Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certification

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Tue Feb 16, 2021 5:50 am

Conservative Lawyer Bruce Fein: Trump’s Acquittal Gives Future Presidents License to Break the Law
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
FEBRUARY 15, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


GUESTS

Bruce Fein, constitutional lawyer and former associate deputy attorney general and general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission under President Ronald Reagan. He previously served as counsel to Republicans on the Joint Congressional Committee on Covert Arms Sales to Iran.

As the Senate votes to acquit former President Donald Trump for inciting the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, we speak with constitutional lawyer and former Reagan administration official Bruce Fein, who says the insurrection was not just an attack on the U.S. Capitol, but “an effort, basically, to destroy the rule of law and the Constitution itself.” Fein says failure to convict Trump will give license to future presidents to break the law. “It really is quite frightening that now we have a precedent that says a president has the right to do anything he wants, that he wishes to, without sanction,” he tells Democracy Now! “That is no longer the rule of law.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We are joined now by Bruce Fein. He was associate deputy attorney general and general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission under President Reagan. He previously served as counsel to Republicans on the Joint Congressional Committee on Covert Arms Sales to Iran. He’s a constitutional lawyer who’s testified on countless occasions before Congress and author of the book American Empire Before the Fall.

Welcome to Democracy Now!, Bruce Fein. It’s great to have you with us. Can you start off by responding to the acquittal of Donald J. Trump on Saturday?

BRUCE FEIN: First, I think I would recharacterize the nature of the charge. It wasn’t insurrection against the Capitol alone. It was a stab in the back of the United States Constitution and 230 years of unbroken peaceful transitions of presidential power, because the purpose of the storming wasn’t just to defile the Capitol or even threaten lives. It was to prevent Mike Pence, the vice president, from executing his constitutional duty under the 12th Amendment and the Electoral Count Act to count state-certified electoral votes that would pronounce Joe Biden the winner by having captured a majority. It was an effort, basically, to destroy the rule of law and the Constitution itself. It would put us in the same situation that Russians find with Mr. Putin and his elections or President Xi in China. That was what this was about. It wasn’t some kind of garden-variety just riot. It was an effort to undo 230 years of heroic sacrifices of our Founding Fathers, of those who fought at Cemetery Ridge, Omaha Beach and otherwise. That was what was at stake here. And to characterize it as an insurrection is, I think — vastly downplays the importance of the issue.

The second thing that I want to underscore is that it’s conceptually wrong to think of impeachment as an after-the-fact sanction for misconduct. Impeachment was designed as a prophylactic, something that would prevent someone from remaining in office if they created a clear and present danger to our constitutional dispensation. And whatever else you can say about Mr. Trump’s speeches and exhortations, incendiary words, whether or not they in fact caused the insurrection, because there’s certainly evidence of some planning by some in advance, it clearly shows a huge danger to our constitutional system, especially when you think about the background of this president saying on July 23rd, 2019, in the manner of a monarch, “Then, I have Article II, where I have the right to do anything I want as president.” And he was as good as his word. He flouted the Constitution virtually daily. He turned the White House into a crime scene by Hatch Act violations and using government property and employees to promote his 2020 campaign. He flouted hundreds of congressional subpoenas for testimony and information. He issued executive orders in view of legislation. He continued unconstitutional wars. On and on and on. That is not a clear and present danger to our constitutional system, I don’t know what is. And it really is quite frightening that now we have a precedent that says a president has the right to do anything he wants, that he wishes to, without sanction. That is no longer the rule of law.

AMY GOODMAN: So I want to go to this issue of the witnesses. Let’s go to the lead House impeachment manager, Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, speaking on Meet the Press Sunday, defending the decision not to call witnesses during the trial.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN: We have no regrets at all. We left it totally out there on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and every senator knew exactly what happened. And just go back and listen to McConnell’s speech. Everybody was convinced of the case we put forward. But, you know, as the defense lawyers said, just pick any one of these phony constitutional defenses, and then you can justify it. It could be First Amendment. It could be bill of attainder. It could be due process. All of them are nonsense. I thought that I successfully demolished them at the trial. But, you know, there’s no reasoning with people who basically are, you know, acting like members of a religious cult and, when they leave office, should be selling flowers at Dulles Airport.

AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin. Bruce Fein, your response?

BRUCE FEIN: I think Jamie — and he’s a professional and at least a semi-personal friend. I think he misconceived the nature of the audience of an impeachment trial. It’s not just the senators. It’s all the American people, everyone who voted. The president is a nationwide election. And he needs to convince not only the senators. If this is going to work and have lasting effect, he needed to have a case that convinced the American people. They don’t live inside the Beltway — most of them don’t — and aren’t immersed of this every day, like he is and perhaps the senators.

And that was the need for the witnesses. Now, also, he overlooks the fact that the defense raised the issue that Congresswoman Beutler’s exchange with Kevin McCarthy made relevant. They argued that Mr. Trump was calling for peace during the storming, during the insurrection, that he wanted them to stop. It’s obviously not true, if Mr. McCarthy is correct and Ms. Beutler is. And there’s other evidence, as well, that he spoke to Senator —

AMY GOODMAN: So, I want to go to Jamie Raskin on this issue of Beutler. This was Saturday, before the impeachment trial concluded, senators voting in favor of allowing witnesses, which threatened to extend the proceedings. The development came after a Republican congressmember came forward — we’re talking about Jaime Herrera Beutler — about comments Trump made during his assault to Kevin McCarthy.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN: But last night, Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state issued a statement confirming that in the middle of the insurrection, when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called the president to beg for help, President Trump responded — and I quote — “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election then you are.” Needless to say, this is an additional critical piece of corroborating evidence. … For that reason and because this is the proper time to do so under the resolution that the Senate adopted to set the rules for the trial, we would like the opportunity to subpoena Congresswoman Herrera.

AMY GOODMAN: So, the request by the House impeachment managers to introduce new witnesses prompted this tense debate between the lead House impeachment manager, Jamie Raskin, and Trump defense attorney Michael van der Veen.

MICHAEL VAN DER VEEN: The only thing that I ask, if you vote for witnesses, do not handcuff me by limiting the number of witnesses that I can have.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN: There’s only one person the president’s counsel really needs to interview, and that’s their own client. And bring him forward, as we suggested last week, because a lot of this is matters that are in his head. Why did he not act to defend the country after he learned of the attack? Why was he continuing to press the political case? But this piece of evidence is relevant to that.

