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Bachmann Campaign’s Link To Uganda’s Kill The Gays Bill

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Leading Republican presidential candidate and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has hired as a senior staffer an Evangelical extremist who sees her rise to the presidency as fulfilling a Biblical prophesy, a man who spent time in jail on charges of gun smuggling and terrorism, a man who has direct ties to political and religious leaders who want to put to death all gay men and lesbians and all bisexual and transgender people in Uganda. 

Peter Waldron, the key Bachmann campaign staffer responsible for securing Michele Bachmann’s Iowa Straw Poll win last weekend, has been linked to Uganda’s Pastor Martin Ssempa, the religious arm of Ugandan politician and the chief sponsor of the “Kill The Gays” bill, David Bahati. News reports are flooding in about Waldron, an Evangelical minister hired by Bachmann’s presidential campaign, who was imprisoned on terrorism charges in Uganda for 37 days in 2006, and who has joked about being a CIA spy, but apparently was merely, according to one reporter who met him in Uganda in 2004, “a particularly flamboyant example of an archetypal character: the American who goes to Africa, a continent where a little money and a lot of talk can buy substantial power, in search of a position of influence.”

READ: Michele Bachmann’s Top Ten Anti-​Gay Quotes

As The New Civil Rights Movement reported yesterday, Garance Franke-​Ruta, a senior editor at The Atlantic, broke an earth-shattering story about Waldron and his ties to Bachmann, his Evangelical roots, and his terrorism arrest.

But now the story deepens.

Warren Throckmorton, one of the top sources tNCRM uses on all things Uganda, has found the key link to Waldron and Uganda’s Pastor Martin Ssempa, whose work against the gay community in Uganda has brought the Kill The Gays bill close to a vote, and, possibly, passage.

Throckmorton writes, “Peter Waldron who helped Michele Bachmann win the Iowa straw poll on Saturday was arrested in Uganda in 2006 for illegal possession of rifles. And he boasted a familiar Ugandan pastor as a friend:

Mugenyi could not say what Waldron’s Contact America Group is involved in or whether it is registered in Uganda. “We suspect that it could be either an NGO or a lobby group,” he said. Despite Mugenyi’s attempt to link Waldron to Besigye, Waldron says he has close relations with State House.

In an article titled Evangelicals v. Muslims in Africa: Enemy’s Enemy and published in the US news magazine The New Republic in August 2004, Waldron says he had met President Yoweri Museveni. The American doctor also says he is a friend of the first family and a friend of Pastor Martin Sempa, according to the article, written by one Stuart Price.

Throckmorton also finds Waldron’s Facebook page with this entry, which states in part,

“I am simply amazed that some folks are waiting for Saul-like characters who look everything like a king while Michele fights with the anointing of God upon her. She is fearless, fierce in battle, and focused on winning the nomination and securing the White House. Thinking about running, waiting to throw their hat in the ring – foolishness. The battle rages now and Michele needs an army.”

READ: Michele Bachmann (Allegedly) Is Palling Around With Terrorists

Throckmorton, in another post, writes,

Apparently the next state is South Carolina. In a comment on hisFacebook page, Waldron said he would soon be in Columbia and cover the state. We get a hint in one comment about what he might tell evangelicals he hopes to win over to Bachmann. In one comment, Waldron compared Rick Perry to King Saul and Bachmann to King David. If you have been to Sunday School, you know that Saul was a tall, good looking guy who eventually had a bad end because he fell out of God’s favor. God placed His blessing on King David instead.  Here is the comment:

 

A 2006 post at Daily Kos states, “The WaPo says he is an “evangelist” and has “close ties” to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s family, which they deny.  There are also reports that he was trying to start a political party (currently illegal) based on Christianity.”

As tNCRM wrote yesterday as well, “what does this say about Michele Bachmann’s decision-​making abilities, vetting processes, and even personal judgment?

