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Power Grab

Page 29

by Jason Chaffetz

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 2, 175

  Benghazi and, 205–207

  as “C” committee, 176–177

  census and, 198

  Chaffetz and, 23, 25, 67, 169, 177, 208

  Cohen and, 118–119

  Democrats’ double standard and, 117–121, 135

  name change and, 122–123

  Pelosi and composition of, 179–180

  purpose and mandates of, 170, 171, 173–175, 194–195

  reorganized subcommittees of, 177–178

  staff of, 190, 215

  Trump and, 190, 212–213

  House Democrat caucus, 139–140

  House Energy and Commerce Committee, 172

  House Financial Services Committee, 172, 178, 204, 239

  House Foreign Affairs Committee, 172

  House Intelligence Committee, 171–172, 175, 199, 224–225

  House Judiciary Committee, 64–65, 135, 149, 155, 171, 175, 189, 197–199, 208, 225

  House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, 178

  House Subcommittee on Information Technology, 177

  House Subcommittee on Operations, 179–180

  House Subcommittee on the Environment, 177–178

  House Subcommittee on the Interior, 177

  House Ways and Means Committee, 172, 203–204

  Houston Chronicle, 240

  Hoyer, Steny, 237

  Hudson, Richard, 115

  Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, 148–149

  ID requirements, voting laws and, 151

  illegal immigrants,

  immigrants and immigration

  illegal, and voting rights, 152–153, 166

  left and, 74–75

  motion to recommit (MRT) and, 114–117

  national emergency and border wall and, 80–81

  Trump and, 68, 69, 72

  2020 census and, 195

  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 28–29, 115–116

  impeachment, 237–250

  actions deserving of, 248–250

  calls for Trump’s, 237–240, 247–248

  Democrats’ “slow-bleed” strategy against Trump, 245–248

  perils of, 241–243

  Republican efforts to impeach Obama, 243–245, 249

  terms for impeaching president, 241

  inactive voters, For the People Act and non-removal of, 147–150

  “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda,” 4, 5, 6, 8–10

  InfoCision, 60

  Inside Philanthropy, 20

  Institute for Free Speech, 160, 161

  Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck (IVRC), 149

  Intimidation Factor, The (Strassel), 35

  Iran, trump’s foreign policy and, 71

  IRS (Internal Revenue Service)

  audits of non-profits, 23, 25

  charged with sole authority over tax returns, 203–204

  non-profit reporting requirements, 32, 256–257

  obstruction of conservative groups, 21, 26–27, 76

  Planned Parenthood and, 42

  IRS Form 990

  conservative groups and, 57

  Environment America, 56

  filing of required, 32, 65–66

  Grassroots Campaigns Inc. and, 44, 46, 54

  National Rifle Association (NRA) and, 57, 58, 60

  Planned Parenthood and, 41, 60

  Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and, 30, 49

  Issa, Darrell, 244

  Jayapal, Pramila, 124, 126

  Jefferson, Thomas, 122, 254–255

  Jex, Brent, 5–6, 12–13

  Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, 36

  Johnson, Andrew, 242

  Johnson, Eddie, 31

  Jones, Alex, 79–80

  Jordan, Jim, 118

  Judicial Watch, 26–27, 35, 59–60

  Justice Department

  Clinton’s emails and, 221

  election fraud and, 24, 141, 160

  FISA Court and, 225

  leaks from White House and, 230

  settlement funds and, 63–65

  weaponization of, 174

  Katz, Debra, 105

  Kavanaugh, Brett, Supreme Court confirmation hearing

  ACLU and, 53–54

  costs in terms of Senate norms, 105–107

  Democrats’ strategies and, 86–90, 97

  false narratives and, 77, 85–86, 135

  media and, 88–90, 106

  Nadler’s strategies for, 197–201, 227

  stalling tactics of Democrats, 92–104

  Kennedy, Anthony, 86, 154

  Kennedy, Joe, 146–147

  King, Angus, 160–161

  Kline, Carl, 228–229

  Klobuchar, Amy, 38, 92

  Kohn, David, 130

  Koskinen, John, 241, 248–249

  Kristoff, Nicholas, 162

  Krugman, Paul, 77

  Lawyers Democracy Fund, 148

  League of United Latin American Citizens, 153

  leaks, from government officials, 229–235

  Lee, Mike, 77

  Lee, Sheila Jackson, 239–240

  legislation

  Congress as lawmaking body and goals of investigations, 202, 209–214, 227

  Democrats’ future plans for, 165–167

  Pelosi’s statutory rules changes and impact of, 127–129

  see also For the People Act (H.R. 1, 116th Congress)

