote in February, Trump has thoroughly litigated his claims of election fraud, and they have all been found wanting.

“Someone should read to him ‘Lost, Not Stolen,’ a 2022 report by eight conservatives (two former Republican senators, three former federal appellate judges, a former Republican solicitor general, and two Republican election law specialists),” Will explained in The Washington Post. “They examined all 187 counts in the 64 court challenges filed in multiple states by Trump and his supporters. Twenty cases were dismissed before hearings on their merits, 14 were voluntarily dismissed by Trump and his supporters before hearings. Of the 30 that reached hearings on the merits, Trump’s side prevailed in only one, Pennsylvania, involving far too few votes to change the state’s result.”

Will added, “Trump’s batting average? .016. In Arizona, the most exhaustively scrutinized state, a private firm selected by Trump’s advocates confirmed Trump’s loss, finding 99 additional Biden votes and 261 fewer Trump votes.” Therefore he wrote of Trump, “The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.”

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GGL 5 26

DOJ scrutinized Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar texts and calls in Jan. 6 case

35 days agoU.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar were in touch with "pertinent parties" in the Jan. 6 investigation, prosecutors wrote in newly released emails.

](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2026/03/27/doj-scrutinized-biggs-gosar-jan-6/89339142007/)

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an 8 25

On Thursday, August 21, conservative Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) made a major announcement: He is running for Texas attorney general, a position presently held by far-right Ken Paxton — who is challenging incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the state's 2026 GOP U.S. Senate primary.

Roy is a prominent player in the House Freedom Caucus and is known for being a relentless budget hawk. In an article published on August 22, The Hill's Emily Brooks stresses that Bolton's announcement is a major shakeup for the Freedom Caucus and the U.S. House of Representatives' small GOP majority.

"Several other notable Freedom Caucus members are seeking higher office, too: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Byron Donalds (Fla.), and Ralph Norman (S.C.) are running for governor; Rep. Barry Moore (Ala.) launched a Senate bid last week; and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) is interested in being appointed to the Senate if Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wins the governorship," Brooks explains. "Some members hope that the departures of those members who have often cause headaches will lead to greater GOP harmony and less chaos in Congress."

At times, Roy has butted heads with President Donald Trump over budgetary matters.

IFrame Content

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin) told The Hill, "The outcome of Chip leaving is a more productive Congress. He's been a contrarian, and he's been an obstructionist."

But some GOP lawmakers, according to Brooks, view Roy "as an important bridge between the Freedom Caucus and the rest of the House GOP and someone who negotiates in good faith."

Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Oklahoma) told The Hill, "My hope is that we'll have members from the Freedom Caucus step up to fill that void, because there's a need for us to continue to work together."

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The legislation does name several individual officers, including Goodman, for their valor, saying “Capitol Police Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, Metropolitan Police Department Officer Jeffrey Smith, and those who sustained injuries, and the courage of Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, exemplify the patriotism and the commitment of Capitol Police officers, and those of other law enforcement agencies, to risk their lives in service of our country.”

The 21 Republicans who voted against the bill are:

Lauren Boebert of Colorado
John Rose of Tennessee
Andy Harris of Maryland
Thomas Massie of Kentucky
Bob Good of Virginia
Louie Gohmert of Texas
Barry Moore of Alabama
Ralph Norman of South Carolina
Matt Rosendale of Montana
Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
Chip Roy of Texas
Paul Gosar of Arizona
Andy Biggs of Arizona
Warren Davidson of Ohio
Scott Perry of Pennsylvania
Matt Gaetz of Florida
Greg Steube of Florida
Andrew Clyde of Georgia
Jody Hice of Georgia
Mary Miller of Illinois
Michael Cloud of Texas

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ggl 6 25

Deseret News

This congressman, and BYU grad, wants to make Arizona the Florida of the West

What is Biggs' vision for the Grand Canyon State? He joked he wants to make Arizona “the Florida of the West,” a nod to his colleague Rep. Byron...

.3 weeks ago

FOX News Radio

Rep. Andy Biggs: Arizona Is Doing So Much Better Thanks To The Trump Administration's Border Crackdown

Arizona Republican Congressman Andy Biggs joins Fox Across America With guest host Rich Zeoli to shed light on how the Trump...

.4 days ago

Axios

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs eyes run for Arizona governor in 2026

Biggs eyes 2026 run for Arizona governor ... Andy Biggs sits at a table during a congressional hearing. ... U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, an ally of...

.Jan 21, 2025

AZFamily

Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs announces death of daughter

Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs announces death of daughter ... Republican Rep. Andy Biggs announced on Friday that his daughter, Cosette, passed...

.Apr 18, 2025

FOX 10 Phoenix

2026 Election: Here's who's running for governor in Arizona

November 2026 is still some time away, but a number of Arizonans are getting ready to run for Arizona's highest political office.

.3 days ago

KJZZ

Congressman Andy Biggs officially enters 2026 Arizona governor's race

Republican Congressman Andy Biggs formally filed a statement of interest today to run for Arizona governor in 2026. Listen • 2:23. Stay...

.Jan 27, 2025

The Arizona Republic

Governor's race is over a year away. But this Republican is already a shoe-in | Opinion

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs is Kari Lake without the sneer, making him a virtual shoe-in for the Republican Arizona governor nomination in 2026.

.3 weeks ago

Noble Predictive Insights

AZ Governor’s Race: Biggs Gains Momentum as GOP Field Shifts

Karrin Taylor Robson currently leads in the primary, but the late-breaking development of Charlie Kirk's endorsement of U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs...

.3 weeks ago

Arizona Capitol Times

Rep. Biggs promises to eliminate income tax and create speedy elections as governor

If Andy Biggs is elected governor, he wants to eliminate income taxes, further secure the border and help Republican state lawmakers advance...

.3 weeks ago

Roll Call

GOP Rep. Andy Biggs weighs run for Arizona governor in 2026

Biggs, who was among the conservative firebrands who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023, was first elected to the House in 2016...

.Jan 21, 2025

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an 525

Axios reports three of President Donald Trump's top political lieutenants are vacating the campaign of Arizona gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson.

Trump essentially dismissed Robson’s campaign late last month and endorsed her GOP opponent Rep. Andy Biggs. The move amounts to an unusual simultaneous double endorsement for the Republican Arizona primary after Robson delayed running ads highlighting the president's endorsement of her back in December.

Trump aids working with her campaign urged Robeson to broadcast the president’s endorsement last year, and Robson indicated she planned to quickly finance the production and airing of the ads. Axios reports the ads did not appear on local stations until April 28, however, more than four months after Trump’s endorsement — and six days after Trump had moved on and backed Biggs.

Trump's team told Axios they “felt misled” with the delay.

IFrame Content

"She won't listen to anyone else, so she can run her own campaign now," an anonymous source told Axios.

Another GOP strategist told Axios: “It's basically the greatest self-own in GOP political history."

“It takes special skill to botch a GOP primary with the Trump endorsement, but unfortunately that's what this candidate has single-handedly assured," the strategist said.

Robson, who is a lobbyist, was already attracting opposition from Republican commentators and conspiracy theorists who have Trump’s ear. Social media firebrand Laura Loomer says Robson isn’t conservative enough and prefers Biggs, who helped Trump try to overturn the 2020 election. Briggs also claims he won his election fair and square while insisting Trump’s race was stolen in the same election.

Read the full Axios report here.

===

an 4 24

Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) have been subpoenaed by Arizona investigators to testify for a grand jury in connection to their efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Politico exclusively reports.

Politico notes as far-right Freedom Caucus chair at the time, Biggs, along "with Gosar were among the most vocal congressional supporters of Trump’s efforts to overturn Biden’s victory in Arizona," and both GOP lawmakers sought "to challenge the state’s presidential electors on Jan. 6, 2021, when Congress met to certify the results of the Electoral College."

The news outlet adds, "Gosar was mounting that challenge at the same moment a pro-Trump mob broke into the Capitol and halted proceedings."

READ MORE:['We have to worry about physical violence': AZ elections chief preps for threats from MAGA

Although there's no proof Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes will bring criminal charges against the pair, "the subpoenas themselves — in conjunction with a series of other aggressive recent moves — show that Mayes, a Democrat, has cast a far wider net in her probe than previously understood," Politico notes.

"Getting a subpoena to testify in front of a grand jury is kind of rare," American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona Legal Director Jared Keenan said. "And that’s why I think no one has challenged the secrecy law."

Some of the Arizona lawmakers' attempt to overturn the election according to investigators, includes Gosar's ongoing "relationships with activists organizing 'Stop the Steal' protests targeting Congress’ Jan. 6 session."

Regarding Biggs' actions, Politico reports, "text messages obtained by the Jan. 6 committee" show that "Biggs quickly contacted Trump’s White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, after Election Day 2020 to push for state legislatures to overrule the results in multiple states Biden won."

READ MORE:['Resigning as Lake requested': AZ GOP chair quits amid threat of more leaks from Kari Lake

Additionally, "Biggs also told Meadows that Trump should not concede the election and reportedly worked with other Arizona Republicans to advance the fake elector effort."

*Politico's full report is available here.

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although Democrats have been struggling in Florida, they have gained a lot of ground in Arizona, Georgia and Virginia — all of which were once deep red but have evolved into full-fledged swing states. Arizona was once synonymous with the conservatism of Sen. Barry Goldwater and his successor, Sen. John McCain; now, it has a Democratic governor (Katie Hobbs), two non-GOP U.S. senators (Democrat Mark Kelly and ex-Democrat turned independent Kyrsten Sinema), and a Democratic state attorney general — who has been leading a thorough criminal investigation of MAGA efforts to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results.

One of 2020's political bombshells came when now-President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in Arizona. Although Trump falsely claimed that he won the state, meticulous recounts thoroughly debunked that claim.

According to Politico, Democratic Arizona AG Kris Mayes has subpoenaed two far-right MAGA congressmen who were major promoters of the Big Lie: Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar.

READ MORE:[CNN sues for recordings of President Biden’s interview in classified docs probe: report

Politico reporters Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney note that although "there is no indication that" Mayes "is considering bringing criminal charges against either lawmaker," the subpoenas "show that Mayes…. has cast a far wider net in her probe than previously understood."

"Mayes appears to be nearing a decision on whether to ask the grand jury to issue indictments in the case," Swan and Cheney report in an article published on April 4. "If she does, she will become the fourth state or local prosecutor to bring criminal charges over the efforts by Trump and his allies to submit fake electors in states that Joe Biden won."

The Politico journalists add, "In recent weeks, Mayes' office has sent out a wave of grand jury subpoenas. She also has required Arizona Republicans who falsely claimed to be the state's presidential electors to assert their Fifth Amendment rights in front of the grand jury — an unusual step that has generated criticism from some former prosecutors."

