The January 6 Hearings. Part 4: The Intimidation Campaign

Tuesday's hearing was probably the most emotional of the four so far. 

We got a glimpse into the threatening intimidation campaign against state election officials at all levels. By resisting, those citizens defended the Constitution and preserved the institutions of our democracy. If you know LSR at all, you know I am a U.S.A. Pollyanna. I truly deeply believe in the good of our country. The past few years have shaken me, but hearing these patriots renews my hope. 

We heard from four live witnesses: three Republican state officials, one from Arizona and two from Georgia, and a poll worker from Georgia. Two of them received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) (yay!) led today's questioning of the live witnesses. 

It was powerful.

Simultaneously to the pressure campaign waged against V.P. Pence, the Tangerine Palpatine's campaign was launching a similar campaign against election officials and legislators in several battleground states. Even after he was told unequivocally by his own team and the Department of Justice that there was no fraud, 45 placed extreme pressure – intimidation really – upon state officials to "find" extra votes for him, to find fraud, and to install an "alternate" (illegal) set of electors to issue their own faked certificates which would be given to V.P. Pence and Congress in place of the lawful elector votes. Then he set about demonizing those who did not do his bidding.

First up was Arizona State Representative Russell "Rusty" Bowers, the Speaker of the Arizona House. Mr. Bowers has served in the Arizona state government for decades, most recently as a member of the House of Representatives since 2015 and Speaker since 2019. Bowers is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. He's a lifelong Republican, certainly longer than Mar-a-Lardo has been. He voted for him and wanted to see him reelected. He's as far from a "RINO" as you can get. And still he resisted the pressure placed upon him to perform illegal acts.

The first part of his testimony shot down a statement made shortly before the hearing. The former president* had said that during a November phone call with Bowers, Bowers "told me that the election was rigged and that I won Arizona."

Bowers testified, "I did have a conversation with the president. That certainly isn't it. Anyone, anywhere, anytime who said that I said the election was rigged, that would not be true."

Bowers outlined the pressure campaign and very poignantly explained that his oath to the Arizona Constitution and to the U.S. Constitution would not allow him to comply. He described how Giuliani and Eastman pressured him at different times. He explained that he asked Giuliani for evidence of fraud (to the tune of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants and thousands of dead people voting), and none was provided. And in fact, he recalled of Rudy Giuliani, "My recollection, he said we've got lots of theories. We just don't have the evidence."

He said more than once that his faith (he's Mormon, and he believes the U.S. Constitution is "divinely inspired") and his oath of office guided him. When Giuliani asked him to replace the electors of Arizona with a different slate, he told him, "I will not break my oath." When Old Wack Donald telephoned Bowers, he also told him – more than once – that he would not do anything illegal. And that was it for him. The campaign kept trying, right up to the morning of January 6, when U.S. Representative Andy Biggs from Arizona called him for one more effort. Bowers would not budge. 

Bowers kept a journal during that time, and he read from it: 

It is painful to have friends who have been such a help to me turn on me with such rancor. I may in the eyes of men not hold correct opinions or act according to their vision or convictions, but I do not take this current situation in a light manner, a fearful manner, or a vengeful manner. I do not want to be a winner by cheating. I will not play with laws I swore allegiance to.

At the end of his testimony, Bowers described the ways his life has changed, including terrible harassment and threats of violence that has been waged against him and and his family. He was nearly in tears as he described how groups in vans with speakers and video screens have trawled his neighborhood, blaring that he is a pedophile and a corrupt politician. People came through his neighborhood armed with firearms and harassed his neighbors. All of this deeply upset his wife and his daughter who was ill with cancer (and who died three weeks after the insurrection). 

Rep. Schiff asked for a short break after Bowers's testimony, allowing us all to collect ourselves. 

And then there was Georgia. Oh my dear lawd, the pressure on Georgia. As you recall, Dolt 45 lost the election in Georgia by 11,779 votes. He was desperate to find a way to change the results of the election in that state.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling sat before the committee and testified. 

Raffensperger detailed how fast, accurate, and consistent the results of the Georgia counting process was on every one of the three counts. He was proud! 

You'll remember hearing portions of his 67-minute-long telephone call on January 2 with 45, where SCROTUS asked him to "find" 11,780 votes. The Danger Yam knew very well by January 2nd that the claims of fraud were bogus and that he lost the election. But he called Raffensperger anyway. 

The committee played more of this recorded phone call, more evidence of the Quarter Flounder's crimes. Here is the entire recorded phone call and transcript. 

Every single assertion that 45 made was shot down by Raffesnsperger.

