Fulton Co. lawmaker files lawsuit against DA Fani Willis’ office, county commissioner, ethics board

Story by Sam Sachs April 28, 20241/2(This is good, Willis and Friends sued for RICO)

State Rep. Mesha Mainor, representing part of Fulton County, is suing District Attorney Fani Willis, Commissioner Marvin Arrington, and multiple departments of the county government. Mainor announced the lawsuit itself on Friday, saying she’d be holding a news conference on Tuesday morning at the State Capitol.

According to the announcement,Mainor said she’ll also be addressing oversight of Georgia prosecutors and statistics regarding Fulton County Jail inmates waiting for prosecution beyond a 90-day threshold after being denied bond.

“Citizens and family members must know they have a right to file a motion for a bond and thejudge must grant the bond if they have been confined to jail more than 90 days and District Attorney Fani Willis has failed to prosecute,” Mainor said in a statement.

Mainor, a Fulton County Republican lawmaker, was a Democrat before recently switching parties. She filed the lawsuit on April 2, according to court records.The lawsuit names Willis and Arrington in both their individual and official capacities, as well as the overall Fulton County government, the Fulton County Ethics Board and the Fulton County D.A.’s Office.

In the civil filing, Mainor requested a jury trial andalleges the defendants deprived her of certain rights while acting under the color of state law. Part of the lawsuit ties back to a series of incidents while Rep. Mainor was running for office in 2019, according to the lawsuit. At that time, Mainor’s suit says she hired a man named Corwin Monson as a campaign volunteer.

Before working together on the campaign, Mainor’s lawsuit said the two were friends for several years with many friends in common.Mainor said she was forced to fire Monson from his volunteer position with her campaign “after witnessing his unruly, belligerent behavior.” Afterward, Mainor said Monson started to stalk her, showing up uninvited to campaign events, joining Mainor’s church and sitting outside of her home.

Monson also is said, according to Mainor’s lawsuit, to have called her from several phone numbers and left multiple voicemails, with “Monson later turn[ing] these voicemails into a song.” He also told Mainor he was in love with her and arrived at her home to propose in front of her children, who were minors, according to the lawsuit. In June 2019, Monson was cited for criminal trespass at Mainor’s home after refusing to leave her property. The following August, Mainor filed a temporary protective order against him, which a judge granted.

Monson was arrested in September 2019 and September 2020 for violating the temporary protective order, the lawsuit says. In September 2020, Monson was indicted for aggravated stalking by the Fulton County DA’s Office, as well as violating the protective order, the record says.

At the start of 2021, Monson was indicted by the Fulton DA again for a second aggravated assault charge, where Mainor was the victim. The lawsuit says Monson faced up to 20 years in prison due to the cases.

Mainor’s lawsuit says Monson is a “close friend and associate of Defendant Commissioner Arrington.” The commissioner was hired as Monson’s defense attorney for the September 2020 aggravated stalking case, according to Mainor’s lawsuit. Mainor’s lawsuit says an Assistant District Attorney “informed Plaintiff Mainor of the influence Defendant Commissioner Arrington wielded” in the D.A.’s office and thathe “used his influence to circumvent the office policies of the District Attorney’s office.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/fulton-co-lawmaker-files-lawsuit-against-da-fani-willis-office-county-commissioner-ethics-board/ar-AA1nLJva

>>20800074

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The lawsuit says these actions include “intimidating the ADAs by copying the District Attorney on emails, negotiating plea deals directly with the District Attorney instead of the ADAs, and demanding meetings with the District Attorney when ADAs refused to bend to his will,” and alleges that Fulton County residents hire the commissioner as their defense attorney due to this power he is accused of yielding in the DA’s office.

Mainor further alleges that Arrington negotiated with former D.A. Paul Howard to have Monson plead guilty to a misdemeanor, though charged with a felony, going outside of the DA’s office policies. The lawsuit also states that Arrington is heard “conspiring to cause the sitting judge on the criminal case” to be removed from office while on phone calls at the county jail with Monson.

Focusing on Willis, Mainor alleges in her lawsuit that Arrington later admitted to telling her about the Monson case before she was sworn in, saying he accused Mainor herself of being “crazy” while speaking to the new D.A. and influencing a bias against her during the case. Mainor alleges Arrington encouraged Monson’s wife to harass her as well, and a second protective order was sought against Mrs. Alesha Monson.

