Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

Messages shown by J6 Committee look like 'textbook witness tampering': CNN's Elie Honig

At the end of Tuesday's hearing, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riots revealed that some of its witnesses had received messages encouraging them to not offer incriminating information about former President Donald Trump.

According to one witness's sworn testimony, they were told that they would "continued to stay in good graces in Trump World" as long as "I'm doing the right thing, I'm protecting who I need to protect."

Reacting to this, CNN legal analyst Eli Honig said this tactic reminded him of some of the things he saw while working as a federal prosecutor at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

"A lot of people have observed that that's how a mob boss talks," said Honig. "I have prosecuted actual mob bosses here in New York City, that is how they talk... What else is mob-like about this, it wasn't the boss, it wasn't Donald Trump conveying that message directly to Cassidy Hutchinson, it was some unnamed intermediary. That's how they do it."

Honig said that whoever sent the message will not be immune from legal scrutiny, however.

"If we can prove who said that, that is textbook witness tampering, obstruction of justice," he said. "So DOJ ought to be taking a look at this. The other things to remember, we were asking a few days ago why the emergency hearing? Why this unscheduled hearing suddenly appearing? I believe it's because they feared if somebody got in Cassidy Hutchinson's ear, a simple well-placed sentence could have knocked her off path, intimidated her."

Watch the video below:

[Rick Plant]

These far right wing radical Trump supporters are fascist lunatics. 

Million MAGA March speaker: 'We will not stop until The Handmaid's Tale is a reality -- and even worse than that'



In a video clip captured by Right Wing Watch, the host of the Red Elephant podcast, who spoke at the so-called "Million Maga March" in November of 2020, promised his followers that he and his followers will make the dystopian "Handmaids Tale" novel by Margaret Atwood a reality in the wake of the Supreme Court's 6-3 Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v Wade.

As the ADL reported, Vincent James was one of the many speakers at the event in Washington, D.C, where "Attendees and speakers, including a number of extremists, expressed support for President Trump, who continue to insist, without evidence" that the 2020 election was stolen.

James, whose YouTube account was shuttered due to inappropriate content, is now moving on from election fraud claims to attacking women and boasting he is part of a "Christian Taliban" movement.

In the video (which can be seen below) he claims, "This is the era of Christian nationalism," before turning to the recent events at the Supreme Court.

"Christian nationalism is on the rise and people are thirsty for it, hungry for this!" he claimed. "And we are the Christian Taliban and we will not stop until The Handmaid's Tale is a reality, and even worse than that to be honest."

"There was this article from The Atlantic that was like [Justice Sam] Alito is on a mission to roll back the rights of women and roll back the past hundred years of rights that were given to women," he continued. "Yes, that is what we're doing and it's only going to get worse for you from here."

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/roe-overturned-supreme-court-samuel-alito-opinion/661386/

If there was any doubt about the far-right's agenda, white nationalist Vincent James makes it explicitly clear: "We are the Christian Taliban and we will not stop until The Handmaid's Tale is a reality, and even worse than that.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1541796574325506053

[Rick Plant]

Rudy Giuliani botches attack on Cassidy Hutchinson: 'She was never present when I asked for a pardon'



Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday tried to attack the credibility of January 6 committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson -- but he made a statement that appeared to be self-incriminating.

Hutchinson, a former top White House aide with unique access to Trump and the inner workings of the West Wing, testified at the sixth June hearing of the House committee probing the attack on the US Capitol.

An executive assistant to Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, she was a central figure in the White House around the period of the insurrection on January 6 last year.

Writing on Twitter, Giuliani took issue with Hutchinson's claim that he sought a pardon from former President Donald Trump.

"The January 6 Witch Hunt Cabal has now exceeded even its prior fraudulent," he said. "The last witness was a reckless liar. Contrary to her false testimony she was never present when I asked for a pardon."

The former New York mayor then added, "Actually, I told the President I did not want or need one."

Despite Giuliani's claims, however, we do know that he was directly involved in the process of lobbying Trump to pardon allies for their actions leading up to the January 6 Capitol riots.

