Show an ad over header. AMP  

McConnell says Marjorie Taylor Greene's "loony lies" are "cancer" for GOP

02 February 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday said freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) controversial comments promoting conspiracy theories and condoning violence against Democrats is "cancer" for the Republican Party.

Why it matters: Greene has been a central focus for House Republicans in recent weeks, including for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). McConnell is now the highest-ranking Republican to condemn Greene's behavior.

  • The House Rules Committee is meeting on Wednesday to discuss potentially removing Greene from her committee assignments.
  • Rep. Stenny Hoyer told Axios' Kadia Goba, "It is my hope and expectation that Republicans will do the right thing and hold Rep. Greene accountable, and we will not need to consider this resolution. But we are prepared to do so if necessary."

Context: A similar move was taken against former Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) in 2019 after a series of racist comments.

What they're saying: "Somebody who's suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.'s airplane is not living in reality," McConnell said in a statement.

  • "This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.