Category: Capitol Insurrection

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump Mike Pence The Trump Organization WTF?!

Trump Claims Threats To ‘Hang Mike Pence’ Were OK Because ‘People Were Very Angry’

Chants and threats to “hang Mike Pence” by insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 were no big deal, according to failed former President Donald Trump because “people were very angry.”

In an interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News, the one-term, twice-impeached Trump said he was certain Pence was safe as thousands of pro-Trump supporters rioted and forced their way into Congress on the day that the 2020 presidential election was being certified.

Karl asked Trump:

“Were you worried about (Pence) during that siege? Were you worried about his safety?”

Trump responded:

“No, I thought he was well-protected, and I had heard that he was in good shape. No. Because I had heard he was in very good shape. But, but, no, I think —”

That led Karl to interject:

“Because you heard those chants — that was terrible. I mean — “

Trump:

“He could have — well, the people were very angry.”

And then Trump began to further rationalize how close Pence came to being killed:

“Because it’s common sense, Jon. It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress? How can you do that? And I’m telling you: 50/50, it’s right down the middle for the top constitutional scholars when I speak to them. Anybody I spoke to — almost all of them at least pretty much agree, and some very much agree with me — because he’s passing on a vote that he knows is fraudulent. How can you pass a vote that you know is fraudulent? Now, when I spoke to him, I really talked about all of the fraudulent things that happened during the election. I didn’t talk about the main point, which is the legislatures did not approve — five states. The legislatures did not approve all of those changes that made the difference between a very easy win for me in the states, or a loss that was very close, because the losses were all very close.”

In other words, because Trump lost to President Joe Biden, Pence was expendable, little more than a pawn in the larger plan for a coup that the ex-president and his allies put in place shortly after it became clear that Biden had won by a landslide.

If the House Select Committee was looking for a smoking gun which proves Donald Trump’s culpability for what took place on Jan. 6, they don’t have to look any further than his remarks to Jon Karl.

 

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump Elections Mike Pence The Trump Adminstration

Members Of Mike Pence’s ‘Inner Circle’ Appear Ready To Tell What They Know To The 1/6 Committee

In a move that could well spell big trouble for failed, one-term former President Donald Trump and those who conspired with him to arrange the rioting which took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, it appears that five members of former Vice President Mike Pence’s inner circle are ready to tell what they know to the House Select Committee investigating what transpired on that fateful day earlier this year.

According to CNN, the committee does indeed want to speak with top officials who served as senior advisers to Pence:

Among them is Pence’s former national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, who was subpoenaed by the committee on Tuesday and was with former President Donald Trump most of the day on January 6.

While Kellogg was subpoenaed, most of the other staffers are reportedly eager to provide testimony:

Multiple sources tell CNN that some individuals close to Pence may be willing, either voluntarily or under the guise of a “friendly subpoena,” to provide critical information on how Trump and his allies tried to pressure the former vice president to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The other former Pence officials who are reportedly willing to talk to the committee include the ex-VP’s chief of staff:

Sources tell CNN the list consists of several people who are close to Pence, including former chief counsel Greg Jacob and former chief of staff Marc Short. Also of potential interest to the committee, according to a source with knowledge, are Pence’s previous chief of staff Nick Ayers, former legislative affairs director Chris Hodgson, political adviser Marty Obst, and former special assistant Zach Bauer.

In addition, former Pence press secretary and Trump communications aide Alyssa Farah, who left the administration in early December 2020, has voluntarily met with Republicans on the House select committee and provided information.

All five of the former Pence staffers are believed to have important details about what took place on the day of the Capitol insurrection, including information regarding what they may have heard or see Trump doing as pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and threatened to kill members of Congress and Pence:

The committee also stated that Kellogg was at the White House on January 6 as the attack unfolded and has “direct information” regarding Trump’s “statements about and reactions to the Capitol insurrection.”

While Kellogg served as Pence’s national security adviser, he is considered a key witness because of his proximity to Trump on January 6. The former president’s then national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, was out of town that day.

Jacob, as chief counsel to Pence, is also a key figure because he “played a critical role in countering efforts to persuade the former vice president not to certify the electoral results.”

That effort, according to committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), is important if the American people are ever to know exactly how close this country came to seeing a coup carried out by a sitting president:

“There was very clearly a plan on the political coup side to mobilize a campaign to get Mike Pence to block certification of the electoral college votes.”

Pence may also wind up being called to testify before the House Select Committee, which would set up an interesting quandary for a man who has tried to distance himself from his former boss but also needs Trump’s base of support if he hopes to run for the White House himself in 2024.

