Obstructing Congressional proceedings is found in US Codes




Obstruction of justice is the frustration of governmental purposes by violence, corruption, destruction of evidence, or deceit. It is a federal crime. In fact, it is several crimes. Obstruction prosecutions regularly involve charges under several statutory provisions. Federal obstruction of justice laws are legion; too many for even passing reference to all of them in a single report.The general obstruction of justice provisions are six: 18 U.S.C. 1512 (tampering with federal witnesses), 1513 (retaliating against federal witnesses), 1503 (obstruction of pending federal court proceedings), 1505 (obstruction of pending congressional or federal administrative proceedings), 371 (conspiracy), and contempt. Other than Section 1503, each prohibits obstruction of certain congressional activities. In addition to these, there are a host of other statutes that penalize obstruction by violence, corruption, destruction of evidence, or deceit.Moreover, regardless of the offense for which an individual is convicted, his sentence may be enhanced as a consequence of any obstruction of justice for which he is responsible, if committed during the course of the investigation, prosecution, or sentencing for the offense of his conviction. The enhancement may result in an increase in his term of imprisonment by as much as four years.

For this charge Trump was impeached . For this charge many of the Jan 6 protesters rioters were imprisoned .

Court sides with Justice Dept. on Jan. 6 obstruction charge | AP News (https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-jan-6-obstruction-charges-challenge-2c6205622672c65a4ce81b2ba4c8303c)

Yesterday Squad member Jaamal Bowman;(who represents the NY district I formerly resided in before escaping NY) ;right before a vote was to be taken on a continuing resolution to fund the government ,to avoid a government shutdown ;as the deadline fast approached, pulled a fire alarm in the halls of Congress .



First he told reporters that he thought pulling the alarm would open doors to the House chamber .

But the surveillance camera clearly shows that the doors have push out handles to open them.

Bowman pulls fire alarm in House office building but says it was an accident | CNN Politics (https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/30/politics/jamaal-bowman-pulls-fire-alarm/index.html)


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His spokesperson said he "did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote."

Ummmm before he was elected to Congress he was a teacher and a 10 year principle of a charter school he founded .

For One Bronx School, Black History is Never Limited to One Month (spectrumlocalnews.com) (https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2017/01/28/black-history-month-always-on-at-cornerstone-academy-for-social-action-casa-bronx)

Maybe the school didn't have fire alarms and procedures for evacuating the school during a fire ?

He either intentionally tried to disrupt the vote or he is just too stupid to serve in Congress.

He voted yay so it makes no sense that he would attempt to disrupt the vote. The only Dem to vote against it was Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois . He railed against the decision to not include aid to Ukraine.

So it must be that Bowman is just too stupid.

What is disappointing is that the liberals on this site will remain quiet over this outrage.

Another dumber than dirt Rep on the Repub side is
Matt Gaetz who almost put us on the path of a needless and useless shutdown that the Repubs would've been blamed for .

The Jacobins of the French Revolution turned on fellow revolutionaries who were not as ideologically pure as they thought they were . In the US ,Matt Gaetz is becoming as pure as Max Robespierre.

In this case the Repubs have the majority in the House of Reps and Speaker McCarthy had hashed out a CR that was mostly Repub programs including spending reductions, money for border security,defunding Ukraine, and appointing a commission on the growing federal debt. Had he had the Repub conference support It would've passed in the House. It would not have survived the Senate vote BUT it would've put him in a better position to negotiate the final CR . Gaetz and fellow Freedom Caucus Repubs sabotaged the process forcing McCarthy to deal with House Dems to forge a majority based on Dem initiatives .

Then the kicker is today Gaetz is trying to oust McCarthy for dealing with the Dems.
What exactly is their plan after McCarthy is ousted is unclear. It would be one thing if there had been that red wave last year. But that was not to happen. McCarthy has to work with the hand he was dealt . Without full support of his caucus we will see repeats of this every few months (or in this case every 45 days )

Ironically Gaetz will also have to count on Dem votes to oust McCarthy from Speaker . The Dems have 2 ways to play this. They could extract a price from McCarthy to keep his speakership . Or they may cast enough votes to Gaetz to create Repub chaos . It is a win -win for them

Now that being said ;shame on McCarthy and Yertle for not passing appropriations bills on time . Get a budget passed in the House and after that there is no way the Repubs can be blamed for a shutdown .