The January 6 committee earlier this month revealed it had obtained an email from attorney John Eastman sent directly to Giuliani in which he explicitly said, "I’ve decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works.”

Other Trump allies who allegedly sought pardons include Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Scott Perry (R-PA), who were also deeply involved in trying to stop the certification of the 2020 election.

AFP


Cassidy Hutchinson stands by 'all' of her explosive testimony as Republicans lash out to defend Trump



Republicans have been lashing out at former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson after her bombshell testimony before the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

On his Truth Social platform, without providing any evidence, Trump claimed Hutchinson "made up phony and completely outrageous stories" and falsely claimed Hutchinson had been "caught in a ridiculous lie." He also called her a "phony social climber."

But the attacks are complicated by Hutchinson's history.

"Worked for Steve Scalise, Ted Cruz & Mark Meadows. Cassidy Hutchinson was fully dug-in and a true believer. So there’s a lot of nervousness out there tonight. The lame attempts to discredit her testimony demonstrate the levels of anxiety," argued civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill.

Yet the attacks continued, as was noted by select committee member Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).

"Watching the desperation of Trump world to discredit the brave Cassidy Hutchinson reminds me of…. Everything Trump does when he is busted and cornered," Kinzinger wrote.

On Wednesday, Hutchinson addressed the attacks in a statement issued through attorneys Jody Hunt and William Jordan, CNN's Jake Tapper reported.

“Ms. Hutchinson stands by all of the testimony she provided yesterday, under oath, to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol," the statement read.

Some Trump White House officials believe Hutchinson's testimony.

"Cassidy Hutchinson is my friend," wrote former Trump White House director of strategic communications Alyssa Farah Griffin.

"I knew her testimony would be damning. I had no idea it’d be THIS damning," she wrote. "To anyone who would try to impugn her character, I’d be glad to put you in touch [with the select committee] to appear UNDER OATH."

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said, "I know her. I don't think she is lying."

Watch Tuesday's hearing:

[Rick Plant]

Republicans found Hutchinson's testimony 'devastating' as right-wing media turns on Trump: report



Cracks are emerging in Donald Trump's political coalition following explosive testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to an analysis broadcast on CNN.

"Happening now," CNN's Wolf Blitzer began, "former President Trump's risk of criminal prosecution may be rising right now after a former White House aide's explosive public testimony about his erratic behavior Jan. 6 and his role in inciting violence. A senior House Republican is now predicting indictments." That official has yet to be named.

For analysis, Blitzer interviewed CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel following an appearance by former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who said he feared Mark Meadows was "completely incompetent or having a nervous breakdown" on Jan. 6.

"Jamie Gangel, behind the scenes, do Trump allies realize how damming this testimony was?" Blitzer asked.

"Don't think you have to go behind the scenes," Gangel replied. "We just heard Mick Mulvaney there. Also the New York Post, a traditional ally of Trump headline, 'Tyrant Trump.' "The Washington Examiner, also conservative, unfit for power again.

The hits on Trump from Murdoch papers continues:



The editorial in The Washington Examiner pushed back against Trump attempting a 2024 comeback.

"Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s Tuesday testimony ought to ring the death knell for former President Donald Trump’s political career. Trump is unfit to be anywhere near power ever again," the editorial board wrote. "Trump is a disgrace. Republicans have far better options to lead the party in 2024. No one should think otherwise, much less support him, ever again."

Trump proven unfit for power again
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/trump-proven-unfit-for-power-again

Gangel had further reporting.

"I spoke last night, today, to many Republican sources," she said. "They all said to me that the testimony was devastating and they felt that Cassidy Hutchinson, from the person they dealt with when she was in legislative affairs, had been someone who was very loyal to Trump, a true believer."

"That said, they also said that they're concerned that this may not be getting through to the Trump base," Gangel noted. "We'll see that in the polls."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

‘Desperately’: Trump ‘wanted to walk into the House with an armed mob’ says Yale historian



The revelations from former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson are being called "bombshells" and, according to a former advisor to the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, a "cluster bomb."

But one Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, Dr. Joanne Freeman, is urging Americans to focus on an important part of Hutchinson's testimony.

