JFK Assassination Forum
Off Topic => News - Off Topic - Weird & Wacky => Topic started by: Jon Banks on August 24, 2021, 01:28:07 AM
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Reuters: FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was coordinated
The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials.
Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations.
"Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases," said a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. "Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages."
Stone, a veteran Republican operative and self-described "dirty trickster", and Jones, founder of a conspiracy-driven radio show and webcast, are both allies of Trump and had been involved in pro-Trump events in Washington on Jan. 5, the day before the riot.[/i]
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-fbi-finds-scant-evidence-us-capitol-attack-was-coordinated-sources-2021-08-20/
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Reuters: FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was coordinated
The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials.
Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations.
"Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases," said a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. "Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages."
Stone, a veteran Republican operative and self-described "dirty trickster", and Jones, founder of a conspiracy-driven radio show and webcast, are both allies of Trump and had been involved in pro-Trump events in Washington on Jan. 5, the day before the riot.[/i]
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-fbi-finds-scant-evidence-us-capitol-attack-was-coordinated-sources-2021-08-20/
versus some facts... IOW, you're setting yourself up to be at least as disappointed about the eventual outcome of more than 600 arrests as I expect you already are about "the Durham investigation".
https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/08/23/stop-the-steal-hints-of-the-january-5-rallies-in-the-january-6-riot-investigation/
STOP THE STEAL: HINTS OF THE JANUARY 5 RALLIES IN THE JANUARY 6 RIOT INVESTIGATION
August 23, 2021
With the charges against Owen Shroyer, the government has now charged three people who had a speaking part in several rallies tied to Stop the Steal the day before the insurrection: Brandon Straka, Russell Taylor and his co-conspirators, and Shroyer. Because I’m working on some gaps in the government’s story — gaps that must be intentional, for investigative or prosecutorial reasons — I want to look at how DOJ is beginning to fill in the story about January 5.
With Walk Away founder Brandon Straka, who was arrested on January 25, the mention of his speech at the Stop the Steal rally at Freedom Plaza in his arrest affidavit
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases
was almost incidental, included along with the rest of his incendiary speech directly tied to the riot (but the affidavit didn’t include his other public comments over a broader period — for example, it doesn’t mention Straka’s role in sowing suspicion of the Michigan vote tally)...
...The January 5 rally at the Supreme Court (which featured some of the same people as the Freedom Plaza one) appears in the So Cal Three Percenter conspiracy indictment
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21046979-210609-hostetter-et-al
in part for the logistical challenges it posed....
..But it still provided cause for DOJ to mention that by December 30, Russell Taylor knew of a Stop the Steal plan to “surround the Capitol.”...
...That is, in the conspiracy indictment charging 3 percenters with organizing not just themselves to come armed to the Capitol, but others in Southern California, the earlier rally serves as both an organizational focus and a platform to sow violence.
Shroyer’s affidavit
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21046736/8-19-21-us-v-jonathan-owen-shroyer-complaint-affidavit.pdf
mentions several things he said on January 5.. ...
Prosecutors are deliberately tight lipped at this stage in which they only reveal in court pleadings the least of their evidence... and have you forgotten, too, about weapons stashed in advance?
https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/08/20/reuters-doesnt-mention-terrorism-when-discussing-the-january-6-investigation/
REUTERS DOESN’T MENTION TERRORISM WHEN CLAIMING DOJ WON’T CHARGE SERIOUS OFFENSES IN THE JANUARY 6 INVESTIGATION
August 20, 2021
Reuters has a story claiming to report that, “FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was coordinated,” that has elicited a lot of consternation. I’d like to look at what it does and does not say. Most of it is true — and not news — but somewhere along the way someone (either the reporters or the sources) misunderstood parts of what they’re looking at.
REUTERS OR ITS SOURCES DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW DOJ IS CHARGING THIS
One detail shows this to be true.
The Reuters piece makes much of the fact that DOJ is not charging what it calls “serious” charges.
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Not once does the story mention obstruction, which also carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. If you don’t mention obstruction — and your sources don’t explain that obstruction will get you to precisely where you’d get with a sedition charge, but with a lot more flexibility to distinguish between defendants and a far lower bar of proof (unless and until judges decide it has been misapplied) — then your sources are not describing what is going on with the investigation.
Furthermore, Reuters purports to rule out “more serious, politically-loaded charges,” but it never mentions terrorism.
.....
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versus some facts... IOW, you're setting yourself up to be at least as disappointed about the eventual outcome of more than 600 arrests as I expect you already are about "the Durham investigation".
Prosecutors are deliberately tight lipped at this stage in which they only reveal in court pleadings the least of their evidence... and have you forgotten, too, about weapons stashed in advance?
Nowhere did Jon express any view about being disappointed or happy about this story. He simply presented it.
Second, your own source - a pretty partisan one if I may say - says this: "Most of it [the above story] is true — and not news — but somewhere along the way someone (either the reporters or the sources) misunderstood parts of what they’re looking at."
Your link then talks about "obstruction" and "terrorism" charges which, again, have nothing to do with the specific area of how much of the attack was coordinated or planned in advance. Apparently very little of it. That's the most important question about what happened: Was it planned? Directed? Or was it just a mob? So far the evidence indicates that it wasn't.
Maybe they are holding those conspiracy charges back but I would think that if there was evidence of a major conspiracy that that would have been revealed by now. Either leaked to the media or shown in some of the charges. So far, it hasn't.
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Nowhere did Jon express any view about being disappointed or happy about this story. He simply presented it.
Second, your own source - a pretty partisan one if I may say - says this: "Most of it [the above story] is true — and not news — but somewhere along the way someone (either the reporters or the sources) misunderstood parts of what they’re looking at."
Your link then talks about "obstruction" and "terrorism" charges which, again, have nothing to do with the specific area of how much of the attack was coordinated or planned in advance. Apparently very little of it. That's the most important question about what happened: Was it planned? Directed? Or was it just a mob? So far the evidence indicates that it wasn't.
Maybe they are holding those conspiracy charges back but I would think that if there was evidence of a major conspiracy that that would have been revealed by now. Either leaked to the media or shown in some of the charges. So far, it hasn't.
I've been exposed to Jon's political views since well before the last election, back when Royell claimed to be an authority on covid-19 risks, impact, and mitigation.
The Trump supporting faction of the GOP has become so extreme and unmoored from facts (not including you in that description) that what once was regarded simply as competent as a result of an accurate track record, now seems, "a pretty partisan one".
The attack on the U.S. Capitol is more troubling than the Oklahoma City bombing 26 years ago. No amount of spin or other minimization efforts is going to change that. Post a source I should trust, based on track record and depth of analysis. Dr. Marcy Wheeler quit contributing at The Intercept almost immediately after becoming associated with it because she prizes her independence and wants to be evaluated on her accuracy and not be subjected to the tactic you used to diminish the impact of her analysis and opininion. Since January, she's examined every pleading by prosecutors and defendants involved in January 6 and tried to focus most on those charged with violent offenses and those who moved from entrance to entrance of the Capital.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/06/09/the-gateway-pundits-east-capitol-door-oath-keeper-conspiracy/
June 9, 2021
"..That makes the intent of the Gateway Pundit story more interesting. It claims that the existing explanation for how the East doors got opened is that a Marine Major “went inside and managed to run around and open up the doors.”
She immediately pointed out the identities of key persons Tucker Carlson was falsely claiming must be FBI instigators. She is a linguist who compares government redactions in documents, gleaning details from inconsistent redactions. She is assisted by a criminal defense attorney who debates her as if he was the defense attorney of some of the January 6 accused.
I've been following her work since 2005.
https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/emptywheels-marcy-wheeler-knows-more-than-she-tells-but-she-tells-a-lot.php
Marcy Wheeler knows more than she tells, but she tells a lot
By Sam Thielman
SEPTEMBER 24, 2018
This article is the first profile in a series focusing on notable forensic journalists for the Tow Center for Digital Journalism.
IN THE SOMETIMES MURKY WORLD of national security reporters, few people are wrong less often than Marcy Wheeler.....
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versus some facts... IOW, you're setting yourself up to be at least as disappointed about the eventual outcome of more than 600 arrests as I expect you already are about "the Durham investigation".
Prosecutors are deliberately tight lipped at this stage in which they only reveal in court pleadings the least of their evidence... and have you forgotten, too, about weapons stashed in advance?
Steve is right. I won't be disappointed with whatever the FBI or Durham investigation conclude.
As for my personal opinion, I am skeptical that January 6th was a top-down coup attempt. It looks more like some groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers came prepared for violence (as they often are) but there was no well organized plot.
As for Durham, I think he's a straight shooter and will get to the bottom of whether or not the FBI overreached in their 2016 investigation into Trump's campaign.
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Steve is right. I won't be disappointed with whatever the FBI or Durham investigation conclude.
As for my personal opinion, I am skeptical that January 6th was a top-down coup attempt. It looks more like some groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers came prepared for violence (as they often are) but there was no well organized plot.
As for Durham, I think he's a straight shooter and will get to the bottom of whether or not the FBI overreached in their 2016 investigation into Trump's campaign.
It does seem to me that at this point, and it's been more than seven months, that if there was a larger conspiracy behind this attack, some greater coordination and planning beforehand, some directed purpose behind it, that that would have been revealed by now. Charges brought, indictments made, press conferences announcing the discovery, leaks to the media. I can't believe that they're withholding information about a larger plan simply to be shown at a later date.
As you said, instead of an attempt coup this was just a mob that did what mobs often do. Undirected, uncontrolled violence. Nothing planned out beforehand except perhaps by those small radical crackpots. Doesn't excuse it - prosecute them.
As to Durham: I think it's clear that people in the FBI, high ranking ones, cut corners when investigating the Trump campaign. They were overzealous and skirted around the safeguards we've put in since the COINTELPRO revelations. Whether that warrants criminal prosecution will be revealed by the Durham investigation. There have been as far as I can tell no leaks from that. So either they've found nothing or he's running a tight ship.
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As to Durham: I think it's clear that people in the FBI, high ranking ones, cut corners when investigating the Trump campaign. They were overzealous and skirted around the safeguards we've put in since the COINTELPRO revelations. Whether that warrants criminal prosecution will be revealed by the Durham investigation. There have been as far as I can tell no leaks from that. So either they've found nothing or he's running a tight ship.
There was one prosecution and that was for a blatant example of evidence tampering.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/19/former-fbi-attorney-pleads-guilty-durham-398605
I'll be surprised if there are other examples as bad. I agree that the FBI were over zealous in their paranoia about Russian interference and concern about Trump.
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There was one prosecution and that was for a blatant example of evidence tampering.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/19/former-fbi-attorney-pleads-guilty-durham-398605
I'll be surprised if there are other examples as bad. I agree that the FBI were over zealous in their paranoia about Russian interference and concern about Trump.
They uncritically accepted, maybe not consciously but with little skepticism, the Steele dossier and that was when things went of the rails.
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They uncritically accepted, maybe not consciously but with little skepticism, the Steele dossier and that was when things went of the rails.
I disagree that there was "very little skepticism" because not much happened as a result of the FBI reading the Steele Dossier. Unlike what Comey did to Hillary in claiming he had some "duty" to interfere with the election by keeping a promise to notify Rep. Chaffetz just days before the election, vs immediately after, with regard to a new and unverified discovery.
IOW, everything you're reacting to (not you, per se) about the Steele Dossier is intended to divert attention from Trump's public, "I love wikileaks" and "Russia, if you're listening," and his lies as sitting POTUS in reaction to disclosures about the Trump Tower meeting being "about adoption". Trump claimed Carter Page was not a part of his campaign.
Do you think Comey should not have briefed president-elect Trump about the contents of the Steele Dossier? After all, it did exist.
If you separate Trump and Trump associate claims about the Steele Dossier from the record, what do you disagree with in the Horowitz Report or in IG Horowitz's testimony related to his report? I hope you understand all of the Trump side "reporting" was routed from Trump to the Fox evening entertainers to Sara Carter, Chuck Ross, and John Solomon to craft a unified message as background to Trump's constant self-victimization, all framed with the excuse that the Deep State is too powerful to result in any indictments aside from one guy who Mueller refered for altering an email to a CIA agent. I hope the sentencing judge's reaction to that guilty plea prompted some reflection, or, was the judge entrenched Deep State protecting that solitary, exposed "evil does"?
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-clinesmith/no-prison-sentence-for-ex-fbi-lawyer-who-pleaded-guilty-in-russia-probe-fallout-idUSKBN29Y1CB
..Special Counsel John Durham had sought up to six months in prison, suggesting Clinesmith acted out of “political or personal bias” against Trump. Defense lawyers asked the judge for no prison time, saying his action was a mistake. They noted that he and his wife are expecting their first child in March.
Boasberg said an extensive investigation by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog found that Clinesmith had not acted with any political bias. The judge said he saw “no reason to disagree with that.”..
McCabe and Strzok are suing the Trump DOJ, their cases moving to discovery. Trump suggested the death penalty for both but neither will even be indicted. If the power of the Deep State is the excuse for the lack of indictments, so far, except for 30 plus by Mueller, how does a belief system resulting in Trump being completely unaccountable for anything, ever, no matter the frequency of his lies or his pronouncement of sentence of the unindicted, his serial obstruction of justice, of all attempts of congress to carry out its constitutional regulatory inquiry, and his five in person meetings with Putin of which, by late 2019, he had suppressed all record of the subjects and details discussed, result in anything in the best interest of anyone but Trump and his "associates," especially the pardoned ones who were convicted by juries in criminal trials?
Trump and Putin Have Met Five Times. What Was Said Is a Mystery.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/us/politics/trump-putin-meetings.html
January 15, 2019
This "ass clown in a coma", Atty John Pierce, a civil litigator, is currently "representing" eighteen January 6 defendants. I predict some of them will come to take their legal exposure more seriously.
Keep relying on Reuters and we'll compare notes down the road.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/08/25/john-pierce-tries-to-hire-his-18th-january-6-defendant-while-on-a-ventilator-with-covid-19/
"...Representing this many defendants would be an impossible feat, even for the most experienced defense attorney, and harder still for a civil attorney like Pierce. Plus, some of these representations would seem to pose serious conflicts."
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51403178373_9536a0576c_b.jpg)
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I disagree that there was "very little skepticism" because not much happened as a result of the FBI reading the Steele Dossier. Unlike what Comey did to Hillary in claiming he had some "duty" to interfere with the election by keeping a promise to notify Rep. Chaffetz just days before the election, vs immediately after, with regard to a new and unverified discovery.
Not much happened! I must have dreamed that three plus year Mueller investigation in which we were told night after night that Trump colluded with the Russians to win the 2016 election. He "stole the election." The real big lie. Hillary actually violated the law and would have been prosecuted except for Comey's unwillingness to enforce the law. He was convinced that Hillary was going to win the election and be his next boss. He did not want to derail that but also didn't want to be criticized for failing to enforce the law. So he split the difference by not prosecuting her for obvious legal violations but voicing criticism of her conduct. He played both sides against the middle because he was a corrupt bureaucrat.
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Not much happened! I must have dreamed that three plus year Mueller investigation in which we were told night after night that Trump colluded with the Russians to win the 2016 election. He "stole the election." The real big lie. Hillary actually violated the law and would have been prosecuted except for Comey's unwillingness to enforce the law. He was convinced that Hillary was going to win the election and be his next boss. He did not want to derail that but also didn't want to be criticized for failing to enforce the law. So he split the difference by not prosecuting her for obvious legal violations but voicing criticism of her conduct. He played both sides against the middle because he was a corrupt bureaucrat.
Here is Michael Isikoff, one of the key investigative reporters who reported on the "Steele dossier" (along with David Corn), discussing the important role that document played in the entire "belief system" (his words), outside and inside the government, that Trump had been compromised (Kompromat) by Russia, that Russian intelligence had contacts with Trump people who exchanged information with each other, and that Trump was acting as an "asset" for Putin. This was the foundational document for all of that ancillary monitoring, Page, et al.
I would suggest that had there been no Steele Dossier that the entire related investigation would have been done quite differently.
Go to the 21:00 minute mark for the key points:
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Here is Michael Isikoff, one of the key investigative reporters who reported on the "Steele dossier" (along with David Corn), discussing the important role that document played in the entire "belief system" (his words), outside and inside the government, that Trump had been compromised (Kompromat) by Russia, that Russian intelligence had contacts with Trump people who exchanged information with each other, and that Trump was acting as an "asset" for Putin. This was the foundational document for all of that ancillary monitoring, Page, et al.
I would suggest that had there been no Steele Dossier that the entire related investigation would have been done quite differently.
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https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2020-04-15%20ODNI%20to%20CEG%20RHJ%20(FISA%20Footnote%20Declassification).pdf
APR 1 5 2020 - Senator Chuck Grassleyhttps://www.grassley.senate.gov › download › 20...PDF
Jan 5, 2020 — AS we discuss in Chapter Six, members of the Crossfire Hurricane team were unaware of Steele's connections to Russian Oligarch 1.
A screenshot from the 9 page, Sen. Grassley .pdf linked above. Footnote .210 is quoted above:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51411310341_97ba6240d5_h.jpg)
Washington Examiner, which I don't cite as a rule, had this to add about Oleg Deripaska's knowledge.:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/declassified-footnotes-show-russian-intelligence-knew-about-steele-dossier-efforts-in-summer-of-2016
The footnotes showed that “sensitive source reporting” from June 2017 indicated that a person affiliated to "Russian Oligarch 1," a powerful Russian businessman for whom Steele had done work, was “possibly aware” of Steele’s Trump-Russia investigation as of early July 2016.
Arguably,you posted an example of Isikoff and Corn self promotion, as they are credited with "breaking the story".
Read THE ENTIRE article I excerpted below, 3 or 4 times (while humming the tune, "I'm Proud to be an American...) click on some of the intermingled, supporting links. Then, consider that Manafort was subsequently convicted by a jury in a criminal trial and that Tom Barrack is under indictment on several charges and the Inauguration committee Barrack chaired was vice-chaired by admitted felon and Manafort assistant, Rick Gates.
Steve, consider that Trump, at Manafort's suggestion, used the dossier as a pinata and that it is not at the root of "his troubles".
People Trump kept on, or appointed (remember Trump first greeting Comey on camera with near adoration, possibly having to do with Comey's late October letter about emails on the Wiener laptop?)
signed off on three of the four Carter page FISA apps...
https://www.justice.gov/storage/120919-examination.pdf
Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the
Dec 9, 2019 — the dates the Carter Page FISA applications were filed and the dates ... application, Comey and then Acting Attorney General Dana Boente ...
478 pages and, on page 91 of 478 : "Oligarch I" = Oleg Deripaska
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51410526492_24038db9aa_b.jpg)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rod-rosenstein-carter-page-fisa-warrant/
"..However, Rosenstein also said that at the time, the government had not yet concluded Trump associates did not conspire with Russia, that there was still "reasonable suspicion.".."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_of_Donald_Trump#Investigation_by_U.S._attorney's_office_in_New_York
Investigations
8.1 Investigation by the special counsel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_of_Donald_Trump#Investigation_by_the_special_counsel)
8.2 Investigation by U.S. attorney's office in New York (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_of_Donald_Trump#Investigation_by_U.S._attorney's_office_in_New_York)
8.3 Investigations by attorneys general (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_of_Donald_Trump#Investigations_by_attorneys_general)
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/25/manafort-trump-russia-advise-238803
Manafort advised Trump team on Russia scandal
Former campaign chief remained in contact with the president and his aides after the FBI launched its Russia probe.
