Category: January 6

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump January 6 Mike Pence

Trump Was Hoping Pence And Members Of Congress Would Be ‘Killed Or Taken Hostage’ On Jan. 6: Report

Based on testimony from former Trump administration official Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday, it’s now clear that failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump wanted to see his vice president, Mike Pence, and members of Congress “killed or taken hostage” according to presidential historian Michael Beschloss.

During an appearance on MSNBC Wednesday morning, Beschloss noted:

“Everything that [Richard] Nixon did in the 1970s is put in the shade by what we have seen here. Nixon didn’t send armed terrorists up to the Capitol, and by everything that we are learning now what Donald Trump wanted to see on the 6th of January was violence. There’s every sign that he wanted to see members of Congress shot or killed or taken hostage, including his vice president, who, of course, is the president of the Senate.”

Beschloss added:

“Have we ever seen a president do 100th of that in the whole history of the United States? Historically, every other president is in one category. Donald Trump is in a category of his own.”

Consider a few more of the things Hutchinson revealed on Tuesday during her two hours of testimony, courtesy of New York magazine:

She said Trump was furious with his security officials, and she overheard him saying, “I don’t f- – -ing care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me.” Later, she said that Trump wanted them to march to the Capitol after his speech.

Previous witnesses had told the January 6 committee that Trump had been saying he wanted to march to the Capitol with his supporters in the weeks leading up to the rally, but Hutchinson revealed that Trump actually tried to go as soon as he finished his speech calling on the thousands assembled before him to march there. Trump boarded a vehicle with the Secret Service, thinking he was being taken to the Capitol.

As we’ve seen many times before, Donald Trump demands loyalty from others, but will toss anyone (even family) under the bus when it suits his purposes. That’s just plain evil.

Here’s Michael Beschloss on MSNBC:

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Capitol Insurrection Congress January 6 The Karma Is Gonna Get Ya

Jim Jordan Calls Cassidy Hutchinson’s Testimony ‘Hearsay’ – Gets Reminded Of His College Sex Scandal

Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan is such a clueless fool, and he proved it today when he sent out a tweet suggesting that former Trump administration aide Cassidy Hutchinson had provided nothing more than “hearsay” when she testified before the January 6 House Select Committee earlier this afternoon.

Using the Twitter account of the House Judiciary GOP (which Jordan’s office controls), the congressman posted:

“It’s literally all hearsay evidence. What a joke.”

That led former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti to give Jordan a lesson in the law, which he so clearly needs:

And then Ken White, a partner at Brown, White & Osborn, who tweets under the handle of “Popehat,” shredded Jordan by bringing up the sexual assault scandal he was part of while an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University.

“So if a player comes up to you and says ‘hey coach I went to the team doctor for a bloody nose and he grabbed my genitals instead,’ that’s not hearsay because he’s not repeating an out-of-court statement, it’s something that person perceived.”

“But if people came to you and said ‘hey coach a bunch of people are complaining that the team doctor is perving on them in the showers and doing gratuitous genital exams,’ that would be hearsay, because they’re talking about other people’s statements.”

“Now, say you were being sued for something — say, some sort of grotesque dereliction of duty for failing to report or stop the serial sexual abuse of people under your care — and a witness said ‘I told coach about it and he said ‘I have nothing to do with this.” That’s not hearsay either, because in that case you’re a party opponent and a statement of a party opponent is not hearsay. Just like first-hand witness testimony about what Trump said would be a statement of a party opponent in, say, a prosecution of Trump.”

https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1541909079509020672?s=20&t=qlHUtIAsgK5h0oJGLosUvA
https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1541909081136300032?s=20&t=qlHUtIAsgK5h0oJGLosUvA
https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1541909082503651328?s=20&t=qlHUtIAsgK5h0oJGLosUvA
https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1541909665369300992?s=20&t=qlHUtIAsgK5h0oJGLosUvA

As a finishing touch, Jones also noted that he thinks Trump is facing prosecution:

https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1541858416661934080?s=20&t=OmbLqaeiCR7hBnV4Jq4VoA

Jim Jordan just loves owning himself, doesn’t he?

 

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Capitol Insurrection Congress January 6 Social Media WTF?!

Marjorie Taylor Greene Tweets Out A Disgusting Threat At Cassidy Hutchinson

Near then end of today’s January 6 House Select Committee hearing, we learned that there have been efforts to exert influence on witnesses who appear before the panel.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who serves as vice chair of the committee, announced:

“The easy course is to hide from the spotlight and to deny what happened. We have evidence of one particular practice that raises significant concern.

“Our committee commonly asks witnesses connected to Mr. Trump’s administration or campaign whether they’ve been contacted by any of their former colleagues or anyone else who attempted to influence or impact their testimony.”

Cheney then read one example of a communique that had been sent to a witness:

“What they said to me is, as long as I continue to be a team player, they know I’m on the right team … I’m protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in good graces in Trump World. And they have reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts and just to keep that in mind as I proceeded through my depositions and interviews with the committee.” 

