Breach of the Capitol: Consequences, Repercussions & Reactions

[SimplyMe]

The House Rules Committee ruled 9-4 along party lines to approve the resolution, with all Republicans voting against it. The criminal referral is expected to go before the full House for a vote Thursday. If passed, it will be referred to the Justice Department.

Jim Jordan piped up in committee and...

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) confirmed on Wednesday to a House panel that he had spoken with then-President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol but contradicted a previous answer about the timeline of calls that day.

The House Rules Committee grilled Jordan, a potential witness in the House investigation of the attack, about his communications with Trump while he was testifying against a resolution to hold former Trump aide Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.

"The House voted Thursday to hold former White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
"The measure was approved on a 229-to-202 vote, with nine Republicans joining all Democrats present in voting “yes.” Thursday’s full House vote comes days after the members of the bipartisan select committee voted unanimously in favor of the resolution." link

 

[essentialsaltes]

Texas Man Arrested and Charged With Making Threats Regarding Events at the U.S. Capitol

Troy Anthony Smocks, 58, of Dallas, Texas, was charged by criminal complaint with knowingly and willfully transmitting threats in interstate commerce.

He plead guilty and the judge gave him 14 months.

“Mr. Smocks, from the safety of his hotel room … has the audacity to call the rioters patriots,” [Judge] Chutkan said. “I’ve said it, before and so have my colleagues, that what happened on Jan. 6 was no less than a violent attempt to stop the peaceful transition of power. I don’t need to dwell on it. Mr. Smocks wasn’t there, but by his words he was encouraging the rioters and he was threatening people.”

Chutkan also said she considered Smocks’ lengthy criminal record, during which Smocks frequently pretended to be a member of the military or law enforcement, as well as what she said was a lack of remorse for his actions.

 

[essentialsaltes]

LINK

An Arizona political commentator charged in the US Capitol riot spoke at a small right-wing rally in Phoenix last month that was attended by over a dozen Proud Boys, even though a federal judge had ordered him not to associate with any members of the extremist group.

Pictures posted online and a video obtained by CNN from an attendee show Micajah Jackson near a group of Proud Boys, spouting conspiracies about January 6. This raises questions of whether he violated the conditions of his pre-trial release, or at the least gave fresh material to prosecutors that they could use against him in court, as they have in other Capitol riot cases.

Jackson's attorney told CNN that Jackson had no knowledge the Proud Boys would be attending and that he is complying with the terms of his release.

 

[essentialsaltes]

FBI: Cowboys for Trump founder taken into custody in connection to Capitol riots
Cowboys for Trump founder and Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, 47, was detained in Washington, D.C. Sunday for his involvement in the Jan 6. Capitol riot.

Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, who is facing charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, has turned on the former president in a conference speech for abandoning January 6 rioters and failing to deliver on a campaign promise.

"[Former President Trump], you've been in charge of the law for four years," he added. "At the end of your four year time, the only ones locked up were men like me, and others like me, that have stood by the president the strongest."

 

[essentialsaltes]

There's a Rolling Stone article that connects the organizers of the rallies on Jan 6 with several sitting Congressmen and -women. Including that Rep. Gosar was allegedly offering blanket pardons to the organizers (for organizing a rally?). However, there is a lot of daylight between organizing a rally or even a protest, and organizing a physical attack on the Capitol.

So at this point I'm calling it smoke, and we'll see if any fire develops. To some extent this was openly boasted of by shady characters like Ali Alexander shortly after it happened.

Weeks before a mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, right-wing activist Ali Alexander told his followers he was planning something big for Jan. 6.

Alexander, who organized the “Stop the Steal” movement, said he hatched the plan — coinciding with Congress’s vote to certify the electoral college votes — alongside three GOP lawmakers: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mo Brooks (Ala.) and Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.), all hard-line Trump supporters.

“We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting,” Alexander said in a since-deleted video on Periscope

 

[essentialsaltes]

There's a Rolling Stone article that connects the organizers of the rallies on Jan 6 with several sitting Congressmen and -women.