By KENNETH P. VOGEL 05/25/2017
"...Trump’s aides and allies have sought to minimize Manafort’s role on the campaign, with White House press secretary Sean Spicer in March describing Manafort as someone “who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time” in the effort.
The former Trump campaign worker said “because Paul was initially brought on to secure the delegates and work with the establishment figures that the initial campaign team didn’t have relationships with, he was primarily based in New York, D.C. and then Cleveland setting up the convention. Whereas Mr. Trump and the core campaign team were traveling all over the country campaigning.” As a result, the campaign hand said, “we didn’t really have that much interaction with Paul. He wasn’t part of the core campaign team.”
And the former campaign worker asserted that Trump and Manafort “didn’t have a relationship” before a mutual friend, California real estate investor Tom Barrack, recommended that Trump bring Manafort on board as a volunteer.
In fact, though, Manafort’s lobbying firm worked for Trump in the 1980s and 1990s fighting the expansion of Indian casinos that could compete with his Atlantic City gambling business, and trying to change the flight path of planes that Trump said disturbed guests at his newly purchased Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
And, while it’s true that Manafort joined the campaign in March 2016 to handle delegate strategy, he quickly exerted his influence over the entire campaign, which was headquartered at Manhattan’s Trump Tower, where he owns an apartment.
Days after Manafort joined the campaign, one of his daughters, in a text message to her sister that was later hacked and posted in an online data tranche, wrote: “Dad and Trump are literally living in the same building and mom says they go up and down all day long hanging and plotting together.”
Manafort eventually forced out his internal rival, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, in June, leaving Manafort with almost complete control over the operation for two months until August, when he was layered over, and then forced to resign.
Even after that, Manafort continued discussing campaign strategy with people on the campaign, including a few calls with Trump’s influential son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and more regular contact with key state directors, according to a Trump campaign consultant..."
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The date of the Reuters article presented in the OP of this thread was
August 20, 2021.
A Devin Nunes voter ?
https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/clovis-real-estate-agent-will-face-charges-in-connection-to-january-6-capitol-violence-doj-documents-say/
Posted: Sep 2, 2021 / 09:30 PM PDT / Updated: Sep 2, 2021 / 11:30 PM PDT
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) — "Benjamin Martin, a Clovis real estate agent living in Madera will face charges for his part in the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol according to official government documents from the United States Department of Justice..."
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1430511/download
Page 6 of 13 :
"...A search warrant of the MARTIN Facebook account identified by the tipster revealed that
the account was registered as “benjamin.martin.90410.” A review of the account further revealed
communications between MARTIN and a Facebook account associated with R.T. Based on a
different investigation, R.T. is known to the FBI to have advocated for violence in the lead-up to
January 6, organized others to travel to D.C. for January 6 (some of whom participated in the riot
at the U.S. Capitol), and to have participated himself in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
MARTIN’s account contained communications occurring on January 3, 2021, between R.T. and
MARTIN through Facebook Messenger in which MARTIN and R.T. discussed traveling to
Washington D.C. for January 6, 2021. In the communications, R.T. invited MARTIN to join a
Telegram chat for “a group of 200+ California patriots that are going to DC Jan 6,” which
MARTIN accepted and joined. On January 6, 2021, MARTIN sent four messages to R.T. that
stated, “we need to meet”, “I just spoke to Peggy Hall she said we need to meet”, and “I am in DC
as we”, “well” [sic].
Through Facebook, MARTIN messaged four photos from January 6, 2021. Two were the
same at the photos that MARTIN provided to the FBI (included above). The other two appear to
be of MARTIN: ..."
Background: June 9, 2021
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1403191/download
"...19. As described herein, HOSTETTER, TAYLOR, WARNER, MARTINEZ,
KINNISON, and MELE conspired with each other, and with others known and unknown, to
corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede the Congressional proceeding at the U.S. Capitol on
January 6, 2021.
January 1, 2021: TAYLOR Initiates the California Patriols-DC Brigade
Telegram Group
38. On January 1,2021, TAYLOR created a Telegram chat called "The California
Patriots-DC Brigade" (the "DC Brigade") and invited other individuals to join. TAYLOR,
HOSTETTER, WARNER, KINNISON, MARTINEZ, and MELE all joined, along with more than
30 others.
39. In the "about" section that described the purpose of the DC Brigade group,
TAYLOR wrote:
This group will serve as the Comms for able bodied individuals that are going to
DC on Jan 6. Many of us have not met before and we are all ready and willing to
fight. We will come together for this moment that we are called upon.
40. In a series of messages on January 1, 2021, TAYLOR further explained the purpose
of the group. In one message, he explained: "This thread is exclusive to be utilized to organize a
group of fighters to have each other's backs and ensure that no one will trample on our rights.
Also, if there is key intel that we need to be aware of tor possible threats." He added: "l am
assuming that you have some type of weaponry that you are bringing with you and plates as well." (along the lines of Rep. Mo Brooks wearing body armor ????)
TAYLOR also asked members to identify if they had previous law enforcement experience,
military experience, or "special skills relevant to our endeavors," as well as the planned date and
time of their arrival in D.C. ..
..37. On December 30, 2020,TAYLOR posted to his "russ.taylor" Instagram account:
Spread the word to other CALIFORNIA Patriots to join us as we March into the
Capitol Jan 6. The Plan right now is to meet up at two occasions and locations: l.Jan 5ft Zpm atthe Supreme Court steps for a rally. (Myself, Alan, [and others] will
be speaking) 2. Jan 6ft early 7am meet in front of the Kimpton George Hotel. . .we
will leave at 7:30am sharp and March (15 mins) to the Capital to meet up with the
stop the steal organization and surround the capital. There will be speakers there
and we will be part of the large effort for the "Wild Rally" that Trump has asked us
all to be part of..."
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This bogus Reuters article has been debunked.
January 6 select committee refutes claim by McCarthy that the Justice Department cleared Trump of any role in insurrection
The top members of the select committee investigating the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill refuted recent claims by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that former President Donald Trump has been cleared by the Justice Department of any role in the insurrection.
"(McCarthy) has suggested, based on an anonymous report, that the Department of Justice has concluded that Donald Trump did not cause, incite, or provoke the violence on January 6th," the statement read. "When this anonymous report was first published, the Select Committee queried the Executive Branch agencies and congressional committees involved in the investigation. We've received answers and briefings from the relevant entities, and it's been made clear to us that reports of such a conclusion are baseless."
The statement by Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney calls out McCarthy's comments to KGET-TV this week where he suggested Trump played no role in coordinating the insurrection.
"That's where law enforcement comes. The FBI has investigated this. The Senate had bipartisan committees come back. And you know what they've found -- that there's no involvement. But this is purely political in how Nancy Pelosi has handled this," McCarthy, a California Republican, said in the interview with KGET.
McCarthy and many other Republicans have used a report from Reuters that claims the FBI has found "scant evidence" that the January 6 riots were coordinated. CNN has not independently confirmed that report.
The committee making it clear that Trump has not been cleared of any wrongdoing related to January 6 gives a clear indication that the former President and his allies remain a focal point in their investigation.
"We will continue to pursue all elements of this investigation in a nonpartisan and thorough manner. We also remind Minority Leader McCarthy of his statements following January 6th, including his statement from the House Floor on January 13th—which are inconsistent with his recent comments," the committee's Saturday statement continued.
A week after the insurrection, McCarthy said on the House floor that, "The President bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. ... He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action by President Trump."
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/04/politics/mccarthy-trump-select-committee-justice-department/index.html
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It's amazing that so much time and energy has been expended on this story. Meanwhile there were decades of intentional and verifiable lies told by a laundry list of politicians and military members dating back decades that resulted in decades long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush, Cheney, Powell, Obama, Hillary etc. Lies that resulted it the deaths of thousands of Americans and untold numbers of folks in those countries. The expenditure of trillions of dollars for no purpose. But no one cares. What they care about is some guy who painted his face and wore a horned helmet while walking through the Capitol.
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It's amazing that so much time and energy has been expended on this story. Meanwhile there were decades of intentional and verifiable lies told by a laundry list of politicians and military members dating back decades that resulted in decades long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush, Cheney, Powell, Obama, Hillary etc. Lies that resulted it the deaths of thousands of Americans and untold numbers of folks in those countries. The expenditure of trillions of dollars for no purpose. But no one cares. What they care about is some guy who painted his face and wore a horned helmet while walking through the Capitol.
You make it plain you are unprepared intellectually and emotionally for what will result from the still ongoing investigation(s), arrests, prosecutions and the work of the January 6 Commission.
The statements of Senators McConnell and Graham, as well as of House Minority Leader McCarthy are inconsistent with their recent comments.
https://january6th.house.gov/news/press-releases/thompson-cheney-statement-mccarthy-s-january-6th-misinformation-campaign
“Minority Leader McCarthy has recently made statements regarding the January 6th investigation. He has suggested, based on an anonymous report, that the Department of Justice has concluded that Donald Trump did not cause, incite, or provoke the violence on January 6th. When this anonymous report was first published, the Select Committee queried the Executive Branch agencies and congressional committees involved in the investigation. We’ve received answers and briefings from the relevant entities, and it’s been made clear to us that reports of such a conclusion are baseless. We will continue to pursue all elements of this investigation in a nonpartisan and thorough manner. We also remind Minority Leader McCarthy of his statements following January 6th, including his statement from the House Floor on January 13th—which are inconsistent with his recent comments.”
The American people, especially considering "the Trump taint" at the highest levels of the Secret Service,
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-dangerous-secrets-inside-the-secret-service-and-how-the-agency-has-been-shortchanged
The dangerous secrets inside the Secret Service, and how the agency has been shortchanged - PBS
May 19, 2021 — Jim Murray was very close to Tony Ornato. And they agreed that this is how it would be, and that he would temporarily be with the White House, ...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/08/politics/secret-service-james-murray/index.html
James Murray to take over Secret Service | CNN Politics
Apr 8, 2019 — President Donald Trump has chosen a "career member" of the Secret Service to be its new director starting in May, White House press ...
....to learn why the same Secret Service that issued this warning to the Capitol Police, brought V.P. Mike Pence to the Capitol without increased SS protection, like a tactical team, or even brought him, AND HIS FAMILY, to the Capitol on January 6, at all!
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/25/secret-service-warned-capitol-police-violent-threats-january-riot-506806
Secret Service warned Capitol Police about violent ... - Politico
Aug 25, 2021 — Just a day before the Jan. 6 riot, the Secret Service warned the U.S. Capitol Police that their officers could face violence at the hands of ...
Local DC, NBC affiliate :
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/internal-park-police-emails-reveal-more-gun-incidents-warnings-on-jan-6/2793649/
September 6, 2021
... A USPP spokesperson told the I-Team the 24-year-old with the rifle was arrested and charged with having an unregistered firearm.
Several other incidents with guns are revealed in the internal emails. According to a FBI update forwarded to colleagues by a U.S. Park Police detective, “At approximately 10:45 a.m., Federal Protective Service received notification.. that two individuals were detained by a protective service officer for possession of two guns in vehicle.
According to emails shared by federal law enforcement, D.C. police reported “there have been approximately 10 arrests ranging from simple assault to weapons possession” by 9:35 a.m. in the District.
As the morning progressed, the emails show attention shifted to the Capitol. A U.S. Park Police email reported a large group of 200 suspected Proud Boys on or near Capitol grounds. In an email to colleagues, a Park Police intelligence branch commander noted, “We are monitoring the group’s movement through the city.”
By 11:15am, at least 400 people had entered or approached the east front of the Capitol, according to an FBI situational report emailed by Park Police officials....
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You make it plain you are unprepared intellectually and emotionally for what will result from the still ongoing investigation(s), arrests, prosecutions and the work of the January 6 Commission.
The statements of Senators McConnell and Graham, as well as of House Minority Leader McCarthy are inconsistent with their recent comments.
The American people, especially considering "the Trump taint" at the highest levels of the Secret Service,
....to learn why the same Secret Service that issued this warning to the Capitol Police, brought V.P. Mike Pence to the Capitol without increased SS protection, like a tactical team, or even brought him, AND HIS FAMILY, to the Capitol on January 6, at all!
Local DC, NBC affiliate :
Every person who committed a crime that day, no matter how petty, was tracked down by the FBI. Tactical SWAT teams raided the homes of school teachers with no criminal history. The lies in Afghanistan, however, continued to the very end without any similar accountability. The US military killed an entire family including several children in a drone strike that they claimed was against a terrorist. They claimed this was proven by a "secondary" explosion. It turns out they killed an aid worker taking water to his family. Where is the investigation and outrage for the lies and incompetence that resulted in the deaths of several children? Are you emotionally and intellectually prepared to ever hold anyone in the government accountable except for Trump? The political theatrics around events like Jan. 6 are just political gaslighting to distract from more important matters. COVID case are up 300% under Biden even with the vaccine widely available, Afghanistan was left in chaos but only after the murder of more innocents on both sides, more lies were told, no one was held accountable but let's talk on and on about Jan. 6.
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Of course it was planned and coordinated by the seditious GOP which is why they are freaking out about the 1/6 committee getting all their communications and phone records. They planned this attack for over a month and seditious GOP coordinated with key right wing insurrectionist figures.
‘Stop the Steal’ organizer, now banned by Twitter, said three GOP lawmakers helped plan his D.C. rally
January 13, 2021 at 5:14 a.m. EST
Weeks before a mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, right-wing activist Ali Alexander told his followers he was planning something big for Jan. 6.
Alexander, who organized the “Stop the Steal” movement, said he hatched the plan — coinciding with Congress’s vote to certify the electoral college votes — alongside three GOP lawmakers: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mo Brooks (Ala.) and Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.), all hard-line Trump supporters.
“We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting,” Alexander said in a since-deleted video on Periscope highlighted by the Project on Government Oversight, an investigative nonprofit. The plan, he said, was to “change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside.”
After riots inside the Capitol left five people dead — and Alexander and his group were banned from Twitter this week — those three GOP lawmakers are now under increasing scrutiny over their role in aiding the right-wing activist.
In separate statements to The Washington Post, spokesmen for Biggs and Brooks denied that the congressmen had helped Alexander organize a rally on Jan. 6. Gosar did not respond to requests for comment.
“Congressman Biggs is not aware of hearing of or meeting Mr. Alexander at any point — let alone working with him to organize some part of a planned protest,” said a spokesman for Biggs.
Brooks, who spoke at the rally, said he did so in response to an invitation from the White House the day before. But the Alabama lawmaker “has no recollection of ever communicating in any way with whoever Ali Alexander is,” a statement from his office said.
Videos and posts on social media suggest links between all three Republicans and the right-wing activist.
Alexander, a felon who has also been identified in media reports as Ali Akbar, gained a large following by live-streaming monologues in which he professed his conservative views and support for Trump. Speaking to Politico Magazine in 2018, he called himself an “interpreter of energy for this period.”
In June 2019, Donald Trump Jr. retweeted Alexander’s false claim that Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris is not an “American Black.” The following month, Alexander attended a “social media summit” at the White House, alongside a number of far-right figures who had accused companies of anti-conservative bias.
After Trump lost in November, the Daily Beast noted, Alexander positioned himself as a leading voice behind the movement to support the president’s challenge to the election results. He was labeled “a true patriot” by Gosar on Twitter, and on Dec. 19, the two both spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Phoenix.
"We will not go quietly. We’ll shut down this country if we have to,” Alexander told the crowd, later leading them in a chant of “1776.”
Later on at the event, Alexander played a video message from Biggs, calling the lawmaker a “friend” and “hero.” In the recording, Biggs said he wished he could have attended the event and vowed to challenge the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
“When it comes to January 6, I will be right down there in the well of the House with my friend from Alabama representative Mo Brooks,” Biggs said in the recording. A tweet from Alexander, including the message from Biggs, was retweeted by Trump on Dec. 26.
A Biggs spokesperson told CNN that the congressman recorded the video following a request from Gosar’s staff.
By late December, Alexander said he was planning a protest outside the Capitol on Jan. 6. His event appears to be one of at least four competing rallies that had sought permits for that date. But far-right online forums indicated Trump supporters were preparing for more than just a rally — and Alexander, too, appeared to suggest protesters might do more than just wave signs.
If Democrats got in the way of an objection from congressional Republicans, “everyone can guess what me and 500,000 others will do to that building,” he wrote on Twitter in December, according to the Daily Beast. “1776 is *always* an option.”
At a rally the night before the vote, Alexander led the crowd in chanting, “Victory or death!” The following morning, Gosar tagged the activist in several tweets.
"Biden should concede. I want his concession on my desk tomorrow morning. Don’t make me come over there." Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Recounting the riot in a video on Periscope over the weekend, Alexander said he wished people had not entered the U.S. Capitol or even gone on the steps. He also argued the rioters had not necessarily violated the law, even though dozens have now been charged by federal prosecutors.
In an email to The Post, Alexander said he had “remained peaceful” during the riots and claimed his earlier speeches “mentioned peace” and were being misrepresented.
“Conflating our legally, peaceful permitted events with the breach of the US Capitol building is defamatory and false,” he said. “People are being misled and then those same people are fomenting violence against me and my team.”
At around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday — about two hours after rioters breached the Capitol — Alexander posted a video of himself overlooking the crowd outside the building, claiming the majority of protesters were peaceful and praising those who didn’t go inside.
But, he said in the video, “I don’t disavow this. I do not denounce this.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/13/ali-alexander-capitol-biggs-gosar/
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Every person who committed a crime that day, no matter how petty, was tracked down by the FBI. Tactical SWAT teams raided the homes of school teachers with no criminal history. The lies in Afghanistan, however, continued to the very end without any similar accountability. The US military killed an entire family including several children in a drone strike that they claimed was against a terrorist. They claimed this was proven by a "secondary" explosion. It turns out they killed an aid worker taking water to his family. Where is the investigation and outrage for the lies and incompetence that resulted in the deaths of several children? Are you emotionally and intellectually prepared to ever hold anyone in the government accountable except for Trump? The political theatrics around events like Jan. 6 are just political gaslighting to distract from more important matters. COVID case are up 300% under Biden even with the vaccine widely available, Afghanistan was left in chaos but only after the murder of more innocents on both sides, more lies were told, no one was held accountable but let's talk on and on about Jan. 6.
There's nothing in your post that is not expected of a Russian propagandist, so why post it? In fact, the truth is very close to the opposite of what you've posted.
As of August 6,
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/seven-months-jan-6-attack-capitol
...
Public Assistance:
Citizens from around the country have provided more than 200,000 digital media tips, and the FBI continues to request the public’s assistance in identifying individuals sought in connection to the January 6th attack.
In particular, the FBI is currently seeking the public’s assistance in identifying more than 300 individuals believed to have committed violent acts on the Capitol grounds, including over 200 who assaulted police officers.
