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Pelosi: Any lawmakers who ‘aided and abetted’ Capitol rioters should be prosecuted

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday said lawmakers might face criminal prosecution if they helped the violent rioters in their deadly January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, Fox News reported.

Pelosi’s remarks come as numerous House Democrats have accused some Republican lawmakers of possibly assisting Capitol rioters, in particular by possibly arranging them tours of the Capitol on January 5. She said the role GOP members might have played in the riot “will be looked into” to figure out if they upheld their oath of office or possibly broke the law.

“If, in fact, it is found that members of Congress were accomplices to this insurrection—if they aided and abetted the crime, there may have to be actions taken beyond the Congress in terms of prosecution for that,” Pelosi said at a Friday press conference at the Capitol.

On Wednesday, the House voted to impeach President Donald Trump for “incitement of insurrection” exactly a week after a mob violently stormed the Capitol attempting to prevent the certification the states’ Electoral College votes and President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory, resulting in five deaths. On top of that, in court documents filed Thursday, federal prosecutors said that there was “strong evidence” that the rioters sought to “capture and assassinate” elected officials that day.

The 232-197 vote saw 10 Republicans cross the aisle to impeach the president, making it the most bipartisan impeachment vote in U.S. history.

RELATED: Rep. Liz Cheney criticized by Wyoming GOP for voting ‘yes’ on impeachment

At the Friday presser, Pelosi declined to comment on when she plans to send the article of impeachment to the U.S. Senate, which will commence a trial. Her nine impeachment managers, however, are currently preparing their case arguing for Trump’s conviction, she mentioned.

“Right now, our managers are solemnly and prayerfully preparing for the trial, which they will take to the Senate,” Pelosi said.

This past week, more and more Democrats have expressed interest in punishing Republicans who either spearheaded the effort on January 6 to try to decertify Biden’s victory or those who might have assisted the organizers of the riot.

Freshman Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) has put forward a resolution to expel lawmakers who tried to overturn the states’ electoral votes and are accused of inciting the violence that engulfed the Capitol. “I firmly believe that these members are in breach of their sworn oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Bush said. “They must be held accountable.”

Further, 34 House Democrats signed a letter suggesting a number of Republicans might have helped rioters by arranging them tours of the Capitol on January 5, but the signers have yet to provide undeniable evidence backing this accusation.

On Wednesday, House Democrats requested an immediate investigation into “suspicious behavior” and access that they allege was provided to visitors at the Capitol the day before the riot. In the aforementioned letter, lawmakers also called for the Capitol Police and the acting House and Senate sergeants-at-arms to investigate the claims.

Friday afternoon, Jake Gibson, a producer covering the U.S. Department of Justice for Fox News in Washington, D.C., said a source told him that both authorities are “looking at” the reports.

“Source: Capitol Police and House Sergeant at Arms ‘looking at’ reports of congressional members giving Capitol tours in days before the Capitol attack,” Gibson tweeted.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

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BREAKING: Disney drops suit challenging special district status in settlement with Florida, DeSantis

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A settlement was reached Wednesday in the two-year lawsuit over who controls the special governing district that encompasses the Walt Disney World Resort, which includes Disney dropping its lawsuitsagainst a newly created tourism board.

“We are glad that Disney has dropped its lawsuits against the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and conceded that their last-minute development agreements are null, void, and unenforceable,” Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ communications director, said in a statement. “No corporation should be its own government. Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the District to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”

Fox News explains the dispute began “after Disney’s criticism of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act – derided by critics as the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill – prompted the DeSantis administration to revoke the special Disney-controlled tax district that gave the entertainment autonomy over its theme parks in the region.”

“No corporation should be its own government,” Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, said in an emailed statement. “Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the District to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”

Misleadingly deemed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, prohibited the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity to young students in the state. National Review reports:

After receiving pressure from employees, Disney’s then-CEO, Bob Chapek, said that the company’s leaders had been opposed to the bill “from the outset,” and Disney declared that the legislation “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.”

In February 2023, DeSantis signed House Bill 9B, which established the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to replace Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District. Reedy Creek was a 56-year-old special taxing district that allowed Disney control its own development, regulations, building codes, and other municipal services.

Lawmakers voted to give the governor the power to appoint the district’s board members.

However, before a DeSantis-appointed board took over last March, the Disney-controlled board handed control of the district’s development over to Disney…

As part of the settlement, Disney acknowledges that the development agreement approved by the outgoing Reedy Creek board has “no legal effect or enforceability.”

As for the media reports that DeSantis had been humiliated and out-maneuvered by Disney, Griffin said that “as usual, the media were wrong.”

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