State and National Government
Photo: petesnyder.com
A wealthy owner of a capital investment firm is positioning himself as a supporter of Donald Trump’s policies as he runs for governor. But Pete Snyder hopes to appeal as well to many Virginians who do not like Trump’s personal style. Our political analyst says Snyder can use his considerable wealth to gain plenty of name recognition before the Republican party’s nominating convention in May. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Sen. Amanda Chase Facebook
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Senate on Wednesday approved a measure rebuking one of its most far-right members for a “pattern of unacceptable conduct,” including an allegation that she voiced support for those who participated in storming the U.S. Capitol.
On a vote of 24-9, the Democrat-controlled chamber advanced a resolution censuring Amanda Chase, a senator from suburban Richmond who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor. Chase has called the move a “political hit job”.
The vote followed a long debate that featured scathing rebukes from Chase’s colleagues on both sides of the political aisle. She launched into a series of personal and professional attacks on some of her fellow senators, noting that some of them have had their own behavioral and legal troubles in the past. She also threatened to file a lawsuit if they voted in favor of the censure.
Sen. John Bell, a Democrat who sponsored the resolution, said Chase’s behavior had put “the honor of our institution at risk.”
“The question before us today is, where is our line of behavior drawn and what will we tolerate?” Bell said.
Bell previously said he had private meetings with Chase in which they agreed he would drop the resolution if she publicly apologized and gave an unconditional condemnation of the violent riot at the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. But Bell said the rambling speech Chase gave on Friday did not live up to that agreement.
In that speech, Chase declared she was “completely horrified” by the Jan. 6 insurrection and condemned the violence at the Capitol. But she also told fellow lawmakers that none of them was perfect.
In previous remarks on the floor, Chase had defended those who stormed the Capitol, including Ashli Babbitt, a woman who was shot by U.S. Capitol Police.
“These were not rioters and looters, these were patriots who love their country and do not want to see our great republic turned into a socialist country,” she said.
Chase, an ardent supporter of Trump, has previously called for martial law to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. She repeated Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, and lost access to her Facebook account after falsely blaming leftist activists for the Capitol insurrection.
The new version alleges that Chase “has exhibited conduct unbecoming of a Senator during her terms in office by displaying a disregard for civility in discourse with colleagues, making false and misleading statements both in committee and on the Senate floor, and displaying a disregard for the significance of her duty to the citizens of the Commonwealth as an elected representative in the Senate of Virginia.”
Specifically, it cites a 2019 confrontation between Chase and a Virginia state Capitol Police officer, and alleges that Chase has “undermined the seriousness of the pandemic by stating, ‘I don’t do COVID.’” Chase has refused to wear a mask on the Senate floor, saying she has an unspecified medical condition that prevents her from doing so.
The censure is a public rebuke but would not limit Chase’s participation in the Senate. The upper chamber has already stripped her of her committee assignments.
State lawmakers are considering a bill that supporters say will reduce chances of dead people casting votes in Virginia — but opponents wonder if it will actually make any practical difference. The measure would require Virginia’s Registrar of Vital Records to send weekly lists of the recently deceased to the state’s Department of Elections. Right now, that is done monthly. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Sen. Amanda Chase Facebook
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Senate appears likely to censure a GOP state senator whose public apology fell flat after she had defended those who stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Sen. Amanda Chase, a hardcore acolyte of former President Donald Trump, sought to head off a censure resolution Friday by giving a floor speech declaring she was “completely horrified” by the Jan. 6 insurrection and condemned the violence at the Capitol.
“If I have offended any of you in this room, because I am very passionate about the Constitution, I apologize,” said Chase, who is running for governor. “I would like to put this behind us and move forward in a constructive positive manner.”
It was a markedly different tone from Chase, who previously had been defiant in the face of possible censure. Chase has previously called for martial law to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and lost access to her Facebook account after falsely blaming leftist activists for the Capitol insurrection.
Sen. John Bell, a Democrat who sponsored the censure resolution, said he had private meetings with Chase in which they agreed he would drop the resolution if she publicly apologized and gave an unconditional condemnation of the violent riot at the Capitol.
But Bell said the rambling speech Chase gave on Friday — in which Chase lamented that she did not have every senator’s cellphone number before telling them that none of them are perfect — did not live up to that agreement.
“It was just far short of what was needed,” Bell said.
Last week Chase gave a floor speech that defended those who stormed the Capitol, including Ashli Babbitt, a woman who was shot by U.S. Capitol Police while trying to climb through a broken window into the speaker’s lobby.
“These were not rioters and looters, these were patriots who love their country and do not want to see our great republic turned into a socialist country,” Chase said last week.
But on Friday, Chase said she only meant to praise the people who attended a peaceful rally in support of Trump ahead of the storming of the Capitol.
Chase is one of many state lawmakers from around the country who attended a speech made by Trump on that day, but she was not part of the group that later stormed the Capitol.
A Senate committee recently advanced the censure resolution against Chase, accusing her of “fomenting insurrection against the United States” and other misdeeds. The resolution has not yet come up for a full floor vote, but Bell said he plans to move forward with it.
The censure would be a public rebuke, but would not limit Chase’s participation in the Senate. The upper chamber has already stripped her of her committee assignments.
During Friday’s floor session, senators in both parties responded to Chase’s remarks with skepticism.
Republican Sen. David Suetterlein criticized Chase for saying in a recent Facebook post that Babbitt has been “brutally murdered” by Capitol Police. Facebook has since taken down Chase’s page.
“Words matter,” Suetterlein said. “And when you say that they brutally murdered someone, that’s something that requires a lot of reflection.”
Chase said in an interview with the Associated Press on Friday afternoon that her comments had been sincere and it was “unconscionable” that other senators would doubt her intent.
“To question whether somebody’s apology is sincere enough for you, I mean, give me a break,” Chase said. “If they censure me, I will wear it like a badge of honor.”
As the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Virginia’s Mark Warner discussed Avril Haines qualifications before she was confirmed as the new Director of National Intelligence. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
Sen. Mark Warner
Virginia Senator Mark Warner is set to lead the body’s intelligence committee when Democrats gain control of the chamber, something expected as soon as today. Analysts say Warner will play a key role in overseeing the country’s foreign policy, especially when it concerns intelligence-related matters. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Ed Lynch- Hollins U. photo
The vote to impeach President Trump and possibly convict him post-term in the Senate may not accomplish what some Democratic lawmakers envision – so says the chairman of the political science department at Hollins University, who spoke to WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
With the second impeachment of President Donald Trump in the books and a Senate trial that could convict him looming ahead, a one-time Reagan White House staffer and former local Republican Party committee chair weighs in. Click below to hear an extended conversation with Ed Lynch:
