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january 6 attack
Supreme Court Refuses to Rescue Prison-Bound Steve Bannon
When he's done serving his four-month sentence for flouting congressional subpoenas, the former top Trump adviser faces a federal trial over the We Build the Wall scam.
Jun 28, 2024
Steve Bannon, a onetime senior adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump who was convicted of defying congressional subpoenas related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, must report to prison Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his 11th-hour bid to avert his four-month sentence.
In a single-sentence order with no public dissents, the Supreme Court stated that Bannon's "application for release pending appeal presented to the chief justice and by him referred to the court is denied."
In July 2022, a federal jury found Bannon guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. That October, he was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $6,500. Bannon has remained free pending appeals and has benefited from a pause imposed by Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee.
David Schoen, an attorney for Bannon, toldThe Washington Post on Friday: "I fully believe the conviction will be reversed and it is a shame to see it mishandled like this. He never should be going to jail for even a day."
However, Bannon not only faces four months behind bars for flouting Congress, another federal trial awaits him over his alleged conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering in connection with the
We Build the Wall fundraising scam.
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Big Business Gave Over $36 Million to GOP 'Sedition Caucus' in 2022 Election Cycle: Report
"With many of the same MAGA election deniers now holding powerful positions that could threaten democracy and fundamental voting rights, it's critical that corporations finally stand up to their extremism—not encourage more."
Feb 10, 2023
Since the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Fortune 500 companies and industry trade groups have given over $36 million to Republican members of Congress—the so-called "Sedition Caucus"—who attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, an analysis published Friday by the watchdog group Accountable.US revealed.
"The deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 was the result of months of election fraud lies spread far and wide by twice-impeached former President Trump and his allies. Even after all the violence that day, 147 members of Congress and eight U.S. senators kept the 'Big Lie' alive by voting against certifying the presidential election results in some states," Accountable.US noted in its report, which analyzed year-end Federal Election Commission filings for the 2022 election cycle.
"Many corporations publicly condemned the insurrection and those lawmakers who voted against certification, and some pledged to no longer donate to their campaigns. But as time has passed, the condemnation from corporate America over January 6 and the Big Lie appears to be abating," the group added. "Some of the corporations that pledged to stop funding the members who objected to certifying the election are quietly finding ways to give again."
\u201cNEW REPORT: Year-end filings revealed that major companies and trade groups donated at least $164,000 to the Sedition Caucus since Election Day \u2014 bringing the total to $36.3 million since the insurrection. \n\n\ud83e\uddf5 1/2\n\nhttps://t.co/vo4h8oR9gb\u201d— Accountable.US (@Accountable.US) 1676041373
According to the analysis, the top five donors to election objectors were the National Beer Wholesalers Association Political Action Committee ($894,500); National Automobile Dealers Association Political Action Committee ($829,500); American Bankers Association PAC ($779,000); Build Political Action Committee of The National Association of Home Builders ($663,500); and AT&T Inc. ($629,900).
Among corporations, after AT&T the biggest donors were Home Depot ($478,000); Lockheed Martin ($440,000); Boeing ($392,000); and Comcast ($382,000).
The top five election-objecting recipients were House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.); House Transportation Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.); House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.); and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.).
The analysis also found that over two-thirds of the final lot of donations, amounting to $113,500, went to Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who both objected to certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory while they served in the House.
Corporate America's largesse toward Big Lie supporters stands in stark contrast with public proclamations from numerous company leaders in the wake of the January 6 insurrection. AT&T and Comcast even went so far as suspending donations to elected officials who voted against certifying the Electoral College votes, while announcing reviews of their campaign contribution policies and practices.
"Many corporations risked their reputations to reward millions to MAGA extremists in Congress that obstructed the democratic process even after a violent insurrection."
"Workers, customers, and shareholders want to work for, buy from, and invest in companies that share their values and democratic ideals," Accountable.US spokesperson Jeremy Funk said in a statement. "So many corporations risked their reputations to reward millions to MAGA extremists in Congress that obstructed the democratic process even after a violent insurrection. With many of the same MAGA election deniers now holding powerful positions that could threaten democracy and fundamental voting rights, it's critical that corporations finally stand up to their extremism—not encourage more."
Last month, a report by the government transparency watchdog showed that corporate PACs and industry trade groups have given more than $66 million to election objectors since the January 6 attack. The OpenSecrets analysis, which included more companies and PACs than the Accountable.US report, named most of the same industry groups and corporations in the top five donors—the National Association of Realtors ($909,000) topped its list—and congressional recipients as Accountable.US' list.
Also last month, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington issued its own analysis which found that just 65 of the more than 230 corporations and industry groups that "pledged to stop, pause, or re-evaluate their political giving to the 147 members of the so-called Sedition Caucus... have kept their promises not to give, while the rest have resumed giving."
