Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I was promised a recession.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

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

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Ah, the different things are different argument.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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

People are complicated. Love is not.

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Jan 6 Hearing – Day 1 at 8pm Eastern (LIVE)

Reader Interactions

226Comments

  4. 4.

    lee

    Hopefully I’m not the only jackal with a tremendous amount of anxiety about these hearings.

  6. 6.

    piratedan

    for me there are two large elephants in the room……

    which members of Congress and the Senate (and other elements of the Government) were in on it…

    who funded and organized it, because we know that DJT is one incredibly cheap bastard and wouldn’t fund it himself and I frankly don’t believe that he had this idea independently.

    a follow up pachyderm…. will the DOJ do any fucking thing about it, once its presented to the American Public

  8. 8.

    Mike in NC

    Every time we see video of the riot, there’s some new weird flags shown. My favorite was always the Fat Orange Clown’s head transposed onto Rambo’s body holding a machine gun.

  9. 9.

    lowtechcyclist

    Did I see Darth Cheney in the audience in the hearing room?

    He’s still evil.

  13. 13.

    japa21

    I am not expecting much from tonight. I just hope it piques the interest of enough people they follow the rest.

  18. 18.

    Gigi (formerly matryoshka)

    No one I know is watching. They are all too precious and find it too upsetting. I wonder how they will do when we go full fascist.

    Changing my name because the paradigm shifted.

  19. 19.

    frosty

    At a campsite in Oregon with minimal cell service so no streaming. I’ll follow comments when I can and catch highlights later I guess.

  21. 21.

    piratedan

    msnbc is still prattling on instead of going live… sigh… just shut up and let us listen, ty

  22. 22.

    Joy in FL

    It’s such a good feeling that Barr is no longer the AG.  I had forgotten what a visceral disgust I feel when I see or hear him.

  23. 23.

    WaterGirl

    Fucking Bill Barr could have made a strong statement as Attorney General saying that the election was free and fair.

    Fuck Bill Barr.

  27. 27.

    Jackie

    @WaterGirl: “Former President Donald Trump is pushing a new TV adattacking the Jan. 6 select committee hours before the first prime-time hearing.”

  35. 35.

    JWR

    @WaterGirl: A valid concern. I hope he doesn’t go on too long. But then, we here don’t need much blah-blah-blah, but YMMV, natch.

    And Spawn of Darth is up.

  37. 37.

    Redshift

    I think Benny Thompson is very good. I didn’t know that “all enemies, foreign and domestic” originated after the Civil War.

  41. 41.

    Alison Rose

    Still so weird to feel even a modicum of respect for a Cheney.

    And folks, come on. Of course there’s going to be an intro. They weren’t going to walk out and be like FIRST WITNESS, COME ON DOWN. After all the work this committee has put into what we’re about to see, I think we can grant them a little patience and listen to what they have to say.

  45. 45.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl:  You wanted him to be a republican swinging, but he’s not that.
    that might have been unfair, but I thought he built his case and the tone was okay. Maybe not perfect but okay.

  49. 49.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I’m actually impressed by how plainly both Thompson and Cheney are calling out Trump. They’re not just talking about improving security or any such bs

  51. 51.

    steppy

    Chair Thompson set the stage. Rep. Cheney is giving the prosecutorial opening statement.

  52. 52.

    gene108

    I like the use of Lincoln and his 1864 re-election, because (1) did you know Lincoln was a Republican, and (2) even the most low info person out there’s heard of President Lincoln, and (3) knows President Lincoln was some kind of a big deal.

  54. 54.

    debit

    I think you guys who are impatient are missing the point. We know all this shit. They are speaking, not to us, but to low level news consumers who may have a vague idea about what this is about, but don’t know any real details. They’re doing fine.

  58. 58.

    stacib

    @Raven: Yes, really, not about anything that Congress was doing.  Even the vote for ACA didn’t feel as huge, and I KNOW it was a BFD.  To me, it feels like this is one of our final stands for democracy and the country as we now know it.

  61. 61.

    hilts

    @WaterGirl: 

    How many people are going to tune out because of the introductory blah blah blah?

