November 16, 2022

"Republicans narrowly win House, ending full Democratic control of Congress."

 WaPo reports. 

The slim GOP majority to come has forced many GOP members, aides, and strategists come to grips with the prospect that their agenda might never come to fruition.... 

But:

Republicans this term have said they will focus in the majority on investigating the Biden administration and they have signaled an intent to use their powers to block Biden’s agenda. Potential investigation targets include the Biden administration’s coronavirus response and border policies, the business dealings of Biden’s son Hunter Biden, and the FBI. Without proof, Republicans have accused the FBI of probing Trump’s handling of classified documents for political reasons.

77 comments:

RMc said...

Without proof, Republicans have accused the FBI of probing Trump’s handling of classified documents for political reasons.

Silly GOP! Making accusations without proof is for Dems!

Gusty Winds said...

Without proof....

Oh, bullshit!

BIII Zhang said...

"Narrowly."

17 races still to be called. They're slow-rolling them in 1 at a time. In two weeks the headline will be "Republicans eke out control of Senate."

But no "red wave, ya'll."

Media coordination of a massive Democrat rebuke at its finest.

No mention of "Nancy Pelosi, wife of noted DWI crasher and head hammered husband Paul, dethroned."

gilbar said...

Serious Question.
Of the Presidents whose party controlled the Senate when they entered office..
Who was the last President whose party LOST control of the Senate in the next midterm?

Kai Akker said...

The logjam breaks!

I tol u so..... ; )

At least it continues to crack up bit by bit.

Martin said...

This does let them shutdown some of the BS that was being "investigated" by the house.
They can do their own BS investigations.

lonejustice said...

Please, please, please, tell Trump to shut up until this is verified.

Gahrie said...

Without proof, Republicans have accused the FBI of probing Trump’s handling of classified documents for political reasons.

The FBI needs to be investigated and fumigated for far more than the raid on Trump's home. We'll begin with the Russian collusion hoax, then hit how they handled Hillary's server and round it out with Hunter's lap top.

cubanbob said...

With McCarthy and McConnell being put back in charge the Republicans will once again wimp out and get played.

Jim at said...

Who was the last President whose party LOST control of the Senate in the next midterm?

At the very next midterm? I believe it was Clinton in 1994.

Bush didn't lose the Senate until 2006. Obama didn't lose it until 2014. Trump held the Senate in 2018.

That's off the top of my head. Could be wrong.

paulr said...

“Republicans this term have said they will focus in the majority on investigating the Biden administration…”

I hope Congress focuses on legislation. I think most Americans are tired of politically-motivated Congressional investigations. It has to end somewhere.

Gusty Winds said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jersey Fled said...

Ahh... those magic words. The tell that everything that follows is pure, manufactured, political propaganda.

PB said...

Hang together or most assuredly you will hang separately.

Wilbur said...

"Without proof"

The most ironic use of those two words in recorded history.

Bob Boyd said...

Does anyone really believe the Republicans are going to conduct any serious investigations?
They will perform Trey Gowdy style investigation theater. Nothing will come of any of it. Less than nothing.

rhhardin said...

Think of the house majority as a restraining order.

Narayanan said...

Hang together or most assuredly you will hang separately.
=============
can 'retribution' be thwarted with own discovered mysterious out of nowhere noose display

FullMoon said...

"Without proof, Republicans have accused the FBI of probing Trump’s handling of classified documents for political reasons."

Generally, in the real world, the proof comes after the accusation, and during the trial

MadisonMan said...

Without proof
....and the Journalist knows this how, exactly?

YoungHegelian said...

Without proof, Republicans have accused the FBI of probing Trump’s handling of classified documents for political reasons.

Because that's the ONLY fucking problem the Republicans have pointed out with the FBI. How about the Russia Collusion hoax? How about the multiple false testimonies before the FISA judges to continue the Russia Collusion hoax?

That's just a start, but this shits way beyond the "Without Proof" stage.

mccullough said...

After the Russia Hoax melted, any investigation of Trump is political.