Swan and Cheney note that Arizona "was one of seven states won by Biden where Trump's allies organized slates of so-called alternate electors."

READ MORE:['Wrong!' AOC schools Ted Cruz on RICO laws

"Prosecutors in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada have brought criminal charges against false electors in those states, and special counsel Jack Smith has called the scheme a central element of Trump's bid to subvert the election," according to the Politico reporters. "Subpoenas to members of Congress in criminal investigations are rare, in part because lawmakers enjoy robust constitutional protections from criminal proceedings connected to their official business."

Swan and Cheney add, "But Biggs and Gosar are not the first lawmakers to face scrutiny from criminal investigators probing Trump's efforts to fight the 2020 election results. In 2022, the FBI seized the phone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) as part of the Justice Department's election-subversion probe."

Legal journalist Luke Johnson, in response to the subpoenas, notes the connection between them and far-right MAGA conspiracy theorist Ali Alexander Akbar.

On X, formerly Twitter, Johnson posted, "More to the Story: Ali Alexander Akbar BRAGGED that Paul Gosar & Andy Biggs were his partners on the #StopTheSteal rallies that led to the #Jan6 violent riots. They all must be held accountable, they've laughed it off for years."

The Daily Beast notes that in 2022, the January 6 Select Committee "found that both Biggs and Gosar attended a White House meeting with Trump on December 21, 2020, to strategize on ways that then-Vice President Mike Pence could block the certification of the election results."

READ MORE:[Fani Willis fights back against House GOP efforts to derail Trump RICO case

*Read Politico's full report at this link

IN a Sunday, January 21 op-ed, MSNBC Daily writer and editor Hayes Brown points to "an amicus (or friend of the court) brief filed on behalf of nearly 200 Republican members of Congress," which urges the US Supreme Court to determine whether Donald Trump can remain on the ballot in Colorado. Brown emphasizes "that there's a deeply self-serving element to their arguments."

He adds, "Under the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling," several GOP lawmakers "could also credibly be described as having 'engaged in insurrection' — and thus theoretically be disqualified from holding office," just as Donald Trump could.

Brown writes, "Dozens of other signatories voted against certifying Biden’s win even after the rioters had stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The goal of their brief isn’t just to keep their party’s standard-bearer on the ballot, but it’s also to absolve themselves of their own sins and to inoculate themselves from calls that they, too, face accountability for supporting Trump’s attempt to steal the election."

The MSNBC Daily writer notes:

*Section 3 states, in part, that if somebody has 'previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States … to support the Constitution of the United States' but then has 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,' that person can’t be allowed to 'be a Senator or Representative in Congress.'Section 3 also gives Congress the power to, 'by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.'

*The self-interested lawmakers give up the game with this line from the brief: 'Although not directly relevant to President Trump, the Colorado Supreme Court would give itself the power to judge the qualifications of those who would be elected to the House or Senate.' That would be especially troubling for Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona. The three of them were knee-deep in plotting to overturn the election, and, in a more just world, they would have faced expulsion for violating Section 3. It’s their inclusion as signatories on the amicus brief that makes this filing particularly odious.

*Read Brown's full op-ed here.

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bribe tapes BS

https://www.alternet.org/we-dont-know-biggs-greene/

impeach mayorkas 2/2 by biggs

basically no change title 42? in court? biden admin expanded countries on it?

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// Arizona Republicans convene a COVID hearing chock full of misinformation — again - Alternet.org

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Arizona Republicans convene a COVID hearing chock full of misinformation — again

Jerod Macdonald-Evoy, Arizona Mirror

October 21, 2023

For the second time in five months, Republican state lawmakers listened intently and offered no pushback during a day-long special hearing at the Arizona Senate billed as examining the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic that was instead rife with conspiracy theories, misinformation and fear-mongering around vaccines and public health.

In May, the Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee featured testimony from a group of supposed health experts who spread myriad misinformation about vaccines and the pandemic during the committee’s time. On Friday, the committee convened again, bringing some of the same people to speak.

The committee had previously faced criticism for its awkward name, which has been promoted in abbreviated form by the QAnon-friendly political nonprofit The America Project. The abbreviated name, NCSWIC, is a commonly used abbreviation in the QAnon world, where it means “Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming,” alluding to predictions of arrests and executions of members of the “deep state.”

Although the official name of the panel spells the word “southwestern” correctly, the committee was listed as “NCSWIC” on the Arizona Legislature’s website and the abbreviation was used by outside boosters.

The Republican elected officials on the panel were state Sens. T.J. Shope and Janae Shamp, the chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee; state Rep. Steve Montenegro, who chairs the state House of Representatives’ Health and Human Services Committee; and U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs, Eli Crane and Paul Gosar.

While the state legislators were in attendance, Biggs, Crane and Gosar only appeared electronically and delivered pre-recorded video addresses. All three were in Washington, D.C., Friday as Republicans are locked in a fight over who should lead the U.S. House of Representatives.

“It’s disheartening to see Arizona’s elected officials once again provide a platform for spreading dangerous disinformation about vaccines for children,” Becky Christensen, founder and state campaigns director of SAFE Communities Coalition, the nation’s first pro-vaccine political advocacy organization, said in a statement to the Arizona Mirror. “Public health should be guided by fact-based information, not misinformation. Their actions undermine efforts to safeguard our communities.”

Christensen added that lawmakers should seek “responsible and informed discourse” to help better guide public health decisions.

Misinformation returns

Dr. Peter McCoullough once again boldly proclaimed that the COVID-19 virus came from a lab in Wuhan, China. There is no consensus on the origin of the virus.

McCoullough is known for spreading unfounded claims, especially around the origins of the virus. He previously has stated that he believed the pandemic was “planned” and has promoted the QAnon conspiracy film “Plandemic.”

McCoullough has become a darling to those in both QAnon and the broader conspiracy world, appearing regularly on shows like the one hosted by conspiracy theorist Stew Peters, who said the COVID vaccine is a “bioweapon.” Peters also was behind multiple QAnon conspiracy documentaries that made dubious claims about the vaccine, including that it included snake venom.

McCoullough has also appeared on disgraced retired Gen. Michael Flynn’s “Reawaken America” tour, where he has denounced drag shows and gender identity issues.

During Friday’s hearing, McCoullough spread even more falsehoods around COVID-19 and vaccine efficacy.

“It is called ‘turbo cancer’ for a reason,” McCoullough said, adding that he believes it is “theoretically possible” that multiple vaccines “could be related to cancer.”

The term “turbo cancer” comes from people who have spread false information about the COVID vaccine, attempting to link it to an aggressive form of cancer. There is no established link between the vaccine and cancer, and studies have found either no association or found a decreased risk of lymphoma.

McCoullough also continued to spread a false claim that 17 million people have been killed by the vaccine. The notion comes from a highly flawed analysis of data claiming that mortality rates were spiking because of the vaccine. McCoullough also spread other similar claims, such as saying that more than 500,000 people in the United States were killed by the vaccine, an idea based on a misrepresentation of United Kingdom data.

And McCoullough appeared to make claims that alluded to a conspiracy theory widely adopted by QAnon adherents, which was featured in a discredited film, claiming that blood clots found in people’s bodies were caused by the COVID vaccine.

The film, “Died Suddenly,” suggests it is all part of a shadowy plot to depopulate the world. But experts who have examined the film’s claims have said that many of the clots appear to be post-mortem clots. Cases of clots caused by the vaccine are “very rare,” according to one study that found only approximately 1,000 cases out of 2 million. The movie also featured incidents that occurred before the pandemic in 2020, but presented them as consequences of vaccination.

A member of the panel also has a direct connection to the conspiracy film.

Dr. Peter Chambers, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, appears in the film speaking about the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database, or DMED, which he claimed showed a spike in medical conditions in the military which he attributed to COVID-19 vaccines.

Chambers’ claim has been debunked since 2021 by multiple fact-checkers.

The former military doctor is also a believer in the debunked conspiracy theory that 5G cellular technology is connected to the COVID-19 virus. Chambers also was part of a failed lawsuit seeking to prevent the military from implementing a COVID vaccine mandate.

Chambers’ presentation to the committee included a slide that referred to the “globalists.”

The globalist conspiracy theory is a far-right conspiracy theory with roots in antisemitism and is also often connected to the idea of a “New World Order” and a one-world government, most often with the Jewish people at the center of the conspiracy. Peters, the conspiracy theory talk show host and the man behind “Died Suddenly,” frequently works with antisemites and white supremacists. Chambers has also been supported by the America Project, which boosted the hearing and helped fund the Arizona Senate’s partisan “audit” of the 2020 election.

Also returning to the committee was Aaron Siri, an attorney who is most well known for his work with an organization called the Informed Consent Action Network, or ICAN.

ICAN has been on the frontlines of anti-vaccine misinformation and is led by Del Bigtree, a television and film producer who has become an anti-vaccine activist. ICAN was listed as one of the “key organizations” tied to the Center for Countering Digital Hate’s “The Disinformation Dozen,” the anti-vaxxers who play leading roles in spreading digital misinformation about COVID vaccines. Chambers mentioned that he worked with Bigtree on anti-vaccine issues.

Siri claimed that “you can’t say vaccines have reduced chronic health issues” among children.

“I’m not saying vaccines cause those,” he said, sharing a misleading claim on chronic illness in children. “Something is definitely going on.”

The committee also heard from Arizona resident Calli Varner, who claimed that she had a stroke due to the COVID vaccine.

Varner had an ischemic stroke when a blood-clot made its way to her brain. Strokes have been on the rise in younger populations, with doctors theorizing that one cause could be patent foramen ovale, which is present in between 24 to 40% of the population and generally goes unnoticed.

Varner told the committee that she has had various health problems develop, including an autoimmune issue, since she got vaccinated. McCoullough said he had been consulting with the Scottsdale resident about her experience and used the opportunity to say that strokes, infertility and immune disorders are being caused by the vaccine.

Studies have shown that those who contracted COVID-19 have an increased risk of stroke, while those who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and did not contract COVID -19 have “no difference in stroke risk.” There is also no evidence that the vaccine causes infertility and no conclusive evidence to suggest a link between the vaccine and autoimmune disorders.

McCoullough also once again spoke about the scientifically unsound plan to help people remove spike proteins from people’s bodies.

Shamp, a former nurse who has claimed she was fired because she refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, came up with the idea for the hearing and those in attendance applauded her for putting it together.

Shamp, who was present during the events of Jan. 6, has spread a multitude of QAnon conspiracy theories online for years, including a post with “NCSWIC” in it. Shamp said at the end of the hearing Friday that another one will be happening “sometime in December.”

Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.

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twenty-two House Republicans have signed on to a motion filed in federal court requesting to be allowed to join Governor Greg Abbott in defending the Texas Republican against a federal government lawsuit alleging his 1000 feet of razor wire and floating buoys constructed of circular saw blades, designed to prevent migrants from crossing into the United States from Texas, are illegal.

