The January 6th Hearings. Part 6: Holy Mother of Gawd How Do I Title This?

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Choose Your Title:

A Madman Takes the Wheel

Holy Shit It Was Worse Than We Knew (If That is Possible)

What Did We Just Hear?

Giving New Meaning to "Pass the Ketchup"

Sedition. Period. 

"He doesn't think they are doing anything wrong."

Unhinged

In The Room Where It Happened

Cassidy Hutchinson: American Patriot

Cassidy Hutchinson, the 25-year-old chief aide to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified in front of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol for over two hours on Tuesday. It was explosive.

(I apologize that my thesaurus has run out of descriptors for the testimony we hear at each hearing. This shit hole just keeps getting deeper and deeper, and words do not travel down that far.)

Hutchinson was steps away from the Oval Office every day during her Whitewash House tenure. As one in the most inner circle, she saw and heard the conversations and the behaviors. I'll outline some of the bombshells she brought with her. The testimony today is the most consequential yet. Please watch the entire hearing (video below). It’s jaw-dropping.

Shrug. Weapons? So what! Let 'em in! Hutchinson testified that during the rally, several attendees had had weapons confiscated from them as they entered through magnetometer machines ("mags"). Hutchinson testified, "I remember Tony [Chief of Operations Anthony Ornato] mentioning knives, guns in the form of pistols and rifles, bear spray, body armor, spears, and flagpoles. Spears were one item, flagpoles were one item. But then Tony had related to me something to the effect of and these effing people are fastening spears onto the ends of flagpoles." The committee also said that law enforcement had confiscated pepper spray, knives, brass knuckles, tasers, body armor, gas masks, batons, and blunt weapons from those entering the Ellipse area. 

The committee played law enforcement recordings describing members of the mob outside the Ellipse climbing trees with AR-style weapons as well as handguns and long guns. There were many in the crowd who declined going through the mags so as to not have their weapons confiscated. 

And the president* knew they were armed. The first reports of weapons spotted came as early as 8 a.m., and Mark Meadows was informed. Later, when 45 bitched about the empty spots in the area, he was told that the thinness of the crowd in the Ellipse area was due to people staying outside the mags area so that their weapons wouldn't be confiscated. He became angry. "The primary reason is because he wanted it full and he was angry that we weren't letting people through the mags with weapons." 

He said, "I don't effing care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take that effing mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Take the effing mags away."

And later, he urged that armed mob toward the Capitol.

Who is Going to Protect the Secret Service? One of the most astounding revelations was the description of the scenario after 45 left the rally. 

The then-president* wanted badly to go to the Capitol building. He had been wanting to do it for days, and his words of “I'll be right there with you” was not “just metaphorical.” He desperately wanted to be there in person, presumably to see and participate in the actual violent coup.

He worked with his team on a plan to walk with his minions to the Capitol. As late as 12:47, staff were working on a plan for him to do so. When it was becoming clearer that the Capitol police were severely undermanned, the security team nixed the idea. 45 was finally persuaded by Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that “they were working on” getting him down there in “The Beast,” the armored limousine that is the official presidential vehicle. When he got in the Beast after the rally, he thought he was going to the Capitol.

Once they were in the Beast, however, secret service announced that it was too dangerous to go to the Capitol building and that they were going back to the West Wing. 45 became unhinged.

Hutchinson testified that he became "irate." "The president said something to the effect of I'm the f'ing president, take me up to the Capitol now, to which Bobby [head of security Bobby Engle] responded, 'Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.' The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. We're going back to the West Wing. We're not going to the Capitol. Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel. And Mr. — when Mr. Ornato had recounted this story to me, he had motioned towards his clavicles."

The President* of the United States of America. Lunging toward his secret service agent’s throat. 

Granted, this story is secondhand. Ms. Hutchinson told us that this was told to her by Anthony Ornato, Whitewash House deputy chief of operations, about 45's primary secret service agent Bobby Engel while they were all together in Ornato's office after the rally. We need to get them under oath and have them answer some questions. And the driver of the Beast, too.

Baby get mad? Baby throw things. Hutchinson also testified that at times of frustration, the Toddler-in-Chief would throw plates of food, break dishes, or turn over tablecloths. She personally helped wipe ketchup from the walls of the dining room after at least one such tantrum, after da baby got wind of Barr's public statement denying election fraud. 

Mark Meadows's sense of duty was on “Empty.” Ms. Hutchinson had riveting testimony about the events at the Whitewash House on January 6. She described numerous times how Meadows was completely checked out on that day. 

Before the rally: In his office, sitting on the couch scrolling his phone the morning of January 6, he was told by Chief of Operations Tony Ornato that people were arriving to the rally armed. He didn't look up from his phone. "Anything else?" When asked if he had any questions, the reply was, "What are you hearing?" Meadows then asked if 45 had been notified that the attendees were armed, and Ornato answered yes. 

During the rally: Hutchinson twice tried to inform Meadows of impending violence, but he was in a car on the phone, keeping the door closed. When she finally spoke to him many minutes later and told him that Capitol Police were being overrun,  "He almost had a lack of reaction. I remember him saying Alright, something to the effect of how much longer does the President have left in this speech?"

After the rally: She testified about the afternoon of January 6, after the 45 had returned to the Whitewash House. It was about 2:00 and Mark Meadows was again in this office scrolling his phone. Hutchinson had been monitoring the events on TV, and she went to Meadows's office and asked if he was aware that the mob was getting closer to entering the Capitol. Meadows seemed unperturbed. She testified, "I said, the rioters are getting really close. Have you talked to the President? And he said, no, he wants to be alone right now; still looking at his phone."

A minute later, Pat Cipollone, Whitewash attorney, came "barreling down the hallway." In some distress about the events unfolding, Cipollone went into Meadows's office. Meadows was still scrolling his phone looked up and said, "he doesn't want to do anything, Pat." 

Cipollone insisted that they talk to the president*, and around the time the chants of "Hang Mike Pence" started, Cipollone was becoming more alarmed, urging Meadows to act.

Hutchinson stated, "And Mark had responded something to the effect of, you heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn't think they're doing anything wrong."

Meadows moved his butt off the couch only when Cipollone entreated him again, "Mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood is going to be on your f'ing hands."

Just a couple minutes after this, the 2:24 tweet went out, in which he said Pence "didn't have the courage."

The more to the "Wow!" 

• The hearing also included testimony that Pat Cipollone asked Hutchinson to do what she could to make sure that the plan to go to the Capitol was junked, because the plan's result would be, “We are going to get charged with every crime imaginable." 
• Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows wanted pardons. 
• Days before, Hutchinson was warned by Meadows that January 6 might get "real bad."
• Whitewash House counsel, including Eric Herschmann and Pat Cipollone, both warned away from language in the January 6 speech which included terms like "fight for me" and references to Pence.
• 45 had to be urged to recite the dead-eye speech on January 7. His legal team wanted language about prosecuting rioters; he wanted to include language about pardoning them.

