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Author Topic: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2  (Read 290465 times)

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4168 on: July 27, 2021, 04:48:26 AM »
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Trump stooge Governors Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem are now purposely hiding their daily COVID and death totals because they don't want the public to know how disastrous their states are with daily COVID infections. They allowed and caused their own supporters to get sick and die.

States scale back virus reporting just as cases surge

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Several states scaled back their reporting of COVID-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities.

The shift to weekly instead of daily reporting in Florida, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota marked a notable shift during a pandemic in which coronavirus dashboards have become a staple for Americans closely tracking case counts and trends to navigate a crisis that has killed more than 600,000 people in the U.S.

In Nebraska, the state actually stopped reporting on the virus altogether for two weeks after Gov. Pete Ricketts declared an end to the official virus emergency, forcing news reporters to file public records requests or turn to national websites that track state data to learn about COVID statistics. The state backtracked two weeks later and came up with a weekly site that provides some basic numbers.

Other governments have gone the other direction and released more information, with Washington, D.C., this week adding a dashboard on breakthrough cases to show the number of residents who contracted the virus after getting vaccines. Many states have recently gone to reporting virus numbers only on weekdays.

When Florida changed the frequency of its virus reporting earlier this month, officials said it made sense given the decreasing number of cases and the increasing number of people being vaccinated.

Cases started soaring soon after, and Florida earlier this week made up up one-fifth of the country’s new coronavirus infections. As a result, Florida’s weekly releases — typically done on Friday afternoons — have consequences for the country’s understanding of the current summer surge, with no statewide COVID stats coming out of the virus hotspot for six days a week.

In Florida’s last two weekly reports, the number of new cases shot up from 23,000 to 45,000 and then 73,000 on Friday, an average of more than 10,000 day. Hospitals are starting to run out of space in parts of the state.

With cases rising, Democrats and other critics have urged state officials and Gov. Ron DeSantis to resume daily outbreak updates.

“There was absolutely no reason to eliminate the daily updates beyond an effort to pretend like there are no updates,” said state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from the Orlando area.

The trend of reducing data reporting has alarmed infectious disease specialists who believe that more information is better during a pandemic. People have come to rely on state virus dashboards to help make decisions about whether to attend large gatherings or wear masks in public, and understanding the level of risk in the community affects how people respond to virus restrictions and calls to get vaccinated.

“We know that showing the data to others actually is important because the actions that businesses take, the actions that schools take, the actions that civic leaders take, the actions that community leaders take, the actions that each of us individually take are all influenced by our perception of what the risk is out there,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, who leads the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

But reporting the numbers on a weekly basis still allows people to see the overall trends while smoothing out some of he day-to-day variations that come from the way cases are reported and not the actual number of new cases. And experts have long advised that it makes sense to pay more attention to the seven-day rolling average of new cases because the numbers can vary widely from one day to the next.

And Florida health officials say that they have not curtailed the sharing of data with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maintaining daily updates on the virus does require significant resources for states. For instance, Kansas went to reporting virus numbers three times a week in May because the state health department said providing daily statistics consumed too much time for its already overwhelmed staff.

In Nebraska, officials decided that continuing to update the virus dashboard daily wasn’t the best use of state resources now partly because there had been a steady decline in the number of views of the website indicating less interest in the numbers, spokeswoman Olga Dack said. The state could return to providing daily updates if the governor’s office decided that was needed, she said.

“Now that Nebraska is back to normal, some of the staff that has been dedicated to the dashboard has been able to focus on some of the other important issues,” Dack said.

State health departments have a long history of providing the public regular updates on other diseases like flu and West Nile, but those viruses have none of the political baggage associated with COVID-19.

In Florida, a former health department employee was fired last year after publicly suggesting that managers wanted her to manipulate information on coronavirus statistics to paint a rosier picture. The employee, Rebekah Jones, did not allege any tampering with data, but her comments sowed doubts about the reliability of the metrics.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. David Brett-Major said that for many people, national websites such as the one run by the CDC can be a good source of data on the latest state trends and weekly updates could be OK. The World Health Organization often uses weekly updates, but he said they do that for practical data management reasons, not political ones.

He said the message Nebraska sent when it ended its dashboard that the state emergency was over and conditions were returning to normal was troubling.

“The main problem is that it reflects a disinterest in pandemic risk management,” said Brett-Major, with the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, said part of the problem is that public health officials generally don’t have sophisticated data systems so it is more labor intensive to produce the daily dashboards. Even though public health agencies have money for operations at a time when pandemic government spending is flush, they haven’t necessarily had the chance to upgrade.

“It would be great if daily reporting could be made widely available, but public health would have to be funded better to do that and right now that is just not the case,” said Hamilton.

And even in states where virus numbers aren’t being reported publicly every day health officials are still looking at the latest data, Hamilton said.

But at a time when the delta variant is, in the words of the CDC director, “spreading with incredible efficiency,” Bibbins-Domingo said it is important that everyone can see the latest trends and understand the risks.

“Even if we know that they are available to decisionmakers on a daily basis, there is considerable value to providing the data to the public,” she said.

https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-f9c58c50f565e707be9bedfa9a82319e

JFK Assassination Forum

Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4168 on: July 27, 2021, 04:48:26 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4169 on: July 27, 2021, 02:12:27 PM »
WATCH: Video evidence revealed against Pro Trump US Capitol rioters




A coalition of more than a dozen news organizations have sued to gain access to video evidence against accused U.S. Capitol rioters, and ProPublica has assembled dozens of exhibits that show the violent Jan. 6 assault.

The nonprofit news organization is among 15 media outlets, including the Associated Press, Washington Post, CBS and NBC, that have filed lawsuits seeking access to the exhibits, and ProPublica is posting all of them online as federal judges rule in their favor.

The videos are organized case by case under each defendant's name, and show Donald Trump supporters violently attacking law enforcement as they storm the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden's electoral win.

ProPublica is adding new videos to the collection as federal courts and the Department of Justice sends them.

View the entire collection here:
https://projects.propublica.org/jan-6-video-evidence/

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4170 on: July 27, 2021, 02:14:32 PM »
MAGA thugs brutally beat Capitol Police.

