1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Judge tells MAGA rioter who stormed Capitol dressed in caveman costume to leave his 'fantasy world'



Aaron Mostofsky, who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, is pleading for leniency as he faces a sentence within the range of 10-16 months, POLITICO's Kyle Cheney reports.

Cheney reports that the federal judge presiding over the case believed that Mostofsky was remorseful and that his actions on Jan. 6 were out of character.

"Almost as if this were a play, a performance, dressed up as a caveman...as if this were some fantasy game.," the judge said. "I hope you'll leave some of this fantasy world behind."

Mostofsky -- who is the son of Steven Mostofsky, a state court judge in Brooklyn -- was ultimately sentenced to eight months in prison.

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1522609960701595649

[Rick Plant]

Jan 6th committee asks judge to quickly release 3,000 key John Eastman documents

According to a report from Politico, the Jan 6th select committee looking into the Capitol insurrection has asked a judge to expedite the release of 3,000 specific documents belonging to attorney John Eastman related to their investigation.

The committee, which has been battling with the attorney who wrote a memo on how to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has already received thousands of pages of documents but there are an estimated 20,000 still under review.

With public hearings planned in June, Politico reports that there are 3,000 documents in particular that investigators want access to as they narrow the evidence they want before going public with their findings.

According to Politico's Kyle Cheney, "The select committee will drop its efforts to obtain another 14,000 pages and indefinitely postpone its request for any others, House General Counsel Doug Letter said in a court filing late Friday," adding, "The panel’s decision to drop its objections to the vast majority of Eastman’s attorney-client privilege claims follows Eastman’s own decision to relent on more than 15,000 pages of records, which he provided to the select committee on Monday. Those documents helped inform the committee’s decision to narrow the fight."

As House General Counsel Doug Letter wrote, "The Select Committee’s need for the documents at issue has only become more significant in light of its review of the documents produced … and as the Select Committee prepares to present the conclusions of its investigation to the public through hearings, scheduled to begin in June 2022, and forthcoming reports."

Politico's Cheney wrote, "The battle over these 3,000 pages marks the culmination of one of the two most significant legal odysseys the committee has undertaken, " adding, "Now, the select committee is asking [U.S. District Court Judge David] Carter to review 2,945 of those pages for immediate release. If Eastman objects, the panel has laid out a rapid-fire schedule to resolve the dispute by the end of May, leaving time to review and analyze the documents before the panel launches its public hearings."

[B)You can read more here:[/b] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/07/jan-6-committee-narrows-legal-fight-against-eastman-as-hearings-approach-00030884

[Rick Plant]

Notorious rioter who chased Capitol cop Goodman has cooperated with Jan 6th committee

According to a report from Politico, one of the Capitol insurrectionists filmed leading a mob chasing Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman on Jan 6th has been cooperating with the House committee investigating the insurrection incited by former president Donald Trump.

Greg Rubenacker, who is facing 46 months in prison after being hit with ten counts including three felonies, has admitted working with investigators even without a plea deal.

According to the report, in a filing asking for leniency from Judge Beryl Howell, lawyers for Rubenacker revealed their client "spent 'several hours' interviewing with Jan. 6 select committee investigators, although he doesn’t indicate when."

Politico reports that the indicted man "says this is one of several ways he has taken responsibility and shown remorse for his conduct. His attorney is asking Howell to sentence him to a year of home confinement."

Footage of Goodman leading the mob up the stairs and away from lawmakers fleeing for their lives made him a national hero, with the video also providing investigators with suspects to target.

Politico reports prosecutors believe, "Rubenacker deserves much harsher punishment, noting that he exhibited aggressive and violent behavior toward Goodman and other officers. He joined a line of rioters pushing against police as they attempted to clear the rotunda, and he ultimately swung a water bottle that hit an officer in the helmet, according to photos and videos of the attack," adding, "Rubenacker was also among a group of defendants who smoked marijuana inside the Capitol during the breach, and he posted a video of himself smiling and saying, 'Smoke out the Capitol, baby!'"

Making their case, prosecutors told the court, "When officers formed a line to force rioters out, Rubenacker escalated in response: he swung a water bottle at one officer’s head and threw liquid at other officers who were engaging with a rioter. Only after an officer sprayed chemical-irritant spray in Rubenacker’s face did he finally leave the Capitol, over one hour after he initially breached the building.”

