[ 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.]
[[link removed]]

HERE’S A LONG LIST OF TOP REPUBLICANS THE 1/6 COMMITTEE SHOULD
QUESTION  
[[link removed]]


 

David Corn
July 27, 2021
MotherJones
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

_ 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. _

John Minchillo/AP // Mother Jones,

 

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”
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]],
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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] to
Guilfoyle at Trump Victory, a joint presidential fundraising committee
during the 2020 campaign, was reportedly
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] by
the FBI—gave one of the most fiery speeches at the pre-riot rally.
“Let’s have trial by combat,” he urged
[[link removed]] the crowd shortly
before large parts of the audience headed toward Capitol Hill.
* JARED KUSHNER and IVANKA TRUMP. During the riot,
McCarthy appealed
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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
[[link removed]] 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. 

_[DAVID CORN is Mother Jones' Washington bureau chief and an on-air
analyst for MSNBC. He is the co-author (with Michael Isikoff)
of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and
the Election of Donald Trump. He is the author of three New York Times
bestsellers, Showdown
[[link removed]],
Hubris
[[link removed]] (with
Isikoff), and The Lies of George W. Bush
[[link removed]],
as well as the e-book, 47 Percent: Uncovering the Romney Video that
Rocked the 2012 Election
[[link removed]].
For more of his stories, click here
[[link removed]]. He's also on Twitter
[[link removed]] and Facebook
[[link removed]].]_

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web [[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions [[link removed]]
Manage subscription [[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org [[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]