Police will be first to testify in Capitol riot probe hearing
https://www.rawstory.com/police-to-testify-in-first-us-capitol-riot-probe-hearing/

JFK Assassination Forum

Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4170 on: July 27, 2021, 02:14:32 PM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4171 on: July 28, 2021, 12:31:59 AM »
DOJ delivers a 'significant' blow to Trump as Capitol riot hearings open

Donald Trump's alleged efforts to get Justice Department officials to overturn the results of the 2020 election constitute an "extraordinary circumstance" and are not protected by executive privilege, the DOJ wrote in a letter this week.

In the letter obtained by the New York Times, the DOJ advised officials who served in the Trump administration that they can give "unrestricted testimony" to committees investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, including the House panel that will meet for the first time Tuesday.

"The decision runs counter to the views of former President Donald J. Trump, who has argued that his decisions and deliberations are protected by executive privilege," the Times reported. "It also sets up a potential court battle if Mr. Trump sues in a bid to block any testimony.

Trump's supporters have argued that "executive privilege" applies to the former president's communications, but others say it's a matter of "settled law" that executive privilege doesn't apply to extraordinary circumstances. In this case, the Times notes, Trump "pressured DOJ officials overturn the results of the election, asking them to open investigations into claims of vote tampering that investigators said they had already looked into and determined to be untrue."

Bradley Weinsheimer, a top ranking career official in the deputy attorney general's office, noted in the letter that Trump was attempting to use the DOJ to advance his "personal political interests."

"The extraordinary events in this matter constitute exceptional circumstances warranting an accommodation to Congress," Weinsheimer wrote.

Andy Wright, who served as associate counsel to former President Barack Obama, said the DOJ's decision was "a significant development."

A really important move by DOJ to start walking back the previous administration's overly broad executive privilege claims. Keep it coming," added MSNBC analyst Matthew Miller.

Read the full story here:
Trump officials can testify in inquiries into efforts to subvert election outcome and Jan. 6 riot
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/us/politics/trump-officials-jan-6-testify.html


Capitol cop praised for mic drop answer on why he refers to pro-Trump rioters as 'terrorists'

Responding to a question from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) about his use of the term "terrorists" to describe the followers of former president Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol on Jan 6th, Capitol policeman Daniel Hodges read the definition of "terrorism" into the record to the applause of viewers watching the House hearing.

Hodges, who was filmed during the riot being crushed between doors as he defended lawmakers on that day, told the Democratic lawmaker, "I can see why someone would take issue with the title of terrorist, it's gained a lot of notoriety in our vocabulary in the past few decades ... But I came prepared."

Following his reading of the definition, commenters rushed to Twitter to praise his performance and for his setting the record straight.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-terrorists-2654011411/


Newsmax host rages after his bizarre conspiracy theory gets shut down at Capitol riot hearing

DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone shut down a right-wing conspiracy theory about what happened to him on January 6th during testimony before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

"Forgive me for these questions, but I've got to ask you," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said.

"Apparently in some nether regions of the internet it's being said that you, Officer Fanone, were mistaken for antifa and that's why you were nearly beaten to death that day and carried into the crowd," Raskin noted.

The conspiracy theory has been pushed by Newsmax personality Greg Kelly.

"Is it possible FANONE was mistaken for ANTIFA ?  He often, for media appearances, has worn all Black but no insignia, police patches, rank etc"

The tweet came seven minutes after Kelly noted Fanone was wearing his uniform when he responded to the Capitol, something the plainclothes officer had not done in a decade.

"Is there any way that you were mistaken for antifa?" Raskin asked Fanone.

"Well, I was in full uniform. I was -- like I said, wearing my uniform shirt adorned with the Metropolitan Police Department's patch," he explained. "I had my badge on until someone ripped it off my chest. I do not believe I was mistaken for a member of antifa."

Kelly later tweeted: "None of these cops can be trusted with weapons. Resign."



Liz Cheney slams House GOP for playing 'stunning an indefensible' political games with Capitol riot commission

On CNN Tuesday, following the first day of testimony before the House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol riot, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), one of the only Republicans on the committee, blasted GOP leadership for their behavior surrounding the investigation.

"These MAGA forces tried to steal the election once and they're going to try again," said anchor Jake Tapper. "And we don't hear Kevin McCarthy and Steve Ccalise and Elise Stefanik say, no, no, no, we would never do that again. There is zero attempt at reassuring people that what you are suggesting is not true."

"Look, in some ways I think it's actually even worse than that, Jake," said Cheney. "I think that we're in a situation where the people that you mentioned seem to view this as some sort of a partisan political game. And as every American who watched saw this morning, this is really deadly serious. This is a situation where the institution's held, but it was a close-run thing. And as the chairman said, we didn't have a peaceful transfer of power. We had an insurrection, we had an assault on the Capitol."

"Today you had members of Congress, Republican members of Congress actually protesting in front of the Justice Department on behalf of the people who were here and who had been arrested because they participated in the riot and in the insurrection," added Cheney. "That's a stunning and indefensible turn of events."

Watch below:



'Trump is not happy': CNN reporter says watching Capitol cops trash former president was 'devastating' for him

CNN reporter Jamie Gangel on Tuesday said that the first day of the Capitol riot commission was not a good one for former President Donald Trump.

In discussing Trump's mindset, Gangel said that the former president must have been particularly angry that he didn't even have longtime ally Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to make a scene while defending him.

"Donald Trump is not happy," she said. "What happened today is what he didn't want to happen. He did not want any committee, and to your point, he didn't have Jim Jordan or any other allies there fighting back or pushing back."

She also said it must have stung for Trump watching uniformed Capitol police officers trash him and his political movement.

"It also was devastating because four policemen in uniform, four heroes, sat there and in devastating, excruciating detail, talked about how Donald Trump supporters were racist, were violent, were trying to stop democracy," she said. "This was a bad day for Donald Trump."

Watch the video below:



WATCH: Republican Adam Kinzinger chokes up at Capitol riot hearing -- then rips his GOP colleagues

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), one of the two GOP members of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, choked up during his opening statement on Tuesday.

"I never expected today to be as quite as emotional for me as it has been. I've talked to a number of you and have gotten to know you, I think it's important to tell you right now, though, you guys may, like, individually feel a little broken. You guys all talk about the affects you have to deal with, and you talk about the impact of that day. But you guys won," he said, holding back tears.

"You guys held," he continued. "You know, democracies are not defined by our bad days. We're defined by how we come back from bad days, how we take accountability for that. For all the overheated rhetoric surrounding this committee, our mission is very simple: it's to find the truth and it's to ensure accountability."

