Political Wire

Boehner Pressed Gowdy In Secret Meeting

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Speaker John Boehner secretly met with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) “to encourage him to jump into the race for House majority leader, a dramatic attempt by the chamber’s top Republican to try to influence the intraparty election,” Politico reports.

“The previously undisclosed meeting reveals new behind-the-scenes involvement by Boehner, who has not endorsed any candidates in the leadership race. That the Ohio Republican inserted himself in the contest underscores his concern about who succeeds him in GOP leadership.”

Lawmaker Says Gowdy Will Not Run for Re-Election

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Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) said that Tea Party favorite Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) “won’t run for a fourth term, and instead plans to retire at the end of the current Congress to return to his home state,” the Washington Examiner reports.

Said Fleming: “Trey wants to go back to South Carolina, and God bless him for that. At the end of his term, yes. He plans to go back home, and he wants to finish his work on the Benghazi special committee. But he loves South Carolina and he loves his family, and he wants to go back and spend the rest of his life there.”

Gowdy Unlikely to Enter Leadership Race

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“A sudden swell of enthusiasm Tuesday for Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) to make a late-entry bid into the race for House majority leader faded almost as quickly as it began,” the Washington Post reports.

“Gowdy’s roller-coaster ride is a testament to the restiveness among the chamber’s younger generation of conservatives, who want more than assurances from above about their influence in the wake of House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) resignation announcement. They want a high-profile seat at the leadership table — and to inject some swagger into a party that for months has been meekly navigating through infighting and chaos.”

Issa Crashes Benghazi Deposition

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Former House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) tried to crash former Hillary Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal’s deposition before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, The Hill reports.

“Issa marched into the closed-door deposition and remained inside for about a minute before he was escorted out by the panel’s chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC). The pair briefly exchanged hushed words in a nearby hallway before Issa stormed off, throwing an empty soda can into a nearby trash bin.”

Gowdy Might Take Clinton’s Word on Emails

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Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), “who heads the House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks that left four Americans dead, says he might be willing to accept assurances under oath from Hillary Clinton that she has provided all her relevant emails to the panel — dropping requests for an independent examination of her computer server,” USA Today reports.

Said Gowdy: “If she were, under some theory, able to say, ‘yes, I can promise you under penalty of perjury you have every single document you’re entitled to,’ that would probably shut off that line of inquiry. If she can, then it will be a short conversation.”

GOP Lawmakers May Have Broken Gun Laws

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“Police in Washington, D.C. have been referred materials for a possible investigation into two Republican congressmen who apparently posed for a picture with an assault rifle in a House office building,” The Hill reports.

“Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) last week tweeted a picture of himself and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), the leader of the House GOP’s Benghazi investigation, holding an AR-15. Having the AR-15 in the District could be a violation of the city’s strict gun laws, and the Washington, D.C., Attorney General’s Office has referred the matter to police.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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