@BennieGThompson on @January6thCmte: "We could come back before the end of the August recess." pic.twitter.com/u4CBQfmOod
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 27, 2021
I usually try to give you guys something positive to start the day, but let’s be honest: What else would we political junkies be talking about?
(Okay, I have another Simone Biles post scheduled for later today… )
A House select committee heard testimony from four law enforcement officers, who were attacked as they defended the U.S. Capitol from armed supporters of President Donald Trump.
Here are some of the key moments from today: https://t.co/pjeuP4KOwB pic.twitter.com/pG2kOdJ83l
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 27, 2021
Officer Harry Dunn: If a hitman is hired and he kills somebody, the hitman goes to jail. But not only does the hitman go to jail, the person who hired them does. There was an attack carried out on January 6th. And a hitman sent them. I want you to get to the bottom of that.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) July 27, 2021
Appearing before a House panel, four police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 recalled the violence they endured while fighting against Donald Trump’s supporters. Here are highlights of their testimony. https://t.co/9pobHBP1H9
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 28, 2021
NEW: DOJ says that former dept officials can provide unrestricted testimony to Congress Trump's efforts to coerce law enforcement into overturning the election, setting up a potential court battle if Trump sues to block testimonyhttps://t.co/ZeyopTj9Ac
— Katie Benner (@ktbenner) July 27, 2021
Leader McConnell will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings. https://t.co/z0ujSp8WtX
— Schooley (@Rschooley) July 27, 2021
Pretend it's Hillary Clinton's emails or something. Do to Kevin McCarthy and the GOP what you did to her & the Dems every single time you see them. We all know it's in your power to do so bc we saw it firsthand.
— Centrism Fan Acct ?? (@Wilson__Valdez) July 27, 2021
Rather than ask McConnell/McCarthy for reactions to something they don’t want to talk about, to which they’ll feign ignorance, reporters’ first Q to them should be something like “why don’t you think X is important enough for you to read/watch?” Bypass the functional “no comment”
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) July 28, 2021
Opinion: The heroes of Jan. 6 expose the lies that Republicans keep telling us https://t.co/ozJEaOXh1p
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 28, 2021
Opinion: As Jan. 6 hearings begin, Republicans side with the terrorists https://t.co/uckJAnyqgW
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 28, 2021
For good reason Pelosi kept Jordan off the 1/6 committee. It was worse than I thought: What did Jim Jordan know about the insurrection and when did he know it? | Sidney Blumenthal | The Guardian https://t.co/tOGFupmEst
— John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) July 27, 2021
Very key. From testimony today it's clear that the pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC – even tho they didn't go off – played a major role in scrambling/disrupting the response. Case remains unsolved. Whose bombs were they? https://t.co/6XW2jjLuMr via @TPM
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) July 27, 2021
The question of the day:
CNN's @jaketapper Tapper: Why aren't national police unions 'speaking out on behalf' of Capitol cops?
And the answer tells you everything you need to know.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) July 27, 2021
I asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about her reaction to Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy saying he didn’t watch today’s hearing.
“Anytime you mention his name, you're not getting an answer from me. Don't waste my time,” she told me.
— Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) July 27, 2021
For the record the January 6th hearings have already been incredibly powerful and important.
Almost as if Nancy Pelosi is much smarter than your average D.C. journalist. Who’d a thunk it???????
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) July 27, 2021
pulling his members from Jan. 6 committee is going to haunt Kevin McCarthy.
boy, did he get played by Pelosi. he walked right into her trap
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) July 27, 2021
btw, this committee will work into 2022
the Senate 1/6 Commission would’ve had a much tighter deadline, but GOP rejected that
well played
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) July 27, 2021
I wish they did want to move on. I think some of them want to rinse and repeat (and the others are willing to go along, out of ambition or fear). https://t.co/aAz0YlAHqv
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) July 28, 2021
debbie
Here, Gym was all over the local news last night, saying what the police went through was horrible, but it was Nancy’s fault because she’s in charge of security. I hope the committee bats down this lie very soon.
Baud
❤️
Gin & Tonic
I was on a long car ride yesterday, and had the hearings on the radio. I’m very glad that Officer Dunn quoted the exact words that were thrown at him; I’m sad that they will not be repeated in the media precisely.
debbie
@Gin & Tonic:
Seconded. NPR kept interrupting and apologizing. ?