MICHAEL VAN DER VEEN: For the House managers to say we need depositions about things that happened after, it’s not — just not true. But — but if he does, there are a lot of depositions that need to be happened. … And not by Zoom. None of these depositions should be done by Zoom. We didn’t do this hearing by Zoom. These depositions should be done in person, in my office, in Philadelphia. That’s where they should be done.

AMY GOODMAN: Yes, Michael van der Veen is a personal injury lawyer in Philadelphia, who actually sued Donald Trump last year. He filed a lawsuit against Trump accusing him of making repeated claims that mail voting is “ripe with fraud,” despite having “no evidence in support of these claims.” That’s just a side note. But if you can talk about this interaction, and then the attorney — the House impeachment manager getting the right to have witnesses and then going back on it, not wanting to extend the trial?

BRUCE FEIN: Well, this is my deduction, having spent most of my life here in Washington, D.C., approaching 50 years. It may sound cynical, but I think the Democrats, in some sense, did not want a conviction, which would relieve Mr. McConnell and his cohorts who were opposed to Mr. Trump of the headache for four years trying to confront a very divided and splintered Republican Party, because the conviction clearly would have been followed by a vote to disqualify Mr. Trump from the 2024 presidential elections, and that would mean he would be out of the Republican Party and politics probably. And now the Republicans are the ones that are facing the headache. As your show already indicated, those who voted in favor of conviction are already confronting censure votes back home. Clear, clear divisions in the party.

Because, otherwise, I think what happened is that even though Mr. Raskin and the other House managers wanted witnesses, I think the leadership, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, made a different political calculation and said, “Why should we do that? We probably won’t get a conviction anyway. Let’s just leave Mitch McConnell and Liz Cheney to fight their own battle, internecine warfare, and we’ll move forward and have better prospects for reelection in 2024.” Because, otherwise, it makes no sense for Jamie Raskin, on the one hand, to ask for witnesses, after he had earlier asked that Mr. Trump be a witness, and then turn around and accept something that’s no witnesses at all, after he had only engaged with the defense counsel — nothing more. And his argument, I say, that, well, he already had the evidence — if that were true, then why did he even ask for adding the statement of Congresswoman Beutler? So I think this was a deal that was cut at the top levels between the Democratic leadership, believing let the Republicans be at each other’s throats for the next four years.

AMY GOODMAN: And there was a lot of talk about, for example, Chris Coons, who is considered one of the Biden whisperers, the senator from his home state of Delaware, walking in on the House managers and saying, “The jury is ready to vote,” which was sort of sending the message that Biden wanted to move on, wanted to deal with COVID relief and other things, the concern that Mitch McConnell could somehow say that if this trial is going to continue, he wouldn’t allow any other Senate work to happen, which would prevent essential bills like that from moving forward.

But I wanted to ask you about what’s next for Trump. You have a number of possible criminal investigations — the Manhattan DA probe of Trump’s finances; the Atlanta DA probe of Trump election schemes, like interfering with the secretary of state, demanding to find more than 11,000 votes; the Georgia secretary of state’s probe of Trump’s calls. And then you have, in D.C., both the attorney general and the D.C. U.S. attorney possible incitement of violence charge around that very January 6 insurrection. Civilly, you’ve got the New York attorney general investigating the Trump Organization. You’ve got the two defamation suits against Trump for abusing and, in one case, raping women: Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit and Summer Zervos’s defamation lawsuit.

BRUCE FEIN: Well, the most, I believe, important is the potential for federal criminal prosecution. Under the incitement of insurrection prohibition — for those who are interested, it’s in Title 18 U.S. Code 2843 — it provides as a punishment for having incited an insurrection to prevent the execution of the laws of the United States, including properly counting electoral votes, a disqualification from holding future office in the United States. And that would be the equivalent of the same punishment that would have ensued if he was convicted of an impeachable offense.

Now, the big issue is going to be the resolution of Joe Biden, his new attorney general, Merrick Garland, to pursue that. This issue of moving forward on Mr. Trump is not going to be made by low-level civil servants in the Department of Justice. It’s going to be made at the highest levels. And I’m worried, because if I think back about President Obama coming in on the heels of Mr. Bush and stating, and his attorney general stating, “Oh, yes, the enhanced interrogation program was torture,” which is an international law crime, as well as a crime under U.S. law, and they did absolutely nothing to pursue those who openly and notoriously conceded they were doing waterboarding hundreds of times, that was defined by Mr. Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder as torture.

And the politics is going to — at least it threatens to interfere with the obligation to do justice, which I think would be a tragedy, because, after all, the law lives by precedence. And if we don’t have accountability for this terrible, terrible gentleman, Mr. Trump, who basically wanted to turn the country back to a monarchy, then that precedent will lie around like a loaded weapon ready to be used by any other successor in the White House to destroy the country completely and say, “Well, I’m just doing what Mr. Trump did. He got away with it. No double standards for me.” They have to look beyond the politics of the moment to our posterity, so they can inherit freedom, liberty, government by the consent of the governed, as we did because our forefathers also made sacrifices for the long term, rather than their immediate self-interest.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Bruce Fein, the AP reports bipartisan support appears to be growing for an independent, September 11-style commission into the deadly insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol. And let’s just say, seven people died. Not only the police officer, the Capitol Police officer, Sicknick, but two officers also took their own lives afterwards. That’s the total seven. But what about this independent commission and what that would mean?

BRUCE FEIN: Well, there’s nothing in concept that I would oppose about an independent commission. But I think it’s too slow. And moreover, the Constitution creates the independent commissions. It’s called the Congress of the United States, where every member is sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. We didn’t need an independent commission to investigate Watergate. It was able to be done fairly. The American people saw it. We saw the witnesses. They have the subpoena power. They have more authority than an independent commission, because Congress, unknown to most members and the American people, has the authority to detain people if they don’t appear in response to subpoenas. They can find people. They don’t need to go to court and wait hour after year, day after day, year after year, in litigation. And the Watergate is the model.

We need to have the Congress — they need to be accountable for the decisions, the witnesses. We’ve gone too long where Congress runs, flees away from any decision that requires them to be accountable for their actions, just as we witnessed on the impeachment vote, where we had some members, like Senator Thom Tillis, saying, “Well, he should be convicted because he committed a crime, but I didn’t want to vote, because I don’t want to have to confront the voters.” That’s not acceptable. If you don’t want to comply with your oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, don’t serve in Congress.

