Kevin McCarthy To Telecoms: Snitches Get Stitches

Very subtle.

Yesterday House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy continued the GOP's campaign of lawlessness by publicly obstructing the congressional investigation into the Capitol Riot.

"Adam Schiff, Bennie Thompson, and Nancy Pelosi's attempts to strong-arm private companies to turn over individuals' private data would put every American with a phone or computer in the crosshairs of a surveillance state run by Democrat politicians," he tweeted in response to preservation letters sent to phone and email providers last week by the January 6 Select Committee.

The current freakout was precipitated by the Committee's focus on communications of Republican members of Congress with organizers of the march-turned-riot, participants in it, and with President Trump himself. They're also very hot to find out who in Congress was cahootsing with the White House to strong-arm the Justice Department into ginning up bogus election fraud charges in swing states.

According to CNN , the targeted members include Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Mo Brooks, Madison Cawthorn, Louie Gohmert, Jody Hice, and Scott Perry. Notably, McCarthy's name is not on that list, although he is reported to have spoken to Trump during the riot and begged him to call off the mob, only to be told , "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are." But McCarthy must be shit scared, because he went on from fantasizing about a dystopian surveillance state to out-and-out threatening political reprisal against companies that comply with lawfully issued congressional subpoenas.

"If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States," he continued. "If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget and will stand with Americans to hold them fully accountable under the law."

Note that he didn't say which law those telecom companies would be violating. Because no such law exists, which is why Congress was able to subpoena Hillary Clinton's emails when they were trying to do LOCK HER UPS and prevent her from getting elected. Here's a law that the congressman might be interested in, however. It's called 18 U.S. Code § 1505 and it makes it a crime to obstruct official proceedings:   

Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States, or the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress—

Shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331 ), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.

Select Committee spox Tim Mulvey was unimpressed.

"The Select Committee is investigating the violent attack on the Capitol and attempt to overturn the results of last year's election. We've asked companies not to destroy records that may help answer questions for the American people," he told CNN . "The committee's efforts won't be deterred by those who want to whitewash or cover up the events of January 6th, or obstruct our investigation."

Now, we are not naive enough to think that Kevin McCarthy is about to catch a charge, or even get a visit from his friendly neighborhood FBI agent the way you and I would if we started talking about taking out corporations if they dare to obey the law and cross Republicans. But his little buddy Marge is doing her darnedest to try.

Greene: These telecommunication companies, if they go along with this, they will be shut down. That’s a promise https://t.co/YtLmZa8IPi

— Acyn (@Acyn) 1630457037.0 

"These telecommunication companies, if they go along with this, they will be shut down. And that's a promise," Greene blarped to the slack-jawed Rottweiler Rupert Murdoch pays to shit on the floor every night. "These cellphone companies, these telecommunications companies, they better not play with these Democrats, because Republicans are coming back into the majority in 2022, and we will take this very serious."

It's funny that Greene thinks Congress has the power to "shut down" a company at will, but not to issue subpoenas on it. And by funny, we mean bloody pathological that voters sent such an ignorant windsock to Congress.

We're entering a period of lawlessness, and the only way around it is to HOLD THE HOUSE. Because Margie may be batshit crazy, but she ain't wrong about the importance of those midterms.

"He's scared. And I think his boss is scared," Rep. Adam Schiff said on MSNBC. "They didn't want this commission and this select committee to go forward. They certainly didn't want it to go forward as it is on a bipartisan basis, and they don't want the country to know exactly what they were involved in.

"Kevin McCarthy lives to do whatever Trump wants," he continued. "But he is trying to threaten these companies, and it shows yet again why this man, Kevin McCarthy, can never be allowed to go anywhere near the speaker's office."

A-freaking-men to that.

[ CNN ]

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