Trump leads Biden in four key battleground states, polls find

Wed, 20 March 2024 at 3:36 PM GMT-4

Donald Trump is on course to beat Joe Biden in four key battleground states, new polls show.

In Georgia, the former president leads by four points, with 51 per cent to his successor’s 47 per centamong registered voters, according to a Marist poll released on Wednesday.

Mr Biden won the state by just 0.23 per cent in 2020, becoming the first Democraticpresidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1992.

The president is behind by three points among those in Georgia who said they definitely plan to vote. Mr Trump has increased his support among young voters in the state since 2020, and he has made progress among Black voters, even as Mr Biden still has a wide lead among African Americans.

Mr Trump has been indicted in the state for his attempts to overturn the 2020 results there.

The Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, Lee Miringoff, said in a statement: “Georgia has been ground zero for Trump’s legal problems dating back to the 2020 election. Although the overwhelming majority of Democrats and a plurality of independents think Trump broke the law, only a handful of Republicans think so.”

He added: “Despite all the attention focused on the state’s vote count in 2020, more than six in 10 Georgia voters across party lines remain confident in the integrity of state and local elections.”

Among independents in Georgia, Mr Biden leads by 49 to 48 per cent over Mr Trump.

In North Carolina, a Marist poll also published on Wednesday shows Mr Trump leading Mr Biden by three points – 51 to 48 per cent.

Among independents registered to vote in the state, Mr Trump has a six-point lead – 52 to 46 per cent.

The last Democrat to win North Carolina on the presidential level was Barack Obama in 2008. While Mr Biden has increased his support among white voters in the state, he has lost ground with Black voters, similar to Georgia. Mr Trump has also gained among younger voters in North Carolina.

“North Carolina has been a battleground state for several presidential election cycles and remains so in 2024,” Dr Miringoff said. “Both Biden and Trump have secured their base. The tale of the tape will be who commands independent voters and voters who dislike both presidential candidates.”

Meanwhile, Emerson College, KLAS-TV, andThe Hill found in theirNevada poll also released on Wednesday that Mr Trump is up 44 to 41 per centin the state. Fifteen per cent remain undecided.

The executive director of Emerson College Polling, Spencer Kimball, said in a statement,“Nevada Hispanic voters support Biden over Trump, 44 per cent to 39per cent, whilewhite voters break for Trump over Biden, 50 per cent to 39 per cent.”

Sixty-one per cent of voters said Mr Biden doesn’t deserve to be re-elected, while 39 per cent said he does.

Fifty-three per cent of voters said Mr Trump doesn’t deserve a second chance to run when accounting for the January 6 insurrection, while 47 per cent said he should get another chance despite the Capitol riot.

InArizona, a state narrowly won by Mr Biden in 2020, Mr Trump is up by four points – 48 to 44 per cent, according to a separate poll by Emerson College and The Hill. Eight per cent remain undecided.

“Trump voters support the former president because they care about an issue – 33 per cent – or like Trump – 30 per cent – whereas 43 per cent of Biden voters support him because they dislike Trump, the highest sentiment among Biden voters in the swing states polled this month,” Mr Kimball noted.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/trump-leads-biden-four-key-193635674.html

Travis

@Travis_in_Flint

Happy 18th Birthday Barron Trump

9:19 AM · Mar 20, 2024

·

4.3M Views

https://x.com/Travis_in_Flint/status/1770439979316965434

Awesome tribute to Barron Trump on 18th birthday.

Daily Beast freaking out. PDF attached

Mar-a-Lago Judge’s Stark Ruling: Jury Sees Secret Files or Trump Wins

Jose Pagliery

Mon, March 18, 2024 at 10:22 PM EDT

The MAGA-friendly federal judge who keeps sidingwith Donald Trump in his Mar-a-Lago classified records case has forced prosecutors to make a stark choice: allow jurors to see a huge trove of national secrets or let him go.

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s ultimatum Monday night came as a surprise twist in what could have been a simple order; one merely asking federal prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers for proposed jury instructions at the upcoming trial.

