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UPDATING: List of Democratic and Republican Lawmakers Calling for Sessions to Recuse or Resign Grows Quickly

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65 Lawmakers Already Demand Action

Calls are growing for Jeff Sessions to either resign, or at least recuse himself from investigations into Russia and the Trump administration, but so far the embattled Attorney General has refused to do either. 

Currently, there are 30 House and Senate members (19 Democrats, 1 Independent, and 10 Republicans) calling for Sessions to recuse himself and 35 (34 Democrats and 1 Independent, no Republicans) calling for him to resign.

(Editor’s note: See update below — 100 House Democrats call on Sessions to resign.)

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‘We Should Be Talking About the Attorney General Going to Jail’ Says Conservative Former Lawmaker on Sessions (Video)

Attorney General Sessions Under Fire for Meeting With Russian Ambassador During Campaign Without Disclosing When Asked

Here’s the list, via NBC News:

RECUSE:

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) 

Rep. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) 

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) 

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) 

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) 

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) 

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) 

Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) 

Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) 

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) 

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) 

Sen. Angus King (I-ME) 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) 

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) 

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) 

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) 

Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) 

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) 

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) 

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) 

Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) 

Rep. Frank lobiondo (R-NJ) 

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) 

Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) 

Rep. Elizabeth Etsy (D-CT) 

Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) 

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL)

RESIGN:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) 

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) 

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) 

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) 

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) 

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) 

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) 

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) 

Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) 

Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) 

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) 

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) 

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) 

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) 

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) 

Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) 

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) 

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) 

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) 

Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) 

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) 

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) 

Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) 

Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) 

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) 

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) 

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) 

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) 

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) 

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) 

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) 

Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV) 

Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)

UPDATE: 2:32 PM EST –
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announces 100 House Democrats now calling for Sessions to resign:

“The top law enforcement officer of the United States cannot be a person who lies under oath to the American people.  Attorney General Sessions’ impartiality was already suspect, now we know he does not have the integrity to lead the Department of Justice.

“Attorney General Sessions must resign immediately.  Our security and our democracy have been undermined by Russia’s meddling, and this Administration clearly cannot be trusted to investigate itself.  There must be an independent, bipartisan, outside commission to investigate the full extent of the Trump political, personal and financial connections to the Russians.”

Have your lawmakers weighed in? Do you want them to change their opinion? Call them: (202) 224-3121. Demand they do their job.

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

Image by USCapitol via Flickr 

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CRIME

‘Big Shoe Drops’: Bad Day for Trump on Multiple Fronts in Special Counsel’s Grand Jury Probes

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Judge Nixes Trump’s ‘Executive Privilege’ Claim, Orders Mark Meadows, Stephen Miller, Other Top Aides to Testify as Corcoran Completes Grand Jury Appearance

It’s a bad day behind the scenes for Donald Trump.

First, his own attorney, Evan Corcoran, just past noon on Friday walked out of a federal court building after completing more than three hours of testimony before Special Counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury investigating the ex-president’s unlawful retention and refusal to return hundreds of sensitive, classified, and top secret documents.

His testimony, compelled by a subpoena, is seen by a former top DOJ official as “the most critical evidence in the case,” and should “allow DOJ to make a charging decision without significant delay.”

READ MORE: ‘Pits Parents Against Parents’: House Republicans Pass Anti-LGBTQ Florida-Style K-12 ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’

Prosecutors, citing the crime-fraud exception, were able to convince a federal judge that Trump likely committed a crime via his attorneys, enabling them to bypass attorney-client privilege.

Trump had strived to block Corcoran from testifying, but a federal judge and an appeals court, in an extraordinarily quick turnaround – some legal experts saying for reasons likely related to national security – ordered him to testify.

Also Friday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege and ordered testimony before Special Counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury investigating Trump’s actions related to the January 6 insurrection from eight former top Trump White House aides.

Among them, Trump’s White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Senior Advisor to the President Stephen Miller, and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. Also, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien and former deputy chief of staff and social media director Dan Scavino, ABC News reports.

READ MORE: ‘Chilling’: Law Enforcement ‘Seriously’ Investigating Threats Ahead of Possible Trump Indictment Says Top WaPo Reporter

Meadows is a former GOP congressman seen by many as integral to the events of January 6.

