The prime-time January 6 Select Committee hearing on Thursday delivered the promised statements of accusation and painful recollections, with all the receipts.
I and at least 20 million in the U.S., and more around the world, watched every minute of the 2-plus hours with many coming away from the first hearing with the same reaction: America, WTF!
More hearings will be held during the month of June but opening night belonged to Chairman Thompson, Vice-Chair Cheney, Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, who sustained a traumatic brain injury that day, and Documentary filmmaker Nick Quested.
Bits and Pieces from opening statements:
Chairman Thompson: “Thanks to everyone watching tonight for sharing part of your evening to learn the facts and causes of the events leading up to, and including, the violent attack on January 6th, 2021, on our democracy, our electoral system, and our country.
“I’m Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the January 6, 2021, Committee. I was born, raised, and still live Bolton, Mississippi, a town with a population of 521, which is midway between Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the Mississippi River.
“I’m from a part of the country where people justify the actions of slavery, Ku Klux Klan, and lynching. I’m reminded of that dark history as I hear voices today try and justify the actions of the insurrectionists of January 6, 2021.
“Over the next few weeks, hopefully you will get to know the other Members, my colleagues up here, and me. We represent a diversity of communities from all over the United States. Rural areas and cities. East Coast, West Coast, and the heartland.
“All of us have one thing in common: we swore the same oath. That same oath that all Members of Congress take upon taking office, and afterwards every two years that they are re-elected. We swore an oath to defend the Constitution. Against all enemies. Foreign. And domestic.
“But unlike in 1814, it was domestic enemies of the Constitution who stormed the Capitol and occupied the Capitol who sought to thwart the will of the people to stop the transfer of power.
“And so they did, at the encouragement of the President of the United States.
“And ultimately, Donald Trump—the President of the United States—spurred a mob of domestic enemies of the Constitution to march down the Capitol and subvert American democracy.
“The President of the United States. Trying to stop the transfer of power.
“We can’t sweep what happened under the rug. The American people deserve answers. So I come before you this evening, not as a Democrat, but as an American who swore an oath to defend the Constitution. The Constitution doesn’t protect just Democrats or just Republicans. It protects all of us. We the People. And this scheme was an attempt to undermine the will of the people.
“So tonight, and over the next few weeks, we’re going to remind you of the reality of what happened that day. But our work must do much more than just look backwards. The cause of our democracy remains in danger. The conspiracy to thwart the will of the people is not over.
Vice Chair Cheney: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And let me echo those words about the importance of bipartisanship, and what a tremendous honor it is to work on this committee.
“Mr. Chairman, at 6:01pm on January 6th, after he spent hours watching a violent mob besiege, attack and invade our Capitol, Donald Trump tweeted. But he did not condemn the attack. Instead he justified it… .
“Tonight, you will see never-before-seen footage of the brutal attack on our Capitol, an attack that unfolded while, a few blocks away, President Trump sat watching television in his dining room off the Oval Office. You will hear audio from the brave police officers battling for their lives and ours, fighting to defend our democracy, against a violent mob Donald Trump refused to call off.
“Tonight, you will see never-before-seen footage of the brutal attack on our Capitol, an attack that unfolded while, a few blocks away, President Trump sat watching television in his dining room off the Oval Office. You will hear audio from the brave police officers battling for their lives and ours, fighting to defend our democracy, against a violent mob Donald Trump refused to call off.
“Tonight I am going to describe for you some of what our committee has learned and highlight initial findings you will see this month in our hearings. As you hear this, all Americans should keep in mind this fact: On the morning of January 6th, President Donald Trump’s intention was to remain President of the United States despite the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and in violation of his Constitutional obligation to relinquish power.
Vice-Chair Cheney added these words which will be most remembered:
“I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”
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Now, the follow-up question is, of course, will leaders of the attempted coup to overturn the legitimate government of the United States of America be held accountable or will it be just a few of the storm troopers and followers who get jail time? Will there be repercussions equal to the seriousness of the actions or will we at sometime down the road of this decaying democracy be fed media-pleasing show ‘trials’ produced with the sole purpose of dimming spotlights on current and former coup-supporting politicians, unhinged media pundits and sycophants?
America, Really, WTF!
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