Nebraska Republican was convicted on Thursday of three felonies, all related to an illegal $30,000 donation he received from a foreign national in 2016. He announced his resignation in a statement Saturday.
The donation, made by Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, was one of several donations he made to four different political candidates in U.S. elections in 2016. Chagoury funneled the $180,000 in funds through third-party “straw donors” to disguise their origin.
It’s illegal for foreign nationals to donate to federal political campaigns. For his part in the scheme, Chagoury accepted a deferred prosecution agreement with the federal government in 2019 and paid a $1.8 million fine.
“In her messages, published Thursday by CBS News and the Washington Post, Thomas urged then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to look into the claims of Steve Pieczenik, a little-known conspiracy theorist whose ideas are often too crazy for even Alex Jones.”
“I’ve covered more than two dozen Trump rallies around the nation. This is the smallest crowd I’ve seen at a rally of his in Georgia since he won the 2016 election — significantly smaller than the crowd in Perry in September,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein noted.
Trump is backing former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) in his campaign against GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) in his campaign against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
“This crowd is hardly applauding. Not the same sort of enthusiasm I’ve seen at other Trump rallies,” Bluestein reported.
Hawley’s own record on the subject is nothing to boast about. On multiple instances in his fleeting two-year stint as Missouri attorney general — before he was elected to the U.S. Senate — Hawley was either disinterested or inept in prosecuting sex crimes.
Some of that history was laid out today in a National Memo report today.
“Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has spent the past few weeks attacking Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson for her sentencing record, including falsely accusing her of showing leniency for sexual predators. But Hawley’s own record as a prosecutor may not match his current rhetoric.
Mo Brooks: Trump asked him to ‘rescind’ 2020 results, hold new election
GOP Rep. Brooks says Trump asked him to rescind the 2020 election, remove Biden from office, and hold a new election. NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard spoke to Brooks on the phone and asked him about these remarkable claims.
Here's A Thing... 