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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SlugSlinger" data-source="post: 3128333" data-attributes="member: 7248">Maxine Waters should be investigated for encouraging violence against Trump officialsJudicial Watch sent a hand-delivered letter Monday to the chairman and co-chairman of the House Office of Congressional Ethics calling for an investigation into whether Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., violated House ethics rules by encouraging violence against Trump administration Cabinet members.The Office of Congressional Ethics describes itself on its website as “an independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against Members, officers, and staff of the U.S. House of Representatives and, when appropriate, referring matters to the House Committee on Ethics.”Waters addressed a rally in Los Angeles on Saturday and told a crowd: “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them! And you tell them that they are not welcome, anymore, anywhere.”In Judicial Watch’s letter to former Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Washington, and former Rep. David Skaggs, D-Colo., of the Office of Congressional Ethics I pointed out that Waters’ encouraging individuals to create “crowds” who will “push back” on President Trump’s Cabinet members at private business establishments in an apparent effort to prevent these Cabinet officials from obtaining basic necessities without fear of assault and violence.This is not about Waters’ freedom of speech. It is not even an example of yelling “fire” in a theater. It is about inciting mob violence. The House needs to act quickly to hold her accountable for this dangerous incitement.Rep. Waters seems to be violation of House rules, specifically a rule that states: “A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.” (House Rule 23, clause 1.)In our letter, Judicial Watch formally requests that the Office of Congressional Ethics conduct a preliminary investigation into whether Waters violated House rules by encouraging attacks on Cabinet officials.Former Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro weighs in on 'Fox & Friends First.'This is not about Waters’ freedom of speech. It is not even an example of yelling “fire” in a theater. It is about inciting mob violence. The House needs to act quickly to hold her accountable for this dangerous incitement.Last week, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and members of her family were evicted from a restaurant and then reportedly pursued by the owner. Other Trump administration officials are being targeted with threatening and dangerous “protests” at their homes.Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was harassed and heckled as she attended a movie during the weekend in Florida.And President Trump’s opponents are posting names and addresses of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents on the Internet, placing their lives and the lives of their families at risk.According to ABC Radio: “Around two dozen threat reports were issued in the past few days, primarily against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. … In one example, a senior DHS (Department of Homeland Security) official living in the Washington, D.C. area found a burnt and decapitated animal on his front porch, according to an official with knowledge of the incident.Even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. – no stranger to tough political talk – condemned Waters. He said: “I strongly disagree with those who advocate harassing folks if they don't agree with you. ... No one should call for the harassment of political opponents. That's not right. That's not American.”Waters’ incitement for violence, assault and riot sets a dangerous precedent, and the House should act swiftly to disavow her. Given the grave risk to the public safety and the rule of law caused by Waters’ remarks, expulsion from the House should be on the table.Democratic candidates revolt against Pelosi in House races across the countryAMPTON, N.H. –  Anyone looking for signs that Nancy Pelosi has lost clout within the Democratic ranks this cycle need only catch a glimpse of last week’s candidate forum in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.When 10 Democratic candidates were asked if they’d support the House minority leader for speaker if elected and the Democrats regain the chamber’s majority, only one raised his hand. Their hesitation speaks to a growing uneasiness among this year’s midterm candidates – especially in swing districts – with the veteran California Democrat’s grip on power.In New Hampshire, the candidates’ response on the Pelosi question was telling given the nature of the electorate. The seat in play, currently held by retiring Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, represents a swing district in a swing state.Perceived Pelosi ties could hurt the Democrats’ bid to hold the seat in the fall. In Pennsylvania, Democrat Conor Lamb surely made similar calculations earlier this year when he vowed not to support Pelosi for speaker – and went on to win a special election in a deep-red district that President Trump carried in 2016 by 20 percentage points.With his defiance, Lamb started a trend – seen in the New Hampshire forum and races across the country.Journalist and founder of 'Storyline' Chris Frates provides insight on the Democratic Party's most pressing priorities, and what Nancy Pelosi must do in order to actually win the majority.Since