"People are focusing on the drama of [Donald Trump] trying to grab the steering wheel to force his car to go to the Capitol," Dr. Freeman writes. "But far more revealing -- and alarming -- is the fact that he wanted to walk into the House with an armed mob."

"Again: think COUP."

Freeman, the author of "The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War," adds: "Hutchinson testified that there was discussion about having him enter the House chamber."

Hutchinson also testified that Trump and Meadows knew the rally-goers and insurrectionists were armed, some heavily. And he demanded the "mags," the magnetometers, or "metal detectors," be removed.

“I don’t f***ing care that they have weapons, they’re not here to hurt me.," Trump allegedly said, according to Hutchinson. "They’re not here to hurt me. Take the f***ing mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here, let the people in and take the mags away.”

"Today we saw 1/6 was a plot to overturn the election w/*deliberately incorporated* violence," she says.

"That was wild," Freeman said after the hearing ended.

Dr. Joanne Freeman
@jbf1755

This was gripping revealing testimony describing an attempted coup supported by multiple WH insiders.

I can't shake the image of DJT entering the House accompanied by an armed mob--which he desperately wanted to happen--enough to grab the steering wheel & attempt assault.

https://twitter.com/jbf1755/status/1541859749569994757

Hutchinson did in fact testify there were discussions about Trump walking into the House chamber, which would be yet another violation of centuries of precedent: the President cannot just show up; he must be invited.

Aaron Rupar
@atrupar

Hutchinson on what Trump wanted to do when he got to the Capitol on January 6: "There were discussions about him having another speech outside the Capitol before going in. I know that there was a conversation about him going in the House chamber at one point."

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1541842966070890496

[Rick Plant]

What Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony means for criminal prosecution of Donald Trump



Former White House senior aide Cassidy Hutchinson revealed some new information to the House Select Committee investigating the attack on Congress and the attempt to overthrow the election.

One question being asked by the New York Times, however, is whether the information she gave was enough to aid in a potential criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Among the things she told the committee was that as Trump went onstage Jan. 6 to speak to the rally crowd he knew that there were people in the audience with weapons, including guns. Instead of trying to deescalate the crowd, she said that he wanted the supporters brought closer and allowed in even if they had weapons that wouldn't normally make it through metal detectors.

"Legal experts said the testimony provided more evidence to support a possible criminal prosecution, as it suggested that Mr. Trump was aware of the potential for violence but went on to urge his supporters to head to the Capitol," wrote the Times analysis.

Trump then called on the crowd to "fight like hell" and told them that he would lead them to the Capitol in a powerful march.

"And after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down, we're going to walk down," he said, repeating the phrase. "Anyone you want, but I think right here, we're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated."

The Times pointed that the Justice Department said that it doesn't have an explicit investigation focusing on Trump. There is, however, evidence that the DOJ is moving swiftly on the fake electors' scandal. Meanwhile, Trump legal adviser John Eastman was raided by federal agents, including FBI agents, who took his phone to turn it over to the Justice Department Inspector General. That is an indication that there's an internal investigation happening over the role some lawyers like Jeffrey Clark played in the attempt to overthrow the election.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has captured many of those who came after Congress on Jan. 6 and interviews with them reveal that they're placing the blame squarely on Donald Trump. Some said that Trump called them to Washington and to the Capitol for Jan. 6.

"Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony could place Mr. Trump into a conspiratorial relationship with members of the mob, lawyers said, suggesting that he pushed them into action even though he was aware that they presented an immediate threat," wrote the Times.

Hugo Lowell, reporter for The Guardian, explained that Hutchinson's comments "marked a new degree of apparent consciousness of guilt among Trump’s closest advisers – in addition to that of at least half a dozen Republican congressmen and the Trump lawyer John Eastman – or fear that they might have committed a crime.

He went on to explain that "in raising Giuliani’s interest in a pardon, Hutchinson also testified that Trump’s former attorney may have also been central to a crime with respect to his seeming knowledge of what the far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys groups were planning for January 6."

The idea that the White House knew about the involvement of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys "raised the spectre that the former president's then-attorney [Giuliani] was broadly aware of the intentions of two far-right groups." Many of the groups' members have since been arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy.

Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe urged the DOJ to be forthcoming about its intentions to dodge the implications of politicization.

Laurence Tribe
@tribelaw

A word to the wise: I definitely don’t favor leaks from DOJ, but the sooner it becomes publicly clear that the criminal investigation has reached Trump, the harder it’ll be for him, by officially announcing his candidacy, to claim that his indictment would be a political act.
https://twitter.com/tribelaw/status/1542192059251040256

Founder and executive director of Protect Democracy Ian Bassin noted that the idea of attempting to intimidate witnesses is a potential criminal offense for Trump. If the people relaying the message to Hutchinson and the other witness are investigated for being part of that it's unclear if they will implicate the president.

Ian Bassin
@Ianbassin

Rep. Cheney now sharing evidence of witness intimidation. New potential criminal charges against Trump and others. This is serious Mafia stuff.
https://twitter.com/ianbassin/status/1541857431751258112

Sol Wisenberg, a former deputy to special counsel Ken Starr, told the Times that it's clear Trump has criminal culpability.

Peter Baker
@peterbakernyt

Did Trump commit a crime? "This is the smoking gun," Sol Wisenberg, a former deputy to Ken Starr, tells me about today's hearing. "There isn’t any question this establishes a prima facie case for his criminal culpability on seditious conspiracy charges."

https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1541860388433760258

[Rick Plant]

Former members of Trump's inner circle warned they have become 'Trump’s targets' after Cassidy Hutchison testimony



In her column for the Bulwark, former Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) advisor and political commenter Amanda Carpenter commended Cassidy Hutchison -- the former senior aide to ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows -- for her compelling testimony on Tuesday before the House select committee investigating Donald Trump's complicity in the Jan 6th riots.

As the conservative political analyst explained, Hutchinson's revelations about the former president's temper tantrums behind the scenes, as well as his lack of concern about his armed supporters, exposed the former president's propensity for violence or, as she put it, "Trump’s capacity for violence and willingness to break the law on display."

Noting that Hutchinson's testimony has put her life in danger -- which was evidenced by increased security in the building before she spoke on national TV -- Carpenter suggested that the names of Trump's inner circle mentioned by the former Meadow's aide when discussing their opposition as to what Trump was allowing to happen on Jan 6th has likely put them on the former president's enemies list.

After praising Hutchinson's courage, the conservative scolded both former vice president Mike Pence and Mark Meadows for not coming forward.

"Where is her former boss, Mark Meadows? Is he still praying for a pardon?" she wrote. "Where is Mike Pence? He’s happy to tell everyone about how well he performed his patriotic duty on Jan. 6th. Except for the actual Jan. 6th Committee. Instead, he sent his loyal underling Marc Short to testify in his place," she wrote

Having disposed of them, she turned her focus on former Trump cabinet members that Hutchinson noted discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to strip the now-former president of his powers while the Capitol riot raged.

As she notes, it is only a matter of time before Trump goes after them as he has on Hutchinson.

"What about the other cabinet members—the ones who privately talked about invoking the Twenty-fifth Amendment to remove Trump because they knew how unhinged the president was? Shouldn’t they put their experiences on the record? Why do they think protecting their own parochial interests and precious Republican identities is more important than protecting people like Hutchinson and more broadly, the country?" she wrote before adding, "Even out of their own self-interest, don’t they realize that they are no longer Trump’s chief enablers and that they have become Trump’s targets? The mob didn’t chant 'F*** Joe Biden' on Jan. 6th. They chanted 'Hang Mike Pence.'"

She concluded, "Donald Trump rose to power by waging war against Republicans ... Right now Cassidy Hutchinson is the target. But simply by offering her testimony, she has exposed Meadows and all the rest as being potential dangers. Trump surely sees this, too."

You can read more here: https://www.thebulwark.com/hutchinson-puts-trumps-violence-on-display/


Conservative publication labels Trump 'unfit for power again' in scathing editorial



In an op-ed this Wednesday, the Editorial Board for the Washington Examiner declared that the testimony Tuesday from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson "ought to ring the death knell for former President Donald Trump’s political career."

