So if the January 6 commission gets Republican telecom records? Republican House members are already fantasizing about fake investigations so they can get phone records of Democrats. That's all they've got.
September 7, 2021

This segment of Monday's Deadline: White House reveals just how childish and craven House Republicans, led by wannabe gangster Kevin "Payback" McCarthy, are.

The segment opened with a clip of Commission member and soon-to-be-primaried Adam Kinsinger. "I think to turn around and make ominous talk to these telecom companies that when we take over, it's going to be different or we'll have payback, that's just not, frankly, the Republican Party I remember and the Republican Party I ever joined. If we're going to be in charge and pushing conspiracy and division and pushing lies, then the Republican Party should not have the majority."

Former Republican and MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace stuck her tongue in her cheek: "Who is going to tell him?"

Wallace then brought on Betsy Woodruff Swann to talk about the fantasies that Republicans appear to be having about grabbing DEMOCRAT's records once they regain House leadership. [We'll see about that. -- eds]
Wallace noted the "open secret among Chris Wallace who pushed Kevin McCarthy, among Liz Cheney, who dangled this information about Kevin McCarthy needing to be a fact witness. Now among people covering Jim Jordan who is humming about how many times and when he talked to Donald Trump. What is the operating thesis on what they're hiding as it regards records?"

BETSY WOODRUFF SWANN: What the select committee is looking for is any sort of phone records showing when and for how long these Republican members of Congress had calls or text messages with people in the White House. Or those in front of the Capitol Building. They will show when the phone calls happened. They show how long, if there was a voice mail left, missed calls. ...They will have the contents of voice mails and text messages. It will get more clarity in terms of who was talking to who, before and after that horrific attack.

...Republicans are freaking out about the fact the Select Committee might be getting their phone records. It certainly is generating an immense amount in the House Republican conference. What they may be able to do, but the person I spoke with today said it's more likely they will try to retaliate against Democrats. That source said if they flip in the midterm elections, there will be substantial pressure from the rank and file and from these far-right Republican members who have more influence than ever on House Republican leadership to find some sort of reason to try to scoop up the private phone records of Democratic members of Congress.

Claire McCaskill was not impressed. "Yeah, who cares if they go after Democrats' records?"

CLAIRE MCCASKILL: I'll tell you what's on those records we haven't seen. Imagine if you have a cell phone and you realize that people are trying to physically breach the Capitol and shouting they want to hang the Vice President. The text phone numbers of Kushner or Ivanka or Kellyanne Conway, or Donald Trump. You are texting them, saying, 'Stop it. Please stop the madness. We're frightened. They're after us.' That's what they're worried about. I believe this from Lindsey Graham to Kevin McCarthy and back that have all kinds of communications trying to get Trump to call off the mob. And you know what?

Trump liked it.

And they couldn't get him to say what he needed to say, to stop it. So that police officers weren't in a situation where somebody was trying to gouge their eyes out with a flagpole. He liked it. And that's what Kevin McCarthy has admitted. That's what Kevin McCarthy has said and his imitation of a mob boss is not going to make that go away.

Nicolle Wallace reminded her audience about Trump: "He sent out a message saying, we love you."

On topic: Kevin McCarthy and Marge have an ethics problem:

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