January 6 Hearings Live

[lpetrich]

More from Max Burns:

UPDATE: Focus seems to be tightening around the Pentagon--and the Trump loyalists who make up its skeleton crew. Questions are multiplying around why the Pentagon refused to approve multiple dire requests for support. We also learned from Rep. Crow's meeting with federal officials that the Pentagon had no functioning crisis operations at the time emergency calls began arriving from Capitol Hill. It took over an hour for DOD to get a clear sense of the crisis. Given the Pentagon was fairly quick to recognize its own lack of preparedness, that raises further questions about why, then, they adamantly refused to allow Virginia and Maryland to mobilize their nearby National Guard troops. We also now know Pentagon officials "didn't like the visual" of National Guard troops protecting the Capitol from Trump's army of violent insurrectionists.

In the midst of a terrorist attack on the Capitol, Pentagon brass were making decisions based on how they'd look on TV. I'd also like to quickly clarify that I casually said "keep the Guard in barracks" in the first tweet. I know the National Guard doesn't have barracks, they're part-time soldiers. It would have been more accurate to say "prevented states from mobilizing their Guards." Based on what the Washington Post is reporting and what I've heard privately, one working theory is that the pipe bombs left at DNC and RNC HQs were meant to draw the limited police presence away from the Capitol.

The same Department of Defense that said it "didn't like the visual" of putting National Guard troops in front of the Capitol signed off on this display of force in response to the George Floyd protests in May: (picture of a sizable army on the steps of a DC building)

It appears from the collected statements of MD Gov. Hogan, VA Gov. Northam, and the D.C. Mayor's Office that the White House knew Capitol Police were significantly outnumbered (roughly 8,000 rioters vs. 1,200-1,400 police) and yet actively refused to send backup. It was not until the Vice President stepped in and, from what earlier reporting implies co-opted the chain of command, that the National Guard was authorized to recapture and secure the U.S. Capitol complex.

That hour-plus gap is a damning silence from President Trump. There was good reason for Pence to have finally lost his patience, given that he and Congress were trapped in the Capitol while insurrectionists roamed the halls beating police officers and shouting about lynching the Veep.

Tomorrow is gonna be a busy day on Capitol Hill. Members are incensed at Trump's inaction. They haven't received formal briefings from the White House, or the Pentagon, or even Capitol Police. Even the Vice President is out of the loop.

Monday will bring a lot of movement.

So they didn't like the visual if it was confronting a lot of honky Trumpies. As far as I could tell from the numerous pictures, the Capitol attackers were mostly honkies.

 

[lpetrich]

Friend of Tony Meatballs and Big Minty on Twitter: "@themaxburns What our European allies and intelligence agencies think went down.

Hint: full coup d'etat, orchestrated by Trump. (link)" / Twitter
noting
US allies say Trump attempted coup with help from federal law enforcement - Business Insider

• Multiple European security officials told Insider that President Donald Trump appeared to have tacit support among US federal agencies responsible for securing the Capitol complex in Wednesday's coup attempt.
• Insider is reporting this information because it illustrates the serious repercussions of Wednesday's events: Even if they are mistaken, some among America's international military allies are now willing to give credence to the idea that Trump deliberately tried to violently overturn an election and had help from some federal law-enforcement agents.
• "We train alongside the US federal law enforcement to handle these very matters, and it's obvious that large parts of any successful plan were just ignored," one source told us.

Friend of Tony Meatballs and Big Minty on Twitter: "@themaxburns Note: The first three individuals in the Presidential line of succession were in imminent danger.

Given the known evidence, and the provocateurs/operatives surely hidden in mob, and the rational cause and effect of mob mentality, this was a decapitation of leadership operation." / Twitter
Surely? I think that there is strong evidence: those two "gentlemen" in military clothing with zip-tie handcuffs.

 United States presidential line of succession - Vice President - House Speaker - Senate President Pro Tem - Cabinet secretaries

 

[fromderinside]

So they didn't like the visual if it was confronting a lot of honky Trumpies. As far as I could tell from the numerous pictures, the Capitol attackers were mostly honkies.

No not honkies. Selfish lazy, mostly white people who don't have the tools to find truths. You witnessed the gathering of a mass of those claiming the badge of self ignorance, no nothing populists who take their truths from rumors and excuses with a glass of beer at the corner bar.

I know them well. I grew up with them. I worked with them when they escaped on weekends to nearby lakes and showed off their toys. I'm brother to then visiting weekends and listening to how they did it all themselves. It was too much like work to bring their views around to the real necessity of societal brotherhood. It was easier to hope they would find truths in the company to which they retreated into in faith to survive in this fearful world.