The Mafia Threats. The committee also presented a soupçon of evidence of witness intimidation. As an aside to Hutchinson's testimony, Liz Cheney presented examples of veiled threats that have been offered to witnesses, urging them to "do the right thing" because they are truly "loyal." The committee showed these two quotes, without disclosing who the witnesses are or who was the consigliere. I'm sure we'll hear more.

Witness testimony describing phone calls received prior to appearing before the committee

Today's testimony is a patriot's testimony. But do you know what a treasonous 3-star general says to the question, "Do you believe in the peaceful transfer of power in the United States of America?" If you're convicted felon Mike Flynn, you reply with "I plead the Fifth."

Who is this Cassidy Hutchinson? Ms. Hutchinson worked in the office of Rep. Steve Scalice (R-La.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) before moving to the Whitewash House in 2019 and becoming chief aide to Chief of Staff Meadows in 2020. She set her sights on Washington while still an undergraduate student at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. 

When asked how she personally felt during the events on January 6, she answered, "As an American, I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic. It was un-American. We're watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie. And it was something that was really hard in that moment to digest. ... I still struggle to work through the emotions of that."

Only 26 years old, she still has a bright future ahead of her. I hope she remains in the service of the United States. We need more Cassidy Hutchinsons. 
 

Watch the entire hearing here. Please. 

Click here for Part 7: Assembling the Mob

The January 6 Hearings. Part 5: Target DOJ

NOTE: This was mostly completed when the devastating news came from the Supreme Court. I will be addressing the death of Roe v Wade in coming days.

Clay Jones Claytoonz.com

Thursday's hearing was another bombshell. 

We heard how 45 tried to bulldoze and weaponize the the United States Department of Justice to his ends. His plot was thwarted by a set of patriots, upstanding public servants in the DOJ, who resisted. He wanted them to help him wage a coup. They wouldn't do it. 

We heard three Republican Department of Justice officials: Acting Attorney General Jeffery Rosen, appointed after Bill Barr resigned in December, 2020; his acting Deputy A.G. Richard Donoghue; and the main attorney from the A.G. Office of Legal Counsel, Steven Engel They testified live Thursday with Rep. Adam Kizinger (R-Ill.) questioning. 

By the end of December, 2020 and the beginning of January, 2021, Coup Hand Luke was becoming more and more desperate. He had been told over and over that his claims of fraud were false. He wasn't gaining traction with the states. The next spike he tried to attach to his mace and chain was the DOJ.

My takeaways:

It's important to remember the role of the Department of Justice. It is an independent body, serving the United States of America, upholding the Constitution, and enforcing its laws. Its mission statement: "To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans." Notice it does not say that the A.G. functions as the president's personal attorney. 

Why did the DOJ authorize investigations into state elections at all? The committee asked Bill Barr why the department didn't let the investigations take their own course, at the state level, after January 6? Barr answered, "I felt the responsible thing to do was to be — to be in a position to have a view as to whether or not there was fraud. And frankly, I think the fact that I put myself in the position that I could say that we had looked at this and didn't think there was fraud was really important to moving things forward. And I — I sort of shudder to think what the situation would have been if the — if the position of the department was we're not even looking at this until after Biden's in office. I'm not sure we would have had a transition at all."

Republican members of Congress were amplifying the Big Lie. Republican representatives Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), were all getting on the boob tube and continuing to spout the lies and vilifying the Justice Department to the nation. 

Watch their idiocy here. (It wouldn't let me clip, but this is the beginning of their televised comments as seen during the hearing.)

And they asked for pardons. As Rep. Kinzinger said, "The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you've committed a crime." These criminals asked for presidential pardons:

• Mo Brooks of Alabama
• Andy Biggs or Arizona
• Louie Gohmert of Texas
• Scott Perry of Pennsylvania
• Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
• Matt Gatez of Florida   Former Whitewash attorney Hershmann (who I am liking more and more as I see his deposition) said Gaetz's request for a pardon was "as broad as you can describe, from beginning ... from the beginning of time up until today for any and all things."

Donoghue took notes. During a long telephone conversation he had on December 27 with 45 and Rosen, Donoghue spontaneously picked up a pad of paper and started taking notes. He documented many of Combover Caligula's statements verbatim, including:

• "Where is the DOJ?" Rosen and Donoghue tried to educate Calludacris about the roles of the DOJ. They told him that "the DOJ is not quality control" for states' elections, and the department did not have a role in bringing suits surrounding election matters.

•  The DOJ is "obligated to tell people that this was an illegal corrupt election." They continued to tell him that none of the allegations of fraud had any evidence.

• "What I'm just asking you to do is to say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen."

The Orange Lump didn't take no for an answer. He continued his pressure campaign, asking acting A.G. Rosen to do two things: to appoint a special counsel to investigate the "massive fraud" (suggesting the whack-job Sydney Powell to be appointed to the role), and to send a letter to the legislative leaders in all the battleground states. The letter was to read in part, "the U.S. Department of Justice's investigations have 'identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple states.'" Rosen pushed back and said he would do neither. We'll discuss the letter and the former president's* desperate attempt to get it sent in a bit. 

Baby Hands did not have a good grasp on the workings of the government. He asked acting A.G. Rosen to seize voting machines. Rosen informed him that the Department of Homeland Security has the authority over machines. POOTUS immediately dialed up Ken Cuccinelli, number two at the DHS, and said, "I'm sitting here with the Acting Attorney General. He just told me it's your job to seize machines and you're not doing your job."

The conspiracy theories got really really bizarre. And yet, they were investigated. So... ummm.... apparently the Italians were involved in a plot whereby one of their satellites intercepted votes, switched them from Don the Con to Biden, and beamed them back. The plot was conceived and carried out by a guy, you know, some guy. We don't know his name, but here's a picture of a guy with a mask in an airport. There ya go. Proof of massive fraud. Our government officials actually ran this down. The 20-minute YouTube video, culled from the bowels of the internet, was forwarded to the Secretary of Defense, Christopher Miller. Get this: the Defense Secretary actually called up the attache in Rome to track the wacko theory down. 

The letter was at the core of the scheme. In order to achieve his ends, SCROTUS asked the acting A.G. to send a letter to the legislators of Georgia and other battleground states alleging fraud in their elections. Acting A.G. Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue refused. They continued to tell Drinks with Two Hands, in their nearly daily phone calls and meetings from December 23 until January 3, that the allegations of fraud were false and they would not send a letter. There was a lot of angst about this letter. It was drafted by one of the assistant attorneys general, the leader of the environmental division, Jeff Clark. Assisting was another DOJ lawyer, Ken Klukowski. This fella Clark was sniffed out by magat Rep. Scott Perry (R- Penn.) as a true follower, who believed in all the fraud theories and would bow to the master's commands. 

