John Fredericks News & Commentary
Trump Allies Urge Him to Turn Impeachment Trial into Political Brawl
By Rob Crilly, White House Correspondent, The Washington Examiner,
Supporters of former President Donald Trump are building his impeachment trial into a battle for the soul of the Republican Party and the first shots in the 2024 White House race.
His legal team outlined its strategy on Wednesday, arguing it is unconstitutional for the Senate to convict a former president and that his speech at a Jan. 6 rally in Washington did not directly cause the deadly assault on the United States Capitol later that day.
But it also left open the possibility of revisiting Trump’s unfounded claims that he won the November election.
The possibility of the Senate trial to feature, at least in part, the Trump legal team repeating its client’s unproven stolen election claims leaves one section of his allies hoping the former president seizes an opportunity to use the proceedings to defend his political movement and begin preparing for a return to power.
John Fredericks, a conservative radio host and confidant of “America First” strategist Steve Bannon, said Democrats were motivated by political considerations and that Trump should mount a political defense based on election fraud, not a “namby-pamby” legalistic play.
“Democrats are doing this for one reason: destroy President Trump, destroy his ability to lead the movement, to run again in the future, to discredit his movement’s followers, and shame them into silence,” he said. “The defense of unconstitutionality or the First Amendment doesn’t cut it.”
Democratic impeachment managers outlined their case on Tuesday morning, saying Trump aimed his supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the Capitol and accusing him of inciting an insurrection.
Read the full report from The Washington Examiner, Rob Crilly, White House Correspondent
@CLewandowski_ Group Raising Money to Challenge Cheney #removelizcheney
A new political group founded by former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski is raising money to run a candidate against the third-ranking Republican in the House, Rep. Liz Cheney.
Why it matters: Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump this month enraged his most committed supporters. Lewandowski’s group appears to be the first national GOP organization to target Wyoming’s lone House representative.
What’s new: Lewandowski has been sending out hundreds of fundraising text messages on behalf of his new PAC, Fight Back Now America.
The Great RPV Hostage Caper
Susan Swecker, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia is Having the Time of Her Life
RICHMOND, Virginia — Susan Swecker, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia is having the time of her life.
She cannot wait until Saturday’s Republican Party of Virginia’s weekly State Central Committee clown car Zoom show to hit the Facebook live pages. In fact, rumor has it the VA Dems actually plan watch parties around it, with champagne and locally brewed beer to boot! They say the comments section is the best comedy show since Seinfeld.
For 10 years, I have railed against the folly of Virginia Republicans holding conventions over primaries to nominate state-wide candidates. In fact, I’ve maintained that conventions have ripped the heart and soul out of the Party, relegating it to the New York Jets style dumpster fire it is today. The RPV is broke, decrepit, and rudderless.
It’s a postal permit, three beepers, and a Mr. Coffee machine masquerading as a political party.
Republicans have lost around 25 straight statewide races in Virginia since their last win in 2009. In the interim, they lost control of the House of Delegates and the State Senate.
Through it all, as bad as it is, Virginia Republicans actually have a fighting chance to gain back the House this November, as they only need to pick up six seats to wrestle it away from Caucus of the Corn (Eileen Filler-Corn is Speaker of the Democratic-controlled lower chamber).
What more could go wrong?
Enter the gang of 30, circus stage left, led by RPV vice-chair Kristi Way, of Eric Cantor chief of staff fame.
They have decided to hold the entire Republican Party of Virginia’s voters and all the statewide candidates hostage in their quest to force a primary on the State Central Committee.
While I personally prefer a primary this June, and I lobbied passionately and vigorously for it since last July, we lost the vote to the conventioneers 39-35 on December 6. A second vote was taken and the margin grew to 42-32. I was as disappointed in the vote as anyone, but that was that. We lost. A convention was voted in.
Candidates running for office then went about hiring convention experienced staff and making fundraising and operational decisions based on a nominating convention in lieu of a primary.
Game on. Or so we thought. Instead, the primary advocates, lacking the votes to get their primary, decided to hold the whole process hostage by voting against the rules to manage the convention in light of Covid-19. The current rules call for a gathering of thousands of people in one location. That is no longer feasible or lawful in Virginia. So the rules have to be amended for what is known as an unassembled convention – delegates come to designated vote drop off centers around the state on one day and cast their votes. This stays within Covid-19 rules set forth by the governor. This was known on December 6 when the votes were cast.
Simple enough, right? Not so fast. Some obscure amendment says that 75 percent of state central committee members have to approve a rule change. So the primary supporters figured out if they consistently voted “no” on the rules change, there could not be a convention and they could re-address a primary. This exact folly played out in a Zoom meeting of the SCC open to the public last Saturday. Tempers flared as the rules adoption went down in flames-well short of three-fourths needed for adoption-but well ahead of what is necessary to change it back to a primary.
So, the circus continues Saturday again, with no resolution in sight. The state central committee needs to end this silly and embarrassing charade and vote for the rules change so the original vote for a convention can be implemented. It’s wasting valuable time for the candidates and party members. Let’s not continue to be the butt of Democrat jokes, and look like the F-Troop gang that can’t shoot straight. Democrats are registering new voters, while we are wasting another day arguing over a decision made over six weeks ago. Clowns to right of me, jokers to the left. That’s the current status of the Republican Party of Virginia. It’s a farce.