House Dems signaled they are willing to save McCarthy's speakership ..... for a price.
Mass Dem Jim McGovern said “If people want to talk to me about it, I’m all ears. But I’m not a cheap date,” “I’m not inclined to do anything to save Kevin McCarthy for nothing. I'm an expensive date.”
Will Speaker Kevin McCarthy Survive Threat of Ouster? Allies Think So - The Messenger (https://themessenger.com/politics/will-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-survive-threat-of-ouster-allies-think-so)

What do the Dems want ? The list is growing .
One concession might be greater Dem representation in committees .

One could be reforms for the greater use of discharge petitions (an old practice of forcing votes out of committee by a majority of the House signing a petition) .

NC Dem Wiley Nickle wants votes on immigration reform

What minority leader Hakeem Jeffries wants is anyone's guess. The Dems smell blood.

The repubs are demonstrating yet once again that they have no idea of how to be an effective majority.

They ousted McCarthy Check the votes . Gaetz and the Dems ousted him Gaetz is Jefferies' favorite Repub I think they should give the speakership to Gaetz and see what he gets done ! He is the Repub version of Bowman . He the do that catches a car and not knowing what to do next.

He's from a safe district . How will the Repubs in contested districts fare when the Repubs shut it down ? Get a REAL majority first .

I think they've rather foolishly done this without much of an idea of, "Now what?" We'll see if they can this from becoming a PR nightmare.

Steve Scalise or Jim Jordan is my choice as next speaker. They should've taken the vote today instead of waiting a week to replace McCarthy . The sooner this is behind them the better . What is a reality that Matt Gaitz fails to realize or conveniently overlooks is that the speaker has NO CHOICE but to deal with the Dems. Ideological purity is a luxury of large majorities ;or party leaders who can get their Reps to vote as a solid block.

the candidate what next - Google Search (https://www.google.com/search?q=the+candidate++what+next+&sca_esv=570620249&source=hp&ei=yT0dZaWYAvnNkPIPz6m5uAw&iflsig=AO6bgOgAAAAAZR1L2ROsvRNY9R7WRg2w4PtSefh1D2L w&ved=0ahUKEwjloJOAl9yBAxX5JkQIHc9UDscQ4dUDCAw&uact=5&oq=the+candidate++what+next+&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6Ihl0aGUgY2FuZGlkYXRlICB3aGF0IG5l eHQgMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMggQIRgWGB4YHUiJUF AAWKtLcAF4AJABAJgB2QOgAbMnqgEKMC4xOC41LjAuM7gBA8gB APgBAcICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIREC4YgAQYsQMYgwEYxwEY0Q PCAg4QLhiABBixAxjHARjRA8ICCxAuGIoFGLEDGIMBwgILEC4Y gAQYsQMYgwHCAgsQLhiABBjHARjRA8ICCxAuGIMBGLEDGIoFwg IFEAAYgATCAgUQLhiABMICCBAuGIAEGLEDwgILEC4YgwEYsQMY gATCAgsQLhiABBjHARivAcICDhAuGIAEGLEDGIMBGNQCwgIIEA AYgAQYyQPCAg4QLhivARjHARixAxiABMICCxAuGK8BGMcBGIAE wgIUEC4YgAQYxwEYrwEYmAUYngUYmQXCAggQABiABBixA8ICCB AuGLEDGIAEwgIIEAAYigUYhgPCAgYQABgWGB7CAggQABgWGB4Y D8ICBxAhGKABGAo&sclient=gws-wiz#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:29e18b6c,vid:myEpap3TxVs,st:0)

Patrick McHenry acting speaker told Madam Mimi to vacate her prestigious office . This should've been done on day one ;as the Dems would've done to a Rep ousted speaker .


McCarthy was 100% correct in blasting Gaetz . This was not done with the interests of the country or the GOP in mind It was personal ambition. Gaetz can deny it all he wants to ;but he has his eye on the FLA Guv job in 2026 . DeSantis will be term limited so the contest will be an open race.

His old man; former State Senate Pres Don Gaetz is making a play for a State Senate seat. He is also combative in his political style.

