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Florida AG Pam Bondi Is ‘So Proud’ Of Her Work — Including Defending Ban On Marriage (Video)

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Florida Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi says she is “so proud” of the work she has been doing — fighting human trafficking, illegal drugs, and ensuring the unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage stays in place as long as possible. At least until after the November election.

Pam Bondi has repeatedly come under attack this year, not only for defending the Sunshine State’s unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but for how she’s done it. 

In court filings, Bondi claimed that recognizing out-of-state legal civil same-sex marriages would “impose significant public harm” and play havoc with existing Florida marriage laws. Perhaps worse, Bondi suggested same-sex couples don’t create stable or enduring homes. Further, she has claimed her arguments are made in “good faith.”

Bondi has defended all three same-sex marriage cases in her state, citing the harm marriage equality would bring to Florida — while ignoring her own relationship with the institution. Bondi is on her third marriage.

Now, in the face of dozens of rulings across the nation supporting same-sex marriage, Bondi is stalling, pushing for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule, rather than dropping her defense of the marriage ban. 

She claims its her job to defend every Florida law, but the head of the U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General Eric Holder, has specifically told state Attorneys General that they should not feel the need to defend marriage laws, which likely are all unconstitutional. Several other Attorneys General have refused to defend these bans, including in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

But Bondi is resolute — partly, perhaps, as she is running for re-election this November, as she made very clear in this video, shot Monday at a meeting of the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, where he said just how proud she is of all her work.

Watch:

Jeremy Hooper notes the “truth is that she knows it’s likely equality will win in the state, and she knows that the win will be a repudiation of her often cruel resistance to fairness. So even though there is no guarantee that SCOTUS will even grant cert to a marriage case, the AG is telling citizens of her state, who have actual grievances to make in actual courts of law, that they are to cool their jets and just deal with their lesser-than status while she figures out how to spin this whole mess in her favor.”

“It’s offensive to both sides of this debate, frankly,” Hooper writes. “If there is to be a national debate that plays out in our states, then it needs to play. The AG can’t hit pause simply because she couldn’t find a way to hit stop.”

 

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News

‘Start the Kevin McCarthy Death-Clock’ After Biden Wins Debt Ceiling Battle: Rick Wilson

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Appearing late Saturday night on MSNBC after it was announced that President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had reached an agreement “in principle’ on a budget deal, former GOP strategist Rick Wilson claimed this could be the beginning of the end for McCathy’s speakership.

Sitting in on a panel with guest host Michael Steele, Wilson suggested that McCarthy’s decision to compromise with the president to avoid a default that would spin the economy into chaos will not go over well with far-right members of his House caucus who could make a motion to “vacate the chair” to express their displeasure.

Asked by host Steel about what comes next, Wilson stated it was a win for the White House which will not make conservatives happy.

RELATED: ‘Crazy cuckoo MAGA people’ could sink debt ceiling deal: Dem strategist

“Great night for Joe Biden, great night for the White House even though I think their messaging has been kind of tentative the past few weeks” the Lincoln Project founder began. “I think though we are now going to start the Kevin McCarthy death-clock. He has certainly got a very angry part of his caucus tonight who probably burning up his phone no matter how good it is for the country not to default.”

“It’s not going to please the chaos caucus in the GOP,” he added.

Watch below or at the link:

 

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News

Debt Ceiling: McCarthy Faces ‘Lingering Anger’ and a Possible Revolt as Far-Right House Members Start Issuing Threats

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As House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) continues to negotiate a deal to avoid a debt crisis, members of the far-right Freedom Caucus are growing furious with him over broken promises he made to them.

According to MSNBC political analyst Steve Benen, with a slim GOP majority in the House, McCarthy is walking a tightrope to get a budget deal passed and may need help from House Democrats if members of his caucus refuse to go along with him.

As Benen points out, in order to win the speakership McCarthy agreed to an easier path for a motion to “vacate the chair” which could end his tenure as Speaker. That could come into play if the Freedom Caucus stages a revolt.

“… as the negotiations approach an apparent finish line, the House Republicans’ most radical faction is learning that it isn’t likely to get everything its members demanded — and for the Freedom Caucus, that’s not going to work,” he wrote in his MSNBC column.

ALSO IN THE NEWS: Trump in danger of heightened espionage charges after bombshell report: legal expert

Citing a Washington Times report that stated, “[Freedom Caucus members] want everything from the debt limit bill passed by the House last month plus several new concessions from the White House,” Benen suggested far-right House Republicans are now issuing veiled threats.

In an interview, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) stated, “I am going to have to go have some blunt conversations with my colleagues and the leadership team. I don’t like the direction they are headed.”

With Politico reporting, “The [House Freedom Caucus] was already unlikely to support a final bipartisan deal, but lingering anger with Kevin McCarthy could have lasting implications on his speakership,” Benen added, “If this is simply a matter of lingering ill-will from members who come to believe that GOP leaders ‘caved,’ the practical consequences might be limited. But let’s also not forget that McCarthy, while begging his own members for their support during his protracted fight for the speaker’s gavel, agreed to tweak the motion-to-vacate-the-chair rules, which at least in theory, would make it easier for angry House Republicans to try to oust McCarthy from his leadership position.”

Adding the caveat that he is not predicting an imminent McCarthy ouster he added, “But if the scope of the Freedom Caucus’ discontent reaches a fever pitch, a hypothetical deal clears thanks to significant Democratic support, don’t be surprised if we all start hearing the phrase ‘vacate the chair” a lot more frequently.”

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BREAKING NEWS

Prosecutors Tell Trump They Have a Recording of Him and a Witness: Report

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Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial have notified the ex-president’s attorneys they have a recording of him and a witness. The notification comes in the form of an automatic discovery form, CBS News reports, which “describes the nature of the charges against a defendant and a broad overview of the evidence that prosecutors will present at Trump’s preliminary hearing or at trial.”

CBS reports prosecutors have handed the recording over to Trump’s legal team.

It’s not known who the witness is, nor are any details known publicly about what the conversation entails, or even if it is just audio or if it includes video.

READ MORE: ‘Likely to Be Indicted Soon’: Trump Might Face Seven Different Felonies, Government Watchdog Says

According to the article’s author, CBS News’ Graham Kates, via Twitter, prosecutors say they also have recordings between two witnesses, a recording between a witness and a third party, and various recordings saved on a witness’s cell phones.

Trump is facing 34 felony counts in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case related to his allegedly unlawful attempt to hide hush money payoffs to a well-known porn star by falsifying business records to protect his 2016 presidential campaign.

See the discovery form above or at this link.

Image via Shutterstock

 

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