Republicans

The Florida Trident reports: The sexual battery investigation of Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler began with a 911 call from a friend of the alleged victim who was worried about her well-being, according to a recording of the call obtained by the Florida Trident. The 911 call, made on October 4 at 2:46 p.m., reveals the caller was concerned about …

NBC News reports: On Jan. 8, 2019, DeSantis stood onstage at Florida’s historic Capitol next to his wife, Casey, who had in her hand a King James Bible. He was set to officially become Florida’s 46th governor. Many elected officials choose to be sworn into office on a religious text with some sort of personal meaning. But for DeSantis, this …

NBC News reports: The House voted Friday to expel George Santos from Congress, making the New York Republican just the sixth member of the House ever to be expelled and the first in more than 20 years. Santos was immediately stripped of his position as a member of Congress. The House speaker then directed the clerk to notify the governor …

The Messenger reports: Donald Trump’s presidential campaign managers Friday accused an Oklahoma Republican of misusing the former president’s image and tricking donors in an online fundraising scheme that uses a photo of the Trump family without authorization. “Your appeal goes so far as to mislead those who received the solicitation into thinking their donation would help President Trump and his …

The Dallas News reports: In a blow to Gov. Greg Abbott, a federal appeals court ordered Texas on Friday to remove the border buoys the state installed near Eagle Pass to block migrants. Abbott had turned to the conservative New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which temporarily blocked a lower court’s order three months ago finding that Texas had …

The New York Times reports: The main super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign has been rocked by another significant departure, as Adam Laxalt, a friend and former roommate of the Florida governor, has stepped down as chairman of the group. Mr. Laxalt, who unsuccessfully ran to become a Republican senator in Nevada in 2022, lived with Mr. DeSantis when …

“He’s told us what he will do. It’s very easy to see the steps that he will take. People who say, ‘Well, if he’s elected, it’s not that dangerous because we have all of these checks and balances,’ don’t fully understand the extent to which the Republicans in Congress today have been co-opted. One of the things that we see …

“One of the members came forward yesterday at the end of the talk, and then today came forward and put out the email for those who might not have understood where he was coming from, and explained that not only he, but his mother were ripped off by this campaign. And so when you start ripping off other members, if …

“If we have a Democrat that is put forward without a conviction, we need to step forward and have a consistent voting record here. I think that’s critically important because Americans are sick and tired of the double standard. “I felt that it was inappropriate to deny those constituents in his congressional district their right to representation. Elections have consequences, …

Mediaite reports: After being expelled by the House on Friday morning, Rep. George Santos rushed to his car, running away from an onslaught of reporters and cameras. Reporters rushed to confront Santos on the Capitol Hill Friday morning but his longtime aide Vish Burra kept a healthy distance between the expelled Congressman and the cameras as he fled the scene …

NBC News reports: In a letter sent to colleagues, which was obtained by NBC News, Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, said he learned earlier this year that Santos’ campaign “had charged my personal credit card — and the personal card of my Mother — for contribution amounts that exceeded FEC limits. Neither my Mother nor I approved these charges or were …

CNN reports: According to a former House parliamentarian, an expulsion is administratively handled the same way as a vacancy, including death or resignation. The Clerk assumes control of the office and makes decisions on behalf of that office. They will decide how Santos’ office is cleared out, among other steps. His district office remains intact for constituent needs. The chamber’s …

CNBC reports: The House is set to vote Friday on whether to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress over the lies, scandals and alleged campaign finance crimes that have defined the New York Republican’s brief and controversial time in office. If the expulsion resolution passes, Santos will become just the sixth House member in U.S. history to be booted from …

CNN reports: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wrote the foreword and publicly promoted a 2022 book that spread baseless and discredited conspiracy theories and used derogatory homophobic insults. Written by Scott McKay, a local Louisiana politics blogger, the book, “The Revivalist Manifesto,” gives credence to unfounded conspiracy theories often embraced by the far-right – including the “Pizzagate” hoax, which …

CBS News reports: Florida Republican Party chair Christian Ziegler is being investigated by the Sarasota Police Department, Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd, confirmed. Late Thursday night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on Ziegler to resign as state party chair. “I don’t see how he can continue with that investigation ongoing, given the gravity of those situations,” DeSantis told reporters. “And so …

Syracuse’s ABC affiliate reports: Syracuse-area Congressman Brandon Williams is defending himself after an altercation with a former campaign manager at a holiday party was caught on camera. The video, obtained by NewsChannel 9, shows Congressman Williams verbally berating Michael Gordon, who managed Williams’ 2022 campaign for Congress. With his finger pointed in Gordon’s face, Williams can be heard shouting: “You …

Reuters reports: A U.S. judge late on Thursday blocked Montana’s first-of-its kind state ban on the use of short-video sharing app TikTok from taking effect on Jan. 1, saying it violated the free speech rights of users. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy issued a preliminary injunction to block the ban on the Chinese-owned app, saying the state ban “violates the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused drugmaker Pfizer of fear-mongering and lies about the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, which the company insinuated would end the pandemic, according to a lawsuit Paxton announced Thursday. “In a nutshell, Pfizer deceived the public,” reads the 54-page lawsuit, filed in a Lubbock state district court. The lawsuit alleges Pfizer …

“I’m working on a piece of legislation called the Stop Political Persecutions Act and this thing is going to be foolproof. We are going to list out every single charge that these people have been indicted with and just say those charges are not going to be associated with RICO anymore. And therefore, that would retroactively drop the charges. Fani …

Politico reports: Christian Ziegler, through his attorney, acknowledged the police were investigating him and said he’d been “fully cooperative with every request made” by the Sarasota Police Department. “Unfortunately, public figures are often accused of acts that they did not commit whether it be for political purposes or financial gain. I would caution anyone to rush to judgment until the …