 

[lpetrich]

Steve Stewart-Williams on Twitter: "People have all sorts of lofty-sounding justifications for political violence, but a big part of the motivation is just that it's exciting. (links)" / Twitter
noting
The role of sensation seeking in political violence: An extension of the Significance Quest Theory. - PsycNET

Like war, that favorite male sport.

The 51st State? Washington DC Revisits an Uphill Cause With New Fervor - The New York Times - "District of Columbia statehood has long been out of reach. Proponents hope Democratic control of the federal government and the security issues raised over the past week could change that."

Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready. — ProPublica - "Insurrectionists made no effort to hide their intentions, but law enforcement protecting Congress was caught flat-footed."


JM Rieger on Twitter: "Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.)—the Republican who won the seat previously held by Justin Amash—tells Reason some House Republicans who voted to reject the election results knew they were lying about the election but worried about the safety of their families. (article, pix links)" / Twitter
then
Lindsay Beyerstein on Twitter: "What were they afraid of? That the mob would turn on them?" / Twitter

Was Rep. Lauren Boebert a Fifth Columnist?
Eve Ottenberg on Twitter: "Boebert should be censured at least, and there should probably be criminal charges for endangering the speaker." / Twitter
noting
Resist Programming 🛰 on Twitter: "@laurenboebert to Nancy Pelosi: “Madam Speaker, I have constituents outside this building right now. I promised my voters to be their voice." Then, during the lockdown, Lauren Boebert tweeted out Pelosi’s location to her followers. (video link)" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

The Intercept on Twitter: "“Before we go down this road again, we should think very carefully about whether new authorities are actually needed and how they might be abused.” https://t.co/4PQsLc9pgu" / Twitter
noting
Calls for Domestic Terrorism Law Revived After Capitol Hill Attack - “Before we go down this road again, we should think very carefully about whether new authorities are actually needed and how they might be abused.”


Fifty Shades of Whey on Twitter: "Lauren Boebert vowed to bring a gun to Congress and on the morning of 1/6 she said "Today is 1776." She knew what they were going to do and she was going to let members of Congress get taken hostage. A judge should sign a warrant for her social media and electronic devices. https://t.co/LAkv8ZzoqA" / Twitter

 

[SLD]

Thanks for these updates, Ipetrich. It’s still just mind boggling. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m just still numb. I am having violent fantasies that just aren’t right. Why didn’t the capitol police open fire? I saw pictures of them with rifles. A blood bath on the porticoes would have stopped them and IMHO was justified. But that might have allowed them to claim some sort of perverted moral high ground.

I keep fantasizing what I would say to the likes of Josh Hawley and especially Mo Brooks (whom I’ve dealt with as a lawyer). It would not be pretty. Want to kick ass, Mo? Start with me and see what happens. But I’m a combat veteran with PTSD who owns an assault rifle!

Perhaps such feelings are wrong and I will cool down, but if you tell me that it’s time to heal and reconcile, I’m going to tell you to fuck off. It’s time to investigate and prosecute ALL of those responsible. Starting at the top. I hope Trump isn’t impeached, I hope he doesn’t resign or if so, Pence refuses to pardon him. I want him, and Brooks and Giuliani in jail. They did this and many others helped them.

 

[lpetrich]

Ilhan Omar on Twitter: "Our Articles of Impeachment formally introduced today!" / Twitter

Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Twitter: "Pence isn't going to do the right thing so WE must. We need to impeach Donald Trump right now." / Twitter
Even after facing a lynch mob last Wednesday?

Nabilah Islam on Twitter: "BREAKING: The House is going to impeach the motherfucker (again)" / Twitter
I neglected to note that when Rashida Tlaib made her announcement.


Parler is gone for now as Amazon terminates hosting - The Verge

Posts on Parler that encouraged violence leading up to the Wednesday attack on the Capitol that left five people dead were circulated on other platforms in the wake of the riot. An example: “take zip ties with you, sneak up on them like ninjas and zip tie their hands and feet,” to which another poster replied: “around their neck, can’t get it off in time, they die.”

Hemant Mehta on Twitter: "Man Arrested in Capitol Siege Asked God For Guidance First: “I Never Heard a No” (links)" / Twitter


Melanie D'Arrigo on Twitter: "If conservative Dems in the Problem Solvers Caucus block impeachment because they want to “find common ground,” with seditionists then they should just run as the Republicans they are in 2022.

