Tag: Trump insurrectionists stormed the capitol

Republicans Want No Independent Probe Of Jan. 6 Insurrection

Despite all the lamentations over the Republican Party –- the respectable party that supposedly existed before you-know-who ruined everything – it would be more honest to admit that the grand old party wasn’t so grand even back when. 

To take one timely example, Republicans have always resisted investigation of their leadership failures, even when the security of the nation was at stake.

At this moment, the constitutional imperative is to investigate, reveal, and respond to the forces behind the violent seizure of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Dealing with the threat that horrendous incident now symbolizes ought to be a vital interest of both major political parties — whose legislators were nearly lynched by a ravening mob — as well as anyone who hopes to bequeath a democratic republic to our heirs. That is why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has proposed a bipartisan national commission modeled on the panel that investigated the 9/11 attacks. Continue reading.

Trump Jr whines on Fox News that Republicans did not do enough to overturn the election

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The namesake son of former President Donald Trump complained that Republicans did not do enough to overturn the 2020 presidential campaign.

The remarks were a continuation of the “Big Lie” that Trump won the election that resulted the January 6th insurrection and Trump’s second impeachment.

“The Republicans aren’t willing to do it,” Trump, Jr. argued. “They’ve shown that over the decades, they’d just rather lose gracefully I guess.” Continue reading.

Trump caught on camera joking around with famous golfers day after his supporters’ deadly Capitol riots

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TMZ has obtained footage of former President Donald Trump joking around with two golfing professionals at the White House just one day after his supporters launched a deadly riot that left five people dead at the United States Capitol building.

The video shows the former president honoring golfers Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam at a White House ceremony that was supposed to be public but was taken private in the wake of the deadly pro-Trump insurrection.

The video shows Trump awarding the two golfers a Presidential Medal of Honor while chiding Player for calling him overweight. Continue reading.

Curator estimates Capitol art damage from mob totals $25K

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The curator responsible for the House’s art collection is expected to ask lawmakers to allot $25,000 to repair artifacts displayed outside the chamber that were damaged during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Farar Elliott, the House curator, is slated to say in prepared testimony on Wednesday before the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing funding for the legislative branch that the $25,000 is needed to fix eight objects in the hallways leading to the House chamber that were covered in fire extinguisher residue during the insurrection by former President Trump‘s supporters.

The objects include marble and granite busts of former Speakers Joe Cannon, Champ Clark, Joe Martin, and Thomas Brackett Reed; portraits of former Presidents James Madison and John Quincy Adams; a bust of Chippewa leader Be shekee; and a statue of former President Thomas Jefferson. Continue reading.

Retired NYPD Officer Who Guarded City Hall Charged in Capitol Riot

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Thomas Webster turned himself in on charges that he assaulted a Washington police officer with a flagpole during the Jan. 6 attack on Congress.

A retired New York police officer who once was part of the security detail at City Hall was charged on Tuesday with assaulting a police officer with a metal flagpole during the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The former officer, Thomas Webster, served in a New York Police Department unit that provided security for the mayor, Gracie Mansion and City Hall, according to a law enforcement official. He retired from the force in 2011.

Mr. Webster, 54, a former Marine, surrendered to the F.B.I. on Monday and was charged with six counts relating to the attack on an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., and his participation in the violent attempt to stop Congress from certifying the presidential election results. Continue reading.

Amy Klobuchar shuts down a GOP senator spreading a ‘conspiracy theory’ at the Capitol riot hearing

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On Tuesday, members of the U.S. Senate held a hearing on the Jan. 6 insurrection — and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin promoted a debunked conspiracy theory claiming that the insurrectionists were really left-wing militants. But Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a centrist Democrat, pushed back against that false claim.

According to far-right conspiracy theorists, members of Antifa attacked the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6 in order to make supporters of then-President Donald Trump look bad. But there is no evidence to support that claim, and the participation of QAnon, the Proud Boys, White nationalists, various militia groups and others on the far right has been well-documented. Axios’ Jonathan Swan, on Jan. 12, reported that when Trump floated that conspiracy theory, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pushed back and told him, “It’s not Antifa, it’s MAGA. I know. I was there.”

But Johnson, on Tuesday, promoted false claims that on Jan. 6, the U.S. Capitol Building was attacked by “provocateurs” and “fake Trump protesters.” And when Klobuchar spoke, she made it clear that she saw no validity in those claims. Continue reading.

Five big takeaways on the Capitol security hearings

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Former Capitol security officials clashed publicly on Tuesday over the events surrounding last month’s deadly assault on the Capitol complex, casting blame at the intelligence community and the Pentagon while delivering conflicting accounts of how the tragedy unfolded.

Here are five takeaways from the day’s proceedings.

Congress will need to probe contradictions

There were major discrepancies between former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and former House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving as they recounted their actions before and during the Jan. 6 attack. The two officials couldn’t even agree whether a phone call had taken place between them as rioters were breaking into the building. Continue reading.

How the effort to deny the reality of the Jan. 6 attack is evolving

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It is probably not a strong indication that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) commands a lot of respect from his peers that the claims he offered during a hearing Tuesday about the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 generally were met with a shrug.

After claiming that he had a battery of questions for the officials testifying about security lapses on that day, Johnson instead spent his time delineating baseless claims about how the day unfolded written by a lone observer that had been published on a far-right website. The gist of the assessment is that since most of those present in D.C. that day were run-of-the-mill Trump supporters, those who stormed the Capitol must almost necessarily have been something else.

“He describes four different types of people: plainclothes militants, agents provocateurs, fake Trump protesters, and then a disciplined, uniformed column of attackers,” Johnson said of the article. “I think these are the people that probably planned this.” Continue reading.

DC police chief stunned by ‘reluctance’ to deploy Guard during Jan. 6 attack

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The head of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told senators Tuesday that there was an initial “reluctance” to send the National Guard during the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol — a resistance that left him “surprised” and “stunned,” given the gravity of the violent attack.

Testifying before a pair of Senate committees, acting Chief Robert Contee said that at 2:22 p.m. on Jan. 6 — more than an hour after his forces were summoned to the Capitol — he was part of an emergency phone call that included leaders of the Capitol Police, the National Guard and the Department of the Army.

“I was surprised at the reluctance to immediately send the National Guard to the Capitol grounds,” Contee told senators on the Rules and Homeland Security committees. Continue reading.

Lawmakers propose draft bill to create Capitol riot commission

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Congressional leaders are discussing draft legislation for a bipartisan commission that would investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, with the latest proposal giving Democrats more sway over its membership.

According to a senior Democratic aide, a draft bill under discussion would allow each of the four top House and Senate leaders of each party to appoint two members. President Biden would also choose three additional members, including the commission’s chair.

That would give Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Biden the ability to choose a total of seven members, while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would choose a total of four members. Continue reading.