Connect with us

‘Sick Irony’: Anderson Cooper Grills Florida AG Pam Bondi Over Her History of Anti-Gay Attacks (Video)

Published

on

GOP Attorney General Confronted With Horribly Anti-Gay Record in Wake of Orlando Terror Attack

For more than five minutes CNN’s Anderson Cooper grilled Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi over her anti-gay record live on-air Tuesday afternoon. Bondi was confronted with her horrible anti-gay attacks just days after the nation’s deadliest mass shooting, and worst terror attack since 9/11, which had targeted the LGBT community.

Cooper first challenged Bondi for positioning herself as a champion of the LGBT community on Sunday, when she said, “Anyone who attacks our LGBT community, anyone who attacks anyone in our state, will be gone after to the fullest extent of the law.”

The CNN journalist directly told Bondi that he has talked with LGBT people in Florida “who are not fans of yours and they thought you were being a hypocrite.” He then reminded her that “for years” she has “gone after gay people,” and “said in court that gay people simply by fighting for marriage equality, were trying to do harm to the people of Florida, to ‘induce public harm,’ I believe is the term you used in court. Do you really think that you’re a champion of the gay community?,” he asked a seemingly stunned Bondi.

The Republican attorney general responded by saying she was sworn to uphold the constitution of the State of Florida, and defending the marriage amendment was part of her job. It should be noted that when he was the US Attorney General, Eric Holder specifically told state AGs they were under no obligation to defend marriage bans if they believe them to be unconstitutional.

“I’ve never said I don’t like gay people, that’s ridiculous,” Bondi charged.

“Do you worry about using language accusing gay people of ‘doing harm’ to the people of Florida when doesn’t that send a message to people who might have bad ideas in mind?,” Cooper pressed.

“Anderson, I don’t believe gay people could do harm to the state of Florida,” Bondi responded. Cooper interjected, “But you argued that in court.”

“My lawyer argued a case defending what the Supreme Court allowed the voters to put in our state constitution,” Bondi said.

Bondi also insisted she never said same-sex marriage would do harm to Florida. “Of course not, of course not,” she told Cooper. “I never said that. Those words never came out of my mouth.”

“That’s what you were arguing in court,” Cooper insisted.

“You know, no. No,” Bondi responded. “What we argued was it was in the constitution of the state of Florida.”

Cooper continued to drill and grill the Republican AG, noting that on television she has been telling Floridians of a hotline they can call to learn the status of their loved ones.

“Had there been no gay marriage, no same-sex marriage, you do realize that spouses, there would be no spouses, that boyfriends and girlfriends of the dead would not be able to get information and would not be able to call or visit in the hospital here. Isn’t there a sick irony in that?” Cooper asked.

“Let me take it a step further. People aren’t right now who are partners and aren’t married, officially aren’t able to get information so we’re trying to assist them in getting information. Because early on –“

Cooper interrupted, “But isn’t there a sick irony that you for years were fighting that very idea?”

“I was defending the constitution of what over 69 percent of the voters put in the constitution,” Bondi said.

“But the courts, the federal courts said that’s not the constitution and you continued to fight it,” Cooper said, noting she took it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and that he “continued to fight it after the federal judge ruled and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting it.”

RELATED: Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Battle Against Same-Sex Marriage Will Cost Florida Taxpayers $500,000

Bondi challenged Cooper, saying “we rushed to get it to the Supreme Court.”

Moving to change topics, Bondi said, “You know what today is about? Human beings. Today’s about victims.”

“It’s about gay and lesbian victims,” Cooper retorted.

“It sure is,” Bondi replied. “LGBT victims.”

“Is it hypocritical to portray yourself as a champion of the gay community when – I’m just reflecting what gay people told me they don’t see you as this.”

“Anderson,” Bondi, exasperated, said, “I’m not portraying myself as anything but trying to help human beings who have lost their lives, who are behind us right now in hospital beds, who have family members who aren’t getting the services they need.”

“This morning,” she continued, “you know what I’ve been doing? Trying to fight with a funeral home for overcharging family members to bury the loved ones. I’m not championing anything other than Floridians. That’s what this is about. We are about human beings.”

“I will say,” Cooper, unrelenting, continued, “I have never really seen you talk about gays and lesbians and transgender people in a positive way until now. I read your Twitter history for the last year and you were tweeting about, you know, National Dog Month and National Shelter Dog Appreciation Day, or Adopt a Shelter Dog Day. It is Gay Pride Month. You never even tweeted about Gay Pride Month.”

“Well actually, if you look at my website now,” Bondi urged, “we have hands clasped together, all different-colored, rainbow-hands people,” Bondi said.

An examination of Bondi’s official government website, campaign website, Twitter page, and Facebook pages here and here, show nothing that appears like what she mentioned.  

“Moving forward, do you see yourself as being a vocal champion for gay and lesbian citizens in the state?,” Cooper asked.