We cannot let Trump off the hook for trying to violently overthrow the government. https://t.co/QivbskHZxX" / Twitter

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Thanks for these updates, Ipetrich. It’s still just mind boggling. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m just still numb. I am having violent fantasies that just aren’t right.

Nah, all of those fuckers who invaded the Capitol should've been shot. It was an act of war.

 

[Elixir]

Thanks for these updates, Ipetrich. It’s still just mind boggling. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m just still numb. I am having violent fantasies that just aren’t right.

Nah, all of those fuckers who invaded the Capitol should've been shot. It was an act of war.

I tend to agree. It would all be over now if a couple hundred of them had died on the Capitol steps in a hail of lead.
Sure, there would still be some whimpering, but there would be clarity about the fact that trying to storm the capitol is not a viable option.

 

[TomC]

Thanks for these updates, Ipetrich. It’s still just mind boggling. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m just still numb. I am having violent fantasies that just aren’t right.

Nah, all of those fuckers who invaded the Capitol should've been shot. It was an act of war.

I tend to agree. It would all be over now if a couple hundred of them had died on the Capitol steps in a hail of lead.
Sure, there would still be some whimpering, but there would be clarity about the fact that trying to storm the capitol is not a viable option.

This possibility is probably why Trump claimed that he was going to lead the march on Capitol Hill, but then ducked into a limousine and watched it on TV in his bunker.
Tom

 

[TV and credit cards]

Thanks for these updates, Ipetrich. It’s still just mind boggling. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m just still numb. I am having violent fantasies that just aren’t right.

Nah, all of those fuckers who invaded the Capitol should've been shot. It was an act of war.

I tend to agree. It would all be over now if a couple hundred of them had died on the Capitol steps in a hail of lead.
Sure, there would still be some whimpering, but there would be clarity about the fact that trying to storm the capitol is not a viable option.

I'll take "Federal Prison" for 600, Elixir.

Sorry. That was awful.

Law enforcement should be well prepared for the inauguration and have well defined and hopefully, generous rules of engagement.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Thanks for these updates, Ipetrich. It’s still just mind boggling. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m just still numb. I am having violent fantasies that just aren’t right.

Nah, all of those fuckers who invaded the Capitol should've been shot. It was an act of war.

I tend to agree. It would all be over now if a couple hundred of them had died on the Capitol steps in a hail of lead.
Sure, there would still be some whimpering, but there would be clarity about the fact that trying to storm the capitol is not a viable option.

If they are clearly intent on harm the right of self defense is never denied. That would have been my Rubicon. I certainly wouldn't want to create a bunch of martyrs, that would only make things worse.

 

[SLD]

I tend to agree. It would all be over now if a couple hundred of them had died on the Capitol steps in a hail of lead.
Sure, there would still be some whimpering, but there would be clarity about the fact that trying to storm the capitol is not a viable option.

If they are clearly intent on harm the right of self defense is never denied. That would have been my Rubicon. I certainly wouldn't want to create a bunch of martyrs, that would only make things worse.

Yeah, that was my concern too. The Capitol Police didn’t open fire because the crowd was unarmed. Supposedly. Doesn’t make them less dangerous though.

 

[lpetrich]

There’s A Straight Line From Charlottesville To The Capitol - "Wednesday’s attempted coup is just the natural extension of a presidency spent giving insurgents permission to come inside, kick their feet up, and tear down democracy."

Like expressing sympathy for neo-Nazis despite having a son-in-law who lost relatives to the original Nazis.

60 Minutes on Twitter: "When a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some made their way to Speaker Pelosi’s office. In a recording from one of Speaker Pelosi’s staffers, the invaders are heard banging on a door her staff had barricaded while they hid under a table. (links)" / Twitter
then
Christine Pelosi on Twitter: "The Trump mob came for Nancy Pelosi by name. One Rep tweeted her location during the deadly riot. Trump enablers are trying to make #Impeachment about the Speaker -as criminals often blame prosecutors- to try and deflect from their sedition. They will fall. Justice will be done." / Twitter


Dave Wasserman on Twitter: "True story: the day before the election, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy told me that if Trump refused to concede, he and McConnell would eventually have to come out and issue a joint statement acknowledging the result.

In the end, McCarthy left McConnell twisting in the wind." / Twitter
Seems like they appeased Trump on the election results because they hoped that Trump would give the Republican candidates good turnouts in the Georgia runoffs. But Trump preferred to whine about how the election was stolen from him, and without him on the ballot, both Republicans lost.