Arrington is said to have resigned as Mr. Monson’s attorney in December 2020 after the jail calls were made public. The lawsuit goes over the events in the case after Willis was sworn in, alleging that handling of the case was unusual and against policy, andaccusing Willis of “dropping the ball” regarding the plea deal for Mr. Monson. Mainor accuses both Arrington and Willis of operating under the color of law while causing “severe financial and emotional damages” to her, due to the alleged failure to properly prosecute Mr. Monson, and for violating her constitutional rights through deliberate indifference.

The lawsuit names the Fulton County Ethics Board as a defendant due to what Mainor alleges was a failure to follow proper procedure while reviewing more than 30 violations submitted in an ethics complaint against Arrington. The complaint was later closed.

When Mr. Monson was released from jail in November 2021, Mainor said he “immediately began stalking” her again. His probation included a condition to have no direct or indirect contact with Mainor, but began to show up to events hosted by Mainor’s friends and neighbors after being released, the lawsuit says.

The same month, Mainor “ran into Monson as she was exiting a gas station near her home,” a few hundred feet from her house, according to the court filing. When Mainor told the DA’s office of the incident, the lawsuit alleges no actions were taken.

A December 2021 incident at the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, where Mainor works, led to a new investigation into Monson for violating the temporary restraining order.Mainor’s lawsuit says the DA’s office again declined to prosecute Monson for the violation, noting that A.D.A. Yolanda Mack said “It doesn’t appear that his [Monson’s] intentions were to violate the order but simply give testimony on his ethics complaint against you. He didn’t have any contact with you directly or indirectly.”

As a result of the incidents detailed in the lawsuit,Mainor is seeking a jury trial and alleging that Arrington, Willis, and the Fulton County Ethics Board had violated the state’s Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act, inflicting intentional emotional distress and requesting the court order compensatory and consequential damages to Mainor.

Mainor is expected to hold her news conference on Tuesday, April 30 at 10 a.m. on the steps of the State Capitol.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/fulton-co-lawmaker-files-lawsuit-against-da-fani-willis-office-county-commissioner-ethics-board/ar-AA1nLJva

Fani Willis no-show for Fulton County DA debate

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opted not to take part in a debate against Attorney Christian Wise Smith sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.

Posted April 28, 2024 10:22pm EDT

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/video/1447979

>>20800092

Fani Willis Rival Warns Focus on Trump Leaves Many People 'Vulnerable'

Published Apr 28, 20241/2

Fani Willis 'Inconsistencies' Discovered by Department of JusticeBy Gabe Whisnant

Attorney Christian Wise Smith, a Democrat running against Fani Willis for Fulton County district attorney, said on Friday that his rival's focus on former President Donald Trump's election interference case leaves people "vulnerable" and "many priorities neglected" in Georgia's largest county.

Willis, also a Democrat, has become a prominent national figure due to leading the investigation that led to indictments against Trump and 18 of his allies for allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, has maintained his innocence in the case.

Meanwhile, Willis has recently been embroiled in a scandal pertaining to a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the Trump case.

Willis was given the green light to remain on Trump's election interference case last month by Judge Scott McAfee, who presided over hearings regarding claims by one of Trump's co-defendants that Willis and Wade's relationship caused a conflict of interest in the investigation. Attorneys for the defendant, Mike Roman, said in a filing in January that the district attorney had been "profiting personally from this prosecution" by using taxpayers' money to fund vacations taken by Willis and Wade. Willis, however, denied the allegations and said the relationship began after Wade was hired and that she should not be disqualified.

McAfee ruled that Willis could remain on the case as long as Wade stepped down. The judge also criticized the prosecutors' relationship while issuing his decision, calling it a "tremendous lapse in judgment." Wade ultimately resigned from the case.

In an interview with Atlanta's NBC affiliate, 11 Alive,Wise Smith contended that Willis' focus on the Trump case and her monthslong fight over her own disqualification from it has led other pressing issues in Fulton County to fall by the wayside.

"Right now, she's focused on Trump, and rightfully so, but that leaves so many people in Fulton County vulnerable," Wise Smith told reporter Jennifer Bellamy. "That leaves a lot of things being neglected by so much focus, energy, resources and manpower going toward one case."

