Pennsylvania Republicans reignite bid to unseat Maga congressman

Perry, the four-term incumbent, is a member, and former chairman, of the House's ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus. Following Joe Biden's presidential victory in 2020, he maintained that the election was stolen, and in the lead-up to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Perry introduced Donald Trump to fellow election denier Jeffrey Clark, who was then a justice department official. Perry pushed for Clark's appointment as acting attorney general to continue an effort to undermine the 2020 election results. 

In December 2023, the congressman was ordered to turn over more than 1,700 text messages, emails and other communications to federal prosecutors investigating his role in Trump's attempt to block the peaceful transfer of power...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/09/pennsylvania-republicans-campaign-oust-scott-perry

 

Appointment of Trump toadies to key intel roles earns Johnson scorn

All Johnson had to do was avoid radicals such as Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, who was demoted by the Pentagon amid scandalous allegations of wrongdoing, and Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, who was up to his ears in the scandal surrounding efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, even having his phone confiscated by the FBI. 

This week, Johnson nevertheless named Perry and Jackson to the House Intelligence Committee...

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/speaker-johnson-faces-blowback-trumps-directive-rcna156068

DESPICABLE MAGA Gov ATTACKS Jury Verdict at Trial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP8jIZsurIU

Texas Governor Pardons Daniel Perry in 2020 Black Lives Matter Protest Shooting - The New York Times

The family of the protester, Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old former mechanic in the U.S. Air Force, expressed disbelief at the decision and saw a political motivation. Republicans, including the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, and the political pundit Tucker Carlson, had called for Mr. Perry's pardon. 

"It doesn't make sense. I feel like I'm in a 'Twilight Zone' episode. This doesn't happen," Mr. Foster's mother, Sheila, said in a telephone interview. "It seems like this is some kind of a political circus and it's costing me my life." 

Her son was a supporter of the Second Amendment, she said, who advocated free speech and had been attending the racial justice protests in 2020 day after day. "He deserved so much better," Ms. Foster said. "He was an Air Force veteran. He was out there protecting people from people like Perry."…

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/texas-abbott-pardon-daniel-perry.html

America Goes Psychedelic, Again (Reveal podcast)

For 50 years, the idea of making psychedelic drugs legal again was unthinkable. Now, even conservative lawmakers are supporting efforts to approve psychedelics as a treatment for veterans with PTSD.

Psychedelic drugs have been illegal for 50 years, but they’re trickling back into the mainstream because they show promise in helping treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges.

We begin the hour with reporter Jonathan A. Davis visiting Psychedelic Science 2023, the largest-ever conference on psychedelic drugs. It’s put on by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, an organization dedicated to legalizing MDMA (also known as ecstasy or molly) and other psychedelic drugs. Research shows that MDMA-assisted therapy can help treat depression and PTSD, and it’s moving toward approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Psychedelics were studied in the 1950s and ’60s as mental health treatments, but the war on drugs put a stop to research. Now, these drugs are gaining bipartisan support from politicians looking for solutions to the mental health crisis among veterans.

Then Reveal’s Michael I Schiller visits a group of veterans who are not waiting for psychedelic-assisted therapy to be approved by the federal government. They’ve joined a church founded by an Iraq War veteran who uses psychedelics as religious sacraments. Schiller accompanies them on a retreat in rural Texas, where they share the depths of their post-traumatic stress and the relief they’ve felt after psychedelic treatments. He also explores the risks involved in taking these drugs.

We close with an intimate audio diary from a woman in Oakland, California, who’s going through therapy with the one psychedelic drug that can be legally prescribed currently in the U.S.: ketamine. Ketamine started out as an anesthetic, but researchers found it can help with treatment-resistant depression when used in tandem with talk therapy. Ketamine can be dangerous if abused, but it also has helped people find relief from mental health issues. 

Interview: 

https://revealnews.org/podcast/america-goes-psychedelic-again/

Show Me The Dicta (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Jack: A Special Counsel podcast, Episode #56)

This week, Trump filed his opposition to Jack Smith’s SCOTUS petition in the immunity case, and the Supreme Court has denied that petition to grant certiorari before judgment.

Meanwhile, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals has granted Jack Smith’s request for an expedited appeal. Also, Trump has asked for a hearing in front of the full DC Circuit court panel on his appeal of Judge Chutkan’s limited gag order. Even though the DC trial has been stayed, Jack Smith filed his exhibit list and discovery with Trump’s lawyers, who refused to accept it.

There’s another perfect Trump call, this time with Michigan canvassers in November of 2020. A newly unsealed court filing shows Jack Smith was looking at obstruction and false statements charges for Jeffrey Clark and John Eastman. Another federal judge has ordered Rep. Scott Perry to hand over communications to Jack Smith.

