“He chose not to act.”

July 22, 2022

A fighting chance.

          Before reviewing the January 6th Committee’s remarkable eighth hearing, it is worth reflecting on how far we have come in the six weeks since the Committee’s first public hearing on June 9th. The Committee is engaged in a legislative inquiry to determine how Congress can prevent future attempts to overturn elections. It is not a grand jury, a court of law, or a political action committee tasked with molding public opinion in advance of the midterms. But the Committee has served as a surrogate in each of those roles as others have worked in the background or failed to effectively communicate the urgency of this moment in American democracy.

          Holding public hearings was a calculated risk. Or at least it appeared to be to those not on the Committee. But no one anticipated the consummate professionalism, dogged determination, and incredible work ethic of the dedicated members and staff of the Committee. It is appropriate to recognize the members of the Committee: Co-Chairs Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, and members Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff, Zoe Lofgren, Adam Kinzinger, Stephanie Murphy, Pete Aguilar, and Elaine Luria. Our nation owes each of them a debt of gratitude.

          This much is clear: The Committee has forever changed the perception of January 6th and has authored the definitive record of this tragic chapter in our history. In doing so, the Committee has brought some measure of accountability to Trump and his enablers as the public waits for more serious consequences to be imposed on those who violated their oaths and engaged in sedition against the United States of America.

          Given the extraordinary work of the Committee, it is inevitable that the force of its work is affecting public opinion and private views of Donald Trump and the party that continues to promote his corrupt agenda. As Democrats inexplicably struggle to communicate the successes of Biden’s presidency and the righteousness of their cause, the Committee has been a shining example of competence and conviction during a summer of malaise and disappointment.

          Although the Committee is not tasked with convincing American voters that Republicans do not deserve to govern the nation they abandoned in her time of need, the Committee is achieving that purpose. Slowly and surely, by careful accretion of facts, the Committee is reaching enough Americans to make a difference. Yes, President Biden’s favorability ratings are at historic lows, and journalists remind us daily that Democrats will, therefore, lose ground in the midterms.

          Don’t believe it. We have a fighting chance.

          We have a fighting chance in part because of the exceptional work of the Committee. But also because of the gratuitous cruelty of Republicans spurred by a weaponized Supreme Court and armed with a warrant to hunt pregnant women and stigmatize LGBTQ people. As Jennifer Rubin explains in her most recent essay in WaPo, voters have begun to “decouple” Biden’s favorability ratings from their view of Trump and the GOP. Rubin explains as follows:

          There has also been a more general surge in support for Democrats in the midterms. The great “decoupling” continues — that is, a sizable number of voters who disapprove of President Biden’s performance nevertheless plans to vote Democratic in November. A Politico-Morning Consult poll found that 18 percent of Biden disapprovers plan to vote for Democrats in the midterms. Polls from CNN and The New York Times-Siena put that figure at 19 percent.

          As I have written before, “conventional wisdom” does not apply to this moment in history. There is nothing conventional about a major political party enthralled by a twice-impeached, coup-plotting, witness-tampering, malignant narcissist whose only concern is remaining out of jail as he fleeces his followers of their hard-earned money. Nor is there anything conventional about a Supreme Court that has cut its mooring to the Constitution and (in the words of Jennifer Rubin) “is exercising raw power.”

          We have a fighting chance, and we should make the most of it. The Committee will continue to shine a bright light on past and present efforts by Trump and the GOP to undermine democracy. The work of the Committee will bolster our efforts to persuade voters that one party stands with the Constitution and one party sees it as an obstacle to power. We are living in exceptional times that require exceptional effort on our part. Those efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Take heart and stay strong!

The January 6th hearing.

          The hearing focused on the 187-minutes during which Trump sat in front of a television as insurrectionists attacked the Capitol. To this point, the narrative has been that Trump “did nothing” during those 187-minutes. But as Adam Kinzinger said, Trump did not fail to act—“He chose not to act.”

          That statement is damning. Trump viewed the violence as an essential element of his plan to prevent the electoral count. Throughout Trump’s stubborn refusal to act, his family, advisors, and friends repeatedly urged him to tell the rioters to stop their violence and leave the Capitol. He refused. And he refused. And he refused.

          He refused even as Secret Service agents in Mike Pence’s detail were calling their families to “say goodbye” because they feared for their lives. Those same agents were communicating to others in the White House they feared that the Vice President might be “compromised”—code for a direct attack on the Vice President.

          At the very moment that Secret Service agents were “saying goodbye” to their families and fearing for the life of Mike Pence, Trump issued his infamous tweet saying, Mike Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” At that moment, Mike Pence’s security detail was running down a smoke-filled staircase and through a hallway where officers were holding rioters at bay.

          As Mike Pence was on the run from rioters in the Capitol, he was effectively acting as Commander-in-Chief. Pence was coordinating responses from the military, Secret Service, and law enforcement. The fact that Pence was in charge because of Trump’s inaction was lost on no one. In another damning segment, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows urged Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to “kill the narrative that Mike Pence was in charge and that Trump was not acting as Commander-in-Chief.” Milley refused.