There was a mysterious suitcase full of ballots that had been hidden under a table and brought out late at night. No, it was an official ballot-holding box and it was counted in the usual way.

"They dropped a lot of votes in there late at night." No, the poll workers accepted ballots until 7pm on Election Day as allowed by law.

5000 dead people voted. No, they found evidence of four, 1-2-3-4, dead people voting.

You can just 'recalculate' the votes. No, the numbers in the original count, the re-count, and the second hand-count recount all came out remarkably the same. "The numbers are the numbers, the numbers don't lie."

Raffensperger testified that every one of the campaign's claims of fraud was investigated and none panned out. He was crystal clear that SCROTUS lost Georgia: "Simply put in a nutshell, what happened in fall of 2020 is that 28,000 Georgians skipped the Presidential race and yet they voted down ballot in other races. And the Republican Congressman ended up getting 33,000 more votes than President Trump. And that's why President Trump came up short."

During this intimidation campaign, Voldemoron insinuated that Ratffensperger was dishonest, incompetent, or criminal. In a veiled threat, Clownigula told Raffensperger, "And I watched you this morning and you said well, there was no criminality, but I mean, all of this stuff is — is very dangerous stuff. When you talk about no criminality, I think it's very dangerous for you to say that."

And yes, Raffensperger and his family also were subjected to terrible harassment and threats by Twitler's supporters, including sexualized threats against his wife and a break-in into his widowed daughter-in-law's home that she shares with her children.

Yet he reamained stalwart. When asked why he didn't just walk away, Raffensperger said, "Because I knew that we had followed the law, we had followed the Constitution. And I think sometimes moments require you to stand up and just take the shots. You're doing your job. And that's all we did. You know, we just followed the law and we followed the Constitution. And at the end of the day, President Trump came up short. But I had to be faithful to the Constitution. And that's what I swore an oath to do."

Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the office of the Georgia Secretary of State, described how he "lost it" when he saw a tweet doxxing a 20-year-old first-generation American youth who worked as Dominion polling machine contractor. The tweet called the kid a traitor and included a GIF of a noose. 

You remember Mr. Sterling giving the powerful press conference on December 1, 2020 just after he saw this tweet. He angrily called out 45 by name and warned that violence may ensue and there was a risk of the loss of life because of this behavior. 

Here's that press conference in full.

Mr. Sterling also took part in reviewing the videotape that the Mango Moron and his supporters said contained evidence of all kinds of election malfeasance. The videotape showed absolutely normal operations. He was extremely frustrated that the campaign conflated perfectly normal procedures into some sort of nefarious conspiracy theory. He tried to publicly combat the misinformation scheme as best he could. 

Last to testify on Tuesday was Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss, a low-level Fulton County election official and poll worker. She described her love for the job of enfranchising voters by helping them apply for ballots, access absentee ballots, as well as her work in counting ballots. She said she had been inspired to be a poll worker because of her grandmother, who instilled in her the importance of voting because it is a right not to be taken for granted. 

Ms. Moss and her mother "Lady Ruby" Freeman were both working to count votes and were in the building when that famous video was taken out of context and circulated by the campaign as some sort of "proof" of "fraud."  

They became the next victims of the Jabba the Gut's ugly intimidation campaign. Horrible allegations were made about them. Here is what Rudy Giuliani said about them: "Ruby Freeman and Shaye Freeman Moss and one other gentleman quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine. I mean, it's our — it's obvious to anyone who's a criminal investigator or prosecutor they are engaged in surreptitious illegal activity again that day, and that's a week ago, and they're still walking around Georgia lying." 

That USB device? It was a ginger mint. 

DJT himself used Ruby Freeman's name 18 times in the phone conversation with Raffensperger. These two hard-working poll workers, doing the job for the good of their state and the nation, serving the citizens of Georgia, were directly and by name targeted by the most powerful man in the free world. 

And of course they were traumatized by the abuse and threats they suffered. "A lot of threats wishing death upon me, telling me that, you know, I'm — I'll be in jail with my mother, and saying things like be glad it's 2020 and not 1920."

Here we are, more than a year and a half later, and still their lives are turned upside down. They suffer anxiety and depression and live in fear of threats of violence.

Lady Ruby testified, "I won't even introduce myself by my name anymore. I get nervous when I bump into someone I know in the grocery store who says my name. I'm worried about who's listening. I get nervous when I have to give my name for food orders. I'm always concerned of who's around me. I've lost my name, and I've lost my reputation. I've lost my sense of security, all because a group of people, starting with number 45 and his ally Rudy Giuliani, decided to scapegoat me and my daughter Shaye to push their own lies about how the presidential election was stolen." (I love that Lady Ruby called him "45" in her deposition. Keep that filth out of your mouth!)