Additionally, the FBI has released 11 new videos of suspects in violent assaults on federal officers on January 6th and is seeking the public’s help to identify them. For images and video of the attackers, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
https://twitter.com/dankloke/status/1436438457350385666
not-a-real-doctor strange @dankloke
"If you've taken any interest in FISA and other impacts to civil liberties post-9/11, this is both a timely read and a nuanced tour de force."
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E-8_GCuVUAAS-V1?format=png)
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It's amazing that so much time and energy has been expended on this story. Meanwhile there were decades of intentional and verifiable lies told by a laundry list of politicians and military members dating back decades that resulted in decades long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush, Cheney, Powell, Obama, Hillary etc. Lies that resulted it the deaths of thousands of Americans and untold numbers of folks in those countries. The expenditure of trillions of dollars for no purpose. But no one cares. What they care about is some guy who painted his face and wore a horned helmet while walking through the Capitol.
Investigating an attempted overthrow of the US Government is not a waste of time. The overwhelming majority of Americans support the investigation.
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Investigating an attempted overthrow of the US Government is not a waste of time. The overwhelming majority of Americans support the investigation.
Again, the FBI has investigated this incident with every resource available to them. They have arrested hundreds of people for mostly petty minor crimes. They have found no evidence of any larger effort to "overthrow the US Government" because there is none. This is a distraction from the very real disasters unfolding under Biden. Pandemic cases are up 300% even with the vaccine widely available. Afghanistan ended in chaos and more unnecessary deaths. A drone strike was launched on a humanitarian aid worker and his family resulting in the deaths of many children to show that Biden was not weak and incompetent in the aftermath of the bombing at the Kabul airport. The Biden administration has lied and covered up that incident to suggest they killed a terrorist. How about investigating that with the same rigor as the Jan. 6 incident? How about someone be held accountable for the lies and cover ups in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of thousands? Where is Liz Cheney on that issue? How about investigating her father as a war criminal for the intentional lies he told that resulted in untold numbers of deaths?
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Again, the FBI has investigated this incident with every resource available to them. They have arrested hundreds of people for mostly petty minor crimes. They have found no evidence of any larger effort to "overthrow the US Government" because there is none. This is a distraction from the very real disasters unfolding under Biden. Pandemic cases are up 300% even with the vaccine widely available. Afghanistan ended in chaos and more unnecessary deaths. A drone strike was launched on a humanitarian aid worker and his family resulting in the deaths of many children to show that Biden was not weak and incompetent in the aftermath of the bombing at the Kabul airport. The Biden administration has lied and covered up that incident to suggest they killed a terrorist. How about investigating that with the same rigor as the Jan. 6 incident? How about someone be held accountable for the lies and cover ups in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of thousands? Where is Liz Cheney on that issue? How about investigating her father as a war criminal for the intentional lies he told that resulted in untold numbers of deaths?
100% false.
You read a debunked Reuters article.
The insurrectionists have admitted in court their goal was to overturn the election results and overthrow the US Government. They weren't there for fun.
And who negotiated the Afghanistan deal with the Taliban and released 5000 Taliban terrorists? Donald Trump. That was his deal from 2020 and every single expert said it would be a disaster.
This was the largest rescue mission in history with over 122,000 people evacuated. Unfortunately deaths do occur when we lost a few of our military. Donald Trump called our troops "losers and suckers".
President Biden has been honest and truthful from the start and has brought our troops home. Pathetic how you accuse President Biden of "lying" when you supported a pathological liar who called COVID a hoax and has lied over 30,000 times.
Capitol assault a more sinister attack than first appeared
Under battle flags bearing Donald Trump’s name, the Capitol’s attackers pinned a bloodied police officer in a doorway, his twisted face and screams captured on video. They mortally wounded another officer with a blunt weapon and body-slammed a third over a railing into the crowd.
“Hang Mike Pence!” the insurrectionists chanted as they pressed inside, beating police with pipes. They demanded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s whereabouts, too. They hunted any and all lawmakers: “Where are they?” Outside, makeshift gallows stood, complete with sturdy wooden steps and the noose. Guns and pipe bombs had been stashed in the vicinity.
Only days later is the extent of the danger from one of the darkest episodes in American democracy coming into focus. The sinister nature of the assault has become evident, betraying the crowd as a force determined to occupy the inner sanctums of Congress and run down leaders — Trump’s vice president and the Democratic House speaker among them.
This was not just a collection of Trump supporters with MAGA bling caught up in a wave.
That revelation came in real time to Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who briefly took over proceedings in the House chamber as the mob closed in Wednesday and Pelosi was spirited to safer quarters moments before everything went haywire.
“I saw this crowd of people banging on that glass screaming,” McGovern told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Looking at their faces, it occurred to me, these aren’t protesters. These are people who want to do harm.”
“What I saw in front of me,” he said, “was basically home-grown fascism, out of control.”
Pelosi said Sunday “the evidence is that it was a well-planned, organized group with leadership and guidance and direction. And the direction was to go get people.” She did not elaborate on that point in a ”60 Minutes” interview on CBS.
The scenes of rage, violence and agony are so vast that the whole of it may still be beyond comprehension. But with countless smartphone videos emerging from the scene, much of it from gloating insurrectionists themselves, and more lawmakers recounting the chaos that was around them, the contours of the uprising are increasingly coming into relief.
THE STAGING
The mob got stirring encouragement from Trump and more explicit marching orders from the president’s men.
“Fight like hell,” Trump exhorted his partisans at the staging rally. “Let’s have trial by combat,” implored his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, whose attempt to throw out election results in trial by courtroom failed. It’s time to “start taking down names and kicking ass,” said Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama.
Criminals pardoned by Trump, among them Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, came forward at rallies on the eve of the attack to tell the crowds they were fighting a battle between good and evil. On Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri gave a clenched-fist salute to the hordes outside the Capitol as he pulled up to press his challenge of the election results.
The crowd was pumped. Until a little after 2 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was at the helm for the final minutes of decorum in partnership with Pence, who was serving his ceremonial role presiding over the process.
Both men had backed Trump’s agenda and excused or ignored his provocations for four years, but now had no mechanism or will to subvert the election won by Biden. That placed them high among the insurrectionists’ targets, no different in the minds of the mob from the “socialists.”
“If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral,” McConnell told his chamber, not long before things spiraled out of control in what lawmakers call the “People’s House.”
Far-right social media users had openly hinted for weeks that chaos would erupt at the Capitol when Congress convened to certify the election results. As the attack unfolded, they urged followers to “trust the plan” and “hold the line.” Just what the plan might have been is central to the investigation.
The FBI is investigating whether some of the attackers intended to kidnap members of Congress and hold them hostage. Authorities are particularly focused on why some in the mob were seen carrying plastic zip-tie handcuffs and had apparently accessed areas of the Capitol generally difficult for the public to locate.
THE ASSAULT
Thousands had swarmed the Capitol. They charged into police and metal barricades outside the building, shoving and hitting officers in their way. The assault quickly pushed through the vastly outnumbered police line; officers ran down one man and pummeled him.
In the melee outside, near the structure built for Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, a man threw a fire extinguisher at the helmeted head of a police officer. Then he picked up a bullhorn and threw it at officers, too.
The identity of the officer could not immediately be confirmed. But Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was wounded in the chaos, died the next night; officials say he had been hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.
Shortly after 2 p.m., Capitol Police sent an alert telling workers in a House office building to head to underground transportation tunnels that criss-cross the complex. Minutes later, Pence was taken from the Senate chamber to a secret location and police announced the lockdown of the Capitol. “You may move throughout the building(s) but stay away from exterior windows and doors,” said the email blast. “If you are outside, seek cover.”
At 2:15 p.m., the Senate recessed its Electoral College debate and a voice was heard over the chamber’s audio system: “The protesters are in the building.” The doors of the House chamber were barricaded and lawmakers inside it were told they may need to duck under their chairs or relocate to cloakrooms off the House floor because the mob has breached the Capitol Rotunda.
Even before the mob reached sealed doors of the House chamber, Capitol Police pulled Pelosi away from the podium, she told “60 Minutes.”
“I said, ‘No, I want to be here,’”she said. “And they said, ‘Well, no, you have to leave.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not leaving.’ They said, ‘No, you must leave.’” So she did.
At 2:44 p.m., as lawmakers inside the House chamber prepared to be evacuated, a gunshot was heard from right outside, in the Speaker’s Lobby on the other side of the barricaded doors. That’s when Ashli Babbit, wearing a Trump flag like a cape, was shot to death on camera as insurrectionists railed, her blood pooling on the white marble floor.
The Air Force veteran from California had climbed through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby before a police officer’s gunshot felled her.
Back in the House chamber, a woman in the balcony was seen and heard screaming. Why she was doing that only became clear later when video circulated. She was screaming a prayer.
Within about 10 minutes of the shooting, House lawmakers and staff members who had been cowering during the onslaught, terror etched into their faces, had been taken from the chamber and gallery to a secure room. The mob broke into Pelosi’s offices while members of her staff hid in one of the rooms of her suite.
“The staff went under the table, barricaded the door, turned out the lights and were silent in the dark,” she said. “Under the table for two and a half hours.”
On the Senate side, Capitol Police had circled the chamber and ordered all staff and reporters and any nearby senators into the chamber and locked it down. At one point about 200 people were inside; an officer armed with what appeared to be a semi-automatic weapon stood between McConnell and the Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer.
Authorities then ordered an evacuation and rushed everyone inside to a secure location, the Senate parliamentary staff scooping up the boxes holding the Electoral Collage certificates.
Although the Capitol’s attackers had been sent with Trump’s exhortation to fight, they appeared in some cases to be surprised that they had actually made it in.
When they breached the abandoned Senate chamber, they milled around, rummaged through papers, sat at desks and took videos and pictures. One of them climbed to the dais and yelled, “Trump won that election!” Two others were photographed carrying flex cuffs typically used for mass arrests.
But outside the chamber, the mob’s hunt was still on for lawmakers. “Where are they?” people could be heard yelling.
That question could have also applied to reinforcements — where were they?
At about 5:30 p.m., once the National Guard had arrived to supplement the overwhelmed Capitol Police force, a full-on effort began to get the attackers out.
Heavily armed officers brought in as reinforcements started using tear gas in a coordinated fashion to get people moving toward the door, then combed the halls for stragglers. As darkness fell, they pushed the mob farther out onto the plaza and lawn, using officers in riot gear in full shields and clouds of tear gas, flash-bangs and percussion grenades.
At 7:23 p.m., officials announced that people hunkered down in two nearby congressional office buildings could leave “if anyone must.”
Within the hour, the Senate had resumed its work and the House followed, returning the People’s House to the control of the people’s representatives. Lawmakers affirmed Biden’s election victory early the next morning, shell-shocked by the catastrophic failure of security.
https://apnews.com/article/us-capitol-attack-14c73ee280c256ab4ec193ac0f49ad54
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Again, the FBI has investigated this incident with every resource available to them. They have arrested hundreds of people for mostly petty minor crimes. They have found no evidence of any larger effort to "overthrow the US Government" because there is none. This is a distraction from the very real disasters unfolding under Biden. Pandemic cases are up 300% even with the vaccine widely available. Afghanistan ended in chaos and more unnecessary deaths. A drone strike was launched on a humanitarian aid worker and his family resulting in the deaths of many children to show that Biden was not weak and incompetent in the aftermath of the bombing at the Kabul airport. The Biden administration has lied and covered up that incident to suggest they killed a terrorist. How about investigating that with the same rigor as the Jan. 6 incident? How about someone be held accountable for the lies and cover ups in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of thousands? Where is Liz Cheney on that issue? How about investigating her father as a war criminal for the intentional lies he told that resulted in untold numbers of deaths?
"No evidence" you say? ;)
FBI seizes phone of Oath Keepers lawyer in 'seditious conspiracy' investigation
The FBI has seized the phone of a Texas attorney who volunteered for Lawyers for Trump and served as general counsel for the radical-right Oath Keepers organization as part of 'seditious conspiracy' investigation.
Kellye SoRelle, a close associate of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, was at the US Capitol during the January 6 riot and addressed the crowd in a speech repeating the false claims that Joe Biden had 'stolen' the election from Donald Trump.
This week, her iPhone was seized by the feds under an August 30 search warrant which cited an investigation into seditious conspiracy, civil disorder, false statements, destruction of government property, obstruction of Congress, and unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds.'
The seditious conspiracy charge refers to two or more people conspiring to overthrow or destroy the US government by force. It can also refer to hindering or delaying 'the execution of any law' and seizing possession of a federal building by force.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9977527/FBI-Seizes-phone-far-right-milita-group-lawyer-conspiracy-investigation.html
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"No evidence" you say? ;)
FBI seizes phone of Oath Keepers lawyer in 'seditious conspiracy' investigation
The FBI has seized the phone of a Texas attorney who volunteered for Lawyers for Trump and served as general counsel for the radical-right Oath Keepers organization as part of 'seditious conspiracy' investigation.
Kellye SoRelle, a close associate of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, was at the US Capitol during the January 6 riot and addressed the crowd in a speech repeating the false claims that Joe Biden had 'stolen' the election from Donald Trump.
This week, her iPhone was seized by the feds under an August 30 search warrant which cited an investigation into seditious conspiracy, civil disorder, false statements, destruction of government property, obstruction of Congress, and unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds.'
The seditious conspiracy charge refers to two or more people conspiring to overthrow or destroy the US government by force. It can also refer to hindering or delaying 'the execution of any law' and seizing possession of a federal building by force.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9977527/FBI-Seizes-phone-far-right-milita-group-lawyer-conspiracy-investigation.html
No concern about the military and Biden administration lying to cover up the deaths of a family in Afghanistan who they falsely reported were terrorists after blowing them up in a drone strike. Including numerous children. The only thing that matters to you is that some protestors entered the Capitol back in Jan. 6?
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No concern about the military and Biden administration lying to cover up the deaths of a family in Afghanistan who they falsely reported were terrorists after blowing them up in a drone strike. Including numerous children. The only thing that matters to you is that some protestors entered the Capitol back in Jan. 6?
Going off topic and switching the subject isn't going to change the fact the seditious GOP members along with the "president" coordinated and planned an attempted coup with domestic terrorists to overthrow the US Government trying to stop the election certification by force. That is called treason, and yes, that matters to me and the overwhelming majority of Americans who also want it investigated. No concern from you for the dead officers and their families because of a Trump supporters attack on the United States?
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Going off topic and switching the subject isn't going to change the fact the seditious GOP members along with the "president" coordinated and planned an attempted coup with domestic terrorists to overthrow the US Government trying to stop the election certification by force. That is called treason, and yes, that matters to me and the overwhelming majority of Americans who also want it investigated. No concern from you for the dead officers and their families because of a Trump supporters attack on the United States?
Huh? No officers were killed. None. That is another demonstrable lie. Only one person was killed that day. An unarmed female military vet shot by a police officer with a record of reckless dereliction of duty including leaving his firearm in the public restroom. Her death, much like those of the children who died in Afghanistan as the result of Biden's incompetence, was barely reported by the left wing media seeking to protect Biden.
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Huh? No officers were killed. None. That is another demonstrable lie. Only one person was killed that day. An unarmed female military vet shot by a police officer with a record of reckless dereliction of duty including leaving his firearm in the public restroom. Her death, much like those of the children who died in Afghanistan as the result of Biden's incompetence, was barely reported by the left wing media seeking to protect Biden.
An officer died on duty due to a stroke because of the intense situation he faced. Several officer committed suicide after this attack by Trump's domestic terrorists. The female vet was a domestic terrorist who was warned several times not to break through the Capitol window and she did anyway so she was shot. She was a serious danger to the lives of our elected officials who were targeted by her and her right wing thugs. The officer was a hero who saved the lives of our elected officials. Right wingers don't care about death of children in America due to gun violence and COVID but pretend to care about children in Afghanistan for a phony political issue. What a joke. Seems you forgot about Trump's debacle in Africa where 4 soldiers died and they were laughing about it. There is no "left wing media". CNN and MSNBC were pushing the same bogus propaganda like on Faux.
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An officer died on duty due to a stroke because of the intense situation he faced. Several officer committed suicide after this attack by Trump's domestic terrorists. The female vet was a domestic terrorist who was warned several times not to break through the Capitol window and she did anyway so she was shot. She was a serious danger to the lives of our elected officials who were targeted by her and her right wing thugs. The officer was a hero who saved the lives of our elected officials. Right wingers don't care about death of children in America due to gun violence and COVID but pretend to care about children in Afghanistan for a phony political issue. What a joke. Seems you forgot about Trump's debacle in Africa where 4 soldiers died and they were laughing about it. There is no "left wing media". CNN and MSNBC were pushing the same bogus propaganda like on Faux.
He died from a stroke caused by a blood clot. It had no more connection to the events of Jan. 6 than any other death that occurred from natural causes. In fact, he died the next day. His death was falsely attributed to being struck with a fire extinguisher for months despite there being no basis for that conclusion. It was yet another in a long line of fake media stories perpetuated to smear Trump that turned out to be baseless. As you correctly note, the only person killed that day was an unarmed female military vet. Shot at point blank range by an officer. The investigation into her death was covered up to the extent that his name was not even revealed. Like something from Commie China.
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Of course there was a planned coordination to overthrow the US Government and keep Criminal Donald illegally in power. As more information comes out and the investigation continues, Criminal Donald and his cohorts will all go to prison for treason and crimes against the United States of America.
'Absolutely terrifying': CNN's Jake Tapper reacts in horror to new revelations about Trump and Capitol riots
CNN host Jake Tapper on Tuesday reacted with horror after reporter Jamie Gangel broke down new details from the new bombshell book by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
While appearing on Tapper's show, Gangel explained the crucial role that Steve Bannon played in getting Trump to attend the January 6th "Stop the Steal" rally, which he hoped would severely damage President Joe BIden's tenure in office.
"December 30th -- when Trump is down in Mar-a-Lago, Steve Bannon's in Washington -- and Trump is complaining that the Republicans aren't doing enough for his effort," Gangel said. "And Bannon says to him... 'You've got to return to Washington right now, you've got to make a dramatic return."
Gangel went on to explain Bannon's thinking behind getting Trump to rail against the election results in front of his most rabid supporters on January 6th.
"[Bannon] calls January 6th a moment for reckoning, and then he goes even further," Gangel said. "This is about Bannon on Biden, and he says... 'We're going to bury Biden on January 6th, effing bury him.' This was, it sounds like from Woodward and Costa, that Bannon saw this as a moment to undermine Biden's legitimacy, and he goes on, according to the book, Bannon says, 'We're going to kill it in the crib, kill the Biden presidency in the crib.'"
"That is just absolutely terrifying," Tapper replied.
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He died from a stroke caused by a blood clot. It had no more connection to the events of Jan. 6 than any other death that occurred from natural causes. In fact, he died the next day. His death was falsely attributed to being struck with a fire extinguisher for months despite there being no basis for that conclusion. It was yet another in a long line of fake media stories perpetuated to smear Trump that turned out to be baseless. As you correctly note, the only person killed that day was an unarmed female military vet. Shot at point blank range by an officer. The investigation into her death was covered up to the extent that his name was not even revealed. Like something from Commie China.
