Yesterday,
Politico
released
a
bombshell
expose
on
a
young
Republican
group
Telegram
chat
with
wildly
offensive
rhetoric.
It’s
being
referred
to
in
the
press
as
the
“I
love
Hilter”
chat
because…
yeah,
that’s
one
of
the
things
they
said.
Along
with
multiple
variations
on
the
N-word,
“the
watermelon
people,”
pro-slavery
chatter,
talk
about
raping
their
enemies,
slurs
galore,
putting
their
political
opponents
in
gas
chambers,
and
much
more.
Politico
calls
it
“an
unfiltered
look
at
how
a
new
generation
of
GOP
activists
talk
when
they
think
no
one
is
listening,”
and
it’s
truly
a
horrifying
collection
of
id
gone
wild.
The
private
chat
reportedly
got
leaked
to
Politico
as
the
result
of
a
Young
Republicans
internal
feud.
The
chat
included
a
variety
of
Young
Republican
leaders
in
New
York,
Kansas,
Arizona
and
Vermont,
including
William
Hendrix,
vice
chair
of
the Kansas
Young
Republicans;
Bobby
Walker,
head
of
the
New
York
State
Young
Republicans; Peter
Giunta,
the
former
chair
of
the
New
York
State
Young
Republicans;
Annie
Kaykaty,
New
York’s
national
committee
member; Alex
Dwyer, the
chair
of
the
Kansas
Young
Republicans;
Samuel
Douglass, a
state
senator from
Vermont; Luke
Mosiman, chair
of
the
Arizona
Young
Republicans;
and
Rachel
Hope,
the
Arizona
Young
Republicans
events
chair.
And,
of
course,
there
are
some
attorneys
on
the
chat.
Michael
Bartels,
senior
adviser
in
the
office
of
general
counsel
for
the
U.S.
Small
Business
Administration
and
Joe
Maligno,
id’d
himself
as the
general
counsel for
the
New
York
State
Young
Republicans.
Politico
notes
Bartles
was
mostly
quiet
in
the
chat.
But
Maligno
used
racial
slurs
and
joked
about
Nazism,
saying,
“Gas
chambers
don’t
fit
the
Hitler
aesthetic.”
Life’s
coming
fast
at
the
members
of
the
group.
The
Young
Republican
National
Federation called on
them
to
“immediately
resign
from
all
positions.”
New
York
Governor
Kathy
Hochul,
a
Democrat,
called
for
them
to
be
kicked
out
of
the
Republican
party,
“This
bullshit
has
to
stop.”
New
York
Republicans
Rep.
Elise
Stefanik
and
state
Senate
Minority
Leader
Rob
Ortt
renounced
the
chat.
The
Kansas
Republican
party deactivated their
state’s
Young
Republican
organization.
Douglass,
the
Vermont
state
senator,
is
facing
calls
for
his
resignation.
Vermont
Governor
Phil
Scott condemned
the
messages.
(Vice
President
JD
Vance
turned
it
into
an
opportunity
to
attack
Democrats,
because
of
course.)
And,
yes.
Several
members
have
already
lost
their
jobs.
Many
of
them
were
out
of
work
as
Politico
investigated
the
story.
Now,
only
a
day
later,
there’s
more
fall
out.
Maligno
*was*
the
Associate
Court
Attorney
to
Hon.
Mary
A.
Kavanagh,
but
no
more.
A
spokesperson
for
the New
York
State
Unified
Court
System
confirmed
he’s
no
longer
an
employee.
Bartels,
the
only
member
of
the
group
chat
to
be
confirmed
as
a
member
of
the
Trump
administration,
still
has
a
job.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].