AMY GOODMAN: Though I said “finally,” one more: Is it possible that still the Congress could vote to prevent Donald Trump from running for federal office? It was always said, after the Senate trial, if he were convicted by two-thirds vote, which he wasn’t — he was short by — they were short 10 votes — then a majority could vote to strip him of the right to run. But is there still a chance they could invoke the 14th Amendment and do that?

BRUCE FEIN: No. You’re referencing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That clearly would be a bill of attainder. The precise issue that you’ve described, Amy, was raised right after the Civil War, and it’s a case in the U.S. Supreme Court called Ex parte Garland, where the Congress sought to prevent anyone who had engaged in the Confederate States against the Union from practicing law. And the Supreme Court said, “You’re clearly trying to impose punishment. That can be only done with the trappings of due process in a court of law. It can’t be done by legislative decree.” The Constitution’s prohibition of bill of attainder would prohibit going down that path.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you for being with us, Bruce Fein, associate deputy attorney general at the FCC under President Reagan. He previously served as counsel to Republicans on the Joint Congressional Committee on Covert Arms Sales to Iran, constitutional lawyer, has testified on countless occasions before Congress, author of American Empire Before the Fall.

Next up, as the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 approaches half a million, a new report says nearly 40% of those who died, those deaths were avoidable. Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: “My Spanish Heart” by the legendary jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea. Chick Corea died on February 9th at the age of 79.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Tue Feb 16, 2021 6:16 am

Second Impeachment Trial Cold Open - SNL
by Saturday Night Live
Feb 13, 2021


Fox News host Tucker Carlson (Alex Moffat) interviews senators Lindsey Graham (Kate McKinnon), Ted Cruz (Aidy Bryant) and Mitch McConnell (Beck Bennett) on former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Wed Feb 17, 2021 12:20 am

After the Speech: What Trump Did as the Capitol Was Attacked: New evidence emerged in the impeachment trial about what President Donald J. Trump did from roughly 1 to 6 p.m. the day of the Capitol attack. But many questions remain unanswered.
by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin
New York Times
Feb. 13, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


The impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump largely focused on his actions leading up to the violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6. But there was a crucial period that day of nearly five hours — between the end of Mr. Trump’s speech at the Ellipse urging his supporters to march to the Capitol and a final tweet telling his followers to remember the day forever — that remains critical to his state of mind.

Evidence emerged during the trial about what Mr. Trump was doing during those hours, including new details about two phone calls with lawmakers that prosecutors said clearly alerted the president to the mayhem on Capitol Hill. Prosecutors said the new information was clear proof of Mr. Trump’s intent to incite the mob and of his dereliction to stop the violence, even when he knew that the life of Vice President Mike Pence was in danger.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader who on Saturday voted to acquit Mr. Trump but offered a sweeping endorsement of the prosecutors’ case, backed them up: “There’s no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.”

Still, many crucial questions remain unanswered about the president’s actions and mood from roughly 1 to 6 p.m. Jan. 6. Here is what is known so far:

Mr. Trump concluded his incendiary speech on the Ellipse at 1:11 p.m. He had repeatedly told the crowd that the election was stolen from him and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol in a last-ditch effort to stop President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory from being certified. Mr. Trump said twice that he would go with them. And days before the march, he had told advisers that he wanted to join his supporters, but aides told him that people in the crowd were armed and that the Secret Service would not be able to protect him.

Six minutes later, Mr. Trump’s motorcade began heading back to the White House. He arrived there at 1:19 p.m. as the crowd was making its way up Pennsylvania Avenue and beginning to swarm around the Capitol. Television news footage showed the mob as it moved closer to the doors.

At some point, Mr. Trump went to the Oval Office and watched news coverage of a situation that was growing increasingly tense.

At 1:34 p.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington made a formal request for assistance in a phone call with the Army secretary, Ryan D. McCarthy.
At 1:49 p.m., as the Capitol Police asked Pentagon officials for help from the National Guard, Mr. Trump tweeted a video of his incendiary rally speech.

It was around this time that some of Mr. Trump’s allies publicly called on him to do something. Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, told ABC News that Mr. Trump needed to say something to stop the rioting.


At 2:12 p.m., the same moment that the mob breached the building itself, Mr. Pence — who had defied the president by saying he planned to certify Mr. Biden’s victory — was rushed off the Senate floor. A minute later, the Senate session was recessed. Two minutes after that, at 2:15 p.m., groups of rioters began to chant, “Hang Mike Pence!”

Nine minutes later, at 2:24 p.m., Mr. Trump tweeted a broadside at Mr. Pence for moving ahead to certify Mr. Biden’s win: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”

At 2:26 p.m., after Mr. Pence had been whisked away, a call was placed from the White House to Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, according to call logs that the senator provided during the impeachment proceedings.

The president had made the call, but he was actually looking for Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama. Mr. Lee gave the phone to Mr. Tuberville, who has told reporters that he informed Mr. Trump that Mr. Pence had just been escorted out as the mob got closer to the Senate chamber.

“I said, ‘Mr. President, they just took the vice president out, I’ve got to go,’” Mr. Tuberville recounted to Politico.

This was a significant new piece of information. House prosecutors used it to argue that Mr. Trump was clearly aware that the vice president was in danger and that he had a callous disregard for Mr. Pence’s safety. On Friday, Mr. Trump’s defense team had insisted that Mr. Trump was not aware of any peril facing Mr. Pence.


Back at the White House, advisers were trying to get Mr. Trump to do something, but he rebuffed calls to intercede, including those from people wanting to see the National Guard deployed. The president, several advisers said, was expressing pleasure that the vote to certify Mr. Biden’s win had been delayed and that people were fighting for him.


“According to public reports, he watched television happily — happily — as the chaos unfolded,” Mr. McConnell said on Saturday. “He kept pressing his scheme to overturn the election. Even after it was clear to any reasonable observer that Vice President Pence was in serious danger, even as the mob carrying Trump banners was beating cops and breaching perimeters, the president sent a further tweet attacking his own vice president.”

“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”


Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Republican ally of the president’s, told The Washington Post that he called Ivanka Trump, Mr. Trump’s eldest daughter, to try to get her to reason with her father. Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, also called Ms. Trump to see if she could talk to her father. A short time later, she arrived in the Oval Office, urging Mr. Trump to issue a statement.

The White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, hammered at Mr. Trump to understand that he had potential legal exposure for what was taking place.