"In short, Hutchinson was a conservative Trumpist true believer and a tremendously credible one at that," the Board writes. "She did not overstate things, did not seem to be seeking attention, and was very precise about how and why she knew what she related and about which testimony was firsthand and which was secondhand but able to be corroborated."

As the Board points out, Hutchinson gave compelling accounts about how certain figures in the Trump White House likely knew violence would take place at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and how Trump was uncaring, and even supportive of, rioters chanting for the hanging of then-Vice President Mike Pence.

"She also told, in detail, that Trump repeatedly insisted that he himself should join his supporters at the Capitol — even after being informed the crowd contained armed elements and that it was breaching the perimeter against an undermanned U.S. Capitol Police force."

In light of everything, the Board concluded that "Trump is a disgrace" and Republicans have far better options in 2024.

Read the full op-ed over at The Washington Examiner:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/trump-proven-unfit-for-power-again


Fox News flips on Donald Trump during Jan. 6 hearings



After spending more than a year promoting Donald Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, Fox News appears to be changing its tune as the January 6 committee presents increasingly damning evidence of the former president's complicity in the Capitol riot.

As the committee probe has gone public, at least four Fox News hosts and one analyst have casted doubt over Trump's grandiose claims of fraud, for which there continues to be no evidence to speak of. Some have also questioned the former president's mental fitness, suggesting that Trump cannot be trusted to steer the country in 2024 after spreading such spurious conspiracy theories about 2020.

One such instance played out just last month, when Fox News guest host Sandra Smith, an apparent skeptic of Trump's claims from the start, engaged in a fiery exchange with Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., over the former president's legal failure to prove that he won in any states he lost.

"The courts are not the final arbiter of who wins federal election contests," Brooks told Smith, citing the film "2000 Mules," which bandies unsubstantiated claims that unnamed Democratic-aligned nonprofits engaged in a coordinated attempt to subvert the election.

"And that [film] has been looked at and fact-checked by multiple outlets, including Reuters, who have [reported] there isn't any proof that there was widespread voter fraud," Smith rebutted.

Roughly a week later, Fox News host Martha MacCallum, who at one point called the Capitol riot "a huge victory," echoed Smith's rhetoric, arguing that there was a "stunning" lack of evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud.

"The lack of evidence is the huge stunning clear moment here where these people are saying, 'Look I supported you, please give me something to work with,' and it simply doesn't materialize," MacCallum said, speaking of the select committee's fourth public hearing.

This week, Fox News host Brett Baier, one of the network's noted critics of Trump, also joined the chorus, arguing with a pro-Trump gubernatorial candidate that no evidence of fraud has emerged.

"I understand what you are saying," Baier told the MAGA-backed Kari Lake, who is running to unseat Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. "But there have been, as you know, more than 70 court cases where there was not evidence and there was not any state legislature or governor that failed to certify an election, including your own Republican Doug Ducey."

Meanwhile, other Fox News personalities have expressed concerns about Trump's mental facilities.

"Fox and Friends" host Brian Kilmeade, who reportedly had a direct line to the former president during the Capitol riot, said this week that Trump was "unhinged" in the aftermath of the election.

"The president was unhinged during that period," Kilmeade said in a "Media Buzz" segment. "I interviewed him at West Point, and he was kind enough to give me a few minutes. I've never seen him so angry. That was in between the election and Jan. 6."

Kilmeade also called it "the worst moment of Donald Trump's political career," adding: "I think how you lose in life defines who you are … A lot of times things don't work out, and are so-called unfair. Your team couldn't prove [the election was rigged], move on."

During last week's hearings, Fox News analyst Andy McCarthy, a former U.S. attorney, likewise suggested that Trump was not stable enough to lead to the country, saying, "the evidence pretty clearly shows his unfitness."

It wouldn't be the first time that Fox News had abruptly pivoted its messaging based on change in the political winds. During the 2020 election, shortly after Trump bashed the network for calling Arizona in President Biden's favor, the network reportedly issued a memo to its anchors to refrain from calling Biden the "president-elect," according to CNN.

AFP