The still practicing members of Incompetence, Inc. just do not know how things work. But life is about to give them a tutorial, as it does us all, and in the case of Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell and their wingman, Joseph Flynn, who just filed with the FEC to open up a superPAC “Restore the Republic” the lesson will be a harsh one.

Late Friday Trump acolytes Sidney Powell and Jesse Binnali, the lawyer who represented the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn election results in Nevada filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a new super PAC (Political Action Committee) called Restore the Republic.

Now here’s where it gets interesting and it is vintage Strikeforce Rudy. The FEC requires that you list a bank where the donations will go. They listed Arkansas-based Bank OZK (formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks). The problem is, OZK never heard of these people. There not only isn’t an account, OZK doesn’t even do that kind of banking. Raw Story:

“We have done a thorough inquiry and determined this entity has no account at Bank OZK, has no account pending, and has never had an account here. Per our established policy, the PAC is not eligible for an account with Bank OZK,” Susan Blair, executive vice president and spokeswoman for Bank OZK, said. “We have policies in place prohibiting accounts for certain entities. We don’t publicly disclose the specifics of those policies.”

Where Powell got the idea to use OZK, who knows? Closed her eyes and pointed at a list of banks on the computer screen? I would say that surely she can’t be so naive as to not know that banks are like insurance companies, who underwrite certain things and not others, not all banks do all kinds of banking. But this is Sidney Powell we’re talking about so anything is possible.

PACs are legally required to have separate bank accounts, rather than accounts commingled with, for instance, the personal money of a PAC treasurer. Filing false information to the FEC could be a federal crime, said agency spokeswoman Judith Ingram. She said the agency has a process for confirming that information campaigns or committees submit is accurate, including potentially “questionable contact or bank information.”

Now Powell’s problem is not with the FEC. The FEC, when it finds contradictory information will send a pleasant reminder that “knowingly and willfully making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to a federal government agency, including the Federal Election Commission, is punishable under federal law.” So they’ll have a chance to amend their application. What’s that you say? You’re having a profound sense of deja vu? Oh, you’re just thinking about the time Jared Kushner had to amend his security clearance paperwork 40 times, that’s all. Not to worry.

No, Powell can file an amended Statement of Organization and name another bank, that’s not her real problem. Her real problem is who wants to do business with her? Or Mike Lindell? Right now he’s hemorrhaging support and money.

It remains to be seen, however, what financial institution would want to hold money for a super PAC headed by Powell, who promoted conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines, and Lindell, who was captured in photos at the White House earlier this month carrying notes that appeared to include the suggestion that Trump invoke martial law or the Insurrection Act.

Corporations, driven by public outcry after the violent attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters earlier this month that resulted in five deaths and a military lockdown in Washington, D.C., have been going to lengths to distance themselves from the politicians or political figures who pushed the discredited notion that President Joe Biden did not actually win the election.

Just last week, following a public outcry on Twitter, the Loews Hotels chain cancelled a reservation that Sen. Josh Hawley had previously booked for a February fundraiser at their Orlando resort, noting the company is “horrified and opposed to the events at the Capitol and all who supported and incited the actions.” […]

Major financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo have all made statements noting they would either pause donations to candidates or political action committees, or factor the Capitol riots into their decision-making when it comes time to cut political checks. That begs the question whether the same institutions would agree to hold money for a group whose stated aim is to continue to promote the same conspiracies.

In fact, it seems like it’s just bad PR. The fact that Bank OZK’s is not involved in the machinations of this super PAC may save the relatively small regional lender a headache; some Twitter users had already been tagging the financial institution on Twitter, asking questions such as, “Do you want your bank’s reputation to be linked with this person who fought tooth and nail to overturn our election without *any* evidence?” and “Y’all support insurrection dollars and misinformation frenzied donations running through your bank???”

Public sentiment radically changed post January 6. As Abraham Lincoln said, “In this age, in this country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions.”

In this age as well, and throughout time, I suspect, public sentiment has been and will be key. Public sentiment was already against Donald Trump for irrationally claiming he lost the election, and then when he kept running with the ball, all the way to citing insurrection, he went too far. And now Sidney Powell, in her inimitable unthinking and unreasoning way, thinks that somehow she’s going to keep the Trump circus going — or line her own pockets and Lindell’s or both.

Good luck.

 

 

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21 COMMENTS

  1. Good thing Ursula is not asking you to trust her. She quoted from another source. Also facts are not a matter of who you trust. did you learn nothing from Trump’s 30,000 documented …er misstatements.

  2. The only reason that evidence wasn’t checked is that there was none – just inferences that ‘we have evidence but we aren’t going to let you see it’. That doersmn’t go down well even with the most mediocre judges

  3. I’m hoping that we won’t be seeing Lindell’s “My Pillow” crap on the airwaves for a very long time. I watch a lot of “off-brand” network programs (ie, not CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, CW) where Lindell’s mug would make frequent visits during the commercial breaks but it seems like it’s been a while since I’ve seen his doughy face. (Maybe selective memory at work but, at the same time, it seems like there’s more to it.)

    • I can’t remember the last time I saw his schtick about his pillows. Then again, I don’t spend much time watching Fox. (just enough sometimes like last Wed. to check in and see what b.s. they are flinging against the walls hoping it will stick) My guess is that since Fox has bled so many advertisers he’s spending his entire ad budget on that network. Probably a more efficient use of his ad buys as Fox viewers make up the overwhelming share of the suckers willing to spend 90 bucks on a (so I’m told) not very good pillow! Sadly, their viewers probably know by now how this con-man is propping up their network and by extension their orange turd would-be (but failed) emperor and are buying them in droves.

  4. BWAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh, excuse me, I’m out of breath….there, I feel better. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….(passes out.)

  5. Fact check: Obama produces a valid birth certificate. Rump produces jack squat. Oh. I’m still waiting 5years later for his proof. God, you folks would have done well in Jonestown. Why, you’d be in heaven, er, hell by now.

  6. WTF is the “CCF Democratic Party”? AFAIK, there is no such animal. The cases were tossed because there was NO evidence, and the lawyers denied there was fraud when asked in court. (Also, Trmp got 74 million votes, not 79.) Wherever you got this, you’ve been lied to.

  7. “Blundering Biden” blundered his way to the presidency. Rump, ur boy, just plain blundered about. I like winners. U like losers. Loser.

  8. Perhaps OZK could sue Powell and Lindell.for defamation of character, if a business can do that! Just the mere mention of OZK’s name in their fever-dream paperwork would be enough for me to move my money outa there. (Same action Dominion Voting Machines took against the Ghoul Man.)

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