I was in tears from the start of Shaye's testimony, celebrating the civic joy of doing election work, to the end of it, lamenting the injustice and pain of the harassment she and her mother endured. 

Ms. Moss was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage in April, 2022.

She no longer works for Georgia elections.

George Winners (thanks to Sister Resister Karen for the 'toon)

There's more.The hearing was chock-full and nothing was superfluous. It deserves a watch. Here it is:

Final thought. 

TЯUMP's brand of misinformation has its own life. It continues. As Chairman Bennie Thompson said in his opening statement, "Two weeks ago, New Mexico held its primary elections. One county commission refused to certify the results, citing vague, unsupported claims dealing with Dominion voting machines. The court stepped in, saying New Mexico law required the commission to certify the results. Two of the three members of the commission finally relented. One still refused, saying his vote 'Isn't based on any evidence. It's not based on any facts. It's only based on my gut feeling and my own intuition, and that's all I need.'" 

We must not let truth and facts become supplanted by the fantastical fantasies of wing-nuts. Keep up the hard work, resisters!

The next hearing is tomorrow, Thursday June 23, at noon Pacific, 3 p.m. Eastern. After that, the hearings will be postponed until July, as the committee has uncovered "a mountain of new evidence" and they need time to compile it. 

Again, many thanks to Stephen Colbert and his viewers for nicknames!

Click here for Part 5: Target DOJ

January 6 hearings. Part 3: Hang Mike Pence

First of all, how come no one is taking about former Whitewash House attorney Eric Herschmann's decorations? That panda tho!

Thursday's hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol started with Chairman Bennie Thompson (D - Miss.) quoting Mike Pence when he spoke a few days after the insurrection: "There's almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president."

The day's hearing surrounded the part of the plan where the Commander n Thief attempted to make his devoted V.P. into the lackey. And to have him killed if necessary.

There were three main points regarding 45 and his V.P. in today's testimony: 

• 45 was told repeatedly by numerous people that Mike Pence did not have authority to do what the president* was asking, which was to either reject the certification of the electoral votes and declare 45 the winner of the election, or send the matter back to the states.

• 45 did not care that it was illegal and unconsitutional and pressured Pence into taking action right up until the 11th hour

• 45 put the V.P. in mortal danger.

Vice President Pence, on the other hand, had one plan of action: Do. Not. Budge.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) led most of the proceedings Thursday, and he was assisted in questioning by conservative lawyer John Wood, who served as United States Attorney in Missouri under President Bush II. Two live witnesses testified today: V.P. Mike Pence's former attorney Greg Jacob, who was with the Vice President all day on January 6, and retired conservative judge Michael Luttig, who is the conservat-ist of conservative judges, and very much esteemed in Conservativille. Luttig was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by Bush I and was on the short-list for SCOTUS twice. Judge Luttig advised Mike Pence regarding the legal circumstances of the vice president's role in the certification of election results.

Thursday's testimony drilled down on the law surrounding the role of the vice president in the certification process. They talked a lot about one sentence in the 12th Amendment, which outlines the veep's role, and the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which clarified and codified it.

Some commentators note that the hearing was slow and full of legalese. Well, yup. Because we are a nation ruled by law. It's how we do things. Judge Luttig – in his achingly slooow, law professor manner – offered this thought: "The foundational truth is the rule of law. That foundational truth is, for the United States of America, the profound truth, but it's not merely the profound truth for the United States, it's also the simple truth, the simple foundational truth of the American republic." 

The line in question from the 14th Amendment reads: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted."

There is no mention of any power that the vice president has in withholding certification nor litigating it by sending the results back to the state legislatures. Niether the 12th Amendment nor the Electoral Count Act of 1887 give any authority to the vice president. The role is ceremonial. Further, there had been no historical precedent of any vice president in 240 years of our nation who tried to interfere with the certification. 

If it were possible for the vice president to simply declare someone the winner, at their whim, why didn't Al Gore do it? Vice President Gore, who had just lost the presidential election, had to preside over the certification of Bush II after a highly contentious 2000 election. In fact, he gaveled down protests in his favor when he presented the certificates for the presidency he had just lost, after winning the popular vote no less. My heart swelled watching the video they showed where Gore said, "The importance of the United States of America in all of human history, in Lincoln's phrase, we still are the last best hope of humankind. And the choice between one's own disappointment in your personal career and upholding the — the noble traditions of America's democracy, it's a pretty easy choice when it comes down to it."

Mike Pence was of the same mind. He knew he didn't have authority. He knew it was illegal, and, well, was it even a choice? 