The officer died from the intense situation he faced from the violent insurrectionists. Police were beaten by Trump thugs with weapons, objects, and a fire extinguisher. Ashli Babbitt was a deranged Qanon conspiracy theorist who intended to attack members of Congress. She was warned several times not to break through the Capitol window and she did anyway. It was her own fault. There was no "cover up" an investigation was done and the police officer who is an American hero was interviewed telling the entire story. There are no "baseless stories to smear Trump". Trump is a mentally ill deranged lunatic who attempted an illegal coup to remain in power and he ordered his thugs to storm the Capitol to overturn the certification from happening. That is clear treason.
She was deep into it': Ashli Babbitt, killed in Capitol riot, was devoted conspiracy theorist
Babbitt, shot by police on Wednesday, saw storming of Capitol as a pivotal moment for the country
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/09/ashli-babbitt-capitol-mob-trump-qanon-conspiracy-theory
Trump biographer explains the biggest thing General Milley got wrong about the former president
Trump biographer Tim O'Brien penned a column on Tuesday explaining one big thing they new Bob Woodward/Bob Costa's book Peril gets wrong.
It was reported Tuesday that Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was terrified that Trump would go to war and launch a nuclear strike to try to stay in power. He went so far as to promise China that if Trump did something like that he'd flag it for China ahead of time.
Pelosi called Milley after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to ask about what "precautions are available to prevent an unstable president from initiating military hostilities," a transcript of the call said.
There were "a lot of checks in the system," Milley told her.
"He's crazy. You know he's crazy," Pelosi said. "He's crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness."
"I agree with you on everything," Milley answered.
The excerpt of the book also claimed that Milley believed Trump "suffered a mental decline after the election."
O'Brien explained that it may seem that Trump went "rogue" or became worse, but the reality is that "Trump was the same guy before and after the 2020 presidential election and on Jan. 6 that he was when he was elected in 2016."
In fact, Trump is the same guy he has been for decades, he explained.
"Love him or hate him, Trump is consistent and has stayed true to form for most of his 75 years. It's that authenticity that endears him to his supporters," O'Brien wrote.
For anyone watching closely, Trump's anger about 2020 is the same as his allegations of "voter fraud" in 2016 when he said that he actually won the popular vote because of millions of "illegal" votes. It's the same as the lie that his crowd at the inauguration was bigger than former President Barack Obama.
"The risks that the country, the rule of law and our institutions still confront stems from that reality," said O'Brien. "The Republican Party continues to embrace and foment Trumpism. Much could still go wrong. And we can't rely on military leaders going rogue to protect us from rogue presidents."
He said that the fact that Milley had to go around Trump proves how broken things are.
"Milley is a sophisticated and dedicated public servant, and he was well aware how his actions would appear," the column says.
"Milley also understands where all this might be headed," the piece closed. "He compared the Jan. 6 insurrection to the failed 1905 uprising in Russia. While the 1905 rebellion sputtered out and was repressed, it paved the way for the more seismic and indelible Russian Revolution of 1917."
Milley confessed to senior staffers that the Jan. 6 attack could have been "a precursor to something far worse down the road."
O'Brien said that Milley's options, not his actions, should be what causes fear.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-obrien-woodward-book-milley/
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..."Love him or hate him, Trump is consistent and has stayed true to form for most of his 75 years. It's that authenticity that endears him to his supporters," O'Brien wrote....
You're attempting to debate, "the endeared". They are the enablers, it isn't a logical two-way transaction.
You and I don't see the attraction, but a troublingly large number don't care about themselves, they're STILL totally committed to keeping Mary Trump's crazy uncle totally unaccountable and powerful as possible. Their excuses include that Biden is old, senile, father of demonized Hunter and Kamala is "the other," unacceptable owing to race, gender, lack of unconditional worship of Trump.
Trump pardons Steve Bannon, charged with defrauding ... MOSTLY TRUMP SUPPORTERS
https://theweek.com/speedreads/961953/trump-pardons-steve-bannon-charged-defrauding-trump-supporters
Jan 20, 2021 — Bannon was arrested in August and charged with defrauding investors, mostly Trump supporters, through a group called "We Build the Wall.".
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The officer died from the intense situation he faced from the violent insurrectionists. Police were beaten by Trump thugs with weapons, objects, and a fire extinguisher. Ashli Babbitt was a deranged Qanon conspiracy theorist who intended to attack members of Congress. She was warned several times not to break through the Capitol window and she did anyway. It was her own fault. There was no "cover up" an investigation was done and the police officer who is an American hero was interviewed telling the entire story. There are no "baseless stories to smear Trump". Trump is a mentally ill deranged lunatic who attempted an illegal coup to remain in power and he ordered his thugs to storm the Capitol to overturn the certification from happening. That is clear treason.
That is a complete and demonstrable fabrication. He died from a stroke the next day that resulted from a blood clot. There is no evidence that this officer's death was the result of any physical trauma suffered at the hands of the protestors. The fact that other police officers were assaulted has no relevance as to his cause of death. You are simply perpetuating the long debunked fake story that he was hit with a fire extinguisher. He was not. Even if a fire extinguisher was thrown at someone else that day it is not a contributing factor in the death of another person from a stroke. You just want that to be true because it plays into your desired narrative. It is contrary to the actual evidence. Has anyone been charged with his murder? Why not? Again, the only person killed that day was the unarmed female military vet shot by the police.
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That is a complete and demonstrable fabrication. He died from a stroke the next day that resulted from a blood clot. There is no evidence that this officer's death was the result of any physical trauma suffered at the hands of the protestors. The fact that other police officers were assaulted has no relevance as to his cause of death. You are simply perpetuating the long debunked fake story that he was hit with a fire extinguisher. He was not. Even if a fire extinguisher was thrown at someone else that day it is not a contributing factor in the death of another person from a stroke. You just want that to be true because it plays into your desired narrative. It is contrary to the actual evidence. Has anyone been charged with his murder? Why not? Again, the only person killed that day was the unarmed female military vet shot by the police.
The officer was fighting for his life against a radical right wing violent mob and that triggered his stroke.
Are you going to deny that officers were beaten and attacked with weapons and fire extinguishers by violent Maga thugs?
Why are you condoning the attempted overthrow of the US Government by radicalized Trump supporters?
Why are you continuing to defend domestic terrorist Ashli Babbitt who wanted to attack and harm members of Congress?
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Jen Psaki praises Gen. Milley while destroying GOPers who 'stood by' as Trump 'fomented insurrection'
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley on Wednesday.
During a White House press conference, Psaki was asked if President Joe Biden would listen to Republicans who are calling for Milley to resign after he reportedly worked to prevent former President Donald Trump from starting a nuclear war with China.
"The president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism, and his fidelity to our Constitution," Psaki explained. "I can't speak to the former president's experience with him or the former president's views of him. But this president -- this current president, who follows the constitution, who's not fomenting an insurrection, who follows the rule of law has complete confidence in Chairman Milley and him continuing to serve in his role."
"I don't think the president is looking for the guidance of members of Congress who stood by while the president of the United States and the leader of their party fomented an insurrection and many of them are silent," she added.
Watch the video below.
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MAGA-rioting Oath Keeper who calls himself 'Turmoil' pleads guilty -- and will cooperate with the feds
A member of the Oath Keepers militia that took part in the January 6th Capitol riots has pleaded guilty to two charges and will now cooperate with federal prosecutors.
According to NBC 4 Washington reporter Scott MacFarlane, Oath Keeper Jason Dolan, who goes by the nickname "Turmoil," pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of an official congressional proceeding.
The sentencing guideline for the charges is for between five and six years in prison, although MacFarlane notes that Dolan has also agreed to testify before a grand jury, presumably about the conspiracy that he has just pleaded guilty to being a part of.
Due to his cooperation agreement, no date has yet been set for his sentencing, although prosecutors are due to give a status update on his case to the court before the end of the year.
"Dolan is accused of being part of the military stack that breached the Capitol on Jan 6," writes MacFarlane. "Prosecutors allege Dolan 'maneuvered' his way to front of the mob and pulled on arm of Capitol Police officer who was part of a police line that was trying to hold the crowd at bay."
https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-rioter-guilty-plea-2655037038/
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The officer was fighting for his life against a radical right wing violent mob and that triggered his stroke.
Are you going to deny that officers were beaten and attacked with weapons and fire extinguishers by violent Maga thugs?
Why are you condoning the attempted overthrow of the US Government by radicalized Trump supporters?
Why are you continuing to defend domestic terrorist Ashli Babbitt who wanted to attack and harm members of Congress?
You have a reading comprehension issue. Some officers were assaulted that day. The people responsible were arrested as they should have been for the commission of a crime. I don't have a double standard based on political bias unlike you. There is no evidence, however, that the death of the officer who died from a stroke the next day was the result of any trauma that he suffered on Jan. 6. None. No one has been charged for his murder because he was not murdered. He died of natural causes. The fact that you wish there to be some cause and effect due to your political bias doesn't make it so. The only person killed that day was an unarmed female military vet. Why do you defend the shooting death of an unarmed person, the hundreds of murders of minorities that occur every week in Dem controlled cities, the thousand of aborted children who die every week, the drone strike that killed the family of a humanitarian worker in Afghanistan, and on and on. You are not concerned about police officers, justice, or who dies. Your sole objective is to find cause to criticize Trump.
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As for Durham, I think he's a straight shooter and will get to the bottom of whether or not the FBI overreached in their 2016 investigation into Trump's campaign.
Durham Is Said to Seek Indictment of Lawyer at Firm With Democratic Ties
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/us/politics/durham-michael-sussmann-trump-russia.html
Some of the questions that Mr. Durham’s team has been asking in recent months — including of witnesses it subpoenaed before a grand jury, according to people familiar with some of the sessions — suggest he has been pursuing a theory that the Clinton campaign used Perkins Coie to submit dubious information to the F.B.I. about Russia and Mr. Trump in an effort to gin up investigative activity to hurt his 2016 campaign.
Mr. Durham has also apparently weighed bringing some sort of action against Perkins Coie as an organization. Outside lawyers for the firm recently met with the special counsel’s team and went over the evidence, according to other people familiar with their discussions, arguing that it was insufficient for any legal sanction.
The lawyers for Perkins Coie and the firm’s managing partner did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment.
Mr. Sussmann and his firm have been particular targets for Mr. Trump and his supporters...
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You have a reading comprehension issue. Some officers were assaulted that day. The people responsible were arrested as they should have been for the commission of a crime. I don't have a double standard based on political bias unlike you. There is no evidence, however, that the death of the officer who died from a stroke the next day was the result of any trauma that he suffered on Jan. 6. None. No one has been charged for his murder because he was not murdered. He died of natural causes. The fact that you wish there to be some cause and effect due to your political bias doesn't make it so.
More of the same denial from you.
How is there a political bias? These are the facts in which you continue to ignore. Officer Sicknick suffered two strokes because of the intense life and death situation he was put under by these maga thugs. Another officer, Michael Fanone, suffered a heart attack due to the same intense situation he faced. He testified to Congress that was indeed to case. So, don't try to claim otherwise. If Trump's thugs didn't storm the Capitol, Officer Sicknick would still be alive today. Their assault killed him.
D.C. officer who suffered heart attack on Jan. 6 calls out Trump for downplaying ‘brutal, savage’ riot
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/d-c-officer-who-suffered-heart-attack-on-jan-6-calls-out-trump-for-downplaying-brutal-savage-riot/
The only person killed that day was an unarmed female military vet. Why do you defend the shooting death of an unarmed person, the hundreds of murders of minorities that occur every week in Dem controlled cities, the thousand of aborted children who die every week, the drone strike that killed the family of a humanitarian worker in Afghanistan, and on and on. You are not concerned about police officers, justice, or who dies. Your sole objective is to find cause to criticize Trump.
First of all, why are you turning this into a racial issue with minorities?
Second, do you understand what the job of Capitol Police officers inside the Capitol is? They are put there to protect the lives of our elected officials and they will defend their lives at any cost. When someone beaches security and is considered a direct threat to their lives they will get shot. Just as if someone rushes at a cop they will get shot. I can't believe you still don't understand this simple concept of reality and you keep arguing in support of domestic terrorists.
Ashli Babbitt was a Qanon domestic terrorist. She was breaking through a Capitol window with other armed Trump rioters. She was told several times not to enter and she did anyway. So she was shot. She had no business being there or breaking into the Capitol. She was a direct security threat to our elected officials. Our entire chain of succession was present in the chamber and their lives were all at risk. This maga mob intended to kill them. And this officer is a hero for saving their lives.
Republicans refuse to do anything about gun violence so take it up with them if you don't like it. That's why people all across America needs to vote all Republicans out of office, so cities can be safe from gun violence.
A fetus is not a child and there aren't "thousands aborted each week". What a woman decides to do with her own body should be none of your concern. Republicans are the ones who are aborting children as infants and babies die from COVID each day and they refuse to do anything about it. And they claim to be the "Pro Life" party.
Unfortunately during war, innocent people could die and that's why President Biden took the initiative to end this useless war and officially ended our involvement in Afghanistan. You should be thanking him for that.
What do you mean that I'm not "concerned about police officers, justice, or who dies"?
My brother and cousin are both police officers and I worry about lunatics who are able to obtain assault weapons who should not be allowed to have them putting their lives in danger. Republicans refuse to do anything about dangerous assault weapons that put our officers lives at risk every day. Yet they claim to "back the blue". What a joke. It's all phony baloney nonsense as they are bought and paid for by the NRA and the gun lobbyists.
Of course I'm concerned about justice. I want Trump and all of his cohorts to face justice for all the crimes they committed against the United States.
I'm very concerned about "who dies" because I'm a huge advocate for life saving vaccines which will save all lives all over the globe ending this pandemic.
But you are not, as you defend all of Trump's crimes and are against vaccine mandates which will end this pandemic.
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Durham Is Said to Seek Indictment of Lawyer at Firm With Democratic Ties
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/us/politics/durham-michael-sussmann-trump-russia.html
Some of the questions that Mr. Durham’s team has been asking in recent months — including of witnesses it subpoenaed before a grand jury, according to people familiar with some of the sessions — suggest he has been pursuing a theory that the Clinton campaign used Perkins Coie to submit dubious information to the F.B.I. about Russia and Mr. Trump in an effort to gin up investigative activity to hurt his 2016 campaign.
Mr. Durham has also apparently weighed bringing some sort of action against Perkins Coie as an organization. Outside lawyers for the firm recently met with the special counsel’s team and went over the evidence, according to other people familiar with their discussions, arguing that it was insufficient for any legal sanction.
The lawyers for Perkins Coie and the firm’s managing partner did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment.
Mr. Sussmann and his firm have been particular targets for Mr. Trump and his supporters...
Three years, with unprecedented, politicized empowerment by a POTUS obsessed with only his perceived self interest and you're gloating over this "possible" indictment? The NY Times is attempting to sell newspapers and online subscriptions and the deadline to escape the five year statute of limitations for charging this perceived "offense" happens to fall on a Jewish holiday, long weekend. IOW, this cannot be charged after Sunday.
Instead of touting this, consider how embarrassing this is for an investigation that has no paperwork assigning Durham at its beginning, to justify it to the American people. After all of this time and the empowerment of Durham by Barr & Trump with no actual justifying predicate for any of it, this "speculative spew" dribbles out hours before Sunday's five year mark since the feebly described, "offense"?
If an indictmenrt actually does materialize before midnight, this Sunday, it will be impossible to successfully prosecute because of the past related performances... politicization, by Trump and Barr.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/durham-investigation-what-we-know-and-what-it-means
...Durham’s Review Becomes Public
On May 13, (2019) the New York Times reported that Barr had selected Durham to “examine the origins of the Russia investigation.” The Times later confirmed that Barr had appointed Durham “several weeks” earlier. (The official Order initiating the investigation, if any, has never been disclosed. Nor has the official date of the appointment.) ...
... Those dangers were exacerbated enormously by the fact that the investigation from the outset focused on individuals and processes that the president had virulently and repeatedly criticized and insisted had engaged in criminal behavior. Durham began this process as a credible figure, even if one not fully qualified for the task as it developed. But his investigation was burdened at the outset with the appearance of using law enforcement tools to carry the president’s water and harass his enemies. And it grew much more heavily politicized due to the actions of the attorney general.
2. Barr’s Role
No contemporary attorney general has, like Barr in the Durham investigation, offered such extended, opinionated, factually unsupported and damning public commentary, naming names and drawing conclusions, about an ongoing investigation that is at least in part a criminal investigation.
Barr’s commentary on the Durham investigation violates several Justice Department rules and norms. The department’s media contacts policy, which applies to “all [Justice Department] personnel,” prohibits “respon[ses] to questions about the existence of an ongoing investigation or comment on its nature or progress before charges are publicly filed.” None of the exceptions, such as for public safety, apply to the Durham investigation. Department regulations also prohibit information disclosure “relating to the circumstances of an … investigation [that] would be highly prejudicial or where the release thereof would serve no law enforcement function, such information should not be made public.” It is hard to see the law enforcement function of Barr’s public commentary.
Barr knows all this. He knows what he is doing is contrary to the rules and traditions of the Justice Department. He knows he is doing reputational harm to people nominally under investigation. He must know that the way he is comporting himself does damage to the department and will make whatever Durham finds more contestable than it otherwise would have been. In short, Barr has acted in ways that foreseeably politicize and damage the investigation that he initiated and has devoted so much time to. The question is: Why?
One possibility is that the evidence Durham has uncovered is objectively so damning that Barr’s commentary cannot delegitimize it. Perhaps, but we doubt it.....
Are you not aware of how "Trumpco" covered up the actual investigation of Trump Org. and Alfa Bank?
IOW, bring it on! What happened to all the right wing extremist BS about Durham not being permitted a free hand, "44 Trump party senators sent a letter to Atty. Gen. Garland out of their growing concern (invented out of thin air....) blah, blah, blah...."
This is three years old... as the NY Times "right wing bait" article you linked to states, Trump complained publicly about Mark Elias, misnaming Sussman. Be careful what you wish for!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/clinton-campaign-lawyer-with-ties-to-trump-dossier-leads-democrat-recount-effort-in-florida
MIDTERM ELECTIONS Published November 9, 2018
Clinton campaign lawyer with ties to Trump dossier leads Democrat recount effort in Florida
...Last month, Fox News reported that Michael Sussman, another Perkins Coie lawyer working with the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign, contacted FBI general counsel James Baker in late 2016 and provided documents for the Russia probe as federal investigators prepared a surveillance warrant for Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Sussmann’s contact with Baker suggests another connection between the early stages of the FBI’s Russia probe and those working with the DNC and Clinton campaign, according to the report....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Benczkowski#Assistant_Attorney_General_for_the_Criminal_Division
....Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
Benczkowski was a member of President Donald Trump's transition team, helping to manage the Justice Department transition.[8]
In June 2017, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Benczkowski to become Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division.[2][9] According to the Washington Post, "Benczkowski is a well-regarded lawyer, especially in conservative circles."[8] Politico called him the "GOP's go-to guy for hearings."[4] At the time of his confirmation in July 2018, Benczkowski had no prosecutorial experience.[10]
At his confirmation hearing, Benczkowski refused to recuse himself from dealing with the Mueller investigation, even though he supervised an internal investigation of a bank owned by two of Russia's leading oligarchs.[11] He did agree to recuse himself from all matters related to the bank.[12] While in private practice, Benczkowski oversaw an investigation by the cybersecurity firm Stroz Friedberg related to allegations that there was a "secret communications channel" between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.[11] During Benczkowski's confirmation hearing he was emphatic that Stroz Friedberg, like Mandiant, had rejected the possibility of complicity, and the investigation's report found that "there was no communications link between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank."[11] Stroz Friedberg gave the same explanation for why it, along with Mandiant, was "unable to verify" older data in its investigation: it could not inspect the bank's Domain Name System (DNS) logs from 2016 and before because the bank retained such records at the time for only twenty-four hours.[11] The FBI concluded that the data moving between the companies did not amount to clandestine communications,[13] and Mueller himself later testified before Congress that he did not believe the allegations about a communications link were true.[14] ...
