Why Are House Republicans Targeting Private Citizens While Ignoring Kremlin-Funded MAGA Influencers?

Mike Nellis, a target of the MAGA Right, shares his story.

Welcome guest author Mike Nellis, who graciously agreed to share his story with us. - M

For the past year and a half, my family, employees, and I have lived under a constant cloud of harassment and fear. It started when right-wing conspiracy theorists targeted my company, Authentic, not because we had done anything wrong but because my business partner and friend, Loren Merchan, happens to be the daughter of the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s fraud case in New York City. My partnership with Loren has been enough for MAGA world to make both of us the targets of relentless right-wing attacks, despite having no meaningful connection to the case.

The harassment has been relentless and deeply personal. My family has received death threats, including one particularly chilling voicemail that mentioned my son by name. Loren, too, has been targeted. On the advice of law enforcement, she has had to leave her home on multiple occasions due to concerns for her safety. The financial burden has been staggering—we’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees, security, and anti-doxing services just to keep our families safe. It’s been emotionally exhausting, a nightmare we never anticipated, and yet we stayed quiet for a long time, hoping the madness would fade once the trial ended and justice was served.

But the madness hasn’t faded—it’s escalated.

Now, Congressman Jim Jordan and the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee have opened an investigation into Authentic. They subpoenaed us under the guise of investigating political interference and corruption, claiming—without evidence—that my company, Authentic, has improperly benefited from Trump's legal troubles simply because Loren is connected to the judge. They allege we somehow stand to profit from the trial despite having no involvement in the case or any financial stake in its outcome.

Their goal is not justice or oversight but political retribution—punishing anyone even remotely associated with Trump’s legal problems. They’ve chosen to use the power of their office to harass private citizens like us rather than confront real threats to our democracy. The accusations against us are baseless. Authentic has not profited from any rulings in Trump’s trial. This investigation is nothing more than political theater—a distraction from the real issues at hand.

And that’s what makes this all the more infuriating. While House Republicans are busy coming after us with baseless accusations, they’re ignoring the fact that MAGA influencers like Tim Pool and Benny Johnson have allegedly been secretly paid by the Russian government to spread Kremlin-backed disinformation. Multiple Republican members of Congress have actually gone on cable news and downplayed the Kremlin bankrolling right-wing influencers while simultaneously attacking my company.  

This isn’t some wild conspiracy theory—it’s a fact that the Department of Justice revealed just last week. These influencers, embedded in right-wing online circles, are being paid by foreign actors to destabilize American democracy, sow division, and weaken our support for Ukraine. They are parroting Kremlin talking points, lining their pockets with foreign money, and helping to spread chaos in our country.

Yet where are the Congressional Republicans who claim to defend American freedom? Instead of investigating these serious threats, they’re doing Trump’s dirty work, targeting private citizens like me, Loren, and our families with political retribution.

This is a new era of McCarthyism. Just like in the 1950s, political leaders are using their positions of power to attack and silence private citizens. This time, instead of hunting communists, they’re hunting anyone who dares to oppose Trump’s grip on the Republican Party and his potential return to the White House. We are private citizens and political organizers who don’t deserve to be targeted simply because we work for clients with political disagreements with the former president. It’s dangerous, it’s un-American, and it’s happening right now.

Let’s be clear: Donald Trump was found guilty, by a jury of his peers, of 34 counts of fraud. That’s a fact. And yet, instead of accepting the reality of his crimes, his supporters are doing everything they can to deflect, distract, and destroy anyone in their path. It’s terrifying to think what will happen if Trump wins another election. This kind of abuse of power will only escalate, and more private citizens will be targeted, harassed, and intimidated simply for doing their jobs. This will only worsen if Trump wins in November. In fact, this past weekend on Truth Social, Trump called for prosecuting his political enemies and specifically mentioned Democratic political operatives like myself in his post.

At its best, the government can be a force for good that brings people together, fosters progress, and protects our fundamental rights. At its worst, it becomes a tool for political retribution and chaos. Right now, we are witnessing the latter, and if we don’t stand up to it, this new McCarthyism will destroy our democracy.

Mike Nellis is the founder of Authentic, a former senior adviser to Kamala Harris and an organizer for #WhiteDudesforHarris. Follow him on Twitter.

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ICYMI

What if Trump wins (Rolling Stone)

I greatly appreciate this piece. Because it opens with and focuses on the violence that would inevitably come with a second Trump Administration, as Trump’s cronies would work to turn America into a fascist hellscape, and Trump would be free to indulge his fantasies of enacting violence on a massive scale against his opponents. It paints an accurate picture of what’s at stake.

Rank and Vile (The Baffler)

Andrea Grimes, one of my favorite journalists, takes on one of the grossest MAGA memes about J.D. Vance and what it says about masculinity in our politics. I am more than a little obsessed with this particular topic so I’m glad that Grimes took it on. 

Is the Press ‘Sanewashing’ Trump? (Columbia Journalism Review)

CJR columnist Jon Allsop takes on “sanewashing” and why legacy media continues to sanewash Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail. 

How “Am I the Asshole?” Ate the Internet (Vox)

This isn’t political but I enjoyed this Vox piece about the secondary economy that has grown out of AITA. Even if you never read the subreddit you’ve undoubtedly seen stories from it on social media and in other news outlets. Or, like me, you follow AITA’s single greatest export Jorts the Cat, online.

Want even more links? Subscribers receive a special ICYMI edition of CARD on Fridays. 

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Coda

I had so much fun watching this week’s presidential debate. Well, about as much fun as you can have doing anything with two preschoolers doing their thing in the background. It was so much fun to see Kamala Harris wipe the floor with Donald Trump, and more of the energy we need to win this election in November.

It’s interesting to me that most of the post-debate memes focused on Kamala’s reactions. (I joked on socials that she has resting prosecutor face.) One thing that always made Trump such a strong debater was his experience in reality TV. Most politicians are trained on how to act when the camera is on them but what set Trump about in those early Republican primary debates was his ability to keep the camera on him when he wasn’t talking. His reactions and interruptions kept the focus and attention on him pretty much always, to the point where his reaction to what his opponents were saying was the focus rather than their answer.

This week we saw the same impact with Harris. The image of Harris patiently listening and barely holding back an eye roll while Trump was doing his usual word salad was powerful. It’s a feeling most women are familiar with, but I think it also illustrates the collective exhaustion a great many Americans have with Donald Trump and what he’s done to our politics and government. As a former prosecutor, Harris would have to be acutely aware of how a jury views her body language even when she’s not speaking. I loved seeing that play out on the debate stage. “Say it to my face” indeed. 

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