You can see the draft letter here, with signature lines for Rosen, Donoghue, and Clark. Rosen and Donoghue continued to refuse to sign it.

All of the assistant A.G.s really really dislike Jeff Clark. Descriptive terms: incompetent, unqualified. Donoghue said that when he pointed out to Clark that he didn't have any experience in criminal cases, "he kind of retorted by saying, well, I've done a lot of very complicated appeals in civil litigation, environmental litigation, and things like that. And I said, that's right. You're an environmental lawyer, how about you go back to your office and we'll call you when there's an oil spill." Oh snap!

An aside, to illustrate the character of Clark. NBC News reported: 

Clark has continued to be a presence in MAGA world. He has an account with a few hundred followers on Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform, where his Trump-mimicking handle is @RealJeffClark. 

He has said the Jan. 6 committee is “power drunk and unconstitutional,” and he has shared stories from the conspiracy website Gateway Pundit, including a story about the debunked propaganda movie “2000 Mules.” He has written for the conspiracy website Revolver News about what he described as efforts to “Kill All the Trump Lawyers — By Canceling Them.” He's making appearances on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast. And he's trying to raise money, telling would-be donors that he has "been targeted for cancellation by the hyper-partisan January 6 Committee, the 'mainstream' media, and a collection of leftist law professors and supposed 'Republicans' who are conveniently never-Trumpers."

Another side note. the FBI raided a pajama-clad Clark's home Wednesday night. "They took all the electronics" according to Clark. In another aside, he pled the Fifth 120 times when the committee tried to depose him. Hopefully they'll soon book him into the Graybar Hotel.

But back to the story. Rosen and Donoghue continued to be adamant in pushing back about the fraud allegations and refusing to sign Clark's letter.

Dingus Con had only one recourse to try to bend the DOJ. Get a new attorney general. If Rosen and Donoghue wouldn't sign, Uncle Scam decided he'd simply install Clark as acting A.G. This would be the third A.G. in two weeks. Rosen pointed out this fact at a very important meeting held at the Oval Office on Sunday evening January 3rd, three days before the insurrection. 

This meeting was an extremely pivotal one in the history of our nation. Prior to the meeting, Rosen and Donoghue scrambled to place a phone call to the the rest of the assistant attorneys general (there are six). The pair informed them of the situation and expressed the concern that Rosen would be fired and Clark would be installed. On that phone call, every assistant A.G. said without hesitation that they would resign immediately if this happened. 

Rosen and Donoghue was armed with this information when they met the in the Oval Office, and luckily they were able to convince 45 that their resignations would start a domino of resignations across the justice department and "Jeff Clark would be leading a graveyard." And as such, it would be very bad for 45. Somehow Crooky McCrookpants saw the futility in his plan and decided to give it up. 

He was left with one option to hold on to power: incite violence at the Capitol.

This will be covered in an upcoming hearing. The hearings will resume in mid-July. The committee has uncovered more evidence and needs time to prepare for the next hearing. When they reconvene, LSR will be right here!

If you missed this hearing, please watch it. It is important.

Click here for Part 6: Holy Mother of Gawd What Do I Title This?

The January 6 Hearings. Part 4: The Intimidation Campaign

Tuesday's hearing was probably the most emotional of the four so far. 

We got a glimpse into the threatening intimidation campaign against state election officials at all levels. By resisting, those citizens defended the Constitution and preserved the institutions of our democracy. If you know LSR at all, you know I am a U.S.A. Pollyanna. I truly deeply believe in the good of our country. The past few years have shaken me, but hearing these patriots renews my hope. 

We heard from four live witnesses: three Republican state officials, one from Arizona and two from Georgia, and a poll worker from Georgia. Two of them received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) (yay!) led today's questioning of the live witnesses. 

It was powerful.

Simultaneously to the pressure campaign waged against V.P. Pence, the Tangerine Palpatine's campaign was launching a similar campaign against election officials and legislators in several battleground states. Even after he was told unequivocally by his own team and the Department of Justice that there was no fraud, 45 placed extreme pressure – intimidation really – upon state officials to "find" extra votes for him, to find fraud, and to install an "alternate" (illegal) set of electors to issue their own faked certificates which would be given to V.P. Pence and Congress in place of the lawful elector votes. Then he set about demonizing those who did not do his bidding.

First up was Arizona State Representative Russell "Rusty" Bowers, the Speaker of the Arizona House. Mr. Bowers has served in the Arizona state government for decades, most recently as a member of the House of Representatives since 2015 and Speaker since 2019. Bowers is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. He's a lifelong Republican, certainly longer than Mar-a-Lardo has been. He voted for him and wanted to see him reelected. He's as far from a "RINO" as you can get. And still he resisted the pressure placed upon him to perform illegal acts.

The first part of his testimony shot down a statement made shortly before the hearing. The former president* had said that during a November phone call with Bowers, Bowers "told me that the election was rigged and that I won Arizona."

Bowers testified, "I did have a conversation with the president. That certainly isn't it. Anyone, anywhere, anytime who said that I said the election was rigged, that would not be true."

Bowers outlined the pressure campaign and very poignantly explained that his oath to the Arizona Constitution and to the U.S. Constitution would not allow him to comply. He described how Giuliani and Eastman pressured him at different times. He explained that he asked Giuliani for evidence of fraud (to the tune of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants and thousands of dead people voting), and none was provided. And in fact, he recalled of Rudy Giuliani, "My recollection, he said we've got lots of theories. We just don't have the evidence."

He said more than once that his faith (he's Mormon, and he believes the U.S. Constitution is "divinely inspired") and his oath of office guided him. When Giuliani asked him to replace the electors of Arizona with a different slate, he told him, "I will not break my oath." When Old Wack Donald telephoned Bowers, he also told him – more than once – that he would not do anything illegal. And that was it for him. The campaign kept trying, right up to the morning of January 6, when U.S. Representative Andy Biggs from Arizona called him for one more effort. Bowers would not budge. 

Bowers kept a journal during that time, and he read from it: 

It is painful to have friends who have been such a help to me turn on me with such rancor. I may in the eyes of men not hold correct opinions or act according to their vision or convictions, but I do not take this current situation in a light manner, a fearful manner, or a vengeful manner. I do not want to be a winner by cheating. I will not play with laws I swore allegiance to.

At the end of his testimony, Bowers described the ways his life has changed, including terrible harassment and threats of violence that has been waged against him and and his family. He was nearly in tears as he described how groups in vans with speakers and video screens have trawled his neighborhood, blaring that he is a pedophile and a corrupt politician. People came through his neighborhood armed with firearms and harassed his neighbors. All of this deeply upset his wife and his daughter who was ill with cancer (and who died three weeks after the insurrection). 

