Takeaways From "Dereliction of Duty" January 6 Hearing

 

Last night's prime time hearing started with the announcement that more hearings would start in September, due to a flood of new information apparently from White House staff, "Stop the Steal" types and more. So keep the popcorn handy. 

The Associated Press has five takeaways from last night's prime time hearing of the House Select Committee investigation the Trumpist insurrection and coup attempt. The deliberate decision by the Malignant Loser to stop his cultists' attack on the Capitol was made evident by numerous eye witnesses. The top lines:

THE WHITE HOUSE DINING ROOM

The panel emphasized where Trump was as the violence unfolded — in a White House dining room, sitting at the head of the table, watching the violent breach of the Capitol on Fox News. He retreated to the dining room at 1:25 p.m., according to Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., one of two members who led the hearing. That was after some rioters had already breached barriers around the Capitol — and after Trump had been told about the violence within 15 minutes of returning to the White House. [snip]

NO CALLS FOR HELP

As he sat in the White House, Trump made no efforts to call for increased law enforcement assistance at the Capitol. Witnesses confirmed that Trump did not call the defense secretary, the homeland security secretary or the attorney general.

The committee played audio of Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reacting with surprise to the former president’s reaction to the attack. “You’re the commander-in-chief. You’ve got an assault going on on the Capitol of the United States of America. And there’s Nothing? No call? Nothing Zero?” Milley said. [snip]

FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDES

Matt Pottinger, who was Trump’s deputy national security adviser at the time, and Sarah Matthews, then the deputy press secretary, testified at the hearing. Both resigned from their White House jobs immediately after the insurrection.

Both Pottinger and Matthews told the committee of their disgust at Trump’s tweet about Pence.

Pottinger said he was “disturbed and worried to see that the president was attacking Vice President Pence for doing his constitutional duty,” which he said was “the opposite of what we needed at that moment.”

“That was the moment I decided I was going to resign,” Pottinger said. [snip]

DESPERATE TEXTS

The committee showed some of the texts that were sent to Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, as White House aides tried to get the president to act. Meadows turned the texts over to the panel before he stopped cooperating.

“This is one you go to the mattresses on,” Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, texted Meadows. “They will try to f--- his entire legacy on this if it gets worse.” [snip]

FINALLY, A VIDEO MESSAGE

As some of the worst of the fighting at the Capitol was still underway, and had been going on for hours, Trump put out the video at 4:17 p.m.

The committee showed video of Trump filming the statement, and a copy of the script that he ignored. “I am asking you to leave the Capitol Hill region NOW and go home in a peaceful way,” the script said.

But the president did not actually say that, instead repeating baseless claims of voter fraud without condemning the violence. “So go home. We love you. You’re very special,” Trump ended up saying. “I know how you feel.”

This hearing clearly established that the sociopathic Malignant Loser was implementing his plan, using a violent mob that he activated, to stop the counting of electoral votes, substitute fake elector slates, and seize power by force from the duly elected president. His wanton disregard for the lives not only of the hundreds of law enforcement at the Capitol that day, but of the lives of his own cultists, was laid bare for everyone to see.