Finally, at 2:38 p.m., Mr. Trump tweeted, “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”

A short time later, at 3:13 p.m., Mr. Trump added a note, “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”

Ms. Trump quoted her father’s tweet when she sent out her own, telling “American Patriots” to follow the law. She quickly deleted it and replaced it when she faced blowback on Twitter for appearing to praise the rioters as “patriots.”

Around 3:30 p.m., Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader and another ally of Mr. Trump’s, told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell that he had spoken that afternoon with Mr. Trump as the Capitol was under siege.

“I told him he needed to talk to the nation,” Mr. McCarthy said. “I told him what was happening right then.”

The call became heated, according to a Republican congresswoman, Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington State, who said that Mr. McCarthy told her that Mr. Trump had sided with the mob as the Capitol attack unfolded, suggesting he had made a choice not to stop the violence.

In a statement on Friday night that was admitted into evidence in the trial on Saturday, Ms. Herrera Beutler recounted that Mr. McCarthy had a shouting match with Mr. Trump during the call.

Mr. McCarthy had told Mr. Trump that his own office windows were being broken into. “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Mr. Trump said, according to a report by CNN that the congresswoman confirmed.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Mr. McCarthy fired back at one point, CNN reported, including an expletive.

Meanwhile, the violence continued. At 4:17 p.m., Mr. Trump posted a video on Twitter of him speaking directly to the camera in the Rose Garden. “I know your pain,” Mr. Trump said. “I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us, it was a landslide election, and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now.”

He added, “We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt.”

The violence continued. Well before the Capitol Police announced at 8 p.m. that the building had been secured, Mr. Trump put out a final tweet at 6:01 p.m.: “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. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

The Trump Impeachment: What You Need to Know

A trial was held to decide whether former President Donald J. Trump is guilty of inciting a deadly mob of his supporters when they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, violently breaching security measures and sending lawmakers into hiding as they met to certify President Biden’s victory.

The House voted 232 to 197 to approve a single article of impeachment, accusing Mr. Trump of “inciting violence against the government of the United States” in his quest to overturn the election results. Ten Republicans joined the Democrats in voting to impeach him.

The Senate acquitted Mr. Trump of the charges by a vote of 57 to 43, falling short of the two-thirds majority required for a conviction.

Without a conviction, the former president is eligible to run for public office once again. Public opinion surveys show that he remains by far the most popular national figure in the Republican Party.


Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent. She joined The Times in 2015 as a campaign correspondent and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on President Trump’s advisers and their connections to Russia. @maggieNYT

Jonathan Martin is a national political correspondent. He has reported on a range of topics, including the 2016 presidential election and several state and congressional races, while also writing for Sports, Food and the Book Review. He is also a CNN political analyst. @jmartnyt

A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 14, 2021, Section A, Page 21 of the New York edition with the headline: After the Speech: What Trump Did While the Capitol Was Attacked.


********************************

Trump tweeted Pence lacked ‘courage’ as VP was running for his life from Capitol rioters: Impeachment trial managers showed previously unreleased surveillance footage from inside the Capitol on the day of the violent insurrection
by Namita Singh
UK Independent
February 11, 2021

Minutes before Mike Pence was being ushered out of the Senate chamber, narrowly escaping a mob that wanted to “hang” him, Donald Trump tweeted that the former vice president did not have the “courage” to agree to his demand of stopping the Congressional certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory.

Timestamped at 2:26:02 pm, the previously unreleased security footage from inside the US Capitol during the 6 January insurrection showed Mr Pence and his family being rushed out of the chamber as rioters got within 100 feet of him.

Just two minutes earlier, at 2:24 pm Mr Trump tweeted from his now-suspended account, saying: "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!"

Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman steered the mob away from the chambers shortly after insurrectionists in tactical gear, including at least one person carrying a baseball bat, while others carried flagpoles, broke through windows on the Senate side of the Capitol.

While it is unclear at the moment whether Mr Trump knew about the direct security threat to his deputy at the time of the tweet, Deseret News previously reported that he misdialed senator Tommy Tuberville and called senator Mike Lee instead during the insurrection.

Mr Lee had recounted to the paper about the call from Mr Trump that he had passed to Mr Tuberville and that lasted for about five to ten minutes. Mr Lee reportedly said that he stood nearby because he didn’t want to lose his cellphone in the commotion.

But during the impeachment trial on Wednesday, when the House impeachment managers cited the Deseret News account, Senator Lee objected to the portrayal of the accidental phone call from the then-President and demanded that it be struck out.

“They are not true. I never made those statements. I ask that they be stricken,” Senator Lee demanded.

Eventually, representative Jamie Raskin, the lead House manager agreed to withdraw the anecdote, which was cast as another piece of evidence that Mr Trump attempted to undermine the election results.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Wed Feb 17, 2021 3:07 am

Yes, Jan. 6 Capitol assault was an “armed insurrection”: Ron Johnson stated on February 15, 2021 in a radio interview: Says Jan. 6 Capitol riot “didn’t seem like an armed insurrection.”
by Eric Litke
Politico
February 15, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


Image

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

Police stopped only a fraction of the violent protestors Jan. 6, but we still know of guns and explosives seized in and around the Capitol. And we know rioters brought knives, brass knuckles a stun gun and other weapons.

Just as notable, video plainly shows the mob using all manner of makeshift weapons to attack police and force their way in, including hockey sticks, flagpoles, fire extinguishers and a police shield stolen from an officer.

Our Sources

WISN radio, "The Jay Weber Show," Feb. 15, 2021

NPR, The Capitol Siege: The Arrested And Their Stories, Feb. 12, 2021

OMNY.fm, The Regular Joe Show, RJS-02/15/21-Segment 4, Feb. 15, 2021

NBC News, Stun guns, 'stinger whips' and a crossbow: What police found on the Capitol protesters, Jan. 13, 2021

Reuters, Arrested Capitol rioters had guns and bombs, everyday careers and Olympic medals, Jan. 14, 2021

The Hill, Police seized alarming number of weapons on Capitol rioters, court documents show, Jan. 16, 2021

WHYY, Retired Delco firefighter charged with assault for hurling fire extinguisher at Capitol Police, Jan. 14, 2021

NBC Washington, Capitol Rioter Beat DC Officer With Pole Flying American Flag, Jan. 12, 2021

New York Times, ‘They Got a Officer!’: How a Mob Dragged and Beat Police at the Capitol, Jan. 11, 2021

CNN, Trump’s second impeachment trial: Day 2, Feb. 10, 2021


Five people died Jan. 6, 2021, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, when a mob violently invaded the U.S. Capitol in protest of the November 2020 election results.