"Like most Americans, I'm frustrated that six months after a deadly insurrection breached the United States Capitol for several hours on live television, we still don't know exactly what happened. Why? Because many in my party have treated this as just another partisan fight," he explained. "It's toxic and it's a disservice to the officers and their families, to the staff and employees on the Capitol Complex to the American people that deserve the truth. Self-governance is at stake, that's why I agreed to serve on this committee."

"I want to know what happened that day, and more importantly, I want all Americans to be able to trust the work this committee does and get the facts out there free of conspiracy. I am a republican, I'm a conservative, but in order to heal from the damage caused that day, we need to call out the facts. It's time to stop the violence, and most importantly we need to reject those that promote it," Kinzinger said.

Watch:


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4172 on: July 28, 2021, 12:58:13 AM »
Police tell of 'medieval' violence at US House hearing on Capitol attack



A congressional committee held its first hearing investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack on Tuesday with testimony by four police officers who struggled against a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters engaging in "medieval" violence and warnings from lawmakers against whitewashing the riot.

At the Democratic-led House of Representatives investigatory committee's first hearing, the officer, Aquilino Gonell, described being pummeled by rioters fired up by Trump's false claims that the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.

"What we were subjected to that day was like something from a medieval battlefield. We fought hand-to-hand and inch-by-inch to prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob intent on subverting our democratic process," added Gonell, one of four police officers called to testify. "The physical violence we experienced was horrific and devastating."

Gonell fought back tears as he recalled his family watching the violence unfold on television and wondering if he was alive.

The nine-member panel was formed after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an independent commission to investigate the attack. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, named the committee's members. Its chairman is Democrat Bennie Thompson.

In his opening remarks, Thompson pledged that the panel's work will be "guided solely by the facts" and that there is no place for politics or partisanship. He also showed video of the violence, calling it "chilling."

Most House Republicans opposed the creation of the committee, calling it politically motivated. Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the panel and a fierce critic of Trump, defended the panel's work and urged a thorough investigation.

"We must know what happened here at the Capitol. We must also know what happened every minute of that day in the White House - every phone call, every conversation, every meeting leading up to, during and after the attack," Cheney said.

Cheney added, "If those responsible are not held accountable, and if Congress does not act responsibly, this will remain a cancer on our constitutional republic." She added that she hopes the nation does not become so blinded by partisanship that "we throw away the miracle" of American democracy.

Gonell and Harry Dunn, officers with the U.S. Capitol police, and Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges, officers with the District of Columbia police, appeared before the panel, wearing their uniforms.

Dunn, who is Black, said in prepared testimony that rioters called him a racial slur while he was trying to defend the Capitol after he challenged their claims that no one had voted for Biden by telling them that he himself was a Biden supporter.

'Kill him'

Fanone was pulled into the crowd of rioters, beaten, attacked with a Taser device and robbed of his badge, police radio and ammunition. As one rioter tried to pull his gun from its holster, Fanone could hear him saying he planned to take it and kill him.

Fanone said he heard a rioter say "kill him with his own gun." Fanone said he was beaten unconscious and doctors told him he suffered a heart attack.

Four people died on the day of the violence, including one rioter fatally shot by police and three others who died of natural causes. A Capitol police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day. Two police officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later took their own lives. More than a hundred police officers were injured.

Police were overwhelmed when hundreds of Trump supporters intent upon stopping Congress from formally certifying now-President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory stormed the Capitol, smashing windows, fighting with officers and sending lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence scrambling for safety.

The riot followed Trump's speech to supporters in which the Republican repeated his false claims about voting fraud.

"Some people are trying to deny what happened, to whitewash it, to turn the insurrectionists into martyrs. But the whole world saw the reality of what happened on January 6th," Thompson said.

"The hangman's gallows sitting out there on our National Mall. The flag of that first failed and disgraced rebellion against our union being paraded through the Capitol. The hatred. The bigotry. The violence."

"And all of it: for a vile, vile lie," Thompson, referring to Trump's false claims of election fraud. "Let's be clear. The rioters who tried to rob us of our democracy were propelled here by a lie. As chairman of this committee, I will not give that lie any fertile ground."

Ahead of the hearing, Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, tried to shift blame for the attack onto Pelosi, saying she had been responsible for security arrangements at the Capitol. McCarthy declined to say whether he thought Trump bore any responsibility.

https://www.rawstory.com/police-tell-of-medieval-violence-at-us-senate-hearing-on-capitol/


'He egged them on!' Capitol cop levels Trump for calling violent assaults 'hugs and kisses'



Sgt. Aquilino Gonell laid the blame for the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection squarely on the twice-impeached shoulder of former president Donald Trump.

The U.S. Capitol police officer testified before the a House select committee hearing on the assault, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) asked what he thought when he heard the former president describe the rioters as a "loving crowd" -- and Gonell unloaded.

"It's upsetting," he said. "It's a pathetic excuse for his behavior, for something that he himself helped to create, this monstrosity. I'm still recovering from those 'hugs and kisses' that day that he claimed that so many rioters, terrorists, were assaulting us that day. If that was hugs and kisses, we should all go to his house and do the same thing to him. To me, it's insulting, it's demoralizing, because everything that we did was to prevent everyone in the Capitol from getting hurt. What he was doing, instead of sending the military, instead of sending the support or telling his people, his supporters to stop this nonsense, he egged them to continue fighting."

The rioters were clearly Trump supporters, despite what the ex-president and some of his allies say.

"I was on the lower west terrace fighting alongside these officers," Gonell said. "All of them, all of them were telling us. It was not Antifa, it was not Black Lives Matter, it was not the FBI. It was his supporters that he sent over to the Capitol that day. He could have done a lot of things. One is to tell them to stop."

"He talks about sacrifices," Gonell added. "The only thing he has sacrificed is the institutions of the country and the country only for his ego, because he wants the job, but he doesn't want to do the job. That's a shame on him himself."



Capitol riot committee won't waste time asking Trump officials for testimony -- and will go right to subpoenas

The House Select Committee investigating the deadly January 6th riots at the United States Capitol building isn't going to bother asking Trump officials nicely if they want to cooperate.

Commission Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told CNN's Manu Raju that the committee will immediately start issuing subpoenas, as he said he was wary of the stalling tactics frequently used by Trump administration officials any time Congress asked them for information.