The Russia Hoax was politically motivated bullshit, so every FBI investigation of Trump is tainted.

That’s the proof.

Drago said...

paulr: "I hope Congress focuses on legislation. I think most Americans are tired of politically-motivated Congressional investigations. It has to end somewhere."

We appear to be seeing a coordinated campaign to have "reasonable republicans" (wink wink) try and convince congress that just when republicans gain power to cease all investigations into the corrupt lying democraticals.

What a coincidence!

Sell that Soros-funded BS somewhere else. Besides you already have Mitch McConnell on your side.

Christopher said...

Without proof, Republicans have accused the FBI of probing Trump’s handling of classified documents for political reasons.

Without proof/without evidence is the new Republicans Pounce.

I think it was the without evidence tic that finally made me give up on legacy and corporate media. I really tried to give them the benefit of the doubt over the years, seeing the journalists as deeply embedded in lefty culture but capable of describing events in a useful-enough way. That is, even a dull knife can cut butter. But there are so many progressive assumptions and outright accusations that are without evidence but never get the parental advisory. I barely even watch local news anymore in my major metro area. They're just as bad. It used to be appointment TV.

After years of being lectured by alleged truth-tellers that This is not who we are I eventually said well, agreed, whatever misshapen thing you are, I'm not that.

Heartless Aztec said...

That Trump would accept being Speaker of the House! How fun would that be?

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

Blogger paulr said..."I hope Congress focuses on legislation."

With Republicans controlling only one of the three pertinent bodies, how's that going to work?

iowantwo said...

This does let them shutdown some of the BS that was being "investigated" by the house.
They can do their own BS investigations.


Congressional investigations rarely amount to squat.

I'm more interested in using investigations to issue warrants and subpoenas against Democrat House and Senate members. Also staff. Like Pelosi's Chief of Staff, and the Speakers lawyer. Phone records, emails, calendars, etc.
Some serious lawfare has to be administered to enforce the mutual assured destruction, needed to repay the Jan 6 political operation. A couple of hundred hours of video taped testimony that can be edited and leaked for retaliation.

I'm not holding my breath that Republicans will actually grow testicles and play the game by the rules Democrats established.

Sebastian said...

"Without proof"

How often was that phrase used during the Russia collusion hoax?

Enigma said...

I envision two prongs of attack for the Republicans:

1. Undo Biden's spending / rampant inflation by holding firm on a responsible budget and defunding Biden's fantasy programs. Getting inflation under control would improve public opinion of Republicans dramatically. They won't be able to officially end all the programs, just cut the budgets to $0 and force localized deflation (return it to the prior trend line).

2. Focus on no more than 2-3 of the worst partisan coverups and scandals of the last several years. Focus on those that can negatively impact the future and that undermine government credibility. Tackle them in public and provide all details pro and con. Frame them so that the moderate left can join in, and thereby break down the blind anti-Trump mania of recent years. Simultaneously put the Trump dirty laundry stuff on the back burner, as failed impeachments made fools of his accusers.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

That is the least of our complaints about the FBI. It is not accidental that this was what was focused on to criticise the GOP

Vance said...

I look forward to all the Democrats in the administration saying "F U" to the House and Garland just smiling, because laws and rules are irrelevant to Democrats.

Steve Bannon can point out the hypocrisy from jail, and the leftists will just nod their heads and smile at how "laws don't apply to Democrats!"

Iman said...

They (MSM) all get the same talking points and THE PROOF IS THAT YOU CAN READ OR WATCH THESE DISHONEST YOHANs using the same language, usually in the same sentences used by the others.

“Without proof”… these lying corksoakers wouldn’t recognize “proof” if they tripped over it.

Iman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

Won the House even though Democrats had close to $200 million just between foreigners Soros and that former billionaire in the Bahamas that bilked five million people with Bitcoin “banking,” and hugely outspent Republicans. I wonder if lawyers will be able to “claw back” that 40 million from the Democrats, jk,lol!

Not Sure said...