Mcarthy's big mistake was his concession to Gaetz that a single Repub could call for an ouster vote . This turned out to be a Chekhov's gun. (if a weapon is introduced in act one ,it will be used before the end of the story)

Jordan would be good if he can be talked into it. Gaetz is a major disappointment.

He's actually my top choice . But I think Scalise will get it.

I just don't see much in the way of effective leadership up there, and not much prospect of new leadership either.

I thought McCarthy was effective . He got a lot done with a razor thin majority . He twice avoided a government shutdown ; and a default that would've been blamed on the GOP . This time he sent a conservative continuing resolution to the Senate . He took the right tone about Ukraine refusing as he put it to give them a blank check.He met in solidarity with Taiwan's President Tsai . He started the impeachment of Quid process He censured Adam Schiffhead . He had tough one on one negotiations and extracted concessions from Clueless on the debt ceiling deal .

There were other issues where he stood firm against waves of attacks from both the left and right . I hope the next speaker can do as well with a fraction of his coalition that is willing to work with the radical Dems for political gain,

Scalese got the GOP nomination . Not much difference between him and McCarthy . Let's see if the 8 collude with Jefferies to kill the pick ... Risky business . Defunding Ukraine is one thing .Which of them has the stones to delay weapons to Israel ?

That little group of 8 are idiots.

There will be no vote today He doesn't have 217 votes yet

This is ridiculous

Hear what Scalise said after announcing he won’t run for House speaker | Watch (msn.com) (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hear-what-scalise-said-after-announcing-he-won-t-run-for-house-speaker/vi-AA1i8hrM?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=173075627d5d4458aa065f796a131e7c&ei=9)

Scalise on top of being opposed by the gang of idiots has health issues to deal with . He was shot and almost killed by a Bernie Sanders supporter in 2017 . Now he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a blood cancer.

Jordan is next up but it appears there is enough opposition to him from the GOP moderates that he will not get the Speakership.

I see no alternative coming forward. The worse case scenario is that the moderate wing will negotiate with the Dems to have a power sharing agreement . The Repubs have the majority and should not surrender that advantage. The Dems wouldn't

Jordan got the nomination from the GOP ; but is well short of the 217 votes needed .Rep. Austin Scott (GA) was a last minute entry and received 81 votes He is a McCarthy ally . He dropped out of the race after the vote to support Jordan. I'm sure the gang of idiots will try to extract concessions.

Why would they think the Dems will make up the difference if there is defections ?

The ace in the Dems deck is prosecutor Jack Smith . If he can establish a link to what Jordan said about the 2020 election to his crazy position that the Jan 6 riot was part of a larger conspiracy ;he may indict Jordan.

It is well past time for the Repubs to pick a speaker before they have completely discredited their claim to leadership . The gang of 8 idiots have unleashed a whirlwind . They can't accept an establishment conservative like Scalese (who spilled blood because he was a Repub Rep) because Matt Gaetz has a personal beef with him . They can't pick a staunch Freedom caucus conservative like Jim Jordon because the swamp critter Repubs want revenge.

I like the proposal to sequester the whole group of fools into a locked room like a Vatican conclave ;and not let them out until you see the white smoke signaling a candidate they all can vote for .

Perhaps they could use someone who is in the House ;who is not necessarily a leader BUT has had experience as an executive ;having previously been a mayor.Someone who know how the executive branch operates having also been a top level official in the Dept of HUD.
This Rep has consistently voted along Repub line . And as an added bonus this Rep is a woman,

I put the name of Repub Rep from Texas Beth Van Duyne into the hat .

The gang of 8 idiotsAn apt description.

The crazy 8s won. Gaetz is doing a Snoopy dance. today. what they get in Mike Johnson is a burn the house down 6 year incumbent to lead Congress.

Gaetz yesterday said
“If you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention.”

The question is for the "MAGA" wing is this ; Does having a MAGA Speaker translate to" MAGA " legislation when your majority is razor thin and you know that the majority of your caucus is NOT "MAGA" and has already shown that they are more than willing to vote with the Swamp ?

What is Johnson's negotiating ability ? He has little experience in leadership . And everyone knows that Gaetz pulls the strings. If he compromises does Gaetz pull a stunt like he did with McCarthy ?

The eights were basically holding all the cards. I guess having a Speaker chosen is better than having this go on for days and weeks longer.