But as she has done repeatedly, Cannon used this otherwise innocuous legal step as yet another way to swing the case wildly in favor of the man who appointed her while he was president.

Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smithmust now choose whether to allow jurors at the upcoming criminal trial to peruse the many classified records found at the former president’s South Florida mansion or give jurors instructions that would effectively order them to acquit him.

Alternatively, Smith could appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, will only further delay a trial that’s at least three months behind schedule, entirely by the judge’s own design. (She froze the investigation and tried to slow-roll document review until the appellate court forced her to stop.)

He also claimed the country’s national security laws are “too vague” to be used against him anyway.

Last Thursday, Cannon declined to dismiss the case entirely on that vagueness argument and pushed aside that question for now, a move that was incorrectly read by some as a victory for Smith and his band of special federal prosecutors.

In retrospect just four days later, that decision was something of a boxing feint used to prep a hard punch with Monday’s ultimatum.

In coming up with how to explain the nation’s complex national security restrictions to jurors who will ultimately determine whether Trump is guilty,Cannon came up with a scheme that would make federal prosecutors the most uncomfortable possible. (It’s called the law assholes)

Cannon’s evening order alerted federal prosecutors and Trump’s legal team that they “must engage with the following competing scenarios” when considering whether Trump can be charged with “unauthorized possession”: Either “a jury is permitted to examine” every record a former president swipes and claims as “personal” to determine whether it is,or jurors must be told that “a president has sole authority… to categorize records as personal or presidential during his/her presidency.”

The first option would require Smith to allow any of the randomly called potential jurors in this rural stretch of South Florida to suddenly have access to what prosecutors have described as extremely alarming national secrets. The second option would essentially force jurors to acquit the former president of wrongdoing, given that they’d be told he had unquestionable authority to assert personal ownership over any government document within his reach—a self-justifying rule outside of anyone’s review.

That second option is as stark as it is strange. In her two-page ruling, Cannon essentially proposed a new version of the law without the typical lengthy judicial order to back it up.

Option Two merely appears as a proposed jury instruction that would say: “A president has sole authority under the [Presidential Records Act] to categorize records as personal or presidential during his/her presidency. Neither a court nor a jury is permitted to make or review such a categorization decision.”

Cannon goes on to say that the Presidential Records Act is unclear about how to allow a president to make that kind of determination—even though, ironically, the 1978 law was passed in the wake of President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal as a means to ensure that White House records are considered U.S. government property that should be overseen by responsible historians and librarians at the National Archives.

“Although there is no formal means in the PRA by which a president is to make that categorization, an outgoing president’s decision to exclude what he/she considers to be personal records from presidential records transmitted to the National Archives and Records Administration constitutes a president’s categorization of those records as personal under the PRA,” she wrote.

Cannon’s reading of that federal law would hand extensive authority to any president.But more importantly, it would give Trump exactly what he wants: the ability to give himself the final word.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mar-lago-judge-stark-ruling-022208652.html

>>20601398

Weissmann: What Jack Smith should do after Judge Cannon’s ‘nutty’ order. He’s losing his mind

Judge Cannon asked Jack Smith and Trump’s lawyers to draft jury instructions suggesting she is considering a possible jury instruction that would require the jury to find Trump not guilty. Andrew Weissmann and Bradley Moss join MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss what next steps Jack Smith should take and how this further delays the classified documents trial.

https://youtu.be/XPzlMsHqRwI

>>20600389 For KEKS! Is this a real Planet Fitness commercial or a good skit? Never know with clown worldPNvideo attached

Harnwell: Irish radical-LGBT prime minister quit because he finally realised how out of touch he was

3:49

https://rumble.com/embed/v4hw3gt/?pub=4

>>20601587

Ben says on Ireland vote

Less than two weeks after all the major Irish parties were roundly rejected in the double referendum — Irish pm Leo Varadkar calls it a day and announces his shock resignation.

On a 50% turnout, around 70% of Irish people defiantly rejected government-sponsored amendments to the constitution to remove such “sexist language” as mother and woman.

