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Defend Our Country Digest

Defend Our Country Digest — January 5, 2023

By January 5, 2023No Comments

Driving the Day: 

Must Read Stories

Newly Released January 6 Committee Documents Detail Ron Johnson’s Role And Chaotic Infighting Among Organizers 

  • Associated Press: New Documents Detail Sen. Ron Johnson Asking About Electors: The former chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party said Republican Sen. Ron Johnson spoke to him weeks before Joe Biden assumed the presidency about having the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature, rather than voters, choose Wisconsin’s presidential electors, according to newly released documents from closed-door testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee. Johnson, in a statement Tuesday, said he had no recollection of the conversation with Andrew Hitt and accused the committee investigating the 2021 Capitol insurrection of attempting to “smear” him by selectively releasing text messages. “I have no recollection of the phone call referenced in the texts, and therefore do not know the context of any comment I might have made,” Johnson said in a statement. “My goal since the November 2020 elections has consistently been to restore confidence in our election system.” Hitt, who resigned as state party chairman in July 2021, testified before the Jan. 6 committee on Feb. 22. The transcript of his interview was released on Monday.
  • Washington Post: Jan. 6 Papers Detail Infighting, ‘Chaos’ Among Extremist Organizers: How do we know that the architects of a pro-Trump rally that spiraled into insurrection were right-wing extremists? They said so themselves, according to newly released witness interviews from the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But it doesn’t mean they were all on the same page. Thousands of pages of documents made public in recent weeks portray promoters of the Stop the Steal movement as backstabbing rivals who viewed one another as “crazies,” “extremists,” “nutty,” and “white supremacist.” The documents include a text exchange in which former senior Trump adviser Hope Hicks, while watching the Capitol rioting unfold, lamented, “We all look like domestic terrorists now.” The behind-the-scenes chaos detailed in the report underlines how the risk of violence that day was known in advance, causing alarm even among some organizers who said they had qualms about working with fellow pro-MAGA factions such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, extremist groups whose members later were charged in the attack.

Proud Boys Sedition Trial Set To Begin As January 6 Probe Accelerates 

  • Associated Press: Proud Boys Go To Trial On Sedition As Jan. 6 Probe Heats Up: As members of the Proud Boys extremist group stormed past police lines and swarmed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, their leader cheered them on from afar, prosecutors say. “Do what must be done,” Enrique Tarrio wrote on social media. “So what do we do now?” someone asked later that day in a Proud Boys encrypted group chat. “Do it again,” Tarrio responded. Almost two years later, Tarrio’s words are at the center of the Justice Department’s seditious conspiracy case against the former Proud Boys national chairman. Prosecutors in his trial in Washington are trying to build on their recent courtroom victory against leaders of another far-right extremist group, the Oath Keepers. Tarrio, who led the neofacist group as it became a force in mainstream Republican circles, is perhaps the highest-profile defendant yet to stand trial for charges stemming from the insurrection. Tarrio and four lieutenants face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of seditious conspiracy. Jury selection is underway and opening statements could begin later this week. The trial comes at a pivotal time in the Justice Department’s wide-ranging Jan. 6 investigation. Key aspects are now overseen by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. Smith has issued a number of subpoenas in recent weeks to state election officials, seeking their communications with Donald Trump and others involved the then-president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

The House GOP Enters A Third Day Of MAGA-Fueled Chaos 

  • Politico: Trump’s Spell Over GOP Breaks With Mccarthy Meltdown: It was the second day of chaos on the floor of the House of Representatives when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) took the previously unthinkable step of thumbing her nose at Donald Trump, the ex-president she otherwise venerates. “Let’s stop with the campaign smears and tactics to get people to turn against us — even having my favorite president call us and tell us to knock this off. I think it actually needs to be reversed and the [former] president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw,” Boebert said. “Ooo”s from Democrats could be heard from the chamber. The inability of McCarthy to secure the needed votes to be House Speaker — despite six tries at doing so — represents a unique failure on his part. But it has also called into question the extent of Trump’s own power to shape the party in his image, coming at a time when some Republicans have openly soured on his current run for the presidency.
  • New York Times (Analysis): ‘Nobody Is in Charge’: A Ragged G.O.P. Stumbles Through the Wilderness: After two days of chaos and confusion on the House floor, Republicans have made it abundantly clear who is leading their party: absolutely no one. From the halls of Congress to the Ohio Statehouse to the back-room dealings of the Republican National Committee, the party is confronting an identity crisis unseen in decades. With no unified legislative agenda, clear leadership or shared vision for the country, Republicans find themselves mired in intraparty warfare, defined by a fringe element that seems more eager to tear down the House than to rebuild the foundation of a political party that has faced disappointment in the past three national elections. Even as Donald J. Trump rarely leaves his Florida home in what so far appears to be little more than a Potemkin presidential campaign, Republicans have failed to quell the anti-establishment fervor that accompanied his rise to power. Instead, those tumultuous political forces now threaten to devour the entire party.

