1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Cassidy Hutchinson received at least one of the 'witness tampering' messages revealed by Jan. 6 committee



Cassidy Hutchinson received at least one of the "witness tampering" messages revealed by the House Select Committee during a hearing on Tuesday.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) disclosed two messages sent by unnamed Donald Trump allies warning witnesses to remain loyal to the former president, and Punchbowl News reported that at least one of those was sent to Hutchinson, according to a source close to the situation.



"What they said to me is as long as I continue to be a team player, they know that I'm on the team, I'm doing the right thing, I'm protecting who I need to protect, you know, I'll continue to stay in the good graces in Trump world," read one text message disclosed by Cheney. "And they have reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts and just keep that in mind as I proceed through my depositions and interviews with the committee."

The second warning came in a phone call, although it's not clear which one Hutchinson is said to have received.

"[A person] let me know you have your deposition tomorrow," the caller said, according to Cheney. "He wants me to let you know that he's thinking about you. He knows you're loyal, and you're going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition."

Cheney warned at the end of Tuesday's hearing that the select committee would consider what steps to take against the individuals who sent the warnings, which panel members have described as criminal instances of witness tampering, and committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) strongly suggested that reluctant witnesses step forward to testify or face consequences.

https://punchbowl.news/newsletter/

[Rick Plant]

‘Cipollone is a dangerous witness for Trump’: Jan. 6 panel wants to know what crimes White House counsel worried about

The House select committee has issued a subpoena for testimony from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

Previous witnesses have testified that Cipollone expressed concerns about the legality of Donald Trump's schemes to overturn his election loss, and the panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection wants to hear directly from the former White House counsel about those worries, reported the Washington Post.

“He was a witness to major aspects of our investigation,” Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-MD) told the Post. “It seems as if he was putting up a lot of red flags and trying to hang on to the rule of law as much as possible.”

Cipollone was present when then-attorney general William Barr told Trump his pressure campaign on the Department of Justice was highly improper, and he was there when the former president threatened to install new leadership at the DOJ to act on his false claims about election fraud.

The White House counsel also cautioned Trump that his fake electors scheme was legally unsound and warned attorney John Eastman not to pressure vice president Mike Pence to meddle in the electoral count, and Cipollone repeatedly warned that Trump going to the Capitol with his supporters would result in him being "charged with every crime imaginable."

“He likely can make it clear beyond peradventure that the illegality of the challenges to the election and the riot planning was known to Trump,” said trial lawyer David Lurie. “Cipollone is a dangerous witness for Trump because it was his job to speak up when legal lines were being crossed.”

Read More Here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/30/cipollone-subpoena-trump-danger/

[Rick Plant]

Trump ally under renewed scrutiny from J6 Committee after attacking Hutchinson's credibility

On Thursday, POLITICO reported that Tony Ornato, a Trump administration official who has disputed several key points made by Cassidy Hutchinson at her surprise January 6 hearing earlier this week, has himself come under sharp scrutiny from the House Select Committee.

"Ornato, a Secret Service official who served a year as a political appointee in Trump’s White House, has reportedly signaled a willingness to contradict a high-profile element of Hutchinson’s testimony: that Ornato told her former President Donald Trump lunged toward the head of his detail on Jan. 6, 2021, in a push to be driven to the Capitol and join his supporters trying to disrupt Congress," reported Kyle Cheney.

"But several members of the select panel say Ornato, not Hutchinson, is the one with credibility problems — and have moved to publicly preempt any doubts he might raise," noted the report. "'There seems to be a major thread here… Tony Ornato likes to lie,' Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted Thursday after another former Trump White House official, Alyssa Farah, questioned Ornato’s honesty. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), another Jan. 6 committee member, said in a Wednesday interview with NBC that Ornato 'did not have as clear of memories from this period of time' as Hutchinson did."

Hutchinson made a number of bold claims about the former president in addition to the Secret Service incident, including that Trump knew his supporters were armed as they marched to the Capitol and demanded they be let in anyway — in violation of all security rules — because "they're not here to hurt me."

"Ornato, a veteran Secret Service agent of more than two decades with stints in the presidential protection division under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, was detailed to the White House by Trump in late 2019 and appointed deputy chief of staff, an unusual arrangement for a law enforcement official," noted the report. "He has interviewed twice with the select committee — once in January and once in March, according to two people familiar with his appearances."

Reporters, too, have thrown suspicion on Ornato's testimony, with Carol Leonnig telling MSNBC that he is "a Trump acolyte."