Everyone around the president* agreed on this point. Mike Pence's lawyers agreed. 45's lawyers agreed. Even the guy who conspired with the president*, attorney John Eastman, at one point conceded that the plan was unconstitutional. And they all told the president that it was illegal, including Eastman. 

But Eastman strayed from the chorus. He knew it was illegal, but he continued to take an active role in the plot with Kermit the Fraud to pressure Pence into taking illegal action to interfere with the certification of election results on January 6. 

Later, Dr. Eastman would request a presidential pardon (his official email request, like a high school junior asking to be on the prom committee: “I’ve decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works”). He wasn't granted a pardon. He also asserted his 5th Amendment right not to provide self-incriminating testimony at least 100 times during this committee's inquiry. 

The committee illustrated how SCROTUS's pressure campaign played out. He tried to pressure Pence personally, most glaringly in a phone call on the morning of January 6. Witnesses, including the Family Fondler's daughter Ivanka, testified that the conversation got "heated." The words "wimp" and "pussy" were thrown around by the president* on the phone call to Pence.

The Lord of the Fries also pressured Pence publicly. After a January 4 meeting where Pence and Jacob met with Eastman and 45 and told them plainly that Pence did not have any authority to do what was being asked, the campaign put out a statement stating that the president* and Pence were “in complete agreement.” And before and during the awful day, The Walrus (Coup-Coup-Cachoo) also tweeted, calling out Mike Pence by name and questioning his "courage." He also mentioned Pence 11 times in his ad-libbed speech to the mob on January 6. 

But on January 6, Mike Pence did not waver. He did not budge. He did his duty.

This tweet was released at 2:24 p.m., after SCROTUS was informed of the unfolding violence. 

Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!

The tweet was read by the insurrectionists as directives from mission command. We heard one insurrectionist yell, "If Pence caved, we're going to drag motherfuckers through the streets. You politicians are going to be dragged through the streets."

And they would have. Shortly thereafter, the chants of "Hang Mike Pence" began.

The committee revealed that an anonymous informant from the Proud Boys stated that "they would have killed Mike Pence if given a chance." The Tangerine Toddler didn't care. As Liz Cheney told us, when he was made aware of the chants of "Hang Mike Pence," he said, "Maybe our supporters have the right idea.' Mike Pence 'deserves it.'"

The committee described how Pence was ushered out with seconds to spare.The mob was a mere 40 feet from him as he made his way to a safe location. They also showed photographs of the Vice President in some Capitol basement loading dock, doing the country's business while the mob was searching for him somewhere above. He refused to leave the Capitol grounds, not wanting to risk people seeing him flee the Capitol and determined to finish the business of the day. He did not budge in performing his duty. As you know, Congress reconvened several hours later and properly certified the election results. 

Many are calling Pence a "hero," but yanno? He was simply doing his duty. Following the law. If that makes him a hero, then may we all be American heroes. The others are villainous, to be sure, but a hero isn't necessary to contrast against the villainy. I think he is simply and profoundly a fine, upstanding citizen.

Veep is watching the Burger Baby's video where he told the insurrectionists, "So go home. We love you; you're very special."

Both live witnesses were compelling. Judge Luttig gave especially powerful testimony. He was full of gravitas, fitting his role as an esteemed conservative judge who truly didn't relish what he had to testify to: that the United States was this close to a revolution. But he was unequivocal. It was unconstitutional for Mike Pence to do anything different than he did. And his final words were especially sobering:

I have written, as you said, Chairman Thompson, that today, almost two years after that fateful day in January 2021, that still Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy. That's not because of what happened on January 6th. It's because, to this very day, the former president, his allies, and supporters pledge that, in the presidential election of 2024, if the former president or his anointed successor as the Republican Party presidential candidate were to lose that election, that they would attempt to overturn that 2024 election in the same way that they attempted to overturn the 2020 election, but succeed in 2024 where they failed in 2020. I don't speak those words lightly.

Watch the third hearing here:

What's next?

We got teasers last week about two important facets of that day. We need to hear more. 

The committee has released video of right-wing Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) giving a Capitol tour on January 5. Firstly, know that public tours of the Capitol had been suspended for months due to Covid. Secondly, surveillance cameras show that those red-hatted magats on the tour were taking photos not of statues and paintings in the august, hallowed halls of our democracy's heart, but of stairwells, hallways, and security checkpoints. We have questions.

The committee also revealed that they are in possession of emails that Ginni Thomas, wife to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, exchanged with the nefarious Dr. John Eastman, the villain at the center of the plot to overthrow the government. We have many questions. 

