Altruistic World Online Library

by **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.

by **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

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.”

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!”

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.

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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.

by **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

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.

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'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."

by **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

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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.

by **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

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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."*

by **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

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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.

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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

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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.”

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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

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.

by **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

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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.

by **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

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.

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

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.

by **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

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.

by **admin** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:53 am

Part 1 of 2

Rep. Eric Swalwell Sues Trump, Don Jr., Giuliani and Rep. Brooks for 1/6 Attack on the US Capitol
by Glenn Kirschner
Mar 5, 2021

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Congressman Eric Swalwell filed suit today in Federal Court in DC against defendants Donald Trump, Don Jr., Congressman Mo Brooks and Rudy Giuliani for their role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

The suit powerfully, perhaps even irrefutably, lays out why Trump and the others are legally responsible for the attack that victimized Swalwell and all of the others that were in the US Capitol at the time of the attack. Here's a review for the layman of the applicable law - 18 United States Code section 1985 - showing exactly why Donald Trump and the other defendants are likely going to lose this lawsuit and be held accountable for the injuries and destruction they caused on January 6.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Representative ERIC SWALWELL, 174 Cannon House Office Building, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515,

Plaintiff,

v.

DONALD J. TRUMP (in his personal capacity) The Mar-A-Lago Club, 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, FL 33480,

DONALD J. TRUMP JR., 425 E. 58th Street, Apt. 12 CD, New York, NY 10022,

Representative MO BROOKS (in his personal capacity), 2185 Rayburn House Office Building, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515,

and

RUDOLPH GIULIANI, Rudolph W. Giuliani, PLLC, 445 Park Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10022,

Defendants.

Case 1:21-cv-00586 Document 1
Filed 03/05/21 Page 1 of 65

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

COMPLAINT

1. The peaceful transfer of power is a sacrament of American democracy. Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., his advisor Rudy Giuliani, and Congressman Mo Brooks, together with many others, defiled that sacrament through a campaign of lies and incendiary rhetoric which led to the sacking of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

2. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election; he was unwilling to accept defeat. Trump lied to his followers, telling them that the certification of Joe Biden’s election was a “coup” and that their country was being stolen from them. The Defendants filed frivolous lawsuits, all of which failed. The Defendants tried to intimidate state officials, none of whom caved to the pressure. Out of options and out of time, the Defendants called their supporters to Washington, D.C. on the day Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s win, telling them to “Stop the Steal” and “be wild.” Thousands came to the District in response. Some planned violence at the Capitol in advance; some were stirred to violence by the Defendants’ words on that day.

3. Trump implored the crowd to “fight like hell” and “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue . . . to the Capitol.” According to an analysis of cell phone location data, approximately 40% of the rally attendees did just that.1

4. As a direct and foreseeable consequence of the Defendants’ false and incendiary allegations of fraud and theft, and in direct response to the Defendants’ express calls for violence at the rally, a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol. Many participants in the attack have since revealed that they were acting on what they believed to be former President Trump’s orders in service of their country.

5. The mob disrupted the certification of the vote in the Electoral College. Rioters threatened to hang Vice President Mike Pence and kill the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and they terrorized and injured scores of others, including the Plaintiff.

6. Many members of Congress, including the Plaintiff, were trapped in the House chamber as plainclothes officers barricaded doors and held off the mob at gunpoint. Fearing for their lives, the Plaintiff and others masked their identities as members of Congress, texted loved ones in case the worst happened, and took shelter throughout the Capitol complex.

7. As the Plaintiff and hundreds of others—including police officers, other elected officials, and rank-and-file workers at the Capitol—were put in mortal danger, and as the seat of American Democracy was desecrated by the insurgent mob, the Defendants watched the events unfold on live television. Those with knowledge claimed that during this moment of national horror, Trump was “delighted” and was “confused about why other people on his team weren’t as excited as he was.” Others described Trump as “borderline enthusiastic” about the unfolding violence.

8. The horrific events of January 6 were a direct and foreseeable consequence of the Defendants’ unlawful actions. As such, the Defendants are responsible for the injury and destruction that followed.

I.