They have invoked the Bible’s Book of Genesis, including Noah’s Ark, to make their case.

“In a motion filed on behalf of U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, and other GOP members, lawyers for the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundationhave asked to be part of the case and targeted how a key law is interpreted in it,” the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation is the right-wing organization The New York Times last year profiled as “The Texas Group Waging a National Crusade Against Climate Action.”

RELATED: Supreme Court in Hand, Far Right Wing Prepares to ‘Take the Reins of Government’

The buoys, deployed on the Rio Grande river, may have led to the deaths of two migrants, possibly including a child.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas called the buoys “barbaric,” and in video showed they are constructed of circular saw blades. In that video Congressman Castro also points to Governor Abbott’s razor wire fences.

Sawyer Hackett, a senior advisor to former Obama Cabinet Secretary Julián Castro, referred to the floating fences as “razor wire death trap buoys.”

“A key point to the Arrington group’s defense is whether the 1,900-mile Rio Grande should be defined as a navigable waterway despite being used by thousands of boats every year,” The Chronicle explains. “They point to a court case from 1870 that suggested that the term navigable waterway is intended to mean moving commerce from one state to another or to a different country and not just one where any small boat occasionally uses the river.”

READ MORE: Critics Blast Top US Conservative Think Tank President for Applauding Italy’s Election of ‘Neo-Fascist’ Prime Minister

That’s where the Bible and Noah’s Ark come in.

“Indeed, if one takes the Book of Genesis literally, then the entire world was once navigable by boats large enough to carry significant amounts of livestock,” the proposed amicus brief reads. “Under the federal government’s theory, these anecdotes would render any structure built anywhere in Texas an obstruction to navigation subject to federal regulation.”

Governor Abbott has had a long partnership with theTexas Public Policy Foundation.

In 2016, as NCRM reported, Abbott while at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, unveiled a major policy plan toalter the U.S. Constitution, adding nine amendments,the result of which could have lead to same-sex marriage bans and anend of LGBTQ protections.

According to Congressman Arrington, the list of signatories to his amicus brief include: Rep. Jodey Arrington, Dr. Michael Burgess, Rep. August Pfluger, Rep. Brian Babin, Rep. Andy Biggs, Rep. Roger Williams, Rep. Lance Gooden, Rep. Beth Van Duyne, Rep. Jake Ellzey, Rep. Vern Buchanan, Rep.Chip Roy, Rep. Nathaniel Moran, Rep. David Rouzer, Rep. Pete Sessions,Rep. Ronny Jackson, Rep. Sam Graves,Rep. Clay Higgins, Rep. Michael Cloud,Rep. Keith Self, Rep. John Carter, Rep. Jeff Duncan, Rep. Kat Cammack.

Watch the video above or at this link.

'Very scary': Former RNC staffer dishes on the more terrifying members of GOP's right-wing

https://www.mediamatters.org/white-nationalism/rep-andy-biggs-r-az-praises-conspiracy-theorist-stew-peters

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arizona Senate Republicans began a two-day convening of hearings Thursday morning centered around "supposed 'atrocities' committed by public health officials in response to the Covid-19 pandemic," Rolling Stone reports.

Planned by the newly formed Novel Coronavirus South Western Intergovernmental Committee (NCSWIC), "the QAnon-inflected, anti-vaccine circus" according to Rolling Stone, will involve "appearances from a murderers' row of hard-right federal congressmen, including Reps. Paul Gosar,Andy Biggs, and Eli Crane."

Additionally, the publication reports "The NCSWIC committee will take testimony from a panel of notorious doctors who have touted unproven and discredited treatments for Covid — includingone doc who preaches that Covid public-health restrictions were, in fact, 'Satan's Wholistic Health Care Plan.'"

READ MORE: 'Duct tape people to a tree!' Arizona GOP goes further off the rails

In 2021, according to AZCentral, Arizona State GOP Senator Ron Johnson tweeted a false claim saying, "in England, more vaccinated than unvaccinated individuals are succumbing to the disease."

Additionally, Arizona Republican Party Chair Dr. Kelli Ward retweeted the claim.

AZCentral reported, "According to the latest studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention individuals who are unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who are vaccinated," adding, "Likewise, vaccinated individuals are five times less likely to get infected and 10 less likely to end up in the hospital if they do."

Furthermore, the publication added "As factcheckers at Reuters concluded, 'Suggestions that higher numbers vaccinated individuals are dying in England than unvaccinated omits context that most of the population has been vaccinated. Evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death.'"

Per Rolling Stone, State Senate president pro tempore T.J. Shope insisted in a "teaser video" for the hearings, he and fellow state GOP leaders would "expose all the atrocities committed during the pandemic response, and Senator Janae Shamp added "she lost her" nursing "job for refusing to take the 'jab,'" claiming "lives and livelihoods were lost for no other reason than horrific government overreach."

READ MORE: How far-right MAGA conspiracy theorists are causing a 'near-civil war within the Arizona GOP': report

Refusing to elaborate further on the "atrocities" claim, Shope said, "Many of our citizens have had an evolution of thought on the pandemic — myself included. And that is why I believe it's so important for those of you feeling this way to tune in. You're not alone."

"Appealing directly to the mindset of conspiracy theorists," according to Rolling Stone, "the NCSWIC hearings promise to reveal hidden truths about the dark reality of the medical establishment, and implore viewers to trust their guts over mainstream scientific evidence."

Furthermore, Rolling Stone reports:

A look at the 'expert panelists' engaged by the committee does not reveal a lineup of overt QAnon proponents. But it shows the NCSWIC committee’s abiding interest in unproven cures and treatments for Covid, as well as the unhinged belief that public health interventions to curb the pandemic were more harmful than the disease itself, which has killed more than a million Americans.

Rolling Stone also notes:

In recent years, QAnon has transcended its origin story, and now lives on as a belief system for nearly anyone who believes that the world is run by nefarious, powerful forces who pose as virtuous, but are actually pure evil, whether they be in government, Big Tech or, specifically, Big Pharma.

READ MORE: 'Unqualified handover': Arizona AG sues Republican county for giving GOP recorder election power

Rolling Stone's full report is available at this link (subscription required).AZCentral's report is here. no lnx

Kelli Ward, chair of the Arizona Republican Party and (according to her website) still a practicing physician, has joined fellow high profile Republicans whose aim, it seems, is to put as many members of the GOP as possible in…the morgue.

Over the weekend Ward retweeted something from Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, one of the most ardent anti-vaccine misinformation spreaders in the land.

Here is the bottom line.

According to the latest studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention individuals who are unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who are vaccinated. Likewise, vaccinated individuals are five times less likely to get infected and 10 less likely to end up in the hospital if they do.

The science is clear. The numbers don’t lie.

What about 'first do no harm'?

Given that, you’d think that high ranking members of a political party would do everything in their power to protect their voters by encouraging them to get vaccinated.

And you’d particularly think that of a physician.

But, no.

Sen. Johnson published a tweet speaking about how, in England, more vaccinated than unvaccinated individuals are succumbing to the disease.

What he doesn’t point out is that a vast majority of that country has been vaccinated, so such a statistic shouldn’t be surprising. He also doesn’t point out that many more individuals would be dying if so many of England’s citizens weren’t vaccinated.

As factcheckers at Reuters concluded, “Suggestions that higher numbers vaccinated individuals are dying in England than unvaccinated omits context that most of the population has been vaccinated. Evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death.”

Still, Johnson published his tweet and Ward retweeted it.

As a result of conspiracy-driven misinformation like this there is an excellent chance that more Republicans will follow the apparent guidance of their leaders and…die.

Polls already show that the most unvaccinated group of individuals in the United States are members of the GOP, particularly those who were big supporters of former President Donald Trump.

I thought Kelli Ward liked those people.

Unvaccinated encourage new mutation

As for those who say we shouldn’t care if Dr. Ward transforms herself into Dr. Death, that we shouldn’t care about the unvaccinated, or who say the unvaccinated are only hurting themselves, I would defer to Patrick Remington, a former epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's preventive medicine residency program.

He said, "There’s no question that people who are unvaccinated are the main contributor to the continued transmission of COVID-19 and every transmission presents an opportunity for the virus to mutate to a more contagious and more lethal variant."

Not politics. Science.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/05/boebert-promotes-globalist-conspiracy-at-rally-opposing-world-health-organization/53533/

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Erik Maulbetsch @ Colorado Times Recorder: Boebert Promotes ‘Globalist’ Conspiracy at Rally Opposing World Health Organization.

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NEWS

Boebert Promotes ‘Globalist’ Conspiracy at Rally Opposing World Health Organization

Erik Maulbetsch

posted on

May 18, 2023

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) joined many of her Freedom Caucus colleagues in a full-blown “globalist” conspiracy press conference yesterday.

In addition to a dozen or so members of Congress, the “Exit the WHO [World Health Organization]” event at the Capitol featured organizer Frank Gaffney, a notorious Islamophobe whose Center for Security Policy is an anti-Muslim hate group.

Gaffney and the lawmakers, including Boebert, made numerous unsubstantiated claims, from the World Health Organization being controlled by China, to blaming it for the COVID pandemic, to claiming it is the vehicle for a plot to force all nations under a single worldwide government.

Image created by Gaffney’s Sovereignty Coalition blames the WHO for all American COVID deaths.

Gaffney kicked off his remarks with a claim that has been repeatedly debunked:

“The Chinese Communist Party runs the World Health Organization,” said Gaffney. “It runs the World Health Organization in furtherance of its long-standing objective of global governance- that’s one world government.”

In advance of the rally, Gaffney’s Sovereignty Coalition has created a “meme library” for the purpose of attacking the WHO. The images are rife with unsubstantiated conspiracies, including one that says: “The W.H.O. killed over One Million Americans?” presumably blaming the organization for all American COVID deaths.

None of this is true. The fact checks debunking the various claims are legion, and longstanding. Here’s a line from the Associated Press:

“CLAIM: A legally-binding World Health Organization ‘pandemic treaty’ will give the organization the authority to control U.S. policies during a pandemic, including those on vaccines, lockdowns, school closures and more.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The voluntary treaty, which is in draft form and is still far away from ratification, does not overrule any nation’s ability to pass individual pandemic-related policies, multiple experts, including one involved in the draft process, told The Associated Press.”

Boebert mentioned several classic conspiracy tropes in her brief speech. As the fact-check above makes clear, the U.S. is not surrendering its sovereignty to the WHO. She then lists three reasons the WHO is bad: she claims it’s controlled by China, it’s linked to the World Economic Forum, and it sabotaged the investigation of COVID’s origin. None of these are true. The WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, governed by an executive board of 34 countries that currently includes the United States and China.