Rep. Schiff asked for a short break after Bowers's testimony, allowing us all to collect ourselves. 

And then there was Georgia. Oh my dear lawd, the pressure on Georgia. As you recall, Dolt 45 lost the election in Georgia by 11,779 votes. He was desperate to find a way to change the results of the election in that state.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling sat before the committee and testified. 

Raffensperger detailed how fast, accurate, and consistent the results of the Georgia counting process was on every one of the three counts. He was proud! 

You'll remember hearing portions of his 67-minute-long telephone call on January 2 with 45, where SCROTUS asked him to "find" 11,780 votes. The Danger Yam knew very well by January 2nd that the claims of fraud were bogus and that he lost the election. But he called Raffensperger anyway. 

The committee played more of this recorded phone call, more evidence of the Quarter Flounder's crimes. Here is the entire recorded phone call and transcript. 

Every single assertion that 45 made was shot down by Raffesnsperger.

There was a mysterious suitcase full of ballots that had been hidden under a table and brought out late at night. No, it was an official ballot-holding box and it was counted in the usual way.

"They dropped a lot of votes in there late at night." No, the poll workers accepted ballots until 7pm on Election Day as allowed by law.

5000 dead people voted. No, they found evidence of four, 1-2-3-4, dead people voting.

You can just 'recalculate' the votes. No, the numbers in the original count, the re-count, and the second hand-count recount all came out remarkably the same. "The numbers are the numbers, the numbers don't lie."

Raffensperger testified that every one of the campaign's claims of fraud was investigated and none panned out. He was crystal clear that SCROTUS lost Georgia: "Simply put in a nutshell, what happened in fall of 2020 is that 28,000 Georgians skipped the Presidential race and yet they voted down ballot in other races. And the Republican Congressman ended up getting 33,000 more votes than President Trump. And that's why President Trump came up short."

During this intimidation campaign, Voldemoron insinuated that Ratffensperger was dishonest, incompetent, or criminal. In a veiled threat, Clownigula told Raffensperger, "And I watched you this morning and you said well, there was no criminality, but I mean, all of this stuff is — is very dangerous stuff. When you talk about no criminality, I think it's very dangerous for you to say that."

And yes, Raffensperger and his family also were subjected to terrible harassment and threats by Twitler's supporters, including sexualized threats against his wife and a break-in into his widowed daughter-in-law's home that she shares with her children.

Yet he reamained stalwart. When asked why he didn't just walk away, Raffensperger said, "Because I knew that we had followed the law, we had followed the Constitution. And I think sometimes moments require you to stand up and just take the shots. You're doing your job. And that's all we did. You know, we just followed the law and we followed the Constitution. And at the end of the day, President Trump came up short. But I had to be faithful to the Constitution. And that's what I swore an oath to do."

Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the office of the Georgia Secretary of State, described how he "lost it" when he saw a tweet doxxing a 20-year-old first-generation American youth who worked as Dominion polling machine contractor. The tweet called the kid a traitor and included a GIF of a noose. 

You remember Mr. Sterling giving the powerful press conference on December 1, 2020 just after he saw this tweet. He angrily called out 45 by name and warned that violence may ensue and there was a risk of the loss of life because of this behavior. 

Here's that press conference in full.

Mr. Sterling also took part in reviewing the videotape that the Mango Moron and his supporters said contained evidence of all kinds of election malfeasance. The videotape showed absolutely normal operations. He was extremely frustrated that the campaign conflated perfectly normal procedures into some sort of nefarious conspiracy theory. He tried to publicly combat the misinformation scheme as best he could. 

Last to testify on Tuesday was Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss, a low-level Fulton County election official and poll worker. She described her love for the job of enfranchising voters by helping them apply for ballots, access absentee ballots, as well as her work in counting ballots. She said she had been inspired to be a poll worker because of her grandmother, who instilled in her the importance of voting because it is a right not to be taken for granted. 

Ms. Moss and her mother "Lady Ruby" Freeman were both working to count votes and were in the building when that famous video was taken out of context and circulated by the campaign as some sort of "proof" of "fraud."  

They became the next victims of the Jabba the Gut's ugly intimidation campaign. Horrible allegations were made about them. Here is what Rudy Giuliani said about them: "Ruby Freeman and Shaye Freeman Moss and one other gentleman quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine. I mean, it's our — it's obvious to anyone who's a criminal investigator or prosecutor they are engaged in surreptitious illegal activity again that day, and that's a week ago, and they're still walking around Georgia lying." 

That USB device? It was a ginger mint. 

DJT himself used Ruby Freeman's name 18 times in the phone conversation with Raffensperger. These two hard-working poll workers, doing the job for the good of their state and the nation, serving the citizens of Georgia, were directly and by name targeted by the most powerful man in the free world. 

And of course they were traumatized by the abuse and threats they suffered. "A lot of threats wishing death upon me, telling me that, you know, I'm — I'll be in jail with my mother, and saying things like be glad it's 2020 and not 1920."

Here we are, more than a year and a half later, and still their lives are turned upside down. They suffer anxiety and depression and live in fear of threats of violence.

Lady Ruby testified, "I won't even introduce myself by my name anymore. I get nervous when I bump into someone I know in the grocery store who says my name. I'm worried about who's listening. I get nervous when I have to give my name for food orders. I'm always concerned of who's around me. I've lost my name, and I've lost my reputation. I've lost my sense of security, all because a group of people, starting with number 45 and his ally Rudy Giuliani, decided to scapegoat me and my daughter Shaye to push their own lies about how the presidential election was stolen." (I love that Lady Ruby called him "45" in her deposition. Keep that filth out of your mouth!)

I was in tears from the start of Shaye's testimony, celebrating the civic joy of doing election work, to the end of it, lamenting the injustice and pain of the harassment she and her mother endured. 

Ms. Moss was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage in April, 2022.

She no longer works for Georgia elections.

George Winners (thanks to Sister Resister Karen for the 'toon)

There's more.The hearing was chock-full and nothing was superfluous. It deserves a watch. Here it is:

Final thought. 

TЯUMP's brand of misinformation has its own life. It continues. As Chairman Bennie Thompson said in his opening statement, "Two weeks ago, New Mexico held its primary elections. One county commission refused to certify the results, citing vague, unsupported claims dealing with Dominion voting machines. The court stepped in, saying New Mexico law required the commission to certify the results. Two of the three members of the commission finally relented. One still refused, saying his vote 'Isn't based on any evidence. It's not based on any facts. It's only based on my gut feeling and my own intuition, and that's all I need.'" 

We must not let truth and facts become supplanted by the fantastical fantasies of wing-nuts. Keep up the hard work, resisters!

The next hearing is tomorrow, Thursday June 23, at noon Pacific, 3 p.m. Eastern. After that, the hearings will be postponed until July, as the committee has uncovered "a mountain of new evidence" and they need time to compile it. 