The next hearing will take place on Tuesday, June 21 at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT), and following that, on Thursday, June 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern time, noon Pacific. It's likely that the next hearing will outline the part of the plan where pressure was mounted on state legislators and election officials to change the results of the election.

Mike Luckovich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Stay tuned!

Click here for Part 4: The Intimidation Campaign

The January 6th Hearings. Part 2: The Big Lie and the Big Con

First, cartoons!

Pat Byrnes, Cagle Cartoons

Michael de Adder, The Washington Post

Michael de Adder, The Washington Post

R.J. Matson, Cagle Cartoons

The second hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol started with a delay, as an 11th-hour revelation that 45's 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien would not be able to testify in person due to his wife going into labor. The committee took some time to scramble to adjust their schedule and made due with video presentations of his previously-taped testimony. Congratulations to the Stepian family!

Today's hearing focused on the fact that the claims of fraud were investigated and found false by members of 45's inner circle, including his attorney general, and he was directly and unequivocally informed of their baselessness. Yet The Big Lie-bowski continued to push the lie on TV, both as an opening salvo for his attempted coup and as a way to continue his grift, conning his supporters out of millions upon millions of dollars. 

The bottom line: he lost and he knew he lost. But he continued the lie anyway.

Congressperson Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) took center stage today as she presented witnesses to illustrate several points.

The former president* was advised not to declare victory too early. All of his campaign officials told him that over the last 40-50 years, since mail-in ballot has been a thing, early results often favor the Republican candidate. Known as the "Red Mirage," it will often appear that the Repug candidate is winning because mail-in ballots, which generally favor the Democrat candidate, take longer to count, sometimes many days longer. The 2020 Republican candidate for president had discouraged his supporters from voting by mail. And though election-night reporting favored him, as we all know, the mail-in ballots eventually tilted the election toward Joe Biden. All of those around him advised him to wait to declare victory. All, of course, save one inebriated Rudy Giuliani, who goaded him into declaring victory on election night.

Claims of fraud were at the center of his plot to overthrow the government, and this narrative was started early. In fact, he started the fraud narrative in April of 2020, a full seven months before the election (truly, though, he started it during the 2016 election as a hedge against a possible loss then). In April, 2020 he declared, "The only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged. To remember that. It's the only way we're going to lose this election. This is going to be a fraud like you've never seen." 

Claims of fraud were investigated and found to be false. There were many campaign staff, attorneys, and members of his inner circle stating plainly that his claims were (in Bill Barr's words) "bullshit." Testimony revealed that 45 would assert a claim that he "had been told" or "had heard on TV" regarding a possible source of fraud. Each time, he would have people run it down. Invariably, no evidence would turn up. And Mayor McTreason would be informed of such. But, invariably, he would go on TV the next day and claim that those falsities were true.

The Tangerine Palpatine took 62 cases to the courts, his legal right, and the right thing to do when fraud is suspected. He lost in 61 of them, including rulings by ten judges appointed by 45 himself. By the way, the one case that found in his favor was a minor victory; it didn't appreciably change any election results. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter called this tactic "a coup in search of a legal outcome."

His supporters bought his lies, and they went to Washington on January 6 because they really truly thought the election had been stolen. 

Oh look! More crimes! He bilked his supporters out of hundreds of millions of dollars ostensibly for his "Official Election Defense Fund." Money was instead funneled into his pockets and the pockets of allied conservative organizations. The committee found no such fund existed. In fact, his legal fees are paid by the RNC. Most of the money garnered from hundreds of email campaigns to small-dollar donations eventually went to the newly-formed "Save America PAC," which in turn funneled funds to pro-TЯUMP organizations, such as Chief of Staff Mark Meadows's Conservative Partnership Institute, Trump hotels, and the organization that organized his January 6 "rally."

My random thoughts:

Former Faux News editor Chris Stirewalt seemed a little too excited to be there. He was über proud that Faux News beat the competition in calling Arizona. But being the first to call Arizona for Biden definitely put a little rain on Scooby Coup's party. Stirewalt described the Red Mirage and the need for patience in awaiting results. He plainly said that there was no doubt about who won the election.

The orange scourge's campaign manager Bill Sepian, though his testimony was from previously-recorded depositions instead of live, was compelling. He pushed back on his boss's narrative from election night through til the end. Sepien had inherited the campaign with 115 days left in the race, and it was becoming obvious that there were two camps evolving. He said he was fine being included in "Team Normal," with the other team being headed by  the very abnormal Rudy Giuliani. 

I've never seen Marty Feldman and Rudy Giuliani in the same room...