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More of the same denial from you.
How is there a political bias? These are the facts in which you continue to ignore. Officer Sicknick suffered two strokes because of the intense life and death situation he was put under by these maga thugs.
There is no basis in fact to reach this conclusion. In fact, it is a demonstrable falsehood even if you repeat it over and over. Sicknick died of natural causes. A stroke. No one has been charged with his murder or ever will be charged because he was not murdered. At least one protestor died from a heart attack. Would you conclude that this protestor was killed by the police? Of course not. You desperately want Sicknick's death to be attributed to the protest because that fits your desired political narrative not because you have any concern about this death. It is political. You have no concern about the shooting death of an unarmed female military vet that day because you don't like her politics. In fact, you defame her character and use her political beliefs as the basis to justify her death. As though having a different political perspective is a justification for shooting someone. Imagine if that standard were applied to George Floyd? I believe Floyd was murdered by the police and they should spend the rest of their lives in jail regardless of whether I agree with Floyd's politics. His politics were not relevant. The same standard should have been applied to the shooting death of an unarmed woman. At the very least, there should have been more transparency into what occurred. Something that Dems have clamored for in other police shootings. But in this situation a closed investigation that did not even reveal the name of the shooter was deemed acceptable because the victim was a Trump supporter.
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There is no basis in fact to reach this conclusion. In fact, it is a demonstrable falsehood even if you repeat it over and over. Sicknick died of natural causes. A stroke. No one has been charged with his murder or ever will be charged because he was not murdered. At least one protestor died from a heart attack. Would you conclude that this protestor was killed by the police? Of course not. You desperately want Sicknick's death to be attributed to the protest because that fits your desired political narrative not because you have any concern about this death. It is political. You have no concern about the shooting death of an unarmed female military vet that day because you don't like her politics. In fact, you defame her character and use her political beliefs as the basis to justify her death. As though having a different political perspective is a justification for shooting someone. Imagine if that standard were applied to George Floyd? I believe Floyd was murdered by the police and they should spend the rest of their lives in jail regardless of whether I agree with Floyd's politics. His politics were not relevant. The same standard should have been applied to the shooting death of an unarmed woman. At the very least, there should have been more transparency into what occurred. Something that Dems have clamored for in other police shootings. But in this situation a closed investigation that did not even reveal the name of the shooter was deemed acceptable because the victim was a Trump supporter.
Oh boy...still in denial of what transpired.
Officer Sicknick died from the deadly attack he was trying to defend. The situation he was put under triggered his stroke, just like the same deadly situation Officer Fanone was put under which triggered his heart attack. He testified in a congressional 1/6 hearing that was indeed the case. Are you calling this officer a liar? These officers were out there for hours fighting for their lives against these terrorists. And you're trying to ridiculously claim that deadly event didn't trigger any medical episodes with these officers even though these officers testified in front of Congress that it did. You just want to argue and defend these maga thugs because these lowlifes are Trump's rabid base.
Her politics are irrelevant. She illegaly breached a secure area with a mob of violent armed rioters behind her intending to kill members of Congress so she was shot. That is standard protocol. Not sure why you keep defending violent domestic terrorists. So, basically you are saying that Capitol Police have no right to defend the Capitol or our elected officials lives who run our Government. Any group of thugs are allowed to invade the inside of the Capitol with weapons and can hunt down our leaders and the police need to let them proceed according to you. Because that's exactly what you are saying.
How can you compare George Floyd to Ashli Babbitt? That's totally laughable and proves you have no argument.
George Floyd was not causing a violent coordinated insurrection. He passed a phony $20 dollar bill at a convenience store and then had the life squeezed out of him by a racist cop putting a knee to his neck.
Ashli Babbitt took part in an illegal coup and attempted overthrow of the US Government with a violent armed mob. She made several videos prior to the insurrection stating her intentions. She stormed the Capitol and broke through a secured area with a violent armed mob behind her. She was warned several times not to break through the area and she did anyway. That was her own fault and she paid the price for it. There was an investigation and the officer was cleared from any wrongdoing.
You are blaming an officer for the death of a domestic terrorist. He is an American hero for saving the lives of our elected officials. All she had to do was leave when she was warned several times not to break through the Capitol window and breach a secured area. She refused and stormed through the area. The officer's life was on the line with a violent mob behind her. So she was shot. Why didn't she leave when she was warned not to break through? She was given every opportunity and was aware of the consequences. She refused to retreat. That's her own fault. When a cop warns you not to move forward or you'll get shot you listen to what he says. Otherwise if you don't, you do so at your own peril. Not sure why you can't figure that out.
Who cares if she was a military vet. Military vets commit crimes all the time and are arrested. You make it sound like she was innocently walking and strolling around and this cop came up and shot her for no reason. Absolutely ridiculous. You have no argument.
So, are Capitol Police not allowed to defend the Capitol and our elected officials lives?
You believe a violent angry armed mob should be allowed to breach security and invade the chambers attacking our elected officials?
Why don't you care that our Government was attacked by right wing domestic terrorists?
Why are you defending them?
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'Unrepentant arsonist' Trump shamed on CNN for new statement praising jailed MAGA rioters
On Thursday, a CNN panel tore into former President Donald Trump following his statement in support of the January 6 Capitol insurrectionists.
Former Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) said that the former president's latest statement meant it was time for Republicans to stop keeping their heads in the sand and hoping that Trump would just go away.
"Hard to believe after January 6, I used to be a congressman and watched them break in to the Capitol, and now a rally in support of them and the president basically supports that," said Kasich. "Look. If you've been disgusted with Trump, keep your patience and talk to those Trump people and get them to open their eyes because this country is — keeps — continuing to go downhill and divided and denies a great future for our kids. Wake up for the good of our country."
Host Jim Acosta said it was no longer tenable for Republicans to stay silent given how much their base believes Trump's election lies.
"We deal with a former president who is sort of like an unrepentant arsonist," he said. "He can't help himself, enamored with the flames he sets. What's disturbing is 78 percent of Republicans say that Joe Biden did not actually win this election, getting back to what John Kasich was saying. It's disturbing that we are still dealing with this."
Watch below:
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Judge agrees to pause Oath Keepers' trials in Jan. 6 riot as new evidence piles up
A judge agreed that Jan. 31 was too soon to hold a trial for three Oath Keepers who stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election win.
Washington D.C. federal District Court Judge Amit Mehta expressed concern about the pace of the trial after new evidence continues to pile up faster than prosecutors and defense attorneys can keep up, and he suggested early April as a new start date, reported Politico.
"I am concerned about a lengthy pretrial detention period," Mehta said, as the three defendants -- Jessica Watkins, Kelly Meggs and Kenneth Harrelson -- remain in jail as they await trial on conspiracy and other charges.
The judge pointed out that the Justice Department doesn't have to turn over every piece of evidence before starting the trial, but is required only to turn over items relevant to the defendants in this case.
"Otherwise we won't be having a trial in any of these cases until 2023," Mehta said. "I just don't think that's acceptable to those being held."
The judge said he was considering splitting the case into two separate trials, which would begin in the months ahead of next year's primary elections.
https://www.rawstory.com/oath-keepers-jan-6/
Judge raises concerns about speed of Oath Keepers trial related to Capitol riot
Prosecutors said they didn’t believe a scheduled Jan. 31 trial date for a subset of the Oath Keepers would be sustainable
The judge overseeing the sprawling case of the Oath Keepers who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 raised acute concerns Thursday about the pace of the government’s effort to bring the matter to trial, particularly as three of the defendants sit in D.C. jail.
Washington D.C. federal District Court Judge Amit Mehta sounded the alarm Thursday after prosecutors said they didn’t believe a scheduled Jan. 31 trial date for a subset of the Oath Keepers would be sustainable, as evidence related to the Capitol breach continues to pour in faster than the government can process it.
“It does really feel like Jan. 31 is becoming ever more unrealistic,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy.
Mehta emphasized that his concerns were largely about the three Oath Keepers — Jessica Watkins, Kelly Meggs and Kenneth Harrelson — who have already been detained for months and face the prospect of a much longer detention.
“I am concerned about a lengthy pretrial detention period,” Mehta said, adding that the Justice Department doesn’t need to turn over every shred of evidence it uncovers before beginning a trial — only those relevant to the specific defendants in the Oath Keepers case.
“Otherwise,” he said, “we won't be having a trial in any of these cases until 2023. I just don't think that's acceptable to those being held.”
Despite his concerns, Mehta appeared ready to relent after hearing from lawyers for the Justice Department and defendants, many of whom said they wanted time to comb through the evidence in their clients’ cases. He noted that he’s been planning to split the case into two separate trials, and urged the parties to pencil in April and July for the start of each.
That timetable would also ensure that one of the highest-profile cases to emerge from the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol generates significant attention in the months leading up to the 2022 congressional elections, when Democrats intend to highlight the breach as an argument against extremism in the Republican Party.
Two of the 18 Oath Keepers charged as part of the conspiracy — Jason Dolan and Graydon Young — have already pleaded guilty, and if others follow suit, it could change the equation.
Still, the episode highlights an increasing tension for the Justice Department as it continues to investigate what it calls the largest and most complex case in the history of the country. Defendants have a constitutional right to a speedy trial, but they’re also entitled to see all the evidence the government collects that might be exculpatory. With 600 defendants and counting charged in the chaotic mob that stormed Congress, that mountain of evidence grows daily.
Complicating matters even further are the ongoing Covid-related restrictions governing trials in the federal courthouse near the Capitol. Mehta said that the sheer size of the Oath Keepers case, which includes 18 alleged conspirators and may grow even more, would effectively prevent any other trials from commencing as the planned Oath Keepers trials play out — assuming virus-related limits remain in place.
The Oath Keepers case is among the most significant to arise from the Capitol riot. Leaders of the anti-government militia are charged with conspiring to obstruct Congress’ effort to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. About a dozen entered the Capitol in military-style “stack” formation, and Meggs — one of the three detainees — texted associates that he was hunting for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
More than 80 Capitol riot defendants have already or are scheduled to accept guilty pleas, primarily in lower-level misdemeanor cases as prosecutors begin clearing many of the less complicated cases from the court’s docket. But in more complicated conspiracy cases like those facing the Oath Keepers and members of the Proud Boys leadership, the investigation is still ongoing.
Rakoczy emphasized that counsel for many of the Oath Keeper defendants agrees with the need to delay the trial as they seek to obtain more evidence that could support their case. And defense lawyers backed up her point, saying that they don’t believe they can review and synthesize the evidence in the case in time for a January trial.
Mehta said that if the Justice Department wanted to reconsider its request to detain the three Oath Keeper defendants before trial, it might alleviate the pressure to maintain a quick trial date.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/16/judge-oath-keepers-trial-capitol-riot-512195
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Oh boy...still in denial of what transpired.
Officer Sicknick died from the deadly attack he was trying to defend.
This is a lie. He died from a stroke due to blood clot. That is a natural cause not attributed to the actions of any other person. You want him to have died from the protest due to your political bias. It fits your desired narrative. The unarmed female military vet shot and killed by the police is deemed a terrorist deserving of death for the same reason. You apply your political bias to every situation because you have no principles or decision making criteria other than Trump = evil. Every event must be interpreted through that prism even if they result in entirely inconsistent outcomes. Thus, when an unarmed Trump supporter is shot by the police, no transparency is needed. But if a black person is killed, the police must be defunded. When virus case are rising under Trump, it is entirely his fault. When cases rise 300% under Biden, even with the widespread availability of the vaccine, it is not Biden's fault. It is still somehow Trump's fault. When a few illegals are held under Trump, it is a humanitarian crisis because he is deemed a racist. When thousands of illegals are pouring across the border and being kept under bridges like animals under Biden, there is nothing to see. It is somehow Trump's fault. When Americans are dying in Afghanistan due to the incompetent execution of the withdrawal plan, it is Trump's fault. And on and on. Hypocrisy and political bias.
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This is a lie. He died from a stroke due to blood clot. That is a natural cause not attributed to the actions of any other person. You want him to have died from the protest due to your political bias. It fits your desired narrative.
Sorry, it's not "my narrative" it is a fact. Officer Sicknick died from a stroke due to the intense situation he faced fighting off violent Maga thugs. Officer Fanone testified to Congress that he suffered a heart attack due to the intense situation he faced. Those are the facts. You can choose to believe whatever false narrative you want.
The unarmed female military vet shot and killed by the police is deemed a terrorist deserving of death for the same reason. You apply your political bias to every situation because you have no principles or decision making criteria other than Trump = evil.
When an officer's life is on the line there's no "politics" involved. The "unarmed military vet" was attempting to kill our elected officials so she was shot. And yet you still argue in her defense because it's YOU who is biased and always has to argue in defense of Trump no matter what. Ridiculous. Just admit she had no business being there and trying to breach a secured area is what ended her life. A person will always get shot when they refuse to comply to an officer's orders and pose a direct threat. And yes Trump is evil. I agree with you on that.
Every event must be interpreted through that prism even if they result in entirely inconsistent outcomes. Thus, when an unarmed Trump supporter is shot by the police, no transparency is needed. But if a black person is killed, the police must be defunded.
More apples to oranges comparisons because you have no argument.
The officer who shot Babbitt was investigated and no wrongdoing was found. Republicans blocked the investigation into 1/6 until Nancy Pelosi formed the committee to investigate it. So, you should be thanking her for that.
Democrats have never called to defund the police as a party. That's another false right wing talking point.
A black man who posed no threat to a cop and was killed because of a racist act is not the same as a white Trump supporter who was a direct threat to officers and our elected officials.
When virus case are rising under Trump, it is entirely his fault. When cases rise 300% under Biden, even with the widespread availability of the vaccine, it is not Biden's fault. It is still somehow Trump's fault.
Criminal Donald was warned in November of 2019 by U.S. Intelligence about the coronavirus and he did nothing. He was briefed twice in January 2020 and he did nothing. On February 28th 2020 he called the coronavirus a "hoax" and he still did nothing. After the United States finally had a full blown virus outbreak he reluctantly declared an emergency on March 11. He spent the rest of the time lying, downplaying the virus, attacking Democratic Governors who implemented stay at home orders, and pushed quack cures. Then surprisingly enough, he had a private interview with Bob Woodward and was recorded on tape saying how "deadly the virus is" and that it's "airborne". "All you do is have to sniff the air and you will get it" he said. He sure knew enough about how deadly it was behind the scenes but publicly he lied and told us it was a "hoax" and "no threat". He wanted to use the virus politically for his advantage and he didn't care how many people he killed to do it. He is the one who turned his base off to wearing masks and made it a "freedom issue" when he knew damn well that masks prevents the spread and the inhalation of droplets that infects a person with the airborne virus. So yes, it's his fault for lying, doing nothing, infecting millions of people and killing hundreds of thousands. And here he put your life in danger by lying to you and you're still defending him.
From day one, President Biden got to work on the pandemic and ordered millions of doses of vaccines so every adult in America could get a shot. He made vaccinations easily accessible by opening up vaccination centers in each county and coordinated with major pharmacies to administer shots. He urged all Americans to get vaccinated and wear masks. President Biden got the pandemic under control during May-June to where there were very few infections and deaths. Right wingers refused to get vaccinated and after the 4th of July the infection rate and death totals exploded again which is what every single medical expert predicted would happen. Since right wingers are keeping this pandemic going and are crushing our hospitals, the only alternative is to mandate vaccines to end this pandemic. And right wing elected officials are fighting against it to save lives to end this pandemic. President Biden has worked extremely hard to end this pandemic and it's not his fault that he has the right wing media and right wing Republicans working against him by pushing lies and disinformation. It's also not his fault that right wing Trump supporters refuse to get vaccinated and are killing each other. That's why he is implementing vaccine mandates to end this. Enough is enough.
When a few illegals are held under Trump, it is a humanitarian crisis because he is deemed a racist. When thousands of illegals are pouring across the border and being kept under bridges like animals under Biden, there is nothing to see. It is somehow Trump's fault. When Americans are dying in Afghanistan due to the incompetent execution of the withdrawal plan, it is Trump's fault. And on and on. Hypocrisy and political bias.
Criminal Donald ran on racism and ripped children away from their parents. Criminal Donald claimed he would end "all illegal immigration". Why didn't he? He has 4 years to do it. All he did was make the situation worse for President Biden to deal with.
And who made the withdrawal plan with the Taliban and started the removal of our troops? Who surrendered to the Taliban? Who released 5000 Taliban terrorists from prison? Donald Trump. That was his deal he made in 2020 and every expert said it was a disaster and they were 100% correct. Then right wingers want to blame President Biden for the disaster Trump left him. Over 120,000 evacuations in the largest mission ever and the President did the best he could under the circumstances.
You have no argument and you ignored my previous questions.
So, are Capitol Police not allowed to defend the Capitol and our elected officials lives?
You believe a violent angry armed mob should be allowed to breach security and invade the chambers attacking our elected officials?
Why don't you care that our Government was attacked by right wing domestic terrorists?
Why are you defending them?
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Good. This nut is going where she belongs which is behind bars.
'I have a right to my self-determination!' MAGA rioter starts 'screaming' after judge sends her to jail
(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/oleantimesherald.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/62/762568d6-97a1-510a-8c10-1a6b0d236135/60a59cea0ffbf.image.jpg)
MAGA rioter Pauline Bauer reportedly had a full-on public meltdown on Friday when a judge ordered that she be sent back to prison ahead of her trial.
NBC 4 Washington's Scott MacFarlane reports that Bauer, who has echoed the rhetoric of so-called "sovereign citizens" in previous court filings, had her pre-trial release revoked after federal prosecutors documented how she has refused to follow court orders during her release.
During the hearing, writes MacFarlane, Bauer regularly challenged the court's authority to hold her in any kind of custody, even though she denied being part of the sovereign citizen movement.
"I have a right to my self-determination!" she told the judge at one point.
Bauer also told the judge that she is not subject to the court's supervision and twice said that the court was trying to put her "in the water" even though she's chosen to be "on the land."
According to MacFarlane, the judge overhearing her case was not impressed with her arguments and ordered her sent to prison ahead of her trial.
"The problem is she's not going to do what I direct her to do," the judge explained. "Ms. Bauer is now going to be incarcerated."
MacFarlane writes that Bauer started "screaming" as soon as the judge asked U.S. Marshalls to take her into custody.
https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-rioter-prison/
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Trump is at the mercy of Biden as he tries to keep his January 6th communications away from investigators
On Friday, POLITICO reported that former President Donald Trump's legal team is reviewing "hundreds" of documents from the National Archives and Records Administration requested by the House select committee on the January 6 Capitol attack, as part of their investigation — but that they are subject to the Biden administration's decision even if they try to block them.