Alexander, who organized the “Stop the Steal” movement, said he hatched the plan ... alongside three GOP lawmakers: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mo Brooks (Ala.) and Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.), all hard-line Trump supporters.

“We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting,” Alexander said in a since-deleted video on Periscope

Mo Brooks: It certainly was not me! It must have been an overzealous coffee boy. I merely attended at the request of the White House, wearing my usual winter-formal body armor, as I had been tipped off by someone that there might be violence.

 

[essentialsaltes]

LINK As DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone lay on the ground at the US Capitol building, stunned and injured, he knew a group of rioters were stripping him of his gear.
"Some guys started getting a hold of my gun and they were screaming out, 'Kill him with his own gun,'" said Fanone, who's been a police officer for almost two decades.

LINK

The Jan. 6 rioter accused of assaulting Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone and burying his badge in his backyard can await trial at home with his family, but he can’t watch any political talk shows. That ruling followed revelations that the alleged assailant got fired up before the siege of the Capitol from watching Fox News.

According to the terms of release, Sibick must stay at his parents’ house around the clock, although he is allowed to leave to attend religious services with his parents.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Former DOJ official splits with lawyer before Jan. 6 testimony

The former top Trump Justice Department official is scheduled to field questions from Jan. 6 committee investigators on Friday. But he and Robert Driscoll, the Washington attorney who has been representing him, have recently parted ways, according to two people with knowledge of the matter on Wednesday. It is unclear if the departure will impact Clark’s interview.

Clark is the guy who wanted DOJ to send out letters supporting The Big Lie, and whom Trump was considering to replace Rosen.

 

[essentialsaltes]

During Jan. 6 riot, Trump attorney told Pence team the vice president’s inaction caused attack on Capitol

“The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so that the American people can see for themselves what happened,” Eastman wrote to [Pence aide Greg] Jacob, referring to Trump’s claims of voter fraud.

Eastman sent the email as Pence, who had been presiding in the Senate, was under guard with Jacob and other advisers in a secure area. Rioters were tearing through the Capitol complex, some of them calling for Pence to be executed.

<Eastman is the lawyer who wrote the memo outlining how he claimed Pence could reject Biden electoral votes>

Read: Pence aide Greg Jacob’s draft opinion article denouncing Trump’s outside lawyers

Below is the text of a draft op-ed Greg Jacob wrote in January 2021, when he was chief counsel to Vice President Mike Pence, but ultimately decided not to publish. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the draft for this story examining Trump attorney John Eastman’s actions around the events of Jan. 6.

In the days and hours leading up to the counting of the electoral votes in Congress, a cadre of outside lawyers to the President spun a web of lies and disinformation, to him and to the public, for the purpose of pressuring the Vice President to betray his oath to uphold our laws and the Constitution of the United States. That was a fool’s errand. The Vice President never wavered under the barrage of bankrupt legal theories, just as he never left the Capitol building when the assault began. Now that the moment of immediate crisis has passed, the legal profession should dispassionately examine whether the attorneys involved should be disciplined for using their credentials to sell a stream of snake oil to the most powerful office in the world, wrapped in the guise of a lawyer’s advice.

...

There is no room in the legal profession for Grima Wormtongues who counsel their clients with half-truths and deceptive presentations made in pursuit of a personal agenda. There certainly is no room in the Oval Office.

 

[TLK Valentine]

"[Former President Trump], you've been in charge of the law for four years," he added. "At the end of your four year time, the only ones locked up were men like me, and others like me, that have stood by the president the strongest."

Clearly he thought that standing by the President the strongest would shield him from legal consequences of his own illegal actions.

Where would he get such a bonehead idea?

 

[TLK Valentine]

There is no room in the legal profession for Grima Wormtongues who counsel their clients with half-truths and deceptive presentations made in pursuit of a personal agenda. There certainly is no room in the Oval Office.

It would seem that there was plenty of room...

 

[essentialsaltes]

Lindsey Graham Reportedly Called for Law Enforcement to Shoot Jan. 6 Rioters During the Attack: ‘You’ve Got Guns. Use Them.’

