Yesterday, Daniella Battaglia and David Raynor, writing for the the Raleigh News & Observer reported something we've been hearing lot of recently-- "More than 15,000 registered Republicans switched parties since the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, with 85% of them becoming politically unaffiliated. Eighteen percent of those voters left the party on or after Feb. 14, the day after former President Donald Trump's second acquittal in a Senate impeachment trial. For the last two months, the party has faced one controversy after another beginning with the attack on the Capitol that many blame on Trump... Democrats during the same period had a net loss of 134 people."
I wonder how many more people will switch parties if it comes out that one of the Republicans communicating with the fascist insurrectionists during the sacking of the Capitol was Republican neo-Nazi congressman Mad Cawthorn. We should know soon if Cawthorn was one of them. The top suspects besides him are Lauren Boebert (Q-CO), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Mary Miller (R-IL) and coup plotter Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).
Yesterday CNN reported that the FBI is "examining records of communications between members of Congress and the pro-Trump mob that attacked the US Capitol, as the investigation moves closer to exploring whether lawmakers wittingly or unwittingly helped the insurrectionists... The data gathered so far includes indications of contact with lawmakers in the days around January 6, as well as communications between alleged rioters discussing their associations with members of Congress... Should investigators find probable cause that lawmakers or their staffs possibly aided the insurrectionists, they could seek warrants to obtain the content of the communications."
With about 300 people facing charges, the investigation has shifted from the roundup of what law enforcement officials consider low-hanging fruit arrests of people accused of participating in the riot to those who allegedly conspired and planned the assault to disrupt the constitutional process of congressional certification of the election results.
Justice Department officials have assigned more than two dozen prosecutors, including some from outside Washington, to delve into more complex questions, including possible funding of insurrectionists and whether political figures, including lawmakers and staff, aided the attack, the US official said.
...Investigators also have Capitol Police security footage that Democrats want examined to see if any members gave tours to riot participants in advance of January 6. Democrats have accused unnamed Republicans of providing rallygoers access, suggesting they were surveillance opportunities ahead of the riot.
That's reference to QAnon congresswoman Lauren Boebert who has already admitted giving at least one tour to militia members the day before the riot. She showed them where key right-wing targets are-- some secret-- but claimed that she was only showing her relatives around. Several members of Congress have said that she is flat-out lying.
Republicans-- particularly Missouri insurrectionist Josh Hawley-- have moved aggressively to try to bar the FBI from investigating members of Congress who were involved in the failed coup attempt. CNN reported that "Justice officials are mindful of the political and constitutional implications of parts of the investigation, particularly any that touch on members of Congress, according to law enforcement officials... In some cases, there is data showing past contact with lawmakers, and in others there's communications between alleged rioters discussing their associations with members of Congress. Some alleged rioters have also claimed to have provided security for lawmakers In one case against an alleged leader of the right-wing paramilitary group the Oath Keepers, a defendant has claimed she was enlisted to provide security to legislators and others in their march to the Capitol."