While there are disputes over how aggressively the WHO pursued the COVID origin investigation, it’s Boebert’s second point that raises the conspiracy red flag. Without any context or follow-up, she links the WHO to the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is a dog-whistle reference that “globalist” conspiracists no doubt heard loud and clear.

“On Day One Biden made it clear he wasn’t fit for the job when he brought the United States back into the World Health Organization,” said Boebert. “The results of Biden’s failed foreign policy is absolutely astonishing. The Biden Administration plans to surrender U.S sovereignty to unelected bureaucracy— [interrupted by heckler]. To paint a clear picture the Biden Administration is giving the same organization that is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, the same [that has an] affiliation with the World Economic Forum, and the same organization that sabotaged an investigation into the origin of COVID, more control over the American people’s lives. The WHO continues to spread lies and disinformation by praising China’s response to the virus as transparent, which frankly isn’t true.

“Before Biden took office the WHO was unable to do anything without written permission from our government. Now, if Joe Biden gets his way the WHO will have even more control over the most most private parts of our lives. This is not about public health! The WHO made it very clear they will censor anyone who does not agree with their agenda to control every aspect of people’s lives. They want total control over vaccinations, digitalization of health records, and your travel. Under this plan the Biden Administration is adopting Marxism by distributing medicine based on “equity.” This is not what a constitutional republic looks like. This is a dictatorship and we must defund the WHO and stop this radical agenda being put forward by the Biden Administration.”

Sovereignty Coalition tweet promoting John Birch Society’s petition to defund the WHO.

Responding to an email request for evidence of her claims and comment on her participation in the rally, a spokesman for Congresswoman Boebert sent a number of links to previous statements and two published reports.

With regards to why she references the World Economic Forum, the spokesman offered five previous tweets she wrote attacking the WEF.

Those include:

“Rather than trying to please Klaus Schwab and George Soros, the people elected to serve our nation should try and actually make the lives of the American people better.”

“Klaus Schwab: ‘The future is being built by us.’ Take it from me, you don’t want to be a part of ANY FUTURE designed by the WEF – because globalism isn’t about YOU, it’s about THEM CONTROLLING YOU.”

Another tweet references a conspiracy that “the WEF announced they hired hundreds of thousands of “information warriors” to police the social media narrative.” The conspiracy was debunked the same day as Boebert’s tweet.

Conspiracies accusing the World Economic Forum of attempting to control the planet and place all humans under a single global government are widely understood to be antisemitic.

Her office also shared a May 2022 opinion column by former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that contained nearly all the points Boebert made in her speech, some in nearly identical language.

A week prior to yesterday’s rally, Gaffney’s group also shared content from another organization making the same “call: “defund and withdraw” call: the infamously racist and conspiracist John Birch Society.

U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Chip Roy (R-TX) urged the public to call Congress and demand passage of a pair of bills they have introduced that would end American payments to the WHO and withdraw the United States from the agency.

The John Birch Society also supports their legislation, as well as the overall “Exit the WHO” demand. It echoes the Sovereignty Coalition’s conspiracist claims on its own website:

“The WHO’s threat to national sovereignty and individual freedom is becoming increasingly blatant and obvious,” claims the John Birch Society. “Not only is the WHO effectively controlled by Communist China and other subversive globalist interests, but it is actively seeking greater, totalitarian control over its member nations, along with all of humanity. If the WHO gets its way, U.S. national sovereignty will become a thing of the past, and the WHO will have total power to mandate vaccinations, impose vaccine passports, and implement a digital health ID— worse, the Biden administration is trying to help the WHO achieve its tyrannical goals.”

Another Sovereignty Coalition meme links the WHO to drag queens, apparently implying some sort of international plan to introduce LGBTQ content to children.

Boebert isn’t the only Coloradan connected to the Sovereignty Coalition. Dede Laugesen, a former Trump campaign staffer and wife of Colorado Springs Gazette editorial page editor Wayne Laugesen works for Gaffney.

She promoted the rally on social media and was praised by longtime anti-WHO activist James Roguski, who after the event wrote “All the credit for the press conference goes to Frank Gaffney, Reggie Littlejohn, DeDe Laugesen, everyone at Sovereignty Coalition.”

The full video of the press conference is available to watch here.

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all 26 Republicans on the powerful House Oversight Committee have refused to sign a simple, two-sentence statement denouncing white supremacy.

"We, Members of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, together denounce white nationalism and white supremacy in all its forms, including the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory. These hateful and dangerous ideologies have no place in the work of the United States Congress or our Committee," the statement (copy below) from Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) reads.

It comes after several Oversight Committee Republicans "invoked dangerous and conspiratorial rhetoric echoing the racist and nativist tropes peddled by white supremacists and right-wing extremists," during a February hearing on the "border crisis," Ranking Member Raskin said in a March 5 letter to Committee Chair James Comer (photo, top.) The Washington Post first reported on Raskin’s letter.

"In particular, some Members repeatedly described the number of migrants arriving at the border as an 'invasion,' and even went so far as to falsely accuse the Biden-Harris Administration of implementing a plan 'to deliberately open our border' for purposes of 'changing our culture'—mirroring language often used by MAGA extremists who believe that pro-immigration policies are designed to replace white populations with non-white immigrants and other racial minorities," Raskin's letter says.

Congressman Raskin is a former constitutional law professor who gained national prominence as the impeachment manager during the second impeachment of Donald Trump.

"As I explained to you at the hearing," his letter to Comer continues, "such language borrows from the 'Great Replacement' theory, the central dogma of contemporary white supremacy that has been repeatedly invoked by white nationalists to justify violent acts of domestic terrorism, including the mass murders of dozens of Americans at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a Walmart in El Paso, Texas."

All 21 Democrats on the Oversight Committee signed the statement, and all 26 Republicans refused. A Committee spokesperson called the statement a "distraction," according to The Independent.

the 26 Republican Representatives who refused to denounce white supremacy and white nationalism are (in order of appearance on the statement): James Comer, Jim Jordan, Mike Turner, Paul Gosar, Virginia Foxx, Glenn Grothman, Gary Palmer, Clay Higgins, Pete Sessions, Andy Biggs, Nancy Mace, Jake LaTurner, pat Fallon, Byron Donalds, Kelly Armstrong, Scott Perry, William Timmons, Tim Burchett, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lisa McClain,Lauren Boebert, Russell Fry, Anna Paulina Luna, Chuck Edwards, Nick Langworthy, and Eric Burlison.

See a copy of the signed/unsigned statement below or at this link.

an 2 23

Critics of Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, including some conservative Republicans, have long described the ultra-MAGA congressman as an example of style over substance. To Jordan’s detractors, he is a showman and a buffoon, not a serious lawmaker.

On the right, former House Speaker John Boehner detests Jordan and has described him as a “legislative terrorist.”And when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was putting together a bipartisan select committee on the January 6, 2021 insurrection, she made it clear that Jordan would not be a part of it. Pelosi welcomed the participation of two right-wing GOP conservatives — then-Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — but she believed that Jordan’s theatrics would make a mockery of the committee.

But Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, now House speaker, regards Jordan as an ally. And according to a report for The Hill by journalists Rebecca Beitsch and Emily Brooks, the congressman and staunch Donald Trump defender now enjoys greater prominence in the U.S. House of Representatives than ever before.

In an article published on February 2, Beitsch and Brooks explain, “Once a thorn in the side of House GOP leaders, Jordan has been elevated to be a top attack dog against Democrats. With the new power to not only direct congressional hearings but utilize subpoenas, Jordan will be both a standard-bearer for the GOP base and a sculptor of the Washington political landscape for the next two years.”

After serving in the Ohio State Legislature for over a decade, Jordan was first elected to the U.S. House in 2006. That year, Democrats enjoyed a major blue wave thanks to frustration with the George W. Bush Administration and the war in Iraq. But Jordan entered Congress via a highly gerrymandered district and has been reelected eight times; he is now serving his ninth term and has been a key member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

During the Boehner-era House, making Jordan chairman of the House Judiciary Committee would have been unthinkable. Now, in the McCarthy-era House, Jordan holds that position.

“It’s a role that will leave the fiery Jordan front and center in representing the GOP, this time imbued with subpoena power as he works to arm-wrestle Biden Administration agencies previously under little obligation to comply with minority oversight,” Beitsch and Brooks note.

Read The Hill’s full report at this link.

an 1 23

**U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs** (R-AZ), the former chair of the far-right **House Freedom Caucus** and an extremist whose own family members called for him to be removed from office over his activities surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, on Monday labeled **First Lady Dr. Jill Biden** “compromised” and said she must be investigated.

Congressman Biggs, who just last month was one of 28 House Republicans voting against legislation to protect child sex abuse victims, has a long history of extremism.

Before his congressional career Biggs served as a policy advisor to **United Families International**, which for at least a decade has repeatedly appeared on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of anti-LGBTQ hate groups. According to a 2012 article in the Phoenix New Times (archived), “Republican state Representative Andy Biggs is the former policy adviser to the group, and his wife Cindy Biggs is currently listed as the organization’s secretary and treasurer on its website.”

Far right activist and conspiracy theorist Ali Alexander, one of the organizers of the Stop the Steal campaign that promotes Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen, credits three GOP Members of Congress with helping him start the movement.

“I was the person that came up with the Jan. 6 idea,” Alexander has said, “with Congressman Gosar, Congressman Mo Brooks, and then Congressman Andy Biggs.”

Arizona’s Copper Courier reports Biggs asked then-President Donald Trump for a preemptive pardon for his actions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. It also reports Biggs “was one of two Congress members who voted against the COVID-19 bill. His reasoning was because he objected to the fact that the bill’s definition of “couples” included same-sex partners.”

Biggs “falsely claimed” that supporters of the bill “redefined family for the first time in a piece of federal legislation to include committed relationships,” according to GLAAD, which noted, “the same language has been included in proposed legislation as far back as 2015.”

As for Congressman Biggs’ attack on First Lady Biden, Monday night he tweeted, “The Biden family highly concerns me. Joe, Hunter, and even ‘Dr.’ Jill. They are compromised and must be investigated.”

The tweet apparently came in response to news that a small number of documents with classified markings had been found in a locked closet that was part of then-former Vice President Joe Biden’s offices. Those documents were reportedly immediately handed over to the National Archives and the Dept. of Justice was notified.

A Google search found no news reports that tie Dr. Biden to the documents in any way.

Biggs tweeted more lies, stating: “Biden stole classified documents and stored them at his think tank while he was VP. The VP does not have any authority to declassify classified documents. And this ‘think tank’ received $54 million in funding from the CCP.”

Although he did not support any of his claims, Biggs is likely referring to a sum total of $54.6 million given by Chinese donors not to the think tank but to the University of Pennsylvania, according to a New York Post report last year.