Anne Laurie
To be honest, I think it’s effective when mainstream media uses the ‘bleep’ squeal for both the F-word and the N-word. There’s still too many Americans need to be reminded they’re both obscenities that respectable people wouldn’t be caught using!
hells littlest angel
The first meeting of the January 6 Committee was absolutely the most positive thing that happened yesterday.
prostratedragon
A little mood music inspired partly by some of the humdingers in this morning’s COVID roundup:
(And Happy Birthday, M. Muti!)
debbie
@Anne Laurie:
I respectfully disagree. Bleeps soften the blatant racism.
NotMax
“Why do the Capitol police hate love and hugs?”
// // // //
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone ???
Immanentize
I am thinking/hoping that the obvious disdain that the GOP is showing to the people who protect them and the Capitol every day, and the lack of fellow police union/fraternal brotherhoods support, might be suggesting to the Capitol Police and DC Police how much their blue lives really matter.
germy
@prostratedragon:
when I clicked on your youtube link, it was already at the 52-second mark. I’m curious, how do you do that?
Immanentize
Also, why is our Capitol in our Capital?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Baud: Not a new sentiment on this blog, but I LOVE Nance Pelosi. She kicks butt while wearing high heels
Just Chuck
@Anne Laurie: 1/6 was obscenity, the past four years were obscenity, injustice and suppression are obscenity. Radio stations constantly clutching their pearls over f-bombs is an antique vestige of FCC obscenity regulations treating us like we’re all dim children.
But it’s not like I can get worked up over it, seeing as how streaming media doesn’t suffer the same regulations. That and less “both sides” coverage: at least when I watch Colbert, I know his spin is for comedic effect and not whitewashing.
Gin & Tonic
@debbie: We were listening to it on CNN, which broadcast it unfiltered.
germy
Gaetz and Gosar and Gohmert and Taylor Green did a press conference at the exact time the police testimony was going on? (The press conference that was disrupted by hecklers.)
NotMax
@debbie
Yuppers. That bleeping is so standard makes the rare occasions when it is not done stand out all the more and magnifies the shock value.
In this case, bleeping the testimony would have been an obscenity.
WereBear
This makes the other traitors much easier to find… they declare their own feality.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: If you right click on a YouTube video, among your options are “Copy video URL” or “Copy video URL at current time.”
Betty Cracker
With few exceptions, the Beltway press sucks and deserves every bit of derision heaped upon it. I think local press political coverage is miles better, at least in my area. But there’s an ongoing story that shakes my faith in the local dailies too because they seem to be protecting Republicans.
It’s a long and involved story, so I won’t bore you with all the details. But the TLDR version is this: a former GOP statehouse lawmaker turned political consultant (Frank Artiles) appears to have recruited and illegally paid several “independent” candidates to run and siphon votes from Democratic candidates to swing state-level elections to Republicans.
Artiles is in a heap of trouble, and it looks like top Republican consulting and dark money groups were involved too. In one race, Artiles recruited an “independent” candidate with the same last name as the Democratic incumbent state senator. The race was decided by 32 votes, so the fraud almost certainly cost state Dems a senate seat, throwing the election to a Trump-adjacent candidate who used to run “Latinas for Trump” in South FL: Ileana Garcia.
But the local papers covering the story almost never reveal the names of the Republicans sitting in the statehouse who benefited from this election fraud scheme. I understand there may not be evidence that they were in on the scam, but isn’t it an important aspect of the story that at least one of these people and possibly others obtained power via election fraud?
Just Chuck
Silly question, is it properly “committee” or “commission”? Or is it always that a committee is formed from a commission?
hueyplong
I can remember my grandfather (last holdout for Nixon in the family) saying that the last straw for him about Nixon was when the recordings revealed his “potty mouth.” [Apparently the substance of Nixon’s crimes didn’t make much of a dent.]
For that reason I’ve always been in favor of not bleeping bad actors’ actual words.
Admittedly, the likes of my grandfather have been gone for a long time so maybe it doesn’t really matter.
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker: Yes
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
hells littlest angel
@Gin & Tonic: Yes. And his testimony should be hung around the Republicans’ necks.
Anya
As if Jake Tapper doesn’t know the answer to that question. It’s because their gang members share the same ideology with the attackers. Their brethren stormed and violently attacked the capital
BTW, Greenwald was particularly unhinged on twitter yesterday. He seemed to be bothered by the police officers testimony. This is why I thought, it must’ve been very effective.
Immanentize
@Just Chuck: Generally, when we are talking about legislatures, a “committee” is made up of members. A “commission” is usually not made up of members, but may be chosen by members.
