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So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Dear legacy media: you are not here to influence outcomes and policies you find desirable.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

When I was faster i was always behind.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

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He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Books are my comfort food!

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

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This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

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You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: The First Jan. 6 Select Committee Meeting

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: The First Jan. 6 Select Committee Meeting

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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… )

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  1. 1.

    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.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Anytime you mention his name, you’re not getting an answer from me. Don’t waste my time,” she told me.

    ❤️

  3. 3.

    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.

  5. 5.

    Anne Laurie

    @Gin & Tonic: 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.

    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!

  6. 6.

    hells littlest angel

    The first meeting of the January 6 Committee was absolutely the most positive thing that happened yesterday.

  11. 11.

    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.

  15. 15.

    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.

  17. 17.

    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.)

  18. 18.

    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.

  20. 20.

    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.”

  21. 21.

    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?

  22. 22.

    Just Chuck

    Silly question, is it properly “committee” or “commission”?  Or is it always that a committee is formed from a commission?

  23. 23.

    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.

  27. 27.

    Anya

    CNN’s
    @jaketapper
    Tapper: Why aren’t national police unions ‘speaking out on behalf’ of Capitol cops?

    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.

  28. 28.

    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.

  31. 31.

    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.

  33. 33.

    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.

  35. 35.

    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.

  38. 38.

    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.

  40. 40.

    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.

  41. 41.

    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.

  43. 43.

    germy

    @MattF:

    Now I can get back to waiting for that HVAC repair technician.

    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.

  45. 45.

    SFAW

    @Woodrow/asim:

    As someone who was listening, it was important to get the actual language on the record.

    Do you mean the written record, or the audio? [Not trying to be a smartass, just trying to parse your comment.]

  47. 47.

    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.

  48. 48.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Officer Michael Fanone shared a voicemail he received from MAGA during his testimony.

    VM: “Too bad they didn’t beat the shit out of you more … I wish they had killed you all.”

    Officer Fanone: “This is what happens to people who tell the truth in Trump’s America.”
    #DemVoice1
    pic.twitter.com/5y9d1SnPu9

    — The Jewish Ginger Resister (@EricHaftelLive) July 28, 2021

    Warning: extremely graphic language in this video.

  49. 49.

    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.

  50. 50.

    zhena gogolia

    @prostratedragon:
    See Imm’s answer at #28:

    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.

  51. 51.

    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.

  55. 55.

    zhena gogolia

    Fanone is brilliant.

    Officer Fanone is asked about the Fox News attacks against cops: "I spent quite a bit of time in my career testifying in court. I always felt most comfortable when defense attorneys resorted to theatrical tactics because I knew they no longer had facts to support their argument." pic.twitter.com/rky1tHE6er— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) July 28, 2021

  57. 57.

    smith

    @Anne Laurie: they’re both obscenities that respectable people wouldn’t be caught using!

    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.

  58. 58.

    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

  59. 59.

    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?

  60. 60.

    Lyrebird

    @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.

    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.​

  61. 61.

    Lyrebird

    @debbie: ​
     
    here to bat down the lie, as you said:

    Adam Kinzinger
    @AdamKinzinger·13h
    I want to be clear, we will investigate the security posture on January 6. But blaming the security for the violence on that day is like blaming an assault victim because of what she was wearing.

  62. 62.

    JoyceH

    @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.

    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.

  63. 63.

    germy

    DOJ Unimpressed by Mo Brooks’ Kickass Conspiracy Defenset.co/52pxVjyEz2

    — emptywheel (@emptywheel) July 28, 2021

    Well, he tried…

    The important point in DOJ's filing is not that they refused to substitute for Brooks. It's that they maintain Federal employees — all Federal employees — can be held accountable for a conspiracy to obstruct the vote count.

    — emptywheel (@emptywheel) July 28, 2021

  64. 64.

    JoyceH

    @germy: ​
     

    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.

    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.”

  65. 65.

    Patricia Kayden

    Fanone making a vital point: He was down, "no longer an impediment"–not blocking insurrectionists–"and yet they tortured me." The "Back the Blue" crowd literally tortured a cop for no other reason but to torture a cop.— Jeff Sharlet (@JeffSharlet) July 27, 2021

  66. 66.

    Ruckus

    @Just Chuck:

    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.

    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.

  68. 68.

    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.

  69. 69.

    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)?

  72. 72.

    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.

  73. 73.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy:

    At the beginning of the call, it almost sounds like he’s attempting a trump impersonation.  Same vocal inflections

    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

  74. 74.

    germy

    Not one of those lunatic motherfuckers would have to courage to call Officer Harry Dunn a n*gger to his face without a mob backing them up.

    — jelani cobb (@jelani9) July 27, 2021

  75. 75.

    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.

  77. 77.

    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.

  78. 78.

    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.

  79. 79.

    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?

  80. 80.

    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.

  81. 81.

    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.

  82. 82.

    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.

  83. 83.

    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.

  84. 84.

    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.

  86. 86.

    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:

    A month after Weeks’s death, and a week before the November 3 election, a friend of Weeks publicized a voicemail recording in which Weeks says that Republican donors offered him $15,000 to mount a campaign in order to siphon votes away from Craig. Jeff Schuette, Minnesota Republican Party chair for the Second District, denied involvement in the offer to fund Weeks’s campaign.

    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.

  87. 87.

    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.

  88. 88.

    smith

    @VOR: Hasn’t this been the game with the Greens for a while now? Most of their money actually originating with Republicans?

  89. 89.

    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.

  90. 90.

    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.

  91. 91.

    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.

  92. 92.

    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.”

  93. 93.

    germy

    Ret. Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré — who conducted a security review following the January 6 insurrection — says he believes the Trump White House was "complicit in the planning" and bears ultimate responsibility. pic.twitter.com/3gmmITdTj8
    — Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) July 28, 2021

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