    If you think this is bad, try imagining Rachel Maddow delivering the opening remarks.

  62. 62.

    hilts

    @debit:

    They are speaking, not to us, but to low level news consumers who may have a vague idea about what this is about, but don’t know any real details. They’re doing fine.

    Precisely.

  69. 69.

    Scout211

    Okay, maybe me being catty, but did Princess Purses have more work done?

    Cheney is really an excellent speaker.

  70. 70.

    citizen dave

    @stacib: I feel the same.  Hopefully this will be to young people what  Watergate was to so many of us

    Never thought I’d ever watch a Cheney this long.

  77. 77.

    citizen dave

    @steppy: Ha!  Max Headroom!  Someone as Max once interrupted a Chicago tv station and it’s never been solved.

  80. 80.

    dww44

    @JPL:  I agree with you. This is a necessary baseline. I’m a history buff and I watched much of the Watergate hearings. While not exciting it is compelling in its own way.

  81. 81.

    Alison Rose

    BRB traveling back in time to tell the Me of a decade ago that I’ll be listening to Liz Cheney say “bullshit” in a live televised congressional hearing

  84. 84.

    citizen dave

    Interesting that Cheney is THE lead.  Burn it down!  Burn it all down!

  86. 86.

    lgerard

    I only wish they had chosen a more weighty and impressive backdrop for some of those interviews.  It looks like some of them took place in a storage room.

  87. 87.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Too much like a movie trailer.  Don’t tell me what I’m going to to see. Start showing me.

  90. 90.

    guachi

    @lgerard: If there’s any positive to a world full of crappy cell phone videos it’s that yet another crappy cell phone video won’t phase people that much.

  92. 92.

    JPL

    @dww44: Same.   I think because I watched the hearings, I thought this compelling.

    OMG  Cheney is out for blood, and there is not a big enough bandage to hid trump’s wounds.

  94. 94.

    bbleh

    @JPL: Concur.  Thompson wrapped himself in the Constitution and invoked the deities of History.  And now Liz is calmly previewing the filleting.

  95. 95.

    HumboldtBlue

    Must say, I am rather pleasantly surprised at just how effective Cheney is communicating. As was said on Twitter, this is written very well, written for TV, short and impactful statements.

  96. 96.

    dnfree

    @piratedan: PBS was prattling on too, so we switched to CNN, which so far has not interrupted the committee.

    What’s wrong with news sources who think we’re tuning in to hear them?

  100. 100.

    kalakal

    Cheney is doing a great job.

    I really like the way there’s no equivocation here. It’s full blooded “this was an attempted coup and it was led by Trump”

  101. 101.

    Geminid

    @JPL: Liz inherited Darth Cheney’s ruthlessness. She’s using it in a better cause than he ever did.

  103. 103.

    BellyCat

    12/19 private planning meeting with Trump, Gen Flynn, Giuliani, & Sidney Powell for insurrection. This narrows the focus nicely.

  104. 104.

    bbleh

    @Spanky: True that.  “Who strikes at the king must kill.” Previews suggest that the last (and other prime-time) hearing will focus specifically on him.  But I don’t think it’s a bad idea.  They can’t take down the entire Republican Party.  But they CAN topple Trump, or at least do so much damage to him that nobody has picnics under his statue anymore.  And by doing that, they damage Trumpism.

    Thompson is a clever man …

  107. 107.

    David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch

    For those not able to currently watch, what’s with all the Ivanka posts?

  118. 118.

    guachi

    I like that the clips of Jared and Ivanka make them look like trash human beings.

  120. 120.

    Jerzy Russian

    Cheney talking about honor to the republicans, as if they are Klingons.

  122. 122.

    BellyCat

    Jared. Such a piece of shit. “Trying to get pardons done”. “Talk of resignations was just whining”.

    I can’t even….

  123. 123.

    Redshift

    Jared not covering himself in glory. I’ve rarely seen him speak before. Now I understand better why his and Ivanka’s various rehabilitation tours always fail.

  125. 125.

    bbleh

    @lgerard: @guachi: Two reliable sources very close to Javanka have reported that they were very pleased with their appearances and their social media profiles have shown overwhelming approval.