The proposed Jan. 6 commission (stopped by McConnell) was to be chosen by member/leaders but would have no Congressional members on it. This was the form of the 9/11 commission.
Just Chuck
@Anya: To be fair, Tapper almost certainly asked that as a rhetorical question.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic:
Yes, this kind of bowdlerization makes me furious!
geg6
@Anne Laurie:
I could not disagree more. Bleeps are a way to whitewash what happened. It was very shocking to my normie friends to hear the garbage being spewed at those brave officers on broadcast and basic cable tv stations. They were repulsed and outraged by the venom of those assholes.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic:
CSpan did too.
zhena gogolia
@Just Chuck:
This is a committee. They tried to set up a commission, with members who were not part of Congress, but the Repubs in the Senate voted it down.
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: Ha!
I read that the first time as the “Broderization” — which also worked.
MattF
And… as for any argument that it’s all politics… Well, politics matters. And if you don’t claim ownership of a particular subject at issue, then someone else will.
Now I can get back to waiting for that HVAC repair technician.
zhena gogolia
@germy:
Yes, in support of the insurrectionists who’ve been arrested.
jnfr
@Gin & Tonic:
MSNBC’s shows varied. Chris Hayes and some of the later ones went uncensored on Dunn’s testimony, but earlier shows bleeped it.
Woodrow/asim
Bleeping is also about respecting that many in the Black community don’t need to hear that shit on the Nightly News, when it’s said in disrespect.
As someone who was listening, it was important to get the actual language on the record. And that’s as far as it needs to go.
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
As did MSNBC.
prostratedragon
@germy: At the end of the url, append (without the quotes) ‘ &t=xs ‘ where x is the number of seconds at the mark you want. So this was url&t=52s.
Stumbled on it from a video that had queue markings.
SiubhanDuinne
@jnfr: During the live testimony, MSNBC let it through unbleeped — no 7-second delay. The evening shows, though, were inconsistent, as you point out.
germy
@prostratedragon:
Thank you.
germy
@MattF:
Two months ago we had a plumber visit, and he was courteous enough to wear a mask.
Today we have another plumber scheduled (same company) and I’m hoping he observes the same protocol. I should call the company to make sure he does.
prostratedragon
@Gin & Tonic: Well what do you know, I never noticed that on the menu. Thanks!
SFAW
@Woodrow/asim:
Do you mean the written record, or the audio? [Not trying to be a smartass, just trying to parse your comment.]
prostratedragon
@zhena gogolia: So, a committee is a part of some whole, while a commission is its own thing, but created for a specific task?
MattF
@germy: The company sent me a text that saying the tech will be masked and I should maintain social distance. Also, I finally recalled the name of the company that did the installation, so if the estimate for repair is high, I can get an alternative bid.
Steeplejack (phone)
Warning: extremely graphic language in this video.
lowtechcyclist
I’m sorry the committee wasn’t ready to take more testimony today and tomorrow. They’ve got people’s attention now, but that’ll dissipate over time.
zhena gogolia
@prostratedragon:
See Imm’s answer at #28:
jnfr
@SiubhanDuinne:
I really appreciated that the livestream was unedited, even though it was all so hard to listen to.
And fk Ingraham and Carlson for mocking the officers trauma. The United States of Spite, as my friend calls them.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack (phone):
Wow.
ETA: Don Lemon is so good with him. They clearly really like each other.
Betty
@prostratedragon: Nancy could create a committee with just her House majority. A commission required Senate approval. So, no go, per Mitch.
prostratedragon
@zhena gogolia: Whoops, missed that. Thanks.
zhena gogolia
Fanone is brilliant.
JPL
@zhena gogolia: Thank you for that. After watching the Don Lemon video, that Steeplejack linked to, I needed that.
smith
Actually the F-word is no longer functionally an obscenity. It was once a fine old expletive, reserved for times when you really needed to go nuclear with your language. Now it’s nothing more than a weak intensifier like “very” or “really”. Listen to how real people talk — everything is fucking this or fucking that. I guess the speakers think they’re being all rebellious and edgy, but in fact they sound like any random 14-year-old at the mall.
Kay
I went to a D meeting last night – older Dems, people who watch tv rather than social media and they were talking about it – really pleased it’s happening and generally pro-police so horrified at the police testimony
Immanentize
@Kay: This is what I’m wondering about. Will the police officers’ testimony wake up some of the old school conservative, pro-police Republicans?
Lyrebird
That’s my take, not that I know much about broadcast journalism.