In Florida, we have Jack Smith’s motion and Trump’s opposition to a jury questionnaire and filings on whether CIPA Section 4 should be ex parte and whether classified documents should go to Nauta and de Oliviera. Plus, we have some great listener questions.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-wfnv3-1c89a634

Monarchy Motion Denied (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Jack: A Special Counsel podcast, Episode #53)

This week, 

• Trump’s motion to declare him immune from prosecution is denied as is his fishing expedition motion to produce imaginary “missing” January 6 Committee materials; 
• more from Rep. Scott Perry’s phone; 
• Ken Chesebro is taking his fraudulent electors scheme talk cross-country, maybe to a jurisdiction near you. 
• Plus, we have some great listener questions.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-fje9d-1c2f465f

New text messages show Rep. Scott Perry’s effort to install a Trump sycophant as attorney general

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfaX5yNtF5Y

SHOCKING NEW DETAILS expose Trump’s ATTEMPT TO STEAL ELECTION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0uTPzHflII

This MAGA Stooge Wants To CUT Funding For Renewable Energy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAsuAZMFbJ0

Some GOP members pitch hilariously bad ‘evidence’ against Biden

This isn't scandalous in the slightest…

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gop-members-pitch-hilariously-bad-evidence-biden-rcna104872

Soldier who Abbott pledged to pardon gets 25 years for BLM protester’s murder

Floyd was killed on 25 May 2020. A few days later, as protests erupted across the US, Perry sent a text to an acquaintance: "I might go to Dallas to shoot looters."…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/10/daniel-perry-sentenced-murder-blm-protester-texas

Nauta Good Witness (feat. Lisa Rubin) (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Jack, a Special Counsel podcast, episode #13)

This week: new subpoenas for Ivanka and Jared: a motionto compel Mike Pence to testify; how the box containing classified schedules ended up at Mar-a-Lago; a ruling regarding Rep. Perry’s phone; FEC filing showing nearly $10M of save America PAC money was spent on legal bills; new evidence suggests Trump Admin was aware there was no election fraud in Arizona; and more.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-qddyk-16ff9e01

Scott Perry battles DoJ over work with Trump allies to overturn 2020 election

"A member of Congress has a legitimate privilege under the speech or debate clause, which prevents a member from being questioned about legislative matters," former US attorney for eastern Michigan Barbara McQuade told the Guardian. 

"That extends to measures stored on their phones. But that does not mean that a member of Congress can never be questioned or investigated. Text messages on the cellphone could provide evidence of criminal intent in efforts to thwart the outcome of the election."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/23/trump-ally-scott-perry-justice-department-phone

FBI seizes Rep. Scott Perry’s phone - POLITICO

It's not immediately clear what information agents sought from the Pennsylvania Republican, a top ally of former President Donald Trump...

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/09/fbi-seize-gop-scott-perrys-phone-00050737

Trump ally and Pennsylvania Republican Scott Perry's House committee collision course

…Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the vice chair of the select committee, has announced that in 2022 the committee will make its findings public through multiple weeks of public hearings "setting out in vivid color exactly what happened, every minute of the day on January 6th, here at the Capitol and at the White House, and what led to that violent attack." The goal, she said, is to put the truth before the American people…

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-ally-pennsylvania-republican-scott-perry-s-house-committee-collision-ncna1286535

‘Stop the Steal’ founder told Jan. 6 committee about contacts with GOP lawmakers - POLITICO

…The panel hasn't formally requested testimony from any of the GOP lawmakers yet but has continued to ask witnesses about Gosar, Biggs, Brooks and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who helped push a strategy to use the Department of Justice to promote the fraud claims...

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/18/stop-the-steal-founder-jan-6-committee-gop-lawmakers-525345

Bolton Will Testify; Iran, Soleimani & So Much More (Opening Arguments podcast OA349)

Today’s episode takes on (some of) the two biggest pending news stories right now: (1) the U.S. assassination of Iranian Gen. Soleimani, and (2) the pending impeachment of President Trump. Oh, and we also cover a bunch of other things along the way, including the latest CNN settlement regarding the kid from Covington Catholic, and, well, you’ll just have to listen to find out everything!

We begin with a pre-show grab bag of mini-stories, including the “drain the swamp” news that outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry has joined the board of a holding company that owns a pipeline company. Is this 100% the same scandal as Burisma hiring Hunter Biden? (Hint: yes.)

Then, we delve into some disturbing background information on the Solemani strike and answer the first of many listener questions about it: was the strike arguably justified by the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the 9/11 hijackers?

After that, it’s time for some Yodeling! We look at the current state of the House/Senate standoff on articles of impeachment and what the likely way forward will be. You’ll learn that former NSA Director John Bolton is willing to testify; the question is whether two more Republicans care about that at all.

Finally, we cover the latest news that CNN settled the defamation lawsuit brought by Nick Sandmann of Covington Catholic relating to the video shared by CNN nearly a year ago.

After all that, it’s time for a brand-new #T3BE 161 — this one is a constitutional law question regarding anti-discrimination laws. Can Thomas get it right??
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa349-bolton-will-testify-iran-soleimani-so-much-more/

Two Leading Republicans Praise God For Bringing Us Trump - Rolling Stone

According to Rick Perry and Nikki Haley, we can thank God for bringing us, possibly, the most corrupt president America has ever seen. On Sunday, soon-to-be former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, told Fox News viewers that President Trump is “The Chosen One.” ....
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/leading-republicans-praise-god-for-bringing-us-trump-918203/

Fox News Teases Interview With Rick Perry Saying Trump Was God's 'Chosen One' to Be President

In the interview conducted as Trump faces an impeachment inquiry, Perry implied that Trump is imperfect and that is fine. "God's used imperfect people all through history," Perry said, naming several Biblical figures. "King David wasn't perfect, Saul wasn't perfect, Solomon wasn't perfect." ...
https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-rick-perry-trump-god-1473773