The Senate and House leaders also had been evacuated by Capitol Police and taken to an undisclosed location, but many lawmakers remained in their chambers for a few minutes before they were led to safety in the Hart Senate Office Building. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham was irate that senators were forced to flee their own chamber. He yelled at the Senate sergeant-at-arms. “What are you doing? Take back the Senate! You’ve got guns. Use them.” The South Carolina senator was adamant. “We give you guns for a reason,” he repeated. “Use them.”

 

[Whyayeman]

I like this bit:

Graham declared himself politically done with Trump and refused to go along with his colleagues objecting to the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. But in the months that followed, Graham has fallen back in line — holding up the ex-president as the Republican Party’s leader, and cozying up to him...

Your country needs legislators like this.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Marjorie Taylor Greene supports letter from a 'non-violent' Capitol rioter who was filmed attacking an officer and saying he punched his head five times

• Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene retweeted the letter of a Capitol rioter who said he was "non-violent."
• But video footage and court documents show that he assaulted at least one Capitol officer on Jan. 6.

“I punched this guy like five times in the [doggone] head,” said Nathaniel DeGrave

According to the documents, [DeGrave] and two others traveled to Washington DC with two knives, walkie-talkies, protective vests and body armor, motorcycle jackets, shin guards, helmets, a face mask, and a gas mask. They also considered bringing guns and ammo with them but decided not to.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Real estate agent who asked Trump for a pardon pleads guilty in Capitol riot
Jenna Ryan, 51, pleaded guilty to illegally demonstrating inside the Capitol building on January 6.She could face a sentence of up to six months in prison, [but likely will get less] when she is sentenced in November. In March, Ryan tweeted that she is "definitely not going to jail. Sorry I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I'm not going to jail... I did nothing wrong."

Ahead of Ryan’s sentencing this week, federal prosecutors said she should spend 60 days in prison because she knew the day could turn violent and said she was “going to war,” promoted violence at the Capitol, chanted “hang Mike Pence,” promoted violence against the news media, claimed she deserved “a medal” for what she did, spread false information about the riot, lied about her participation in the riot, and “sought to exploit her presence during the attack on the Capitol for profit.”

Moreover, the government said, Ryan’s tweet stating she had “blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail” showed she thought she was immune from punishment for her crimes because of her race and physical appearance.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Then you need to read and listen to more conservative media. Which is so much smaller than progressive media which is nearly every network, newspaper, magazine, sports journalists, you tube channels, progressive websites etc. They far outnumber anything conservative out there.

And they're saying such interesting things....

Lindsey Graham told police to 'use' their guns against Jan. 6 rioters: 'Take back the Senate!'

 

[Whyayeman]

They also considered bringing guns and ammo with them but decided not to.

I love a moderate!

 

[TLK Valentine]

Mike Pence says he was guided by founding father James Madison and the Bible when he decided to defy Trump and certify the 2020 election

Pence was speaking at an event for young conservatives at the University of Iowa on Nov. 1. During a question-and-answer segment after his speech, an audience member named "Jared" requested that Pence identify who in the White House counseled him to "buck President Trump's plan and certify the votes." Jared also suggested that Pence changed his mind and decided to certify the votes because he didn't want to damage his future chances of running for office.

In response, Pence said that on Jan. 6 he looked to James Madison -the fourth president of the US, who is known as the "father of the Constitution" - a response that drew applause from the audience. Pence also denied that he was advised that it would hurt his chances of running for president in future elections if he followed Trump's plan to overturn the election results.

Pence then cited a verse from the Bible, referencing the oath of office he took to defend the Constitution.

"Psalm 15 says he keeps his oath even when it hurts," Pence said.

I guess we'll have to add James Madison and the Bible to the "Deep State"?

 

[Pommer]

Mike Pence says he was guided by founding father James Madison and the Bible when he decided to defy Trump and certify the 2020 election



I guess we'll have to add James Madison and the Bible to the "Deep State"?

James Madison and J. Danforth Quayle

 

[TLK Valentine]

James Madison and J. Danforth Quayle

I remember reading about that in the book... Democracy is in a perilous position indeed when Quayle helps preserve it.