GOP Unity Fractures Between Trump Loyalists and Skeptics
By Katherine Doyle, White House Correspondent | Washington Examiner
As President Trump’s term comes to a screeching halt, he leaves behind a party split between MAGA loyalists and Republicans who are ready to turn the page on his presidency.
“We’re done with the surrender caucus. We’re done with pina colada Republicans who go to retreats in resorts in Amelia Island in the most important three days of our republic,” said John Fredericks, a conservative radio host who served on the Trump campaign’s 2020 advisory committee, referring to the Republican National Committee winter meeting on Amelia Island, Florida, where top Republican brass are in situ with grassroots activists this week. “While Rome burned, they are sipping margaritas out of swizzle sticks.”
Fredericks told the Washington Examiner that in time, party leaders would have to start ceding control.
“The Trump movement, the Deplorables, the America First movement is bigger and stronger and more vibrant than it’s ever been right now,” he said. “We are the new woke, and we’re going to take over the Republican Party. We’re going to primary the RINOs and hold them accountable.”
But Trump isn’t politically invincible, other Republicans warn.
Read the full story from the Washington Examiner.
John Fredericks in the News: Georgia Senate Runoffs Play Out While Conservatives in the State are at Each Other’s Throats
Story and Photo Courtesy of Media Matters, Molly Butler, and Alex Walker
Truncated for John Fredericks in the News
Conservative media figures are attacking Georgia officials and fueling manufactured grievances
Local Trump, Biden Supporters React to Projected Presidential Winner
But some Republicans are adamant this election isn’t over.
John Fredericks is the chairman of the Trump Virginia Campaign.
“Media outlets projection are irrelevant,” Fredericks said. “The Associated Press, CNN, Fox or the other fake news media out there, does not select the president. It’s selected by electors.”
As reports of voter fraud, ballot tampering, and the illegal removal of Republican election observers surface, Fredericks said they’re going to make sure every legitimate vote is counted and verified. No evidence has been presented that supports these claims.
“We have no idea what the outcome of this election is, so Joe Biden and the media can claim whatever they please,” said Fredericks. “This race is not over. We’re fighting on. We’re confident that Trump is going to get inaugurated on January 20.”
Democrats are continuing their fight too saying Biden will be the one to unify the country amid a global pandemic.
Kanoyton lost her 82-year-old mother in June from complications of COVID-19.
“This election was not only about bringing democracy back to the White House, but it was also to bring honor to the 200,000 people that died of COVID,” Kanoyton said
Meantime, Fredericks plans to travel to Atlanta and Philadelphia on Sunday for a two-week tour to shine a light on what he calls irregularities in the voting process.
“We’re making sure that democracy survives and exists, and our process is not fraudulent,” Fredericks said. “When legitimate votes are verified and certified, then there will be an outcome.”
Breaking News: President Trump On Path To Be Re-elected With 285 Electoral Votes
Despite the greatest efforts of the fake news media and their phony pollster compatriots, Trump is now back on a steely pathway to win re-election.
President Trump currently has 214 Electoral votes awarded. The final count will be Trump 285. Here is the breakdown: North Carolina-15, Georgia-16, Pennsylvania-20, Arizona-11, Nevada-6, Alaska-4.
Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing to count late ballots because they are worried about Trump’s margins. The Trump campaign legal team is fighting to ensure that all legal ballots – and only legal ballots – are counted. Here is our analysis to get Trump to 285:
Pathway to victory in Pennsylvania:
- There are more than a million ballots left to be counted, including roughly 300,000 in Philadelphia.
- Using extremely conservative estimates, even if President Trump receives just 5% of ballots in Philadelphia and 30% of other remaining ballots, the President still wins Pennsylvania by 40,000 votes.
- We are confident in winning because many of these absentee ballots are from conservative counties:
- There are 54,000 ballots left to be counted in Cumberland County.
- There are 40,000 ballots left to be counted in Westmoreland County – a county where President Trump won 69 percent of the vote yesterday.
- There are 20,000 ballots left to be counted in Franklin County – a county where President Trump won more than 82 percent of the vote yesterday.
- There are 20,000 ballots left to be counted in Beaver County.
- We also believe that we will win more than 5 percent of ballots in Philadelphia County because of the President’s inroads with Black and Hispanic voters.
- We expect Trump to over-perform historical GOP margins among minority voters by 2-5 percent.
Pathway to victory in Arizona:
- A final batch of mail-in ballots is still being counted, with the latest arriving ballots counted last.
- We believe that over a half-million votes remain to be counted.
- We expect Trump to win between 66 percent and 70 percent of these ballots.
- We expect Trump to win Arizona by 30,000 votes.
- Arizona will join the President’s column at day’s end.
- Last night alone, we won 62 percent of the 80,000 Election Day votes that came into Maricopa County – we expect this margin to be higher in the rest of the state.
Pathway to victory in Nevada:
- Late-breaking mail-in-votes will help Trump.
- We believe that once all legal ballots are counted, Trump will win Nevada by 5,500 votes
Pathway to victory in Georgia:
- President Trump has built an insurmountable lead that the Democrats cannot beat.
- Trump leads by over 100,000 votes. Georgia should have been called last night. Fake news.
Pathway to victory in North Carolina:
- President Trump has built an insurmountable lead that the Democrats cannot beat.
- Trump leads by over 76,000 votes. North Carolina should have been called last night.