"Letters just lengthen the time," Thompson said. "We just want to get it all done."

Thompson said that the committee would be meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland soon to discuss getting access to "all relevant data," as well as evidence compiled by impeachment investigators.

Tuesday marked the first day of testimony of the Capitol riot commission in which Capitol Police officers told stories about being physically assaulted by Trump supporters.

https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-riot-commission-2654016248/


Ex-NYPD cop who gouged Capitol officer's eyes during Jan. 6 riot says he was just doing a defensive 'hockey' move

A former NYPD cop charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection says he was merely performing a defensive "hockey type of move" when he allegedly tried to gouge a Capitol police officer's eyes.

The claim by Thomas Webster is one of numerous revelations about his case contained in a new report from the New York Times, which chronicles his descent from a highly respected NYPD officer — once assigned to an intelligence detail protecting Mayor Michael Bloomberg — to the insurrectionist who became known as "#EyeGouger."

"Webster said he was not trying to gouge the officer's eyes, but called grabbing his mask a kind of defensive maneuver: 'a hockey type of move type thing where you don't want to fight somebody,'" the Times reports.

Webster's former NYPD colleagues told the Times they were shocked to learn that he committed one of the more violent attacks during the insurrection, after he apparently got swept up online in former president Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

"He was not known for voicing political extremes, had no social media presence or ties to extremist groups, and once worked to protect the halls of New York City governance," the Times reports. "Now he had attacked an officer doing essentially the same duty in Washington, charging at a man who, one may imagine, looked to be both enemy and mirrored reflection."

Webster, a former Marine, had retired from NYPD and started a landscaping company, Semper Fi, in Florida, New York. He has a wife and three children, and his neighbors described him as "a cheerful family man with little visible interest in politics." He taught local children how to ride ATVs, and would mow the lawns of sick neighbors without even telling them.

Webster told FBI agents he had never protested before and on the day of the insurrection, he "just went down there just to show support for something." However, prosecutors have pointed out that Webster came to Washington "armed and ready for battle" with body armor, a map of the area, M.R.E.s, and a handgun, the Times reports.

Webster also claimed he was acting in self-defense — saying he had been sucker-punched — when he slammed through a police barricade and attacked a Capitol officer using his Marine flagpole, yelling "Commie" and shouting profanities.

"You wanna attack Americans?" he shouted, challenging the Capitol officers to "take your sh*t (body armor) off."

"In seconds, he and the officer are on the ground, Mr. Webster on top, reaching down for the officer's gas mask," the Times reports. "The officer later told investigators that he was being choked by his own chin strap and could not breathe for 10 seconds."

Webster then quickly disappeared into the crowd, but later looked into another man's camera outside the Capitol and said, "Send more patriots. We need some help."

Following a weeks-long manhunt that played out online, thanks to video and images released by the FBI, Webster turned himself in on Feb. 22. He was initially denied bond and spent four months in jail before being released, following a hearing during which his attorney said the weapon he used — a flagpole — weighs less than a pound, and claimed his client was angry because he had seen the Capitol officer push a woman to the ground earlier.

Webster is now on house arrest pending trial, barred from having firearms or using the Internet. He declined comment when a reporter from the Times knocked on his door.

Watch the full video from Webster's attack on the Capitol officer below:

https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-rioter-eye-gouger/



Capitol rioter ‘on the tip of the spear’ has ties to Trump-loving GOP lawmaker Doug Mastriano: report

Samuel Lazar has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly firing chemicals at Capitol police officers as part of a "war" he claimed to be waging on January 6.

But Lazar -- nicknamed "Face Paint Blowhard" by the online sedition hunter community -- might be getting as much attention for his public pro-Trump political activities since the riot, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports today. Lazar had been distinctive for his camouflage face paint and tactical vest and goggles, it reported.

"Despite that positive ID — later confirmed by local and national news outlets — Lazar remained free for months and continued to appear at events hosted by political figures involved in advancing former President Donald Trump's stolen election lies," the Inquirer reported.

At the Capitol riot, Lazar was among the violent insurrectionists who physically attacked officers, the FBI criminal complaint states.

"Lazar walked along the police line, grabbed the bike rack and pulled it with his left hand in an attempt to remove it, while discharging the chemical irritant from a canister in his right hand,

"Lazar was told to 'get back' and police deployed a chemical irritant causing Lazar to retreat down the steps. Lazar then redeployed his chemical irritant toward (two officers) a second time, causing (one of them) to lose the ability to see."

"In this video, Lazar stated, "They maced us, those tyrannical pieces of spombleprofglidnoctobuns, and we maced them right the fuck back and now they're taking the building."

Lazar then referenced that the rioters had successfully breached the Capitol building.

"In the video, Lazar continued, 'They attacked the people. We have a right to defend ourselves. Fuck the tyrants. There's a time for peace and there's a time for war.' Lazar answered a question from someone nearby by stating, "I was right at the front, on the tip of the spear, brother. That's where you gotta be."

Earlier in the day, Lazar had declared the following in a since-deleted video on his Facebook page:

"Donald Trump is going to shock the world!" he said. 'We're ready for war, if needed.' He posted again after the day's chaos, saying there is "a time for peace and there's a time for war.

"Our constitution allows us to abolish our [government] and install a new one in [its] place," he wrote, according to the Inquirer.

Still, it might be Lazar's presence at pro-Trump political events that garners the most attention back home going forward.

"Despite his activities at the Capitol that day Lazar surfaced again months later in photos from a fund-raiser with Mastriano, who is widely seen as a leading GOP contender for Pennsylvania governor in 2022," the Inquirer reported.

"In photos from the event, Lazar is seen posing alongside Mastriano and other GOP election skeptics including Senate hopeful Kathy Barnette of Montgomery County, state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, of Wayne Township and Teddy Daniels, who is running to represent portions of Northeast Pennsylvania in Congress.

"Mastriano, responding to the photos, has since denied knowing Lazar and publicly condemned his actions at the Capitol in a statement. 'Why would you assume that every politician who takes a picture with someone at an event automatically knows who they are or agrees with what they believe?' he wrote.

"But the same group of online sleuths that first identified Lazar and uncovered his photos with Mastriano later discovered that the two had been photographed together at two earlier events — an event in late November and a December trip to Washington in which they posed outside the U.S. Supreme Court building while attending a "Stop the Steal" rally."