"That move kicks off a process that will result in some tough decisions for Biden's White House counsel, both politically and legally," reported Betsy Woodruff Swan. "That's because the office will have to decide whether to sign off on any efforts from Team Trump to keep sensitive White House communications from becoming public."
"When it comes to document after document relevant to the Jan. 6 panel's expansive request, Biden White House lawyers will likely face the same tough dilemma: They can either send Congress the material over Trump's objections, entering unprecedented legal territory about the treatment of former presidents; or they can withhold materials from Hill allies, thereby stymieing investigators' access and potentially generating significant political fallout," continued the report.
The Capitol riot committee was created over the furious objections of Republicans in Congress, who killed a bipartisan 9/11 style commission and boycotted naming their own members, although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) installed two Republicans on the committee anyway. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has even threatened telecommunications companies with retaliation if they comply with subpoenas to turn over phone records from Republican members of Congress, a threat some experts have said could be illegal.
Trump, for his part, has attacked the committee from day one, referring to their work as "pathetic" and speaking favorably of the rioters who broke into the Capitol in response to his "Stop the Steal" conspiracy theories.
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An impactful 30 minutes. The line is broken and is what these brave officers were up against and why Officer Sicknick died from triggered stroke from his intense battle with these violent maga insurrectionist thugs.
US Capitol Police surveillance camera images. The first is from 2:00pm on Jan 6. The other is from 2:30pm on Jan 6
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_p4aXuWUAM8lx_?format=jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_p4aXwXsAEV1Wv?format=jpg)
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If you want to know who started the insurrection, ask the question we asked after 1-6: Who paid for it?
Trump.
Trump’s political operation paid more than $4.3 million to Jan. 6 organizers but questions remain about the full extent of its involvement
Former President Donald Trump’s political operation reported paying more than $4.3 million to people and firms that organized the Jan. 6 rally since the start of the 2020 election. However, questions remain about the full extent of the Trump campaign’s involvement in the “Save America” rally on the day of the Capitol attack as a House select committee’s sweeping requests attempt to shine some light on that day’s events.
On Friday, the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol sent letters requesting information from 15 social media companies. On Aug. 25, the select committee sent requests to federal agencies for records related to the riot.
The letters ask agencies from the National Archives and Records Administration to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice to expedite the gathering of the records, asking for information within two-weeks.
The House subpoena names Caroline Wren, a veteran GOP fundraiser who received at least $170,000 from the Trump political operation as the campaign’s national finance consultant with the joint fundraising committee. Wren was listed as a “VIP Advisor” on the permit granted by the National Park Service for the Jan. 6 rally.
Megan Powers, one of two operations managers listed on the rally permit, is not listed in the House request but was paid around $300,000 as the Trump campaign’s director of operations. And Make America Great Again PAC paid around $20,000 more to Powers for “recount administrative consulting” in 2021.
None of the other former Trump campaign officials listed on the permit for the rally on Jan. 6 are listed in the initial requests.
The House select committee did request records related to Women for Trump initiative co-chair Gina Loudon, who spoke at the rally. The committee also requested records related to Amy Kremer, who notably co-founded Women for America First, the 501(c)(4) nonprofit “dark money” group that submitted the rally’s permit records to the National Park Service.
The select committee also requested letters related to Dustin Stockton, a co-organizer of the rally. Stockton was also a spokesperson for WeBuildtheWall when former White House strategist Steve Bannon and three others affiliated with the dark money group were charged with fraud related to the online fundraising effort. Stockton was not charged and records related to Bannon were requested by the House select committee.
Stockton and Kremer told ProPublica that they felt they needed to “urgently warn the White House of the possible danger” posed by the rally. They initially took their concerns to Katrina Pierson, a former Trump campaign spokesperson who reportedly served as a liaison between the White House and rally organizers, but after “feeling that they weren’t gaining enough traction” Stockton claims she and Kremer agreed to call White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. However, Kremer denies that she spoke with Meadows or any other White House official about Jan. 6 concerns.
Records requested by the House select committee could shine light on claims about those encounters as well as other outstanding questions about the extent of the Trump campaign’s involvement.
But since Trump’s campaign and joint fundraising committee funneled millions of dollars through layers of opaque firms and shell companies where the ultimate payee is hidden, the public may never know the full extent of the Trump campaign’s payments to organizers involved in the protests.
Trump’s 2020 campaign and joint fundraising committee, the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, spent more than $771 million through American Made Media Consultants LLC during the 2020 election cycle. OpenSecrets data shows Trump’s joint fundraising committee routed another $685,000 through the secretive limited-liability company in 2021 with around $222,000 of that going to text messaging on Jan. 6.
The Federal Election Commission generally does not require campaigns to detail payments vendors make to subcontractors as long as the subcontractor does not work under the direction or control of the campaign and the campaign does not have undue influence over the vendor.
But the role campaign aides and members of Trump’s inner circle played in creating the limited-liability company as a “clearinghouse” to pay vendors, concealing details of millions of dollars in the campaign’s transactions, raises the question of whether it was truly separate from the campaign.
The full roster of people working for Trump’s campaign remains hidden from the public and details of those payments, such as the nature of services provided and the amount of money changing hands, are shrouded in mystery.
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center filed an FEC complaint alleging that Trump’s 2020 political operation may have violated federal election law by concealing details of the campaign’s financial dealings.
Recent campaign finance records reviewed by OpenSecrets show Trump’s political operation continued to pay Event Strategies Inc., a firm named in a permit for the rally where two of the rally organizers worked. The firm received payments from Trump aligned super PAC Make America Great Again Action as recently as Aug. 13, FEC records filed Aug. 26 show.
Trump’s political operation paid Event Strategies more than $2.5 million since the start of the 2020 election with around $800,000 of that coming from Trump’s Save America leadership PAC and Make America Great Again Action super PAC in 2021.
Event Strategies is not the only vendor with Trump ties the Make America Great Again Action super PAC reported paying in its new FEC disclosure filed Aug. 26.
On July 15, the Make America Great Again Action super PAC paid $128,125 to Forward Strategies, a firm run by professional fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke, who was reportedly subpoenaed in federal prosecutors’ probe of longtime Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The super PAC also paid Red Elephant Strategy, a consulting firm run by Brian Walsh. He was president of America First Policies, the dark money arm of America First Action, Trump’s one-time super PAC of choice and a roughly $1.8 million donor to Make America Great Again Action.
Red Eagle Media Group, a firm that funneled money from Trump’s campaign to shell companies tied to ad buyers at the center of an alleged illegal coordination scheme with the National Rifle Association and America First Action during the 2020 election cycle, received payments from the super PAC as well.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/08/trumps-political-operation-paid-more-than-4-3-million-to-jan-6-organizers-questions-remain-about-full-involvement/
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The Capitol riot committee now has a clear roadmap for subpoenas: Pulitzer Prize-winning Post reporter
There's a clear roadmap for the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter explained on MSNBC on Tuesday.
MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace interviewed Carol Leonnig as Politico is reporting the select committee is poised to begin issuing subpoenas.
The process was explained by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, was the lead impeachment manager during Donald Trump's first trial, and is a member of the select committee.
"In some cases, we're making requests we think will be complied with," Schiff said. "In other cases, we're going straight to subpoenas where we think we're dealing with recalcitrant witnesses."
Wallace asked Leonnig about a tweet by Miles Taylor, a former Trump administration official who served as chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security.
"I firmly believe Trump provoked the attack on the Capitol so he could declare martial law. For years he talked in private about the Insurrection Act & his 'magical powers' to deploy the military on to the streets. The January 6th select committee needs to investigate this," Taylor tweeted.
Leonnig explained that "the most central unanswered questions sort of circle around the drain that Miles Taylor is smartly focusing on. And that is, the days before January 6th."
"This is why, to me, subpoena power is so powerful and I wish as a journalist I had it," she explained. "We need to know about the conversations that Republican lawmakers, Donald Trump, and White House staff had with each other and with organizers of the protest. We need to know those conversations in detail -- their communications about what they plan to do."
"We already know from very good reporting that — unfortunately, not with a subpoena — that there were protest members who were warning the senior White House folks that there was going to be a likely storming/march on the capitol," she continued. "So, the White House should have been on alert."
Republicans in Congress are also under scrutiny.
"There was also a crucial meeting in late December between the president and other lawmakers in that special caucus that wanted to stop the certification of the vote. They were all sort of fist-bumping after that meeting where they were going to discuss how they would stop the steal, how they would stop the certification. We need to know what they discussed and we need to know what White House staff notes were taken," she explained.
The meeting was announced on Twitter by then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Reuters reported that the meeting was attended by Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Mo Brooks (R-AL).
"We need to know the degree to which then President Trump was aware of the likelihood and potential for violence," Leonnig said.
Watch:
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Yawn. How long are you going to milk this event to deflect from Biden's ongoing series of disasters? There is nothing new here except that we learned that putting up a fence or wall can keep people out. If only someone had thought to do that in Texas.
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The private security force surrounding Michael Flynn was on the ground at the Capitol on Jan. 6
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Donald Trump's former national security advisor who was convicted of lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador and subsequently pardoned, emerged as one of the most high-profile inspirational figures in the effort to keep Trump in office, which culminated with the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6.
Flynn's private security force, a group called 1st Amendment Praetorian that was launched less than two months before the Nov. 3 election, played a key role trafficking propaganda to convince Trump's supporters that the election was stolen. The group also fielded members on the ground in Washington DC on Jan. 6, and then helped promote the revisionist falsehood that the assault on the Capitol was "staged," as insurrection apologists sought to whitewash the attempted coup.
The self-described "group of military, law enforcement and intelligence community" veterans has received relatively little attention, compared to the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers — two right-wing paramilitary groups that have seen dozens of members charged with offenses related to the Capitol assault. In contrast, none of 1st Amendment Praetorian's members have been charged, although at least two are documented as being in a restricted area near the Capitol on Jan. 6. And to a much greater degree than the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, members of 1st Amendment Praetorian maintained direct contact with major Trump allies like Michael Flynn, his brother Joe Flynn, lawyer Sidney Powell, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.
The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), is seeking information about 1st Amendment Praetorian founder Robert Patrick Lewis, along with Michael Flynn, Trump confidant Roger Stone, InfoWars hosts Alex Jones and Owen Schroyer, Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander, Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, Oath Keeper leader Kenneth Harrelson and dozens of other high-profile Trump supporters. The committee's interest in the individuals is part of a probe into "recruitment, planning, coordination, and other preparations for the rallies leading up to and including January 6th and the violence on January 6th."
Much of the information about 1st Amendment Praetorian's involvement in the events of Jan. 6 come from the accounts of its own members in contemporaneous social media posts and retrospective interviews with sympathetic right-wing podcasters.
1st Amendment Praetorian's most conspicuous role in the run-up to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol was providing security for a string of gatherings in Washington DC that built momentum for the Save America Rally where Trump addressed supporters on the Ellipse on Jan. 6. 1st Amendment Praetorian was listed as "demonstration marshals" on event permit applications of the Million MAGA March on Nov. 14 and the Rally to Revival on Jan. 5, both of which took place at Freedom Plaza. And 1st Amendment Praetorian members accompanied Michael Flynn and his family members when Flynn spoke at the Supreme Court on Dec. 12. Following that assignment, Lewis lauded Flynn as a "personal hero and motivation in this fight," while saying that serving on his personal security detail "takes the cake."
Lewis has spoken openly about his involvement with both Flynn and Sidney Powell. Powell represented Flynn in his quest to have his case dismissed after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Following the Nov. 3 election — and while still representing Flynn — Powell briefly served on Trump's legal team. Representing Trump, alongside Rudy Giuliani thrusted Powell into the public spotlight, where she was to become one of the loudest and most persistent tribunes of baseless conspiracy theories, largely around the false claim that Dominion Voting Systems conspired with the Venezuelan government to steal the election.
"We also had our intelligence team working in a couple different aspects, assisting her team," Lewis, a retired US Army Special Forces operative with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in a Dec. 9, 2021 YouTube video. "So, our intel team has been processing a lot of OSINT, doing a lot of open source intelligence, a lot of digging, a lot of collating of all these different things that people have been sharing on social media regarding different pieces of this election fraud puzzle, whether it be digging into the companies that we know are behind it — Dominion, Smartmatic, Scytl, and all their ownership and their connections to Venezuela and Iran and China and all these other places."
In an interview with "The Right Side with Doug Billings" in June, Lewis elaborated on 1st Amendment Praetorian's inside role in the multi-pronged effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
"You know, that's from November to January; we had a team in DC with General Flynn and Sidney Powell and Patrick Byrne, and so we got a front-row view to a lot of this stuff coming in, and really what was going on and how that was happening," Lewis told Billings.
As has been widely reported, Flynn, Powell and Byrne visited Trump in the White House for a Dec. 18 meeting that reportedly devolved "into shouting," with White House counsel Pat Cipollone pushing back against the trio's insistence that Trump take dramatic action to halt the transfer of executive power.
During the June 2021 interview, Lewis told a clearly star-struck Billings that 1st Amendment Praetorian had provided intelligence "directly to the president" during the same timeframe as the Dec. 18 meeting. Raw Story was unable to independently confirm that any information compiled by Lewis' group was consumed by Trump.
"But we have other things where we do national objectives, like the intelligence that we're delivering to the White House, right, directly to the president," Lewis said. "That was stuff based on China's influence in the United States, and specific propaganda that we were outlining, because we have former military intelligence and NSA people that were very Asia-focused, that can pick this up. That's their job, right? They were in the military for decades specifically doing that."
The notion that China engineered the election of Joe Biden, an extension of Powell's baseless claim that Dominion Voting Systems conspired with Venezuela to steal the election that is also false, was cited by many of the Capitol rioters as a justification for violence.
Joseph Flynn, who introduced his brother to Powell in early 2020, was also in close proximity to the propaganda stream as it unspooled.
"Sidney is diving deeper into what went on in the election, the level of corruption, especially as it relates to the Dominion Voting Systems," Flynn told Alan Kielan, a 1st Amendment Praetorian member who hosts the "Uncensored Abe" podcast, in a Nov. 16, 2020 interview. Flynn went on to say that he considered Powell to be a member of the family.
"When she says, 'Release the Kraken,' she's talking about open the floodgates of hell," Flynn said, "because this is coming out, and if the courts aren't going to pay attention to it, we are absolutely looking at a situation where our vote will never count again."
Kielan has said on a recent episode of "Uncensored Abe" that he performs "volunteer security services for 1st Amendment Praetorian." A Marine Corps veteran, Kielan also identifies as a one of the "digital soldiers," a phrase coined by Michael Flynn that was embraced by the QAnon movement.
Both Michael Flynn and Lewis, the founder and chairman of 1st Amendment Praetorian, have occasionally applied the military language of counterinsurgency in discussing the controversy surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
Lamenting that the presidential election remained unsettled in a Jan. 5 interview with InfoWars host Alex Jones — although apparently missing the irony that he held as much responsibility as anyone else for fomenting the instability — Flynn said, "I have actually been part of taking over countries and running elections in countries — in other countries around the world, where we say, 'Hey, be more like us. Act more like us. In fact, we're going to show you how to do an election in your country, Iraq; in your country, Afghanistan; in your country, name the Central American country in the '80s and the '90s.'"
Similarly, Lewis ended an Oct. 11, 2020 Facebook Live by declaring: "Americans are standing up. We're taking our country back. We've activated the counterinsurgency."
In a Nov. 10 YouTube video previewing the Million MAGA March, Lewis explained low-intensity conflict to his audience.
"As a Green Beret, that was my job," he said. "Green Berets grow beards and long hair because we go to other countries where we want to get rid of dictators or leaders that are not on our side. And we want to do it without American fingerprints, right? So, our nation wants regime change, and they don't want it tied back to the United States of America. That's low-intensity conflict. That's where we send people there to ensure that a specific reaction takes place. You arm, you train, you equip rebel groups that are aligned with what you want. And you let them do it. You help them do it in some cases.
"Color revolutions — there's different formats that people have heard about lately that I've known about for 15 years, because it's what I did in the Special Forces; it's what Green Berets are there for and a lot of other groups," he added.
Lewis described people who voted for Joe Biden as a "populace" in thrall to "a small group of subversive, Marxist groups" and "propagandized by their media." He predicted — incorrectly, as it turned out — that once they realized that Donald Trump was the true winner of the election, the joy that Biden supporters were experiencing would turn to rage.
"All that positive energy is gonna change just like a chemical reaction, very quickly, and that's where we're in the danger zone," Lewis said.
On the eve of the attempted insurrection, Michael Flynn addressed Trump supporters at Freedom Plaza, telling them they were standing on "soil that we have fought over, fought for" and would continue to fight for.
"The members of Congress, the members of the House of Representatives, the members of the United States Senate, those of you who are feeling weak tonight, those of you that don't have the moral fiber in your body, get some tonight because tomorrow we the people are going to be here, and we want you to know that we will not stand for a lie," Flynn said.
Flynn could not be reached for this story.
That night, Flynn joined Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, Trump advisor Peter Navarro and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) at the Trump International Hotel, according to a Facebook post by Charles Herbster, then serving as national chairman of the Agricultural and Rural Advisory Committee.
"These faithful servants of freedom need our prayers as well as US Congress," Herbster wrote. "Tomorrow on Capitol Hill, they open sealed electoral voting certificates from each state. This joint session is the last official chance for our members of Congress to object to the widespread voter fraud that happened on November 3."
The following day, Tuberville would take a call from President Trump as the US Senate was being evacuated, according to a report by USA Today. Tuberville said he had to hang up on the president; it remains unclear what motivated Trump's call.
Lewis, who attended Trump's speech at the Ellipse on the morning of Jan. 6, has acknowledged that 1st Amendment Praetorian members were at the Capitol later that day. Asked by Doug Billings in his June 2021 interview if he or other members of 1st Amendment Praetorian were "at the Capitol" on Jan. 6, Lewis answered in the affirmative while leaving the details ambiguous.
"We were," he said. "We had done a handful of events on the 5th, and then on the 6th we had some small kind of private things that we were doing around the city. And then because we had people that were in town, because of what we had done on the 5th, I got to hear a lot of different vantage points from people that were all around the city that saw it from multiple angles."
What, if anything, 1st Amendment Praetorian was trying to accomplish during the hours when the US Capitol was under assault remains unclear. Lewis tweeted four times from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. He has said that he was at the Willard Hotel. Lewis did not respond to attempts to reach him by email, Facebook message and Twitter direct message.
Lewis' messaging during the first few hours of the assault on the Capitol was decidedly affirmative.
"Today is the day true battles begin," he tweeted at 2:18 p.m., five minutes after Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola used a stolen police riot shield to bust out a window at the Capitol building.
At 2:51 p.m., Lewis re-shared a tweet announcing that "Trump supporters have breached the Capitol building," commenting, "You can only apply so much pressure to a system before it explodes."
While Lewis was at the Willard Hotel, 1st Amendment Praetorian member Geoffrey Flohr walked around the Capitol. Nicknamed "Yoda," Flohr's LinkedIn page describes him as a private investigator, and a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to Raw Story that Flohr worked as a polygrapher for the agency from 2007 to 2011.