  Levin, Ezra, 268

  LGBTQ persons, Trump and, 68–69

  Liberal Fascism (Goldberg), 74

  Loomer, Laura, 79

  Los Angeles Times, 145–146, 246

  Love, Mia, 16, 140

  Maloney, Carolyn, 195

  accusations against Trump and, 70, 72–73

  Marshall Project, 20

  Maryland, 179

  Massachusetts, 146–147

  Matthews, Chris, 184

  McAdams, Ben, 140

  McAuliffe, Terry, 90

  McCarthy, Levin, 115

  McCaskill, Claire, 106–107

  McConnell, Mitch, 75, 147, 268

  McGovern, Jim, 124

  McKenna, Liam, 233

  McLaughlin, Dan, 259

  Meadows, Mark, 132, 266

  media

  “bothsidesism” and, 77

  Democrats obstruction of Trump agenda and, 110–111

  Medicaid, inaccurate scoring of economic impact of, 128

  Meet the Press, 133

  Mercatus Center, 128–129

  Mexico, ATF firearms and, 181–182

  Missouri, 24

  Mnuchin, Steve, 34

  Moser, Bob, 30

  motion to recommit (MRT), 114–117

  motor voter registrations, 152–153

  MSNBC, 133, 184, 239

  Mueller, Robert, 91, 178, 182, 247

  Mueller investigation and report, 87–88, 92, 97, 104, 120, 171–172, 178, 182–183, 190, 199–200, 218–219, 243. See also Russian collusion narrative

  Munro-Leighton, Judi, 103, 105

  Murkowski, Lisa, 98

  Murphy, Chris, 89–90

  Nadler, Jerry

  Clinton’s emails and, 222–223

  as House Judiciary chair, 65, 171, 189, 218

  strategies for investigation of Kavanaugh and impeachment of Trump, 197–201, 227

  thoughts of impeaching Trump, 237–238, 244

  NARAL Pro Choice America, 90

  National Association of Organizations with Public Interest, 56

  National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 274

  national defense, Pew report on American priorities and, 140

  National Emergencies Act (1976), 266

  National Organization for Marriage, 59, 60

  National Park Service managers, 180

  National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), 262–264

  National Review, 259

  National Rifle Association (NRA), 57, 58, 59–60


  National Right to Life Committee, 59

  National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), 147–148

  Nature Conservancy, 44, 57, 58

  Neal, Richard, 172, 203–204

  Neguse, Joe, 238

  Nevada, 44, 262–263

  New Mexico, 151

  New Republic, 74, 244–245

  New York Times, 19–20, 37, 77, 89, 100, 102, 141, 156, 191, 238

  New Yorker, 100, 102

  Nixon, Richard, 224

  No Child Left Behind program, 274

  no-fault absentee ballots, For the People Act and, 144–147

  noncitizens, voting rights and, 153

  non-profit sector

  campaign finance reform and growth of, 20–21

  charitable giving and political power of, 37–39

  Democrats use of, as political weapons, 23–27, 78–79

  social welfare as pretext for partisan politics, 27–32

  tax exempt status, dark money, and SuperPacs, 32–36

  Trump Bump and rage donations after 2016 election, 19–22, 27

  North Carolina

  ballot harvesting in, 144–145, 147

  felons and voting in, 165

  North Korea, 191

  Numbers USA, 58

  Nunes, Devin, 224–225

  Obama, Barack, 56, 69, 219

  Benghazi and, 205–206, 207, 210

  campaign against Romney, 35–36, 209

  charitable giving of, 38–39

  defense spending and, 62

  donations to after 2012 election, 20

  on elections, 143

  foreign policy of, 71

  Grassroots Campaigns Inc., 44

  and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 117–121, 169–170, 174, 186

  ignoring of subpoenas, 228–229

  IRS under, 25

  leaks from White House of, 230

  obstruction of Trump agenda contrasted, 109–113

  Republican efforts to impeach, 243–245, 249

  subpoena authority and executive privilege, 181–186

  Obamacare. See Affordable Care Act

  Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria, 75, 124, 178, 212

  Office of Inspector General (OIG)