Again, many thanks to Stephen Colbert and his viewers for nicknames!

Click here for Part 5: Target DOJ

January 6 hearings. Part 3: Hang Mike Pence

First of all, how come no one is taking about former Whitewash House attorney Eric Herschmann's decorations? That panda tho!

Thursday's hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol started with Chairman Bennie Thompson (D - Miss.) quoting Mike Pence when he spoke a few days after the insurrection: "There's almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president."

The day's hearing surrounded the part of the plan where the Commander n Thief attempted to make his devoted V.P. into the lackey. And to have him killed if necessary.

There were three main points regarding 45 and his V.P. in today's testimony: 

• 45 was told repeatedly by numerous people that Mike Pence did not have authority to do what the president* was asking, which was to either reject the certification of the electoral votes and declare 45 the winner of the election, or send the matter back to the states.

• 45 did not care that it was illegal and unconsitutional and pressured Pence into taking action right up until the 11th hour

• 45 put the V.P. in mortal danger.

Vice President Pence, on the other hand, had one plan of action: Do. Not. Budge.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) led most of the proceedings Thursday, and he was assisted in questioning by conservative lawyer John Wood, who served as United States Attorney in Missouri under President Bush II. Two live witnesses testified today: V.P. Mike Pence's former attorney Greg Jacob, who was with the Vice President all day on January 6, and retired conservative judge Michael Luttig, who is the conservat-ist of conservative judges, and very much esteemed in Conservativille. Luttig was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by Bush I and was on the short-list for SCOTUS twice. Judge Luttig advised Mike Pence regarding the legal circumstances of the vice president's role in the certification of election results.

Thursday's testimony drilled down on the law surrounding the role of the vice president in the certification process. They talked a lot about one sentence in the 12th Amendment, which outlines the veep's role, and the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which clarified and codified it.

Some commentators note that the hearing was slow and full of legalese. Well, yup. Because we are a nation ruled by law. It's how we do things. Judge Luttig – in his achingly slooow, law professor manner – offered this thought: "The foundational truth is the rule of law. That foundational truth is, for the United States of America, the profound truth, but it's not merely the profound truth for the United States, it's also the simple truth, the simple foundational truth of the American republic." 

The line in question from the 14th Amendment reads: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted."

There is no mention of any power that the vice president has in withholding certification nor litigating it by sending the results back to the state legislatures. Niether the 12th Amendment nor the Electoral Count Act of 1887 give any authority to the vice president. The role is ceremonial. Further, there had been no historical precedent of any vice president in 240 years of our nation who tried to interfere with the certification. 

If it were possible for the vice president to simply declare someone the winner, at their whim, why didn't Al Gore do it? Vice President Gore, who had just lost the presidential election, had to preside over the certification of Bush II after a highly contentious 2000 election. In fact, he gaveled down protests in his favor when he presented the certificates for the presidency he had just lost, after winning the popular vote no less. My heart swelled watching the video they showed where Gore said, "The importance of the United States of America in all of human history, in Lincoln's phrase, we still are the last best hope of humankind. And the choice between one's own disappointment in your personal career and upholding the — the noble traditions of America's democracy, it's a pretty easy choice when it comes down to it."

Mike Pence was of the same mind. He knew he didn't have authority. He knew it was illegal, and, well, was it even a choice? 

Everyone around the president* agreed on this point. Mike Pence's lawyers agreed. 45's lawyers agreed. Even the guy who conspired with the president*, attorney John Eastman, at one point conceded that the plan was unconstitutional. And they all told the president that it was illegal, including Eastman. 

But Eastman strayed from the chorus. He knew it was illegal, but he continued to take an active role in the plot with Kermit the Fraud to pressure Pence into taking illegal action to interfere with the certification of election results on January 6. 

Later, Dr. Eastman would request a presidential pardon (his official email request, like a high school junior asking to be on the prom committee: “I’ve decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works”). He wasn't granted a pardon. He also asserted his 5th Amendment right not to provide self-incriminating testimony at least 100 times during this committee's inquiry. 

The committee illustrated how SCROTUS's pressure campaign played out. He tried to pressure Pence personally, most glaringly in a phone call on the morning of January 6. Witnesses, including the Family Fondler's daughter Ivanka, testified that the conversation got "heated." The words "wimp" and "pussy" were thrown around by the president* on the phone call to Pence.

The Lord of the Fries also pressured Pence publicly. After a January 4 meeting where Pence and Jacob met with Eastman and 45 and told them plainly that Pence did not have any authority to do what was being asked, the campaign put out a statement stating that the president* and Pence were “in complete agreement.” And before and during the awful day, The Walrus (Coup-Coup-Cachoo) also tweeted, calling out Mike Pence by name and questioning his "courage." He also mentioned Pence 11 times in his ad-libbed speech to the mob on January 6. 

But on January 6, Mike Pence did not waver. He did not budge. He did his duty.

This tweet was released at 2:24 p.m., after SCROTUS was informed of the unfolding violence. 

Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!

The tweet was read by the insurrectionists as directives from mission command. We heard one insurrectionist yell, "If Pence caved, we're going to drag motherfuckers through the streets. You politicians are going to be dragged through the streets."

And they would have. Shortly thereafter, the chants of "Hang Mike Pence" began.

The committee revealed that an anonymous informant from the Proud Boys stated that "they would have killed Mike Pence if given a chance." The Tangerine Toddler didn't care. As Liz Cheney told us, when he was made aware of the chants of "Hang Mike Pence," he said, "Maybe our supporters have the right idea.' Mike Pence 'deserves it.'"

The committee described how Pence was ushered out with seconds to spare.The mob was a mere 40 feet from him as he made his way to a safe location. They also showed photographs of the Vice President in some Capitol basement loading dock, doing the country's business while the mob was searching for him somewhere above. He refused to leave the Capitol grounds, not wanting to risk people seeing him flee the Capitol and determined to finish the business of the day. He did not budge in performing his duty. As you know, Congress reconvened several hours later and properly certified the election results. 

Many are calling Pence a "hero," but yanno? He was simply doing his duty. Following the law. If that makes him a hero, then may we all be American heroes. The others are villainous, to be sure, but a hero isn't necessary to contrast against the villainy. I think he is simply and profoundly a fine, upstanding citizen.

Veep is watching the Burger Baby's video where he told the insurrectionists, "So go home. We love you; you're very special."

Both live witnesses were compelling. Judge Luttig gave especially powerful testimony. He was full of gravitas, fitting his role as an esteemed conservative judge who truly didn't relish what he had to testify to: that the United States was this close to a revolution. But he was unequivocal. It was unconstitutional for Mike Pence to do anything different than he did. And his final words were especially sobering:

I have written, as you said, Chairman Thompson, that today, almost two years after that fateful day in January 2021, that still Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy. That's not because of what happened on January 6th. It's because, to this very day, the former president, his allies, and supporters pledge that, in the presidential election of 2024, if the former president or his anointed successor as the Republican Party presidential candidate were to lose that election, that they would attempt to overturn that 2024 election in the same way that they attempted to overturn the 2020 election, but succeed in 2024 where they failed in 2020. I don't speak those words lightly.