Newsweek reached out to Willis' office via email on Saturday afternoon. This story will be updated with any provided statements.

In his interview, Wise Smith also pointed to a recent lawsuit brought against Willis by the Barred Business Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of the incarcerated. The organization is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union Georgia (ACLU-GA)…

https://www.newsweek.com/fan-willis-rival-christian-wise-smith-warns-focus-trump-case-leaves-fulton-vulnerable-1894876

>>20800147

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"The ACLU just brought a lawsuit against the DA's office for having people sit in jail for too long. People are dying in jail because of the horrible conditions there," he said.

In addition, Willis and other local officials are named in a lawsuit recently filed by Georgia state Representative Mesha Mainor, which alleges that Willis, Commissioner Marvin Arrington, the Fulton County Ethics Board and the county itself were derelict in its duties to properly litigate a criminal case in which Mainor was repeatedly stalked by a former friend and political associate.

Wise Smith believes he can properly lead the ongoing prosecution of Trump and his co-defendants, along with the rigors of running the district attorney's office.

"A lot of people have eyes on that case and want justice brought forward. My fear is because of the chaos around the office and the case, the case might be in jeopardy," he told Bellamy. "I'm worried it might be gone before I even take office. We want to see that case through and see justice served."

Wise Smith, who also ran against Willis in 2020, faces an uphill battle in the May 21 primary. In a recent poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely Democratic voters from April 20 to 23, found that 79 percent of respondents plan to back Willis in the primary, while 9 percent said they are voting for Wise Smith. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Michael Ceraso, a communications consultant for Wise Smith's campaign, previously told Newsweek that the campaign feels confident in the weeks leading up to the primary that people will see ==Wise Smith campaigning on issues important to Fulton County residents including mass incarceration,

school-to-prison pipeline and the legalization of marijuana==.

Republican Courtney Kramer will face the Democratic winner in the general election in November.

Meanwhile, Wise Smith expressed sympathy for his Democratic opponent in his

interview with Bellamy.

"I didn't jump in the race to throw any personal attacks at her. I don't believe in campaigning that way. It should be about what you bring to the job," he said. "I know her personal life has become very public, and I feel for her in that sense, but my vision for the office is completely different than hers."

https://www.newsweek.com/fan-willis-rival-christian-wise-smith-warns-focus-trump-case-leaves-fulton-vulnerable-1894876

(name Wise Smith, doesn't sound much different than Willis)

'Empty podium is doing better than her': Fani Willis mocked for 'declining' to attend primary debate with Democratic challenger

Story by Conrad Dias 4/28/24

WASHINGTON, DC: Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, did not attend the county's first Democratic Party debate on Sunday, April 28, making her opponent speak in front of an empty platform, according to The Hill. Notably,Christian Wise Smith, an author and attorney, was Willis' Democratic opponent in the debate, which was hosted by the Atlanta Press Club. Smith was the only person on stage.

Fani Willis skips primary debate with Democratic challenger

Willis "declined to participate in the debate and is represented by an empty podium", the debate moderator stated following a quick introduction regarding Smith. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Willis co-hosted Atlanta's annual 'Self Care Fair' in observance of Crime Victims' Rights Week. Willis is currently pursuing a comprehensive case alleging election interference against former President Trump and his allies.

Notably, Willis is "not doing interviews that include discussion of t

he substance of high-profile cases the office is prosecuting, particularly the election interference prosecution and the ongoing trial of alleged YSL defendants", her reelection campaign said earlier in April to Atlanta News First, referring to the rapper Young Thug and his associates' ongoing trial.

The moderator allowed Smith to pose a question to Willis and provide a counterargument to his evaluation of her answers during what was meant to be the candidates' Q&A session.

Smith said, "==My question for you is:

• Where are you?

• You know I'm here because I care about the citizens and the families of Fulton County.

• But it's my understanding that you may have attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

• You might be fundraising across the country, but what about us here in Fulton County?

• What are you doing to address the issues in the jail?

• What are you doing to address the backlog? Where are you, Ms Willis?"

When asked whether he had a counterargument,Smith stated that "her absence is all the response that we need", but he could not speak for Willis. Moreover, he also attacked the scandal that arose from Willis' amorous past with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor who left the Trump case in March 2024 due to a court decision.

