by Rod Williams, June 10, 2022 - I watched the Jan. 6th hearing last night. I know many Republicans did not. Fox News, the network of choice of most Republicans, did not even carry it. A lot of Republican elected officials and right-wing talk show hosts vowed they would not watch it. The mindset of many Republicans is that the election was stolen, the insurrection was justified, my mind is made up, and don't confuse me with facts.
So if you missed it and are the least curious about what was revealed, here are excerpts from a post by Jim Geraghty appearing in National Review today.
By and large, the committee told us what we already knew: Donald Trump simply could not accept any scenario in which he legitimately lost the 2020 election; he was — and judging by the furious statement he issued last night, still is — in an all-consuming state of intractable psychological denial. He immediately concluded that Biden’s win was illegitimate, with no evidence, and set about doing everything possible to disrupt the transfer of power. He wouldn’t listen to any evidence or facts, even when those facts were presented by longtime allies, and he would listen to anyone who told him what he wanted to hear, no matter how self-evidently unhinged they were.
I found one of the most compelling portions of the hearing the testimony of former attorney general Jim Barr. He was in office at the time of the riot. In his testimony, Barr says he told President Trump the idea of a stolen election was "bullshit." He said he looked for evidence and could find no evidence of significant electoral fraud. He couldn't find it then and nothing in the last year and a half has changed his mind. Also, I found it interesting, that Trump's daughter and advisor, Ivanka Trump said she accepted Barr's conclusion that the 2020 election wasn't stolen.
More from the Geraghtsy piece:
Wyoming representative Liz Cheney reminded viewers that President Trump never expressed any disapproval of the bloody riot on Capitol Hill that day; in fact, he justified it, and contended on Twitter that lawmakers on Capitol Hill deserved it: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.”
What I get from the Jan. 6th hearing is that Trump approved of the attack and if the mob would have murdered Mike Pense, as some were set on doing, Trump would have applauded the action. Future hearings are likely to make the case that the attack was planned in advance and that there was coordination between the Oath Keepers, The Proud Boys, and the Trump administration.
I am convinced that Trump is guilty as hell of trying to subvert our Democracy. Geraghty raises an important question, however.
The current contention is that Donald Trump led an insurrection against his own government, attempted to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, and brought violence and bloodshed to the legislative branch — but somehow, he did all of that without violating any U.S. laws.
If a U.S. president tries to disrupt the actions of another branch of government through brute force and the direction of enraged mob violence, is the proper consequence a prime-time congressional hearing where various lawmakers and witnesses denounce him? Or is the proper consequence charging him with a crime?
I urge Republicans to watch the hearings.
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