PARTIES

Plaintiff Eric Swalwell

9. Plaintiff Eric Swalwell is beginning his fifth term as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California’s 15th Congressional District. He is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he serves as Chair of the Intelligence Modernization and Readiness Subcommittee, as well as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. Before his election to the House in 2012, Congressman Swalwell spent seven years as a prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s office in his home state of California. In 2021, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appointed Congressman Swalwell as one of nine House impeachment managers for Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial.

10. On January 6, 2021, Congressman Swalwell was at the Capitol performing his official duties as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives to count the Electoral College votes and certify the winner of the 2020 Presidential election.

11. Congressman Swalwell was in the House chambers when the violent mob entered the Capitol, ransacked offices, and set out to kill members of Congress and other officials. He was on the House floor the moment plainclothes officers barricaded doors and held the rioters at gunpoint to prevent them from entering the chamber.

Defendants

12. Defendants are the former President of the United States and three close associates who conspired with him and others, including the rioters who breached the Capitol on January 6, to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Defendant Donald J. Trump

13. Donald J. Trump was the 45th President of the United States. He ran for reelection in 2020 and lost. He has a lengthy history of normalizing violence through his rhetoric and social media communications. After his electoral defeat, Trump and the other Defendants conspired to undermine the election results by alleging, without evidence, that the election had been rigged and by pressuring elected officials, courts, and ultimately Congress to reject the results.

14. Trump also promoted and spoke at the January 6 rally, the culmination of the Defendants’ coordinated efforts to subvert the certification vote which was funded and organized by his campaign and groups supporting his candidacy. He encouraged his followers to come to Washington, D.C. on January 6, and he encouraged them to go to the Capitol to “fight like hell.” Trump directly incited the violence at the Capitol that followed and then watched approvingly as the building was overrun.

15. Trump did all these things solely in his personal capacity, for his own personal benefit, and to advance his personal interests as a candidate. For example, he tweeted from his personal Twitter account (@realDonaldTrump) and not from the official, White House, twitter account, and he spoke at the January 6 rally in his capacity as a losing candidate for the Presidency on the day Joseph Biden was being certified as the winning candidate and next President of the United States.

Defendant Donald J. Trump Jr.

16. Defendant Donald J. Trump Jr. is the oldest son of former President Trump and the executive vice president of the Trump Organization. Trump Jr. conspired with the other Defendants to undermine the election results by alleging, without evidence, that the election had been rigged and by pressuring elected officials, courts, and ultimately Congress to reject the results.

17. Trump Jr. also promoted and spoke at the January 6 rally. He addressed the crowd at this event and directly incited the violence at the Capitol that followed.

Defendant Rudolph Giuliani

18. Defendant Rudolph Giuliani was a close advisor and personal lawyer for former President Trump. Giuliani conspired with the other Defendants to undermine the election results by alleging, without evidence, that the election had been rigged and by pressuring elected officials, courts, and ultimately Congress to reject the results. As one of Trump’s personal attorneys, Giuliani participated in the frivolous lawsuits filed on Trump’s behalf.

19. Giuliani also promoted and spoke at the January 6 rally. Giuliani addressed the crowd at this event and directly incited the violence at the Capitol that followed.

Defendant Mo Brooks

20. Defendant Mo Brooks is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District. Brooks—acting in his personal capacity—conspired with the other Defendants to undermine the election results by alleging, without evidence, that the election had been rigged and by pressuring elected officials, courts, and ultimately Congress to reject the results.

21. Brooks also promoted and spoke at the January 6 rally. Brooks addressed the crowd at this event and directly incited the violence at the Capitol that followed.

II.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

22. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case because the Plaintiff’s federal conspiracy claims arise under the laws of the United States. It has jurisdiction over the Plaintiff’s state law claims because they are so closely related to the federal claims as to form part of the same case or controversy. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1367; 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986.

23. Venue is proper in this Court because a substantial part of the conduct giving rise to the claims in the case, including the violent attack on the Capitol the Defendants incited, occurred in the District of Columbia. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2).

24. This Court has personal jurisdiction over all the Defendants because they committed these violations in the District of Columbia. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)(1)(A); D.C. Code § 13-423.

III.

RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Trump’s Deliberate Efforts to Undermine the Election Results

25. Months before a single poll had opened for the 2020 election, Trump and the Trump campaign began accusing Democrats of trying to “steal the election,” calling the lawful state decisions about how to conduct an election in the midst of a world-wide pandemic—supervised, where appropriate, by the courts—“the scandal of our times.” He repeatedly made such statements, right up to the days immediately preceding the election:

26. When election day (November 3) arrived, however, Trump said nothing of election fraud for much of the day, almost surely because he led Biden in the early returns.

27. Democrats more so than Republicans chose to vote by mail, given the starkly partisan views of the Covid-19 pandemic. Where most Republican leaders urged supporters to vote in person, Democratic leaders sought to prioritize safety and social-distancing, encouraging people to vote by mail.2 Mail-in ballots were often counted much later than in-person ballots. Of the battleground states that largely decided the 2020 election—Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona—Pennsylvania and Wisconsin do not begin processing mail-in ballots until election day, and only Arizona and Nevada began counting mail-in ballots earlier than election day.3

28. Toward the end of the day on November 3, however, the returns moved in Biden’s direction, as most pundits and analysts had predicted, and Trump’s lead substantially dwindled. As his outlook soured over this news, and realizing that his reelection campaign was going to be unsuccessful, Trump decided to renew his claims of voter fraud.

29. At 12:49 a.m., on November 4, Trump took to Twitter to accuse unnamed individuals from attempting to steal his victory.

30. A little more than an hour later, Trump accused a “very sad group of people” of “trying to disenfranchise” the millions of people who had voted for him.4

31. Later in the day, Trump doubled down on his claims of fraud, falsely declaring victory in the battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan, even as hundreds of thousands of votes in those states were still being counted and the polls were showing an increasing advantage for Biden.5

32. The following morning, November 5, less than 48 hours after the polls had closed, Trump tweeted “Stop the Count” and “Stop the Fraud,” slogans frequently repeated throughout the day on January 6 prior to and during the attack on the Capitol. He sent these tweets in an effort to keep his reelection prospects alive, despite the mounting reasons to believe he had been defeated.

33. Trump gave his first prime-time speech since the election the evening of November 5. He opened his remarks to the nation with a stunning false assertion, “If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.”6 He echoed that sentiment on Twitter a short while later:

34. Trump’s allegations of wrongdoing in those first days after the election sparked confrontations nationwide between his supporters and election officials:

35. Trump soon after began directing his criticisms at individual elected officials. His supporters, in turn, began targeting those officials for harassment and threats. For example, armed supporters of the former President, encouraged by him, surrounded the home of the Michigan Secretary of State, while Trump-supporting militias demanded a “citizen tribunal” at the Georgia Capitol.

36. President Biden went on to win the states of Arizona7 and Georgia.8 Yet, in the first half of December, Trump attacked the Republican governors of these states, accusing them of “fight[ing] harder against us than do the Radical Left Dems.” He lamented their lack of fealty to him, stating if these governors “were with us, we would already have won both Arizona and Georgia”:

37. Trump also attempted to pressure state electors to improperly overturn the election results in their states. He directed particular attention to officials in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. He personally attempted to cajole these officials to overturn the election results and directed his followers to intimidate these perceived adversaries.

38. In November 2020, bipartisan election officials in Wayne County, Michigan unanimously certified the election results for President Biden. Trump then tried to pressure two Republican members of that board to change their minds. In response, these two officials in fact tried—unsuccessfully—to rescind their votes certifying the election results.

39. Trump next contacted Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Lee Chatfield. Trump likewise pressured them to overturn Michigan’s election results, even meeting them in person to pressure them to undo the results of the election. Those efforts, too, proved unsuccessful.

40. Undeterred, Trump falsely declared on December 5, “You know I won almost every county in Michigan, almost every district. We should have won that state very easily. We have a similar type of governor I think but I’ll let you know that in about a week.”

41. In what should have been an obvious sign of the risk inflammatory language could pose on January 6, some of Trump’s followers heard his claims as a directive to act. And they responded. A large group of armed protestors convened at the home of the Michigan Secretary of State chanting, “Stop the steal!,” “You’re a threat to our democracy!,” and “You’re a threat to a free and honest election!” The protestors made explicit demands that the Secretary overturn the state’s election results.

42. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results in Michigan were unsuccessful.

43. There were no election irregularities in Michigan sufficient to change the final Presidential vote count in that state. Joe Biden won the Presidential vote in Michigan.9

Pennsylvania

44. Trump also attempted to interfere with officials in Pennsylvania. Trump contacted Pennsylvania State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward and Pennsylvania Speaker of the House of Representatives Brian Cutler. Trump directly and falsely told Senator Ward, “There was fraud in the voting.”

45. On November 25, 2020, Trump participated by phone in a Pennsylvania State Republican Senate policy hearing and attempted to convince the state legislators that there had been massive fraud in the commonwealth’s voting. Trump spoke directly to the lawmakers, telling them, “This election has to be turned around.” He further falsely claimed that he had won Pennsylvania and other swing states “by a lot.”

46. As he had in Michigan, Trump personally met with Republican members of the Pennsylvania legislature to pressure them to overturn the commonwealth’s election results.

47. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results in Pennsylvania were unsuccessful.

48. There were no election irregularities in Pennsylvania sufficient to change the final Presidential vote count in that commonwealth. Joe Biden won the Presidential vote in Pennsylvania.10

Georgia

49. Trump went to especially extraordinary lengths to overturn the election results in Georgia, a reliably Republican stronghold for decades that Trump believed was in jeopardy. After Secretary of State Bradford Raffensperger stated his belief that the state’s election results in favor of President Biden were accurate, Trump lashed out at him. He called Raffensperger an “enemy of the people” and directed at least 17 tweets at him, referring to him as a “disaster,” “obstinate,” and a “so-called ‘Republican[].’”

50. In what should have been another warning to the Defendants about the impact of their words at the January 6 rally, some of Trump’s followers responded to the claims of fraud and Trump’s personal attacks on Raffensperger by targeting Raffensperger and his family with violent threats. His wife was told, “Your husband deserves to face a firing squad.” He himself was told, “You better not botch this recount . . . your life depends on it” and that he and his family “should be put on trial for treason and face execution.”

51. In December of 2020, Trump pressured Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to hold a special session of the legislature to appoint electors who would cast electoral votes for Trump.

52. That same month, Trump called the Chief Investigator for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, which was conducting an audit of signatures on absentee ballots. Trump implored the investigator to “find the fraud” and told him that he would be a “national hero” if he was successful in doing so.

53. On January 2, 2021, just days before Congress was set to certify the Electoral College votes, President Trump initiated a conversation with Raffensperger about the alleged massive voter fraud in Georgia. The next day, Trump made many misrepresentations about that conversation to sway public opinion, including that Raffensperger had “no clue” about a number of alleged voting irregularities in the state. The media, however, obtained and released an audio recording of that call. It showed Trump browbeating Raffensperger to find enough evidence of fraud to change the state’s election result. Trump claimed that Raffensperger was aware of election fraud—telling him “you know what they did and you’re not reporting it.” Trump told Raffensperger that he had won the state of Georgia. Trump made an explicit request to Raffensperger: “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.”

54. There were no election irregularities in Georgia sufficient to change the final Presidential vote count in that state. Joe Biden won the Presidential vote in Georgia.

55. In addition to Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, Trump took aim at officials in other Republican-led jurisdictions for the same reasons.

56. Trump’s claims of widespread fraud and election-rigging were rebuked by numerous executive agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security.11 Trump lashed out at them as well, berating them for their refusal to address “the biggest SCAM in our nation’s history.” Trump coupled this message with a call to action on January 6:

57. On January 5, the night before the rally, Trump tweeted about the thousands of people flooding D.C. who did not want to see the country “stolen” by “Radical Left Democrats:

58. Then, less than 10 minutes later, he attacked “the weak and ineffective RINO [Republican In Name Only] section of the Republican Party,” threatening that the “thousands of people pouring into D.C. … won’t stand for a landslide election victory to be stolen”:

Defendants Conspire With Trump to Overturn the Election

59. The other Defendants—Mo Brooks, Rudolph Giuliani, and Donald Trump Jr.—all conspired with Trump, each other, and others to subvert the will of the people in the 2020 election. While those efforts culminated with the attack on January 6, they began long before then.