“The Ivy League college raked in a total of $54.6 million from 2014 through June 2019 in donations from China, including $23.1 million in anonymous gifts starting in 2016, according to public records,” The Post said. The school is home to a think tank named for President Joe Biden, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.

“A University of Pennsylvania spokesman denied any anonymous Chinese money had gone to the center,” the Post added.

https://ballotpedia.org/Andy_Biggs

perry denied, then proved? 3 more denied?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/23/5-takeaways-jan-6-hearing-trumps-doj-plot/

wapo

June 23, 2022

In the Jan. 6 committee hearing on June 23, witnesses described how President Donald Trump pressured the Justice Department to investigate election fraud. (Video: JM Rieger/The Washington Post, Photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

The Jan. 6 committee on Thursday held its fifth major hearing, this one focused on President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to help him overturn the election.

The plot was spearheaded within the department by an official named Jeffrey Clark, whose home federal agents searched Wednesday in a significant development that reflects the increasing legal jeopardy faced by Trump’s allies and perhaps Trump himself. Trump at one point considered installing Clark as acting attorney general to further the plot — which prompted mass resignation threats....

The Jan. 6 committee on Thursday held its fifth major hearing, this one focused on President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to help him overturn the election.

Timeline: Trump's pressure on the Justice Department to overturn the election

Below, some takeaways from the hearing.

The pardon picture, filled out

In a video presented on June 23, Trump White House officials said that at least five House Republicans asked President Donald Trump for pardons. (Video: The Washington Post, Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

The committee has repeatedly previewed evidence that certain key players in Trump’s plot soughtpardons. Last week, one of them was revealed to be Trump lawyer John Eastman, who asked to be put on “the pardon list.” The implication from that email was that there was indeed a list that seemingly might have other names.

The committee built out its own list Thursday, adding several House Republicans to it. Here are the names and the evidence:

Reps. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) — In a Jan. 11 email from Brooks, he said he and Gaetz were suggesting pardons for everyone who objected to the election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. White House lawyer Eric Herschmann also said he believed that Gaetz had requested a pardon. White House aide John McEntee said Gaetz told him he asked for one from White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Meadows, also testified to the effort by Brooks and Gaetz, saying that Gaetz had been seeking a pardon “since early December” and that he reached out to her personally.

Days after the Capitol attack and the final attempt to overturn the election, Members of Congress requested pardons.

Five days after the attack on the Capitol, Representative Mo Brooks requested pardons for himself, Representative Gaetz, and others. pic.twitter.com/f0xLm5SKtT

— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 23, 2022

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) — Hutchinson testified that he requested a pardon.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) — Hutchinson testified that he requested a pardon.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — Hutchinson said that she had heard that Greene had asked the White House counsel’s office for a pardon from deputy counsel Pat Philbin but that Greene hadn’t asked her personally.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) — Hutchinson testified that he requested a pardon.

Perry has flatly denied seeking a pardon, calling it “a shameless, soulless lie,” but Hutchinson said he talked to her directly about it.

Hutchinson also said that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), whom House Republicans tried to put on the committee before Democrats objected, talked with the White House about congressional pardons but that she was unaware of him asking for one.

What John Eastman and ‘the pardon list’ means

Asking for a pardon doesn’t equal admitting guilt,[but in applying you must tell what you did? negates exec priv] and Eastman in particular argued that his request was meant as a precaution. But given how far-fetched this plot was and how often those involved were told their plot was illegal, that fact that people were trying to cover their backsides on the way out is important.

And crucially, some of these requests came even before the plot failed on Jan. 6.

mccarthy 100 yr fail

During a House GOP meeting this week, $_{tensions rose}_$ as the party proceeded to determine who will be the next Speaker of the House.

Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) reaffirmed his competence in the position to colleagues who oppose his second term. During $_{a CNN segment}_$ , Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju said that McCarthy passionately raised his voice, saying “I have earned this job!”

“Bulls***!", Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) exclaimed in response.

Raju noted that even if McCarthy does not receive all 218 House votes, the congressman is saying that he is “not going anywhere.”

Strains continued to linger after the meeting during Raju’s interview with Texas GOP Rep. and McCarthy ally Dan Crenshaw, who declared that McCarthy's supporters will be “more stubborn” [than McCarthy's opposers] when it comes to the vote.

“This handful of members are very clearly looking for notoriety over principle,” Crenshaw told Raju. “And anyone who suggests differently is in some kind of make-believe fantasy reality.”

Crenshaw said, “they lost those debates, and that should’ve been the end of it.” But, “if you’re a narcissist and you believe your opinion is so much more important than everyone else’s and you’ll threaten to test down the team for the benefit of the Democrats just because of your own sense of self-importance.”

“We will not vote for anyone else other than McCarthy,” Crenshaw said. “These people think they’re stubborn; we’re more stubborn.”

He asserted, “They are enemies now. They have made it clear they prefer a Democrat agenda over a Republican one.”

Watch the interview below or at this link.

https://www.alternet.org/kevin-mccarthy-total-bargaining-mode/

an 11 22 raw

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was easily elected Speaker today in a 188-31 romp over Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

But lost in the main story was one that’s perhaps just as significant: A large chunk of Republicans cast their secret ballots for one of the weirdest-of-the-weird members of the House Freedom Caucus.

Biggs has compiled an extremist resume that few can match, even as it has flown under the radar relative to the likes of Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert. Biggs takes a back seat to no one in the clown car of wingnut world.

The fact that he got any votes for House Speaker – much less almost15 percent of them– is a statement, however unsurprising, that certifies the freakishness of the Republicans’ right flank. Biggs, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, is off the grid.

Here are some of Biggs’ credits:

Biggs is the ultimate homophobe. Biggs voted against the 2020 COVID-19 relief bill because it “redefined family” by providing benefits for same-sex couples. He has called same-sex marriage “an affront to millions of Americans. As Arizona Senate President, he supported a bill that would have allowed business owner to refuse service to LGBT people by citing their religiously-based opposition to homosexuality or same-sex marriage. Biggs served as a policy advisor to United Families International, so virulently homophobic that it has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “hate group.” His wife, Cindy Biggs, was the treasurer of that organization, which has previously lobbied against expansions of LGBTQ rights.

He was a leading insurrectionist.Biggs was accused of having helped plan the events of January 6 by confessed organizer Ali Alexander, a conspiracy theorist and right-wing activist. Before that, an 80-second message from Biggs was played at a “Stop the Steal” rally on December 19 in Arizona.

His own brothers attacked him as “at least partially to blame” for the January 6 riot. He was among a small handle of members refusing to wear a COVID mask while Congress was locked down during the riot.

He was a prominent anti-vaxxer, having introduced a bill prohibiting businesses that received COVID-19 from mandating vaccines within their own companies.

He was among the first perpetrators of the Big Lie, having tweeted just 10 days after the election an invented falsehood that 10,000 Maricopa County voters were disenfranchised by “the green button.” Biggs tried to advance the lie that antifa were partly to blame for the January 6 riot. He went on national conservative media to call Pennsylvania’s election “fraud, pure and simple,” and demand its results be invalidated.

He found the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul to be humorous, saying “Nancy is losing the gavel but finding the hammer” at a GOP election watch party in Arizona.

He loves a good conspiracy. Representative Andy Biggs accused former President Obama of attempting to orchestrate a “coup” against his successor, saying the previous administration engaged in a conspiracy to undermine then President-elect Trump while investigating national security adviser Michael Flynn.

He’s a leading haterof Dr. Anthony Fauci. “Dr. Fauci is conveniently resigning from his position in December before House Republicans have an opportunity to hold him accountable for destroying our country over these past three years. This guy is a coward.”

He’s cool with hate. Biggs was among just 233 Republicans to vote against a 2019 resolution condemning anti-Semitism and others forms of hatred. He was one of just 12 Republicans to vote against the “Never Forget the Heroes” 9/11 victims’ compensation bill in the same year.

He gave sweepstakes a bad name. If Biggs hadn’t become independently wealthy in 1993 by winning $10 million in the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, it’s likely no one would have ever heard of him today.

girl blood of pal testimony uvalde

https://www.alternet.org/2022/06/andy-biggs/

Andy Biggs (R-AZ), the former chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, announced he is boycotting Wednesday’s House hearing on gun violence, claiming it exploits children.

The hearing, which is currently being held, is focused on the victims and survivors of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, in which 29 people in total, including 19 elementary school children, were killed.

“I will not be physically attending the first panel of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s hearing on gun violence today,” said Congressman Biggs, who sits on that committee. “I object strongly to the Democrats’ exploitation of children who have been victimized so recently in Uvalde.”

In a statement, Rep. Biggs accused House Democrats of exploiting “children who have been victimized so recently in Uvalde.”

USA Today reports the child who is testifying is “Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old who smeared herself with her slain friend’s blood to play dead during the May 24 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.”

Her father, Miguel, told USA TODAY this week that Miah is sharing her survival story to “make safer schools.”

Biggs claims he has “no objection to holding a congressional hearing that considers crime, violence, and guns in America,” but the “child who is being brought to testify before the Committee this morning was recently victimized and traumatized. The Chair of this committee is re-victimizing and re-traumatizing this child for political purposes,” Biggs says.

No one is being forced to appear before the House Committee, those testifying are appearing of their own free will.

In 2019 Biggs called a Democratic-sponsored gun control bill “unconstitutional.” Earlier this year Biggs bragged he was leading the effort to “curb” the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) “assault on Second Amendment rights.”

Last year at the far right Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Biggs declared his opposition to the Biden administration’s nominee to head the ATF: “The first thing you’ve got to do is stop the guy that’s going to enforce the laws.”

4 22

Free Speech For People just filed, on behalf of Arizona voters, lawsuits challenging the candidacies of Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, & Mark Finchem

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/eco-fascism-rise-and-its-anti-immigrant-beliefs-have-bullhorn-fox-news

the far right is increasingly embracing an extremist ideology known as “eco-fascism,” which seeks to co-opt legitimate environmental concerns and repurpose them to support white nationalism. The alleged shooters who carried out racist, xenophobic attacks in Buffalo, New York; El Paso, Texas; and Christchurch, New Zealand, all either identified as eco-fascists or espoused eco-fascist views, but these beliefs are also being spread by mainstream conservative media figures. Fox News and other right-wing outlets regularly put forward eco-fascistic arguments that either implicitly or explicitly adopt the racist “great replacement” theory, which holds that a cabal of elites is seeking to displace white people through increased immigration.

Eco-fascism holds that immigrants are to blame for a scarcity of resources and, therefore, must be prevented from entering the United States, Europe, or other countries coded as “the West.” “If we can get rid of enough people, then our way of life can become more sustainable,” the El Paso shooter allegedly wrote. That statement echoed the nativist and proto-eco-fascist Garrett Hardin’s argument that rich countries are like a “lifeboat” with limited social, economic, and natural resources – including food and housing stock – that needed to turn away immigrants, or else the “boat swamps, everyone drowns.”

