Some Lessons from January 6 Committee Finale

So what did we learn from the final “cliffhanger” season finale of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the Capitol?  Of course, the cast hopes to be renewed for another season and promised to be “baaack!” in September.

Well, first, the Democrats of both parties are interested only in convincing people not to vote for Trump again.  They’re not so much interested in improving security at the Capitol or improving communications or lines of cooperation among security agencies involved. Even the handling of the six permits issued by the U.S. Capitol could be improved, but that’s not interesting.

The Left and the Swamp of both parties hate Trump with the heat of a thousand suns because they feel the sting of the voters’ rejection from 2016.  They spent their lives studying government and politics (getting everything wrong and making a mess of things) and yet the voters chose him over them. 

It reminds one of an ex-boyfriend angry with rejection that his girlfriend dumped him for that?  “I would be so much better for you than him!”  Why can’t she see it?  Surely, she will come running back.  The voters must not have noticed that the political elites are so much better for us than Trump.

It’s not unlike musician Salieri’s hatred of Mozart as portrayed in the movie Amadeus.  Salieri recognizes that Mozart’s jaw-dropping, effortless musical genius is a gift from God, and struggles to honor God and accept it.  But eventually jealousy overcomes him and consumes him.  The movie suggests Salieri arguing bitterly with God, sputtering why would God bless this superficial, amoral, dithering, unworthy ninny.

Trump haters cannot stop, cannot help themselves, because the sting of rejection is blinding.  You must beg to take them back.  They cannot accept that they are just really awful at their jobs.  We would prefer voting for a floor mop over establishment insiders. 

So, second, we learned from the Committee that Trump wanted to go to the Capitol after his speech.  Then, after an insurrection by the Secret Service and others refusing to carry out his orders, Trump was irate.  Shouldn’t he be?  White House officials and staff just overturned the authority of the President.  Does that worry anyone in terms of setting a precedent? 

Some months earlier, we learned that Trump officially appointed Sidney Powell as a special counsel to review the data from the election. But White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and others refused to carry out the President’s orders.  The shocking part is any POTUS giving an order and being told “no.”  Earlier that day, we learned, a staffer conspiring with Cipollone tipped him off to that very meeting that Trump had with outside advisors.  Cipollone set a “new land speed record” rushing back to the White House to break it up.  Cipollone’s palace coup was portrayed as typical, normal, and routine.  The junior staffer felt comfortable texting the White House counsel at night and warning him that the President was meeting with people Cipollone might not approve of.

By the by, on January 8 the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi publicly announced that the military should not carry out Trump’s orders as commander in chief.  What if our enemies had believed that the U.S. military was leaderless and had used that moment to attack our allies? 

So after telling Trump he could not go to the Capitol, the Trump haters blame him for not taking control of the situation at the Capitol.  Well, which is it?  Did you want Trump to go to the Capitol or stay out of it?  The jilted ex-boyfriends blame Trump either way.

Third, of course, there is no reason to believe that the crowd at the Capitol would have responded to a television address from the White House.  They were not carrying flat screen televisions around on their backs. 

In fact, cell phone communications were limited.   PCMAG published an explanation the next day “Why Cell Networks Cut Out at the US Capitol Riot.” Sascha Segan’s technical article mainly doubted that law enforcement jammed the system.  But it vividly describes the cell phone outage.  The article notes that text messages were often delivered hours late.

An analysis of the DoJ’s January 2022 press release shows.

Criminal charges: 

More than 225 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including over 75 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

That is only 75 out of 10,000 demonstrators at the Capitol, or 0.75%.  Note DoJ included “resisting or impeding” along with “assaulting” to come up with 225.

It is unlikely the few violent thugs would have stopped to listen to Trump’s words, even assuming they weren’t the mysteriously absent Antifa (seen at every other protest).  They would have been too busy committing criminal mischief to stop and watch a video from Trump.  But of course, Trump had just been ordered in a palace coup to go back to the White House.

Fourth, the political class objected when Trump spoke of wanting to use the military under the Insurrection Act to quell deadly, bloody riots and arson by Antifa at the White House, setting fire to the church across the square and pelting police with frozen water bottles.  Now, they skewer Trump for not doing on January 6 what they said he must never do.  Which is it?   Did they want Trump to call out the military or not?

Fifth, the political class lies when asserting that Trump did not request military assistance.  These are the experts who are supposed to know that it doesn’t work that way. 

Congress passed laws giving the U.S. Capitol Police exclusive authority over the U.S. Capitol and Capitol grounds.  The Committee blamed Trump of a dereliction of duty and failing to “see that the laws be faithfully executed.”  But Congress passed the laws putting the Capitol Police in charge of Capitol security.  Those are the laws Trump must “see” are faithfully executed. 

The Capitol has also entered into arrangements with the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. for back-up assistance.  Trump plays no role in security at the Capitol.  And notice the committee has not called Nancy Pelosi, the Sergeant at Arms, etc. to testify? 

Sixth, the governor of the state (in this case the mayor of D.C.) can request the National Guard or military help.  D.C. did not do so until late in the day -- and then got the National Guard in record time.  The committee claims that Trump did not request the National Guard “on that day.”  That’s because Trump had already pre-approved the National Guard -- if D.C. asked for it -- four days earlier as now proven in documents.   So not “on that day” -- but four days earlier.

Seventh, the Democrats just can’t stop lying about the nonexistent police officers who "died" on January 6 or as a result of the demonstrations.  The U.S. Capitol Police finally issued a press release “Medical Examiner Finds USCP Officer Brian Sicknick Died of Natural Causes” on April 19, 2021.  Yet the committee never misses a chance to spread the lie that police officers died.  Thursday night they whittled it down to Officer Sicknick died later but as a result of his injuries.  The D.C. coroner was very clear.  Sicknick had no injuries whatsoever from January 6.

All in all, the incidents were a sad mess.  But the political class is not winning anyone back.

Image: yooperann

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