  130. 130.

    kalakal

    Having targeted Trump as the leader she’s nicely going through the ranks of the accomplices Guiliani, Bannon, Meadows, Flynn etc. etc.

    Very well done

  131. 131.

    Redshift

    @BellyCat:

    Jared. Such a piece of shit. “Trying to get pardons done”. “Talk of resignations was just whining”.

    I can’t even….

    The total lack of self-awareness of how damning “threats of mass resignations were routine” is.

  134. 134.

    JPL

    @Redshift: That’s going to hurt his rehabilitation tour.   Peter Baker is going to have to try again.  Maybe show Jared and Ivanka feeding the poor or something.

  137. 137.

    Bill Arnold

    The “Election Fraud” fraud is the hugest fraud ever perpetrated against the American people.

  140. 140.

    Scout211

    Oh my God.  This is horrible.  And I’ve seen so much of it before. But this is scary- bad and I am close to tears. Again.

  141. 141.

    Layer8Problem

    This is horrible.  They’re identifying significant figures and groups in the rioters too.  We’ll probably hear those names again as the hearings continue.

  143. 143.

    Fair Economist

    Those insurrectionists are horrifying. The leaders deserve life sentences.

  151. 151.

    Delk

    It was like a row of port-a-potties after a long day of use being tipped over and shit just spilling out.

  152. 152.

    BellyCat

    The violence against the police is chilling. How about the two security guys behind barricaded doors, with no body armor, in the chamber with pistols trained on the door in case it was breached.

    Some unreal courage here…

  153. 153.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Hannity has newly unearthed documents.  It’s the fault of not preparing enough security obviously.

  154. 154.

    bbleh

    @citizen dave: Ask your doctor if Very Soft Focus is right for you! (Caution: do not drive or operate heavy machinery when in Very Soft Focus.)

  158. 158.

    kalakal

    Hell’s teeth, that video was horrific.

    Tips hat to those who put it together.

    Oh god, Chuckles Todd is on

  162. 162.

    EarthWindFire

    After that video, I’m done for the night. I don’t want to share a country with any of those people. Every single one of them belongs behind bars. That was horrible.

  166. 166.

    WaterGirl

    I just spotted Michael Fanone.  I hope he is doing better than he was for awhile, but I don’t know how you get over what happened that day.

  169. 169.

    Skepticat

    I worked in television during the Watergate hearings, and no one got anything done because we all were crowded in the control room or by monitors. I shall never forget Alexander Butterfield casually mentioning the tapes. I’m very impressed by Liz Cheney, something I never expected to say. I don’t think these hearings will result in any consequences for those who deserve them, and I doubt they’ll change any minds, as so many people no longer have minds. However, it’s important to have this record.

  173. 173.

    HumboldtBlue

    @BellyCat:

    Yes, those officers showed immense courage in the face of overwhelming numbers bent on violence. That gunfire didn’t ring out still leaves me befuddled, and then I remember this was a near all-white riot so gunfire doesn’t play a role.

  174. 174.

    NutmegAgain

    Yow. That crowd was/is terrifying. I mean, I knew that, but this footage. Holy Moley. Those police of all sorts were amazing. And, I seem to remember from January that there was a larger force, or maybe Virginia NG or similar who were specifically held back?

    Not for nothing, but I still hope we find out who built the effing gallows.

  175. 175.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Mr DAW wanted to see what FOX was saying while the hearing was in recess, but he blocked the channel and can’t remember the code he used. I think that’s god’s plan

  180. 180.

    Redshift

    I missed the Ivanka bit, so I tried to scroll back in the video during the break, but I couldn’t find it. I think maybe she doesn’t show up in recordings.

  181. 181.

    JPL

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: haha   The local Fox station has it on, but that is even blocked in my house.  I know they are suppose to have good shows, but I’m not into supporting the fam.

  186. 186.

    TiredOfItAll

    Do you think those f*ckers are watching this? Is Dump’s head exploding yet?

  189. 189.

    banditqueen

    Everything presented in that painful first hour is something the GQP has diminished, mocked, dismissed, demeaned, used for attempts at humor, belittled, insulted, denied…on and on. But as Cheney reminded the gqp: “There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” She was so precise and legal. I hope that hits them hard.