“They are citizens just like anyone else. Of course. My goodness, Anderson, we’ve had 49 people murdered, simply because they were in a bar at the wrong time. It’s horrible. I’m a career prosecutor. Those family members are devastated. These surviving victims are devastated. That’s what this is about.”

“I know a lot of gay and lesbian people in the state want to feel that the people that represent them, represent everybody in the state.”

“We’re human beings, and that’s what this is about,” Bondi said. “That’s what this is about.”

In 2014 Bondi filed court documents which claimed that recognizing out-of-state legal civil same-sex marriages would “impose significant public harm” and play havoc with existing marriage laws in the Sunshine State. She also implied that same-sex couples do not create “stable and enduring family units.”

 

EARLIER:

Florida AG Pam Bondi Personally Asked Trump for Donation Before Dropping Trump Univ. Fraud Case

Watch: Gov. Rick Scott Admits He Delayed Execution So AG Pam Bondi Could Go To A Fundraiser

Pam Bondi Files Emergency Petition Asking Clarence Thomas To Deny Gay Couples Right To Marry

 

Thanks to Politico for much of the transcript

Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

MAGA Congressman Vows Loyalty: ‘If Trump Says Jump 3 Feet High We Jump 3 Feet High’

Published

on

Bragging about his total fealty to Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) made clear he and and the House Republican Conference are in complete lockstep with the President-elect and will do anything to support their leader.

“There’s no question, he’s the leader of our party,” Congressman Nehls told reporters after the President-elect visited with House Republicans Wednesday before heading to the White House for a photo-op with President Joe Biden.

“So now he’s got a mission statement—his mission, and his goals and objectives, whatever that is, we need to embrace it,” Nehls said, before holding up his finger and adding, “All of it. Every. Single. Word.”

READ MORE: MAGA Loses ‘First War’: Rick Scott Rejected by Senate GOP, Thune Elected Leader

“If Donald Trump says ‘jump three feet high and scratch your head,’ we all jump three feet high and scratch our heads,” vowed Nehls, a former sheriff who was accused of stolen valor last year.

Also last year, Congressman Nehls, who appears to be the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. bragged about House Republicans’ true motivation to impeach President Joe Biden: “Trump 2024, baby!” he told a reporter.

A few short months later, at the State of the Union, Congressman Nehls wore a t-shirt with Donald Trump’s booking mug shot and the words, “Never Surrender.”

See the photos and video above or at this link.

READ MORE: Musk and Ramaswamy Heading New ‘DOGE’ Prompts Legal and Ethical Concerns: Experts

Continue Reading

News

MAGA Loses ‘First War’: Rick Scott Rejected by Senate GOP, Thune Elected Leader

Published

on

Senate Republicans in a secret ballot election behind closed doors on Wednesday rebuffed President-elect Donald Trump’s hopes to install a Majority Leader who would allow him to usurp Senate power and freely make recess appointments without the constitutional requirements of advice and consent. Republicans immediately rejected far-right MAGA Senator Rick Scott of Florida on the first ballot, and rejected U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas on the second, choosing U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the current Senate Minority Whip and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s second in command, to lead the Republican conference.

Thune, seen as the least-extreme of the three candidates, will become Majority Leader in January. And while he did agree that recess appointments could be “on the table,” Thune has a history of not blindly bowing down to Trump.

“Rick Scott wants to help Trump sidestep the body to install extremists in the Cabinet,” Rolling Stone reported, suggesting that Thune is not a “MAGA fixer, greasing the skids to ram controversial appointees and legislation through the Senate.”

READ MORE: Musk and Ramaswamy Heading New ‘DOGE’ Prompts Legal and Ethical Concerns: Experts

Also suggesting the U.S. Senate might serve at least as a deterrent to me of Trump’s far-right and extremist tendencies, Rolling Stone noted:

“Following last week’s election, Republicans will have a small majority in the Senate, likely 53-47. Two of those votes are Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who are perceived as moderates and could potentially withhold consent on extreme nominees. Another vote is a wild card: whomever Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine chooses to replace Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. DeWine recently clashed with Vance and Trump over their racist lies about Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio, and may not send a MAGA rubber stamp to Washington.”

Axios founder Jim VandeHei also agreed this was a repudiation of Trump’s MAGA machine:

MAGA media waged its first war – and lost badly. Scott eliminated on first ballot. John Thune wins Senate Republican leader race. He’s the closest thing to an establishment figure left in DC power.”

It is the end of the nearly two-decade long McConnell era. McConnell opted to hold the election for his replacement early, angering President-elect Trump.

Trump on Sunday had issued a threatening statement, signaling his desire to effectively co-opt the upper chamber of a co-equal branch of the federal government”

READ MORE: Trump Victory Was ‘Slim’ and Not the ‘Historic Mandate’ Republicans Claim, Analysis Shows

“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!”