Watch the third hearing here:

What's next?

We got teasers last week about two important facets of that day. We need to hear more. 

The committee has released video of right-wing Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) giving a Capitol tour on January 5. Firstly, know that public tours of the Capitol had been suspended for months due to Covid. Secondly, surveillance cameras show that those red-hatted magats on the tour were taking photos not of statues and paintings in the august, hallowed halls of our democracy's heart, but of stairwells, hallways, and security checkpoints. We have questions.

The committee also revealed that they are in possession of emails that Ginni Thomas, wife to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, exchanged with the nefarious Dr. John Eastman, the villain at the center of the plot to overthrow the government. We have many questions. 

The next hearing will take place on Tuesday, June 21 at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT), and following that, on Thursday, June 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern time, noon Pacific. It's likely that the next hearing will outline the part of the plan where pressure was mounted on state legislators and election officials to change the results of the election.

Mike Luckovich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Stay tuned!

Click here for Part 4: The Intimidation Campaign

The January 6th Hearings. Part 2: The Big Lie and the Big Con

First, cartoons!

Pat Byrnes, Cagle Cartoons

Michael de Adder, The Washington Post

Michael de Adder, The Washington Post

R.J. Matson, Cagle Cartoons

The second hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol started with a delay, as an 11th-hour revelation that 45's 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien would not be able to testify in person due to his wife going into labor. The committee took some time to scramble to adjust their schedule and made due with video presentations of his previously-taped testimony. Congratulations to the Stepian family!

Today's hearing focused on the fact that the claims of fraud were investigated and found false by members of 45's inner circle, including his attorney general, and he was directly and unequivocally informed of their baselessness. Yet The Big Lie-bowski continued to push the lie on TV, both as an opening salvo for his attempted coup and as a way to continue his grift, conning his supporters out of millions upon millions of dollars. 

The bottom line: he lost and he knew he lost. But he continued the lie anyway.

Congressperson Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) took center stage today as she presented witnesses to illustrate several points.

The former president* was advised not to declare victory too early. All of his campaign officials told him that over the last 40-50 years, since mail-in ballot has been a thing, early results often favor the Republican candidate. Known as the "Red Mirage," it will often appear that the Repug candidate is winning because mail-in ballots, which generally favor the Democrat candidate, take longer to count, sometimes many days longer. The 2020 Republican candidate for president had discouraged his supporters from voting by mail. And though election-night reporting favored him, as we all know, the mail-in ballots eventually tilted the election toward Joe Biden. All of those around him advised him to wait to declare victory. All, of course, save one inebriated Rudy Giuliani, who goaded him into declaring victory on election night.

Claims of fraud were at the center of his plot to overthrow the government, and this narrative was started early. In fact, he started the fraud narrative in April of 2020, a full seven months before the election (truly, though, he started it during the 2016 election as a hedge against a possible loss then). In April, 2020 he declared, "The only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged. To remember that. It's the only way we're going to lose this election. This is going to be a fraud like you've never seen." 

Claims of fraud were investigated and found to be false. There were many campaign staff, attorneys, and members of his inner circle stating plainly that his claims were (in Bill Barr's words) "bullshit." Testimony revealed that 45 would assert a claim that he "had been told" or "had heard on TV" regarding a possible source of fraud. Each time, he would have people run it down. Invariably, no evidence would turn up. And Mayor McTreason would be informed of such. But, invariably, he would go on TV the next day and claim that those falsities were true.

The Tangerine Palpatine took 62 cases to the courts, his legal right, and the right thing to do when fraud is suspected. He lost in 61 of them, including rulings by ten judges appointed by 45 himself. By the way, the one case that found in his favor was a minor victory; it didn't appreciably change any election results. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter called this tactic "a coup in search of a legal outcome."

His supporters bought his lies, and they went to Washington on January 6 because they really truly thought the election had been stolen. 

Oh look! More crimes! He bilked his supporters out of hundreds of millions of dollars ostensibly for his "Official Election Defense Fund." Money was instead funneled into his pockets and the pockets of allied conservative organizations. The committee found no such fund existed. In fact, his legal fees are paid by the RNC. Most of the money garnered from hundreds of email campaigns to small-dollar donations eventually went to the newly-formed "Save America PAC," which in turn funneled funds to pro-TЯUMP organizations, such as Chief of Staff Mark Meadows's Conservative Partnership Institute, Trump hotels, and the organization that organized his January 6 "rally."

My random thoughts:

Former Faux News editor Chris Stirewalt seemed a little too excited to be there. He was über proud that Faux News beat the competition in calling Arizona. But being the first to call Arizona for Biden definitely put a little rain on Scooby Coup's party. Stirewalt described the Red Mirage and the need for patience in awaiting results. He plainly said that there was no doubt about who won the election.

The orange scourge's campaign manager Bill Sepian, though his testimony was from previously-recorded depositions instead of live, was compelling. He pushed back on his boss's narrative from election night through til the end. Sepien had inherited the campaign with 115 days left in the race, and it was becoming obvious that there were two camps evolving. He said he was fine being included in "Team Normal," with the other team being headed by  the very abnormal Rudy Giuliani. 

I've never seen Marty Feldman and Rudy Giuliani in the same room...

Zoe Lofgren described attorney Sidney Powell's (speaking of abnormal) testimony in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion voting machines. She quoted Powell as saying, "no reasonable person would conclude that her statements (about Dominion machines perpetrating massive fraud) were truly statements of fact." What the actual hell. 

The committee played a lot of Bill Barr's testimony. Barr called it "awkward" that he hadn't talked to the Jabba the Gut since before Election Day when he went to the Whitewash House on November 23. It was a few days later when 45 seemed to put the fraud at the feet of the Justice Department ("How the FBI and Department of Justice — I don't know, maybe they're involved, but how people are allowed to get away from this stuff — with this stuff is unbelievable."). Barr described how he directly contradicted 45's claims of fraud, that it was "bullshit" and that "it was doing a great, grave disservice to the country." Barr was nearly fired that day, but hung in there and kept pushing back for another couple weeks. He testified that one day he told 45 that his ideas about Dominion machines was nonsense and described SCROTUS as becoming "detached from reality." He testified that the very next day the president* went on TV and spouted more lies about Dominion. It was shortly after this that Barr resigned. 

Bill Barr also made the point that the Mango Mussolini ran weaker than other Republican candidates on the ticket in Pennsylvania. No fraud. Duh. 