Rudolph Giuliani

60. Rudolph Giuliani spearheaded another arm of Trump’s efforts to subvert the election: the numerous challenges in the courts. He led a legal team that eventually filed 62 lawsuits seeking to undo the election results, all in key battleground states.

61. Virtually all those lawsuits were rejected outright. Judges appointed by Republicans and Democrats—including those appointed by Trump himself—determined the claims brought by Giuliani and the others were baseless. Judges derided the allegations in these suits as “without merit” and “flat-out wrong.” One judge opined that what would “undermine the public’s trust in the election” was not the alleged massive fraud Trump alleged, but the Court overturning the results of a landslide election based on no evidence of systemic wrongdoing at all:

62. In December 2020, Giuliani, who was not a government official, tried to convince acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli to have the Department of Homeland Security illegally seize voting machines. The Deputy Secretary refused to do so.

63. While he was baselessly seeking to undo the election in the courts, Giuliani was also repeatedly spreading Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud through traditional and social media.

64. Focusing on the Defendants’ final means of subverting the election—blocking certification of President Biden’s victory—Giuliani advanced the argument that Vice President Pence could unilaterally block certification of the Electoral College vote, a position almost universally rejected by legal scholars, and by Vice President Pence himself.

65. At 6:34 p.m. on January 5, Giuliani tweeted a link to a YouTube video from his show “Common Sense” entitled, “Watch this Before January 6th.” The video purported to explain why it was permissible for Vice President Pence to block certification of the Electoral College vote the next day. Giuliani tweeted a retweet of that post later that night and again the following morning, shortly before Trump spoke at the rally.

66. A little over an hour later, on January 5 at 7:44 p.m., Giuliani made clear that he would be at the rally. He also volunteered that President Trump would “be joining us” there.

67. As recounted below, Giuliani would tell the crowd at the rally the next day that it was perfectly legal for Vice President Pence to block certification of the vote—even though most experts disagreed—and he suggested that Pence’s failure to do so would be an act of cowardice, if not outright treason. He then told the rally-goers, shortly before many of them stormed the Capitol, that it was time for “trial by combat.”

Donald Trump Jr.

68. In the weeks before the January 6 rally, Donald Trump Jr. repeatedly spread his father’s baseless claims of massive, widespread voter fraud.

69. For example, on November 6, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted:

70. As early as November 18, an analysis commissioned by ABC News confirmed that “[f]alse and misleading election-related claims, already running rampant on social media in the wake of this year’s race, were given an exponential boost in exposure after they were shared by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.”12 Trump Jr. understood this to be the case and intentionally spread the misleading claims with the intent of raising their public profile.

71. Trump Jr. did these things in an effort to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results and to aid the other Defendants’ efforts to do the same.

72. Upon information and belief, Trump Jr. continued to spread such claims through January 6. He has since deleted numerous social media posts related to the events of January 6, including all his Twitter posts prior to January 28, 2021.

73. Trump Jr. also repeatedly criticized “weak Republicans” and “radical left Democrats” as making the cover-up of this alleged massive voter fraud possible.13

74. On January 5, Donald Trump Jr. shared a video on Instagram with a call to “Be Brave. Do Something.”:

75. Trump Jr. did these things in an effort to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results and to aid the other Defendants’ efforts to do the same.

76. The day before the rally, Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, spoke with “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander who relayed “The president’s mood is he’s in fighter mode and today will determine which Republicans are going to suffer his wrath going forward.”14

77. As recounted below, when Trump Jr. spoke at the rally the next day, he would again attack “radical Left Democrats” and “weak Republicans,” and again claim that the election had been stolen from his father and the American people.