 

[lpetrich]

Nearly 6,000 lawyers and law students call for disbarment proceedings against Cruz and Hawley | TheHill

Talk radio company orders hosts to stop suggesting election was stolen from Trump | TheHill - "Cumulus hosts include Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino. Rush Limbaugh, who is broadcast on numerous Cumulus stations but syndicated by Premiere Networks, is not subject to the directive."

Republicans block 25th Amendment resolution to oust Trump | TheHill - the Democrats wanted it passed by unanimous consent

Democrats file impeachment article accusing Trump of inciting attack on Capitol | TheHill - the Cicilline-Lieu-Raskin resolution, for “willfully inciting violence against the Government of the United States.”

Scott Wong on Twitter: "UPDATED TEXT of the Impeachment Article authored by Cicilline/Lieu/Raskin following 1/6 attack on Capitol by pro-Trump mob https://t.co/RNABKCYM3d" / Twitter

Scott Wong on Twitter: "Both Hoyer/Ciciiline say they support passing impeachment article now and send it immediately to Senate.

Clyburn has advocated for holding the article until Biden can confirm his top appointees and begin tackling his 100-day agenda" / Twitter

It's House Resolution 24.


Kristin Wilson on Twitter: "His name is USCP Officer Eugene Goodman. Remember his name. He almost certainly saved lives on Wednesday.

My thanks, Officer Goodman. THANK YOU." / Twitter
He was the one who distracted those attackers who were coming after the Senators.

 

[Keith&Co.]

The Capitol Police didn’t open fire because the crowd was unarmed.

Um, i am old enough to remember someone being 'armed' with a sidewalk.
People on this board have justified shooting because someone might have been armed.

 

[TomC]

I tend to agree. It would all be over now if a couple hundred of them had died on the Capitol steps in a hail of lead.
Sure, there would still be some whimpering, but there would be clarity about the fact that trying to storm the capitol is not a viable option.

If they are clearly intent on harm the right of self defense is never denied. That would have been my Rubicon. I certainly wouldn't want to create a bunch of martyrs, that would only make things worse.

Yeah, that was my concern too. The Capitol Police didn’t open fire because the crowd was unarmed. Supposedly. Doesn’t make them less dangerous though.

A couple of days ago the Capitol Police didn't even "know" the crowd was coming. Their ability to remain ignorant is quite Trumpish.
Tom

 

[Elixir]

I tend to agree. It would all be over now if a couple hundred of them had died on the Capitol steps in a hail of lead.
Sure, there would still be some whimpering, but there would be clarity about the fact that trying to storm the capitol is not a viable option.

If they are clearly intent on harm the right of self defense is never denied. That would have been my Rubicon. I certainly wouldn't want to create a bunch of martyrs, that would only make things worse.

Yeah, that was my concern too. The Capitol Police didn’t open fire because the crowd was unarmed. Supposedly. Doesn’t make them less dangerous though.

Yes that is a real world concern. Frankly I have no stomach for unnecessarily killing, of flies, let alone humans. But I do feel strongly that overwhelming force should have been shown right from the start, which would have significantly discouraged what ensued. It's not like we haven't seen that kind of presentation at BLM rallies!
When we learn who gave what orders when, I expect we will find that like everything else Trump has a hand in, it was rigged.

 

[ZiprHead]

Yeah, that was my concern too. The Capitol Police didn’t open fire because the crowd was unarmed. Supposedly. Doesn’t make them less dangerous though.

A couple of days ago the Capitol Police didn't even "know" the crowd was coming. Their ability to remain ignorant is quite Trumpish.
Tom

Reports are that CPD received numerous warnings and that the CPD chief told Maxine Waters (IIRC) that they were fully prepared. He resigned very quickly. It makes me wonder if he is actually a Trumper on the inside and specifically stood down full force protection.

 

[Treedbear]

There’s A Straight Line From Charlottesville To The Capitol - "Wednesday’s attempted coup is just the natural extension of a presidency spent giving insurgents permission to come inside, kick their feet up, and tear down democracy."

Like expressing sympathy for neo-Nazis despite having a son-in-law who lost relatives to the original Nazis. ...

For a quick tutorial on the rise of despotic leaders look no further than this presentation by author David King from 2017 at the Politics and Prose bookstore in DC, "The Trial of Adolf Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch and the Rise of the Nazi Party". Apparently the only book yet published in English about what occurred in 1924, or in German either. C-SPAN has been running it several times today. About an hour.