Dressed in a tan-colored cap with a bent bill and sunglasses perched atop, a green handkerchief knotted around his neck and thick white beard, Flohr made a memorable impression in a Getty Images photograph showing him leading Michael Flynn and Joseph Flynn away from the protest at the Supreme Court on Dec. 12. Flohr is identifiable by the cap, sunglasses, handkerchief and beard strolling on the west side of the Capitol in a video originally posted on Facebook by Samuel Di Gangi, a political and entertainment writer. The original video is no longer posted, but Di Gangi confirmed by email to Raw Story that a copy republished by a Jan. 6 researcher is authentic. A compilation of open-source video shows Flohr, who was nicknamed #ShadowFlynn by Jan. 6 researchers, moving around both the west and east sides of the Capitol, periodically talking on a cell phone. It remains unclear who Flohr was calling and what they discussed.
Flohr earned accolades from Joseph Flynn and Alan Kielan, who expressed affection towards him during a March 24 episode of Kielan's podcast.
"I just want to say hi to Yoda," Flynn said. "God bless you, man. Miss you. It's been a while. Let's get in touch soon."
Kielan concurred.
"There are rare people that are as great as Yoda is," he said. "Man, I miss him already, and I know he's got a lot going on in his personal life, but there are very few great people like Yoda, for sure."
Flohr could not be reached for this story.
Kielan himself acknowledged during the interview with Joseph Flynn that he was present at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
"We were there on the steps," he said. "We watched as flashbangs got shot right over our heads." Kielan said he witnessed a man die at the Capitol, but that information could not be confirmed by Raw Story. Kielan could not be reached for this story.
Rick Briggs, a 1st Amendment Praetorian member who served in the US Army Airborne Special Operations Forces, documented his activities on Jan. 6 on Twitter. Like Lewis and Flohr, Briggs had served on Michael Flynn's personal security detail on Dec. 12. On Jan. 6, Briggs chronicled his day with a tweet stating: "Me? Today? Resting after yesterday's awesome event and performing 'Overwatch' duties and Lame MSM Propaganda dump reviews." One of the accompanying photos in the tweet shows Briggs looking out a window from his hotel room in Arlington, Va., across the Potomac River from the Capitol.
Like Lewis, Briggs' tweets in the first couple hours of the assault on the Capitol appeared to embrace revolt.
Replying to a tweet by Tina Forte that showed the Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's Republican challenger dressed in a tactical vest and gloves, Briggs tweeted at 3:42 p.m.: "Ma'am… Let's GO Patriots!"
In another tweet, at 3:06 p.m., Briggs celebrated an armed revolt that took place in Tennessee in 1946.
"Remember, I did drive from central Texas to Washington DC with a stop in Athens TN for that 'Message!'" he wrote. Accompanying the tweet, Briggs posted a photo of himself posing next to a historical marker for the "Battle of Athens, August 1-2, 1946." The marker describes the battle as "an armed revolt" involving "World War II veterans" who assaulted a local jail where authorities had sequestered ballots boxes, forcing a surrender and paving the way for a veterans' slate of candidates to take control of local government.
Then, after Trump released a video telling his supporters, "You have to go home now," Briggs and Lewis changed tack, signaling that the most violent rioters were impostors.
"I work with a group, @1st_praetorian, and as a retired US Army Airborne Special Operations Forces veteran with COunterINsurgency (COIN) experience AND based upon PHOTOGRAPHIC evidence of these same 'Agents Provocateurs' at other events… Proof," Briggs wrote. "Facts. Time will tell."
Accompanying the tweet, Briggs posted photos of Pezzola and Jacob Chansley, the so-called "QAnon Shaman" who recently pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding.
At 5:32 p.m., Lewis tweeted: "Getting a lot of reports that the Capitol bum rush was staged & not MAGA.
"Fits the color revolution play book to a T.
"Going to look at pics with the @1st_praetorian intel shed, but seems pretty likely- we've already IDd some people we've been tracking."
During his March 24 podcast, Kielan told Joseph Flynn that the FBI came to interview him at his house.
"Oh, I didn't know that," Flynn responded.
Kielan professed to have enjoyed the FBI visit, hinting preposterously that the chaos at the US Capitol was a setup by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"You wanna know what happened on this?" Kielan said he told the FBI. "Why don't you go talk to Nancy Pelosi and find out why she removed the Capitol police."
For his part, Flynn said he went back to his hotel after Trump's speech at the Ellipse because he was cold. He said described what happened at the Capitol as "a terrible disappointment."
"Yes, something went wrong with the Capitol police where something was fishy there," he said. "However, anybody who breached that building and broke laws and committed felonies, okay, made a massive mistake, number one, for themselves and their families. And, number two, for the movement, okay, because it sets us back when you commit crimes. It sets us back when you take the law into your own hands.
"We're not at that juncture yet," he added. "We're not at that juncture yet. Who knows down the road?"
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Select committee is investigating Capitol riot as 'conspiracy to commit a coup’: Adam Schiff
The House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack the U.S. Capitol is investigating the day as a coup attempt, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) explained on MSNBC on Wednesday.
Schiff, a former federal prosecutor who chairs the House Intel Committee and was the lead impeachment manger in Trump's first trial, was interviewed by MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace.
Wallace noted that Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said that the 6-part plan to install Trump as president after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden "outlines a coup" attempt — and called out Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) as "the go-to options for doing their overthrow."
Describing Jan. 6 as a coup is nothing new for Kinzinger, an Air Force Lt. Colonel currently serving in the Air National Guard. The Illinois Republican described the events as a coup as they happened.
"Is the select committee investigating a conspiracy to commit a coup?" Wallace asked Schiff.
"Yes," he replied. "And i think Adam is exactly right."
Schiff went on to explain that the commission isn't just looking at the Capitol riots but also the "quasi-legal means" Trump and his allies used that "so undermine our democracy that it creates a crisis and it falls apart."
"This is what the Republicans tried to do, the Trump campaign and administration tried to do with this memo, but it's also what GOP party leaders are trying to do around the country by stripping independent elections officials of their powers and handing them to partisan boards, so they can succeed where they failed with this attempted coup," he continued.
"That is, if they can't disenfranchise enough people and they still lose, this gives them the chance through the patina of legality to overturn the results. And that, to me, is the most desperate risk that our democracy faces," Schiff said.
https://www.rawstory.com/adam-schiff-select-committee/
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Capitol riot committee slaps four former Trump officials with subpoenas
Four former Trump administration officials have been hit with subpoenas by the House select committee investigating the January 6th riots at the United States Capitol building.
The first four officials receiving subpoenas are former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former political strategist Steve Bannon, former social media director Dan Scavino, and former defense official Kash Patel.
The group as a whole has until October 7th to respond to the subpoenas. Bannon and Patel are being ordered to appear before the committee on October 14th, with Meadows and Scavino slated to appear before the committee a day later.
In its letter announcing the subpoenas, the committee singled out Scavino for using social media to heavily promote the January 6th "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the riot. Patel, meanwhile, was cited for being "involved with discussions among senior Pentagon officials prior to and on January 6th."
Although the subpoenas have been issued, it's no guarantee they will show up when scheduled, as Trump officials were notorious for defying Democratic subpoenas after Democrats took back the House of Representatives in 2018.
The committee's work has taken on new urgency after reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa revealed that Trump attorney John Eastman drafted a six-point plan to have former Vice President Mike Pence refuse to certify the results of the 2020 election.
Read the full announcement below:
Jan 6th committee: subpoenas issued for depositions from Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino, Kash Patel and Steve Bannon
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FAAgptZVkAA2fj2?format=jpg)
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The infamous 'Eastman memo' shows how close Georgia GOP chair came to enabling Trump coup
Eleven months after the election, and nine months after the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt, we are only now beginning to understand how organized, intentional and dangerous the Trump coup attempt had been, and how dangerous it remains.
Take, for example, the events of Dec. 14 at the Georgia State Capitol. On that date, Democratic electors met in the state Senate chambers to formally commit the state's 16 electoral votes to Joe Biden. The event was ceremonial in nature, yet required under the U.S. Constitution.
Largely overlooked at the time – there was a lot going on – was a second meeting held that day in a committee room at the Capitol, this one convened by Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer. In that meeting, Shafer and his fellow Republicans approved a fake second slate of pro-Trump electors to be sent to Washington, on the grounds that Trump had really carried Georgia and that Biden's victory was based on fraud.
There was, is, and never will be any evidence whatsoever of that claim, as multiple recounts, investigations and court cases have demonstrated. But as we'll see, the legitimacy of that fake slate of electors didn't really matter. What mattered was the ability to claim that the competing slate existed.
We know that because of last week's publication of a memo from John Eastman, a now discredited constitutional law professor who also served as a top legal advisor to Trump. It's pretty much a how-to booklet on ending American democracy.
In that memo, Eastman lays out a step-by-step scheme by which Vice President Mike Pence could single-handedly overturn the results of the presidential election and ensure that Trump stayed in office, despite having lost the election. Trump embraced the strategy wholeheartedly, as subsequent events have proved.
A 'majority of the electors appointed' would therefore be 228. There are at this point 232 votes for Trump, 222 votes for Biden. Pence then gavels President Trump as re-elected.
– John Eastman, a top legal advisor to former President Donald Trump
The key to that scheme was the creation of “competing slates of electors" in Georgia and six other supposedly “disputed" states. Again, it didn't matter whether those competing slates were legitimate. All that mattered was that a useful fiction was created, that those slates could be said to exist. According to the plan laid out by Eastman, Pence would unilaterally announce to a joint session of Congress on January 6 that “because of the ongoing disputes in the seven states, there are no electors that can be deemed validly appointed in those states." Using that excuse, all votes cast in those states would be canceled and their electoral votes would not be counted, thus reducing the total number of available electoral votes from 535 to 454.
As Eastman explains in that memo:
“A 'majority of the electors appointed' would therefore be 228. There are at this point 232 votes for Trump, 222 votes for Biden. Pence then gavels President Trump as re-elected."
They also had a Plan B, and even a Plan C and D.
If their attempt to manipulate the electoral math somehow failed, Plan B called for Pence to then declare that since no candidate had a majority of electoral votes, the question of our next president would be decided by the House, with each state's congressional delegation getting one vote. The candidate who had the most state delegations would be our next president.
“Republicans currently control 26 of the state delegations, the bare majority needed to win that vote," Eastman wrote. “President Trump is re-elected there as well."
And if that didn't work, if we still didn't have a president, Eastman writes, “That creates a stalemate that would give the state legislatures more time to weigh in to formally support the alternate slate of electors, if they had not already done so."
In other words, by illegally and unconstitutionally delaying the electoral count, and putting pressure on Republican legislators to reverse the voters' decision, Trump wins yet again.
And Plan D? We saw that play out on live TV on January 6, when a mob of protesters summoned to Washington by Trump attacked Congress to try to stop the counting of electoral votes. Even if the insurrectionists couldn't force Congress to anoint Trump to another term, they could delay the official counting of votes and again give sympathetic GOP legislatures more time to toss the certified slate of electors and replace them with Trump electors. Indeed, even in the midst of the riot, as members of Congress were taking shelter in undisclosed hiding places, Trump and Rudy Giuliani were calling Republican senators, plotting how to delay the vote.
This is not all behind us; it is not merely history.
As recently as last Friday, Trump again called upon Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to decertify the 2020 election, calling Biden an “illegitimate president" and urging Raffensperger to “announce the true winner." And in a recent CNN poll, 59% of Republicans said that believing Trump won the 2020 election was central to being a Republican.
Trump is also working hard to ensure that when 2024 rolls around, he has people in place to do his bidding. Under Shafer's leadership, for example, the Georgia GOP lost the 2020 presidential race in Georgia as well as two U.S. Senate seats, which is an astonishingly poor performance. But when Shafer ran for re-election as party chair, that didn't matter. “No one in Georgia fought harder for me than David!" Trump announced. “He NEVER gave up! He has my Complete and Total Endorsement for re-election." Shafer won easily.
Trump has also endorsed U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who remains a rabid, irrational advocate of overturning the election, to replace Raffensperger as secretary of state. If Hice wins in 2022, he would oversee the 2024 election. Trump has also endorsed state Sen. Burt Jones, who last year demanded a special session of the state Legislature to officially replace Biden electors with Trump electors, in his race for lieutenant governor.
So no, this is not a storm that has passed. This is at best the eye of the hurricane, the deceiving pause before the storm resumes.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on Facebook and Twitter.
https://www.rawstory.com/eastman-memo/
The Capitol riot committee will 'draw a circle -- with Donald Trump in the middle': CNN's Elie Honig
On CNN Thursday, following the announcement of the first four January 6 committee subpoenas issued against former President Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, strategist Steve Bannon, social media director Dan Scavino, and defense official Kash Patel, former federal prosecutor Elie Honig weighed in on the significance.
"What level of cooperation are you going to get?" asked anchor Erin Burnett. "Are they going to completely defy it, is there any way to get them to comply?"
"Here is how this will play out," said Honig. "I would not expect any of these people to comply, to come in and testify because that is the history of the pattern we have seen from Trump White House when it was in power and now. Here is what happens next. It's up to the committee to decide are we going to go to court and fight this. Are we going to go to court and say we need a specific order from you requiring them to come in and testify and the key there is timing ... in past, it's taken House Democrats way too long to get into courts and these disputes have dragged on for months and years to the point where nobody even cared. The committee has to be ready to act quickly and demand expedited, sped up review from the courts here."
"What do these tell you about where this investigation is headed?" asked Burnett. "There's a whole lot of reasons why you may have started here, but these are four people they are starting with?
"This shows me they are looking at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," said Honig. "These are people who we know and letter confirms they were this direct communication with Donald Trump or having key conversations in days, hours leading up to January 6th and during January 6th. The questions for Mark Meadows and the other folks is you walk me through January 6th, minute by minute, phone call by phone call. This is at heart of the investigation."
Honig then gave an explanation for the legal strategy behind the committee's moves.
"What they are trying to do is draw a circle here, with Donald Trump in the middle," said Honig. "Who did he talk to? What were they talking about? Were they talking about what would happen on January 6th? Were they talking about the rigged election and et cetera, et cetera? I think they are kind of working their way in with Donald Trump in the center and I think they are going to be a lot of other circles, but these four people are people who are known to have communicated directly with the former president and that's important."
Watch below:
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Yawn.
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Yawn.
Richard can dismiss this all he wants. Criminal Donald and his henchmen attempted to overthrow the US Government and they will all be held accountable for their treason.
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'No doubt' Trump and his allies were staging a 'seditious conspiracy': former Harvard Law professor
On Monday's edition of CNN's "OutFront," former Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe broke down how the plan concocted by far-right lawyer John Eastman on behalf of former President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 election constituted a "seditious conspiracy."
"I know you call this an attempted coup, not just in the general use of the word that so many have adopted, but in a very specific way. You say Eastman delivered the blueprint," said anchor Erin Burnett. "Tell me why you now feel so confident that that is exactly the word which describes exactly what it was he was trying to do, and that that was Trump's intention."
"Well, there's no doubt from the information we now have about the meeting that Trump was holding with people like Giuliani and Eastman shortly before the insurrection that we all saw on live television, that they were planning, step by step, to twist arms and pressure people, including building a gallows if necessary with Pence's name on it, in order to get the vice president to perform a role that the Constitution doesn't assign the vice president," said Tribe.
Tribe then went on to cite the specific law that he believes Trump and his allies broke with their actions before and during the Capitol riots.
"It was seditious conspiracy," he said. "That's the term that the U.S. Criminal Code uses, 18 U.S. Code section 2384, and then it led to inciting an insurrection. It was all part of a long plan, much more public than most coups that we see."
Tribe went on to detail how the former president might try to replicate his illegitimate attempt to take power in 2024.
"The back-up plan is to get states to disregard the votes of the people even after the suppression of votes and the counting by people who are partisans if it doesn't go their way," he said.
Tribe concluded by warning Americans against complacency, as "we can't just let that go on while we go over the cliff and destroy our democracy."
Watch below:
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Yawn.
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Yawn.
New court documents paint a 'dark picture' of MAGA rioters' violent fixation on Nancy Pelosi
https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-rioters-nancy-pelosi/
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Double yawn. Imagine someone not liking Queen "let them eat ice cream" Nancy. A career politician who somehow became a multimillionaire on her government salary. 2024 grows closer and closer.
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Double yawn. Imagine someone not liking Queen "let them eat ice cream" Nancy. A career politician who somehow became a multimillionaire on her government salary. 2024 grows closer and closer.
And another GOP defeat.
So you don't care that maga thugs wanted to kill the Speaker of the House or the former vice president?
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And another GOP defeat.
So you don't care that maga thugs wanted to kill the Speaker of the House or the former vice president?
Because it is a lie. You don't think a whole lot of anti-Trump nuts like yourself didn't engage in hate filled political rhetoric about him? That has lasted five years and counting. No one in human history endured the smear onslaught that Trump was subjected too. He had the entire political establishment, mainstream media, and social media trying to destroy him. Poor Nancy got called a name. I'm sure that she is distraught behind the walls of her palace. btw; how did she become a multimillionaire on her government salary? That seems to be a common trait among the mainstream politics.
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Because it is a lie. You don't think a whole lot of anti-Trump nuts like yourself didn't engage in hate filled political rhetoric about him? That has lasted five years and counting. No one in human history endured the smear onslaught that Trump was subjected too. He had the entire political establishment, mainstream media, and social media trying to destroy him. Poor Nancy got called a name. I'm sure that she is distraught behind the walls of her palace. btw; how did she become a multimillionaire on her government salary? That seems to be a common trait among the mainstream politics.
I'm a nut? More personal attacks.
A lie you say? Maga thugs are on video chanting to hang Pelosi and Pence. They brought weapons to storm the Capitol. Prosecutors in court have their records. I posted the released photos from the justice dept. of the guns they had. Pathetic how you deny and try to defend the overthrow the US Government.
Give me a break. Trump was the most vile, hateful, corrupt, criminal "president" that was ever in office. Millions of people were dancing in the streets when he lost in a blowout. He called on his maga thugs to attack reporters and Democrats. He will end up in prison when this is all said and done for sedition and treason.
FYI, the MSM is supposed to report on the actions of a President including all crimes and scandals. Right wingers don't like that and want the press to cover it all up like the right wing media does.
The same 81 million people who defeated Trump will defeat the GOP in 2022 and 2024. Plus there will be millions of more first time new voters ages 18-21 that will be voting against the GOP too.
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I'm a nut? More personal attacks.
A lie you say? Maga thugs are on video chanting to hang Pelosi and Pence. They brought weapons to storm the Capitol. Prosecutors in court have their records. I posted the released photos from the justice dept. of the guns they had. Pathetic how you deny and try to defend the overthrow the US Government.
Give me a break. Trump was the most vile, hateful, corrupt, criminal "president" that was ever in office. Millions of people were dancing in the streets when he lost in a blowout. He called on his maga thugs to attack reporters and Democrats. He will end up in prison when this is all said and done for sedition and treason.
FYI, the MSM is supposed to report on the actions of a President including all crimes and scandals. Right wingers don't like that and want the press to cover it all up like the right wing media does.