"Mastriano's campaign spent thousands of dollars chartering buses to Washington for Trump supporters on Jan. 6. And despite the Franklin County Republican's public condemnation of the riot and claim that he left as soon as violence broke out, videos have since surfaced that appear to depict him passing through breached barricades near people brawling with police."

Lazar, 37, of Ephrata, PA was charged with assaulting and obstructing law enforcement officers, along with violent unlawful entry at the Capitol.

You can read the FBI complaint here:

https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-rioter-on-the-tip-of-the-spear-has-ties-to-trump-loving-gop-lawmaker-doug-mastriano-report/


Unhinged conservatives lash out at Capitol police 'crisis actors' who testified before Jan. 6 commission

Four law enforcement officers who witnessed the violence firsthand at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 are again coming under attack — this time from right-wing media figures hoping to downplay the Donald Trump-inspired insurrection.

On Tuesday, the House Democratic-backed select committee held its first hearing on the January 6 Capitol riot.But rather than defending law enforcement – a natural posture for right-wing media when discussing state-sponsored violence – conservative pundits pounced on the officers, belittling their grievances and outright denying their accounts.

Newsmax host Greg Kelly has largely been at the helm of the online brigade, suggesting that the officers may have been "used" as "pawns" to push a left-wing agenda.

Referring to Capitol Officer Michael Fanone, who personally described his own assault by a horde of rioters, Kelly asked his Twitter followers: "Is it possible FANONE was mistaken for ANTIFA? He often, for media appearances, has worn all Black but no insignia, police patches, rank etc."

"Did they pick THESE cops because they're so Emotional?" Kelly followed up, latering asking: "Do these guys know who shot ASHLI BABBITT? Ask them!"

Kelly is likely referring to any number of baseless conspiracy theories about who killed Ashli Babbitt, a rioter who was shot and killed for attempting to breach the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives during the insurrection.

Raheem J. Kassam, the former editor-in-chief of Breitbart News London, also took aim at what he saw as the officers being overly emotional, despite them being nearly killed. "Is there really a Capitol Hill Police Officer crying about hurty words live on national television right now?" Kassam tweeted: "Fucking whole world is laughing at this spombleprofglidnoctobuns."

Kurt Schlichter, a senior columnist for Townhall.com, called out Officer Harry Dunn, who during his testimony called it "disheartening and disappointing" to "live in a country with people … that attack you because of the color of your skin just to hurt you. Those words are weapons."

"You lying sack," Schlichter responded.

Other conservatives, meanwhile, fell back on downright conspiracy.

Julie Kelly, a former political consultant and conservative writer, called Fanone a "crisis actor."

"Crisis actor Fanone just beat on the table and said it's 'disgraceful!' that any elected official denies his narrative of what happened on January 6," Kelly tweeted. "Calls it an 'insurrection.' Blasting GOP lawmakers. Now says this isn't about politics, lol. He has many tattoos."

The first law enforcement officers to provide testimony included Pfc. Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell of the Capitol Police, as well as Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges of D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

Over 550 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot, though thousands of Trump supporters had stormed the Capitol.

https://www.rawstory.com/conservatives-go-after-capitol-police-officers-who-testified-before-jan-6-commission/


‘Disgraceful’: Officer Michael Fanone fights back tears as he calls out Republicans for ‘betraying their oath of office’

DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone gave emotional testimony during the first hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

Fanone, who is a plainclothes officer, described suiting up in his uniform for the first time in a decade as he and his partner responded to the riots.

"I thought I had seen it all, many times over. Yet what I witnessed and experienced on January 6th, 2021, was unlike anything I had ever seen, anything I'd ever experienced or could have imagined in my country," he said.

"I was grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country. I was at risk of being stripped of and killed with my own firearm, as I heard chants of 'kill him with his own gun.' I could still hear those words in my head today," Fanone explained. "At some point during the fighting, I was dragged from the line of officers and into the crowd. I heard someone scream 'I got one!' as I was swarmed by a violent mob. They ripped off my badge, they grabbed and stripped me of my radio. They seized ammunition that was secured to my body. They began to beat me with their fists and with what felt like hard metal objects."

He called out Republicans downplaying the severity of the insurrection.

"What makes the struggle harder and more painful is to know so many of my fellow citizens, including so many of the people I put my life at risk to defend, are downplaying or outright denying what happened," he said. "I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room, but too many are now telling me that hell doesn't exist or that hell actually wasn't that bad."

"The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful!" he said with raised voice as he slammed the table. "My law enforcement career prepared me to cope with some of the aspects of this experience. Being an officer, you know your life is at risk whenever you walk out the door, even if you don't expect otherwise law-abiding citizens to take up arms against you. But nothing — truly nothing — has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events of that day, and in doing so, betray their oath of office. Those very members whose lives, offices, staff members I was fighting so desperately to defend."

Watch:



Capitol cop shames ‘Blue Lives Matter’ crowd: ‘I’m still waiting for them’ to ‘condemn the violent attack’

A U.S. Capitol police officer shamed Republicans who publicly back law enforcement to serve a racist agenda but tolerate violent attacks by Donald Trump's supporters.

Sgt. Aquilino Gonell was the first witness to testify in the House commission hearing to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, and he called out GOP lawmakers and others who object to protests against police brutality but defended the rioters who brutally attacked officers as they attempted to overturn Trump's election loss.

"There are some who express outrage when someone kneels by calling for social justice," Gonell said. "Where are those same people expressing the outrage could condemn the violent attack on law enforcement at the Capitol and our American democracy? I'm still waiting for them."

"As Americans and the world watched in horror what was happening at the Capitol we did not receive timely reinforcement and support we needed," the officer added, "in contrast during the Black Lives Matter protest last year. U.S. Capitol police had all the support we needed and more. Why the different response? Were it not for the brave members of the [Metropolitan Police Department] and later on from other law enforcement agencies, I'm afraid to think what could have happened on Jan. 6."



'Beyond horrifying': Viewers stunned by new House video showing Capitol riot carnage

Viewers tuning into the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6th Capitol riot were universally appalled by a new video shared by the committee that showed the insurrectionists storming the building and attacking Capitol police attempting to protect lawmakers.

Immediately following the airing of the clip -- which can be seen below -- commenters on Twitter expressed dismay, with many saying it drove them to tears again.

