Cawthorn’s communications director Luke Ball maintained that the congressman’s remarks about “bloodshed” did not mean he was advocating violence. Instead, Ball said Cawthorn was expressing concern that others could “erroneously choose” to become violent if demands for “election security” were not met.
“In his comments, Congressman Cawthorn is CLEARLY advocating for violence not to occur over election integrity questions,” Ball said Monday in a statement obtained by Newsweek. “He fears others would erroneously choose that route and strongly states that election integrity issues should be resolved peacefully and never through violence.”
In a strange twist, the lawyer who is representing more Capitol Rioters ™ than any others, has gone missing. (NY Times link - probably paywalled). He might have COVID-19. He might have been in a car accident. He might have taken the money and run?
The mysterious disappearance of the lawyer John Pierce began last Tuesday, prosecutors say, when he missed a hearing for one of the many cases where he is representing a defendant in the Capitol riot investigation. The young associate who took his place said that Mr. Pierce had a “conflict.” At the time, no one seemed to give it much mind.
But in the days that followed, Mr. Pierce — who is defending more cases connected to the riot than any other lawyer — missed additional hearings and the reasons for his absence started changing.
On Wednesday, his associate told a judge in one case that Mr. Pierce had gotten Covid-19 and was in the hospital on a ventilator — but only after telling a prosecutor in another case that Mr. Pierce had been in a car accident. That same evening, a different associate told a reporter that Mr. Pierce had in fact been hospitalized, but was getting care for “dehydration and exhaustion.”
Mr. Pierce’s unexplained absence was the only latest twist in his outsized role in defending those accused of participating in the Capitol attack. His clients — among them members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia — have stood out not only for their number, but also for the scorched-earth battle that he has vowed to wage on their behalf.
A self-described pro-Trump populist, Mr. Pierce has promised, for example, to force the government to give him video footage of the Capitol for several days before and after Jan. 6, and has said he will demand information about every police officer working at the building that day. He has also vowed to subpoena hostile witnesses like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, ostensibly to learn what she may have known about security at the Capitol before the attack.
Just for the record, I called bullshit on this as soon as this lawyer’s associate threw out the “I believe he has Covid” in court the first time, and I was surprised and deeply disappointed in the lack of skepticism in the press and everywhere else. Then I called bullshit on it again. Really, everyone should know by now that you can tell when these clowns are lying in court because their lips were moving.
But the thrill of reporting “right-wing lawyer has Covid” clouded their discernment, I guess. It’s should be embarrassing.
And let’s talk about the associate, Ryan Marshall that made those claims -I mean told those lies- in court. He’s a con artist. An indicted one. Part of a sweeping corruption case that involved forging court guardianship papers to swindle vulnerable elderly people of their life savings.
Yep. I’m gonna guess he took the money and ran. Proud boys and other associated seditionists are going to have to find a new con man lawyer to steal more of their (donor’s) money.
Golly, he sure sounds scared.
“If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States,” the California Republican said in a statement he posted to Twitter. “If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget and will stand with Americans to hold them fully accountable under the law.”
McCarthy’s office would not provide CNN with a specific federal statute that a company would be in violation of if it complied with a duly empaneled congressional committee."
His words say: “Accountability good”, his actions say: “Accountability to be avoided at all cost!”
And notice the usual trollish reference to a “Democrat” and not a “Democratic” order. (And it’s neither, anyway - it’s issued by a bipartisan House committee). Idjit.
The WaPo article on this dolt gives some updates on the AWOL lawyer as well:
Separately Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Federal Defender’s Office in D.C. to appear next Thursday as possible “advisory counsel” for one of 17 Jan. 6 defendants represented by lawyer John Pierce, who has been reportedly hospitalized for nearly two weeks without explanation to judges or prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta issued the order in case defendant Peter Schwartz, a Kentucky welder who has pleaded not guilty to a 14-count indictment, wanted to replace Pierce after an employee of Pierce’s law firm failed to explain Pierce’s absence to Schwartz or arrange for another lawyer to appear, as Mehta had requested at a hearing last Thursday.
Ryan Marshall, Pierce’s employee, did say he had spoken directly to Pierce three days ago for the first time since Aug. 23. Marshall told the judge that Pierce said he was seriously ill but expected to be released from a hospital this week, without saying why or providing further elaboration.
