The Jan. 6 Investigation

I think it's time to have a separate thread about the Congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Yesterday, four Capitol police officers gave emotional and detailed accounts of what they experienced during the riots. Included in that testimony, were detailed descriptions of the wounds they received, what they heard from the insurrectionists which included racial epithets, pro-Trump rhetoric, what weapons they saw and were used against them, and how they feel about the insurrectionist deniers in Congress and elsewhere. What they said was directly contrary to what Trump has claimed:

Quote:

“These were peaceful people, these were great people.” “The crowd was unbelievable and I mentioned the word ‘love,’ the love in the air, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said of his rally on the Ellipse. “That’s why they went to Washington.” “Too much spirit and faith and love, there was such love at that rally, you had over a million people,”

GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde said:

Quote:

“It was not an insurrection and we cannot call it that and be truthful. The House floor was never breached and it was not an insurrection. This is the truth: There was an undisciplined mob, there were some rioters and some who committed acts of vandalism. But let me be clear. There was no insurrection and to call it an insurrection is in my opinion a bold-faced lie. Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes, taking videos and pictures. You know, if you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.”

When asked about this statement, Capitol Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who was the officer being suffocated by a door, had his gas mask ripped off and was punched by a rioter, said:

Quote:

"If that's what American tourists are like, I can see why foreign countries don't like American tourists.”

Rep. Mo Brooks gave an incendiary speech at the rally, screaming that it was time to "“start taking down names and kicking ass.” It's also been reported that he was wearing body armor under his windbreaker:

Quote:

“I was warned on Monday that there might be risks associated with the next few days,” he said. “And as a consequence of those warnings, I did not go to my condo. Instead, I slept on the floor of my office. And when I gave my speech at the Ellipse, I was wearing body armor. “That’s why I was wearing that nice little windbreaker,” he told me with a grin. “To cover up the body armor.” He didn’t say who warned him, or what the “risk” was that he’d been warned about. There were probably a “half-dozen different motivations that affected people in varying degrees” to engage in insurrection. He named, for example, “financial losses suffered because of the government’s reaction to COVID-19,” “the belief that there was significant voter fraud and election theft activity,” or “a great love and respect for President Trump.”

We can expect subpoenas being issued to such people as Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, Ivanka Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Mo Brooks*, and even D. Trump himself. They can no longer hide behind a compliant DOJ. Expect a lot of "I don't recalls" from this motley crew.

*The Justice Department on Tuesday night rejected a request by Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks for legal protection in court against a lawsuit linking him to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Brooks claimed he is protected because the speech was within his duties as representative. The court said:“The record indicates that the January 6 rally was an electioneering or campaign activity that Brooks would ordinarily be presumed to have undertaken in an unofficial capacity,” Justice Department civil attorneys said in a 29-page filing late Tuesday."

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3iVKS5q