  Clinton emails and, 205, 219–224

  FISA Court and, 224, 226

  tasks of, 173

  Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 151

  online voter registration, 151–152

  O’Rourke, Beto, 38, 258, 268

  oversight. See Congressional oversight

  Pacific Legal Foundation, 64

  Page, Carter, 225–227

  Page, Lisa, 223

  Pallone, Frank, 172

  “party of no,” Republicans referred to as, 110–111, 113

  Patriot Pass, Republican fund-raising and, 158

  PAYGO, 123–124

  PayPal, 79

  Pelosi, Nancy, 232, 267, 270

  border wall and, 80–81

  on campaign finance, 155

  congressional oversight, 78, 171, 175, 178, 179, 180, 186, 191, 211

  domestic spending and, 62

  earmarks and, 129–131

  free speech and, 71

  motion to recommit (MRT) and, 114, 116–117

  obstruction of Trump agenda and, 109, 114

  For the People Act and, 142

  as political strategist, 131

  strategic rule changes and, 121–129

  tendency to overreach, 131–137

  thoughts of impeaching Trump, 200, 237, 238

  Pence, Mike, 9–10, 112, 240

  Pennsylvania, 24, 84, 153

  Pew Research Center, 140

  pharmaceutical pricing, 212, 213–214

  Phelps, Douglas, 55–56

  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 153

  Planned Parenthood

  activities of, 42–43

  donations to after 2016 election, 19

  financial resources of, 41–42, 57–58, 60

  Grassroots Campaigns Inc., 43, 44, 46–48

  Kavanaugh hearings and, 98, 105

  Women’s March and, 90

  Pocan, Mike, 124

  Polis, Jared, 263

  political action committees (PACs), 34

  political canvassing, SPLC and, 51

  Politico, 89, 98, 110, 136, 243, 244, 268–269

  positive paths forward

  federalism and, 253

  freedoms and election fund-raising, 256–257

  preserving Electoral College, 257–265

  protecting of Bill of Rights, 271–277

  restoring checks and balances on government branches, 253, 265–270

  return of Constitutional principles, 252–255

  rule of law and, 270–271

  Pressley, Ayanna, 178

  Public Interest Network, 56

  rage donations, after 2016 election, 19–22, 27

  Ramirez, Debra, 102–103, 106, 198

  Raskin, Jamie, 237–238

  redistricting, of voting areas, For the People Act and, 154–155

  registration, to vote

  For the People Act and, 151–153

  same-day, 153–154

  Reid, Harry, 2, 38, 268

  Rezko, Tony, 170

  Right to Life: MDS Communications Corporation, 60

  Roberts, John, 154

  Roe, Dr. Phil, 112

  Roe v. Wade, 90

  Rogan, James, 246

  Roll Call, 124

  Romney, Mitt

  charitable giving of, 38

  Obama and election of 2012, 35–36, 209

  Rosenstein, Rod, 222

  Rove, Karl, 27

  Russian collusion narrative, 1–2, 70, 87–88, 91–92, 99, 104, 171, 178, 182–183, 190, 192, 199, 219, 239, 251