Few arrests were made that day, but our understanding of the day’s events and the rioters’ motivations has grown over time, as more than 230 people have now been identified and charged, according to a database maintained by National Public Radio.

But U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, still claims accounts of the day’s events are being exaggerated. He made his case Feb. 15, 2021, in an appearance on "The Jay Weber Show" on WISN radio.

"The fact of the matter is this didn’t seem like an armed insurrection to me. I mean armed, when you hear armed, don’t you think of firearms?" Johnson said. "Here’s the questions I would have liked to ask. How many firearms were confiscated? How many shots were fired? I’m only aware of one, and I’ll defend that law enforcement officer for taking that shot."

Johnson made a nearly identical claim later that morning on another Wisconsin radio show.

Johnson is couching this as an opinion, but he’s attempting to make a factual case that Jan. 6 wasn’t an "armed insurrection."

So let’s review the evidence on that point.

Breaking down the claim

Johnson prefaced this comment by claiming that Democrats are painting a picture of every Trump voter being a violent rioter. Certainly not everyone in the crowd was armed. And many clearly came intending only to peacefully protest.

But claiming this was not an armed insurrection goes well behind this line of thinking.

Many in the crowd attacking the Capitol have said their intent was to stop the vote confirmation and keep Trump in office despite the election results. That’s an insurrection.

That leaves us with his objection to the word "armed."

Yes, carrying a gun would constitute being armed. But the definition of the word is much more broad, referring simply to carrying a weapon. So the question is whether this insurrection involved people carrying weapons.

And it certainly did.

Reports detail an array of weapons, many makeshift

First off we’ll note that any reports of weapons at the Capitol will greatly understate the quantity that was likely there. Only 75 people were arrested that day, and police weren’t doing any widespread searches that would have identified weapons on others present, NBC News notes.

"The cops weren't searching people," Mark Jones, a former agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with 20 years of counterterrorism experience told NBC News in a Jan. 13, 2021, story. "I'd speculate that there were many, many more firearms that were there that were not uncovered."

But news and official reports are filled with accounts of armed people at the Capitol.

Fourteen people tied to the Jan. 6 attack are facing federal charges related to bringing or using dangerous weapons inside the building and two are facing firearms-related charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

NBC News reported that within a week after the attack a dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition had been found on seven people arrested before and after the Capitol riot.

Cleveland Grover Meredith, drove to Washington from Colorado with an assault-style Tavor X95 rifle with a telescopic sight, a Glock 9 mm with high-capacity magazines and more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition, including at least 320 rounds of armor-piercing bullets, NBC reported. Reuters said Meredith texted "War time" after hearing Vice President Mike Pence would count electoral votes from states Trump lost.

In the trunk of Lonnie Coffman’s vehicle, police found an AR-15-style rifle, a shotgun, a crossbow, several machetes, smoke grenades and 11 Molotov cocktails, Reuters reported. Another man, Christopher Alberts of Maryland, was stopped as he left the Capitol grounds after a police officer spotted a loaded handgun on his hip.

Many more people armed themselves by more unorthodox means, causing damage and injury.

Robert Sanford, 55, of Pennsylvania, was allegedly caught on video throwing a fire extinguisher at a group of police officers. David Blair, 26, was seen hitting officers with a lacrosse stick, NBC said. Others had pepper spray, brass knuckles, a pipe and pocket knives, and one man was carrying a "stinger whip," a tool with blunt and whip-like edges marketed for self-defense and escaping a locked vehicle.

One rioter was caught on video beating a police officer with a flagpole bearing an American flag, NBC Washington reported. The New York Times reviewed video that showed people using stolen police shields, sticks and crutches as weapons.

And the man photographed with his feet on the desk of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was carrying a 950,000-volt stun gun walking stick, House impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett revealed Feb. 10.

Not to mention pipe bombs were found near the Capitol at Republican and Democratic party headquarters.

Johnson’s staff did not immediately return an email seeking evidence or explanation of his claim.

Our ruling

Johnson said the Jan. 6 Capitol riot "didn’t seem like an armed insurrection."

That’s ridiculous revisionist history.

Overwhelmed police arrested and had direct contact with only a fraction of the mob that day, but we still can identify accounts of numerous weapons found in and around the Capitol, brought there in some cases by people who saw themselves as soldiers in a war. And many other rioters used whatever hard objects they could find to attack police and force their way into the Capitol.

A majority of senators, through the impeachment vote, put the blame on Trump for stirring up the riot, though others debate the "why" question for the events of Jan. 6. But the "what" question shouldn't be debated. It was an armed insurrection.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire.

***********************************

'Asinine': Keilar blasts GOP senator's Capitol riot claim
by Brianna Keilar
CNN
Feb 16, 2021


CNN's Brianna Keilar reacts to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) stating that the Capitol riot on January 6th didn't seem like an "armed insurrection."
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:43 am

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on the future of the Republican Party, the insurrection, and COVID
by Katie Couric
Feb 18, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.




Maryland Governor Larry Hogan talks with Katie about whether the future of the Republican Party lies with Donald Trump and his droves of followers, and if so, whether a moderate like Hogan will survive. Hogan also talks about the actions he took on January 6th when the U.S. Capitol was overrun by Trump supporters, as members of congress certified the 2020 election results and cemented Joe Biden's administration.

Governor Hogan discusses the vaccine rollout and his disappointment over the coordination of vaccine dose distribution from manufacturers leading to nationwide supply shortages.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Tue Feb 23, 2021 7:51 am

This "Oath Keeper" Says She Met with Secret Service BEFORE The Capitol Riot
by Ana Kasparian, Cenk Uygur
The Young Turks
Feb 22, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.




Why did this Capitol rioter meet with the Secret Service before the attack? Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks. Support TYT by becoming a member: http://tyt.com/join

Read more HERE: https://lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-s...​

"The defense for Jessica Watkins, one of the “Oath Keepers” charged in the siege of the U.S. Capitol Building, say she should be released to home confinement because prosecutors showed no evidence she engaged in violence that day. She was there to protect speakers at a rally that preceded the riots, had a VIP pass to the rally, and met with Secret Service agents, the motion stated."*
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:07 am

Senate Hearings Reveal Disturbing Evidence Re: Trump Installed Secretary of Defense Chris Miller
by Glenn Kirschner
Mar 4, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.




