House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) met with President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate over the weekend in what some see as a positive development ahead of the 2024 election.
This from conservativebrief.com.
Noting that the get-together was first reported by Punchbowl News, ABC News reported:
The meeting, which took place at a fundraiser for Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), marked the first time the two have met in person since Johnson was elected on Oct. 25.
Earlier this month, during an interview with CNBC, Johnson said:
[He was] all in for President Trump [in 2024].
ABC News added:
The meeting between the highest elected Republican in the nation and the leading GOP presidential contender comes as Johnson is adjusting to his speakership after a fractious, weekslong battle among Republicans following McCarthy’s ouster in early October.
As speaker, Johnson helped pass a short-term government funding bill earlier this month that didn’t include steep spending cuts—similar to the kind of legislation that led GOP hard-liners to remove McCarthy—and Johnson faces the same challenges running the House, though he is seen as more economically and socially conservative.
Johnson’s meeting at Mar-a-Lago further underscores Trump’s continued sway with conservatives, even as he faces an unprecedented four criminal cases, all of which he denies.
Earlier this month, Johnson fulfilled a promise he made to release nearly all of the video surveillance footage from the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, protest event at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Johnson noted in an X post:
When I ran for Speaker, I promised to make accessible to the American people the 44,000 hours of video from Capitol Hill security taken on January 6, 2021. Truth and transparency are critical.
Today, we will begin immediately posting video on a public website and move as quickly as possible to add to the website nearly all of the footage, more than 40,000 hours.
Further:
In the meantime, a public viewing room will ensure that every citizen can view every minute of the videos uncensored.
Per the UK’s Daily Mail, Johnson’s office noted:
The faces of private citizens will be blurred to ensure that no one is targeted for retaliation of any kind.
Johnson noted further on the X platform:
I commend Chairman Loudermilk and his team for their diligent work to ensure the thousands of hours of videos are promptly processed to be uploaded to the committee’s public website.
Further:
Processing will involve blurring the faces of private citizens on the yet unreleased tapes to avoid any persons from being targeted for retaliation of any kind and segregating an estimated 5% of the videos that may involve sensitive security information related to the building architecture.
Not long afterward, some 90 hours of video were released. The footage may be accessed and viewed HERE.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who led the effort to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and has been behind the effort to get all of the video footage released, praised Johnson for his decision.
He tweeted:
You won’t always agree with @SpeakerJohnson—but know this: HE WON’T LIE. If he says he is going to do something, he is going to do it. Thank you for keeping your word on the J6 tapes, Mr. Speaker. It is a refreshing thing in the Swamp of DC.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) added on X:
Doing what he said he would do. Good.
NOTE: Earlier in the year, while he was still Speaker, McCarthy released some footage to then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Shortly afterward, several media organizations sent House leadership a letter demanding equal access to the footage.
Final thought: Once Conservatism returns to the helm may military tribunals quickly commence for those who partook in treason, wrongful imprisonment, crimes against humanity, etc., etc.