BJay Pak, appointed by 45 as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, testified about another wild-goose chase. Pak had been approached by A.G. Barr to look into allegations about a "suitcase full of ballots" mysteriously turning up in Fulton County. They found that the "black suitcase" was a typical lock-box of ballots that had been tucked away. Poll workers were called back to count them and there was absolutely nothing nefarious about it.

What a waste of time and resources having everyone run around investigating these made-up allegations of fraud and getting the Justice Department involved in state-level election concerns. 

Al Schmidt, former City Commissioner for the city of Philadelphia, testified about a tweet that Twitler had broadcast naming Schmidt after he and his fellow commissioners found no evidence of "8,000 dead people" voting in Philadelphia. After the tweet, Mr. Schmidt and his family were the victims of death threats and other harassment. I just about cried at the thought of this otherwise anonymous, hard-working elections official becoming the target of death threats due to a desperate, desperate idiot's orange-colored fantasies. 

What another waste of time and resources: 61 desperate court cases failed or were tossed, including in front of 45-appointed judges. Several attorneys were sanctioned for these frivolous cases, including Giuliani being suspended from practicing law in the State of New York. 

The Fundraising: $252 million raised from his unwitting sycophants. So many thousands of small-dollar donors parted with their hard-earned money, and most of it simply lined Don the Con's pockets. Well, if ya can't pull off a coup, might as well run a grift! 

I had to giggle when they played SCROTUS describing one incident of fraud: "They call them dumps, big massive dumps." It may be the one thing he got right. What a shit show. 

Late breaking news: the Marmalade Menace has issued a rambling response, repeating the the big lie yet again. He is accusing the committee of trying to “prevent him from running again for the presidency.”  No, little man, they are trying for much bigger than that. Moron.  

I had a question for A.G. Garland in my last post: "Are you listening?" Turns out, yes. Yes he is.

Next question: Mr. Garland, will you act?

Here's the entirety of Monday's hearing:

The next hearing is on Wednesday morning, June 15, at 10am EDT (7am PDT), and another one is scheduled for Thursday June 16 at 1pm EDT (10am PDT). **** Correction: the committee is postponing Wednesday’s hearing. The Thursday hearing will take place as scheduled. ****

Thanks to Stephen Colbert and his viewers for many of today's nicknames. 

Click here for Part 3: Hang Mike Pence

The January 6th Hearings: Part 1. Laying out the case.

We the People have an important duty: bear witness to the entirety of the events surrounding the January 6 insurrection. This month's televised hearings are huge. And so, Little Sister Resister crawls out of her cozy California hole.

Resisters, it's been one year and four months since we've gathered on these pages. 

The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is presenting a series of televised hearings on their investigation, beginning with the hearing on the night of Thursday, June 9. The two-hour primetime hearing aired on all of the major news outlets. 

The committee is comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans from the 117th Congress:

Bennie Thompson, Mississippi, Chair Zoe Lofgren, California Adam Schiff, California Pete Aguilar, California Stephanie Murphy, Florida Jamie Raskin, Maryland Elaine Luria, Virginia

Liz Cheney, Wyoming, Vice Chair Adam Kinzinger, Illinois

Chart thanks to Wikipedia.

The committee convened in July of 2021. They've worked hard over the last year, with remote and live depositions from over 1,000 witnesses, from Whitewash House officials, including members of 45's family, all the way down to responding police officers and members of the rioting mob. Now, they present some of their findings and will conduct a series of 6-8 televised hearings over the next two weeks, presenting much of the testimony they have gathered over the the year, as well as live witnesses. 

On Thursday night, they laid the groundwork of their investigation in front of an enthralled nation. And they brought receipts. 

We watched absorbed for two hours, which was packed with information that we knew and more than one moment where we were transfixed. "Wait a minute, did we know that?! We didn't know that!"

The committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and vice-chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) made powerful opening statements. Like a a good prosecutor's opening argument in a criminal proceeding, they laid out the arc of their case and some of their evidence before calling two live witnesses, both of whom were compelling. 

It was captivating. Disturbing. Maddening, Frightening. Surprising. And not surprising. 

They laid the whole debacle directly and unequivocally at the feet of the former president*. 

What I could write here is not adequate. The words of the committee members and witnesses speak for themselves. I give you important quotes from the hearing.

On the driving force behind the attempted coup.

"Donald Trump was at the center of this conspiracy." – Thompson

"The attack on our Capitol was not a spontaneous riot." – Cheney

 "President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack." – Cheney

"There is no doubt that President Trump was well aware of the violence as it developed." – Cheney

"As you will see in the hearings to come, President Trump believed his supporters at the Capitol, and I quote, 'were doing what they should be doing.' This is what he told his staff as they pleaded with him to call off the mob, to instruct his supporters to leave." – Cheney

"They knew that President Donald Trump was too dangerous to be left alone." – Cheney

"January 6th was the culmination of an attempted coup, a brazen attempt, as one rioter to put it shortly after January 6th, to overthrow the government. The violence was no accident. It represents seeing Trump's last stand, most desperate chance to halt the transfer of power." – Thompson

"On the morning of January 6th, President Donald Trump's intention was to remain President of the United States despite the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and in violation of his constitutional obligation to relinquish power. Over multiple months, Donald Trump oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the Presidential election and prevent the transfer of Presidential power. In our hearings, you will see evidence of each element of this plan." – Cheney

"What President Trump demanded that Mike Pence do wasn't just wrong, it was illegal and it was unconstitutional." – Cheney

"Donald Trump had his days in court to challenge the results. He was within his rights to seek those judgment in the United States. Law abiding citizens have those tools for pursuing justice. He lost in the courts, just as he did at the ballot box. And in this country, that's the end of the line. But for Donald Trump, that was only the beginning of what became a sprawling multistep conspiracy aimed at overturning the presidential election, aimed at throwing out the votes of millions of Americans, your votes, your voice in our democracy, and replacing the will of the American people with his will to remain in power after his term ended. Donald Trump was at the center of this conspiracy, and ultimately Donald Trump, the president of the United States, spurred a mob of domestic enemies of the Constitution to march down the Capitol and subvert American democracy." – Thompson

"Those who invaded our capital and battled law enforcement for hours were motivated by what President Trump had told them, that the election was stolen and that he was the rightful President. President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack." – Cheney

"President Trump invested millions of dollars of campaign funds purposely spreading false information, running ads he knew were false, and convincing millions of Americans that the election was corrupt and that he was the true President. As you will see, this misinformation campaign provoked the violence on January 6th." – Cheney

"What President Trump demanded that Mike Pence do wasn't just wrong, it was illegal and it was unconstitutional." – Cheney

"The judge evaluated the facts and he reached the conclusion that President Trump's efforts to pressure Vice President Pence to act illegally by refusing to count electoral votes likely violated two federal criminal statutes. And the judge also said this. If Dr. Eastman and President Trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the court fears January 6th will repeat itself." – Cheney

"You will hear that President Trump was yelling and 'really angry' at advisers who told him he needed to be doing something more. And aware of the rioters' chants to hang Mike Pence, the president responded with this sentiment, 'Maybe our supporters have the right idea.' Mike Pence 'deserves it.'" – Cheney, describing witness testimony

Just sickening.