Zoe Lofgren described attorney Sidney Powell's (speaking of abnormal) testimony in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion voting machines. She quoted Powell as saying, "no reasonable person would conclude that her statements (about Dominion machines perpetrating massive fraud) were truly statements of fact." What the actual hell. 

The committee played a lot of Bill Barr's testimony. Barr called it "awkward" that he hadn't talked to the Jabba the Gut since before Election Day when he went to the Whitewash House on November 23. It was a few days later when 45 seemed to put the fraud at the feet of the Justice Department ("How the FBI and Department of Justice — I don't know, maybe they're involved, but how people are allowed to get away from this stuff — with this stuff is unbelievable."). Barr described how he directly contradicted 45's claims of fraud, that it was "bullshit" and that "it was doing a great, grave disservice to the country." Barr was nearly fired that day, but hung in there and kept pushing back for another couple weeks. He testified that one day he told 45 that his ideas about Dominion machines was nonsense and described SCROTUS as becoming "detached from reality." He testified that the very next day the president* went on TV and spouted more lies about Dominion. It was shortly after this that Barr resigned. 

Bill Barr also made the point that the Mango Mussolini ran weaker than other Republican candidates on the ticket in Pennsylvania. No fraud. Duh. 

BJay Pak, appointed by 45 as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, testified about another wild-goose chase. Pak had been approached by A.G. Barr to look into allegations about a "suitcase full of ballots" mysteriously turning up in Fulton County. They found that the "black suitcase" was a typical lock-box of ballots that had been tucked away. Poll workers were called back to count them and there was absolutely nothing nefarious about it.

What a waste of time and resources having everyone run around investigating these made-up allegations of fraud and getting the Justice Department involved in state-level election concerns. 

Al Schmidt, former City Commissioner for the city of Philadelphia, testified about a tweet that Twitler had broadcast naming Schmidt after he and his fellow commissioners found no evidence of "8,000 dead people" voting in Philadelphia. After the tweet, Mr. Schmidt and his family were the victims of death threats and other harassment. I just about cried at the thought of this otherwise anonymous, hard-working elections official becoming the target of death threats due to a desperate, desperate idiot's orange-colored fantasies. 

What another waste of time and resources: 61 desperate court cases failed or were tossed, including in front of 45-appointed judges. Several attorneys were sanctioned for these frivolous cases, including Giuliani being suspended from practicing law in the State of New York. 

The Fundraising: $252 million raised from his unwitting sycophants. So many thousands of small-dollar donors parted with their hard-earned money, and most of it simply lined Don the Con's pockets. Well, if ya can't pull off a coup, might as well run a grift! 

I had to giggle when they played SCROTUS describing one incident of fraud: "They call them dumps, big massive dumps." It may be the one thing he got right. What a shit show. 

Late breaking news: the Marmalade Menace has issued a rambling response, repeating the the big lie yet again. He is accusing the committee of trying to “prevent him from running again for the presidency.”  No, little man, they are trying for much bigger than that. Moron.  

I had a question for A.G. Garland in my last post: "Are you listening?" Turns out, yes. Yes he is.

Next question: Mr. Garland, will you act?

Here's the entirety of Monday's hearing:

The next hearing is on Wednesday morning, June 15, at 10am EDT (7am PDT), and another one is scheduled for Thursday June 16 at 1pm EDT (10am PDT). **** Correction: the committee is postponing Wednesday’s hearing. The Thursday hearing will take place as scheduled. ****

Thanks to Stephen Colbert and his viewers for many of today's nicknames. 

Click here for Part 3: Hang Mike Pence

The January 6th Hearings: Part 1. Laying out the case.

We the People have an important duty: bear witness to the entirety of the events surrounding the January 6 insurrection. This month's televised hearings are huge. And so, Little Sister Resister crawls out of her cozy California hole.

Resisters, it's been one year and four months since we've gathered on these pages. 

The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is presenting a series of televised hearings on their investigation, beginning with the hearing on the night of Thursday, June 9. The two-hour primetime hearing aired on all of the major news outlets. 

The committee is comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans from the 117th Congress:

Bennie Thompson, Mississippi, Chair Zoe Lofgren, California Adam Schiff, California Pete Aguilar, California Stephanie Murphy, Florida Jamie Raskin, Maryland Elaine Luria, Virginia

Liz Cheney, Wyoming, Vice Chair Adam Kinzinger, Illinois

Chart thanks to Wikipedia.

The committee convened in July of 2021. They've worked hard over the last year, with remote and live depositions from over 1,000 witnesses, from Whitewash House officials, including members of 45's family, all the way down to responding police officers and members of the rioting mob. Now, they present some of their findings and will conduct a series of 6-8 televised hearings over the next two weeks, presenting much of the testimony they have gathered over the the year, as well as live witnesses. 

