Author: J.P. Knowles

Senators Lisa Murkowski and Pat Toomey are clashing with fellow Republican lawmakers who have vowed not to vote to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Ted Cruz is leading the senators opposed to certifying the results from key states like Pennsylvania unless an emergency 10-day audit is conducted by an electoral commission. Toomey, however, defended his state claiming Trump’s loss was “explained by the decline in suburban support.”

“A fundamental, defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders,” said Toomey. “The effort by Senators Hawley, Cruz, and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines this right.”

He also accused Republicans’ efforts to object to an Electoral College vote of an “effort to disenfranchise millions of voters.”

Murkowski is distancing herself from the opposing group of Senate Republicans saying she “swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution.”

“I will vote to affirm the 2020 presidential election,” she stated. “The courts and state legislatures have all honored their duty to hear legal allegations and have found nothing to warrant overturning the results.”

My statement regarding the upcoming meeting of Congress to formally count the votes of the Electoral College and certify the 2020 presidential election: pic.twitter.com/Bk8jd21Emr

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) January 2, 2021

Cruz and other senators say the November presidential election “featured unprecedented allegations of voter fraud and illegal conduct.”

The group agreed that “voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections” and that “by any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes.”

The Supreme Court has refused two lawsuits from Trump’s legal team and lower courts across the country have dismissed over 50 cases.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr also denied claims of election fraud leading up to his resignation saying, “we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”

Colorado Representative-elect Lauren Boebert urged House leadership to keep a rule dating to 1967 that exempts lawmakers from a ban on firearms while inside the Capitol building in a letter signed by 82 other current and incoming Republican Congress members.

The letter comes after 21 Democratic lawmakers requested a change to the decades-old rules that would prevent Boebert from carrying her gun into work.

It appears that Boebert scored a victory as new rules presented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not include a proposed ban on firearms in the Capitol.

Boebert made her point in a statement last week saying, “I refuse to give up my Second Amendment rights. I’m a 5-foot tall, 100-pound mom with four children and will be walking to work and serving in one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. I choose to defend my family and my life with all of the force the Constitution provides.”

She added, “I will not let a bunch of gun-grabbing House Democrats take away my Constitutional right to protect myself.”

21 Democrats wrote a letter to Nancy Pelosi asking her to stop me from being able to carry on Capitol Hill.

I choose to defend my family and my life with all of the force the Constitution provides.

I’m honored that 82 of my colleagues have decided to stand with me. pic.twitter.com/OBkVuAFvv7

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 1, 2021

According to a letter sent by Democrats, allowing guns in the Capitol creates “needless risk for Members of Congress, their staff, members of the Capitol Police, and visitors to the Capitol grounds.”

Fellow Colorado Representative Jason Crow accused Boebert of pulling a “political stunt” and “disrespecting” Capitol police.

Crow lashed out at her in a tweet saying, “The US [Capitol police] are professionals & I have rarely felt safer. I should know. I’ve carried a gun for work. If Boebert wants to talk safety, I have legislation to discuss.”

Boebert is known for being an outspoken advocate for the Second Amendment and announced that she plans to join the House Freedom Caucus as soon as she is sworn into office.

Currently, the conservative caucus is led by GOP Arizona Representative Andy Biggs and had previously been led by former North Carolina congressman Mark Meadows who is now White House Chief of Staff.

Things are getting even more tense leading up to the Georgia runoff elections as Senator Kelly Loeffler sent out a warning to voters that a Democratic victory in her state will result in a radical agenda that will drastically change life as we know it in the United States.

Both of the Georgia Senate seats as well as control of the chamber are up for grabs on Tuesday as Loeffler faces off against challenger Raphael Warnock and Senator David Perdue takes on opponent Jon Ossoff. After November’s election Democrats gained control of the House and the White House which, according to Loeffler, means that Democratic victories in Georgia this week would result in major changes in Washington.

“It’s a choice,” explained Loeffler, “it’s a stark contrast between the freedoms — our way of life here in Georgia — or socialism, government control.”

“We know the agenda of the left because Chuck Schumer told us he was going to take Georgia and then change America. And we know that radical agenda is not just high taxes, open borders, defunding the police, government-run health care, but he has radical candidates in this race, his agents of change,” she warned.