The only surprise was that Irish Sociopathic Overlords were surprised when they learnt how out of touch they were —but now they know that like the last grains of sand bouncing down the hourglass vortex — their time is up.

Michael Walsh Explains How The Irish Government Is Trying To Break Traditional Values

9:35

https://rumble.com/embed/v4hvrlb/?pub=4

>>20601621

Bradley Thayer: "The Political Parties Are Not Listening To The Irish People"

Maybe Ireland will be the awakening in the EU, kick out the EU

3:35

https://rumble.com/embed/v4hw292/?pub=4

Dave Brat Details How The Underlying Issue With The Election Is The EconomyMassive Debt, geopolitical wars, reduced productivity

24:55

https://rumble.com/embed/v4hvm8l/?pub=4

GA judge just gave Trump a legal “wink and a nod”… now, it all makes sense…

President Trump just notched a legal win that may shed some light on the bizarre decision made by the judge in the Big Fani dismissal case. In a moment that felt suggestive in a “wink and a nod” kind of way, Judge McAfee not only granted Trump a substantial triumph=but also opened the door for rectifying his own unjust ruling by approving Trump’s appeal request in Georgia. It appears as if McAfee wanted to wash his hands clean and defer to a higher court,almost as if he was encouraging Trump’s team to seek an appealand give Big Fani the bum rush right out the door.

The New York Post:

Donald Trump won a legal victory in the Georgia election fraud case against him Wednesday, when a judge granted him the right to appeal his ruling allowing District Attorney Fani Willis to stay on the case.

Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee granted the former president’s motion seeking an immediate review by Georgia’s Court of Appeals of his bombshell ruling on Friday allowing the embattled DA to continue prosecuting the case, despite her affair with lead prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Trump and seven other co-defendants seeking to boot Willis did not have an automatic right to appeal before the start of a trial.

However, McAfee granted the rare measure, citing the importance of the case — which has potentially huge implications for the expected Republican presidential nominee.

Trump lawyer Steve Sadow called McAfee’s Wednesday decision “highly significant” and added he’s hopeful the appeal will win.

“The defense is optimistic that appellate review will lead to the case being dismissed and the DA being disqualified,” he added.

Attorney and Town Hall contributor Phil Holloway had this to say about the ruling:

Judge grants “certificate of immediate review” in the #FaniWillis disqualification motion

This means the Court of Appeals has to also approve, but it’s likely to be allowed

The issue is too important

Here’s a closeup of the image:

Phil took to Fox News to unpack the bombshell ruling, highlighting that all aspects related to this case are now in a holding pattern.

I spoke with @SandraSmithFox on @FaulknerFocus as news broke that Judge McAfee approved the pretrial appeal of his #FaniWillis disqualification order

The GA Court Of Appeals is also expected to approve the pretrial appeal

The whole case is on hold while this issue is resolved

David Shafer, one of the Fulton County defendants, took to X to share the good news:

The journey continues to the Georgia Court of Appeals, opening the door for President Trump and his seven co-defendants to challenge and potentially oust corrupt Fani Willis from the case. Here’s hoping Big Fani is sent packing like a kicked dog in the disgrace she deserves.

(This tells me the judge was pressured and he’s passing it to a court that can be less pressured, hopefully)

https://revolver.news/2024/03/ga-judge-just-gave-trump-a-legal-wink-and-a-nod-now-it-all-makes-sense/

Favoritism, cover-ups reveal culture of corruption in US Capitol Police leadership.1/5 or more3/20/24 long but important

Policy violations that ordinarily would lead to firings instead resulted in promotions for officers responsible for protecting top congressional leadership.

Steve BakerMarch 20, 2024

Corruption is endemic at the highest levels of the United States Capitol Police, especially among the special agents and officers who serve in the department’s dignitary protection detail, a Blaze Media investigation has found.

Internal discipline reports show a pattern of officers failing upward. Proven instances of fraud, forgery, theft, perjury, and drunk driving on duty going back to the late 1990s led to promotions rather than dismissals and prosecutions, discipline reports obtained by Blaze Media show.