In Willis' racketeering lawsuit against Donald Trump, Judge Scott McAfee determined in March that there appeared to be a conflict of interest between Wade and Willis. If Wade left, Willis was free to stay on the case. McAfee's decision to permit her to do so has been challenged by Trump and eight of his co-defendants.

Smith said when asked if he would carry on pursuing Willis' lawsuit against Trump and using the state's racketeering legislation, "That issue is important to us here in Fulton County and a lot of people across the country."

He added, "We all heard the call, we all saw what happened on Jan 6, 2021,but you have to do things differently. When you pay one attorney nearly a million dollars to handle one case, that leaves the rest of us vulnerable. That hurts everyone else in Fulton County."

Notably, Smith lost his race against Willis four years ago. On May 21, the two will compete in a primary. The only Republican to meet the requirements by the deadline was Courtney Kramer, who claimed to have worked as an intern for three months in 2018 in the White House Counsel's office under Trump, according to The Associated Press.

Internet trolls Fani Willis for skipping primary debate with Democratic challenger

• People online slammed Fani Willis as she missed the county's first Democratic Party debate, making her opponent speak in front of an empty platform.

• A user wrote on X, "Fani is going to jail" while one added, "LOL.. Fani is unbelievable!! Hope she loses!!!!"

• A person also wrote, "The empty podium is doing better than she will ever do."

• A person also stated, "As a Georgia Resident and Voter …I'm surprised that she's even allowed a law license at this point !" whereas one mentioned, "I think the empty podium was probably smarter."

• A user also stated, "How absolutely insulting. When is she up for reelection? Hopefully Fulton county will do better."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/empty-podium-is-doing-better-than-her-fani-willis-mocked-for-declining-to-attend-primary-debate-with-democratic-challenger/ar-AA1nUuXb

Trump's Ex-Aide Among Republicans Jostling for Georgia Congressional Seat, Debate Abortion and Immigration

By Marc Washington April 29, 2024

With an eye toward the open seat in Georgia's 3rd Congressional District, Republican hopefuls sparred over issues related to immigration and abortion policies during a recent debate.Brian Jack, Trump's former political director and an ex-aide to U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, flaunted his connections to the ex-president in hopes of commandeering the debate spotlight, as reported by WABE.

The contest sees other prominent Republicans in the fray, including formerstate senators Mike Crane and Mike Dugan, former state Rep. Philip Singleton, and Jim Bennett, a party activist, each vying for the spot vacated by U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, while the legacy of President Trump remains a looming influence, candidates did not pounce on Jack's rhetoric during the debate. Instead, Crane questioned the constituents' autonomy in choosing their representation by asking, "Do you want to take responsibility for that vote or do you want to let Washington, D.C., insiders do what they’ve done for the last several cycles, and that is choose the next representative for the 3rd District?" as told to WABE.

Jack, who has outstripped his competitors in fundraising efforts, (backed by McCarthy?) voiced his inclination toward state-level decisions on reproductive rights echoing a Trump-aligned philosophy. Dugan, noting his support for Georgia's restrictive abortion measures which bans the procedure after fetal cardiac activity is detected, tread carefully on in vitro fertilization without expressing a definitive stance, according to WABE. On the contrary, Crane, Bennett, and Singleton revealed no reservations on endorsing a more stringent legal threshold against abortion and in vitro fertilization, with Bennett sternly stating, "I'm against recreational abortion," indicating a philosophical stand firm from conception.

The debate also featured unanimous hand-raising from all candidates in the acknowledgment of Trump as the rightful claimant of Georgia's 2020 electoral votes, despite no substantive evidence to challenge Biden's victory.Bennett specifically criticized the use of Dominion voting machines, mirroring a widely held suspicion among party activists about the reliability of voting machines; the candidates collectively endorsed bolstering immigration restrictions, with steps as decisive as mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, Jack included, who also expressed opposition to a recent foreign aid package pending border security assurances—echoing a broader skepticism toward the Biden administration's border control strategies that was summarized by Dugan's lack of trust in Biden's commitment to secure the southern frontier, as articulated during the debate.

https://hoodline.com/2024/04/trump-s-ex-aide-among-republicans-jostling-for-georgia-congressional-seat-debate-abortion-and-immigration/

Youth Pastor in Metter, Georgia, Charged With Child Exploitation, GBI Reports

By Chris Allen Thompson April 29, 2024

A young Georgia youth pastor found himself cuffed and stuffed on charges of child exploitation last Friday, after state investigators accused him of sending salacious texts to kids in his flock.