Loeffler claims that one of those “agents of change” is her opponent Warnock, who she accuses of not accurately representing her state’s values and who would “fundamentally change this country.”

Reports from maritime security firms say a suspicious object has been discovered on the hull of an oil tanker located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iraq.

According to the firms, Ambrey Intelligence and Dryad Global, officials are concerned it could be a limpet mine on the MT Pola, even though the Liberian-flagged tanker received some assistance in the Persian Gulf off Basra on Thursday.

The two firms confirmed that investigations are ongoing.

The United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations, an organization that operates under the British royal navy, stated it is “aware of an ongoing situation” in the area, but did not give any more details.

The United States Navy’s 5th Fleet, which patrols the Mideast where the oil tanker is located, has not yet made any statements on the situation.

The incident comes at a time when tensions are at their highest between Iran and the United States. Back in 2019, the U.S. accused Iran of being behind several limpet mine attacks on oil tankers close to the Strait of Hormuz which is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of all of the world’s oil passes. Iran officials deny having any involvement.

Casey Anthony, the woman who in 2011 was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, is launching her own private investigation business in Florida. It is reported that she filed the paperwork for Case Research & Consulting Services, LLC in mid-December.

The company, which will be run out of West Palm Beach, is officially listed under Anthony’s name and has an effective date of January 1.

Anthony has been learning all about the business from Patrick McKenna, her defense team’s lead investigator during her controversial trial.

The former suspected murder has been living with McKenna in his South Florida home for the last couple of years. She has also done some work for him, performing online social media searches and other investigative work.

McKenna also acted as the lead investigator for O.J. Simpson after the football star was accused of brutally murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in 1994. He, too, was found not guilty but it’s widely believed that the judge made a mistake.

Casey Anthony was acquitted of her young daughter’s murder, charges of aggravated child abuse, and charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child. However, she was found guilty on four counts of providing law enforcement with false information. She only spent three years behind bars while awaiting her trial.

Once again, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked quick action on larger stimulus checks for Americans and things got heated on the Senate floor when he clashed with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

McConnell heavily criticized the House-passed bill for $2,000 stimulus checks calling it “socialism for rich people.” The comments were a direct opposition to President Trump’s request that stimulus checks be raised from the $600 included in the $900 billion relief package the president signed into law nearly a week ago to a significantly larger $2,000.

“The data show that many upper-middle-class Americans have kept their jobs, work remotely and remain totally financially comfortable,” McConnell argued. “On the other hand, some of our fellow citizens have had their entire existences turned upside down and continue to suffer terribly. We do not need to let the speaker of the House do socialism for rich people in order to help those who need help.”

According to McConnel, the $900 billion relief package sign by Trump included “targeted” stimulus efforts.

“There are billions for targeted food assistance, billions for targeted rental assistance, and many billions of dollars for vaccine distribution so we can finally beat this virus and reopen the economy in full,” said McConnell. “These are the kinds of target emergency programs that directly help the most vulnerable. And we just poured almost another trillion dollars into them less than five days ago.”

Earlier this week McConnell introduced a bill of his own for $2,000 stimulus checks and included two other Trump priorities: forming a committee to investigate election security and repealing Section 230. He would not commit to the bill but only suggested that the Senate would “begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.”

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders believes McConnell’s strategy of tying the much needed $2,000 stimulus checks to a voter fraud commission and Section 230 repeal is a “poison pill designed to kill that legislation.”

Black Lives Matter chimed in on Thursday to say the $600 stimulus checks included in the new $900 billion coronavirus relief package not nearly enough to support struggling families that have been affected by the pandemic and they are demanding regular monthly checks instead.

The group posted their demand on Twitter writing, “Black families are struggling to keep roofs over their heads, food in their bellies, and healthcare covered. This isn’t about a stimulus. This is about survival. And $600 ain’t it. We demand monthly checks.”

BLM officials have not said if they had plans to approach President-elect Biden with their demand for monthly checks.

Meanwhile, House lawmakers have passed a stand-alone bill that would significantly raise direct payments to Americans included in the new COVID-19 relief legislation from a measly $600 to $2,000. The increase has the support of President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and many others.

The bill has been repeatedly blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who presented his own bill that includes $2,000 checks and a few demands of his own.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for blocking $2,000 stimulus checks that are supported by both Democrats and President Trump.