then, some 20 Democratic congressional challengers in districts controlled by Republicans have publicly distanced themselves from Pelosi.Among them are Clarke Tucker, the Democratic nominee in Arkansas’s 2nd District who declared in a TV commercial that “I’ve said from day one that I won’t vote for Nancy Pelosi.”Dan McCready, the Democratic nominee in North Carolina’s 9th District, said earlier this spring, “It’s time for a change and that starts at the top.”And Dan Kohl, the Democratic challenger in Wisconsin’s 6th District, told Fox6 in April that "if I'm elected to Congress, I would not vote for Nancy Pelosi as leader of the Democrats."Whether the rank-and-file rejection might actually imperil Pelosi’s bid for the gavel – if Democrats take the House – remains to be seen. But the statements reflect a growing midterm strategy of Democratic candidates distancing themselves from the longtime liberal leader. This, as President Trump and fellow Republicans try to cast Pelosi – along with far-left colleagues like Californian Maxine Waters, who stirred controversy over the weekend with her call to harass Trump Cabinet officials – as the 2018 “face” of the party.Pelosi, 78, has led the House Democrats for 15 years and after her party won back control of the chamber in 2006, she made history as the first female speaker. The San Francisco politician lost the speakership after the 2010 election, when the GOP took back the House.Two years ago, she was challenged for House Democratic leader by Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, one of a number of younger lawmakers pushing for fresh leadership. But Pelosi defeated Ryan by a more than two-to-one margin.In early May, Pelosi put to rest any doubts she would run for speaker again if the Democrats flip the 24 GOP House seats needed to retake the majority, telling the Boston Globe "we will win. I will run for speaker. I feel confident about it. And my members do, too.”Only one of 10 candidates at last week's New Hampshire District 1 forum raised his hand to indicate support for Nancy Pelosi as speaker.  (Paul Steinhauser)Asked about her chances to regain the speakership, Pelosi recently told Rolling Stone, "I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I am confident."Further, Pelosi has suggested she’s not bothered at all by Democratic candidates distancing themselves from her – assuming a whatever-it-takes-to-win attitude."It doesn't bother me," she told Rolling Stone. "I just want them to win.”Spokesman Drew Hammill stressed that Pelosi enjoys support among sitting Democratic lawmakers: “Leader Pelosi has always enjoyed the overwhelming support of House Democrats and that will continue into the majority she’s so focused on winning.  Democrats don’t let Republicans choose our leaders.”Pelosi’s ambition to reclaim the gavel has excited Republicans. Their playbook over the years has been to attack her and tie Democratic candidates to her. This year, the party has targeted her for her opposition to the Republican tax bill signed into law by Trump in December. Trump, in February, described Pelosi as a “secret weapon” for Republicans as they try to hold onto the House.The Conservative Leadership PAC, a major outside group that aims to keep the GOP’s House majority, has vowed to spend big bucks targeting Pelosi.“Nancy Pelosi is by far the most toxic politician in the country, and we continue to see her toxicity increase. CLF will spend millions of dollars reminding voters just how bad Nancy Pelosi is for the country,” CLF Communications Director Courtney Alexander said.Pelosi remains a fundraising force for her party. She raised an eye-popping $16.1 million the first three months of this year, with the vast majority of cash headed to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The DCCC is reserving millions in TV ad time for candidates, even those who are not supporting Pelosi.Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, the DCCC chairman, recently told Politico that he “trusts our candidates” when it comes to supporting Pelosi.Ryan, who challenged Pelosi in 2016, told Fox News: “I actually think those who make the decision not to support Pelosi, that it’s an opportunity to look independent, to look detached from the partisanship that’s got us locked in where we are today.”“They can look like a new kind of Democrat, an independent-minded Democrat. And I think that has its benefits in projecting that kind of independent streak,” the Ohio congressman added.But the National Republican Congressional Committee has a very different take.“It’s a pathetic attempt to distance themselves from the embattled minority leader,” NRCC national press secretary Jesse Hunt told Fox News. “Voters will find it very disingenuous in the fall when candidates try to utter these sorts of claims when they welcome her financial support and support the same polices that Pelosi supports.”Meanwhile, while Pelosi faces friction with Democrats seeking support from moderates, she also is grappling with elements of the party who want her to push further left.Her lack of an endorsement for a sweeping “Medicare for All” health care plan has angered progressives, as has her pushback against talk by Democratic firebrands of impeaching Trump.“She has done an okay job for her tenure, but I think it’s time to get people who want Medicare for All,” Democratic candidate Mindi Messmer, running in New Hampshire’s 1st District, told Fox News. “It’s time to have some new leadership, in my opinion.”</blockquote>

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