Watch Video Below:

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/anthony-ornato-didn-t-have-as-clear-of-memories-from-jan-6-as-cassidy-hutchinson-did-rep-stephanie-murphy-says-143111237553

[Rick Plant]

NEW: Justice Dept recommends 44 months in prison for Capitol riot defendant Cody Mattice of New York.  Feds say Mattice "climbed over other rioters to reach the mouth of the Lower West Terrace tunnel, and using a chemical spray against.. police"

And they say Mattice lied to FBI.

[Rick Plant]

Capitol riot defendant George Tenney of South Carolina has pleaded guilty to two felony charge. Per feds, Tenney "tried to open the Rotunda Doors to allow the rioters inside" and messaged on Facebook on Dec 28, 2020:  "It's starting to look like we may siege the Capitol."

[Rick Plant]

‘Let my people in’: Donald Trump’s incriminating words close the case for prosecuting him



The weightiest immediate question raised by the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol and the continuing House hearings is whether the deadly insurrection requires an unprecedented criminal prosecution of a former president.

It’s not a question anymore.

The disturbing firsthand account of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who testified before the Jan. 6 committee in a hastily added hearing Tuesday, left Donald Trump inextricably bound to the deadly violence of that day. Hutchinson ensured as much by displaying the courage and candor many of the former president’s senior lieutenants have sorely lacked.

True to the disinformation that Trump and company literally weaponized on that day, Americans have been forced to endure an endless effort to downplay the events of Jan. 6 to the extent of questioning whether a violent attempted coup even took place. Hutchinson’s testimony showed not only that it was an armed insurrection but also that it was known, embraced and encouraged by the then-president. She repeatedly pierced whatever shreds of plausible deniability the former president retained after weeks of testimony and a year and a half of revelations about his and his allies’ plot to overturn his loss to Joe Biden.

Informed that the crowd he summoned to Washington was armed and dangerous, Hutchinson testified that Trump demanded that weapon-detecting magnetometers be taken down and cheered for a blitzkrieg on the Capitol. There, his mob would maim police officers and come within yards of members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence.

“I don’t f—ing care that they have weapons,” Hutchinson recalled Trump saying. “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.”

Her testimony also bolstered reports that Trump was aware of and at peace with the prospect of mortal harm to Pence, whose loyalty had flagged only at the point of breaking the law.

“He (Trump) doesn’t want to do anything,” Meadows told White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Hutchinson recounted, as the crowd called for Pence’s hanging. “He thinks Mike deserves it.”

Trump’s hours of inaction as a deluded and murderous crowd overtook the Capitol have been thoroughly documented. Hutchinson’s testimony further showed that he was not only rooting for the rioters but was also violently eager to join them in person. She said a top security official told her Trump had lunged at a member of his detail and tried to seize control of the presidential limousine when he was informed he would not be taken to the Capitol.

Hutchinson’s testimony adds to a lengthy record of evidence that Trump and his allies conspired to overturn an election they knew they lost, and incited the violence in which their plot culminated on Jan. 6. A California-based federal judge considering disclosures to the House committee has concluded that Trump and Southern California lawyer John Eastman likely committed federal crimes by interfering with congressional certification of the election.

The risk of criminalizing our politics has ensured that a prosecution of a former president has been rarely considered and never undertaken. Jan. 6 and its aftermath show that the risk of failing to prosecute Trump for a violent attack on our democracy would be greater.

© The Sacramento Bee

[Rick Plant]

'It’s all one operational plan': Proud Boys video shows effort to impose command structure before Jan. 6



A video conference for prospective members of an elite cadre of Proud Boys known as the “Ministry of Self-Defense” that was held one week before the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol shows an effort by the group’s leadership to impose a top-down structure.

During the video conference, the leaders delivered a series of edicts that show how roles were compartmentalized in the elite chapter set up for national rallies, and how information was parsed out on a need-to-know basis.

At the outset of the meeting, Charles Donohoe, a Marine Corps veteran from North Carolina, briefed the prospects, and informed them that the new special MOSD chapter would “have a code of conduct stricter than other chapters when it comes to these national public events.” There were three rules. The biggest one was “no intoxication,” with the caveat that “a beer or two” would be “fine,” but anyone who was “noticeably stoned or drunk” during security operations would “get the boot.”

The second and third rules reinforced the elite group’s secrecy.

“Number two is OPSEC,” Donohoe said. “Do not release this information, any of it, to any other chat. No forwarding. No screenshots. Number three, no social media posting. Like, don’t mention that there’s a MOSD. Don’t mention anything like that. All three of those are zero tolerance.

“We’re bringing in guys that we trust in here,” Donohoe continued. “So, all of you that are in here, just to let you know, like, we have our eye on you and we trust you guys and expect you guys to behave properly and be a good molding cement for this chapter.”