In addition to this supposed competition for resources, eco-fascists hold racist beliefs about immigrants’ hygiene, respect for nature, and perceived higher birthrates. Historically, eco-fascism has held that the “purity” of a land’s natural resources should be reflected in racist ideas of a nation’s racial “purity,” most explicitly in the Nazi “emphasis on ‘blood and soil’” and “the need for a living space purified of alien and undesirable elements.” Just as the great replacement theory says that white people are being politically marginalized and subjugated, eco-fascists say they are being denied their rightful resources.[vid

November 11, 2019, edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight]

The ideas that immigrants are a “drain” on resources or present an environmental risk to the United States are not limited to explicit eco-fascists though. Both of those narratives are common on Fox News, including from the network’s top star Tucker Carlson. On April 25, after Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) blamed migrants for causing “environmental degradation” at the southern border, Carlson thanked him for mentioning the “effect on the physical landscape, on the land.” The host added, “Where is the Sierra Club, you know, as our country is being trampled?”

Carlson has discussed this theme repeatedly over the years. The Potomac River “has gotten dirtier and dirtier and dirtier and dirtier,” he said in a 2019 interview in The Atlantic. “I go down there and that litter is left almost exclusively by immigrants.” (The Potomac Conservancy condemned Carlson’s remarks, calling them “racist plain and simple.”)

“I actually hate litter which is one of the reasons I'm so against illegal immigration. It produces a huge amount of litter,” he said in August 2018.

That December, Carlson said that immigrants make “our own country poorer, and dirtier, and more divided.” He faced a significant backlash following those remarks, including from 26 companies which pulled advertisements from his show. But he doubled down on the comments just days later in a monologue that explicitly called increased immigration levels – not just the act of migrating – a threat to U.S. natural resources.

“Thanks to illegal immigration, huge swaths of the region are covered with garbage and waste that degrade the soil and kill wildlife,” he said. “Illegal immigration comes at a huge cost to our environment.”

“The left used to care about the environment – the land, the water, the animals,” he continued. “They understood that America is beautiful because it is open and uncrowded. Not so long ago, environmentalists opposed mass immigration. They knew what the costs were.”

Far-right website The Federalist wrote up that segment under the headline: “Tucker Carlson Is Absolutely Right: Illegal Immigration Is Destroying The Environment.”

One year earlier, far-right pundit Ann Coulter wrote an opinion piece for the Daily Caller titled “Choose Between A Green America And A Brown America,” criticizing the Sierra Club for adopting progressive immigration policies. In the piece, she made a racist reference to a “Mexican cultural trait of littering” and promoted “taking white Western European immigrants” over “Mass Third World immigration.”

The eco-fascistic right often couches its anti-immigrant conservationism in Malthusian anxieties about overpopulation. “A sensible environmentalism” would have to ask “is it good for us or the environment that the population grows artificially through the mass introduction of foreigners?” Christopher Roach wrote in a piece for American Greatness, a hotbed of far-right Trumpist nationalism. Roach also referenced “an immigration regime that transports billions from the fertile—though impoverished—Third World,” highlighting again the overlap between great replacement panic and eco-fascist narratives.

The far right’s demonization of immigrants as “dirty” or bad stewards of the environment goes hand-in-hand with the lie that they steal wealth from the United States, or otherwise don’t contribute their fair share.

“Our national wealth is up for grabs by whomever gets here first, and they are coming,” Carlson on May 21, 2019. “The United States is being plundered.”

That segment was based on a report from an immigration restrictionist group that has deep ties to the far-right ecology movement, called the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The group seeks to drastically reduce the level of authorized immigration and stop all unauthorized border crossing, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has designated FAIR as an extremist group.

In a recent blog post, FAIR government relations manager Preston Huennekens argued that “any increase in our population is going to our tax natural resources” and that migration had negative environmental impacts “through the physical act of migrating itself,” including “border trash, smuggling trails destroying fauna, etc.”

The idea of scarcity is crucial to the racist appeal of eco-fascism, and Fox News regularly suggests that municipal and federal resources can’t accommodate increased migration.

“At a time when there were more than half a million Americans homeless living on the streets – a crushing number that our leaders ignore but that rises every single year – at that moment, Joe Biden is giving hotel rooms to illegal aliens,” Carlson declared. “It's hard to believe that's real. Oh, but it is real.”

Anchor Harris Faulkner played that clip on her March 23, 2021, show, to which Fox News’ Will Cain responded: “Welcoming in migrants from Central America, that's all fine and good but not if it’s coming at the expense of a limited amount of resources that we're depriving of Americans.” As Media Matters noted at the time, immigrants contribute more to governmental resources than they use[vid]

March 23, 2021, edition of Fox News' The Faulkner Focus ]

In fact, Cain’s entire premise is wrong. The world has enough wealth and productive capacity to feed every human being. The United States could house every person living here, and the choice not to is due to a lack of political will, not limited environmental resources.

Nevertheless, over a 12-week period in 2021, Fox News repeated some version of Cain’s lie, fearmongering about immigrants taking resources from American citizens in at least 46 segments, according to a Media Matters study. The same research found that Fox News hosts demonized migrant children in 32 segments, accusing them of being a burden on the educational system, such as when Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade said on March 1, 2021, that migrant children who “don't speak English” were “taking time and energy away from your kids.”

Environmentalists have worked for decades to successfully expel any strains of eco-fascism from their movement. Now, right-wing media have openly adopted eco-fascistic rhetoric to conflate an ideology grounded in white supremacy with genuine environmental concerns, all in their crusade against immigration.

To paraphrase the Potomac Conservancy: These attacks are racist, plain and simple.

ff ceo:

andy biggs az 27K energy $; appeasement irrational question, villify, badger, beat the crap for pol reasons shame, attack am workers and pvt sector, increase inflation; thxgiving wallop wallet; regulate you out of biz tomorrow if they cd no matter what you do, lay fdn to get rid of you, hypocrisy of admin; OPEC shd increase output; stop fed lease; nordstream tax and spend bbb gas price 7 yr highsocialistpolicy GND ~ nukes, ex Cos chaknavardi sp origin of GND not environ; demise 100K lost jobs, impoverished state oil lease ... art'ls reuter oct 7... putin leverageNYT...

https://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/andy-biggs

2021427Supporting Tribal Management of BisonWildlife, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Forests

2021385Transformative Climate, Jobs, and Justice Investments (2x Score)Climate Change, Air, Clean Energy, Environmental Justice, Transportation, Public Lands/Forests, Water, Other

2021385Transformative Climate, Jobs, and Justice InvestmentsClimate Change, Air, Clean Energy, Drilling, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Forests, Transportation, Water, Other

2021379Censuring Paul GosarJustice and Democracy

2021272Taking Action on PFAS ContaminationToxics/Public Right to Know

2021260Restoring the Voting Rights ActJustice and Democracy

2021247Pro-Environment Funding PackageOther, Climate Change, Clean Energy, Clean Air, Clean Water, Environmental Justice

2021217Protecting People from PFASToxics/Public Right to Know; Water

2021208Investing in Transportation and Water InfrastructureClimate Change, Transportation, Water, Clean Energy, Environmental Justice

2021206Building Climate-resilient Wastewater InfrastructureWater, Climate Change

2021201Investing in Climate-Smart and Pro-Wildlife InfrastructureTransportation, Climate Change, Wildlife

2021196Removing Confederate Statues from the U.S. CapitolLands/Forests, Justice and Democracy

2021185Repealing Assault on Methane Pollution SafeguardsClimate Change, Dirty Energy

2021169Corporate Climate Risk Disclosure RequirementsClimate Change; Other

2021145Increasing Awareness and Reporting of Hate CrimesOther, Justice and Democracy

2021132Washington, D.C. StatehoodJustice and Democracy

202191Protecting Dreamers and Immigrants Fleeing DisastersJustice and Democracy, Other

202170Protecting the Rights of Workers to OrganizeOther, Justice and Democracy

202162Voting Rights and Democracy ReformsJustice and Democracy

202145Protecting Public Lands and Waters Across the WestPublic Lands/Forests

202117Impeachment for Incitement of InsurrectionJustice and Democracy

202111Certifying Pennsylvania’s Electoral VotesJustice and Democracy

202110Certifying Arizona’s Electoral VotesJustice and Democracy

2020242Phasing Out Harmful Fishing GearOceans, Wildlife

2020203Increasing Funding for Renewable Energy Research & DevelopmentClean Energy, Climate

2020182Protecting the U.S. Postal ServiceJustice and Democracy

2020166Pro-Environment Funding PackageOther, Environmental Justice, Water, Dirty Energy, Drilling, Lands/Forests

2020164Slashing EPA FundingOther, Water, Air, Environmental Justice

2020163Blocking Trump’s Inadequate Soot StandardAir, Environmental Justice

2020156Removing Confederate Statues from the U.S. CapitolOther

Slashing EPA Funding

House Roll Call Vote 164

Issues: Other, Water, Air, Environmental Justice

Representative Jason Smith (R-MO) offered an amendment to H.R. 7608, the State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2021, which would have slashed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) program funding to align with the draconian cuts proposed by the Trump administration. Adequate funding of the EPA is critical to ensuring that the federal government can implement and enforce the various statutes that protect public health and the environment in order to fulfill the promise of clean air, water, and healthy lands for all people. On July 24, the House rejected the Smith amendment by a vote of 155-256 (House roll call vote 164). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE.

an 5 22 // ukraine

Republicans just voted against two bills to ease the **baby formula shortage** they have spent weeks falsely trying to pin on President Joe Biden.

In tweets and in floor speeches, Republicans have been attacking President Biden for the nationwide baby formula shortage caused by one manufacturer’s recall and closure of its plant for bacterial infection after two infants died.The shortage has been exacerbated by a trade agreement signed by then-President Donald Trump that makes it extremely difficult and expensive to import formula from other countries, and the fact that 90 percent of baby formula in the U.S. is manufactured by just four companies. Also, hoarding, and price-gouging.

Last week President Biden sat down with manufacturers and retailers to map out a plan to get more formula onto store shelves immediately and directed the Food and Drug Administration to help get the plant reopened. This week he went two steps further: he invoked the Defense Production Act to force manufacturers to produce more formula and produce it ahead of other products and created a program to use federal planes to import baby formula from other countries.

House Democrats last week also opened an investigation into the baby formula shortage.

On Wednesday the House voted on two emergency bills to further ease the shortage.

One example of Republicans falsely attacking President Biden and the left is House GOP Caucus chair **Elise Stefanik**‘s now-infamous tweet accusing Democrats of having “no plan” as she labeled them “pedo grifters.”...

one bill would give FDA $28 million to add staff, work to help get more formula to consumers, and create a long-term strategy, including increased safety inspections so this cannot happen again. The second would dramatically increase supply from foreign sources to consumers using the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program.