Princeton historian Kevin Kruse tweeted: "This video of the Capitol attack. Jesus," with another commenter adding, "It's beyond horrifying. We all saw the videos, the speeches."


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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4172 on: July 28, 2021, 12:58:13 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4173 on: July 28, 2021, 02:27:31 AM »
‘What kind of monsters’ are you: MSNBC panel says MAGA riot-denying GOP is still hurtling toward rock bottom




NBC News commentator John Heilemann attacked Republicans who came out against Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for participating in the Jan. 6 select Committee that will research the failures on that day and the days that led up to it.

Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace, Heilemann said that he has never seen a hearing that has had such an emotional impact.

"I was struck on the other side of that with this incredibly powerful sense of just what kind of moral depravity you must be in the grips of to engage in the kind of whitewashing and memory holing and attempted gaslighting that we've seen on the part of so many Republicans," said Heilemann. "I just can't imagine what kind of a monster you would have to be to watch those men, listen to that testimony, know the truth, hear them talk about it, and then stand up and say that the things they said were not true."

He noted that some Republicans believe it was just "a day at the beach," others think it was nothing more than a "picnic," and then there were some calling it a "tourist" visit for folks on vacation.

"In Donald Trump's recent tellings, it was a moment of glory, it was a moment of people trying to do the right thing, these mob members, these insurrectionists, these terrorists," Heilemann continued. "Rarely, just the starkness of the kind of moral monstrosity that's required to take that position in the face of that kind of testimony, it does truly boggle my mind."

Wallace said that she keeps waiting for the bottom of Donald Trump's presidency. Instead, people like Minority Leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have attempted to erase the "bottom."

"I wonder, watching it today, what you thought the chances are of eroding some of the calcified lies that have been bought by the ex-president's supporters with this truth bomb," she asked.

Former FBI counterintelligence deputy Frank Figliuzzi said that he doesn't think that Republicans have quit hit "rock bottom yet," but he's hopeful.

"I have to tell you that while I pray that we're nearing the bottom I don't think we're there yet," he confessed. "You only need look at the social media reaction, reactions to some people in congress who are now deciding to blame everything on Nancy Pelosi, this whole thing that happened on January 6th, in their words, seems to be Nancy Pelosi's fault. There's a right wing cable TV host is attacking those police officers today, saying they're not fit for duty. Are we at the bottom yet? Apparently not."

See the discussion below:



Trump-loving OAN did a total 'whitewash' of first day of Capitol riot committee: CNN media analyst

While ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all carried the first day of the Jan. 6 hearing for the special select committee, other right-wing networks had their own agenda.

Writing for CNN.com, media analyst Brian Stelter noted that "One America News viewers witnessed the whitewashing first-hand."

He noted that as the hearings were beginning, OAN ran a segment on crime in Chicago. It was as if Tuesday's hearing "barely happened at all."

In typical OAN style, Stelter said "the channel's poorly-produced programs avoided the substance of the hearing; slipped in several factual mistakes; and promoted the GOP's counter-programming instead."

While Newsmax attempted to promote conspiracy theories about the Capitol riots, they did show the hearing. So did Fox, despite police officers making it clear that it was a pro-Trump mob that was beating them.

"But the mere act of carrying the police testimony at all is noteworthy because right-wing media has so thoroughly downplayed the crimes of that day," wrote Stelter. He noted that even Fox host Bret Baier called the hearing "an eye-opener" for "anybody watching who ... thought it was not violent."

OAN, by contrast, perpetuated the conspiracy that Jan. 6 was nothing more than a tourist visit at the Capitol. They criticized Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for being willing to participate in the committee to ensure it was bipartisan. They continued to spout the conspiracy that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had a death wish and wanted Trump's supporters to come into the Capitol and kill Democratic members. The logic doesn't hold up, but that's the only argument the GOP has left and OAN is running with it.

By the time lunch came, OAN was reading another old statement released the previous day from Trump about Pelosi, claiming she's spending too much money on the hearing.

They then attempted to cover news that talked about Tesla stocks but broke into the Department of Justice press conference with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL). The presser was ultimately shouted down by protesters that the officials failed to plan for.

Read Stelter's full column at CNN.com.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/media/fox-news-oan-newsmax-january-6-hearing/index.html


Jim Jordan 'may well be a material witness' for the Jan 6. House committee

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was clearly pandering to the Republican Party's lowest common denominator when he picked Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as one of the five Republicans he wanted to serve on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's select committee on the January insurrection — a pick that Pelosi flatly rejected, inspiring McCarthy to angrily respond that if Pelosi wouldn't accept all of his picks, she couldn't have any of them. But Pelosi made a wise decision, given how aggressively Jordan promoted the Big Lie and former President Donald Trump's bogus elect fraud claims. And author Sidney Blumenthal, in an op-ed published by The Guardian on July 27, lists some things that Jordan might be asked if he testifies before Pelosi's committee.

Blumenthal is a former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

One right-wing Republican who Pelosi herself picked for the committee is Rep. Liz Cheney, who wholeheartedly agrees with Pelosi's decision to keep Jordan off her January 6 committee. Cheney has said that Jordan should be kept off the committee because he "may well be a material witness to events that led to that day, that led to January 6."

On October 20, Jordan tweeted, "Democrats are trying to steal the election, before the election." In light of that tweet, Blumenthal writes, the committee could ask: "What does Jordan know about the creation of the 'stop the steal' myth? Were his statements about a fraudulent election and attacking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for its role in 'stealing the election' made in coordination with anyone at the White House or known to them in advance? If he got marching orders, where did he get them from?"

A few days after the 2020 presidential election, Jordan promoted the Big Lie at a "Stop the Steal" rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that was organized by Scott Presler, a former field director for the Virginia Republican Party. And Pelosi's committee, according to Blumenthal, could ask: "Who funded the Harrisburg rally? What is Jordan's relationship to Scott Presler? What are the communications between Jordan, his staff and Presler?"

On January 11, the day the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump for incitement to insurrection, Trump gave Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And Pelosi's committee, Blumenthal writes, should ask: "What conversations did Jordan have at the ceremony with Trump or others about overturning the election and how to defend Trump?"

On December 4, Jordan tweeted, "Over 50 million Americans think this election was stolen." And in light of how much Jordan promoted the Big Lie that month, Blumenthal writes, Pelosi's committee should ask: "Did Jordan coordinate his statements with Trump, the White House staff, other Republican House members, or Trump's legal team led by Rudy Giuliani?"

