“Jake, thank you for letting our office know Louie tested positive for the Coronavirus,” the email from Gohmert’s aide read. “When you write your story, can you include the fact that Louie requires full staff to be in the office, including three interns, so that ‘we could be an example to America on how to open up safely.’ When probing the office, you might want to ask how often were people berated for wearing masks.”
Sherman’s tweet must have been widely viewed by congressional staffers, because he soon followed up his initial post with a tweet claiming that he’d been contacted by several different Republican aides making similar claims.
“Ever since PM came out, I’ve gotten a flood of emails from republican staffers who say they too are being forced to come to the hill without a mask now,” he wrote, urging any additional employees to message him as well.
Gohmert, who has been virulently anti-mask since the start of the pandemic, on Wednesday also released a video in which he claimed that wearing a mask may have actually been the cause of him contracting the virus.
“I can’t help but wonder if by keeping a mask on – keeping it in place – if I might’ve got some germ, some of the virus, on the mask and breathed it in,” Gohmert said.
Even the president’s chief of staff, Kevin McCarthy, on Wednesday referred to Gohmert as “Congressman COVID.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser last week issued an executive order making masks mandatory for persons in places — such as offices or hotel lobbies — where social distancing isn’t possible. However, the order does not apply to “any employees of the federal government while they are on duty,” which includes President Donald Trump and Congress.
But even for members of Congress, actively endangering employees by forcing them not to wear a mask for political reasons could land lawmakers in hot water politically — and maybe even legally.
National security attorney Mark Zaid, who previously represented the Ukraine whistleblower, responded to Sherman’s tweet by saying that his firm would offer free representation to any staffers who feared speaking out about mask bans.
“Congressional staff have minimal #whistleblower protections, as Congress shortsightedly imposes obligations on others rather than itself, but my firm is willing to rep pro bono (FREE) any staffer – GOP or DEM – who needs assistance, incl talking to media,” Zaid wrote.
Omg look at this little cutie, how can anyone hurt them. There are only 30 of these left in the world due to illegal fishing.
Please donate to the National Marine Mammal Foundation’s last-ditch effort to capture the last 30 animals alive and relocate them to a seaside sanctuary in the northern Gulf of California. This is their last chance.
I’m aware some people don’t like the notion of zoos and sanctuaries, but there’s no reset button for Extinct.
Okay so I read this and cried.
Please, please help the National Marine Mammal Foundation capture the last 30 Vaquitas. They’ll be sent to a sanctuary where they’ll be taken care of, nurtured and every attempt will be made to bolster the species.
They then immediately cut employee raises as soon as reopened locations and harass employees to be pushy with customers to buy product they don’t want.
