MORE #BOEBERT
AP Exclusive:
MLB suspends political donations after DC riot
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is suspending all political contributions in the wake of last week's invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a mob loyal to President Donald Trump, joining a wave of major corporations rethinking their efforts to lobby Washington.
“In light of the unprecedented events last week at the U.S. Capitol, MLB is suspending contributions from its Political Action Committee pending a review of our political contribution policy going forward,” the league said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The National Football League said it will reconsider its donations but did not commit to suspending them.
“We are re-evaluating our political giving policies through the Gridiron PAC,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the AP in a statement Wednesday.
Following the insurrection last week by Trump supporters while Congress attempted to certify the results of the presidential election, many companies have said they will avoid making donations to members of the House and Senate who voted to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. Others, like MLB, have postponed political giving to both political parties altogether.
MLB was the first of the major professional sports leagues to say it would halt lobbying through its PAC in the wake of the deadly Capitol riots.
The Office of The Commissioner of Major League Baseball Political Action Committee has donated $669,375 to Senate and House candidates since the 2016 election cycle, with 52.4% of that money going to Republican candidates, according to The Center for Responsive Politics.
Among its lobbying successes was a bill in 2018 that exempted minor league baseball players making as little as $5,500 per season from federal minimum wage laws, preempting a lawsuit from three players filed four years earlier. The “Save America’s Pastime Act” appeared on page 1,967 of a $1.3 trillion spending bill.
Since the 2016 election cycle, MLB has made contributions to two senators and nine representatives who were among those opposing certification of Biden's victory.
The Senate Republicans are Ted Cruz (Texas) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi), and the House Republicans are Roger Williams (Texas), Kevin McCarthy (California), David Schweikert (Arizona), Steve Chabot (Ohio), Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma), Adrian Smith (Nebraska), Michael Burgess (Texas), Rick Crawford (Arkansas) and Elise Stefanik (New York).
Giants, Diamondbacks owners donated to pro-QAnon Rep. Lauren Boebert
Cassandra Negley·Writer SFGATE
Thu, January 14, 2021, 9:08 AM·4 min read
The team owners for the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks donated max contributions to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a QAnon supporter who tweeted the location of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi during the U.S. Capitol attack and has clashed with police, according to FEC filings reviewed by the SFGATE.
Giants principal owner Charles B. Johnson and his wife, Ann, each donated the maximum allowable amount of $2,800 for a congressional candidate. Diamondbacks owner Earl “Ken” Kendrick and his wife, Randy, also donated $2,800 each.
The donations are from September, two months before election day. The report of their previous donations comes after MLB suspended all political contributions in the wake of the U.S. Capitol riot.
Colorado Rep. Boebert’s ties to QAnon
Boebert was a surprise victor in the June 30 Republican primary and garnered immediate support from President Donald Trump even though he initially backed her opponent. She was sworn in on Jan. 3.
She said in May she hopes QAnon “is real because it only means America is getting stronger and better and people are returning to conservative values,” via Axios. She has since tried to distance herself from it.
The FBI first denoted these baseless fringe conspiracy theories as a new domestic terrorist threat in August 2019
Giants owner largest Republican sports donors
The contributions by the Johnsons are dated Sept. 23, per SFGate. Johnson, 88, has deep ties with the Republican party. He has contributed $10,995,500 to Republican campaigns or super PACs that support Republicans since 2016, per an October investigation by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight. His net worth is nearly $4.9 billion, according to Forbes, and he’s the second-richest owner in MLB.
It’s nearly five times as much as the second-highest contribution total of Orlando Magic team owner Dan DeVos — the brother-in-law of outgoing secretary of education Betsy DeVos — who gave $2.28 million. Johnson also gave $35,000 to bipartisan groups and $5,200 to Democrats.
Giants owner involved in Hyde-Smith controversy
D-backs owner, wife backed Trump opponents in 2016
The Kendricks gave their donations on Sept. 12. Ken Kendrick has given $1,379,700 to Republicans since 2016, per ESPN and FiveThirtyEight. No contributions to bipartisan or Democratic groups are listed.
Before the 2016 presidential election, wife Randy Kendricks helped fund a super PAC to portray Trump as “too reckless to be president,” via the Arizona Republic. She said then she couldn’t stay silent after Trump refused to disavow former KKK leader David Duke.