On December 21, according to Politico, Jordan privately met with Trump and other Republicans in the hope of finding ways "to overturn the election results." And according to Blumenthal, Pelosi's committee should ask: "What was said at that meeting? What were those plans? Was the rally discussed? Was the idea discussed of sending Trump supporters to intimidate and interrupt members of Congress in the certification process? Was Jordan's role on the House floor on 6 January against certification raised at that meeting? What did Jordan say?"

The committee, Blumenthal writes, should also ask: "Did Jordan broadcast falsehoods in order to encourage Trump supporters to come to Washington on 6 January?"

In a January 12 hearing, Jordan claimed, "I never once said that this thing was stolen." And the committee, according to Blumenthal, should ask: "Why, then, did he tweet that the election was being stolen before it had occurred, appear at a 'Stop the Steal' rally and claim that 'crazy things' had changed the vote in swing states in addition to many other statements?"

https://www.rawstory.com/jim-jordan-may-well-be-a-material-witness-for-the-jan-6-house-committee/


WATCH: Jim Jordan squirms when asked if he talked to Trump about riots — and pivots to blaming Pelosi

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) had a tough time when Fox News host Bret Baier asked him about what happened when he spoke to President Donald Trump on Jan. 6 during the attack.

At first, Jordan confessed that he spoke to Trump that day, but rambled around trying to find some other way that he could pivot to attack Democrats.

Baier asked Jordan what he and Trump discussed when they spoke during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, but Jordan refused to say. Instead, he pivoted to attack Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol Police officers.

"The Speaker's office is the one that knows the [Capitol] security posture, and why it was the way it was," Jordan said.

The GOP has been trying to blame Pelosi for not doing enough to prepare the Capitol for what was an unprecedented violent mob attack by the former Republican president's supporters.

Jordan has yet to be subpoenaed by the select committee, and if he is, it's unclear if he would willingly testify.

See the video of Jordan below:

https://www.rawstory.com/jim-jordan-spoke-trump-insurrection/


Here are the excuses Trump will most likely use to weasel out of testifying at Capitol riot commission

The House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol kicked off Tuesday with four police officers delivering emotional testimony about their experiences that day.

But one major question hanging over the committee is whether former President Donald Trump will testify, and the general assumption is that there is no way he would willingly show up to answer questions for Congress.

Longtime followers of Trump will notice he has certain go-to excuses for avoiding accountability that he is most likely to employ if asked to testify.

With that in mind, here are the top 3 excuses Trump will probably give for why he won't testify on the committee.

1. He'll claim it isn't a legitimate committee

Republicans are already saying that the special select committee isn't a legitimate committee because House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) refused to allow members to be on it after Pelosi wouldn't allow Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN) to serve. It is a bipartisan committee, much to the chagrin of McCarthy, as GOP. Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) are participating in the committee and have pledged to ensure its bipartisan nature.

The only option that Republicans now have is to demonize Cheney and Kinzinger as not "true" Republicans or as "traitors." Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) came very close to using that word, but instead claimed the two GOP members were "blinded by ambition." Cheney has already lost her post as the top third Republican in the House and Kinzinger is risking his House seat.

During Trump's second impeachment trial, his lawyers argued that it wasn't a legitimate trial because it was "unconstitutional" because Trump had already left office by the time the trial began.

2. He will claim that subpoenaing Trump is just a public relations stunt

One thing Trump's lawyers said during the second impeachment trial and investigations was that Trump would never testify because subpoenaing him would be nothing more than a publicity stunt. The comments came after Trump complained that he wasn't allowed to defend himself.

"Presidents Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton both provided testimony while in office — and the Supreme Court held just last year that you were not immune from legal process while serving as president — so there is no doubt that you can testify in these proceedings," wrote Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). "Indeed, whereas a sitting president might raise concerns about distraction from their official duties, that concern is obviously inapplicable here. We, therefore, anticipate your availability to testify."

The impeachment lawyers for Trump argued that he has a First Amendment right to say whatever he wants in a rally. Trump could also claim the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, though that would have to be done in person on the record.

3. Trump will claim executive privilege prevents him from testifying

While Trump's lawyers claimed that impeachment was unconstitutional because he was no longer president, they'll use the protection of the executive branch to hide him from being subpoenaed this time.

Because Trump was president, he'll claim that his calls with other Republican that occurred during the Capitol riots were protected by executive privilege. In fact, he'll claim that all of the things that happened that day were protected by executive privilege.

He tried to use this excuse on May 8, 2019, when he was asked to give a deposition to special counsel Robert Mueller for the Russia investigation. It became Trump's "first use of the secrecy powers as president," reported the New York Times.

It's unclear how far that argument will go given Trump appears to have already waved that privilege by speaking to several reporters for several books about him and his administration. It could also be argued that Trump's rally that day was a political one, not an official one from the president.

There are likely other things his lawyers could come up with as a reason for him to avoid testifying.

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-too-weak-testify/

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4174 on: July 28, 2021, 05:42:51 AM »
This repulsive right wing hack is absolutely disgusting. Another anti American right winger who hates democracy and viciously smears our brave police officers. These officers put their lives on the line and she is mocking them. Just another right wing scumbag.

Fox News' Laura Ingraham mocks police by giving out awards to best dramatic performances

Fox News host Laura Ingraham began her segment on the Jan. 6 committee by mocking the police officers who testified before Congress.

The host who "purports to back the blue" tore them down and beat them with her unique style of cruel mockery. Ingraham, who has never served in uniform, fought in a war, been beaten and tased, or even reported from a war zone, gave the top award to Officer Michael Fanone, who she accused of giving a "performance" when addressing Congress.

It isn't surprising that Ingraham hasn't seen previous interviews with Fanone that have appeared on CNN. His descriptions are consistent and his anxiety has been on full display from the beginning. Over time, things appear to have gotten better, with Fanone making it through videos and descriptions without breaking down. That wasn't always the case.

Still, Ingraham thought the right decision was to mock the men.