The fact that the WaPo used "without proof" instead of the usual "without evidence" is a way of saying that the Republicans do indeed have evidence of FBI malfeasance.

I'm beginning to understand how ordinary Russians decoded Pravda back in the day.

minnesota farm guy said...

Congress is supposed to provide oversight of the executive branch so investigations should take place. I think a lot of the ground work has already been done by Grassley and Jordan for thorough airing of Hunter and the FBI's dirty laundry. I think that would be enough to have a big negative impact on Dem chances in 2024. The FISA court needs a serious overall but that may be a bridge too far. There is lower hanging fruit.

The rest is going to be done by some tough negotiations on the budgets. As I recall all spending bills are initiated in the House, thus a serious attempt can be made to zero out some of the inflationary spending passed so far. If the Rs can make the case that inflation is a product of the government overspending then do something about it it will stand them in good stead in 2024.

I don't know how to do it, but it would be great to flush out some of the people who are running Biden (Klain, Rice, etc.) and get them in front of TV cameras.

The results of the election certainly weren't all we might have wished, but taking the House is a big deal!

Known Unknown said...

" Undo Biden's spending / rampant inflation by holding firm on a responsible budget "

Ha ha ha. Responsible budget. Sure.

chickelit said...

Sell that Soros-funded BS somewhere else. Besides you already have Mitch McConnell on your side.

George Soros, the last-living actual Nazi collaborator, needs to hurry up and die. The world will be a much better place when he is gone.

Maynard said...

Is this the end of democracy?

Maynard said...

Bob Boyd nailed it at 6:55.

chickelit said...

DC badly needs to rollback the lawfare dole--especially on the D side.

boatbuilder said...

I'm old enough to remember that whatever it was that Trump did with the very important Top Secret documents at Mar a Lago was so yugely bad and dangerous to our national security that it caused Merrick Garland and the FBI, with the OK from Biden, to make the excruciatingly difficult decision to make an armed raid on the former President's home.

And because that was so unprecedented and disruptive of our cherished political norms, we were going to get an full, prompt disclosure--or at least an explanation--of what the issue was.

Because it was so important.

Does anyone care anymore? Because the terrible horrible bad former President just announced that he's running for President again, and despite what the protectors of Democracy say, he appears at this point to be the front runner.

Aren't the American people owed a detailed statment of what the national security interest was and is, and how this awful evil man put our nation at risk? To save Democracy?

The silence is really puzzling. I can't for the life of me figure out how Trump gets away with this stuff.

Kevin said...

I think most Americans are tired of politically-motivated Congressional investigations. It has to end somewhere.

Nancy, is that you?

Creola Soul said...

Control will play out in the spending bills. There probably will be some threats of shutdowns, or even shutdowns, along the way. But the real control game will play out in the individual appropriations bills. For example, a Department of Justice Bill could contain conditions on the funding….”none of these monies will be spent on XYZ program, or investigation.” Or, conversely, “these monies can only be spent for program ABC.” By including such provisions in must-pass funding bills, some measure of Congressional control over the agencies can be achieved while avoiding confrontations over shutdowns.

gilbar said...

Jim at answered my question, when he said...
Who was the last President whose party LOST control of the Senate in the next midterm?
At the very next midterm? I believe it was Clinton in 1994.

That's How i count it Too!.

So, for All their talk, about how "there was No Red Wave!" and "Biden's SO COOL!"; This midterm went pretty much like all the others.

gadfly said...

Gusty Winds (Parody) said...
Without proof....

Oh, bullshit!


Don't say bullshit. Offer up some real proof - if you know of any and direct us to the source.

Yancey Ward said...

I figure that with no real power to subpoena anyone, these investigations will go nowhere- the witnesses called will just give the new Congress the finger, and the DoJ will sit on its hands in enforcing Congressional subpoenas just like they always did until last year.

However, if they want to investigate something, I can pick two target right now- who approved funding to the Wuhan lab to engineer human-infective coronaviruses, and I would investigate FTX since no one else in the US government is going to lift a finger on that one.

Yancey Ward said...