Six other leaders, alongside Donohoe, addressed the dozens of prospects in the video conference. National chairman Enrique Tarrio and national organizer Joe Biggs were part of the three-man Marketing Council atop the leadership command. Zachary Rehl and John Charles Stewart, both from Pennsylvania, were part of the Operations Council. Donohoe, along with Jeremy Bertino of North Carolina and Aaron Whallon Wolkind of Pennsylvania, were designated as regional leaders.

In April, Donohoe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, and has agreed to cooperate with the government. Tarrio, Biggs and Rehl are currently in jail awaiting trial on charges of seditious conspiracy. Among the seven leaders of the MOSD, Stewart, Bertino and Wolkind have not been charged.

Ethan Nordean (aka Rufio Panman) and Dominic Pezzola, two Proud Boys who were not present for the Dec. 30, 2020 prospects meeting, are also charged with seditious conspiracy.

Rehl has cited the video of the Dec. 30 meeting, which was first reported by the New York Times, in a pending motion to reconsider pretrial detention to argue that the objective of the MOSD was to prevent violence and that there was no plan to storm the Capitol.

“Throughout the meeting, the MOSD leaders focused on ways to make sure that rally members would behave properly and avoid violence,” wrote attorney Carmen Hernandez in the motion filed on behalf of Rehl. “There is zero discussion about a violent attack on the Capitol.”

Despite the absence of any discussion about specific plans for Jan. 6 during the meeting, which ran for almost an hour and 40 minutes, leaders repeatedly emphasized the importance of following orders. In a motion to oppose Rehl’s release filed on Wednesday, the government cited statements by the two members of the Operations Council during the meeting.

“The marketing team is going to start with a strategic objective that they want the Proud Boys to accomplish,” Wolkind told the prospects. He continued: “What the logistics team does — the operations — is we just basically figure out how to get that done safely and get everyone home in one piece. So, we basically just support the marketing team, and that’s how we use that nomenclature for how we structure it.”

Stewart delivered the message in blunter terms to the prospects.

“Another question I saw today was, there was concern about who directions were coming from,” Stewart said. “And they could come from any single person that you see on your screen right now, as well as about seven or eight more people that you don’t see yet, because they’re obviously not on the screen. But the one thing everybody has to understand is, yes, you might be getting told things from different people, but it’s all information from the same plan. Biggs isn’t going to tell you something different than I’m going to tell you. Enrique isn’t going to tell you something different than Zach is going to tell you. It’s all one operational plan. So, don’t get hung up on the delivery.”

At the close of the Dec. 30 meeting, Rehl reinforced the message of discipline.

“We’re not gonna be doing like a Proud Boy f***in’ 8 o’clock at night march and flexing our guns and s***,” he said. “We’re doing a completely different operation, and there’s gonna be a lot of contingencies and plans laid out of what we’re actually going to do, and there’s gonna be teams that are going to be put together — where they’re going to be going and what they’re doing. So, keep that in mind, too. When you tell your guys that kind of thing, spread that word a little bit. I mean, don’t spread it too far, but expose it to the guys you plan on bringing and everything so that we can actually work together and make this DC event a little more successful.”

During the video conference, Tarrio pointedly avoided answering questions about the specific plan for Jan. 6.

Roughly 20 minutes into the meeting, one of the prospects asked in the chat: “What exactly is our goal for DC? Should it be discussed in person or are we going over it here?”

“We’ll go over it a little bit later,” Tarrio responded. “I want to discuss the structure of this thing and how it works.”

The question came up again 20 minutes later.

“So, I’m not gonna go into too much detail on the 6th,” Tarrio said. “We’re gonna have a separate chat — video chat exactly like this where we’re gonna go over with people that are actually attending the event — we’re gonna go over those details at that time. Right now, we’re just talking about operational stuff and how this is structured.”

During the meeting, the leaders introduced the concept of “10-man squads” to the prospective MOSD members. A New York Times visual investigation of the Proud Boys’ role in the Capitol attack found that some worked in teams, including a group that wore orange hats and another equipped with tactical gear. The Times analysis of publicly-sourced video identified at least three teams that appeared to be conducting a tactical retreat after riot police partially regained control of the West Plaza. The teams, one of which included Biggs and Nordean and another that included Donohoe and Pezzola, can be seen together. One team can be seen marching in stack formation, another linking arms, while Donohoe and Pezzola carried a stolen police shield, later to be used by Pezzola to break out the first window in the breach of the Capitol building.

The orange hats worn by some of the Proud Boys involved in the breach appear to have gone against the advice of leadership.