The same 81 million people who defeated Trump will defeat the GOP in 2022 and 2024. Plus there will be millions of more first time new voters ages 18-21 that will be voting against the GOP too.
How many people do you think threatened Trump and his family over the last five years based mostly on false rhetoric and conspiracy theories of the type you post here? Never once have you noted that. Any credible threat to a public official, of either party, should be dealt with according to the law. But why focus on just Nancy when the rhetoric against Trump has been nonstop including your endless, hate filled rants on just his board? If you are concerned with political hate speech, maybe look in the mirror. You are the poster boy for these types. And not a single person has been prosecuted for carrying a gun into the Capitol. The only gun fired that day was used to kill an unarmed protestor. Take a look at Old Joe's falling poll numbers. He will be 82 in 2024! He is already in late stage dementia. He will not be running for anything in 2024 expect to get in line for Bingo night at the local rest home. And he is not as unpopular as Kamala. Her numbers are even worse. Kamala's only chance in 2024 is if the repubs win back the house and senate in 2022 and she can blame all of Whispering Joe's many failures on the repubs like Obama did after his failed presidency.
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How many people do you think threatened Trump and his family over the last five years based mostly on false rhetoric and conspiracy theories of the type you post here? Never once have you noted that. Any credible threat to a public official, of either party, should be dealt with according to the law. But why focus on just Nancy when the rhetoric against Trump has been nonstop including your endless, hate filled rants on just his board? If you are concerned with political hate speech, maybe look in the mirror. You are the poster boy for these types. And not a single person has been prosecuted for carrying a gun into the Capitol. The only gun fired that day was used to kill an unarmed protestor. Take a look at Old Joe's falling poll numbers. He will be 82 in 2024! He is already in late stage dementia. He will not be running for anything in 2024 expect to get in line for Bingo night at the local rest home. And he is not as unpopular as Kamala. Her numbers are even worse. Kamala's only chance in 2024 is if the repubs win back the house and senate in 2022 and she can blame all of Whispering Joe's many failures on the repubs like Obama did after his failed presidency.
Deflect, deny, blame others is what these Trump supporters do. It's really pathetic.
Who threatened him?
There isn't any "conspiracy theories". Everything that was reported is 100% accurate.
This investigation is on going and there will be more arrests coming including those who brought weapons.
How is posting accurate information and evidence "hate"?
Criminal Donald is an old man with dementia who is mentally insane.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support President Biden's agenda and will not vote for seditious GOP Republicans.
President Biden does not have any "failures". He's trying to clean up the COVID, economic, foreign policy, and the cultural disasters that Criminal Donald left him. Biden didn't even get the proper transition because this criminal refused to transfer power and tried to overthrow the US Government.
Here's more on the violent criminal Donald. Watch the video.
Trump’s History of Inciting Violence
The president now says that he abhors mob violence. That's not what he's been saying for the last four years
https://www.thebulwark.com/trumps-history-of-inciting-violence/
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President Biden does not have any "failures". He's trying to clean up the COVID, economic, foreign policy, and the cultural disasters that Criminal Donald left him. Biden didn't even get the proper transition because this criminal refused to transfer power and tried to overthrow the US Government.
No failures? If you want anyone to take you seriously, and no one else here bothers to engage you, then at least make some effort to be honest. Inflation, crime, illegals pouring across the border at record numbers, Afghanistan fiasco, 300% increase in virus cases, vaccine rollout stalling due to demonizing anyone who was skeptical, supply shortages...none of those are failures? Let me guess. Trump is to blame!
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No failures? If you want anyone to take you seriously, and no one else here bothers to engage you, then at least make some effort to be honest. Inflation, crime, illegals pouring across the border at record numbers, Afghanistan fiasco, 300% increase in virus cases, vaccine rollout stalling due to demonizing anyone who was skeptical, supply shortages...none of those are failures? Let me guess. Trump is to blame!
I am being honest. You're distorting the facts as usual.
America suffered the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression under your hero Donald Trump. He handed that disaster to President Biden. Inflation doesn't happen overnight and is a direct result of failed Trump economics. President Biden has created the most jobs in record time of any President and is tackling the economic disaster he was given.
Crime was the worst under Criminal Donald in 2020 and is down under President Biden.
Criminal Donald made the disastrous Afghanistan deal and left it for Biden to deal with.
Criminal Donald claimed he was going to "end illegal immigration" and he made the situation worse.
We had the most virus cases and deaths under Criminal Donald who did nothing to defeat this pandemic.
The disastrous vaccine roll out occurred in December 2020 under Criminal Donald and we had vaccine shortages because he refused to secure enough doses for all Americans.
President Biden secured millions of doses of vaccines as soon as he entered office and delivered 4 million shots per day. President Biden got pandemic was under control during April-June but the Delta Variant then started to surge in July because right wingers refused to get vaccinated. The right wing media began their anti vaccine disinformation campaign so more people wouldn't get vaccinated.
You're wrong again. Deaths, infections and hospitalizations are down because more people are finally getting vaccinated.
All you're doing is taking Criminal Donald's failures he created and falsely attacking President Biden...its ridiculous.
Covid, the economic disaster, Afghanistan, the border all happened under Criminal Donald and he handed it off to President Biden to deal with. Those are all Criminal Donald's faliures.
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You are sounding more and more like Baghdad Bob. Detached from reality. We shouldn't believe our own eyes. I'm sure the recent poll numbers are reflecting all these successes occurring under Biden. Right? If Old Joe keeps "succeeding" like he has for the last 8 months, the US will soon be in complete ruin. To paraphrase Cool Hand Luke, I wish Biden would stop being so good to us.
:D :D :D
Trump left President Biden with an economic disaster, covid disaster, vaccine shortage, civil unrest, and a failed Afghanistan deal. Own it.
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:D :D :D
Trump left President Biden with an economic disaster, covid disaster, vaccine shortage, civil unrest, and a failed Afghanistan deal. Own it.
Excuses are just an implicit admission of Biden's failures. Weren't we told that Old Joe was going to solve all our problems? I guess that it is not working out. The American people have figured him out. Weak, incompetent, and dishonest.
"Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 38%, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday."
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House committee probing Capitol riot subpoenas organizers of Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally
The House committee investigating the storming of the U.S. Capitol said it issued three subpoenas connected to a pro-Trump rally that preceded the invasion.
The committee issued subpoenas for testimony and records from Ali Alexander and Nathan Martin, who were allegedly connected to permit applications for a rally on the grounds outside the Capitol.
“The rally on the Capitol grounds on January 6th, like the rally near the White House that day, immediately preceded the violent attack on the seat of our democracy,” said committee chair Bennie Thompson
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol said Thursday it issued three subpoenas connected to a pro-Trump rally that preceded the deadly invasion.
The committee said it issued subpoenas for testimony and records from Ali Alexander and Nathan Martin, who were allegedly connected to the permit applications for a rally on the grounds outside the Capitol.
Shortly before the mob broke into the building, then-President Donald Trump, in a speech outside the White House, told a crowd of supporters to march to the Capitol. He also heaped pressure on Republicans to reject key states’ election results.
The committee also asked for records from Stop the Steal LLC, which was affiliated with the Capitol rally and which bears the same name as the slogan that was used to promote it.
“The rally on the Capitol grounds on January 6th, like the rally near the White House that day, immediately preceded the violent attack on the seat of our democracy,” select committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a press release.
“Over the course of that day, demonstrations escalated to violence and protestors became rioters. The Select Committee needs to understand all the details about the events that came before the attack, including who was involved in planning and funding them. We expect these witnesses to cooperate fully with our probe,” Thompson said.
News of the latest batch of subpoenas from the select committee came a week after the panel announced subpoenas for 11 people connected to Trump, including his former campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson and the niece of Trump’s ex-acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney.
Two weeks earlier, the committee revealed subpoenas for four Trump allies, all of whom worked in the Trump administration: former advisor Steve Bannon, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former communications aide Dan Scavino and ex-Defense Department official Kashyap Patel.
Panel member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said last month that the select committee would go “straight to subpoena” for witnesses who are seen to be hostile to the goals of the investigation.
Politico reported earlier Thursday that Trump himself is directing Bannon, Meadows, Scavino and Patel to defy the committee’s subpoenas.
Asked about that report, a spokeswoman for Trump shared a statement from the former president vowing that “executive privilege will be defended.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/07/pro-trump-rally-organizers-subpoenaed-by-jan-6-committee.html
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Just more and more evidence comes to light that proves this Reuters article to be a phony propaganda piece that was written to discredit the 1/6 commission and the Republican coordinated insurrection.
There are photos of the 1/6 coordination the day before in their "War Room".
"Mr. Bannon was in the war room at the Willard on January 6th” - Liz Cheney
While details are thin surrounding who was actually at the Willard Hotel "War Room" a few photos have emerged.
Among those in attendance: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and OANN's Christina Bobb.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCG2UHjXEAY8XxF?format=jpg)
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"Scant evidence"? BS:
This bogus Reuters article was put out in advance hoping to downplay the damning evidence that is coming to light. It's a Trump modus operandi. More new evidence proves 1/6 was planned and coordinated by GOP members of Congress, Trump's inner circle, and the criminal himself. When it's all said and done these anti American traitors will all go to prison for treason.
EXCLUSIVE: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in ‘Dozens’ of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff
Two sources are communicating with House investigators and detailed a stunning series of allegations to Rolling Stone, including a promise of a “blanket pardon” from the Oval Office
As the House investigation into the Jan. 6 attack heats up, some of the planners of the pro-Trump rallies that took place in Washington, D.C., have begun communicating with congressional investigators and sharing new information about what happened when the former president’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Two of these people have spoken to Rolling Stone extensively in recent weeks and detailed explosive allegations that multiple members of Congress were intimately involved in planning both Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss and the Jan. 6 events that turned violent.
Rolling Stone separately confirmed a third person involved in the main Jan. 6 rally in D.C. has communicated with the committee. This is the first report that the committee is hearing major new allegations from potential cooperating witnesses. While there have been prior indications that members of Congress were involved, this is also the first account detailing their purported role and its scope. The two sources also claim they interacted with members of Trump’s team, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who they describe as having had an opportunity to prevent the violence.
The two sources, both of whom have been granted anonymity due to the ongoing investigation, describe participating in “dozens” of planning briefings ahead of that day when Trump supporters broke into the Capitol as his election loss to President Joe Biden was being certified.
“I remember Marjorie Taylor Greene specifically,” the organizer says. “I remember talking to probably close to a dozen other members at one point or another or their staffs.”
For the sake of clarity, we will refer to one of the sources as a rally organizer and the other as a planner. Rolling Stone has confirmed that both sources were involved in organizing the main event aimed at objecting to the electoral certification, which took place at the White House Ellipse on Jan. 6. Trump spoke at that rally and encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol. Some members of the audience at the Ellipse began walking the mile and a half to the Capitol as Trump gave his speech. The barricades were stormed minutes before the former president concluded his remarks.
These two sources also helped plan a series of demonstrations that took place in multiple states around the country in the weeks between the election and the storming of the Capitol. According to these sources, multiple people associated with the March for Trump and Stop the Steal events that took place during this period communicated with members of Congress throughout this process.
Along with Marjorie Taylor Greene, the conspiratorial pro-Trump Republican from Georgia who took office earlier this year, the pair both say the members who participated in these conversations or had top staffers join in included Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
"We would talk to Boebert’s team, Cawthorn’s team, Gosar’s team like back to back to back to back,” says the organizer.
And Gosar, who has been one of the most prominent defenders of the Jan. 6 rioters, allegedly took things a step further. Both sources say he dangled the possibility of a “blanket pardon” in an unrelated ongoing investigation to encourage them to plan the protests.
“Our impression was that it was a done deal,” the organizer says, “that he’d spoken to the president about it in the Oval … in a meeting about pardons and that our names came up. They were working on submitting the paperwork and getting members of the House Freedom Caucus to sign on as a show of support.”
The organizer claims the pair received “several assurances” about the “blanket pardon” from Gosar.
“I was just going over the list of pardons and we just wanted to tell you guys how much we appreciate all the hard work you’ve been doing,” Gosar said, according to the organizer.
The rally planner describes the pardon as being offered while “encouraging” the staging of protests against the election. While the organizer says they did not get involved in planning the rallies solely due to the pardon, they were upset that it ultimately did not materialize.
“I would have done it either way with or without the pardon,” the organizer says. “I do truly believe in this country, but to use something like that and put that out on the table when someone is so desperate, it’s really not good business.”
Gosar’s office did not respond to requests for comment on this story. Rolling Stone has separately obtained documentary evidence that both sources were in contact with Gosar and Boebert on Jan. 6. We are not describing the nature of that evidence to preserve their anonymity. The House select committee investigating the attack also has interest in Gosar’s office. Gosar’s chief of staff, Thomas Van Flein, was among the people who were named in the committee’s “sweeping” requests to executive-branch agencies seeking documents and communications from within the Trump administration. Both sources claim Van Flein was personally involved in the conversations about the “blanket pardon” and other discussions about pro-Trump efforts to dispute the election. Van Flein did not respond to a request for comment.
These specific members of Congress were involved in the pro-Trump activism around the election and the electoral certification on Jan. 6. Both Brooks and Cawthorn spoke with Trump at the Ellipse on Jan. 6. In his speech at that event, Brooks, who was reportedly wearing body armor, declared, “Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.” Gosar, Greene, and Boebert were all billed as speakers at the “Wild Protest,” which also took place on Jan. 6 at the Capitol.
In another indication members of Congress may have been involved in planning the protests against the election, Ali Alexander, who helped organize the “Wild Protest,” declared in a since-deleted livestream broadcast that Gosar, Brooks, and Biggs helped him formulate the strategy for that event.
“I was the person who came up with the Jan. 6 idea with Congressman Gosar, Congressman Mo Brooks, and Congressman Andy Biggs,” Alexander said at the time. “We four schemed up on putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting so that — who we couldn’t lobby — we could change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body hearing our loud roar from outside.”
Alexander led Stop the Steal, which was one of the main groups promoting efforts to dispute Trump’s loss. In December, he organized a Stop the Steal event in Phoenix, where Gosar was one the main speakers. At that demonstration, Alexander referred to Gosar as “my captain” and declared “one of the other heroes has been Congressman Andy Biggs.”
Alexander did not respond to requests for comment. The rally planner, who accused Alexander of ratcheting up the potential for violence that day while taking advantage of funds from donors and others who helped finance the events, confirmed that he was in contact with those three members of Congress.
“He just couldn’t help himself but go on his live and just talk about everything that he did and who he talked to,” the planner says of Alexander. “So, he, like, really told on himself.”
While it was already clear members of Congress played some role in the Jan. 6 events and similar rallies that occurred in the lead-up to that day, the two sources say they can provide new details about the members’ specific roles in these efforts. The sources plan to share that information with congressional investigators right away. While both sources say their communications with the House’s Jan. 6 committee thus far have been informal, they are expecting to testify publicly.
“I have no problem openly testifying,” the planner says.
The two potential witnesses plan to present to the committee allegations about how these demonstrations were funded and to detail communications between organizers and the White House. According to both sources, members of Trump’s administration and former members of his campaign team were involved in the planning. Both describe Katrina Pierson, who worked for Trump’s campaign in 2016 and 2020, as a key liaison between the organizers of protests against the election and the White House.
“Katrina was like our go-to girl,” the organizer says. “She was like our primary advocate.”
Pierson spoke at the Ellipse rally on Jan. 6. She did not respond to requests for comment.
Both sources also describe Trump’s White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, as someone who played a major role in the conversations surrounding the protests on Jan. 6. Among other things, they both say concerns were raised to Meadows about Alexander’s protest at the Capitol and the potential that it could spark violence. Meadows was subpoenaed by the committee last month as part of a group of four people “with close ties to the former President who were working in or had communications with the White House on or in the days leading up to the January 6th insurrection.”
“Meadows was 100 percent made aware of what was going on,” says the organizer. “He’s also like a regular figure in these really tiny groups of national organizers.”
A separate third source, who has also communicated with the committee and was involved in the Ellipse rally, says Kylie Kremer, one of the key organizers at that event, boasted that she was going to meet with Meadows at the White House ahead of the rally. The committee has been provided with that information. Kremer did not respond to a request for comment.
Both the organizer and the planner say Alexander initially agreed he would not hold his “Wild Protest” at the Capitol and that the Ellipse would be the only major demonstration. When Alexander seemed to be ignoring that arrangement, both claim worries were brought to Meadows.
“Despite making a deal … they plowed forward with their own thing at the Capitol on Jan.y 6 anyway,” the organizer says of Alexander and his allies. “We ended up escalating that to everybody we could, including Meadows.”
A representative for Meadows did not respond to requests for comment.
Along with making plans for Jan. 6, the sources say, the members of Congress who were involved solicited supposed proof of election fraud from them. Challenging electoral certification requires the support of a member of the Senate. While more than a hundred Republican members of the House ultimately objected to the Electoral College count that formalized Trump’s loss, only a handful of senators backed the effort. According to the sources, the members of Congress and their staff advised them to hold rallies in specific states. The organizer says locations were chosen to put “pressure” on key senators that “we considered to be persuadable.”
“We had also been coordinating with some of our congressional contacts on, like, what would be presented after the individual objections, and our expectation was that that was the day the storm was going to arrive,” the organizer says, adding, “It was supposed to be the best evidence that they had been secretly gathering. … Everyone was going to stay at the Ellipse throughout the congressional thing.”
Heading into Jan. 6, both sources say, the plan they had discussed with other organizers, Trump allies, and members of Congress was a rally that would solely take place at the Ellipse, where speakers — including the former president — would present “evidence” about issues with the election. This demonstration would take place in conjunction with objections that were being made by Trump allies during the certification on the House floor that day.
"It was in a variety of calls, some with Gosar and Gosar’s team, some with Marjorie Taylor Greene and her team … Mo Brooks,” the organizer says.
The two sources claim there were early concerns about Alexander’s event. They had seen him with members of the paramilitary groups 1st Amendment Praetorian (1AP) and the Oath Keepers in his entourage at prior pro-Trump rallies. Alexander was filmed with a reputed member of 1AP at his side at a November Stop the Steal event that took place in Georgia. The two sources also claim to have been concerned about drawing people to the area directly adjacent to the Capitol on Jan. 6, given the anger among Trump supporters about the electoral certification that was underway that day.
“They knew that they weren’t there to sing “Kumbaya” and, like, put up a peace sign,” the planner says. “These frickin’ people were angry.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/exclusive-jan-6-organizers-met-congress-white-house-1245289/
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January 6 committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson says 'there's no question' that the Capitol riot was premeditated
https://www.insider.com/thompson-theres-no-question-jan-6-attack-was-premeditated-2021-10
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And? Some political hack has an opinion and it means something?
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Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases," said a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation."Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages."
Stone, a veteran Republican operative and self-described "dirty trickster", and Jones, founder of a conspiracy-driven radio show and webcast, are both allies of Trump and had been involved in pro-Trump events in Washington on Jan. 5, the day before the riot.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSCWeGPWUAALQXN?format=jpg&name=medium)
No grand scheme with Roger Stone? I told you this last year this article was total BS:
The Jan 6th hearings on June 9th is gonna be lit.