High-ranking USCP officials, including a present-day deputy chief and an assistant chief, were implicated and faced discipline and possible termination in a fraudulent overtime pay scheme that defrauded the government of tens of thousands of dollars, according to documents obtained by Blaze Media and a former Capitol Police sergeant. A lieutenant involved in the scam left the Capitol Police and now works for the U.S. Senate sergeant at arms.

Suspensions for felonies

National Journal first reported on the overtime scheme in July 2014 but did not name the officers involved.

The National Journal story relied in part on the account of Rhoda Henderson, a retired USCP sergeant and whistleblower. In an exclusive interview with Blaze Media, Henderson confirmed that the officers involved were current USCP Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher, current Deputy Chief John Erickson, and Wendy Colmore, who is now director of central operations for the U.S. Senate sergeant at arms.

Gallagher was a captain with the dignitary protection detail and the alleged “ringleader” at the time of the payroll scheme, while Erickson and Colmore were both lieutenants under Gallagher’s command.

Henderson told Blaze Media that the scheme lasted “for at least a year,” and while she wasn’t involved in the crime’s audit, the three officers stole well in excess of $10,000 from the USCP. She also explained that USCP authorities first doubted her story until she was able to produce the paper trail of the scheme.

Blaze Media inquired whether there had ever been any follow-up to this story from any other D.C. media. Henderson explained that her interview with National Journal reporter Bill House was the only other time she had been contacted by a journalist before now.

Henderson reiterated to Blaze Media that her disappointment with the USCP’s leadership in how they handled these “felonies” — crimes for which the three officers should have been “terminated” — was her reason for speaking to National Journal, adding, “They look out for each other, the higher rank you go.” She said, “To me, it’s always been, ‘I’ll cover up your sins if you cover up mine.’”

Henderson said she “had initially brought the questionable overtime billing by the three supervisors to department officials starting in the summer of 2012. She said that included talking to the Internal Affairs Division (now called the Office of Professional Responsibility) and the Capitol Police Office of Inspector General.” She also provided the department’s officials with all the documentation necessary to support her claims.

According to National Journal, “Henderson said she began monitoring what appeared to her to be inappropriate ‘time shifting’ by the supervisors of their overtime hours ‘behind my back’ on their biweekly pay records in January 2010.”

As a result of the investigation, the three officers were suspended, documents obtained by Blaze Media show and a source close to the investigation confirmed.

“Had this been me or any other officer (those not part of command staff) who would have committed this crime — we would have been fired. There's no doubt in my mind,” Henderson told National Journal in 2014. “Nor would we have been allowed to sit in our jobs for more than a year without a decision being made.”

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/analysis/favoritism-cover-ups-reveal-culture-of-corruption-in-us-capitol-police-leadership

>>20601824

2/5

From forgery to assistant chief

In the course of our investigation, Blaze Media obtained 22 pages of USCP documents related to the department’s investigations of Gallagher, Erickson, and Colmore. The details are shocking.

A USCP memorandum dated July 11, 2013, reveals that when questioned by departmental investigators, then-Captain Gallagher claimed that the scheme was Colmore’s idea. However, Gallagher was the supervisor for both Colmore and Erickson, and Gallagher should have been fully aware of the illegality and violation of department rules represented by this scheme. It would have been his responsibility — even if Colmore’s “idea” — to stop the conspiracy in its tracks. Instead, he fully engaged in the scheme himself, the documents show and a source close to the investigation confirmed.

From the memorandum:

All three claim that this was not a conspiracy. What was it then? Ask them what they call it when three people all agree to backfill overtime and not inform their chain of command.

In fact, in the biweekly submission of the overtime pay requests, it was Gallagher — as Erikson’s and Colmore’s supervisor — who had to sign off on the fraudulent requests, documents show and a source close to the investigation confirmed.

