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Dear John,
A lot has happened in just the last week.
We learned Trump had documents about an unidentified "foreign government’s nuclear-defense readiness" at Mar-A-Largo.
Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon ruled Trump deserved a special master to review those documents in part to protect Trump from "reputational harm." The Department of Justice is appealing the ruling, citing that delaying the review of documents actually causes “the most immediate and serious harms to the government and the public.”
And a bit of good news as county commissioner Couy Griffin from New Mexico became the first public official disqualified -- and removed -- from office for participating in the January 6 attack.
The question I want to know is how many Americans actually know about these developments? Most people don’t pay attention in the way you and I do.
One exception has been the House Select Committee’s hearings. At least 20 million people watched the first prime-time hearing of the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and almost 18 million watched the last prime-time hearing.[1]
The problem is the 6 hearings that aired during the day time lost almost half of that viewership.
In the battle to save our democracy from those who want to destroy it, there is nothing more important than the American people seeing with their own eyes the evidence that Trump and MAGA Republicans orchestrated and attempted a coup in order to stay in power.
Democracy dies in darkness, and Americans deserve the full truth. Demand the final January 6 committee hearings be shown in prime-time now.
People who missed the daytime hearings missed a lot.
They missed Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testify that Donald Trump knew the crowd at the pre-attack rally were armed and dangerous but went ahead anyway saying "I don't f**king care that they have weapons" and "they're not here to hurt me."[2]
They missed retired federal judge, George HW Bush appointee, and adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, J Michael Luttig expose Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans as a continued "clear and present danger to American democracy."[3]
They missed the committee revealing 6 Republican members of Congress asked for pardons for their roles in the coup attempt. Rep. Mo Brooks even asked for Trump to preemptively pardon every MAGA Republican who broke into the Capitol, too.[4]
They missed Republican after Republican witnesses tie Donald Trump directly to the fake electors effort while also testifying he was told many many times that the plan was illegal.[5]
They missed a LOT.
And that’s not even a quarter of the startling facts and frightening details exposed by the House Select Committee during the daytime hearings -- yet nearly half as many people saw it with their own eyes.
These hearings are too important to be buried during daytime broadcast. Let’s demand networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX, show the final January 6 committee hearings in prime-time now.
Donald Trump and anyone else who planned, promoted, or participated in the attempted coup must be exposed to as many Americans as possible.
That’s why these hearings must happen in prime-time. Thank you for adding your voice today.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
[1] About 18 Million People Tuned In to Finale of Jan. 6 Hearings, Bloomberg
[2] 7 takeaways from Tuesday's shocking January 6 hearing, CNN
[3] Trump a ‘clear and present danger to US democracy’, conservative judge warns, The Guardian
[4] 5 takeaways from the fifth day of January 6 hearings, CNN
[5] Panel links Trump to fake electors plan, Washington Post
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