  193. 193.

    Layer8Problem

    Someone who woke up, went in, and did her job that day.  I wonder if McCarthy thanked her for her service?

  198. 198.

    Mike in NC

    Almost too young to remember Watergate, but this has been great. Lock them all up.

  199. 199.

    Emma from Miami

    I am not watching directly; I am letting y’all do the work for me. A friend asked me why I was so upset about January 6th. I told her as a first generation immigrant I had been PROMISED that a coup would never happen in the US. Every time I see those images I damn near foam at the mouth.

  201. 201.

    JWR

    I can’t believe we’re already 90 minutes into this thing. Feels more like 9 (minutes) to me.

  203. 203.

    zhena gogolia

    One of my students just wrote a thesis on Stewart Rhodes. He must be eating this up.

  204. 204.

    There go two miscreants

    @JWR: Yes, I normally don’t have enough patience for these things but it is moving along and pretty gripping so far.

  207. 207.

    Gravenstone

    @HumboldtBlue:  I suspect it was widely held in the security forces that if they fired, they would be overwhelmed by numbers and their weapon taken to just add to the overall chaos. That restraint (outside the Babbitt shooting) needed to refrain from lethal force under the circumstances was immense.

  211. 211.

    Raven

    @HumboldtBlue: Well, I watched every second of it and other than the aerial shots nothing has surprised me one bit. I realize this isn’t aimed at me.

  213. 213.

    Mallard Filmore

    @zhena gogolia:  I have 4 PBS over-the-air channels here. The channel I am watching has a “PBS NEWS HOUR” logo in the lower left corner. Talking heads only when the hearing takes breaks, none while the session is in progress.

  215. 215.

    LeftCoastYankee

    Officer Edwards on the Proud Boys: “They were standing there in their outfits.”

  218. 218.

    WaterGirl

    I’m not sure what I expected from the hearing exactly, but this was not it.

    I say that not to express disappointment but more as a factual statement.  I will have to think about what I expected.

  219. 219.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Ms. Deranged in AZ:  Among other things, he showed that the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were at the Capitol very early in order to set up the attack. That it was a planned attack, not a crowd that just got out of hand.

  220. 220.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Old Dan and Little Ann: 

    Hannity has newly unearthed documents. It’s the fault of not preparing enough security obviously.

    Can’t remember if it was Thompson or Cheney, but one of them mentioned that they would take on the question of why the Capitol was so lightly guarded that day. And of course that last stretch, Officer Edwards’ account and the film clips, emphasized how there were hardly any officers guarding the outer perimeter of the Capitol grounds.

    They’re going to tell us why the Capitol had so few officers there, and who gave the orders. I’ve been waiting for this for seventeen months now: I still remember how I told my wife that morning not to worry, they’d have a couple thousand cops guarding the Capitol.

    They’d done that for D.C. protests that weren’t targeting the Capitol, and this protest was clearly going to be all about the Capitol. So there was no question in my mind about that. So I want to hear how it happened that a handful of Capitol police were left to defend against this vast, violent mob.

    I’m sure by then Hannity will have moved on to some other line of bullshit justifications, but fuck his sorry ass. With the usual rusty farm implements.

  222. 222.

    catclub

    @Emma from Miami: ​
     

    I told her as a first generation immigrant I had been PROMISED that a coup would never happen in the US.

    Everything is still fine so far! No successful coups.

  225. 225.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl: 
    It was not what I expected either.
    It was far more than I expected.
    It was better than I hoped for, better than I could imagine, especially after SFB and January 6.
    Now I know that assholes on the right won’t think of it in any way like I do, but it is a great start. It is what the country needs. We can’t have a country and a government that is constantly trying to fuck over those that don’t have 10 figure bank accounts or those that have to wash their hands 6-10 times a day at work because they are actually working, or those who think this is a decent country, while those with those 10 figure bank accounts pay a smaller percentage of income tax than your server at McDs, or……
    This is a country that is supposed to be for all of us, and the right and the wealthy have made it a hell of a lot less appealing to live in.

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