The USCP documents reveal even more damning behavior by Gallagher, who was promoted to inspector on June 10, 2018. To keep the “backfilling” of the overtime scheme concealed, investigators discovered that Gallagher forged the name of his supervisor, Inspector Daniel B. Malloy, on his own overtime pay submissions. Investigators noted that Gallagher always used a pen with different-colored ink from that of his own signature when forging his supervisor’s.

In a 2012 Office of Professional Responsibility investigation, which also involved allegations of forgery, Gallagher “claimed that his forgery of his supervisors [sic] signature never resulted in personal gain.” According to USCP standards, lying to OPR is itself a “terminable” act.

The subject line of another USCP memo, dated December 18, 2013, read: “Penalty Assessment-Captain Gallagher, OPR#13-061. From the memorandum, and for having defrauded the government of more than $10,000.”

According to the memo:

The offense is egregious and absent any mitigating factors, warrants nothing less than termination. This offense was willful and frequent, occurring on eight occasions. Captain Gallagher misrepresented his times, forged his supervisor’s signature on overtime authorization forms, falsified pay certification sheets, and forged his supervisor’s signature on pay certification sheets to defraud the government for significant personal gain.

The same memo refers to a prior OPR investigation of Gallagher in 2012, in which he had been disciplined for forging his supervisor’s name on other documents.

Yet Gallagher was not fired. Instead, he was supposed to be demoted to lieutenant and ordered to reimburse the department for “all the pay he received as a result of his misconduct.”

How did Gallagher manage to keep his job?

A Capitol Police source close to the investigation who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation said Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine intervened in Gallagher’s case. Dine, who retired in 2015 after a contentious three-year tenure, reassigned the disposition of Gallagher’s discipline to the very supervisor whose name he had forged: Daniel Malloy.

Malloy moved up the ranks quickly following the initial discovery of Gallagher’s crimes in 2010. In 2011, Malloy was assigned as inspector of the Uniformed Services Bureau’s Capitol Division. One year later, he was promoted to deputy chief and assumed command of the Operational Services Bureau.

The anonymous USCP source said to the best of his recollection, Gallagher did not even receive the recommended demotion. He remained on the job as a captain and was given a 10-day suspension without pay.

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/analysis/favoritism-cover-ups-reveal-culture-of-corruption-in-us-capitol-police-leadership

>>20601828

3/5

Gallagher took command of the Dignitary Protection Division in 2018. In October 2023, he was promoted to assistant chief of police for uniformed operations, where he “oversees all the officers posted at security checkpoints, the command center at headquarters, and specialized teams, including the SWAT and canine teams,” according to a Roll Call story announcing his new job.

From fraud to sergeant at arms

According to the USCP documents we obtained, the internal affairs investigation found that Lt. Wendy Colmore “defrauded the government of $6,870” and concluded: “The offense is egregious and absent any mitigating factors, warrants nothing less than termination.”

In a disciplinary memo dated December 18, 2013, investigators concluded that Colmore had asked a superior officer about the appropriateness of the overtime backfilling scheme. She was advised that it was against regulations, and yet — with this knowledge — only a few weeks later, she began taking part in the conspiracy.

An internal affairs investigation of Colmore in 2000 resulted in a “sustained charge of conduct unbecoming.”

Yet Colmore was not fired in spite of investigators’ conclusion that her offense clearly qualified for termination. In the end, she only received a recommendation of demotion to sergeant. According to another unnamed USCP source familiar with the case, Colmore resigned from the department soon afterward and eventually took a position with the U.S. Senate sergeant at arms.

From drunk driving to deputy chief

The case of Lt. John Erickson is far more complex and troubling. By the time of his penalty assessment memorandum — also dated December 18, 2013 — Erickson had already been promoted to captain. What makes his eventual ascent to deputy chief is confounding to the extreme.

The memorandum stated that “Captain Erickson is an outstanding employee.” But other department officers refer to him as “Teflon John,” the source close to the investigation said. Erickson has an especially checkered disciplinary record yet has somehow managed to continue his ascent in rank and recognition.