Also, I wouldn't count on that House majority just yet- the recent races called for the GOP in California still have a significant amount of votes to count (i.e- the Democrats haven't conceded them yet)- way more than the present margin. In fact, most of them appear to be counting about 2-3% of the vote/day- almost like we are being bored so that we stop watching.

FullMoon said...

Hmmm, thanks for that.

Not Sure said...

The fact that the WaPo used "without proof" instead of the usual "without evidence" is a way of saying that the Republicans do indeed have evidence of FBI malfeasance.


"What is the difference between Evidence and Proof? • Proof is the final verdict that removes all doubts whereas evidence only leads one in the direction of a fact or statement".

Mike said...

Well if McCarthy has the stones to go full Pelosi, he'll order up a bunch of investigation committees, leaving Democrats off the committees, and the House can frolic for the next two years investigating Hunter, Joe, Fauci etc. And McCarthy will tell Swalwell get off the Intelligence Committee. Considering how dumb Swalwell is it's a wonder that he ever got appointed to anything to do with intelligence. Adam Schiff, my personal cross to bear, (he's my "Representative") can be told to go sulk in a corner for the next two years. Lil Adam looks in the mirror and thinks he would be a fine replacement for Senator Feinstein. Unfortunately he's the wrong color and sex for the job. The California Dims have their hearts set on a Black Woman for the slot---replacing Kacklin Kamala in her Senate seat with Alex Padilla (a downscale homeboy Latino from the North San Fernando Valley who done good) really doesn't cut it in the California Democrat ethnic and sexual sweepstakes.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

The fact that the WaPo used "without proof" instead of the usual "without evidence" is a way of saying that the Republicans do indeed have evidence of FBI malfeasance.

But it hasn't been established in a court of law. Perhaps denied a hearing for [minority] standing or some other technical construct. After lo these trimesters, audit the vote... DNC... FBI.

tim in vermont said...

Republicans look to have the mirror image of Pelosi’s “slim majority.”

madAsHell said...

Don't say bullshit. Offer up some real proof - if you know of any and direct us to the source.

There are pictures.

If you have ever worked with classified documents, and I already know you have not, then you realize that CLASSIFIED cover sheets are available from the secretary at the end of the aisle. If you had a question about the document you just created, then you put a CLASSIFIED cover sheet on it. For the engineer, it was all CYA.

By the way, those classified cover sheets on the floor a Mar-A-Lago are a show. The cover sheets should be physically connected to report. Those cover sheets are scattered like pepperoni on pizza. None of the sheets indicate what is in the document they cover. They are blank cover sheets they borrowed from the secretary at the end of the aisle.

Earnest Prole said...

come to grips with the prospect that their agenda might never come to fruition

In the event the D following Joe Biden's name was not a clear enough sign.

Earnest Prole said...

I think it was the without evidence tic that finally made me give up on legacy and corporate media.

Despite their commitment to Truth with a capital T, "without evidence" somehow never managed to make an appearance in the same sentence with Stacey Abrams' or Hillary Clinton's name.

Amadeus 48 said...

How do you get proof?

You investigate.

n.n said...

Without proof, Democrats have asserted collusion, insurrection, conspiracy, diversity [dogma], redistributive change, fomenting...
Without proof, WaPo reported ...

The FBI investigated Trump for handling unclassified documents for political reasons.

walter said...

Althouse for the Wapo drop!
Meanwhile:
https://youtu.be/Z3Xanmd-akI

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Gotta love that “without proof” editorializing. No hope for WaPo to treat Trump like a human.

phantommut said...

The grapes, they are sour.

rcocean said...

The R's never have the guts to shutdown the Government and use the power of the purse. "That would be irresponsible!" Now that they have a small five vote margin, they are hostage to the most liberal Republican members. THey will do Nothing except investigate. And maintain the status quo.

But the R's winning the House was the most important thing. Now, the D's can't pass their most radical legislation. Or work with Mitch McConnell to destroy what's left of the immigration laws and have open borders. Whether we can stop Amnesty, is anyone's guess. They'll probably try to ram it through during the lame duck session.

