Liz Cheney Calls Out Trump's Latest Lie
Plus: A tragedy in Milwaukee
Nota bene: Today’s newsletter has a tragic story about the suicide of a progressive Milwaukee alderman — a grim warning about the inhumanity of our politics and the toxicity of antisemitism.
But let’s start with a truth-teller’s push-back against the nation’s Liar in Chief.
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Liz’s Truth Bomb
On Sunday’s Meet the Press, the incoming president once again threatened to jail members of Congress — including former representative Liz Cheney — for investigating his role in fomenting the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
“Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with [Chairman Bennie] Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps. ... Honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said.
As he has in the past, Trump went on to falsely accuse the committee of deleting and destroying “all evidence”.
“And Cheney was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee. For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”
Let’s neither fudge or dance around this: Trump’s charge is bullshit with hair on it. It’s a lie that would not survive more than a few minutes in any court of law. As the NYT notes:
In fact, the committee did not destroy all evidence. It released an 800-page report as well as 140 transcripts of testimony and various memos, emails and voice mail messages. The evidence remains online. Mr. Thompson explained in a letter last year that the committee had asked the executive branch to go through some material first to protect “law enforcement sensitive operational details and private, personal information that, if released, could endanger the safety of witnesses.”
Cheney herself responded to Trump’s latest lie. And because it is well worth your time to read, bookmark, print out, and send it to your deluded MAGA friends, here is her statement IN FULL:
"This morning, President-elect Trump again lied about the January 6th Select Committee, and said members of the Committee 'should go to jail' for carrying out our constitutional responsibilities. Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power. He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building, and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave. This was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history. Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.
"Donald Trump knows his claims about the select committee are ridiculous and false, as has been detailed extensively, including by Chairman Thompson in this July 2023 letter.
“There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct.
“What the public now deserves to see is the evidence and grand jury material assembled by Special Counsel Smith, including the grand jury testimony of Vice President Pence and members of Donald Trump’s former White House and campaign staff.
“The Justice Department should ensure that all that material is preserved and cannot be destroyed. As much of that information as possible should be disclosed in the Special Counsel’s upcoming report. Ultimately, Congress should require that all that material be publicly released so all Americans can see Donald Trump for who he genuinely is and fully understand his role in this terrible period in our nation’s history.
As the debate heats up over Trump’s plans for legal vengeance — and the possibility of a pre-emptive pardon by President Biden — Cheney’s point is worth emphasizing:
“There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct.
So inquiring minds ought to ask: Can you pre-emptively pardon someone for a crime that is non-existent; that they did not commit; and that no one can actually articulate or identify?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
The Tragic Death of Jonathan Brostoff
On November 4, Milwaukee Alderman Jonathan Brostoff was found dead in Milwaukee County’s Greenfield Park. The Medical Examiner’s Office later reported Brostoff’s cause of death was suicide.
A former state legislator, Brostoff was well-known in progressive circles and well-liked in the Jewish community. His death was a profound shock, even though he had, in the past, openly discussed his struggles with depression and other mental health challenges.
But there was much more to the story, which, frankly, deserves national attention.
Rob Golub, the editor of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, reports that Brostoff’s death came after “months of bullying tied to his identity as a Jew and supporter of Israel” after the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas.
Social media attacks from former friends and allies broke his heart, they say. Longtime friends reportedly ostracized Brostoff and his wife.
Then, just before his death, the Shepherd Express – the city’s storied alternative newspaper – named him a finalist for “Most Despised Politician.”
None of Brostoff’s friends who were interviewed by Golub suggested that the bullying was the sole cause of his suicide. “But friends say the bullying, including rejection by some on the left who were close to him, must have been a factor.”
One of Brostoff’s closest friends, Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, saw the connection between the alderman’s tragic death and how Brostoff was treated after Oct. 7, 2023. “He told me about how he suffered with it,” Wasserman told Golub.
After the attack by Hamas, Brostoff — who had a long record as a progressive ally of Israel — posted his support for Israel on social media. “The response was harsh and negative, according to longtime friend Alexa Safer. People either said the attacks were fake or that they were legitimate resistance, she said.”
Later that month, Brostoff texted Elana Kahn, the former head of the local Jewish Community Relations Council: “Praying for you and all of our family there and everywhere. It’s lonely to be a Jew in this world right now, we have to be there for each other and we have to continue.”
He told his friend Alexa Shafer that he was “heartbroken” over how he had been villainized by so many he had once regarded as allies.
At one point, Safer recalls saying to him: “These are people we marched with for a year. Don’t they know who we are? Don’t they know our hearts? He was just like, ‘I know.’ We both were in the same place. We felt betrayed and we felt heartbroken by the left.”
Said Wasserman: “Some of his best friends turned on him, and they ignored him. They ostracized him and his wife.”
The attacks on Brostoff were especially vicious. A proud Jew, he found himself called a “Nazi” who supported genocide. Writes Golub: “Some of the attacks came from old friends, among them people with public roles in Milwaukee.”
Other friends told Golub that Brostoff was deeply upset by the decision of local colleges and universities to allow anti-Israel “encampments.”
Lana Holman, a close family friend who lives several blocks from Brostoff, has seen him at the block parties she works on, and elsewhere. “He was very upset” about the encampment, Holman said.
“He also had a lot of political friends that didn’t stand up for him about the issue. That upset him a lot, and he talked to us about that.”
**
Brostoff’s funeral on November 8 was attended by thousands, including some of those political friends.
His wife, Diana Vang-Brostoff, spoke through tears. But she was direct:
“It has been so horrible. Jonathan felt so alone at the end of his life. I see all these people in this room I haven’t seen, and I’m devastated,” she said. “It’s just unbelievable.”
She pleaded with those in attendance and watching online to remember the effect that words can have on others; and the need to treat one another with kindness, even in our age of incivility, division, and inhumanity.
Your Monday Dogs
**
My heart goes out to the Brostoff family. There are not enough words to describe my sadness over what happened to Mr Brostoff - but there seems to be plenty of words I can say to address the hatred and vitriol against the people who brought him down. They should carry this tragedy with them FOREVER.
Liz Cheney and the committee are some of the most courages people in Washington. They knew going into this that retaliation would come sooner or later in some form. I still believe in America’s strength to fight this political rot and blight.
I just cannot believe the ineptitude, or maybe stupidity of the national media in twisting itself to somewhat normalize trump. I get so frustrated with interviews like Kristin Welkers this weekend. Yes, he gets challenged, but then the conversation moves on. If Kamala Harris had said things remotely as contradictory and ignorant as the dumbass-elect, the media would have cried and whined to high heaven about it. Again, it's pretty much a non-incident when he does it.
I am inclined to support George Conway's suggestion that we(whoever that is) create a legal defense fund for the brave people that resisted-from Cassidy Hutchinson to Liz Cheney and everyone in between. All the folks that will have their lives turned upside down when trump sics the gov't on them. Even though he can't get indictments, just the investigations and initial legal fees will be overwhelming.
It blows my mind we are even here. Yes, the cult members are brainwashed, but the complicity of the media, just like with Hillary's emails, is astonishing. It is also forbodeing, as a window as to how they may act when his intimidation campaign truly gets underway.