Just looking at the still photos of the officers themselves hearing it all again [ETA: you see the pain it brings up]. What about the families who know their kids, uncles, aunts, etc might be at the receiving end of the hate.
Lyrebird
@debbie:
here to bat down the lie, as you said:
JoyceH
@lowtechcyclist:
I think they wanted to signal that they were on the job. I hope that staff is working on a schedule that enables the committee to run consecutive daily hearings. I remember the Watergate hearings and they went on day after day after day – it was like a battering ram. We need a battering ram.
germy
Well, he tried…
JoyceH
@germy:
Yesterday I had some guys with a truck come over and haul away some old furniture. They got out of the truck holding but not wearing masks, one said, “We can mask up if you want.” I said, “I’d prefer if you did. You know – delta…” Dawned on me that just a couple weeks ago, I would have said, “No biggie, I’m vaccinated.”
Patricia Kayden
Ruckus
@Just Chuck:
I have been hearing obscenities since I was a child. From other kids who likely didn’t really understand them, to adults. And for a lot of my life, they were guarded, as if the speech was the sole issue. And in many cases it was. But we are at a crossroads, once again, in our idea of what a government is. There really haven’t been a lot of governments/countries that at least profess to be democracies and about freedom. None of them, including this one have been perfect because we are human, and none of us are perfect. This is an attempt at a better ideal and we should never forget that, and one of those ideals is that free speech is sometimes inarticulate, overdone, verbose, in the name of oratory. But there is also the censorship of speech in the name of politeness, and oratory. I’ve given speeches to large rooms of people and was always intently aware that my propensity of using all the words available to me was not in the best interest of the concepts that I was speaking about. This is different. We are talking about an insurrection of our government. We are talking about one of our political parties attempting to gain control of our government for profit and racism.
There are no words that are nice and not obscene that actually convey those actions to the level that they need to be conveyed. I’m not saying that Nancy Pelosi has to use swear words in public, our leaders should at least attempt to convey their thoughts without the rancor that swearing can bring. But I went to the LA women’s march and heard, along with tens of thousands of others, Maxine Waters swear on a mike that she didn’t think was live, and the positive reaction of the vast majority of those present told me that they approved of speaking clearly, succinctly, and using the language that was actually appropriate for the situation. We shouldn’t repress our speech when the situation calls for strong words and proper usage. Our first amendment allows us to speak clearly and we should never forget that.
JPL
@Lyrebird: The Washington Post did another fact check about their lie that Pelosi refused help.
Immanentize
@Steeplejack (phone):
@Patricia Kayden:
If y’all take the time to listen to the voice message left for Officer Fanone — while he was testifying — at what I am assuming was at the DC police dept?:
What amazes me besides the vitriol is how limited these jackass’s vocabulary is. It’s just like five insults spewed over and over again — violence and sexual domination taking the inside track for the big finish.
ETA Just let me again say how much I LOVE the BJ edit function.
germy
@Immanentize:
At the beginning of the call, it almost sounds like he’s attempting a trump impersonation. Same vocal inflections
How did he get Fanone’s phone number? Can it be traced, so the caller can be charged with menacing (at the very least)?
HinTN
@Gin & Tonic: CNN and Anderson Cooper reported on and played the tape of the testimony without apology.
Lyrebird
@JPL:
Thanks, good that they did that.
Immanentize
@germy: It sounds like it did not go to a personal #? Or maybe Fanone’s old number is on the internet (and now in the hands of the FBI?). Pretty common tactic for a serious witness.
Fanone is so good as a witness, but he looks broken to me also. Like other victims of abuse/violence I have worked with for whom testifying (not just legally but just (re)telling their story) is the best centering therapy they can access.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy:
I had the impression he (?) was trying to disguise his voice, maybe using some kind of filter? I hope the caller gets doxxed to hell and back again
germy
Immanentize
@JPL: Yes — but what she WON’T allow to be investigated (at least as an initial matter) is what happened in other, non-connected events like the BLM protests or the veracity of the moon landing in ’69.
Ken
@Just Chuck: You remind me of Mark Twain on the French Revolution. In a good way.
Nelle
It is my understanding that often, when a PTSD survivor, recounts the trauma, they re-experience it, shifting to present verb tense. I watched Officer Daniel Hodges’ opening statement to the House Committee on the Jan. 6 insurrection. (He was the officer caught between a door frame and a stolen shield and nearly crushed while also being beaten while he was stuck there.) At one point in his testimony, he shifted into present tense verbs and I thought, He’s there again; he’s going through it again.
germy
It would be interesting to get testimony from the 40+ Capitol Police officers who were investigated or suspended for their role on Jan. 6.
topclimber
@JoyceH: I wonder if the delay is to allow staff to take depositions from upcoming witnesses. Was there a legal issue perhaps preventing them from doing that before the Committee first met?