192 House Republicans voted against giving FDA $28 million to help fix the crisis and ensure it does not happen again.

Nine House Republicans voted against making it easier for WIC customers to get access to baby formula.

Many Americans are becoming outraged as the news from last night’s votes is spreading online.

[Here’s the list of 9 members of Congress (all Republicans)who voted NO:

Marjorie Taylor Greene Matt Gaetz Louie Gohmert Lauren Boebert Paul Gosar Thomas Massie Andy BiggsClay Higgins Chip Roy.]

3 22 trade vote ukraine

The vote was 424-8.

Here are the eight “no” votes – all from Republicans:

Lauren Boebert (CO)

Thomas Massie (KY)

Matt Gaetz (FL)

Andy Biggs (AZ)

Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA)

Dan Bishop (NC)

Chip Roy (TX)

Glenn Grothman (WI)

gizmodo bad code

gop have a, shall we say,...relationship. But that relationship went from snuggly to downright NSFW on Thursday at a hearing ostensibly about...The House Oversight Committee welcomed executives from four fossil companies and two trade groups as well as a pipeline welder to probe decades of campaigns to confuse the public. There’s plenty of fodder. The past few years have seen...$59,956 in oil and gas money in the 2020 election cycle) said, thanking the company for increasing production. “I want to thank those companies that are actually increasing production,” Jordan later added.

“These companies being villainized,” said Rep. Jody Hice (recipient of $5,000 from the oil and gas industry in 2020, which talk about getting your money’s worth). Hice did not ask a question.

“It’s just people who don’t have anything better to do than type on their keyboards,” Rep. Byron Donalds ($18,110 from oil and gas interests so far this cycle) said of climate activists before turning to the oil CEOs. “Let’s be very clear, you need an apology. What I witnessed today is rank intimidation by the chair of this committee. ... It is disgusting, it is absolutely disgusting. Somebody better call Merrick Garland, tell him to get in here, and watch the intimidation that came from this very panel today. It’s not about defending Big Oil. ... I’m sorry for you. And I’m sorry for the people in our country who have to witness shenanigans like this.”

“While this committee may not like you because you’re executives, because your companies have been successful, I just want to apologize for the decorum. Because thank you for what you’ve done,” said Rep. Yvette Herrell ($115,126 from the industry she was overseeing, making her the second-biggest oil and gas recipient in the House so far this cycle). “There are people here who believe in you. Thank you. ... In fact, I would just submit to saving anybody who has gotten a vaccination or who is going to get tone, thank you to the oil and gas industry because I would bet that almost every single one of the syringes has been touched by a petroleum product. ... I just want to thank all of you for being here today.”

“You guys all have a good story to tell. Don’t be afraid to tell people how much cleaner things are than in the past. It doesn’t do any good for you any good to get all woke on us,” Rep. Glenn Grothman ($30,576 from oil and gas in 2020 and $3,570 so far this year.)

“It’s been very shameful how the other side wants to demonize our oil and gas industry. I’m very proud of our oil and gas industry, the innovators that adopt new tech, provide a higher standard of living, and jobs throughout our country,” said Rep. Bob Gibbs, the $28,558 oil and gas man in 2020. He later added, “I’m disappointed the chair failed to recognize that and demonize them on that.”

“I apologize to our witnesses that were called and asked to take part in this today,” said Rep. Pete Sessions, who has so far received $11,400 from oil and gas interests and raked in $237,375 in 2018. (2020 data was unavailable.)

“There is a moral case to be made for the fossil fuel industry and fossil fuels as a whole,” Rep. Pat Fallon, who has taken in $5,600 in oil and gas money. “If we want more abundant and inexpensive and cleaner energy—which we all should do—these witnesses here should be the ones that we are supporting and applauding and not demonizing.”

“These very important energy companies and the [American] Petroleum Institute understand you’ve got yourself here, you’ve seen the attitude of the folks on the left of this committee. When you get asked this morning that, aren’t you embarrassed, that’s really an irrational question to ask CEOs about their company,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, the receiver of $27,253 in oil and gas money in 2020.

“My, my, my. Good lord help us to be protected from this threat from within. American patriots are so done with career politicians and Democratic socialist insanity... We are nauseated by the continuous attacks on working Americans and American industry. This entire debacle of a hearing today of why my colleagues across the aisle will lose their majority status very soon,” Rep. Clay Higgins predicted. (Higgins has received $10,426 in fossil fuel cash so far this cycle and $40,773 in 2020.)

“Did President Biden or anyone from the White House apologize to you?” Rep. James Comer, who received $18,500 in fossil fuel cash in 2020, asked the welder Republicans invited. (For the record, he did not....

a United Nations report out this week warns the world as a whole is facing a “production gap,” with more fossil fuels on tap to be produced than is compatible with a safe climate. Other reports have warned that new fossil fuel exploration must stop next year, emissions must fall at unprecedented rates over the next decade, and that cutting fossil fuel production and use is the most surefire way to do that. The reason we’re at this precipice is because the fossil fuel industry pursued a misinformation campaign while further entrenching their product with the global economy, fully aware that it would cause major climate damage.

It is also because Republicans (and a handful of Democrats) have blocked climate action, and have maintained a grip on power in no small part thanks to millions of dollars from the fossil fuel industry. The industry has directed roughly 85% of its donations in 2020 to Republicans, and is on track to do the same this year (and has done the same in past years, too). Those same Republicans who apologized to the industry and thanked it on Thursday.

Anyways, this is all very cool and very legal.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is the latest Republican lawmaker to promote a dangerous conspiracy theory about the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) being involved in the Capitol insurrection.

Biggs echoed the conspiracy that Fox News' Tucker Carlson began pushing last week. At the time, Carlson described members of the FBI as "unindicted co-conspirators," and suggested that some of the rioters could have been working with the federal agency.

Biggs expressed concern over FBI Director Christopher Wray's failure to acknowledge speculation around the FBI's alleged involvement in the Capitol riots. The Republican lawmaker also demanded more insight on the FBI's possible role in the deadly series of events that transpired, according to AZ Central.

On Tuesday, Biggs conducted a radio interview with conservative radio commentator Charlie Kirk where he further discussed the FBI conspiracy theory.

"It truly demands answers," Biggs told Kirk. "It is actually very troublesome to hear what's out there and we need to get to the bottom of that."

He added, "I want to know if there were 20 FBI agents, and they were not there for security for the president, why were they in that crowd?"

At one point, Biggs also attempted to blame the FBI for its so-called failure to stop what transpired.

"There's always been allegations of the media being in there, right?" Biggs continued. "We've seen some evidence of that. But if you have law enforcement that's there that could have stopped, thwarted, whatever, and they didn't? That's a problem. But moreover, Charlie, I mean, think about this: The FBI director said that the vast majority of people there were peaceful — peaceful protesters. They were rowdy, but they were peaceful. Were they infiltrating a peaceful protest? To what end would that be?"

Although Biggs is now calling for further investigation into the Capitol riots, he, like the vast majority of House Republicans, voted against the formation of the Jan. 6 commission to thoroughly investigate the attack.

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

Harris and Piton’s role in the Arizona election audit

Harris and Piton have both managed to place themselves in roles of influence as two of the main promoters of the Arizona election fraud conspiracy theory, working behind the scenes with state senators and audit officials. The Arizona Republic recently reported on Harris and Piton as some of the key figures involved in the election audit.

Harris is head of a “non-partisan” “grassroots canvass effort” to prove that rampant voter fraud exists in the state’s most populous county (it doesn't). The group claims, using data tabulated by Piton, to have uncovered mass voter fraud during the 2020 election.

Harris ran for the Arizona House of Representatives’s District 17 seat in 2020 but lost the general election. Much of her time is now dedicated to voter fraud canvassing efforts, while she commonly livestreams multiple videos per day related to the Arizona audit on YouTube and Facebook.

Piton is a managing partner at a financial planning and investment advisory firm in Illinois, whose website claims he “has read well in excess of a million pages over his career and has extensively studied physics, quantum mechanics, mathematics, economics, trading, portfolio construction, model development, asset valuation, and alpha generation to develop and refine his methodology.”

It seems that Harris and Piton have a relationship with Doug Logan, the CEO of Cyber Ninjas, the company conducting the audit. Logan recently came under fire for peddling “Stop the Steal” and other election fraud conspiracy theories on his personal Twitter account before it was deleted.

On April 11, Piton posted on the far-right platform Gab promising to provide his supposed Maricopa election fraud findings“to the person who won the bid to perform the audit,” which would be Logan and Cyber Ninjas. Piton later confirmed to The Daily Beast that Logan “asked him for his assistance” in the election audit, where he was working “in an unofficial capacity.” Piton also prayed a rosary on YouTube for Harris, Logan, and all Arizona “patriots.”

Harris claimed to have met Logan “multiple times,” and there is additional evidence to suggest that Harris and Logan have been in communication about the audit. According to a May 12 newsletter from Arizona Capitol Reports, Logan boosted Harris’ campaign with the hashtag “#PhantomSleeperVoters,” a reference to conspiracy theories about fraudulent ballots cast by nonexistent voters, before the deactivation of his Twitter account.

On February 28, Harris uploaded photos of herself with former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, two of the right-wing, pro-Trump millionaires funding the Arizona election audit, as well as Sidney Powell, the former Trump campaign attorney and conspiracy theorist who attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In the comments under the photos, Harris wrote, “Arizona hold on to your hats… The storm has just begun!” (“The storm” is a key phrase in the QAnon conspiracy theory.) Harris noted that this meeting occurred in Arizona but did not provide other specifics[pix

harris has bragged in an April 25 livestream about sharing her canvassing data with Arizona state Senate President Karen Fann, who has been supportive of the audit. She also said senators were lauding her canvassing efforts and relayed that audit officials were supposedly going to incorporate her work “into this deep-dive forensic audit.”

At one point, Piton livestreamed what appears to be a private Zoom meeting about the election audit between Harris, Rep. Andy Biggs, members of the Arizona Senate, and himself. This means that state Senate members and a sitting U.S. congressman were seemingly consulting with Harris and Piton about the audit and baseless allegations of election fraud. In the same livestream, Piton told his viewers that he had been asked to help with the election audit.

“One of the individuals that may be winning this bid to do the work has contacted me a few weeks back,” Piton said. “I did tell Liz I thought they would be contacting me, or somebody would. And they asked me if I would look at the data and I said that I would definitely be helping in one way, shape, or form.”

Given Piton’s other claims about contact with audit officials, this is most likely another reference to Logan.