Mo Brooks

78. On November 5—long before any evidence of alleged widespread fraud could possibly have been obtained, but the same day that Trump addressed the nation about the alleged massive election fraud that did not exist—Brooks tweeted that he “lack[ed] faith that this was an honest election.” He said that, as a House member, he would be “very hesitant to certify the results of this election if Joe Biden wins”:

79. Brooks separately tweeted that day, “Count Every LEGAL Vote!,” the same phrase Trump would use in his national address later that day:

80. On November 18, Brooks previewed the Defendants’ endgame should their other efforts fail, retweeting a journalist who quoted him as saying that Congress can reject the electoral college votes “of any state”:

81. On November 19—the same day that that Trump personally pressured Michigan elected officials—Brooks reiterated that “Congress controls who becomes president.”15

82. One week later, on November 27, Brooks proclaimed that “Joe Biden DID NOT win lawful vote majority in Georgia” and that Congress should reject its electoral votes:

83. Brooks did these things in an effort to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results and to aid the other Defendants’ efforts to do the same.

84. Brooks posted on Twitter that Trump personally had invited Brooks to speak on January 6 about how “Socialist Democrats” had managed to “steal this election” (Brooks identified Trump by tagging Trump’s personal Twitter account): As recounted below, Brooks told the attendees at the rally that their country was literally being taken from them, that the scale of wrongdoing was of historical proportions, that it was time to start “kicking ass,” and that the individuals who were there that day had to be ready to perhaps sacrifice even their lives for their country.

85. Brooks said all these things solely in his personal capacity for his own benefit and/or personal partisan aims.

Trump’s Call to “Be There, will be wild!” Is Understood As a Call to Violence

86. On December 19, 2020, after the Electoral College had voted to elect Joe Biden President, then-losing-candidate Trump promoted a “[b]ig protest on January 6.” He told his followers to “Be there, will be wild!”:

87. Particularly considering Trump’s prior directive to a white supremacist group—the Proud Boys—to “stand by,” Trump’s tweet claiming that it was “statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election” was accurately understood by his followers to be a signal that the country had fallen, and a call to violence in response.

88. For example, within minutes of Trump’s “be wild” tweet, it was shared on TheDonald.win with the title: “Trump Tweet. Daddy Says Be in DC on Jan 6.” One user “EvilGuy,” said, in response to Trump’s call to action, “I will be open carrying and so will my friends. We have been waiting for Trump to say the word. There is [sic] not enough cops in DC to stop what is coming.”

89. Other responses were in a similar vein. MrMcGreenGenes wrote “Well, shit. We’ve got marching orders bois.” (“Bois” is a likely reference to the “Bugaloo Bois” a right-wing extremist group.) Buttfart88 similarly understood Trump’s tweet as “marching orders.” NamelessKing understood Trump’s tweet as a call to bring weapons to D.C. on the same day Congress was to certify the Electoral College vote: PepeVsCommies took this as signal to use “any means necessary”: Perhaps most tellingly, SWORDofLIBERTY and justinkayz understood Trump’s tweet as a call to do exactly what the rioters did—“burst into [the Capitol] by the thousands.” Others discussed shooting police officers and bringing weapons.

90. Trump intended his supporters to interpret his “will be wild” tweet as a call to violence, and he knew they had done just that.

91. Some of Trump’s supporters engaged with him on Twitter about their plans to be a part of his “Cavalry.”

92. Similarly, on Facebook, many planned violence on January 6 in response to Trump’s tweet. For example, one California group built on “Trust, Dedication, and Survival” promoted “Operation Occupy the Capitol” on January 6 tagging the post #wearethestorm and #1776Rebels.16

93. One conspiracy theorist, and Trump supporter, tweeted that he was ready to die for Trump. The Arizona Republican Party retweeted his message, asking its followers “He is [ready to die for Trump]. Are you?”17

94. In response to Trump’s tweets calling people to Washington, D.C. on January 6, militia groups also began to strategize an assault on the Capitol by sharing maps of the Capitol and coordinating supplies and outfits to wear.

95. The Three Percenters were one of these militia groups, and indeed many of its members were among those who stormed the Capitol on January 6.

96. Trump Jr. previously has showed support for the Three Percenters. In May 2019, he posted a picture on Instagram showing himself in a t-shirt with the Three Percenters logo18 prominently displayed.

Defendants Incite Violence at the Rally

97. The rally on January 6 was organized and funded by Trump’s campaign organization, Donald J. Trump for President (“the Campaign”). The Campaign paid an entity called Event Strategies to obtain the permit for the rally. The permit for the rally listed the Campaign’s director of finance operations as the “VIP Lead” for the rally.