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Jan. 6 Rallies Will Demand Accountability for Trump, 'Urgent Action to Protect Our Democracy'
"We need all hands on deck to make this January 6th national day of action as big as possible," said the coalition organizing the demonstrations.
Jan 05, 2023
Democracy defenders will mark the second anniversary of the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol with nationwide rallies to demand accountability for former U.S. President Donald Trump and push for "reforms to protect our freedom to vote."
The Not Above the Law and Declaration for American Democracy coalitions will lead the nationwide day of action on the anniversary of the right-wing insurrection by supporters of former President Donald Trump and his "Big Lie" that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen."
"Election deniers still threaten our democracy. On the second anniversary of the insurrection, we're fighting back."
"We need all hands on deck to make this January 6th national day of action as big as possible," said the coalition's Jan. 6 Justice: Our Freedoms, Our Vote website.
"We know that even though some of the most prominent election conspiracists lost their midterms, they are already looking to 2024 for ways to overturn the will of voters," the coalitions continued. "They are working to sabotage future elections by changing state laws, threatening election officials, and packing election administration offices so that they can have the final say over election results even when they lose."
\u201cJanuary 6 is a day to remind us that we must continue working to protect our democracy. People who care about democracy are taking action across the nation, can you join? \u00a0#OurFreedomsOurVote\u00a0https://t.co/4KxxMKqzvb\u201d— Randi Weingarten \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udfff\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83c\udf93 (@Randi Weingarten \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udfff\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83c\udf93) 1672943752
Organizers of the #OurFreedomsOurVote demonstrations say the "next phase" in their work involves:
- Passing local, state, and federal legislation to protect our freedoms;
- Pushing back against the potential sham investigations the new Congress is planning; and
- Uplifting the findings of real critical investigations like the January 6th investigation.
Last month, the bipartisan congressional committee probing the Capitol insurrection unanimously voted to recommend that Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department investigate Trump and some of his associates for four crimes in connection with the attack.
\u201cElection deniers still threaten our democracy. On the second anniversary of the insurrection, we\u2019re fighting back. Join us at an event near you! \n#OurFreedomsOurVote https://t.co/weZQmshick\u201d— Declaration for American Democracy - (@Declaration for American Democracy -) 1672950371
"Almost two years after the insurrection, we see our democracy is still in danger from Trump, his allies, and their sympathizers in office," coalition member Free Speech for People tweeted. "It's time to show our political leaders that there are still serious threats to our democracy."
New polling published Thursday by Data for Progress revealed that just 57% of respondents believe President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election. That figure is dramatically skewed by the two-thirds of Republican respondents who said the election was "stolen" from Trump. Ninety-two percent of Democrats said Biden won the contest fairly.
More than 170 candidates for U.S. House, Senate, and key statewide offices who deny that Biden fairly won the 2020 election were elected or reelected in November.
The survey also found that 59% of voters believe Trump bears "a lot of" or "some" responsibility for the Capitol attack—with 90% of Democrats, 57% of Independents, and 28% of Republicans agreeing. Nearly half of GOP respondents said Trump is not at all responsible for the insurrection.
Additionally, half of all survey respondents said Trump should be prosecuted for his role in the January 6 attack. Support for prosecution soared to 88% of Democrats, while 50% of Independents and just 13% of Republicans believe the former president—who's seeking the 2024 nomination—should face charges.
\u201cJoin us on January 6 to push for accountability to prevent future power grabs by Trump and his allies, and to tell elected leaders to act on a mandate for democracy reforms to protect our freedom to vote. #OurFreedomsOurVote\u201d— Public Citizen Democracy Campaign (@Public Citizen Democracy Campaign) 1672948944
Noting that the new Republican majority in the House "has made clear that they have no interest in accountability for the attack on our Capitol," the Declaration for American Democracy coalition said that "it's up to us to show our political leaders that we demand urgent action to protect our democracy."
Scheduled speakers at the noon EST Union Square rally in Washington, D.C. include Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.); Martin Luther King III and Andrea Waters King of the Drum Major Institute; Stand Up America executive director Christina Harvey; Sierra Club democracy campaign representative Tishan Weerasooriya; Women's March D.C. spokesperson Noor Mir; and March for Our Lives board member Mariah Cooley, among others.
"The event comes as Trump and extreme politicians continue to spread false claims about the 2020 election results and undermine our Constitution, pass state laws to place new barriers to voting—disproportionately impacting communities of color—and prepare to launch a sham investigation into the January 6 committee so that they can stay in power to push their unpopular agenda: to destroy reproductive rights, steal our Social Security and our Medicare, and stop our ability to access affordable higher education, address the climate crisis, or prevent gun violence, among others," the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said in a statement.
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