Crash Course: How the Minnesota GOP imploded

[View this email in your browser]( Your daily update from [Salon](. Written by [Brett Bachman](. There's a "sickness" inside the Minnesota GOP For years, staff and activists close to the Republican Party of Minnesota say they warned party leadership about a toxic work environment rife with verbal abuse, racism, sexual harassment and assault. Now, after a sordid sex trafficking scandal that forced the resignation of party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan, those people are now speaking out, detailing years' worth of some pretty heinous allegations. I spoke with a number of people close to the state party, most of them women who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. All said they experienced some combination of verbal abuse, racism, sexual harassment or worse, as well as a nasty pattern of reprisal from Carnahan targeting anyone who spoke out about these and other issues within the organization. These employees also detailed how this environment allowed for the spectacular rise of Anton Lazzaro — a young, brash GOP megadonor and strategist who became a big player in state politics before being charged with child sex trafficking last week — despite numerous warning signs. It's a scandal that threatens to hobble conservative politics in the state for years to come, leaving party insiders left to pick up the pieces despite a dearth of talented staff and young politicians. You can [read the full story here.]( (Photo courtesy MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) Lauren Boebert... admits it We've been keeping track of Rep. Lauren Boebert's inscrutable campaign finance disclosures [for a while now at Salon]( — and remain puzzled by some key details. The firebrand Colorado Congresswoman's 2020 campaign spent $2.6 million but made only 147 payments to 32 recipients — with 40 of those going to the ride-sharing platform Uber. Some other key details, like the purchase of several website domains associated with her campaign, are conspicuously absent as well. Which makes [some of her comments from this February]( during a controversy over her astronomical mileage reimbursements, all the more interesting. "They want to come against me for legitimate expenses, go ahead," she said. And here's the crucial part: "Really, I under-reported a lot of stuff." To clarify, it's not against the law for Congresspeople to use personal funds for campaign purposes — if they report it properly. Boebert, however, appears to be admitting that she hadn't. "When candidates use their personal funds for campaign purposes, they are making contributions to their campaigns," the Federal election commission writes on its website. "Unlike other contributions, these candidate contributions are not subject to any limits. They must, however, be reported." Such procedures apply to all elected officials, independent of party affiliation. This includes Boebert, though the comments somehow failed to garner any scrutiny from regulators at the time. - Afghanistan is not going to sink Biden's presidency — [but the pandemic could]( - The Capitol cop who shot Ashli Babbitt defended his decision [during an interview with NBC's Lester Holt]( -- and says he saved lives - "Jeopardy!" is [bending over backwards to keep Mike Richards on board]( – but will it do any good? - Trump likely made illegal donation to Florida attorney general, [new "smoking gun" evidence shows]( - Mars' weird geology [is making Perseverance's job more complicated]( - Trump [is being sued by Capitol police officers]( for Jan. 6 violence - A Salon [guide to HBO Max's "The Other Two"]( — check it out before jumping into the zany comedy's new season - [U.S service members and dozens of civilians were killed]( in an airport bombing in Kabul Thursday - Why Netflix's “The Chair” [needs to do better by Sandra Oh]( - A pair of Congressmen [defended their clandestine trip to Afghanistan]( "We needed to see for ourselves" - Salon [spoke with the showrunners over at CBS' "The Good Fight"]( about idealism, misguided justice and what informs their storytelling - Erik Prince does it again: [the infamous Blackwater founder is reportedly charging $6,500 to evacuate people]( from Afghanistan - And, finally, give gefilte fish a chance. [The Passover staple is a great daily snack]( Not a subscriber yet? [Sign up]( to receive Crash Course. Is the FBI telling us the truth about Jan. 6? The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump is one of the most documented crime scenes in history — and over the last seven months it's been nearly impossible for anyone to avoid the steady stream of images and accounts from people who were either there that day or tasked with investigating what went on. Despite all of this public evidence about the leadup to this attempted insurrection, the FBI is now telling us the entire thing was "spontaneous," and unconnected to any larger plot to overthrow democracy. "Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases," a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters. "Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages." It's worth questioning where this information is coming from: four unnamed sources within the agency who spoke with a single news outlet. Because of their anonymity, it's hard to gauge any potential motives, or conflicts of interest. "It almost seems the FBI is now following Donald Trump's Orwellian command not to believe your lying eyes," [Salon's Chauncy DeVega writes.]( And it would have been easy to miss, but news of the FBI report shared by the international wire service came on the same day details from a similar investigation conducted by the Department of Homeland Security — which reached the entirely opposite conclusion — were made public via The Daily Beast: "The tactics used by domestic violent extremists (DVEs) to assault law enforcement and security personnel and ultimately breach the US Capitol suggests that some of the participants engaged in pre-operational coordination and planning activities," DHS investigators wrote. To put a finer point on it: something in that Reuters report stinks, DeVega argues. And it's a poor sign for the future of our republic that the two agencies cannot at least come up with a single outline to explain the events of Jan. 6. (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images/Alex Edelman) - "[How a Black prosecutor called out racism in the D.A.'s office]( The Los Angeles Times - "[What's in your search history, New York Times reporter Mike Isaac?]( Trashberg Substack newsletter - "[Lawyer for Afghan girls’ robotics team tells Oklahoma woman to stop taking credit for rescue]( The Washington Post - "[Get Police Vaccinated]( The Atlantic - "[What Slime Knows: There is no hierarchy in the web of life]( Orion Magazine GOP intern quits in protest It started with a simple, yet incredibly offensive meme showing the arm of a concentration camp survivor tattooed with an identification number. "If you have to carry a card on you to gain access to a restaurant, venue or an event in your own country," Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, posted to Twitter. "That's no longer a free country." Massie was roundly criticized and later forced to delete the tweet, but not before [a political intern working in his office quit in protest,]( calling the sentiment a red line. "Wait until Rep Massive reads the ID requirements to vote that his party wants to enforce," one person responded. "He also apparently has never heard of credit cards," Atlantic writer David Frum added. (Screenshot via Twitter) Have a tip for Salon? Feedback on this newsletter? [Let us know](mailto:brett.bachman@salon.com). [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( Copyright © 2021 Salon.com, LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at Salon.com Our mailing address is: Salon.com, LLC 1000 N. West StreetWilmington, DE 19801 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](