Benjamin Dalton Houser, 24, was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) on counts of Sexual Child Exploitation, his pastoral duties at Cedar Street Baptist Church in Metter abruptly curtailed by the serious allegations.

The GBI, acting on a March request from the Candler County Sheriff’s Office,uncovered evidence Houser had sent messages with grooming hallmarks to two minors under his spiritual guidance, the agency reported earlier today.

Currently cooling his heels in the Candler County Jail, Houser's alleged transgressions have disrupted the quiet community, where trust in the sacred spaces where children are supposed to learn and grow has been grievously betrayed.

In what remains a developing story, the GBI continues to trove through evidence, casting a wide net for further information warnings, asking anyone with knowledge of the case to contact the Candler County Sheriff’s Office or their regional office in Statesboro, they've even suggested tips can be anonymously dropped via phone or online platforms—for those wary of stepping into the local limelight.

https://hoodline.com/2024/04/youth-pastor-in-metter-georgia-charged-with-child-exploitation-gbi-reports/

Media can’t admit Biden’s disasters and campus hate, so they blame it on ‘conservatives pounce’

By Post Editorial Board April 30, 2024, 9:30 a.m. ET

Missteps under the Biden administration have been labeled as Republicans "seizing" issues.

Proving once again that the press never learns its lesson, the Washington Post graced us this week with a humdinger: “Trump,GOP seizeon campus protests to depict chaos under Biden.” This followed a New York Times headline from December, “As Fury Erupts Over Campus Antisemitism, ConservativesSeizethe Moment.”

In short: Nothing is ever a problem because it’s a problem.It’s only an issue because conservatives “seize” on it, or better yet, “pounce.”

But Americans, particularly Jewish Americans, are coming to their own conclusions about how terrifying these protests are. They witness students taking over public areas, pounding on windows and accosting people, demanding that Israel surrender unconditionally to Hamas terrorists.

They read about activists cheering for Iran over the United States, disappointed that the ayatollah’s missiles didn’t kill more people. It’s ignorance and bile spewed on social media.

What really went down on Columbia campus as anti-Israel protest deadlines loomed — and passed — is shameful. No one is “depicting” anything; this is reality.

Oh, but “Republicans highlight images of turmoil, though most of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been peaceful,” the Post continues without shame — using the same language, the same lie, that it did during the George Floyd riots.

No, it is not “peaceful” to chant “From the river to the sea” and call for the eradication of Israel. It is not moral to rip down the posters of kidnapped Israeli civilians. It is hate, pure and simple.

So much seizing and pouncing during the Biden years.

In 2021, the Associated Press reported, “Conservativesseizeon gas crunch to blame Biden, stir base.”

“Conservatives pounced” when soft-on-crime DA Larry Krasner said Philadelphia didn’t have a crime crisis.

Republicans not only “pounced” on high inflation, but CNN saidthey “exploited” the “painful cost-of-living increases.”

A little fatigued from all the pouncing, Republicans “zeroed in” on Biden’s handling of the border.

Something you may have noticed: All these issues are real. Inflation has exploded under Biden.

Allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports is unfair.

Letting criminals free with no bail and decriminalizing things like shoplifting does lead to an increase in crime.

Illegal migrants are flooding into the country.

Is it “pouncing” to point out the truth?

Americans are sick of being lied to by a smug journalist elite who claim the problems we face are simply partisan talking points. It has backfired on the press before, and it will backfire on them again.

Americans don’t need anyone to seize on the things they can see for themselves.

https://nypost.com/2024/04/30/opinion/media-cant-admit-bidens-disasters-and-campus-hate-so-they-blame-it-on-conservatives-pounce/

(They are right Bongino points out that “pounce” is their favorite word, especially when it’s Bidan’s fault)

Ex-members of Congress gripe about $174K salary, cost of living in DC: ‘It’s very difficult’

(No matter how much you hate them, it’s never enough!)