In July 1997, while working on a detail in San Antonio for then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Erickson was arrested on drunk-driving charges. Deseret News reported that Erickson “was found in a government-rented convertible, parked on a roadside at 3:25 a.m. with ‘his head on his chest, passed out, extremely intoxicated,’” according to a police report, which also noted his slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and “strong breath odor of intoxicants.”

“He refused to take a breath test and was released after spending several hours in jail,” the story said.

Erickson was given a warning and suspended without pay for 10 days.

In 2002, Erickson was involved in another alcohol-related car wreck. The Washington Post reported Erickson “crashed his car into a parked Maryland State Police cruiser, injuring the trooper.”

Erickson was charged with conduct unbecoming an officer and given a “last chance agreement, in lieu of termination.” He was also suspended without pay for 30 days.

Despite the seriousness of his participation in the overtime fraud scheme — and considering his disciplinary history — Erickson received only a recommendation of a 20-day suspension and was ordered to reimburse the government for an undetermined sum.

Once again, Dine and Malloy had intervened, according to the anonymous source within the Capitol Police.

Jim Konczos, chairman of the Capitol Police Labor Committee’s executive board at the time of the overtime fraud investigation, told National Journal, “If these allegations are true, this is criminal in nature, not administrative by any means.”

“This conduct should result in termination, nothing less. We can’t have supervisors stealing time and/or money. This conduct, besides being criminal, impairs the efficiency and reputation of the department,” Konczos said in a statement.

"There is a culture in the department in which supervisors are held to a lower standard, even when the conduct is criminal, that is completely unacceptable," he added.

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/analysis/favoritism-cover-ups-reveal-culture-of-corruption-in-us-capitol-police-leadership

>>20601835

4/5

Current USCP Labor Committee Chairman Gus Papathanasiou told Blaze Media that he fully concurs with Konczos’ 2014 statement.

'Traingate'

Three former USCP officers who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity said Gallagher was also involved in a strange internal scandal — though “scandal” may be too strong a word — that came to be known as “Traingate.”

A fourth, former USCP Captain Eric Keenan, was the only officer disciplined as a result of an investigation into the practice. He explained to Blaze Media how more than 400 Capitol Police personnel would receive free rides on the Maryland Area Rail Commuter train and Virginia Railway Express with the understanding they would report suspicious activity and offer their services in response to emergencies.

Keenan said it was a “mutually beneficial program” between the two railways and law enforcement.

By riding the trains for free, the officers enjoyed significant savings in fuel and parking expenses. MARC and VRE even issued laminated rail passes to officers who were willing to engage in basic training on railway security measures and other procedures. Other agencies, including the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Secret Service, also participated.

Although the practice was well known — some USCP commanders even encouraged lower-ranking officers to take advantage of the cost savings — it technically ran afoul of department regulations.

Keenan, who left the department in 2020 after 24 years and now works for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Bombing Prevention, said the informal program “was going well” in late 2018, when an unnamed male officer who did not have a laminated pass flashed his badge to receive a free ride.

Flashing a badge to obtain free services of any kind — “whether to receive free train rides, lunches, coffee, or donuts,” Keenan said — is against policy. Among law enforcement, the practice is called “rolling the gold.”

A MARC conductor notified USCP’s Capitol Division, which then referred the infraction to the Office of Professional Responsibility and, in Keenan’s words, “set off a firestorm.”

As the internal affairs investigation got under way, Keenan said he emailed the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee decrying what he called a “witch hunt” and using other disparaging language directed at investigating officers. Keenan’s email was forwarded by the labor union to then-Chief Matthew R. Verderosa, which led to disciplinary action against Keenan for “conduct unbecoming” a USCP officer. He was suspended for three days.

Keenan said he was only trying to protect the officers under his command who he believed could be hurt unfairly by Verderosa’s “feigned horror” at a “faux scandal.”

Failing upward

Traingate ultimately revealed systemic favoritism and corruption within USCP leadership, as the investigation found many of senior leadership’s “most favored” officers had received free rides. Two names that Keenan mentioned were former Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman and current Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher.