The bipartisan legislation was passed by the House earlier this week to raise the direct stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000 after Trump called it a “disgrace,” but McConnell objected to a quick vote on the stand-alone legislation on Tuesday.

Pelosi called out McConnell for his heartlessness at a news conference on Wednesday, “It’s amazing to see the patience that some people have with other people’s suffering. These Republicans in the Senate seem to have an endless tolerance.”

“We urge Mitch McConnell to stop his obstruction and to bring that legislation to the floor of the Senate,” she added.

McConnell will not commit to bringing the larger checks up for a vote. However, he has presented a new bill that would link the $2,000 checks to two other controversial pieces of legislation. One being the formation of a committee to investigate Trump’s election security claims and the other is repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

“Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together,” McConnell pushed. “This week the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said this was just McConnell’s latest attempt to deprive Americans of the bigger checks that they so desperately need and deserve.

“Senator McConnell knows how to make $2,000 survival checks reality,” said Schumer, “and he knows how to kill them.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of “trying to pull a fast one” and declared that there was “no realistic path” to approve larger stimulus checks for Americans.

McConnell said Pelosi and Schumer are trying to “warp” the president’s call for $2,000 stimulus checks for Americans. The majority leader said there is no way the Senate would not separate a vote on a larger stimulus check from a bill supported by GOP leaders that include the formation of a committee to investigate election fraud and a repeal of the controversial Section 230.

“As they’ve tried to do countless times in the past four years, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer are trying to pull a fast one on the president and the American people,” said McConnell. “First of all, they’re hoping that everyone just forgets about election integrity and Big Tech. They’re desperate to ignore those two parts of President Trump’s request.”

Since the $900 billion coronavirus relief package including $600 direct payments was signed into law, President Trump and lawmakers from both sides have demanded that Congress approve raising the direct payments to $2,000. Earlier this week, McConnell agreed to consider larger checks after the body rejected a measure from House Democrats that called for an immediate vote.

McConnell fears that Democratic leaders will push through a package that would significantly increase the national debt and give money to individuals that don’t really need it.

“Look, it’s no secret that Republicans have a diversity of views about the wisdom of borrowing hundreds of billions more to send out more non-targeted money, including to many households that have suffered no loss of income during the crisis,” McConnell explained. “COVID-19 has not affected all households equally.”

Pelosi, Schumer, and Senator Bernie Sanders have led the fight for increased cash payments to Americans. Schumer said he would call for a vote on the House bill to increase direct payments by Wednesday night.

Schumer said, “At the very least, the Senate deserves the opportunity for an up-or-down vote on increasing the individual payments to the Amerian people.”

McConnell’s remarks only cast more doubt on the much-needed approval of larger payments.

The IRS and Treasury Department have already begun sending out the first wave of direct payments. Officials said the payments will be “topped up as quickly as possible” as soon as Congress approves the larger checks.

After repeatedly blocking requests to vote on increasing direct stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced his own version of the bill that included the larger checks but also two other major priorities for President Trump.

The legislation would also annul Section 230 and create a committee on the Election Assistance Commission with the sole purpose of studying election integrity.

McConnell brought the three issues to the floor on Tuesday.

“During this process, the president highlighted three additional issues of national significance he would like to see Congress tackle together,” McConnell said.

He then gave a rundown of the three issues.

“Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together,” McConnell continued. “This week, the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.”

McConnell’s comments were not a promise that any of these issues would receive a vote or that he would fight for them at all. It’s unlikely that the Senator’s bill will gain the support of the 60 other senators that is needed to break a filibuster. Republicans already in favor of the $2,000 checks will most likely support the bill, but because of the two other issues brought forth by McConnell, it’s expected that most Democrats will not vote.

Georgia Senator David Perdue is one of the Republicans in favor of the $2,000 checks and said that he will support McConnell’s bill.

“The Democrats themselves held this up for months and so here in the last minute, they’re complaining about the normal operation of the Senate,” Perdue said on “Fox & Friends”. “I’m an outsider of this process but I can tell you these things that Mitch McConnell is trying to do are in line with what the President has said. I support what the President is trying to do relative to Section 230, the repeal of that and also the $2,000 stimulus checks. We’re in full support of that.”

So far, no action has been to push foward with McConnell’s bill.