Trump Renews Dangerous Attacks On Georgia Election Workers 

  • MSNBC: Trump’s Offensive Against Ruby Freeman Reaches An Ugly New Level: Around midnight last night, for reasons that aren’t yet clear, Donald Trump used his social media platform to launch a new offensive against an old perceived foe. It started with this unfortunate missive: “Wow! Has anyone seen the Ruby Freeman ‘contradictions’ of her sworn testimony? Now this is ‘BIG STUFF.’ Look what was captured by Cobb County police body cameras on January 4, 2021. … Now it gets really bad.” Soon after, the former president published another item, accusing Freeman of election crimes, followed by a third missive, in which the Republican asked, “What will the Great State of Georgia do with the Ruby Freeman MESS?” Trump concluded that he’s battling “the evils and treachery of the Radical Left monsters who want to see America die.” Both items referred to “suitcases” filled with ballots that Trump believes Freeman opened, all as part of the crime that was committed only in his imagination.

Arizona Lawmaker Who Stood Up To Attempts To Overturn The 2020 Election Will Receive Presidential Citizens Medal 

  • Deseret News: Arizona Lawmaker Rusty Bowers To Receive Presidential Citizens Medal: On the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers — who resisted former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in his state — will be given the nation’s second-highest civilian honor. President Joe Biden will award Bowers the Presidential Citizens Medal on Friday at a ceremony at the White House, multiple sources told the Deseret News. Bowers will be the award’s first living recipient since 2012, when then-President Barack Obama honored civil rights activist and U.S. senator Harris Wofford. “I am not often speechless,” Bowers told the Deseret News. “It’s an honor, for sure.” Bowers testified before the Jan. 6 committee last June, in which he recounted pressure from Trump, attorney Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., to illegally overturn election results in his state, which Biden won. Bowers’ resistance — and later decision to offer his testimony after being subpoenaed — cost Bowers his seat in the Arizona state Legislature.

In The States 

ARIZONA:  Election Conspiracy Theorist Named Head Of The Powerful State Corporation Commission 

  • Arizona Republic: Jim O’Connor, Who Raised Election Fraud Claims, Picked To Lead Corporation Commission: Arizona utility regulators on Tuesday elected Republican Jim O’Connor as their chairman, though the vote was not unanimous because he would not pledge to abandon his quest to tackle election fraud concerns from his office. The five members of the Arizona Corporation Commission serve the entire state and on Tuesday welcomed newly elected Republicans Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers. The members appoint their chairperson, who runs the public meetings and sets the agenda. Last year, O’Connor wanted the commission to investigate the state’s “voting machines” in hopes that counties would abandon the use of modern technology and conduct the 2022 election “the old-fashioned way.” His effort failed amid legal concerns that the subject was beyond the commission’s purview.

MICHIGAN:  Western Michigan County Names Election Denying Misogynist And Failed Congressional Candidate Joe Gibbs As County Administrator 

  • Bridge Michigan: New Ottawa County Board Ends Racial Diversity Office, Hires Trump Favorite: Led by grassroots conservatives opposed to pandemic mask rules and racial diversity efforts, new board members on the Ottawa County Commissioners locked in on a single agenda item Tuesday  — cleaning house. Swiftly and without notice, newly-elected Republican commissioners affiliated with the activist group Ottawa Impact dissolved the county’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office and fired its staff. By 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the office’s website had been taken down. The commissioners also named John Gibbs — an unsuccessful Republican congressional candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump — as the new county administrator. They voted to replace the in-house corporation counsel and public health officer. And they even replaced the county’s motto from “Where You Belong” to “Where Freedom Rings.”

What Experts Are Saying

Democracy Docket: “If you’re wondering who Byron Donalds is, he’s a representative from southwest Florida who voted to reject Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election. He also supports Florida voter suppression law #SB90 and the state’s election police force.” Tweet 

Joyce Vance, former US attorney (Podcast): “What can we learn from the witness interview transcripts released by the January 6 Committee? @PreetBharara and I discuss on a new episode of @cafedotcom Insider.” Tweet | CAFE Insider Podcast 

Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Podcast): It’s been two years since the January 6th riot at the US Capitol in Washington DC. Over 900 people have been criminally charged, but political violence continues to be a threat…In our first episode, we bring on Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where she focuses on the intersection of democracy and security. She explains how the US has gotten to this point, how we should productively grapple with January 6, and why we’re not as close to the brink of civil war as it may seem. Slate (How To! Podcast): Prevent Another Jan. 6 

Headlines

The MAGA Movement And The Ongoing Threat To Elections

Associated Press: Groups urge GOP House leaders to condemn political violence

CNN (Analysis): Will democracy still be on a roll in 2023?

Washington Post: All but two McCarthy defectors in House are election deniers

January 6 And The 2020 Election

Axios: FBI increases reward to $500K for info on pipe bombs outside RNC, DNC headquarters

Bloomberg: Trump Jan. 6 Subpoena Fight Fizzles Out With New Congress

Los Angeles Times: Republicans move to retain Jan. 6 committee documents

NBC: Hope Hicks, Former Trump Aide, On Jan. 6: ‘We All Look Like Domestic Terrorists Now’

Washington Post: Milley told Jan. 6 panel he’s become a political ‘lightning rod’

Washington Post: On official tours of the U.S. Capitol, there is no mention of Jan. 6

Other Trump Investigations

Washington Post: Jack Smith returns to U.S. weeks after becoming Trump special counsel

Opinion

Washington Post (Jennifer Rubin): Senate Democrats must complete the work of the Jan. 6 committee