See the video below:

https://www.rawstory.com/laura-ingraham-mocks-police/
   

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4174 on: July 28, 2021, 05:42:51 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2
« Reply #4175 on: July 28, 2021, 02:53:39 PM »
Here’s a Long List of Top Republicans the 1/6 Committee Should Question

On Tuesday morning, the House select committee investigating the insurrectionist January 6 assault on the US Capitol launched its hearings. The panel—which the House Republican caucus boycotted—opened with law enforcement officers who were attacked by the pro-Trump crowd of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Christian nationalists, QAnoners, and other extremists. The point: to counter Donald Trump and his cult’s whitewashing disinformation that the 1/6 gathering, as Trump had put it, was a “loving” assembly. This part of the committee’s mission is not that hard. It need only replay the thousands of videos from that horrific day—or the disturbing collection produced by the New York Times— to disprove the GOP BS that the rioters acted like tourists and did little wrong. And Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chair of the committee, at the beginning of the hearing cued up a compilation of harrowing footage from the attack. The police witnesses watched with haunted gazes.

The much tougher task for the committee will be investigating what Trump and his minions did in the months, weeks, days, and even hours leading up to the assault and what actions Trump and his aides took (or didn’t take) during the seditious riot. These are key elements of the inquiry, and this is the part of the story that Trump and his henchmen do not want to be probed and publicized. Moreover, most of the witnesses to these behind-the-scenes truths are Trump devotees. It was no surprise that the GOP has tried to thwart a 1/6 investigation. A thorough probe would place many prominent Republicans, including members of Trump’s inner circle and his family, in an inconvenient position by demanding from them testimony that would likely not cast Trump in a positive light. 

It’s unclear at this point whether the committee will pursue such testimony and how top Trump loyalists will respond if called to appear before the committee. A battle royale could be in the making, testing congressional power. Here’s a partial list of GOPers who ought to be hauled in by the 1/6 select committee. No doubt, its investigators will find others who should be questioned. But as this roster shows, the committee is starting out with a clear and extensive roadmap.

Former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.). He was Trump’s White House chief of staff at the time and can explain what was happening at 1600 Pennsylvania during the violent raid on Congress. That includes Trump’s own actions during the assault he incited. Was Trump really excited, as CNN reported, to watch the violent throng try to stop the certification of the 2020 election

Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). Ali Alexander, an organizer of the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement, says that he worked with this trio of Trump devotees to create an event on January 6 that would put “maximum pressure” on Congress when it was voting to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. All three members should be grilled under oath. (Biggs and Brooks have denied this.)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The House Republican leader reportedly had an angry, expletive-laced phone conversation with Trump during the attempted insurrection, and Trump indicated he would not call off the rioters. What truly occurred during this call?

Kimberly Guilfoyle. On the night of January 5, according to Alexander, he spoke with Guilfoyle, a former Trump campaign official and the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., and he suggested that she had encouraged him. What exactly did she say to him? Was she conveying a message from anyone else?

Caroline Wren, who was a deputy to Guilfoyle at Trump Victory, a joint presidential fundraising committee during the 2020 campaign, was reportedly involved in the planning of the rally near the White House that preceded the violent storming of the Capitol. So was Katrina Pierson, who was a national spokesperson for Trump’s 2016 campaign and a senior adviser to the Trump 2020 reelection bid. Pierson was a liaison between the White House and the conservative groups that organized that pre-attack gathering. How closely was the White House involved in that production and the subsequent march that led to the rampage? What did it and the organizers of these events know about the violent plans and inclinations of many of the attendees?

Roger Stone. Prior to the January 6 attack, Trump’s longtime adviser was repeatedly seen with people subsequently charged in the assault and accused of conspiring to mount the raid. In fact, several of them were providing security for him. Stone also worked to raise money for “private security” and equipment for events in Washington, on January 5 and 6, that preceded the raid on the Capitol. (Warning to the committee: Stone was convicted of lying to Congress. His three-year-plus sentence was commuted by his pal Trump.)

Rudy Giuliani. The onetime personal lawyer and dirt-digger for Trump—whose Manhattan home and Park Avenue office were raided by the FBI—gave one of the most fiery speeches at the pre-riot rally. “Let’s have trial by combat,” he urged the crowd shortly before large parts of the audience headed toward Capitol Hill.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. During the riot, McCarthy appealed to Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and top aide, for help in stopping the assault, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) phoned Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, to ask for assistance. What do this royal couple of Trumpland know about what occurred in the White House while the Trump mob was ransacking Congress? Ivanka was in the Oval Office at the time. Graham, too, should be questioned about his call to her.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). As the riot on Capitol Hill raged, Tuberville received a call from Trump. (Trump apparently phoned Sen. Mike Lee, the Utah Republican, by mistake while trying to reach Tuberville.) Presumably, Trump was reaching out to Tuberville about the ongoing GOP effort to challenge the certification of Biden’s victory. Tuberville has said he doesn’t remember all the details of the conversation. Really? He should give testimony.

Kellyanne Conway. The former Trump White House senior adviser called an aide who was standing at the president’s side while the attack was underway. What did she learn?

Kayleigh McEnany. Then the White House press secretary, McEnany was reportedly with Trump during the attack and implored him to speak out against the violence. How did Trump respond?

William Barr. Trump’s guard-dog attorney general refused to join Trump in barking false claims of election fraud. He told Trump in early December that the Justice Department had not uncovered any evidence to back up the president’s wild allegations of a stolen election, and this led to an end of their once-beautiful relationship. The House committee—and the public—should hear directly from Barr regarding what Trump was saying to him during the post-election stretch and what he wanted Barr to do.

Pat Cipollone. Trump’s White House counsel while Trump was attempting to overturn the election results, Cipollone ought to be questioned about all the schemes Trump was discussing or considering to defy the democratic process. Might Cipollone try to hide behind a legal privilege? Perhaps. But it’s worth a shot. Meanwhile, the committee should also haul in Jeffrey Rosen, the acting attorney general after Barr fled, and Jeffrey Clark, who was a senior Justice Department official in the final days of Trump’s presidency, and ask them about Trump’s efforts to get Clark to find a way to invalidate the election results in Georgia and keep Trump in office.

Mike Pence. The former vice president was the target of some of the rioters, who called for him to be hanged. While in hiding, Pence received calls from congressional leaders who were angry the National Guard had not been deployed. According to the Washington Post, he “spoke with legislative and military leaders, working to mobilize the soldiers and offering reassurance.” He never talked to Trump during the attack. But Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, was in contact with the White House. The ex-veep should have a lot to say—and so should Short.

Donald Trump. Because it was his riot.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/07/heres-a-long-list-of-top-republicans-the-1-6-committee-should-question/