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| Ed Wexler Cagle Cartoons |
- There were plans to declare victory even in the case of a loss as early as July.
- The false victory speech was drafted as early as October 31, several days before Election Day, and on the same day Steve Bannon said on video:
And what Trump's going to do is just declare victory, right? He's gonna declare victory, but that doesn't mean he's the winner, he's just gonna say he's a winner. The Democrats — more of our people vote early that count. Theirs vote in mail, and so they're going to have a natural disadvantage and Trump's going to take advantage of it. That's our strategy.He's gonna declare himself a winner. So when you wake up Wednesday morning, it's going to be a firestorm. Also — also if Trump is — if Trump is losing by 10:00 or 11:00 at night, it's going to be even crazier, you know, because he's gonna sit right there and say they stole it.I'm directing the Attorney General to shut down all ballot places in all 50 states. It's going to be no, he's not going out easier. If Biden is winning, Trump is going to do some crazy shit.
- And on January 5th, the same ugly mug spewed this word vomit:
All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. It's all converging and now we're on, as they say, the point of attack, right, the point of attack tomorrow. I'll tell you this, it's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen. Ok. It's going to be quite extraordinarily different. And all I can say is strap in. You have made this happen and tomorrow it's game day. So strap in, let's get ready.
- The troll under the bridge Roger Stone said similar things as he paraded around with his Proud Boys. On November 1, he said:
I suspect it'll be — I really do suspect it will still be up in the air. When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is 9/10 of the law. No, we won. Fuck you. Sorry. Over. We won. You're wrong. Fuck you.
I said, fuck the voting, let's get right to the violence.
We'll have to start smashing pumpkins if you know what I mean.
It's important to remember that Stone was the link between The Salmon Seditionist and the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Stone was one of Twitler's favorite villainous actors, and he was firmly entrenched with those odious groups, using them as security and associated often with them. When he appeared before the committee for the January 6th matter, Stone pled the Fifth over and over.
As you may remember, SCROTUS pardoned Stone in July of 2020, just before he was due to report to prison for a 40-month sentence for lying to Congress about his involvement in the Russian interference.
McFib couldn't save Steve Bannon, though. Bannon was indicted, convicted, and sentenced for contempt of Congress after his would-be pardoner left office. He will be reporting for a 4-month stay at the Graybar Hotel.
Intentions for the "last, most desperate and dangerous" prong
The committee provided evidence that 45 intended all along to send the mob to the Capitol.
- When all his other attempts failed, by December 19th he was setting into motion his plans to attack. He issued this tweet, "Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"
- Though the Secret Service illegally deleted many texts surrounding January 6, the committee presented newly discovered emails and other evidence showing the Secret Service and other agencies knew about impending violence in advance of the speech on the ellipse. They knew about the armed mob assembling; they had heard chatter about direct threats to Pence. Here are a few tidbits from the USSS evidence:
- By December 26, the Secret Service and FBI received tips that the Proud Boys were planning to come armed on January 6. Rep. Adam Schiff reported, "The source went on to say their plan is to literally kill people." Literally kill people.
- On December 31, there were intelligence reports that supporters were planning to occupy Capitol Hall and there was an uptick in violent hashtags.
- On January 4th, one rally organizer texted, "POTUS is going to have us march there at the Capitol. And POTUS is going to just call for it 'unexpectedly.'"
- In the evening of January 5th, the Secret Service learned from the FBI briefing that right-wing groups were organizing "quick reaction forces" for January 6.
- On the morning of January 6, agents were aware that rally-goers were armed and gathering outside the magnetometers. Even before the speech began, they were aware of attendees with body armor, ballistic helmets, radio equipment, pepper spray and tactical shields. By 11:30, they knew of specific armed individuals carrying handguns and rifles and an assault rifle.
- One secret service agent wrote around 12:30 p.m., "With so many weapons found so far, you wonder how many are unknown. Could be sporty after dark."
- The worm Jason Miller, senior communications director, forwarded a link from the website TheDonald.win to Mark Meadows about a week before January 6. Miller proudly proclaimed that "I got the base fired up." Comments on the link included:
- "Gallows don't require electricity."
- "If the filthy commie maggots try to push their fraud through, there will be hell to pay."
- "Our lawmakers in Congress can leave one of two ways; one, in a body bag, two, after rightfully certifying Trump the winner."
- The word "BETRAYAL" is scrawled in my notes after I heard Rep. Schiff say this.
"The same day Jason Miller sent his text message, agents received reports about a spike in activity on another platform called Parler. This was December 30th. In this email, an agent received a report noting a lot of violent rhetoric on Parler directed at government people and entities, including Secret Service protectees.
One of these protectees was Vice President Pence, perhaps the primary target of President Trump's pressure campaign in the days leading up to January 6th. The day before the joint session, on January 5th, Secret Service was aware of increased chatter focused on Vice President Pence, in particular whether he would do what President Trump wanted him to do, reverse the results of the election in the joint session the next day, January 6th. On the morning of the 6th, agents received alerts of online threats that Vice — Vice President Pence would be 'a dead man walking if he doesn't do the right thing.' Another agent reported, 'I saw several other alerts saying they will storm the Capitol if he doesn't do the right thing.' The anger reflected in these postings was obvious, the man at the center of the storm on January 6th, President Trump."
Why didn't the Secret Service do more to protect Mike Pence? Disgraceful.
The Burned POTATUS
The committee has more evidence that SCROTUS was "irate" after he was denied making the trip to the Capitol with his armed mob. It was characterized as "water cooler talk" around the Whitewash House. It was obvious that many people realized that as bad as January 6 was, having him there would move the day to, as one former Whitewash House employee described, "something else if he physically walked to the Capitol. I don't know if you want to use the word insurrection, coup, whatever. We all knew that this would move from a normal democratic, you know, public event into something else."
The Real Leaders
One of the most compelling pieces in the hearing was the never-before-seen video of Congressional leaders, both Democrat and Republican, acting to get help from different agencies. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Mike Pence, and others were seen on the phone, calmly and decisively working to get law enforcement agencies to the scene, secure the Capitol, and resume the business of the People. As the mob was descending and 45 was watching in glee, the real leaders of our nation, whose very lives were threatened, were organizing help.
You may have seen it, but it bears watching again. I never thought I would hear a Speaker of the United States House of Representatives speak of the "poo poo that they're making all over the — literally and figuratively in the Capitol."
The Subpoena
At the end of the hearing, the committee unanimously voted to subpoena Double Agent Orange himself. It is the right thing to do. Through nine hearings they lay the blame squarely and firmly at his feet. To not subpoena the chief player would not make sense.
On Friday, the subpoena was delivered. We all know his testimony will never happen. But it was a must that they issue an order. He'll likely mount legal challenges, and if those can be extended through the end of the year and the House is flipped back to Red, it'll be moot. If not, he'll continue to fight it and may just find a sympathetic court.
Although....late breaking news. Speaker Pelosi called him out today, saying he's not "man enough" to testify. Will this be enough of an ego-challenge to prompt him to show up?
Please watch the entire hearing here:
The Future
What's next? <shrug> There is no word that the Committee will hold any more hearings. They will issue a report before the new Congress is seated in January. It will no doubt be a must-read. It will be packed with more evidence than was presented during the hearings.
It's imperative that we get out the vote. If the Repugs take control of the House in this mid-term election, the committee will be disbanded and this will be the end of it.
Vote Blue!
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| Randall Enos Cagle Cartoons |
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