Steeplejack
@germy:
Yes, they seem to have gone down the memory hole amid all the praise for the loyal officers. Hopefully more comes out about them in the investigation.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@JoyceH: We just had a big basement job done Monday, and none of the crew were masked. I mostly wore a mask while dealing with them, but I’ve started to get casual about mask use in the last week or so.
I don’t want to hijack the thread, but my wife reminded me that she’s supposed to be scheduled for cancer surgery (that’s a whole other story that’s moving quickly) and if she tests COVID positive, the whole treatment program gets put on hold. I hadn’t realized that and now feel incredibly guilty about my recent casual behavior. Going back to full masking for the foreseeable future.
Geminid
@germy: There shoud be testimony about the suspensions and internal investigations from Capitol Police leadership. Higher officers might not be able to go into individual detail, but this is an important part of the story that needs to be addressed.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Getting back on topic, I don’t know what to make of Kinzinger. Or Cheney for that matter. I’m trying to remain appropriately cynical about the motives of a Republican, but they both sound like people who actually believe in democracy and it is confusing the hell out of me.
Cheney I could easily believe is cynically positioning herself for a presidential run, betting that the insurrectionists will go down hard. Kinzinger actually sounds sincere.
About what did Jim Jordan or other Repubs know in advance, and who was feeding the mob the inside intel that they were obviously getting in real time… I think Nancy Smash probably already heard answers to that from the FBI, and it’s what McConnell and McCarthy have been desperately fighting to keep hidden. I hope we’re going to hear it in open testimony.
Geminid
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I am curious about participation by Republican Congressional staff. Many are probably sympathetic to the alt-right and militia groups. Some may be members. Reporting on the tours members of Congress gave to constituents is well known. I wonder if staffers gave more private tours. I think this possibility has occurred to federal investigators.
Geminid
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: But I repeat myself.
VOR
@Betty Cracker: A similar thing allegedly happened in the Minnesota 2nd Congressional District for the 2020 election. The “Legal Marijuana Now” party candidate, Adam Weeks, died about 5 weeks before the election.
Here’s what Wikipedia says:
Being deceased, Weeks was unable to confirm or deny.
There was a state law that if a candidate died right before an election then the election would be postponed. This law was a response to the death of Senator Wellstone two weeks before the 2002 election. This would have pushed things into a special election in February 2021, which probably would have had lower turnout. A federal judge ruled the State cannot control the dates of federal elections like that and the Supreme Court did not hear the appeal.
Steeplejack
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Best wishes for your wife’s treatment.
There are big ripple effects at work. My brother’s minor surgery early this year was rescheduled at the last minute because the surgeon tested positive for COVID.
smith
@VOR: Hasn’t this been the game with the Greens for a while now? Most of their money actually originating with Republicans?
MattF
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: My suspicion is that, for Cheney, it’s personal. She despises Trump and the Trump cult. I’d guess that she also has considerable (although guarded) respect for Pelosi. Kinzinger, I just don’t know. He’s a child, although perhaps a promising child.
Geminid
@smith: Researcher Liz Burgh recently reported that a wealthy Californian has been making donations to the campaigns of insurgent Democrats, and gave $500,000 to Justice Democrats. A few years ago he was donating to Russia-linked Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. Maybe the man just had a change of heart.
laura
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Start by presuming best intentions until you have contrary evidence. I’m will to presume that Kinzinger and Cheney both believe that protecting and defending the Constitution from all enemy’s both foreign and domestic is their primary obligation as citizens and office holders- same goes for all of us. But I’m pretty sure that Liz fully expects to be the standard bearer for the GOP in the future and inevitably, president. If they are what passes for the loyal opposition, I can respect that.
Geminid
@Geminid: The donor rearcher Liz Burgh reported on is Charles Dunlop, CEO of Ambry Genetics. He was a financial supporter of Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher up until 2018. He has since backed Justice Democrats with $500,000, and donated to leftie Democratic insurgents including Nina Turner in the Ohio 11th primary.
Liz Burgh toils in the vinyard of FEC filings, and comes up with good stuff. In her Twitter heading, Burgh self-descibes as a “propaganda detector.”
germy