Josh Christenson April 30, 2024, 2:22 p.m. ET1/2

Former and outgoing members of Congress from both parties agree that one of the biggest problems with the job is that they don’t make enough money, despite a six-figure salary — even as they acknowledge the Americans they represent don’t want to hear about it.

“If I go back to my district, where the average salary in some places is $32,000, and I say, ‘I don’t make enough,’ when I make $174,000, they would go ballistic,” former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) told the New York Times in a video interview published Tuesday. “I’d be out of office in a heartbeat.”

“And yet,” Buck added, “I’m trying to maintain two places to live, have clothes in two places, have a car in two places, it’s very difficult.”

Retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) said the inability to write off or be reimbursed for expenses incurred while traveling to and from Washington, DC, was a financial burden.

California Democratic Reps. Tony Cardenas and Anna Eshoo, who will leave Congress in January 2025, concurred that the inability to write off or be reimbursed for expenses incurred while traveling to and from Washington, DC, is a financial burden.

“I had a roommate every time I’ve rented an apartment,” Cardenas said. “Upwards of 100 Congress members actually sleep in their office because it’s expensive.” “Do you want it to still be the House of the people,” Eshoo asked, “or do you want it to be only wealthy people?”

Other retiring reps, Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) and Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), said in their interviewsthat the congressional pay rate should at least keep up with the rising cost of living and be adjusted based on inflation. “Congress works better when you have a broad swath of the American people being able to run and get elected,” Bucshon affirmed. “I really believe that.”

The website Unusual Whales reported that more than two dozen members of Congress beat the stock market in 2022 with their own portfolios — despite Wall Street having its worst-performing year since the 2008 financial crisis.

Ex-members of Congress griped to the New York Times about the cost of living in the nation’s capital on their $174,000 annual salaries. The following year, the stock-trading site found lawmakers were trading 75% less, with some leaving Washington and otherscurbing their investments as both chambers weigh bills to increase transparency.

Several prominent lawmakers, including the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and former Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), faced calls to resign in 2020 after dumping considerable shares before global markets plummeted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked by the Times whether Congress was corrupt, the Republicans and Democrats gave conflicting answers.

“Congress is absolutely not corrupt,” said Bucshon, whose latest financial disclosure report showshe holds millions of dollars in assetsdue to stock trades and investment fund holdings.

https://nypost.com/2024/04/30/us-news/ex-members-of-congress-gripe-about-174k-salary-cost-of-living-in-dc-its-very-difficult/

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Retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), whose financial filings also show investments in the millions of dollars, countered that there were “parts of our system that are corrupting to the general atmosphere,” citing the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which permits unlimited spending by corporations on elections.

“The number of times over the course of the 11-plus years that I’ve heard one of my colleagues say, ‘You knowI agree with you on that, but I could never vote that way because of my fear of a primary,’ is concerning,” said Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.).

“I think there’s too much money in our political system,” added Kilmer, who co-chairs the Fix Congress Committee. “I’ve been a big supporter of campaign finance reform.”

Buck and others said the threat to good governance was not just special-interest lobbying but fundraising thresholds necessary to secure high-ranking committee positions.“Buying a committee seat is not something that most Americans know that members of Congress have to do,” Buck pointed out.

Retiring Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) noted that one way that lawmakers avoided expensive trips to and from their districts in the past was to move their families to Washington. “Folks didn’t jump on an airplane on, like, a Thursday afternoon and head for home,” Carper said, which he and Buck agreed led to a less divisive atmosphere among members of different parties.

“Their families got to know each other, and they got to know each other on a social basis,” Buck added. “So there was less divisiveness, there was less hate.”

“When I became a member of Congress, I was conscious of the fact that I was joining an organization that according to recent polling isless popular than head lice, colonoscopies and the rock band Nickelback,” Kilmer joked.

But that began to change this past year, he said, when his committeesuggested that freshman lawmakers do orientation activities together, regardless of their party affiliation. “We passed 202 recommendations,” he said. “And I actually think over time, you’re going to see some positive change within the institution as a consequence of that work.”

https://nypost.com/2024/04/30/us-news/ex-members-of-congress-gripe-about-174k-salary-cost-of-living-in-dc-its-very-difficult/

Remember it's never enough

>>20800560

notableany court that denies Elias and the scams he runs, is notable.