Politico’s Kyle Cheney posted Thune’s statements on his votes after each of the Trump Senate impeachment trials. Thune made clear he opposed Trump’s actions.

CNN’s Manu Raju reports Thune’s “politics are much more in the mainstream of GOP orthodoxy,” and notes he “called on Trump to drop out” of the 2016 presidential are after the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape.

Thune had endorsed U.S. Senator Tim Scott for the presidency over Trump.

Watch CNN ‘s report below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘No Excuse’: Dems Have Just Weeks to Get Dozens of Biden’s Judicial Nominees Confirmed

Continue Reading

News

Musk and Ramaswamy Heading New ‘DOGE’ Prompts Legal and Ethical Concerns: Experts

Published

on

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that he will create the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and named billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk and biotech and financial entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as its co-directors. Experts are raising legal and ethical concerns across various issues.

One ethics expert says both Musk and Ramaswamy will have to divest from their extensive financial assets to avoid a federal conflict of interest law.

Professor of Law Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer under Republican President George W. Bush, issued a warning just hours after Trump’s announcement.

“This is a federal office subject to the financial conflict of interest statute, 18 U.S.C. Section 208. They will both have to divest conflicting financial interests or risk violating a criminal statute,” Painter wrote.

READ MORE: Trump Victory Was ‘Slim’ and Not the ‘Historic Mandate’ Republicans Claim, Analysis Shows

He offered some examples: “Elon Musk must divest X or recuse from government matters affecting social media platforms; he must divest Tesla or recuse from government matters affecting the auto industry, electric batteries, etc.”

Attorney Tristan Snell, the former New York prosecutor who helped secure a $25 million settlement against Trump University, agreed:

“Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will have to divest their business holdings if they want to join the Trump administration, to avoid violating conflict-of-interest laws. So if Elon takes a job, could he be forced to sell his stock in Tesla? Or could he be forced to sell Twitter?”

Professor Painter also pointed to a CNN report highlighting potential conflicts.

“The announcement of Ramaswamy and particularly Musk, who leads companies with existing, lucrative government contracts, raises immediate questions about potential conflicts of interest,” CNN reported. “It is not immediately clear how the department – which Trump said would ‘provide advice and guidance from outside of Government’ – would operate, and whether a Congress even fully controlled by Republicans would have the appetite to approve such a massive overhaul of government spending and operations.”

CNN also noted that last year Ramaswamy, “who had promised on the campaign trail to eliminate the FBI, the Department of Education and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which would lay off thousands of federal workers in the process – released a white paper outlining a legal framework he said would allow the president to eliminate federal agencies of his choice.”

The Daily Beast suggested there could be ways to circumvent the requirements of federal law.

“Trump could … appoint the duo under the Federal Advisory Committees Act, which allows the government to set up groups to provide ‘expert advice, ideas, and diverse opinions to the Federal Government.'”

“This would potentially allow Musk and Ramaswamy to remain advisers instead of federal employees—meaning they would not necessarily be legally required to disclose conflicts of interest like employees of agencies such as the Department of Justice or the Defense Department.”

Other critics are raising additional concerns.

READ MORE: ‘No Excuse’: Dems Have Just Weeks to Get Dozens of Biden’s Judicial Nominees Confirmed

Some have suggested that in general, only Congress, not the President, can create new federal agencies.

The Daily Beast reports, “government agencies can only be created by an act of Congress.”

It appears Trump’s new agency, based on his announcement, may operate out of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It is unclear how funding would work.

And while DOGE would suggest where to cut or eliminate funding, generally only Congress can determine how and how much federal funds are spent. It is generally unlawful for the President to decide to not spend funds Congress allocates.

Others are mocking the choice of the new agency’s name.

Attorney and creator of the SHERO political and legal newsletter, Amee Vanderpool, points out that DOGE is “an acronym that is frat boy shout out to cryptocurrency,” and notes that “an official agency cannot be created without Congress.”

NOTUS political investigations reporter Jose Pagliery adds, “Wait, the Elon/Vivek department will be called DOGE? They’re memefying the government. The actual government.”

Those concerns are accurate, as CNBC explains:

Dogecoin “shot higher on Tuesday night, extending its postelection surge after President-elect Donald Trump formally announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, which he referred to as ‘DOGE’ in his statement.

The Daily Beast added that “DOGE” is “a reference to a decade-old meme that was later turned into a cryptocurrency beloved by Musk.”

Musk himself appears to have come up with the idea of a Department of Government Efficiency, in August:

And reinforced it again in September:

He appears to already be thinking about marketing ideas:

Musk also highlighted what he says he sees as “a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining.” He also told a social media user that the “entertainment value will be epic.”

Professor of Law, political commentator, and former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman offered this summation: “Oh man, talk about strange bedfellows.”

See the social media posts above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘What Illegal Corruption Looks Like’: Trump Blasted for ‘Already Breaking the Law’

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.