“Former Trump aides Nick Luna and John McEntee, along with former top DHS official Ken Cuccinelli, were also included in the order, the sources said,” according to ABC News.

Former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman weighed in, saying: “Another really big shoe drops: [Judge] Howell rejects Trump’s executive privilege claim and orders Mark Meadows and others to testify before Jan 6 [grand jury]. Meadows has really been able to stay on the sidelines. No more–even if he takes the 5th, which [would] then force [question] of immunity.”

 

Image of Donald Trump via Shutterstock

 

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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

‘Pits Parents Against Parents’: House Republicans Pass Anti-LGBTQ Florida-Style K-12 ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’

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The Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives Friday morning passed HR 5, the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” legislation similar to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ laws that have led to book bans and targeting of LGBTQ children.

The bill passed 213-208, with 14 Members not voting. All yes votes were from Republicans only. Five Republicans joined Democrats to vote no.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu of California warned the legislation “pits parents against parents.”

“The extreme MAGA H.R. 5 bill will let other parents dictate what books your child gets to read. It’ll make it easier for other parents to know if your child has an eating disorder, or is experiencing a mental health crisis,” Lieu warned.

READ MORE: Watch: GOP Lawmaker Orders Grieving Parkland Parents Removed From ‘ATF Overreach’ Hearing

U.S> Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) warned, “H.R. 5 would codify Republican book bans all over the country. Stories of Holocaust survivors, enslaved Americans, and over 1,600 other stories have already been pulled from shelves.”

U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) said HR5 is “a vehicle for hate and political nonsense.”

Congressman Greg Murphy, Republican of North Carolina, in a recorded statement falsely claimed the bill was needed because “Children are being taught to hate our country,” and “parents are labeled as domestic terrorists.”

In his speech before the bill passed, Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared, “We believe parents should know what your children is [sic] learning.”

CNN reports the bill would also “require elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding to obtain parental consent before ‘changing a minor child’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or allowing a child to change the child’s sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.'”

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the legislation “Orwellian to the core,” and promised it “will not see the light of day.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Far Right Christian Nationalist Brags His ‘Biblical Worldview’ Group Is Behind Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Anti-Trans Law

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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation Tuesday prohibiting transgender people from using public school facilities that match their gender identity. Later that same day, Jason Rapert, a former Arkansas state senator and founder of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, posted a video crediting his organization for the legislation.

Rapert, a longtime religious-right activist and ardent Christian nationalist, bragged that this piece of legislation was first proposed by Arkansas school board member David Naylor during an annual NACL meeting, endorsed by the organization, and finally brought to the Arkansas state legislature by state Rep. Mary Bentley, who serves on the board of the NACL.

“The NACL has seven working committees,” Rapert said. “Those committees actually debate and discuss every major policy issue in this country, all from a biblical worldview.”

“We make model laws,” he continued. “Do you know that just recently Rep. Mary Bentley of Arkansas passed a model law that the NACL adopted at their last meeting in the state of Texas?”

“Rep. Mary Bentley, [who] is our chair of the National Legislative Council, she went to the Arkansas legislature, took that concept that came from Dr. David Naylor that was then adopted by the full body of the NACL, and guess what? It’s already been placed into law in the state of Arkansas,” Rapert crowed. “That’s the difference the NACL can make in your community.”

“This is what the NACL does every day all across this country,” Rapert bellowed later in the video. “We are fighting for the lives of little babies. We are fighting against the people that are putting the queer books into your school libraries and trying to groom these children into homosexuality. We’re standing up. We’re pursuing school board policies to save the nation. We are standing up and have our members running bills in the halls of the state legislatures to stand up against this woke ideology, to push back against the things of the devil in our country.”

In December, Rapert declared that right-wing Christians must rise up and “take authority” over everything from their local school boards to the federal government. The National Association for Christian Lawmakers seeks do just that, advancing legislation that fits their narrow conservative biblical worldview in statehouses throughout the country. The group’s advisory board includes politicians like Mike Huckabee and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as well as influential religious-right activists like Tony Perkins of Family Research Council and Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel.

This article was originally published by Right Wing Watch and is republished here by permission.

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