“I don’t think as a massive group we should be using identifying markers, right, because those identifying markers are counterproductive to what we’re trying to do at this particular time,” Tarrio told the prospects on Dec. 30. “Right, so you’re gonna familiarize yourself that night with 10 people, and those 10 people you’re going to roll with together.”

The Times investigation identified a repeated pattern of tactics by hundreds of Proud Boys involved in the attack on the Capitol that appear to have created a force multiplier to leverage the thousands of Trump supporters unaffiliated with militant groups. The newspaper’s video analysis found that Proud Boys identified access points to the building and ground, riled up other protesters, joined directly in the violence, engaged in tactical retreat when met with resistance, and then repeated the sequence.

Stewart told prospects not to worry about the big picture during the Dec. 30 meeting.

“So, turn your brains off a little bit on trying to figure out what the big picture is and follow the 10 guys you’re with,” he said. “You’re gonna have a leader of those 10 guys. So, handle it that way and make sure you’re tight.”

Stewart, who was not in Washington, DC on Jan. 6, suggested a course of action in a voice note posted in the MOSD leadership chat four days later, according to the indictment for seditious conspiracy.

Identified in the indictment as “Person 3,” Stewart reportedly advised: “I mean, the main operating theater should be out in front of the house of representatives. It should be out in front of the Capitol building. That’s where the vote is taking place and all of the objections.”

As part of his plea, Donohoe agreed to certain factual stipulations. His statement of offense indicates that as early as Jan. 4, "Donohoe was aware that members of the MOSD leadership were discussing the possibility of storming the Capitol" and that doing so "would achieve the group's goal of stopping the government from carrying out the transfer of presidential power."

Reflecting the top-down structure of the MOSD and the understanding that direction would come from the three-man Marketing Council, Donohoe's statement of offense indicates that Biggs reported in the New MOSD Member Group that he had spoken with Tarrio on the evening of Jan. 5, following Tarrio's arrest for his participation in burning a Black Lives Matter flag. Biggs also reported that he was with Nordean, the third member of the Marketing Council, according to the government.

"What's the plan so I can pass it on to the MOSD guys?" Donohoe asked.

"I gave Enrique a plan," Biggs responded. "The one I told the guys and he said he had one."

Rehl and the Proud Boys supporters have cited the video of the Dec. 30 meeting as evidence that there was no plan to storm the Capitol.

In particular, Rehl’s motion to reconsider pretrial detention pointed to a statement by Tarrio, who said, “We’re never going to be the ones to cross the police barrier or cross something in order to get to somebody. We’re always going to be the one standing back, right? And we’re always going to be the one to f***ing defend.”

But a couple of minutes later, Tarrio struck a different tone, exulting in the Proud Boys’ show of dominance during a night of violence that followed a previous pro-Trump rally in Washington, DC on Dec. 12, 2020.

“Listen, there was enough of us there to do whatever we wanted to do in DC,” Tarrio said. “Nobody was going to be able to stop it.”

“Not the cops,” Bertino agreed. “Not nobody was gonna stop us.”

The Dec. 30 meeting also included a discussion of so-called “normies” — unaffiliated Trump supporters — that, at least on the surface, appears to undercut the theory that the Proud Boys deliberately incited the mob at the Capitol.

For their self-protection, the Proud Boys were concerned that their marching columns not be infiltrated by outsiders.

“And that has to extend to normies and women,” Stewart said. “What I’m telling you is stop the formation and very politely and professionally go up to them and say, ‘Listen, you can’t walk in here right now. You gotta step out to the side,’” Stewart said.

During the conference, a Proud Boys leader from New Hampshire recounted a frustrating experience that occurred when the group attempted to march to Black Lives Matter Plaza to confront left-wing counter-protesters after the Dec. 12 rally.

“When we walked to fuckin’ BLM Plaza with Biggs and Rufio, one of the things they told the rest of us was to be quiet,” he said. “We had a bunch of normies screaming on the top of their lungs, going, ‘F** antifa’ and ‘Babies lives matter’ and the f***in’ normies, every time we told them to shut the f*** up, they wouldn’t shut the f*** up, they were f***in’ screamin’ and yellin’. So much for trying to be f***in’ tactical and, you know, trying to do something on the f***in’ down low, but goddamn dude.”

Bertino sympathized, but suggested there was only so much they could do.

“Yeah, unfortunately, there’s no way with the notoriety that we have that people are not gonna f***in’ start following us,” he said. “They’re gonna follow us now because we’re the tip of the spear.”

You can watch the video below in the link:

https://www.rawstory.com/its-all-one-operational-plan-proud-boys-video-of-shows-effort-to-impose-command-structure-before-jan-6/