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Capitol Insurrection Congress Domestic Terrorism GOP

House Dems Consider Using Sergeant-At-Arms To Arrest Those Defying Subpoenas From Jan. 6 Committee

With the Justice Department seeming to slow-walk criminal referrals sent from the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection for those who have refused to comply with subpoenas for the committee, Democrats are now looking closely at an alternative way to enforce the power of their subpoenas.

According to Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), it may be time to go back to having the House Sergeant-at-Arms detain anyone who defies a subpoena.

During an appearance on MSNBC Monday, Connolly explained how the process would work:

“So we used to have a process, until 1930, from the beginning of the republic to 1930, in which Congress enforced its own compulsory testimonies. That meant that, if necessary, we sent the Sergeant-at-Arms… and arrested people and detained them until the cooperated with the congressional subpoena.”

Keep in mind the DOJ has yet to move on the criminal referral for contempt of Congress that was issued against former Trump administration aide Steve Bannon. That referral was made on October 20, and yet Bannon still walks free.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace asked Connolly if he’d “seen enough” of the DOJ’s lack of action when it comes to indicting Bannon. The congressman replied:

“I think the Justice Department takes too long. And I think the courts take too long.”

There’s an old expression most of us have probably heard since we were children: Justice delayed is justice denied. That could not be more true in the case of what transpired at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The longer we are forced to wait for answers, the longer it will take to punish those responsible and formulate solutions to make sure such a horrific thing never takes place again in this country.

Here’s Congressman Connolly on MSNBC:

 

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Capitol Insurrection Domestic Terrorism GOP Whining

‘Karen’ Taylor Greene Gets Humiliated When She Berates A Warden At A Jail Holding Jan. 6 Rioters

When you consider how much she whines and complains about everything, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene really needs to change her name to “Karen.”

For example, Karen Taylor Greene showed up at a jail in Washington, D.C. (along with Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas) and demanded to visit with some of the Jan. 6 rioters/insurrectionists who are being held there, with Greene telling a deputy warden who denied the two entry (because they didn’t get approval from the Federal Bureau of Prisons in advance) that she was convinced he was “hiding” something:

“What do you have to hide here? Really, what are you hiding? I would like to see the whole facility. I’m concerned about every single person staying here.”

The warden refused her and Gohmert entry, asking in a calm, even tone:

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Clearly in need of a hearing aid, Greene remarked:

“Yes, you can open this door.”

Once again as calm as can be, the jail official told her:

“I’ll give you the phone number to the director’s office.”

Getting even more agitated, Greene retorted:

“You cannot deny them visitors. You’re clearly out of line in your position.”

At that point, Gohmert laughably suggested that he could have the deputy warden held in “contempt” by a federal judge, adding:

“We’ll be seeing you again.”

But what’s even more amazing is that Greene seemed to think the confrontation at the jail had been a win for her, so she shared a video of it on Twitter:

While her video will probably be a big hit with her acolytes (most of whom are the same brainless zombies that worship the failed, one-term former president), Karen Taylor Greene was quickly taken apart by others on social media, with many noting that the entire episode had been little more than a setup to garner attention:

https://twitter.com/TheOldOlaf/status/1455951493148786689?s=20

https://twitter.com/TheLesson55/status/1455962754804854785?s=20

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Capitol Insurrection Congress Domestic Terrorism Elections

Attorney For Jan. 6 Rioter: My Client Has Info About The ‘Kings And Queens’ Who Organized The Attack

An attorney for some of the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 is hinting that her clients are about to spill the beans on what she calls the “kings and queens” who organized the insurrection.

According to Politico, Heather Shaner, who represents several of the defendants who have been charged in connection with the Capitol riots, is helping the committee get a better picture of everyone who was involved in the violence:

Shaner also revealed that she helped connect the committee with another source — not one of her clients — who claimed to have information related to associates of Alex Jones, the far right broadcaster who helped promote pro-Trump election conspiracy theories.

Shaner told NBC News that her intent is to make sure her clients aren’t made to pay for the crimes of other, more senior members of the group that planned the attempted coup on the same day Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College votes from last November’s election which was overwhelmingly won by President Joe Biden:

“We want to see the queens and kings prosecuted not the pawns.”

The Jan. 6 Select Committee has also been hearing testimony from others who have been charged with crimes connected to the insurrection, Politico notes:

The committee has been interviewing and collecting documents from those involved in planning the rallies, though it’s unclear if all of the depositions have gone forward. A deposition set for Friday with a former Justice Department official who aided Trump’s effort to overturn the election was postponed after he switched attorneys.

Several former Trump administration officials — i.e. Steve Bannon and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — have also been subpoenaed for documents and testimony regarding what if any role they may have played in the attack on the Capitol building. Despite the subpoena, Bannon is refusing to comply and has been charged by the Justice Department with criminal contempt of Congress.