Via the Arizona Republic in March of 2016:
“We should be able to denounce white supremacists and we should be able to do it quickly,” said Kendrick. She went on to describe a conversation she had with her husband.
“Ken said, ‘Randy, our obligation is to our own ethics, our integrity, our values. They aren’t to a particular party. We didn’t take a loyalty oath to the party.’”
She added that Trump’s followers may not realize the “tinderbox you could set off if you exacerbate” racial and ethnic tensions.
Rep. Boebert has been asked to resign after Capitol riot
Boebert is under calls to resign. Dozens of Colorado’s elected officials in her 3rd Congressional District wrote to U.S. House leaders to condemn her acts “based on her association with the right-wing groups that supported the insurrection of the Capitol building,” per 9News in Colorado.
They asked for an investigation, adding "there is deep concern about her actions leading up to and during the protests that turned into a violent and deadly mob."
Boebert tweeted throughout the attack on the Capitol carried out by Trump supporters. She wrote “Today is 1776” at 8:30 a.m. and while the mob was in the Capitol wrote that lawmakers were “locked in the House Chambers” and “the Speaker has been removed from the chambers.”
Other congresspeople have said and written on Twitter that they were told not to disclose their location in order to keep everyone safe. Republicans have also reportedly raised concerns about Boebert risking their safety with her tweets, via The Hill.
When Congress came back that night to certify the election of President-elect Joe Biden, Boebert voted against ratifying the results.
Cassandra Negley·Writer SFGATE
Thu, January 14, 2021, 9:08 AM·4 min read
The team owners for the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks donated max contributions to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a QAnon supporter who tweeted the location of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi during the U.S. Capitol attack and has clashed with police, according to FEC filings reviewed by the SFGATE.
Giants principal owner Charles B. Johnson and his wife, Ann, each donated the maximum allowable amount of $2,800 for a congressional candidate. Diamondbacks owner Earl “Ken” Kendrick and his wife, Randy, also donated $2,800 each.
The donations are from September, two months before election day. The report of their previous donations comes after MLB suspended all political contributions in the wake of the U.S. Capitol riot.
Colorado Rep. Boebert’s ties to QAnon
Boebert was a surprise victor in the June 30 Republican primary and garnered immediate support from President Donald Trump even though he initially backed her opponent. She was sworn in on Jan. 3.
She said in May she hopes QAnon “is real because it only means America is getting stronger and better and people are returning to conservative values,” via Axios. She has since tried to distance herself from it.
The FBI first denoted these baseless fringe conspiracy theories as a new domestic terrorist threat in August 2019
Giants owner largest Republican sports donors
The contributions by the Johnsons are dated Sept. 23, per SFGate. Johnson, 88, has deep ties with the Republican party. He has contributed $10,995,500 to Republican campaigns or super PACs that support Republicans since 2016, per an October investigation by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight. His net worth is nearly $4.9 billion, according to Forbes, and he’s the second-richest owner in MLB.
It’s nearly five times as much as the second-highest contribution total of Orlando Magic team owner Dan DeVos — the brother-in-law of outgoing secretary of education Betsy DeVos — who gave $2.28 million. Johnson also gave $35,000 to bipartisan groups and $5,200 to Democrats.
Giants owner involved in Hyde-Smith controversy
Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick donated the maximum amount to the campaign of controversial congresswoman Lauren Boebert. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
Johnson’s donations have drawn attention before. He and his wife donated max amounts to Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s campaign in 2018, but asked for it back after she said of a supporter: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I would be on the front row.”
Johnson said in a public statement the remark was “stupid” and that he’d gotten his donation returned.
“On the whole, I don’t like the idea of politics affecting anything I do with the Giants,” he said, via the San Francisco Chronicle.
MLB also asked her campaign to return its donation.
Johnson’s donations have drawn attention before. He and his wife donated max amounts to Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s campaign in 2018, but asked for it back after she said of a supporter: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I would be on the front row.”
Johnson said in a public statement the remark was “stupid” and that he’d gotten his donation returned.
“On the whole, I don’t like the idea of politics affecting anything I do with the Giants,” he said, via the San Francisco Chronicle.
MLB also asked her campaign to return its donation.
