We’re back?
the last time. Maybe. The Washington Post is calling the hearing, which begins at 1 p.m. today, “probably the last.”
What happened while we were away?
Well, there’s a lot going on in the news. Including contempt of congress against Steve Bannon; the FBI seizure of Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry’s cell phone; and most notably the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. The raid seized material the government said was supposed to belong to the National Archives, including top-secret information about another country’s nuclear capabilities.
Trump was also indicted in late September by New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with his three adult children, for making a series of fraudulent claims over financial statements. James’ investigation is unrelated to Jan. 6, and despite initial speculation, no reports have emerged linking the Mar-a-Lago raid to any ongoing Capitol riot investigation. Still, Trump took it all as further evidence that he was unfairly persecuted by the Deep State or whatever, going all out on his Twitter-like social media platform TruthSocial, and promising that if he did it again Become president and will pardon convicted rebels.
But we haven’t heard much from the committee about their work since the last hearing in July.
I heard there is a whole book about them?
Yes, Denver Riggleman, a former Republican congressman who served as an adviser to the committee, has published a book that describes the inner workings of the committee. A highlight of the book is a January 6 call to the mob via the White House switchboard, though it only lasted nine seconds. The committee wasn’t happy with the book’s release, saying it had looked into every clue Rigman had found — and briefly suggested he never, and certainly isn’t, knew. He has not worked with the committee since April.
What will the committee do today?
Members may release new information they’ve discovered over the past two months, but we’re not expecting a surprise (or “surprise”) witness, like Cassidy Hutchinson. On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that the hearing will include new details from thousands of documents the Secret Service recently provided to the committee. The documents — along with new video footage from the Secret Service — may corroborate key parts of Hutchinson’s testimony, including claims Trump made about being told he wasn’t allowed to go to the Capitol with his armed followers Feeling angry, even after he knew things were getting violent.
The Washington Post called the new treasure trove of documents detailing all internal communications about “logistical planning, security concerns and private discussions related to scheduled protests and the president’s actions” in an “ironic turn of events.” result. That’s because the Secret Service previously deleted text messages from agents starting January 6.
Officials said the mass deletion of Secret Service texts — from the day the president could have seditioned — was unintentional. They also cannot be recovered, according to the Secret Service’s phone provider. Uh, okay.
Today’s hearing may also include some footage of Roger Stone recorded by the Danish filmmaker before January 6.
Okay, so the Secret Service hearing could be heavy, a little Roger Stone.
None of the committee members would admit it, but they also probably wouldn’t mind another anecdote of “Donald Trump’s erratic and embarrassing behavior” being laundered into the mid-term news cycle. They will almost certainly use this hearing to sum up in sweeping emotional terms everything they have tried to say from the outset — like closing arguments in a courtroom trial. “More comprehensive,” said California Democrat Adam Schiff. “Very themed.” Who doesn’t love a well-rounded theme?
What would that be?
Donald Trump — despite repeated reports from junkers, pundits and other partisan Republicans that there has been no major fraud in 2020 and that he has no effective legal avenue to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president — has fomented his Supporters believed false claims about “stolen elections” and repeatedly urged other public officials to act on those false claims, a concerted effort that culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Trump Know that this attack has the potential to turn violent.
What will the committee do after the hearing?
The committee will release the final report of its findings after the midterm elections, but before that it may release some interesting sneak peeks. If committee members believe they have gathered sufficient evidence that Trump’s actions were unlawful, then