You can read more here: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/07/jan-6-capitol-defendant-chased-officer-goodman-cooperate-committee-00030875

[Rick Plant]

Jan. 6 panel sidesteps Trump allies to get crucial testimony on insurrection: 'We know so much more'

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riots has gotten around stonewalling by Donald Trump's inner circle by turning to their aides and deputies.

Some of the panel's most significant findings have come from staffers who were present or briefed on top-level meetings, including Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson and Jeffery Clark adviser Ken Klukowski, who have helped congressional investigators understand how the former president tried to overturn his election loss, reported Politico.

“We are definitely taking advantage of the fact that most senior-level people in Washington depend on a lot of young associates and subordinates to get anything done,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the select committee. “A lot of these people still have their ethics intact and don’t want to squander the rest of their careers for other people’s mistakes and corruption.”

Hutchinson, in particular, has given the panel hundreds of pages of testimony that has given the panel deep insight into phone calls Meadows arranged and identified numerous Republican lawmakers who participated in those meetings, and she told investigators that the White House counsel's office pushed back on conspiracy theories promoted by members of Congress and Trump allies.

“Almost all, if not all, meetings Mr. Trump had, I had insight on,” Hutchinson told the panel.

Hutchinson has given the committee details about Meadows' activities on Jan. 6, and another aide, Ben Williamson, told investigators when the White House became aware of the violence taking place at the U.S. Capitol, and that cooperation has allowed the panel to whittle down the questions it wants the former White House chief of staff to answer.

“We know so much more than we did then,” said Doug Letter, the House's top lawyer, during a hearing on Meadows' lawsuit to block the committee's subpoena.

Read more here: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/09/jan-6-panel-donald-trump-allies-00030781

[Rick Plant]

Oath Keepers giving vital evidence to Jan. 6 committee -- and are even handing over their phones

Leaders of the far-right extremist Oath Keepers group have been handing over phones and digital files and doing interviews with the FBI, detailing how they worked to help former President Donald Trump in his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

CNN reports that Kellye SoRelle, a lawyer working with the Oath Keepers, has met several times with the FBI and turned over multiple phones.

"I've done interviews. I've done everything. I'm helping them," SoRelle told the network about her cooperation with investigators.

She does not represent any Oath Keepers in their criminal proceedings.

"Investigators also have learned about encrypted messages on the app Signal leading up to January 6, in which the Oath Keepers were messaging high-profile, right-wing political organizers, according to four people familiar with its existence," according to CNN.

She declined to say more about what she's shared with investigators, but court filings have revealed there was a virtual meeting a week after the 2020 election when Oath Keepers talk about heading to Washington, DC. SoRelle briefed the group about the Trump campaign's legal fight.

In court last week, prosecutors also disclosed that the Oath Keepers' leader, Stewart Rhodes, and other militia members gathered at a D.C. hotel and placed a call over speakerphone to an unidentified individual, where he "repeatedly implore[d] the individual to tell President Trump to call upon groups like the Oath Keepers to forcibly oppose the transfer of power."

When the person on the other end refused to connect him to Trump, Rhodes said, "I just want to fight."

Lee Bright, a defense lawyer for Rhodes, said this about speculation regarding the direction of the Justice Department's investigation: "I think it's self-evident that they are continuing to work their way up the food chain to get to who their grand prize is."

Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/09/politics/oath-keepers-january-6-election-fraud-trump/index.html

[Rick Plant]

Sentencing begins in Capitol breach case of Nolan Kidd of Georgia.

Feds allege Kidd referred to himself a “stormtrooper” after the Capitol siege and bragged that he “went farther than almost anyone into the building".

Unlawful picketing plea deal, feds want prison.

[Rick Plant]

New texts reveal how deeply involved the Oath Keepers were in the January 6th insurrection

Oath Keeper William Todd Wilson of North Carolina pleaded guilty last week to seditious conspiracy. He is the third member of the rightwing group to do so.

The Oath Keepers is an umbrella organization of heavily armed anti-government extremists led by former Ron Paul aide Stewart Rhodes.

The group preferentially recruits members with police or military experience. It encourages members to disobey laws they regard as unconstitutional.

The Oath Keepers are known for showing up heavily armed to emotionally charged events, often under the guise of providing security.