In a series of Senate hearings, we've learned that the security failures at the US Capitol may have been orchestrations by the likes of General Charles Flynn and Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller. Indeed, while the Capitol was under attack, Miller inexplicably delayed for hours the deployment of National Guard troops.

All along, there were so many unanswered questions about Chris Miller: why did Trump install an entirely unqualified person like Miller as Acting Secretary of Defense AFTER Trump lost the election? lt obviously had nothing to do with the efficient running of the Defense Department or national security. And why did Miller obstruct the Biden transition team, shocking Defense Department officials? Given what we are learning about Miller's role surrounding January 6, we may be starting to see why Trump put Miller in place.

*******************************

Michael Flynn’s brother warned about 'optics' of sending uniformed troop response to Capitol siege, DC Guard chief says
by Jerry Dunleavy
Justice Department Reporter
Washington Examiner
March 04, 2021 04:22 PM

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


D.C. National Guard's commanding officer says the brother of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who is currently a lieutenant general, was among those concerned about the "optics" of the military response to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6.

The revelations are part of a sweeping congressional inquiry into the U.S. government’s intelligence about and response to the siege of Congress that disrupted lawmakers as they certified President Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump.

Major Gen. William Walker, the commander of the District of Columbia National Guard, testified on Wednesday at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing that the military’s response that day included a 2:30 p.m. phone call with key military leaders, including Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations, and Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, the director of the Army staff. Walker said the two military officials were worried about the “optics” of Guardsmen showing up at the Capitol and were concerned it might agitate the mob further.

The Army previously denied in January that Charles Flynn was involved with that phone call, though it eventually admitted that he was a participant. Flynn himself issued a statement admitting his participation. “I entered the room after the call began and departed prior to the call ending as I believed a decision was imminent from the Secretary, and I needed to be in my office to assist in executing the decision," he said.

He was responding to Washington Post reporting that noted how weeks earlier his brother, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, publicly suggested Trump could use "military capabilities" and "rerun" election in swing states. The report stressed that there was no indication that Charles Flynn was in any way influenced by his brother in performing his duties on Jan. 6.

“Charlie Flynn is an officer of an incredibly high integrity,” then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said in a statement in January. “Multiple combat tours. He has buried a lot of people. This guy has given a lot to this country. It is incredibly awkward for this officer every day for what is going on with him and his brother, but he puts his head down in, and he is locked in to serve the Constitution.”

During his testimony on Wednesday, Walker said now-former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and Metropolitan Police Department acting Chief Robert Contee both asked the military leadership to send help during that call, with the director of D.C.’s deputy mayor and the head of its homeland security department, the chief of the U.S. Secret Service uniformed division, and other military officials were also participating. Walker testified that the Army did not inform him was authorized to send help until after 5 p.m. that day, though Walker said he had a quick reaction force ready to go hours before.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked Walker who was on the call, to which he said, “Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn” was among them, though he quickly corrected himself to say he meant his brother Charles.

Walker said Piatt was on the call too and “there were other senior civilian leaders from the United States Army and other high-ranking general officers were on the call as well.” Klobuchar asked if he remembered “who was mostly talking about the optics … and their concern about that.” Walker replied that “who was talking about optics were Gen. Flynn and Gen. Piatt, and they both said it wouldn’t be in their best military advice to advise the secretary of the Army to have uniformed Guards members at the Capitol during the election confirmation.”

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff told Walker that “you had seen the requisite authorities granted for the D.C. Guard in a matter of minutes in the past, in this case, it took over three hours, and you stated that you believed it was a combination of political concerns and optical concerns that led to that delay.”

“I don’t think it was so much political. Let me focus on the optics, because that’s what I heard. The word ‘optics’ and the word that having a uniformed presence at the Capitol could enflame the protesters,” Walker said of “senior leaders” such as Flynn, Piatt, and others, adding, “They got back to me saying ... that it wouldn’t be their best military advice to send uniformed Guardsmen because they didn’t like the optics and they had also said they thought it could inflame. What they wanted to do was send Guardsmen to relieve police officers in the city so more police could get to the Capitol.”

Before the 2:30 p.m. call that day, Walker spoke with Sund at 1:49 p.m. Walker said, “It was an urgent plea” from Sund, “and his voice was cracking, and he was serious, he needed help right then and there, every available Guardsman.” Walker said he passed this along to Army leadership during the call shortly thereafter, “and during that call, Chief Sund pleaded to have National Guard support at the Capitol immediately.” Walker said that was “reinforced” by Contee and quoted him as saying, “We need them there right now. The Capitol will be breached.”

Robert Salesses, the acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, also testified on Wednesday, telling senators, “Gen. Piatt told me yesterday that he didn’t say anything about optics.”

In response, Klobuchar said she thought what Walker was talking about “is the general concern about was that they were more concerned about how this would appear and it was in their best advice — and I guess what bears out his testimony is they did not send the National Guard there for hours, they didn’t give the authorization for him as he waited with his troops to go over to the Capitol.”

Salesses argued that Piatt “is not a decision-maker” and said the only decision-makers on Jan. 6 were then-acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and McCarthy. He said the “chain of command” went from Miller to McCarthy to Walker.

Walker replied that “there were people in the room with me on that call who heard what they heard.”

*******************************

D.C. National Guard chief: Pentagon took 3 hours to greenlight troops during Capitol assault
One of the military leaders who advised against deploying troops was Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, the brother of ex-Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, the Guard chief said.
by Rebecca Shabad
NBC News
March 3, 2021, 7:52 AM MST / Updated March 3, 2021, 11:26 AM MST

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


WASHINGTON — The commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, told members of Congress Wednesday that he had troops ready to deploy immediately to the Capitol on Jan. 6, but it took more than three hours for the Defense Department to give the green light.

The commander, Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, added that military leaders — including the brother of ex-Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn — advised at one point during the afternoon that deploying troops would not be "good optics."

In his opening remarks before two Senate committees, Walker said that he received a “frantic call” from the chief of U.S. Capitol Police, Steven Sund, early that afternoon about the security perimeter of the Capitol being breached.

"Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and he requested the immediate assistance of as many available guardsmen,” Walker said in his testimony at a joint hearing of two Senate committees: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Rules and Administration.