98. At 10:00 p.m. on January 5, Trump put down his final marker as a losing candidate, declaring that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to overturn the election results and hand him a victory:

99. Trump’s tweet was intended to convince the tens of thousands of supporters who had traveled to D.C. for the rally that Vice President Pence was uniquely situated to save Trump’s presidency.

100. By the morning of January 6, thousands of Trump supporters had flooded Washington, D.C. Many were prepared for violence and had plans to attack the Capitol. Many more were there for a political rally. The extremists who had been plotting the attack breached the Capitol as planned. The Defendants, and others, incited many of the other attendees to violence, whipping them into a frenzy and turning them into a violent mob that participated in the attack.

101. The rally opened at 7:00 a.m. on January 6. From that time until shortly after 1:00 p.m., a series of speakers took the stage to lash out against the election results and to demand action by lawmakers from both political parties.

102. The Defendants and others spoke at the rally.

103. Amy Kremer, the head of the group Women For America First—one of the rally’s principal organizers—told the crowd that Trump “asked us to show up today, and I don’t think he’s going to be disappointed.” She repeated the lie that President Biden “did not win this election!” “We know that there was voter fraud, we absolutely know it,” she went on, “and that’s why we’re here, to stop the steal.” She spoke of the crowd’s role in apocalyptic terms: “This isn’t about stealing an election from Donald Trump, this is about stealing an election from We the People, and we are here to save the republic.” “You guys,” she implored them, “we cannot back down.” The crowd cheered in response.

104. Trump and Trump Jr., standing backstage, heard Ms. Kremer say all those things to the crowd, including that they literally were there to “save the republic” and not to back down, and heard the crowd cheer in response.

105. Mo Brooks also addressed the crowd at the rally, after Kremer had spoken. The theme of Brooks’ speech was that patriots are sometimes required to make extraordinary sacrifices for their country, and that day, January 6, was one such occasion.

106. Brooks told the crowd, just one minute into his speech, “We are great because our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes, and sometimes their lives.” He continued that the country faced a crisis of historical magnitude, its greatest crisis since World War II, and perhaps even the Civil War: We are here today because America is at risk unlike it has been in decades, and perhaps centuries.

107. He told the crowd that “Socialist Democrats” were attacking their freedoms and had literally stolen an election from them, and now had to be stopped: We are not gonna let the socialists rip the heart out of our country. We are not gonna let them continue to corrupt our elections and steal from us our God-given right to control our nation’s destiny.

108. And he told the crowd, before repeating his theme, that it was time to start “kicking ass”: Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass! [Crowd cheers.] Now, our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes, and sometimes their lives, to give us, their descendants, an America that is the greatest nation in world history. So I have a question for you: Are you willing to do the same? My answer is yes. Louder! Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America? Louder!! Will you fight for America?!

109. Brooks said all those things solely in his personal capacity for his benefit and/or his personal partisan aims.

110. Trump and Trump Jr., standing backstage, heard Brooks say all those things to the crowd, and heard the crowd cheer in response.

111. Giuliani also spoke at the rally, after Brooks and Kremer had spoken. He told the crowd, falsely, that it was “perfectly legal” for Vice President Pence unilaterally to block certification of the Electoral College votes, suggesting to the lay crowd that any failure by Vice President Pence to do so could have no legitimate constitutional basis, but instead would amount to cowardice and even treason.

112. To further foment the crowd, Giuliani confirmed the magnitude of what it would mean for certification to occur: This has been a year in which they have invaded our freedom of speech, our freedom of religion, our freedom to move, our freedom to live. I’ll be darned if they’re going to take away our free and fair vote. And we’re going to fight to the very end to make sure that doesn’t happen.

113. Giuliani also falsely claimed, “This was the worst election in American history.” “This election was stolen,” he said, and “it has to be vindicated to save our country.”

114. Giuliani, who had led Trump’s string of unsuccessful efforts to block certification in courts of law, declared instead, “Let’s have trial by combat.” The crowd cheered.

115. Trump and Trump Jr., standing backstage, heard Giuliani say those things, and heard the crowd cheer, particularly in response to his statement advocating “trial by combat” as the way forward.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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