Leading Republican presidential candidate and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has hired as a senior staffer an Evangelical extremist who sees her rise to the presidency as some Biblical prophesy, a man who spent time in jail on charges of gun smuggling and terrorism, a man who has direct ties to political and religious leaders who want to put to death all gay men and lesbians and all bisexual and transgender people in Uganda. Given Michele Bachmann’s known positions on homosexuality, including calling it, “part of Satan,” can there be any doubt how dangerous Michele Bachmann — clearly a dominionist — is?

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Comer Threatens ‘Contempt’ Despite Hunter Biden’s Lawyer Quoting Chairman’s Media Appearances

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Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Comer is now threatening Hunter Biden with “contempt” of Congress if he refuses to testify behind closed doors. The President’s son has repeatedly offered to testify in public.

Abbe Lowell, the attorney with “close ties inside the Trump White House” who is now representing Hunter Biden, Wednesday morning again reiterated his demand that any testimony before the House Oversight Committee be in a public hearing, and he used Chairman Comer’s own words to make his point.

But Comer, who is moving toward impeaching President Joe Biden despite having offered no actual proof of any impeachable offense, was quick to tell Politico: “He’s been subpoenaed. We expect him to show up. They don’t get to make the rules.”

“I would expect Congress to hold the president’s son in contempt,” Comer said, if Hunter Biden refuses to testify in a closed-door session.

READ MORE: Jim Comer Decimated by NBC Reporter in ‘Under Two Minutes’

“As indicated in my November 28, 2023, letter,” Lowell wrote to Chairman Comer earlier on Wednesday, in a letter published by The Washington Examiner, “Mr. Biden has offered to appear at a hearing on the December 13, 2023, date you have reserved, or another date this month, to answer any question pertinent and relevant to the subject matter stated in your November 8, 2023, letter.”

Lowell made clear his motivation for a public hearing before cameras.

“He is making this choice because the Committee has demonstrated time and again it uses closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort, the facts and misinform the American public—a hearing would ensure transparency and truth in these proceedings.”

But Lowell cited Comer’s own words from a few of his numerous media appearances to demonstrate how the Chairman welcomed an open-door public hearing. The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona noted that Lowell, in his letter, “again cites Comer practically daring Hunter to publicly testify.”

Lowell cited Comer’s remarks on October 31 on “The Benny Show.”

READ MORE: ‘Does America Need More God?’: Mike Johnson Laments LGBTQ High School Kids

“We’re in the downhill phase of this investigation now because we have so many documents, and we can bring these people in for depositions or committee hearings, whichever they choose , . . . .”

Also, his September 13 statement on Newsmax.

“Hunter Biden is more than welcome to come in front of the committee . . . he’s invited today. We will drop everything.”

He also cited Comer’s “November 8, 2023, statement in your cover letter addressed to me: ‘Given your client’s willingness to address this investigation publicly up to this point, we would expect him to be willing to testify before Congress.”

(Emphasis included in Lowell’s letter.)

“We look forward to working out the schedule,” Lowell concluded.

READ MORE: ‘Authoritarianism’: Florida Says Its Public Schools Exist to ‘Convey Government’s Message’

 

 

 

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Jim Comer Decimated by NBC Reporter in ‘Under Two Minutes’

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Republican House Oversight Committee Chair Jim Comer melted down in an interview with NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles on Tuesday as he once again appeared unable to prove President Joe Biden engaged in money laundering or other illicit acts.

“So sir, there were the two checks,” Nobles told Comer (video below), “the $40,000 check and the $200,000 check that came from the president’s son and into the President’s bank account. There was also subsequent bank records, which were provided through the [Oversight] Committee, that demonstrate that there were also subsequent pieces of information that went from the President to the president’s son.”

Comer repeatedly denied Nobles account.

“That is not true,” Comer claimed.

READ MORE: Comer Says Biden’s Bank Records ‘Don’t Lie’ but His Claims Are Quickly Debunked

“So that you’re saying that that information has been made up then?” Nobles tried to confirm. “Where did that information come from? That came from the Committee.”

“I don’t know,” Comer claimed. “We haven’t seen that information.”

“That is Committee information that is collected from the bank records that your committee has obtained,” Nobles, in something of a “Perry Mason” moment, informed Chairman Comer.

“Just show the check,” Comer insisted.

“Do you have a canceled check for every wire transfer that’s ever come into your account?” Nobles asked.

“Yes,” Comer declared.

“And that’s what has been shown, there is bank records that demonstrate an exact same amount of money,” Nobles explained, as Comer talked over him.

READ MORE: ‘Authoritarianism’: Florida Says Its Public Schools Exist to ‘Convey Government’s Message’

“Are you saying, okay, sir, are you saying those bank records do not exist?” Nobles pressed, “That show the money leaving the President’s account and into his son’s?”

“They were money laundering. You see wires going all over the –” Comer charged.

“Sir, answer this specific question: Is there a bank record that demonstrates the exact amount of money that came from the President’s account into his son’s account that matches the checks that then went back to him? Does that exist? Yes or no?”

“No, no!” Comer blared. “There’s money coming from a law firm.”

“That doesn’t exist? That doesn’t exist, sir?” Nobles asked.

“It does not exist. It’s coming from a law firm. Who put who put the money in the law firm? How do you know the money came from Joe Biden? It could have come from one of Hunter shell companies. You have no idea,” Comer replied.

“Okay. So you are saying that that money that that money exists?” Nobles, making his case, concluded. “That transfer does exist there in the bank records that you and your committee –”

“No!” Comer then declared. “You don’t know what that transfer is.”

READ MORE: No Regrets: Tuberville to Continue Blocking 4-Star Generals While Releasing Hold on Other Officers

Tim Mulvey, the former communications director for the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack responded to the clip, writing: “In my experience, when a chairman goes on tv and can’t answer even the most basic questions about ‘blockbuster’ evidence without utterly unraveling, it might not be the strongest case.”

“In under two minutes,” wrote Adam Cohen of Lawyers for Good Government, “James Comer goes from checks that confirm harmless transactions between Joe and Hunter Biden ‘do not exist’ To ‘they exist, but we claim they might be suspicious.'”

White House spokesman Ian Sams posted the clip on social media late Tuesday night, with a snarky comment.

Watch the video below or at this link.

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‘What Bible Is He Reading?’: Morning Joe Trashes Mike Johnson for ‘Lie After Lie’ to ‘Keep His Job’

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MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough bashed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)for telling “lie after lie” to minimize the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Louisiana Republican, who led a legal effort among House Republicans to invalidate Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, has ordered the release of security video footage from the U.S. Capitol attack, but with the faces of rioters blurred out to protect them from being “retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ.”

“Lie after lie after lie – I would love to see his Bible,” Scarborough said. “‘Look at my Bible, that’s how I live.’ Lie after lie after lie. He’s lying about transparency. Liz Cheney was saying yesterday, release all the tapes. He’s not going to release all the tapes. He’ll release selected portions of it. As far as the blurring of the faces, the FBI has all of the footage. They’ve got the footage. Who is he lying to? The press is not stupid enough to believe him. Is he insulting Republicans? Like, why would he lie like that? The FBI has all the footage, so the DOJ has all the footage. Who is he lying to? Maybe he’s just lying to himself, I don’t know. Again, it’s an interesting Bible he has there.”

A spokesperson for Johnson later clarified, saying the speaker wanted to protect participants from retaliation from unspecified non-governmental actors, but Washington Post congressional correspondent Jacqueline Alemany said his stance on Jan. 6 was clearly intended to bolster his position with the MAGA base.

“This is Johnson trying to curry favor with a growing pocket of the House GOP conference that, you know, has been campaigning on vying for freedoms for these insurrectionists,” Alemany said. “Johnson is realizing that his honeymoon is coming to an end as hardliners, especially those in the House Freedom Caucus, the same people who have been advocating for the insurrectionists, for what they have said, have claimed without evidence as the mistreatment behind bars, and this is Johnson just trying to show – even though it really, it doesn’t make all that much sense – he is behind them, and he sees them.”

According to the Department of Justice, more than 1,069 defendants have been charged in the Capitol assault, and at least 594 of them have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges. At least 98 have been convicted at trial, while another 24 have pleaded guilty.

Watch the video below or at this link.

 

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