On Thursday night, they laid the groundwork of their investigation in front of an enthralled nation. And they brought receipts. 

We watched absorbed for two hours, which was packed with information that we knew and more than one moment where we were transfixed. "Wait a minute, did we know that?! We didn't know that!"

The committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and vice-chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) made powerful opening statements. Like a a good prosecutor's opening argument in a criminal proceeding, they laid out the arc of their case and some of their evidence before calling two live witnesses, both of whom were compelling. 

It was captivating. Disturbing. Maddening, Frightening. Surprising. And not surprising. 

They laid the whole debacle directly and unequivocally at the feet of the former president*. 

What I could write here is not adequate. The words of the committee members and witnesses speak for themselves. I give you important quotes from the hearing.

On the driving force behind the attempted coup.

"Donald Trump was at the center of this conspiracy." – Thompson

"The attack on our Capitol was not a spontaneous riot." – Cheney

 "President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack." – Cheney

"There is no doubt that President Trump was well aware of the violence as it developed." – Cheney

"As you will see in the hearings to come, President Trump believed his supporters at the Capitol, and I quote, 'were doing what they should be doing.' This is what he told his staff as they pleaded with him to call off the mob, to instruct his supporters to leave." – Cheney

"They knew that President Donald Trump was too dangerous to be left alone." – Cheney

"January 6th was the culmination of an attempted coup, a brazen attempt, as one rioter to put it shortly after January 6th, to overthrow the government. The violence was no accident. It represents seeing Trump's last stand, most desperate chance to halt the transfer of power." – Thompson

"On the morning of January 6th, President Donald Trump's intention was to remain President of the United States despite the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and in violation of his constitutional obligation to relinquish power. Over multiple months, Donald Trump oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the Presidential election and prevent the transfer of Presidential power. In our hearings, you will see evidence of each element of this plan." – Cheney

"What President Trump demanded that Mike Pence do wasn't just wrong, it was illegal and it was unconstitutional." – Cheney

"Donald Trump had his days in court to challenge the results. He was within his rights to seek those judgment in the United States. Law abiding citizens have those tools for pursuing justice. He lost in the courts, just as he did at the ballot box. And in this country, that's the end of the line. But for Donald Trump, that was only the beginning of what became a sprawling multistep conspiracy aimed at overturning the presidential election, aimed at throwing out the votes of millions of Americans, your votes, your voice in our democracy, and replacing the will of the American people with his will to remain in power after his term ended. Donald Trump was at the center of this conspiracy, and ultimately Donald Trump, the president of the United States, spurred a mob of domestic enemies of the Constitution to march down the Capitol and subvert American democracy." – Thompson

"Those who invaded our capital and battled law enforcement for hours were motivated by what President Trump had told them, that the election was stolen and that he was the rightful President. President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack." – Cheney

"President Trump invested millions of dollars of campaign funds purposely spreading false information, running ads he knew were false, and convincing millions of Americans that the election was corrupt and that he was the true President. As you will see, this misinformation campaign provoked the violence on January 6th." – Cheney

"What President Trump demanded that Mike Pence do wasn't just wrong, it was illegal and it was unconstitutional." – Cheney

"The judge evaluated the facts and he reached the conclusion that President Trump's efforts to pressure Vice President Pence to act illegally by refusing to count electoral votes likely violated two federal criminal statutes. And the judge also said this. If Dr. Eastman and President Trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the court fears January 6th will repeat itself." – Cheney

"You will hear that President Trump was yelling and 'really angry' at advisers who told him he needed to be doing something more. And aware of the rioters' chants to hang Mike Pence, the president responded with this sentiment, 'Maybe our supporters have the right idea.' Mike Pence 'deserves it.'" – Cheney, describing witness testimony

Just sickening.

On the response.

"Throughout our history, the United States has fought against foreign enemies to preserve our democracy, electoral system, and country. When the United States Capitol was stormed and burned in 1814, foreign enemies were responsible. Afterward, in 1862, when American citizens had taken up arms against this country, Congress adopted a new oath to help make sure no person who had supported the rebellion could hold a position of public trust. Therefore, Congresspersons and United States federal government employees were required for the first time to swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That oath was put to test on January 6th, 2021. The police officers who held the line that day honored their oath. Many came out of that day bloodied and broken. They still bear those wounds, visible and invisible. They did their duty. They repelled the mob and ended the occupation of the Capitol. They defended the Constitution against domestic enemies so that Congress could return, uphold our own oath, and count your votes to ensure the transfer of power, just as we've done for hundreds of years." – Thompson