They participated in protests against covid restrictions as well as in the so-called “Stop the Steal” rallies promoting the lie of election fraud against Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

On January 6, the Oath Keepers served as bodyguards for maga VIPs, including Republican operative and convicted felon Roger Stone.

A total of 11 Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy for their role in the J6 insurrection.

Another Oath Keeper facing the same charge recently submitted 337 pages of text messages, podcast transcripts and other materials in his motion for pretrial release.

This newly public trove of documents is a resource for those seeking to understand the Oath Keepers’ plans for J6, their activities on that day and their alleged conspiracy to keep on fighting to overturn the election after the insurrection failed.

One of the more intriguing details is that some of the Oath Keepers believed newly elected Republican member of Congress and former presidential physician Dr. Ronny Jackson was in trouble during and needed their protection.

Jackson had made fiery remarks at the Ellipse immediately before the assault on the Capitol, but he was trapped with the other legislators during the attack. It’s unclear how he made his way back there.

“Dr. Ronnie Jackson – on the move. Needs protection. If anyone inside cover him. He has critical data to protect,” an unnamed Oath Keeper texted the group chat, as the mob roamed the building.

“Give him my cell,” replied Rhodes.

Needless to say, the J6 committee is curious about how the Oath Keeper knew that Jackson needed help, and what “critical data” the Oath Keeper thought he was safeguarding.

The committee sent Jackson a letter on May 2, asking to meet with him to discuss these issues. Jackson has refused to cooperate.

Jackson denies knowing any Oath Keepers and his spokesperson speculated, rather implausibly, that the Oath Keepers were just talking about him because he’s so famous.

It was no secret that Rhodes and the Oath Keepers had long intended to support Donald Trump if he declared martial law.

Indeed, Rhodes claimed in late 2020 that he had already massed troops and weapons in the Washington, DC, area to support Donald Trump if he did that. The text trove shows the Oath Keepers followed through on that plan.

The encrypted texts also show the Oath Keepers spending a lot of time scheming about what weapons they could bring to DC without violating the city’s strict gun laws so that they wouldn’t get arrested before Trump could declare martial law. Blades under 3 inches in length, lead pipe and bicycle helmets were all identified as legal weapons.

Meanwhile, the Oath Keepers had stashed an arsenal in a hotel room in Virginia, waiting for Donald Trump to give them the order to rise up.

The chats show the Oath Keepers were spoiling for a fight with antifascists. They openly hoped that violence by antifascist protesters would give Trump the pretext he needed to invoke martial law.

The text trove gives no clear indication that the Oath Keepers showed up on J6 expecting to overrun the Capitol. However, the record suggests that Rhodes may have made a spur-of-the-moment decision to throw his troops at the Capitol building when it became clear that Mike Pence had refused to steal the election from the podium and Donald Trump had yet to invoke martial law.

The record shows that Rhodes summoned his troops to the Capitol as the mob converged on the building. “All I see Trump doing is complaining. I see no intent by him to do anything. So the patriots are taking it into their own hands. They’ve had enough,” Rhodes told the chat.

Whereupon Oath Keepers in tactical gear formed two single-file “stack” formations and surged towards the Capitol.

The Oath Keepers’ conspiracy to restore Trump to power does not appear to have ended after the authorities reclaimed the Capitol building.

Oath Keeper and self-proclaimed seditionist William Todd Wilson told a federal court on Wednesday that, after the attack, he heard Rhodes talking on the phone to someone whom Rhodes believed had a direct line to Trump. Whoever it was reportedly denied Rhodes’ demand to speak to the president.

Rhodes has pleaded not guilty and a disbarred lawyer associated with his defense asserts that the Oath Keepers had no way to communicate with Trump.

The text trove seems to confirm that Rhodes and his cronies had every intention of continuing the insurrection past certification day.

On the evening of January 6, the Oath Keepers’ group chat commiserated over the failed attack, shared videos and vowed to fight on.

“We need a new ‘Declaration of Defiance,’” someone suggested.

“Already working on it,” Rhodes wrote back.

“After Action Reports" will be dated 1/21/21” messaged another Oath Keeper, appending an unspecified emoji. January 21, 2021, would be the day after Inauguration Day,

“Be very careful and mindful that anything you say can and will be used against you,” Rhodes replied.

https://www.rawstory.com/more-new-texts-reveal-how-deeply-involved-the-oath-keepers-were-in-the-january-6th-insurrection/