John Cornyn Stakeout:
May 30 – June 2, 2017
THANK YOU to all of the citizen activists in Texas who made #CornynStakeout a STATEWIDE success. We are stronger together.
— Indivisible Austin (@indivisibleATX) June 3, 2017
FACT: Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults want an independent, nonpartisan commission probing Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election (The Hill, April 24, 2017)
But until then, we are stuck with Congress. And in Texas, until 2020, we are stuck with Senator John Cornyn.
John Cornyn is on the Senate Intelligence an Committee, whose Russia probe began in January. What has this probe done so far? Not much.
With only part-time staffers assigned to the case, none of whom are lawyers or have expertise in forensic accounting, counterintelligence, prosecutions, Russia, or hacking…this probe is going nowhere.
And when Cornyn has had a chance to interrogate witnesses about Russia, as he did during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with fired US Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates he asked about… Trump’s travel ban.
When he interview now-fired FBI Director James Comey, he opened with… Hillary’s emails.
“I’m disappointed to see that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in the news yesterday, essentially blaming you and blaming everything other than herself for her loss on Nov. 8,” Cornyn said.
How It Works
WHAT: We’re holding a stakeout!
WHERE: All seven of John Cornyn’s Texas offices: Austin, Dallas, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and Tyler
WHEN: May 30 to June 2, 2017 (the next Senate recess), during business hours
HOW: All day, every day, working in shifts. Bring signs, letters, postcards, and lots of coffee, donuts, and buddy-cop banter. We’ll stake out Senator Cornyn’s seven Texas offices until he can answer our demands
- Connect with your local Indivisible group to sponsor a shift
- If you need help finding a group, or you have a group ready to sponsor a stakeout, email stakeout@indivisibleaustin.com
Our Demands
We call on Sen. John Cornyn to answer these questions.
QUESTION 1: Why are there so few staffers dedicated to the Russian hacking probe? And why are most of them part-time?
Compare:
- The Senate Intelligence Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program had 20 full-time staffers.
- The House Benghazi Committee had 46 full-time staffers.
- The joint Senate/House Committee on Iran/Contra had 181 full-time staffers. (Source: Reuters, April 25, 2017)
QUESTION 2: When will Trump campaign witnesses be interviewed? From the Daily Beast: “No interviews have been conducted with key individuals suspected of being in the Trump-Russia orbit: not Michael Flynn*, not Roger Stone, not Carter Page, not Paul Manafort, and not Jared Kushner.”
*UPDATE: Flynn was subpoenaed; he is pleading the fifth.
QUESTION 3: When will the rest of the Intel Committee staff have access to materials? In the CIA Torture investigation, all Senate Intelligence Committee staff with proper clearance had access to the materials. In the current Russia probe, only the part-time staffers assigned to the investigation have access to the thousands of pages of documents. These are not enough resources to fully explore the materials and follow all leads.
See more questions to ask John Cornyn
If John Cornyn cannot answer these questions by June 2, 2017, the Senate Intel Committee cannot do its job!
It’s time for John Cornyn and the Senate Intelligence Committee to admit defeat.
We demand an independent, nonpartisan commission to probe Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Our nation’s future depends on it.
Rules of the Road
- Be courteous. Our elected officials’ staff are doing their jobs and do not make decisions on their employers’ actions or positions. It is part of staff’s job to represent their representatives’ views. When communicating with elected official staff, we remain courteous and respectful even when their responses are not what we would prefer.
- Don’t be stupid. Don’t be creepy. This is a metaphorical stakeout, and we don’t advocate stalking anyone from your vehicle. Call ahead of time and see if you can make appointments in small groups. With or without an appointment, small groups, throughout the day, should show up in shifts.
- Document everything. Take photos and video of any and all Cornyn sightings and interaction with staff. (Most offices will not allow filming inside the building, but public space is mostly fair game for peaceful assembly. And some offices may be in privately owned buildings, which set their own rules.)
- Post photos and short videos to social media. Tag @JohnCornyn and use the hashtag #CornynStakeout.
- Hold meetups nearby. Long stakeouts are hard work. Consider hosting meetups at nearby businesses where people can go after the stakeout, to share photos and video, and enjoy coffee and donuts. Mustaches optional.
Austin Stakeout! Back to Top
Chase Tower
221 West Sixth Street
Suite 1530
Austin, TX 78701
Main: 512-469-6034
Fax: 512-469-6020
June 1: TX-10 Indivisible
June 2: Indivisible South ATX, Indivisible TX-17, Women’s Action Group – Cedar Park/Round Rock, Wilco Indivisible
Tyler Stakeout! Back to Top
Regions Bank Building
100 E. Ferguson Street, Suite 1004
Tyler, TX 75702
Main: 903-593-0902
Fax: 903-593-0920
Dallas Stakeout! Back to Top
5001 Spring Valley Road
Suite 1125 E
Dallas, TX 75244
Main: 972-239-1310
Fax: 972-239-2110
June 1: Indivisible TX-03, Indivisible Oak Cliff, Indivisible TX-24
June 2: Indivisible TX-03, Indivisible06, Indivisible TX-24
Harlingen Stakeout! Back to Top
222 East Van Buren
Suite 404
Harlingen, TX 78550
Main: 956-423-0162
Fax: 956-423-0193
Houston Stakeout! Back to Top
5300 Memorial Drive Suite 980
Houston, TX 77007
Main: 713-572-3337
Fax: 713-572-3777
June 1: Indivisible Houston, Indivisible TX-02, Indivisible TX-36
June 2: Indivisible Houston, Emerson UU Advocates Indivisible Action Team
San Antonio Stakeout! Back to Top
600 Navarro
Suite 210
San Antonio, TX 78205
Main: 210-224-7485
Fax: 210-224-8569
June 1: TX20 Indivisible, Indivisible NB
Lubbock Stakeout! Back to Top
Wells Fargo Center
1500 Broadway, Suite 1230
Lubbock, TX 79401
Main: 806-472-7533
Fax: 806-472-7536
June 1 & 2: West Texans Concerned About Vladimir Putin