As evidence continues to mount of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving intimidation and violence, and MAGA Republicans continue to win across the country, the need for the American people to hear the truth about what happened leading up to January 6, 2021 and what came after grows more apparent every day. The people responsible for the attack on our country will not stop until they control who gets to lead us, not American voters.
Here’s what you need to know for the weekend:
Main Points for the Weekend:
1. Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan wrote an unhinged op-ed accusing the Jan. 6 committee of “weaponizing government”, among other falsehoods. The Wall Street Journal published the piece, which saw the congressmen claim the committee was using “abusive” tactics in its fact-finding mission.
- Top point to make: The American people deserve to hear the truth about the attack on our country. Minority Leader McCarthy and Rep. Jordan are hindering and politicizing the nonpartisan investigation purposefully to distract from the real issues.
- If you read one thing: New York Times, 5/26/22: Republicans Signal Refusal of Jan. 6 Subpoenas, Setting Up a Showdown. “The Republicans’ resistance could hinder the committee’s investigation, leaving unanswered questions about the deadly mob attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that left more than 150 police officers injured. It will also likely force the panel to decide whether to pursue criminal contempt of Congress charges against the men, which could prompt a legal showdown whose outcome could set a precedent for future congressional investigations.”
2. President Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told his colleagues that Trump reacted approvingly to Jan 6. crowds chanting to hang Mike Pence. According to information provided to the House Committee investigating Jan. 6, Mark Meadows told White House colleagues that Trump made statements to the effect that VP Pence should be hanged.
- Top point to make: Evidence continues to mount that Trump and his MAGA Republican allies supported overturning the 2020 election through any means necessary, including violence against his own vice president.
- If you read one thing: Washington Post, 5/25/22: Column by By Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman: Why Trump’s private comment about hanging Mike Pence really matters. “The key point is that this use of the mob appeared aimed at carrying out the strategy that Trump and his allies had pursued for weeks. This included pressuring the Justice Department to create a pretext for a delay in the electoral count and pressuring state officials and lawmakers to corrupt the vote count or to be ready to step in and certify sham electors for Trump.”
3. MAGA Republicans are winning their primaries across the country. Whether endorsed by Trump or not, MAGA candidates with histories of preventing Americans from exercising their right to vote continue to win in elections across the country – such as Gov. Brian Kemp in Georgia and others, including Alabama, Texas, and more.
- Top point to make: Kemp’s “victory” over election-denier Perdue this past Tuesday in Georgia wasn’t really a win for democracy. MAGA Republicans are committed to making it harder to vote, ensuring they have the final say on who leads us, not voters.
- If you read one thing: CNN, 5/26/22: Op-ed by Norman Eisen and Dennis Aftergut: Perdue’s loss is good for democracy; Kemp’s win is not. “Significantly, that came only as Kemp, like a demagogue, simultaneously amplified false election claims. When he formally certified Biden’s win in the state in November 2020, he also called on Raffensperger to conduct an additional audit comparing the signatures on absentee applications to those on ballot envelopes. He continued to press for such an audit in December 2020, telling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that a video of workers in Fulton County taking ‘suitcases of ballots’ from under a table raised additional questions. That claim has been thoroughly debunked. But the dangerous behavior doesn’t stop there.”
4. Twenty former House Republicans are demanding current GOP lawmakers comply with the Jan. 6 committee’s subpoenas. Twenty former House Republicans are urging Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Reps. Mo Brooks (Ala.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) to comply with subpoenas issued by the Jan. 6 select committee, describing the probe as an important attempt to defend American institutions.
- Top point to make: All Americans, regardless of political affiliation, should be outraged at the blatant and illegal attempt to overturn the will of the people.
- If you read one thing: Politico, 05/26/22: Twenty former House Republicans are imploring current GOP lawmakers, including Kevin McCarthy, to comply with the Jan. 6 committee’s subpoenas. “A full and honest accounting of the attack and its causes is critical to preventing future assaults on the rule of law and American institutions — and ensuring that we all can move forward.”
Expert voices
Nathan P. Kalmoe, Associate Professor of Political Science at Louisiana State University and co-author of “Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy”: Q: “After the 2020 election, you found that ‘about a fifth of American partisans were ready for a full-blown violent rebellion against the newly elected president and his government.’ What are the implications of that?” Kalmoe: “Clearly, several thousand Americans went beyond support for violently overthrowing the newly-elected government to acting on that view in the 2021 Capitol attack. That episode, and the thousands of death threats targeting election administrators and others for upholding their civic duties after the 2020 election, are the clearest implications. Most people who support political violence won’t act on it. Of course, that’s true in wars too. A majority of Americans initially supported the Iraq war, for example, even though a tiny fraction actually did the fighting. But their support for violence has important effects on the actions of those few, and helps determine whether the numbers of combatants will grow in spirals of provocation.” Salon
Norm Eisen, Brookings Senior Fellow: “[T]he January six committee must tell that story before the insurrection, the day of the insurrection, and the continuation of the insurrection driven by Trump’s big lie, his what a federal judge has now found to be a likely criminal conspiracy, an attempted coup that hasn’t ended. They’re setting up for the next coup, telling that story effectively. And I think they’ll do it brings us to the ballot box like 2020.” Slate’s Amicus Podcast
Barbara McQuade, former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan: “As I have been saying since February…. And even if you can prove that Trump incited the mob that attacked the Capitol, you don’t need to do so to prove the case. Trump’s public pressure on Pence to abuse his power as VP is enough.” Twitter
NYU Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat: “No amount of dead children will ever make Republicans regulate guns because they know that mass death primes us for authoritarianism. My @washingtonpost essay: LINK” Twitter
Harry Litman, former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General: “Concrete problem for Meadows and the other recalcitrant witnesses: the Jan 6 committee will tell the story w/o their input. Eg these apparent latest bombshells: 1) Meadows told witnesses that Trump said maybe Pence should be hanged & 2) Meadows burned docs in his office fireplace” Tweet