USCP leadership didn’t wish to punish their more favored high-ranking officers who had participated in the program. Keenan explained that disciplining the lower-ranking officers and not those of higher rank would have created “a real firestorm,” so USCP leadership issued a general letter of reprimand to everyone involved.

Something that shouldn’t have been a scandal in the first place was quietly swept under the rug — except for Keenan, who raised objections to the “witch hunt.”

Keenan speculated that Traingate received no media attention before now “because it was nothing more than a peer-to-peer program between the railways and the individual officers.”

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/analysis/favoritism-cover-ups-reveal-culture-of-corruption-in-us-capitol-police-leadership

>>20601837

5/5

But what seems like a fairly innocuous story reveals something even more telling within the USCP hierarchy, especially if we examine the difference between the career arcs of Keenan and Gallagher.

Keenan was frank in his assessments of Sean Gallagher’s career with the USCP. He says that from “day one” of Gallagher’s employment with the Capitol Police, he became “the golden boy who could do no wrong.”

Except Gallagher did many wrongs: multiple forgeries of his supervisor’s signature, theft of government funds, fraud, and lying to internal affairs investigators about his crimes. All “terminable” violations, according to USCP policies. All “felonies,” as described by Rhoda Henderson, that should have been referred to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation and prosecution.

But Gallagher was never fired. Other than a brief interruption, his rise through the ranks continued undeterred.

Keenan told Blaze Media that he was also being considered for promotion to inspector in 2018, but the department passed him over in favor of Gallagher. At the time, Keenan’s record was unblemished — Traingate hadn’t happened yet. Meanwhile, Gallagher’s file was thick with felonious scandal.

Although promotions from sergeant through captain are vetted through an outside agency, Keenan said the process of rising to inspector through assistant chief “is basically a popularity contest,” which includes the input of Congress members “and the committees they represent.”

Gallagher was the “golden boy” who spent years on the dignitary protection detail, which gave him access to high-ranking congressional leadership. What kind of leverage did he have within the department and over individual Congress members who would have helped guide his ascent to assistant chief, despite his disciplinary record?

A 21st-century Praetorian Guard?

After dozens of interviews with current and former USCP personnel, a pattern of corruption and constant cover-ups begins to emerge.

The U.S. Capitol Police are the personal security guards of our nation’s elected legislators. Special agents assigned to the dignitary protection detail are in close contact with their charges. They know all the indiscretions — large and small — of the members they protect. They know who they’re sleeping with and when. They know their preferred but perhaps unstated sexual preferences. They know their drugs of choice.

In short, the U.S. Capitol Police know “where the bodies are buried” and who buried them. This gives them tremendous power — power even over the outcome of controversial or closely contested legislation.

Maybe even power over the ultimate direction of our nation.

The Praetorian Guard was a special unit of the Roman army assigned to protect the emperor of Rome. Over time, the guards developed the power to overthrow the emperors they were supposed to safeguard and even select their successors. Does history repeat?

When I first started investigating the events of January 6, 2021, I did not know where the trail would lead, but the whiff of corruption was strong. In December 2022, a colleague introduced me to former Capitol Police Lt. Tarik Johnson.

Johnson has been an invaluable source in helping cast light on not only the heroics of that day — including Johnson’s own actions — but also the seemingly deliberate string of failures from the USCP command center.

Most importantly, Johnson has never lied to me.

And yet even though I know Johnson to be a truth-teller, I struggled to believe one of his repeated assertions: “You don’t understand how powerful the Capitol Police are.” How could a law enforcement agency that displayed such top-down incompetence on the afternoon of January 6 be so powerful and evoke such fear that even retired officers are reluctant to speak on the record?

Because they fear retribution, even now.

“Steve … I’ve tried to tell you how powerful the Capitol Police are.” I believe Tarik Johnson now.

Blaze Media’s investigation into Capitol Police corruption will continue.

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/analysis/favoritism-cover-ups-reveal-culture-of-corruption-in-us-capitol-police-leadership