Category: January 6

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump Elections January 6 Joe Biden

Biden Slams Trump And The GOP At Jan. 6 Ceremony: ‘Predators And Peddlers Of Lies That Fueled Insurrection’

At a White House ceremony this afternoon, President Joe Biden presented the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 Americans who showed courage, selflessness, and dedication in the days after the 2020 election and also during the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

CNBC reports that the recipients were “honored for their actions before, during and after the riot, when a violent mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, fighting with officers, destroying and stealing property and threatening lawmakers.”

Though he never once said the name of failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump or his apologists, it could not have been clearer who Biden was talking about when he said this as he referred to Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss:

“Ruby, who for years has taken time away from her own business to work an election season to honor voting rights in her beloved city, and her daughter Shaye, who learned from her grandmom, how older generations of her family fought so hard to get the right to vote, so Shaye decided to become a full-time election worker to help the elderly, disabled, students, exercise their fundamental right to vote.

“Both of them were just doing their jobs until they were targeted and threatened by the same predators and peddlers of lies which fueled the insurrection. They were literally forced from their homes, facing despicable racist taunts, despite it all, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss found the courage to testify in front of the entire world to set the record straight about the lies.”

Despite the efforts of those who wanted to subvert American democracy, Biden noted that “we the people did not flinch, we the people endured, we the people prevailed,” which is almost certain to draw a hateful posting by the disgraced ex-president on his failing Truth Social site.

Even though Trump says he’s running for the White House again in 2024, polls show the vast majority of American voters don’t want to see a second Trump administration.

Here’s the full ceremony:

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Congress GOP January 6

Republicans Remove Metal Detectors From The House – Three Days Before The Anniversary Of Jan. 6

This Friday marks the second anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol which left five people dead, including a police officer, and yet House Republicans who now control the lower chamber of Congress thought it would be a great idea to remove all metal detectors on their first day in power.

According to Axios:

Why it matters: The magnetometers were installed outside the House chamber in January 2021 to beef up security after the attack, but some Republicans have vocally opposed the increased security checks.

  • Eight Republicans and one Democrat were fined thousands of dollars for not passing through magnetometers required to enter the House chamber, the New York Times reported in 2021.

Driving the news: A rules package for the new Congress removes “Democrat fines for failure of Members to comply with unscientific mask mandates and security screenings before entering the House floor,” Republicans on the House Rules Committee said.

As the metal detectors were being removed, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) posted a video on Twitter in which she praised the move, suggesting that Republicans were returning the chamber to the days when it was “the people’s House.” However, she failed to explain how she or any of her GOP colleagues will protect members if another violent attack takes place on the seat of government. Boebert proudly declared:

“When I arrived in Congress two years, Nancy Pelosi put this hunk of garbage outside of the House chambers for members of Congress to go through. Today, they are being removed and we are turning Pelosi’s House back into the people’s House.”

Yes, indeed. What could possibly go wrong?

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump GOP January 6 The Trump Adminstration

Former Trump Staffer Hope Hicks Rages About Jan. 6: ‘We All Look Like Domestic Terrorists’

Former Trump administration aide and confidant Hope Hicks is wishing she had never heard of her ex-boss, according to text messages made public by the January 6 House Select Committee last week.

Hicks, who served as White House director of strategic communications, White House communications director, and counselor to the President, raged to Julie Radford, former chief of staff to Ivanka Trump that she might never be able to get another job after what transpired at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Mediaite reports.

The former Trump aide also noted that her ex-colleague, current View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin for resigning from her post one month before the attack on the Capitol.

“Alyssa looks like a genius,” Hicks wrote.

“Her most recent post?” Radford asked.

“And leaving,” Hicks added.

Hicks has disclosed texts to the Jan. 6 committee which show she advised the failed ex-president to send out messages of calm and calls for nonviolence prior to the Capitol insurrection. Trump refused and watched the violence for hours before finally recording a tepid video in which he told the rioters to go home and expressed his “love” for them.

The problem for Hicks and others who served in the Trump administration is that they will always have the stink of Donald on them. They agreed to be a part of the most craven and corrupt White House in history, and they don’t have anyone to blame but themselves. Donald used them and spit them out, the way he does everyone.

Or, as the old saying goes, If the shoe fits, wear it.

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Capitol Insurrection January 6 Melania Trump

Melania Trump ‘Knew Something Was Going To Happen’ On January 6: Report

As the Justice Department decides whether or not to file criminal charges against one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump, they may also want to take a close look at his wife, Melania, who clearly knew that something bad was going to take place on January 6, 2021.

According to a transcript released Thursday by the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, Stephanie Grisham, a former close aide to Ms. Trump, has testified under oath that Melania “knew something was going to happen” on Jan. 6.

Specifically, Grisham recalled that she had suggested Melania send a condemnation of the Jan. 6 violence via tweet, but was rebuffed by the former first lady. She later shared that text message between her and Melania on social media.

“She just says no with no explanation. You know, by that point, again, she had been starting to change and evolve over that 2 or 3 weeks. And, again, she had started to say, like, something’s not right here and let’s listen to the West Wing. And she had started to, in my opinion, drink somebody’s Kool-Aid that perhaps this election was stolen.

“And because I knew she was up there with the carpet and I was watching violence take place at our Capitol, and she just literally said no to me with no explanation, I just — I mean, I kind of was like just f–k you.”

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Grisham also said she was extremely disappointed and upset that Melania chose not to speak with the president regarding the violence taking place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6:

“He really did listen to her all the time. And so, while I don’t know this for a fact, I know from experience with her something had gotten to her. And she – – I feel like she knew about this protest. I feel like she knew something was going to happen. Otherwise, she would have given me an explanation.”

Sounds like the Justice Department needs to have a long talk with Melania.

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Capitol Insurrection January 6

Federal Judge Says Jan. 6 Report Proves Trump Urged Capitol Rioters To Break The Law

A federal judge said this week in a ruling that former president Donald Trump clearly encouraged his followers to break the law on January 6, 2021 when he urged them to march on the U.S. Capitol, which led to an insurrection and rioting that left five people — including a police officer — dead.

Citing the recent report from the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates used their findings to knock down a rioter’s defense that Trump had given him “legal permission” to attack and enter the Capitol, according to Politico.

Bates cited the select committee’s report and criminal referrals to swat down a Jan. 6 defendant’s claim that he believed Trump had authorized him and other rioters to enter the Capitol when he urged the crowd to march down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bates, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ruled that defendant Alexander Sheppard should be prohibited from making the “public authority” defense because there’s simply no evidence Trump told his followers that entering the restricted grounds of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was legal. In fact, his incendiary rhetoric — especially telling his supporters to “fight like hell” — may suggest Trump was asking them to break the law, Bates said.

His words “could signal to protesters that entering the Capitol and stopping the certification would be unlawful,” Bates found.

Bates’ ruling also supports the committee’s finding that Trump committed at least four crimes with his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The committee has referred Trump to the Justice Department on charges of obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the government, making false statements to the federal government, and inciting or assisting an insurrection.

Many of the Jan. 6 defendants have tried to argue that Trump gave them the legal right to attack the Capitol with his remarks prior to the rioting. Those defenses have repeatedly been unsuccessful, as courts have ruled that grown men and women are supposed to know that they don’t have any legal permission to engage in a violent uprising against the government, no matter what any public official tells them.

Ironically, Judge Bates noted in his ruling that Trump’s words on Jan. 6 did quite the opposite of providing legal protection from being charged with crimes:

“Thus, the conclusions reached here — that even if protesters believed they were following orders, they were not misled about the legality of their actions … is consistent with the Select Committee’s findings.”