In another example, someone called a witness and said an unnamed person “wants me to let you know that they are thinking about you. He knows you’re loyal, and you’re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition.”

Clearly, what Cheney was hinting at was witness tampering, which is a very serious federal crime.

And now we have another example of potential witness tampering, this time aimed directly at today’s star witness, former Trump administration official Cassidy Hutchinson.

The threat aimed at Hutchinson comes from none other than Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who sent this tweet:

“Cassidy Hutchinson lied and the@January6thCmte held a special hearing today to broadcast her lies. In ‘23, every single one of them need to be held accountable for what they are putting Pres Trump, his admin, & Republicans through on the people’s dime.

“Enough of this.”

Be sure and note the reference Greene made to a tweet from right-wing lugnut Jack Posobiec, which suggests that Trump couldn’t have possibly reached into the front seat of the limo the way Hutchinson alleged.

However, neither Posobiec or Greene paying very close attention, as another person reminded them regarding the limo:

Let’s not forget just how rich it is that Greene is accusing someone of lying, something both she and Donald Trump do more often then they exhale.

And then there’s the matter of Greene requesting a pardon from Trump as he was preparing to leave office. Who needs a pardon? A guilty person, and thanks to Cassidy Hutchinson we know that Greene and others Republicans in Congress were begging to be pardoned.

But the threat from Greene to Hutchinson and others can clearly be seen as witness tampering, and she damn sure won’t be getting any pardons before 2025 at the soonest if she’s charged and convicted.

So thanks, Margie. You just provided all the evidence needed to nail your trifling ass to the wall and send you off to prison.

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Capitol Insurrection January 6 Melania Trump

Former Trump Administration Press Secretary Reminds Melania She Also Played A Role In January 6

Thanks for former Trump administration official Cassidy Hutchinson, we learned a great deal from today’s public hearing of the January 6 House Select Committee, especially about failed, one-term former president Donald Trump’s actions on that fateful day.

The Washington Post summed up the bombshells from today’s testimony:

  • Hutchinson testified that Trump was informed that his supporters were in D.C. armed to the teeth
  • Trump attempted to choke a member of his Secret Service detail when the agent refused to let the ex-president march to the Capitol
  • Trump didn’t want to call off the rioters

We also heard testimony about what Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Trump Jr. were saying as the riot took place. According to Hutchinson, they wanted their father to urge protesters to leave the Capitol. However, he waited hours before finally doing so.

What about Melania Trump, the former first lady? Well, while Hutchinson didn’t mention her, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham certainly did, and her reminder to Melania said more than hours of testimony from any witness.

That first message was from Grisham on January 6. The one-word response, “No,” was the reply from Melania. That’s how concerned she was.

For years now, we’ve all heard how classy and wonderful Melania Trump. But she isn’t. She’s a grifting piece of fecal matter just like her husband. Hell, that’s probably why she married him! They’re two peas in a proverbial pod.

Remember the “Be Best” initiative Melania started while she was first lady? Too bad she didn’t bother to take her own advice and give a damn when people were being killed on Jan. 6.

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Capitol Insurrection Congress GOP January 6

Secrecy Around Today’s Jan. 6 Hearing Due To ‘Massive Security Threats’ Related To Marjorie Greene: Report

If you were wondering why the January 6 House Select Committee has been so very hush-hush about its last-minute hearing later this afternoon, we now know that it has something to do with “massive security threats” related to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), according to Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post.

Alemany was a guest on MSNBC this morning and revealed what she had learned from sources on Capitol Hill regarding Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who will testify today and why there’s so much cloak and dagger from the Jan. 6 panel:

“We have heard actually that some of the, as you just read, that the reason why her testimony has been so closely guarded is because of massive security threats in the last hearing. She did say, reveal, that [Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greene, she heard Marjorie Taylor Greene asked for a pardon, and you can only imagine what that does in terms of elevating her name and potentially causing far-right extremists to levy some of these credible threats that have come her way.”

Greene wasn’t the only Republican who was seeking a pardon in the final days of the Trump administration. The others we know about thanks to Hutchinson are Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Scott Perry (R-PA).

Alemany also compared Hutchinson’s Tuesday testimony to a well-known figure from the Watergate scandal which led to the resignation of Richard Nixon:

“We have had people previously tell us that if there is anyone going to be the John Dean of this investigation, Cassidy Hutchinson is the person who is the most likely to be that person in terms of her access to the top figures in Trump’s orbit and her proximity to the former president and what she was able to overhear, the people in and out of the Oval Office on Jan. 6. But it is important to note we’re not sure there’s another witness corroborating her testimony today. There was clearly a sensitivity and urgency to her testifying today, and you’ve got to think that it’s in part due to the security concerns, but also because they’re worried she might potentially back out. This is not a small thing for this individual to come forward, put her career on the line.”

The Post reporter concluded by noting:

“Obviously she’s being compelled, there are subpoenas at play. Several individuals like Bill Stepien who didn’t appear were subpoenaed to appear, but this is a big thing for her. She’s in her 20s, she’s a young person with, you know, little institutional support in terms of the other people she used to work with cooperating with this investigation.”