  Russo, Robbie, 3, 6–8, 13, 15

  Ryan, Paul, 131, 139

  Sacramento Bee, 152

  Salon, 80, 84

  Salt Lake Tribune, 243–244

  San Francisco Chronicle, 145

  Sanders, Bernie

  charitable giving of, 38

  College for All and, 126

  Federal Election Commission and, 160

  Kavanaugh confirmation hearings and, 89

  universal health care and, 75–76

  Schiff, Adam

  election of, and B. Clinton’s impeachment, 246–247

  House Intelligence Committee and, 118, 171–172, 199, 231–232, 269–270

  subpoenas and, 182

  Schulman, Dan, 79

  Schumer, Chuck

  earmarks and, 130

  future legislation and, 166

  Kavanaugh hearings and, 94, 95, 97–98

  scoring, of economic impact of legislation, 127–129

  search and seizure, Constitutional protection from, 269, 273

  Seattle Times, 130

  Second Amendment. See gun ownership rights

  Select Committee on Benghazi, 22

  Senate Judiciary Committee, 64, 85, 89, 91–97, 101, 103

  Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), in Clinton’s home, 220–221

  separation of powers, violated by redistricting plans in For the People Act, 155

  Sessions, Jeff, 64, 65, 92

  settlement funds, nonprofits and misuse of, 63–65, 155–158

  sexual reproductive health services, Planned Parenthood and, 42–43

  Shelby Co. Ala. v. Holder, 84

  Sherman, Brad, 241

  Shkreli, Martin, 213

  Sierra Club, 56

  60 Minutes, 176, 188–189

  small dollar donors, 166

  For the People Act and matching of, 155–158

  small population states, importance of Electoral College to, 260–262

  Smollett, Jussie, 30–31

  social media, suppression of speech and, 79

  Socialism, 275

  Sotomayor, Sonia, 92

  Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)

  assets of, 50

  en
dowment of, 58

  Grassroots Campaigns Inc. and, 44, 49–52

  partisan politics and, 27–31, 76

  PayPal and, 79

  State Department, Benghazi and, 205–206

  states. See Electoral College; federalism

  Steele Dossier, 225, 247

  Stephanopoulos, George, 200

  Stone, Roger, 55

  Strassel, Kimberly, 35

  strategic rules changes, under Pelosi’s House speakership, 121–129

  Strzok, Peter, 219, 223

  subpoenas, 173, 193, 267

  Democrats’ double standard about replying to, 119–120, 181–185, 189, 228–229, 248

  executive privilege and, 267

  Mueller investigation and, 172

  For the People Act and, 161

  White House security clearances and, 228

  Super PACs, 32, 34, 37

  Supreme Court, of U.S., 185, 210

  Barenblatt v. U.S., 194, 212

  check and balances and, 267–269

  Citizens United, 34, 157, 159–160

  Congressional powers and, 185, 210

  Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, 148–149

  redistricting and, 154

  Roe v. Wade, 90

  states and Medicaid, 128

  Watkins v. U.S., 193–194, 269

  see also Kavanaugh, Brett, Supreme court confirmation hearings

  Swetnick, Julie, 103, 105–106

  Syria, trump’s foreign policy and, 71

  Tapper, Jake, 234

  taxes and spending

  Democrats’ obstruction of reform of, 110, 139

  Pelosi’s statutory rules changes and, 123–124, 125–127

  request for Trump’s tax returns, 202–204

  Tchen, Tina, 30–31

  Tea Party movement, 16

  IRS obstruction of, 21, 25–26, 256

  Pelosi’s policies and, 132

  Telefund, 56

  Tenth Amendment. See federalism

  Texas, 153

  Tillis, Thom, 98

  Tlaib, Rashida, 178, 241

  town hall meeting, in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, 1–3

  attendees from other states, 8

  left’s authoritarian tactics and plans to disrupt, 3–9, 11

  left’s political theater for national audience, 9–11, 14–15

  left’s sacrifice of U.S. values for power, 16–17

  security preparation for, 5–6, 8–10, 12–14

  town hall meetings and democracy, 11–12

  Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), 25

  Trump, Donald

  ACLU and, 53

  America first agenda of, 68, 69

  authoritarianism and fascism, predictions versus reality of, 67–74, 80–81

  Democrats’ “slow-bleed” strategy against, 245–248

  leaks from White House of, 230

  meeting with Shinzo Abe, 191–192

  presidential salary given away by, 38, 70

  reactions to election of, 1–2, 5, 251–252

 

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