On January 19, Piton posted what appears to be a birthday card from Trump and “two Patriots” working in the White House, at least one of whom appears to be from the National Security Council. This is particularly significant given Piton’s unofficial role in the Arizona election audit; the post also claims that Piton has been “communicating some of my findings with” those administration officials. [img]

in an April 2 Facebook post, Piton bragged about signing affidavits for “both Lin Wood and Sidney Powell regarding PA data back in mid December.”

Piton and Harris worked together to attempt to prove potential voter fraud abnormalities. According to Piton, he provided Harris with “a sample size of over 95,000 voter registrations that he forecast would have problems of the approximately 4,300,000 registered voters who are on the voter rolls”; Harris then “randomly selected names on those lists and had volunteers go to work in determining how many of these registered voters had issues.” This formed the basis for their election fraud claims.

Harris’ group started the “Crime of the Century” project, a website dedicated to exposing supposed voter fraud in Arizona. It includes an “Election Integrity Arizona” page that contains Harris’ “initial findings and analysis of the 2020 General Election in Maricopa and Pima counties conducted by a citizens’ non-partisan grassroots project.” The Arizona Republic reported that Harris’ initially claimed her “group was helping with the Senate’s audit, but she couldn’t say on what part because of a nondisclosure agreement. Harris later said she doesn’t know what her involvement may or may not be.”

The Arizona audit isn’t the first brush Harris and Piton have had with promoting misinformation about election integrity. Harris also testified at Rudy Giuliani’s Arizona election fraud “hearing” in November, with Piton appearing as an expert witness to claim “that his opinion, from reviewing Arizona voter data, was that between 120,000 and 306,000 ballots were cast by ‘fake people.’”

Both Harris and Piton appear to follow or support the QAnon conspiracy theory

Both Harris and Piton have posted content and slogans affiliated with the QAnon conspiracy theory. Followers of QAnon led the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and believe that Trump will conduct mass arrests and secret military tribunals to prosecute “deep state” elites.

Harris’ social media presence suggests that she subscribes to the QAnon conspiracy theory. Her Facebook account contains QAnon videos, a “WWG1WGA” shirt (an abbreviation of the QAnon slogan “Where we go one, we go all”), and QAnon -affiliated posts.

As for Piton, when The Daily Beast first reported on his unofficial involvement in the Arizona audit in late April, he said that “he didn’t know much about QAnon.” But his social media tells a different story. Posts explicitly supporting the QAnon conspiracy theory, and even a Q “drop” -- the term for messages from the anonymous figure at the center of the conspiracy theory -- are scattered throughout his public Facebook page. [pix]

for example, on August 2020, Piton wrote a post in support of the “#SaveTheChildren” QAnon movement, calling the Democratic Party the “DemoNcrat Party.” “This party is PURE EVIL,” wrote Piton. The image he shared with this post also contained the QAnon slogan “WWG1WGA.[img

in a post following the January 6 insurrection, Piton claimed to have never “been part of any ‘Q movement’” and downplayed his support as merely liking “some of their phrases.”

Less than a month later, Piton posted a photo of former National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael S. Rogers along with references to QAnon. “Admiral Rogers… come on down… you are the lucky number 1… 7 on the Truth is Right!!!” wrote Piton. (Q is the 17th letter in the alphabet and is popularly used to refer to “Q.”)

“Q...uestion for you,” he continued, once again referencing Q.

In November 2019, Piton shared a QAnon primer video on Facebook, writing: “Keep an open mind… even if all of this isn’t 100% accurate, it is something worth thinking about!" [pix]

on April 25, Piton and Harris were both interviewed on the QAnon outlet Patriots’ Soapbox. During the livestream, Josh Barnett, a QAnon House candidate who lost a race to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District in 2020 and is running again for the state’s 6th district in 2022, bragged that Arizona senators “saw Liz’s numbers” and “saw Bobby’s data” and “that’s when things started changing” and they began backing the audit.

Harris and Piton’s involvement in the Arizona election audit is more than concerning -- if their claims of working with audit officials and Arizona senators are true, it means that an attempt to overturn Arizona’s election results has been quietly influenced by two QAnon followers working from within.

One of the Republicans in Congress who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election after the deadly insurrection of Trump supporters was shown to be a security risk on Thursday.

"New security measures outside the U.S. House chamber prevented a Republican lawmaker from bringing a gun onto the House floor Thursday. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who has repeatedly flouted the magnetometers that were installed near the House chamber after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, set off the metal detectors while trying to enter.When an officer with a metal detector wand scanned him, a firearm was detected on Harris's side, concealed by his suit coat. Police refused to let Harris in, and the officer signaled a security agent that Harris had a gun on him by motioning toward his own firearm," HuffPost correspondent Matt Fuller reported Thursday.

"HuffPost witnessed the interaction and later confirmed with a Capitol official that Harris was carrying a gun. HuffPost watched Harris try to get another member to take the gun from him so he could go vote. The member, Rep. John Katko (R-NY), told Harris he didn't have 'a license' and refused to hold the weapon for him," the publication reported. "Harris then left on the elevators and 10 minutes later returned to the House chamber. He placed his cellphone and keys on a desk to the side, did not set off the magnetometer and was allowed to enter the House floor to vote on a waiver to allow retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as President Joe Biden's defense secretary."

Harris isn't the only Republican who may be a security risk.

"During a security briefing with Democratic members early last week, some lawmakers suggested that members should have to go through a metal detector to get on the House floor. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO)has said she'll carry a gun around D.C., which does not allow the open carrying of a firearm, and Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) told his local paper that he was armed when insurrectionists stormed the Capitol," HuffPost reported. "On Thursday, HuffPost saw Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rick Allen (R-GA) and Boebert all refuse to be wanded down after setting off the magnetometer."

https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/capitol-riot-2649927261/

no lnx twt

https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/capitol-riot-2649927261/

These Republican representatives are accused of helping to plan January 6 insurrection

U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar speaking with supporters at the 2018 election eve rally hosted by the Arizona Republican Party at the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, Arizona, photo via Gage Skidmore.

Mark Sumner and Daily Kos January 13, 2021

It's obvious that many Republicans—including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz in the Senate, and dozens in the House, including minority leader Kevin McCarthy—actively inflamed Donald Trump's white supremacist mob and encouraged their deadly assault on the Capitol. However, it now seems that some Republicans in Congress may have done more than knowingly fan the flames. In the days since the rotunda was cleared of debris and the halls were cleaned of the literal human excrement smeared there by Trump's biggest fans, information has appeared that indicates some Republicans may have actively been involved in planning or carrying out the assault.

On Tuesday evening, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill conducted a Facebook live session for her constituents during which explained her support resulting in calling on Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. During that webcast, Sherrill made an astounding accusation. She claimed to have witnessed Republican members of Congress leading Trump supporters on, not a tour, but a "reconnaissance" of the Capitol. "We can't have a democracy," said Sherrill, "if members of Congress are actively helping the president overturn the elections results."

As reported by USA Today's northerjersey.com, Sherrill's accusation was as astounding as it was direct.

“Not only do I intend to see that the president is removed and never runs for office again and doesn't have access to classified material, I also intend to see that those members of Congress who abetted him; those members of Congress who had groups coming through the Capitol that I saw on Jan. 5—a reconnaissance for the next day; those members of Congress that incited this violent crowd; those members of Congress that attempted to help our president undermine our democracy; I'm going to see they are held accountable, and if necessary, ensure that they don't serve in Congress."

Sherrill has not so far detailed what she means by this reconnaissance, or given names of Republicans who were involved. However, it's become increasingly clear in the days since the insurrection that the situation at the Capitol was much more dire than was originally reported.

The accusations of involvement by Republican members of Congress aren't just coming from Democrats, they're coming from those who were involved in the assault.

As The Washington Post reports, Ali Alexander, the right-wing activist who formed the "Stop the Steal" movement, did so with the help of three Republican members of Congress:Andy Biggs,Mo Brooks, and Paul Gosar. "We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting," said Alexander. Biggs' staff has denied any contact with Alexander—but the involvement of all three Republicans is certainly worthy of investigation.

Completely disowning Alexander's claims could be difficult. He and Gosar appeared together at a "Stop the Steal" rally in Phoenix on December 19. At that same rally, Alexander played a recorded message from Biggs, who he described as a "friend." In both the live and recorded messages, Gosar and Biggs singled out January 6 for action.

Gosar would go on to promote other "Stop the Steal" events more than a dozen times, as well as pumping out tweets and emails promoting the January 6 gathering in D.C. Typical of Gosar's statements was an op-ed on the site Revolver, Gosar called simply counting the legal electoral vote a "Third World coup d'etat." According to Gosar, Biden's win involved "statistically impossible" spikes in the voting and "We will not tolerate this." Far from distancing himself from Alexander's group, Gosar claimed ownership. "As many of you know, I helped organize the very first 'Stop the Steal' rally," he wrote. "… Patriotic warriors joined together to gather evidence and tell the Left we will not accept a coup and a usurper in the White House."

All three Republicans continued to be involved in "Stop the Steal." As The New York Times reports, In the hours immediately before the assault on the Capitol, Brooks addressed the "Stop the Steal" rally in D.C. "Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass," said Brooks. "Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America? Louder! Will you fight for America?"

Gosar, Biggs, and Brooks are far from the only Republicans connected to Alexander's group, or the only ones who both inflamed Trump supporters through lies about the election and demands to attend the January 6 event.

On December 30, Alexander tweeted what would happen if Congress voted to approve the count of the Electoral College vote. "If they do this, everyone can guess what me and 500,000 others will do to that building. 1776 is always an option." The use of "1776" appeared in a number of statements from hard-line Trump representatives right up to the insurrection. Both Q-supporting Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert directly called the insurrection an "1776 moment."

On Tuesday evening, The Washington Post reports that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she feared some of her Republican colleagues would not only open the doors to rioters, but direct them straight to her. "I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die," she said. "I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive." According to Ocasio-Cortez, she can't go into specifics because of security concerns. But it's clear there were very good reasons to be concerned. And it's clear that multiple Republicans in both the House and Senate did more than enough to justify removing them from the halls of Congress. In fact, several of them may well deserve a new office—in very small room surrounded by bars.

Wednesday, Jan 13, 2021 · 9:27:10 AM Eastern Standard Time · Mark Sumner

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

GOP Sen. Sasse says Trump was 'delighted' about the Capitol riot ... ›

Woman trampled to death during Capitol riots carried a 'don't tread ... ›

Trump supporter found dead in Georgia after being charged in ... ›

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biggs, andy Rep 0 4%

The old guard

The new class

DOJ scrutinized Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar texts and calls in Jan. 6 case

Free Speech For People just filed, on behalf of Arizona voters, lawsuits challenging the candidacies of Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, & Mark Finchem

Harris and Piton’s role in the Arizona election audit

Both Harris and Piton appear to follow or support the QAnon conspiracy theory

Former NOAA Scientist Confirms Colleagues Manipulated Climate Records