Walker said he alerted the Army’s senior leadership about Sund's request immediately after their phone call.

“The approval for Chief Sund’s request would eventually come from the acting secretary of defense and be relayed to me by Army senior leaders at 5:08 p.m. — 3 hours and 19 minutes later,” he said.

Walker said that by then, they had already ordered Guard members onto buses to move to the Capitol, and at 5:20 p.m. — less than 20 minutes after the Guard finally received permission to deploy — troops arrived at the building.

Walker said “seconds mattered, minutes mattered” as events were unfolding. If he had been given the authorization to deploy the more than 150 troops sooner, he said: “I believe that number could have made a difference. We could have helped extend the perimeter and helped push back the crowd."

Also, unlike on Jan. 6, Walker testified that there was no delay in receiving authorization to deploy troops when the D.C. National Guard’s support was requested to handle demonstrations in downtown Washington last summer after the death of George Floyd.

Not 'good optics'

After his initial call with Walker, Sund then “passionately pleaded” with Pentagon officials to approve his request for the Guardsmen to come to the Capitol in a call at around 2:30 p.m. with senior Army leaders and the D.C. government and police, Walker said.

“The Army senior leaders said that it did not look good” and would not be "good optics,” Walker said, adding, “They further stated that it could incite the crowd.”

Walker said he was told then-Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy was meeting with then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and they could not be on the call, but the senior military leaders who were on the call said it was their best advice not to have uniformed Guardsmen on the Capitol grounds.

Walker identified those senior leaders as Gen. Walter Piatt and Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn — the brother of Trump’s first national security adviser, who was pardoned by Trump after twice pleading guilty to lying to the FBI during the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign.

Michael Flynn also reportedly advocated declaring martial law as part of an effort to overturn the election and promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, which was supported by some of the rioters on Jan. 6.

Walker said he “was frustrated” by the military leaders' response. “I was just as stunned as everybody else on the call," he said.

Ultimately, once D.C. National Guard troops arrived that evening, they helped re-establish the security perimeter on the east side of the Capitol to allow for the joint session of Congress resume in counting the Electoral College votes, he said.

The other witnesses at the hearing were Melissa Smislova, who is performing the duties of the undersecretary in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security; Jill Sanborn, assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division; and Robert Salesses, who is performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense focused on homeland defense and global security.

Salesses said in his opening remarks that Miller “ordered the full mobilization" of the D.C. National Guard at 3:04 p.m. ET to provide support and McCarthy then directed the Guard personnel to initiate full mobilization.

But Salesses later clarified during questioning from Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., he meant troops were called into the armory, not actually mobilized to the Capitol.

Following a review of the plans for the support mission, the secretary of the Army got approval from the acting defense secretary to deploy at 4:32 p.m. and ordered the D.C. National Guard forces to depart the Armory for the Capitol.

That decision by Miller was not relayed to Walker until 5:08 p.m., more than 30 minutes later, Walker said.

“That’s a significant problem for the future,” Blunt said about the communication delay.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, top Republican on the Homeland Security committee, expressed frustration that he and his colleagues were not receiving testimony from current and former Defense Department officials who made key decisions that day.

The FBI's Sanborn said the bureau has received more than 200,000 digital media tips and more than 30,000 leads at its national threat operations center in its investigation of those involved in the assault.

"With this support, we have identified hundreds of people involved in the attack and arrested more than 300, with more and more arrests every day," she said.

Smislova, the DHS official, said in her opening remarks that she is "deeply concerned that despite our best efforts, they did not lead to an operational response" to defend the Capitol.

The joint hearing comes a day after FBI Director Christopher Wray failed to offer much information about whether his intelligence analysts missed warning signs before the riot. Wray also repeatedly shot down claims by Republican allies of former President Donald Trump and others that antifa activists participated in the attack.

The two congressional panels held a first hearing last week examining the attack, where they heard testimony from Sund, former Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger, former House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving and acting D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee.

The witnesses told lawmakers that they blamed the Jan. 6 attack on poor intelligence and a slow response from the federal government.

Separately on Wednesday, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman testified before the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees legislative branch funding at a hearing about her agency’s budget.

Pittman testified that threats to members nearly doubled in the first two months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Lawmakers on that subcommittee heard testimony from her last week about the riot, and they will likely use this as another opportunity to question her about what occurred.

Rebecca Shabad is a congressional reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:11 am

Capitol Attack Hearing Reveals How "Seconds Mattered" in DoD Response
The Mehdi Hasan Show
Mar 3, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.




DC National Guard chief testified Wednesday that the Pentagon took more than 3 hours to greenlight troops in response to the riot. MSNBC Natl Security Contributor Clint Watts joins Mehdi Hasan to discuss why.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Sat Mar 06, 2021 2:27 am

Trump appointee to State Dept. Federico Klein arrested in Capitol attack; stunned mom says he was 'Boy Scout type'
by Kevin Johnson, Deirdre Shesgreen, and Tom Vanden Brook
USA TODAY
March 5, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


A former Trump administration State Department aide has been accused of charging a police line during the deadly Capitol assault when he allegedly used a confiscated riot shield in an attempt to breach the building's doors, according to court documents.

Federico Klein, whose image was captured repeatedly on police body-worn cameras, is the first known Trump appointee to be swept up in the sprawling federal investigation. A Trump spokesman said he had no comment.

Klein, 42, made his first court appearance Friday when he was ordered to remain in custody pending a Tuesday detention hearing.

At the time of the Jan. 6 siege, according to court documents, Klein held a top secret security clearance at the State Department where he served in the Office of Brazilian and South Cone Affairs.

Federal authorities identified Klein, who also previously worked for the Trump campaign, from multiple photographs in which he was alternately wearing a red "Make America Great Again" cap and a Marine Corps hat.

Beginning at 2:43 p.m. that day, authorities allege that Klein appeared in front of a mob clashing with officers near the Capitol's west terrace, where rioters were attempting to push through to "two sets of doors."

According to court documents, Klein and others refused to heed six separate directives from officers to back away. Instead, Klein allegedly "shoved" the shield into the door opening to prevent officers from securing the doors.

One photograph allegedly shows Klein, his fist clenched, attempting to breach the doors.

According to court documents, he also repeatedly called for reinforcements to maintain pressure on the police line.

"We need fresh people!" Klein allegedly called out during the struggle. "We need fresh people!"

Eventually, an officer used chemical spray, forcing Klein to move somewhere else, officials say.