The only thing I regret about Rush Limbaugh is he was always Mr. Republican and always hit soft when it came to a traitor/crook like Mitch McConnell. We'll see what new scams and sellouts this guy will do in the next two years.

MikeR said...

They should definitely set up a Jan 6 commission. Could they subpoena all the tapes that everyone says were made and never released? And could they subpoena all the full interviews by the previous Jan 6 commission? I would like to see all those simply released; can they do that?

Clyde said...

“Without proof.” That is WHY you have investigations, to find the proof!

tastid212 said...

It was Trump who said to a joint session of Congress, "You can legislate or you can investigate." The Democratic House made its choice.

wendybar said...

Don't worry. Mitch is already caving to Biden. This is why the Republicans are screwed...It's NOT Trump. https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2022/11/16/mitch-mcconnell-looking-forward-to-working-with-president-joe-biden-on-infrastructure/

iowantwo said...

Without proof, Republicans have accused the FBI of probing Trump’s handling of classified documents for political reasons.

Oh yes, the document argument. No potential crimes. WAPO has even reported people close to the investigation have no evidence President Trump did anything but retain mementos of his presidency. Like every other President.

Leland said...

By the way, those classified cover sheets on the floor a Mar-A-Lago are a show. The cover sheets should be physically connected to report. Those cover sheets are scattered like pepperoni on pizza. None of the sheets indicate what is in the document they cover.

And that photo should not have been released to the public, if it was evidence, as it is part of ongoing investigation. It was released for political reasons.

This all ignores the initial part of the FBI raid, which was unnecessary because the FBI was already working with the office of the former President and had retrieved some items in the past and could have continued to work in this fashion as they had with other previous Presidents.

alfromchgo said...

Kevin and Mitch sitting in a tree; waiting for the checks to clear and the to do list from Frank Luntz.

tim in vermont said...

They flurry of leaks is sufficient evidence that the raid was political to justify an investigation, starting with who, how, and why. It’s pretty rich though seeing gadfly, who gullibly swallows any accusations against Trump based on opinions of the pedophiles over at the Stinkin’ Project.

Lurker21 said...

After everything the Democrats have been doing for the last 7 years, there are going to have to be investigations. The Democrats are the ones who turned the country into a banana republic, and what goes around comes around. But the media will work overtime to cover for the Democrats and ridicule and abuse the Republicans, so even if serious revelations come out it won't matter much in the end.

pacwest said...

"The Republican House should investigate." LOL. Just like they did to Clinton, FBI, CIA, and all the other crooks when they had control of Congress and the Presidency in '16?

"Mr. (Insert name of witness here) what do you know about (insert name of incident here)?"
"I know nothing about it. I wouldn't give you the time of day. Fuck off."
"Okay."

Not that it matters much. Several Republicans will be forced to resign due to FBI investigations into scandalous behaviors and the House will revert to Dem control soon enough. Suprise, suprise.

dbp said...

A price needs to be paid for Democratic intransigence: They kicked some number of Republicans off of all committee assignments, Republicans need to show that there will be tit-for-tat and will kick an equal number off of committees.

Republicans can even offer an olive branch--let the Democrats choose who among their number will be stripped.

AZ Bob said...

The Post said, without evidence, that Trump had neuclear secrets in his home. Where is this story now?

n.n said...

Republicans can even offer an olive branch--let the Democrats choose who among their number will be stripped.

Which Democrats will be aborted by Choice (h/t Pelosi) cum (h/t Clinton) a "hero" (h/t Pelosi) in good faith and complementary to the tenets off their religion.

Democratic intransigence

That's an oxymoron. Their character is aptly represented by the ass, of course, of course.

n.n said...

Republicans can even offer an olive branch--let the Democrats choose who among their number will be stripped.

Which Democrats will be aborted by Choice (h/t Pelosi) cum (h/t Clinton) a "hero" (h/t Pelosi) in good faith and complementary to the tenets off their religion.

Democratic intransigence

That's redundant. Their character is aptly represented by the ass.