          In a technical tour-de-force, the Committee time-stamped Trump’s inaction by showing the scenes he was watching on Fox News from the dining room adjacent to the Oval Office. During the assault on the Capitol, Fox dropped its usual partisan filter and reported breathlessly about the violence—which Trump watched as he chose not to act.

          As with the missing Secret Service texts, there are no call logs, photos, emails, or texts to or from Trump during his 187-minute failure to act. The complete absence of evidence regarding the actions of Trump and the Secret Service on January 6th gives rise to a reasonable inference that corrupt actors in the former administration and the present Secret Service leadership have engaged in a massive cover-up.

          The Committee effectively demonstrated that Trump relented only after law enforcement regained control of the Capitol and members of Congress were in secure locations. Even then, Trump could not bring himself to condemn the rioters or their violence. Instead, he said they were “special people” whom he “loved.”

          In a particularly effective moment, Adam Kinzinger condemned Trump for failing to acknowledge the injury and death inflicted on Capitol Police. Kinzinger read from texts of Trump’s closest campaign advisors who described Trump’s failure to acknowledge the suffering of the Capitol Police as “sh*tty” and demonstrated that Trump’s alleged support for law enforcement was “a lie.”

          The examination of witnesses and closing statements by Representatives Adam Kinzinger and Elaine Luria was effective and moving. And, as usual, Liz Cheney was superb as she summarized the Committee’s case. She deftly appealed to Trump’s supporters by saying that Trump had hijacked their sense of patriotism and directed it against the country they profess to love. She contrasted the courage of Cassidy Hutchinson with the cowardice of the “50-, 60-, and 70-year old men who are hiding behind executive privilege.”

          Rep. Cheney closed her remarks by saying that Trump “can never be trusted with a position of authority, again.” Exactly!

          There will be more analysis to follow, but the above are my real-time impressions of the hearing. The Committee exceeded expectations. Cheney created a sense of anticipation about additional hearings in September by saying that “the dam has begun to break” with additional witnesses coming forward. Good. With that teaser, Trump’s attempted coup will be top-of-mind for another sixty days, at least.

Criminal investigation of Secret Service deletion of texts.

          This is important. The Secret Service has been instructed to cease its own internal investigation of the deleted texts because the DHS Inspector General has opened a criminal investigation of the destruction of text messages. See CNN, DHS inspector general tells Secret Service to stop investigating potentially missing texts.

          This story is more complicated than the above headline suggests. The DHS Inspector General has known since February 2022 that the Secret Service deleted the texts relating to January 6th. But the DHS Inspector General waited for six months before informing Congress that the texts had been deleted. In other words, the DHS Inspector General’s actions are suspect. The DOJ should intervene and tell the Inspector General to stand down.

A great speech by Jamie Raskin.

       In a congressional hearing, GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas advanced the “insurrectionists view” of the Second Amendment. That theory asserts that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to allow citizens to “overthrow” the US government. Rep. Jamie Raskin delivered a withering takedown of Roy’s argument. I urge you to watch the video of Jamie Raskin delivering a masterful refutation of the “insurrectionist” view of the Second Amendment. You will be educated and inspired at the same time. See  (18) Acyn on Twitter: "Raskin is pretty good at this https://t.co/UDs1aGGkyk" / Twitter

In case you don’t believe Justice Thomas.

          In his concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Thomas said the Supreme Court should revisit its decisions protecting same-sex marriage and contraception. Many Republicans (and several reactionary justices) sought to defuse the incendiary opinion by suggesting that no one should take Thomas seriously. We have heard that one before! In two votes in the House, 195 GOP representatives voted against legislation to protect access to contraception and 157 GOP representatives voted against protections for same-sex marriage. If you are someone, know someone, or respect someone interested in access to contraception or same-sex marriage, add these issues to the list of reasons to vote against Republicans in 2022. Every single one.

Concluding Thoughts.

          Joe Biden tested positive for Covid. He immediately announced his infection, began contact tracing, and followed standard medical treatment. No hydroxychloroquine, no bleach, no light probes in the veins, just good old FDA approved medicine. Contrast that to every aspect of Trump’s infection, which began with a cover-up of his positive test for Covid three days before a presidential debate with Joe Biden. Biden’s representatives held a news conference on Thursday during which they truthfully answered questions about the president’s condition—unlike the news conferences by Trump’s doctor who admitted he lied about Trump’s condition to “stay upbeat.”

          Biden will likely be fine because he is boosted, vaccinated, and taking Paxlovid. But the manner in which his illness is being handled is another reminder of why it is so important to prevent Trump from being re-elected as president. His entire presidency was built on daily lies. It is easy to forget that every day under Trump began with the dreaded thought, “Oh, God. What has he tweeted / said / done today?”

          It is great to be back to normal under Biden, where most of the problems are of the sort expected to be faced by presidents: the economy, budget fights, foreign wars, and partisan bickering. Let’s keep it that way. With any luck, the January 6th Committee will help us achieve that goal!

          Talk to you on Monday!