D-backs owner, wife backed Trump opponents in 2016
The Kendricks gave their donations on Sept. 12. Ken Kendrick has given $1,379,700 to Republicans since 2016, per ESPN and FiveThirtyEight. No contributions to bipartisan or Democratic groups are listed.
Before the 2016 presidential election, wife Randy Kendricks helped fund a super PAC to portray Trump as “too reckless to be president,” via the Arizona Republic. She said then she couldn’t stay silent after Trump refused to disavow former KKK leader David Duke.
Via the Arizona Republic in March of 2016:
“We should be able to denounce white supremacists and we should be able to do it quickly,” said Kendrick. She went on to describe a conversation she had with her husband.
“Ken said, ‘Randy, our obligation is to our own ethics, our integrity, our values. They aren’t to a particular party. We didn’t take a loyalty oath to the party.’”
She added that Trump’s followers may not realize the “tinderbox you could set off if you exacerbate” racial and ethnic tensions.
Rep. Boebert has been asked to resign after Capitol riot
Boebert is under calls to resign. Dozens of Colorado’s elected officials in her 3rd Congressional District wrote to U.S. House leaders to condemn her acts “based on her association with the right-wing groups that supported the insurrection of the Capitol building,” per 9News in Colorado.
They asked for an investigation, adding "there is deep concern about her actions leading up to and during the protests that turned into a violent and deadly mob."
Boebert tweeted throughout the attack on the Capitol carried out by Trump supporters. She wrote “Today is 1776” at 8:30 a.m. and while the mob was in the Capitol wrote that lawmakers were “locked in the House Chambers” and “the Speaker has been removed from the chambers.”
Other congresspeople have said and written on Twitter that they were told not to disclose their location in order to keep everyone safe. Republicans have also reportedly raised concerns about Boebert risking their safety with her tweets, via The Hill.
When Congress came back that night to certify the election of President-elect Joe Biden, Boebert voted against ratifying the results.
FROM TWITTER
JAX@SpiritualHear10
·Jan 10
Replying to
@laurenboebert
JAX@SpiritualHear10
·Jan 10
Replying to
@laurenboebert
This was an inside job and
@laurenboebert was the inside person.
@FBI @FBIWFO @CNN @MSNBC @maddow @kaitlancollins @Acosta
Pat Pate@soulslanguage
·Jan 10
@FBI @CNN @MSNBC @FBIWFO @TeamPelosi
@SpiritualHear10 Lauren Boebert may have caused serious injury and destruction by tweeting during the insurrection to the Capitol. She could easily have aided and abetted this action. Please have her investigated and/or removed.
Opinion | "Boebert is using her office to damage the U.S." (Via Denver Post Opinion)
Colorado officials pen letter requesting probe into Boebert's actions
Some Colorado officials have sent a letter to congressional leadership requesting a probe into Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) actions leading up to and on the day of the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to multiple reports.
In the letter published by KUSA and first obtained by The Steamboat Pilot and Today, the officials across Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which Boebert represents, raised “deep concern about her actions leading up to and during the protests that turned into a violent deadly mob.”
Boebert has faced backlash and calls to resign over tweeting out the location of lawmakers as the Capitol was being breached. Some GOP lawmakers voiced concerns over Boebert’s tweets in a heated call on Monday.
“Representative Boebert’s actions, including her statements on the floor immediately preceding the insurrection and her social media posts leading up to the riots were irresponsible and reprehensible,” the officials wrote.
The letter says the congresswoman’s speech and tweets encouraged the “mob mentality” of her followers, as well as those who directly participated in the mob.
The officials asked for an investigation and to follow through with any appropriate disciplinary action. The lawmakers also said they reached out to Boebert directly and have not received a response.
“Our bigger concern is that hate groups are proliferating in America and they are heavily armed. We request that you create a Congressional panel to thoroughly investigate these groups. They pose a real threat to American democracy, to our communities and to our residents,” the lawmakers wrote..
The letter was addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Boebert’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment on the letter.
The Steamboat Pilot and Today noted that Boebert was giving a speech objecting to Arizona’s electoral vote just before Congress went into recess due to the riot. After the riot, Boebert still voted to uphold objections to Arizona and Pennsylvania’s Electoral College vote.
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