Klein was arrested Thursday in Virginia and faces charges including obstructing Congress and assaulting officers using a dangerous weapon.

Klein became a staff assistant in the State Department shortly after Trump’s inauguration in 2017, according to a financial disclosure report. He resigned from his position on Jan. 19, the day before Joe Biden was sworn in as president and nearly two weeks after the attack, according to authorities.

One of Klein’s State Department coworkers helped authorities identify him, officials said.

Klein's mother: 'How in Lord's name he got mixed up in this, I have no idea'

The suspect's mother, Cecilia Klein, said Friday that her son's arrest was "a huge shock."

"I was watching like everybody else on Jan. 6 as those numb-nuts climbed the walls" of the Capitol, Klein said in an interview with USA TODAY. "It never occurred to me that Fred would be part of this."

Some weeks after the siege, Klein said her son visited for dinner when she asked whether he was at the National Mall for the demonstration. She said that he acknowledged being there. Asked whether he was among the rioters who sought to breach of the Capitol, Klein said her son "denied it, flatly."

"He's a good kid, smart and honest – a Boy Scout type," she said, adding that he served a stint in Iraq as a Marine.

According to the Marine Corps, Klein served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves from January 2004 to November 2012. He left the service as a corporal and his specialty was combat engineering. He was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom from February to September in 2005. His units received several awards for service, including for the Global War on Terrorism.

"I was very proud of him; I wasn't happy he was working for Trump," Klein said, referring to his work for the Trump campaign in 2016.

"How in Lord's name he got mixed up in this, I have no idea," she said. "He's in the hoosegow, for now."

Ned Price, the State Department's chief spokesman, declined comment on Klein's arrest.

"This is a matter that's being investigated by the FBI, and they are the appropriate agency to answer questions specific to the charges," Price said.

At least five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died as a result of the violence, and two other officers later killed themselves. More than 300 people have been charged with federal crimes.

A Department of State diplomatic security special agent interviewed by an FBI agent confirmed that Klein was colleague at the department. The Department of State official identified Klein in photos and video shown by the FBI, officials said.

********************************

Former Trump Admin Official Charged with Assaulting Cop at January 6 Capitol Riot
by Amy Goodman
Democracy Now
March 05, 2021

Image

In Arkansas, the man photographed with his feet propped on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk during the January 6 assault on the Capitol shouted at a federal judge Thursday that it was “not fair” that he was being held in jail ahead of his trial. Richard Barnett has pleaded not guilty to felony charges — including obstruction of Congress and disorderly conduct in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon.

In Virginia, federal agents have arrested former Trump administration official Federico Klein, charging him with assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon during the January 6 attack. Klein worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and served as special assistant in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department. He’s also a former U.S. marine who was deployed in Iraq. This comes as federal agents are probing communications between pro-Trump insurrectionists and members of Congress or their staffers.

On Thursday, the U.S. Capitol Police requested a 60-day extension of the National Guard’s mission helping to protect Congress. If approved, as many as 2,200 troops could remain on Capitol Hill into May.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

Re: Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certificat

Postby admin » Sat Mar 06, 2021 2:40 am

Capitol riot suspect pictured at Pelosi’s desk screams ‘It’s not fair’ in courtroom tantrum
by Meryl Kornfield
The Washington Post
March 4, 2021 at 5:33 p.m. MST

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


Image
Richard Barnett, a supporter of former president Donald Trump, sits inside the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Jan. 6. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Richard Barnett, infamously photographed during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot with his feet propped on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office, shouted that it was “not fair” that he remained in jail, in an outburst before a federal judge on Thursday.

In a virtual hearing, Barnett, 60, of Gravette, Ark., complained of his pretrial detention after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper set the next court date for May.

“The government keeps dragging this out and letting everybody else out,” Barnett argued before the judge abruptly called for a recess for Barnett to speak with his attorneys, according to a transcript of the hearing.

“This has been a bunch of crap,” Barnett yelled before the recess, according to a Daily Beast reporter on the call.

After the break, the hearing continued uninterrupted.

Barnett was arrested less than a week after the insurrection and entered a plea of not guilty.

Among the approximately 300 people charged with federal charges, Barnett and others have objected to the fallout after their arrests. Texas flower shop owner Jenny Louise Cudd, who complained to Vanity Fair she was “canceled,” asked the court to allow her to go on vacation to Mexico.

After “QAnon shaman” Jacob Chansley, pictured in a fur headdress and horns on Jan. 6, demanded improved conditions in jail as he awaits trial, claiming nonorganic food was against his religion, a federal judge ordered Chansley be moved to a jail in Virginia where he would be served organic food, according to court records.

Chansley, like others facing criminal charges stemming from the riot, publicly requested but did not receive a pardon from former president Donald Trump.

[‘Brazen, entitled, dangerous’: D.C. judge jails man photographed in Pelosi’s office, by
Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post, Jan. 28, 2021 at 3:44 p.m. MST
]

Barnett has remained behind bars pending his trial since Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled Barnett’s detention was warranted given the prosecution’s arguments that he is a flight risk. Barnett told federal agents on Jan. 8 that after the insurrection he drove back to Arkansas, turned off his phone’s location services, used only cash and kept his face covered, according to court records.

“He also commented that the agents may not find much at his house because he is a smart man,” prosecutors wrote in a memo in favor of pretrial detention. Barnett told the agents he had recently removed his guns from his house before it was searched.

In photos of Barnett sitting in a chair in Pelosi’s office, a stun gun appeared to be clipped to his waist. Records identified by prosecutors indicate Barnett bought a 950,000-volt stun gun walking stick at a Bass Pro Shop in Arkansas five days before he traveled to Washington.

Surveillance video, photos and media interviews captured Barnett in Pelosi’s office for six minutes and his unabashed boasts later that he broke in and took mail from the office, according to authorities. In an interview, he showed off an envelope with Pelosi’s signature.

Barnett insisted he didn’t steal the mail, telling a reporter that he left a quarter and note with an expletive and his nickname “Bigo” on the desk.

“I did not steal it,” he said, according to a video the FBI obtained. “I bled on it because they were Mace-ing me and I couldn’t [expletive] see so I figured I am in her office. I got blood on her office.”

A grand jury indicted Barnett in January on seven counts, including disorderly conduct, obstruction of an official proceeding, and theft of government property.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 37523
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:21 am

PreviousNext

Return to United States Government Crime

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests