Tag: January 6 Select Committee

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Capitol Insurrection Congress GOP Social Media

Jim Jordan Slammed As A ‘Dirty Traitor’ For Refusing To Comply With House 1/6 Committee

After declaring that he has “nothing to hide” about what role he may have played in the January 6 Capitol insurrection that left five people dead, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is now refusing to comply with the House Select Committee investigating the incident, which set off a wave of disgust and anger on social media, including suggestions that Jordan’s refusal proves he’s a “dirty traitor.”

The Washington Post reports Jordan made his decision public on Sunday:

In a letter dated Sunday and addressed to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the Ohio Republican and close ally of former president Donald Trump accused the panel, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, of playing politics.

“Your attempt to pry into the deliberative process informing a Member about legislative matters before the House is an outrageous abuse of the Select Committee’s authority,” Jordan wrote in the letter, which he posted to his Twitter account Sunday.

It remains unclear if the Jan. 6 committee will now subpoena Jordan, who could be referred to the Justice Department for criminal contempt of Congress if he refuses to obey a subpoena.

In the past, Jordan has insisted he played no role in the Jan. 6 riots:

Jordan said he was unconcerned about the scrutiny. “If they call me, I got nothing to hide,” the far-right lawmaker said in July. In October, during a House Rules Committee hearing, the Ohioan echoed the sentiment, insisting, “I’ve said all along, ‘I have nothing to hide.'”

Jordan’s refusal led many on social media to suggest that he clearly fears telling what he knows because it will incriminate him and others, including failed former President Donald Trump.

https://twitter.com/Guiller07218172/status/1480330537189265408?s=20

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump Mike Pence

Former Pence Staffers Are Being ‘Particularly Cooperative’ With House Jan. 6 Committee

In what can only be seen as the ultimate irony, it now appears that the evidence most likely to result in criminal charges being filed against failed, twice-impeached former President Donald Trump may be provided by staffers who once worked for former Vice President Mike Pence.

According to Axios, members of Pence’s staff have been “particularly cooperative” with the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection:

People in and around former Vice President Mike Pence’s office have been particularly cooperative as the Jan. 6 select committee focuses on what former President Trump was doing during the more than three hours the Capitol was under attack, sources familiar with the testimony tell Axios.

The cooperation of those who had a front-row seat to what transpired on that horrible January day is key to the committee, which is on the verge of holding public hearings that could further expose Trump and members of his inner circle to criminal referrals the Justice Department would be hard-pressed to ignore.

Some of the former Pence staff members have even agreed to talk to the Jan. 6 panel without having to be subpoenaed:

  • Both Pence’s former chief of staff Marc Short, and former press secretary Alyssa Farah, who later served as White House communications director, are among those cooperating with the committee.
  • Keith Kellogg also has given a deposition.
  • One source familiar with their involvement said Short, who was subpoenaed by the committee, would not have cooperated without the approval of Pence.

The committee has received the most helpful information from “second- and third-tier administration staff who were not directly involved but were at the White House on Jan. 6 and had access to top administration officials.”

After speaking with the committee, Farah noted:

“You could see how much information they already had.

“Those who are refusing to cooperate likely are doing so out of complete fealty to Donald Trump and not wanting to piss him off.

“But, secondarily, because they’re realizing the committee has quite a bit more information than they realized. And their involvement is known to a much greater degree than they realized.”

The upcoming public hearings could prove to be a tipping point that will convince the majority of Americans Trump and members of his staff need to be held accountable and prosecuted for their crimes. And they should also make for the most fascinating television since the Watergate hearings back in 1974.

 


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Capitol Insurrection Fox News

The January 6 Committee Wants To Have A Long Talk With Sean Hannity About His Role In The Capitol Riots

The House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riots and insurrection which left five people dead is leaving no stone unturned, and is even requesting that Fox News host Sean Hannity voluntarily submit to cooperating with the panel, according to Axios.

The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to ask Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity for his voluntary cooperation with its investigation of the assault on the U.S. Capitol, a source with direct knowledge of the plan tells Axios.

Why it matters: Hannity is one of the most prominent media figures in America and was a close adviser to Donald Trump throughout his presidency. The committee revealed last month that Hannity texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the riot to urge him to get Trump to stop his supporters.

A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment on the possibility of Hannity being called, but Jay Sekulow, an attorney for the Fox News host, raised the predictable red herring of the First Amendment:

 “If true, any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press.”

It would? How would asking Hannity to answer questions intrude on his First Amendment protections, especially since he’s not really a journalist and mainly works as a paid propagandist and peddler of conspiracy theories?

While Hannity has condemned the storming of the Capitol, he’s been silent when it comes to criticizing failed, one-term former President Donald Trump for his role in what transpired on Jan. 6. Hannity has also been critical of the House Select Committee.

We already know that Hannity was in contact with then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as the rioting was taking place:

Committee officials have said Hannity was among several Fox News hosts who were texting Meadows during the riot.

“Can he [Trump] make a statement?” Hannity said in the texts, made public in mid-December. “Ask people to leave the Capitol.”

Hannity was also actively involved in the inner workings of the Trump administration, according to reports, Axios notes:

  • One former Trump aide sarcastically referred to Hannity as the “real chief of staff.” That was a gross overstatement, but it spoke to Hannity’s special access to Trump.
  • Such was Hannity’s influence with Trump that officials who wanted to persuade him often turned to the Fox News host to help get their ideas or action items across the line.
  • A phone call from Hannity to Trump carried more sway than a conversation between the president and many members of his own Cabinet.

Will Hannity agree to talk with the committee? What if he’s subpoenaed? If he chooses not to, he could be held in criminal contempt and jailed for up to two years.

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Capitol Insurrection Crime Donald Trump January 6 The Trump Adminstration

Security Expert: DOJ May Have Already Charged Trump’s Associates For Their Role In January 6

Considering what we already know about what transpired on January 6 and the revelations we’ve had from the House Select Committee on the Capitol insurrection, some have suggested that the Justice Department should have begun arresting top Trump administration officials and associates for their role in riots.

Recently, Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe noted that he believes Attorney General Merrick Garland is moving far too slowly:

But what if people have already been arrested and charged without any announcement? Could that have taken place in secret?

Security expert and journalist Marcy Wheeler notes on Twitter that arrests may have been made and the DOJ is now using those people to work their way up the food chain for even bigger fish.

Wheeler, who publishes on her own highly-acclaimed web site, Emptywheel.net, laid out a fascinating premise:

Think about it: Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s so-called “attorney,” Rudy Giuliani, could already have been arrested, booked, and charged with all sorts of crimes related to Jan. 6. Now DOJ prosecutors are getting them to cooperate in exchange for sentencing consideration.

That’s the way the FBI and Justice Department has worked when going after the mafia: They get lower level soldiers in the organization to tell what they know about the capos and bosses. It’s a bottom-up way of dealing with criminal acts that’s been used for decades by law enforcement.

Now that the House Select Committee is about to hold public hearings, it’s not a stretch to suggest we may start seeing who has been charged and some of the court filings that could still be under seal.

Stay tuned.

 

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump Justice Department

January 6 Select Committee Preparing To Refer Trump To DOJ For Dereliction Of Duty: Report

The House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol insurrection is preparing to decide what criminal referrals it will forward to the Justice Department regarding former President Donald Trump’s actions on the day of the horrific attack on the seat of government.

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told The Washington Post that the most likely referral would be for dereliction of duty as Trump dithered for over three hours before finally releasing a video instructing his supporters to clear the Capitol grounds:

Of particular interest is why it took so long for (Trump) to call on his supporters to stand down, an area of inquiry that includes obtaining several versions of a video Trump reportedly recorded before finally releasing a message 187 minutes after he told his supporters to march on the Capitol during the rally that preceded the attack.

“It appears that he tried to do a taping several times, but he wouldn’t say the right thing,” Thompson said, basing his statement on information the panel has gleaned from interviews with witnesses as well as media reports about that day.

Thompson made a specific reference to dereliction of duty, but other charges could also be referred to the DOJ once the committee has completed its investigation:

“That dereliction of duty causes us real concern,” Thompson said. “And one of those concerns is that whether or not it was intentional, and whether or not that lack of attention for that longer period of time, would warrant a referral.”

Another possible charge that may be referred to the Justice Department is criminally obstructing Congress in performing its official duties. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who serves as vice chair of the Jan. 6 panel, has suggested Trump did indeed try to obstruct the certification of electoral votes on that fateful day as both houses were meeting in joint session to declare the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

On December 14, Cheney remarked:

“Mr. Meadows’s testimony will bear on another key question before this committee: Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’s official proceeding to count electoral votes?”

A criminal referral isn’t necessary for the DOJ to take up the matter, and most legal experts suggest the agency is already weighing whether or not Trump and others should be charged for their actions prior to and on the day of the Capitol riots. But a criminal referral from the committee — along with evidence and testimony the panel has gathered — would certainly provide a strong impetus for indictments.