On the response.

"Throughout our history, the United States has fought against foreign enemies to preserve our democracy, electoral system, and country. When the United States Capitol was stormed and burned in 1814, foreign enemies were responsible. Afterward, in 1862, when American citizens had taken up arms against this country, Congress adopted a new oath to help make sure no person who had supported the rebellion could hold a position of public trust. Therefore, Congresspersons and United States federal government employees were required for the first time to swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That oath was put to test on January 6th, 2021. The police officers who held the line that day honored their oath. Many came out of that day bloodied and broken. They still bear those wounds, visible and invisible. They did their duty. They repelled the mob and ended the occupation of the Capitol. They defended the Constitution against domestic enemies so that Congress could return, uphold our own oath, and count your votes to ensure the transfer of power, just as we've done for hundreds of years." – Thompson

"As part of our investigation we will present information about what the White House and other intelligence agencies knew and why the Capitol was not better prepared. But we will not lose sight of the fact that the Capitol Police did not cause the crowd to attack. And we will not blame the violence that day — violence provoked by Donald Trump — on the officers who bravely defended all of us." – Cheney

"There were two — two or three calls with Vice President Pence. He was very animated and he issued very explicit, very direct, unambiguous orders. There was no question about that. And — and he was — and — and I can give you the exact quotes I guess from some of our records somewhere. But he was very animated, very direct, very firm. And to Secretary Miller, get the military down here. Get the Guard down here, put down this situation, etc." – General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"He [Chief of Staff Mark Meadows] said we have — we have to kill the narrative that the Vice President is making all the decisions. We need to establish the narrative that, you know, that the President is still in charge and that things are steady or stable or words to that effect. I immediately interpret that as politics, politics, politics. Red flag for me personally, no action. But I remember it distinctly." – General Mark Milley

"There, in a sacred space in our constitutional republic, the place where our presidents lie in state, watched over by statues of Washington and Jefferson, Lincoln and Grant, Eisenhower, Ford, and Reagan, against every wall that night encircling the room, there were SWAT teams, men and women in tactical gear with long guns deployed inside our Capitol building. There in the rotunda, these brave men and women rested beneath paintings depicting the earliest scenes of our republic, including one painted in 1824 depicting George Washington resigning his commission, voluntarily relinquishing power, handing control of the Continental Army back to Congress. With this noble act, Washington set the indispensable example of the peaceful transfer of power, what President Reagan called, nothing less than a miracle. The sacred obligation to defend this peaceful transfer of power has been honored by every American president except one." – Cheney

Words from videotaped witnesses.

Interviewer [asking about campaign attorney Alex Cannon's conclusion that there was no election fraud]: "And what was [Trump Chief of Staff] Mr. Meadows reaction to that information?" Alex Cannnon: "I believe the words he used were, so there's no there there."

“I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the president was bullshit. And I didn’t want to be a part of it, and that’s one of the reasons that went into me deciding to leave when I did.” – Former Attorney General Bill Barr

"I accepted what [Bill Barr] was saying." – Ivanka Trump

"President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone. And frankly, there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American President." – Vice President Mike Pence

The live witnesses.

The first two witnesses described the initial scene. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who was on duty at the Capitol's West Plaza, described her harrowing experience, where she was knocked unconscious only to regain consciousness a little later and return to duty, holding back rioters and assisting other officers who where injured. Since the insurrection, she has been unable to return to active duty due to sequelae from her traumatic brain injury.

Also testifying was documentarian Nick Quested, who was invited by the Proud Boys to document their planning, assembling, and implementing a violent coup against the United States Government. 

Firstly, what morons. Secondly, holy shit more horrifying footage. 

Quested's footage of the events, including a day-before meeting between leaders from the Proud Boys and leaders from the Oathkeepers, was direct evidence that the attempted coup was planned in advance and coordinated by two groups of armed and armored domestic enemies. These men believed that SCROTUS had directed them to act. And they did, in a highly coordinated way, ready to do violent battle. We'll hear more about these groups and their seditious acts in the coming hearings. For now, know that several Proud Boys members have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges, and many others have been indicted. Seditious conspiracy. Let that sink in. 

The video.

Besides Quested's footage, the committee released a 12-minute montage of video clips illustrating the hours of violence. It was disturbing and haunting, much of it was new, and it brought back the horrors of that day. We saw fixed-position overhead video, Capitol building security footage, and police body cam video. Part of the video showed a member of the mob read one of Twitler's tweets as a battle cry. We heard haunting chants of "Nannnncy....Nannnncy...." as they marched toward Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office, and chants of "Hang Mike Pence!" superimposed on the gallows that had been planned and erected on Capitol grounds. At the end of the clip, as images showed the mob viciously beating police officers on the ground, we heard 45's voice: "They were peaceful people. These were great people. The crowd was unbelievable. And I mentioned the word love. The love — the love in the air, I've never seen anything like it." 

It was a scary, hate-filled, violent mob. 

Here is the video presented to the American people. Warning: it's hard to watch. Click on "Watch on YouTube" or follow this link.

My thoughts.

Mad respect to Liz Cheney. She was good. She is standing up for what's right even as her career as U.S. Representative goes down in flames. She is the definition of a statesperson. At the end of her remarks, Rep. Cheney called out her fellow Republicans. "There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone. But your dishonor will remain." 

We want to hear more. In the end, like a good criminal prosecution opening argument, the hearing made We the Jury want to hear more, yearn to see the evidence, and eager to learn about the charges for which 45 and others are to face. Attorney General Merrick Garland, are you listening?

Will there be punishment for the former president*? We've already seen two impeachments end in acquittals. Congress can't do much more. It'll be up to A.G. Garland. Public pressure may sway him, if the overwhelming evidence somehow doesn't. So let your voice be heard. 

Will minds be changed? Unsure. If enough people can get a glimpse, they may be. Every major news outlet carried the hearing live. But Faux News did all they could to make sure their minions did not get a glimpse. During *ucker Carlson's show on Thursday, running at the same time as the hearing, they did not run a single commercial, for fear that casual channel-surfing would expose their viewers to the truth. 

There's more. It was a packed two hours, and not a moment was superfluous. If you missed it, I highly encourage you to watch the full hearing, and also plan to watch the rest of them over the next few weeks. The next televised hearing will be on Monday, June 12 at 10am EDT (7am PDT).

Watch Thursday's hearing here. 

I'll be back.

Click here for Part 2: The Big Lie and The Big Con