"As part of our investigation we will present information about what the White House and other intelligence agencies knew and why the Capitol was not better prepared. But we will not lose sight of the fact that the Capitol Police did not cause the crowd to attack. And we will not blame the violence that day — violence provoked by Donald Trump — on the officers who bravely defended all of us." – Cheney

"There were two — two or three calls with Vice President Pence. He was very animated and he issued very explicit, very direct, unambiguous orders. There was no question about that. And — and he was — and — and I can give you the exact quotes I guess from some of our records somewhere. But he was very animated, very direct, very firm. And to Secretary Miller, get the military down here. Get the Guard down here, put down this situation, etc." – General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"He [Chief of Staff Mark Meadows] said we have — we have to kill the narrative that the Vice President is making all the decisions. We need to establish the narrative that, you know, that the President is still in charge and that things are steady or stable or words to that effect. I immediately interpret that as politics, politics, politics. Red flag for me personally, no action. But I remember it distinctly." – General Mark Milley

"There, in a sacred space in our constitutional republic, the place where our presidents lie in state, watched over by statues of Washington and Jefferson, Lincoln and Grant, Eisenhower, Ford, and Reagan, against every wall that night encircling the room, there were SWAT teams, men and women in tactical gear with long guns deployed inside our Capitol building. There in the rotunda, these brave men and women rested beneath paintings depicting the earliest scenes of our republic, including one painted in 1824 depicting George Washington resigning his commission, voluntarily relinquishing power, handing control of the Continental Army back to Congress. With this noble act, Washington set the indispensable example of the peaceful transfer of power, what President Reagan called, nothing less than a miracle. The sacred obligation to defend this peaceful transfer of power has been honored by every American president except one." – Cheney

Words from videotaped witnesses.

Interviewer [asking about campaign attorney Alex Cannon's conclusion that there was no election fraud]: "And what was [Trump Chief of Staff] Mr. Meadows reaction to that information?" Alex Cannnon: "I believe the words he used were, so there's no there there."

“I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the president was bullshit. And I didn’t want to be a part of it, and that’s one of the reasons that went into me deciding to leave when I did.” – Former Attorney General Bill Barr

"I accepted what [Bill Barr] was saying." – Ivanka Trump

"President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone. And frankly, there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American President." – Vice President Mike Pence

The live witnesses.

The first two witnesses described the initial scene. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who was on duty at the Capitol's West Plaza, described her harrowing experience, where she was knocked unconscious only to regain consciousness a little later and return to duty, holding back rioters and assisting other officers who where injured. Since the insurrection, she has been unable to return to active duty due to sequelae from her traumatic brain injury.

Also testifying was documentarian Nick Quested, who was invited by the Proud Boys to document their planning, assembling, and implementing a violent coup against the United States Government. 

Firstly, what morons. Secondly, holy shit more horrifying footage. 

Quested's footage of the events, including a day-before meeting between leaders from the Proud Boys and leaders from the Oathkeepers, was direct evidence that the attempted coup was planned in advance and coordinated by two groups of armed and armored domestic enemies. These men believed that SCROTUS had directed them to act. And they did, in a highly coordinated way, ready to do violent battle. We'll hear more about these groups and their seditious acts in the coming hearings. For now, know that several Proud Boys members have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges, and many others have been indicted. Seditious conspiracy. Let that sink in. 

The video.

Besides Quested's footage, the committee released a 12-minute montage of video clips illustrating the hours of violence. It was disturbing and haunting, much of it was new, and it brought back the horrors of that day. We saw fixed-position overhead video, Capitol building security footage, and police body cam video. Part of the video showed a member of the mob read one of Twitler's tweets as a battle cry. We heard haunting chants of "Nannnncy....Nannnncy...." as they marched toward Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office, and chants of "Hang Mike Pence!" superimposed on the gallows that had been planned and erected on Capitol grounds. At the end of the clip, as images showed the mob viciously beating police officers on the ground, we heard 45's voice: "They were peaceful people. These were great people. The crowd was unbelievable. And I mentioned the word love. The love — the love in the air, I've never seen anything like it." 

It was a scary, hate-filled, violent mob. 

Here is the video presented to the American people. Warning: it's hard to watch. Click on "Watch on YouTube" or follow this link.

My thoughts.

Mad respect to Liz Cheney. She was good. She is standing up for what's right even as her career as U.S. Representative goes down in flames. She is the definition of a statesperson. At the end of her remarks, Rep. Cheney called out her fellow Republicans. "There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone. But your dishonor will remain." 

We want to hear more. In the end, like a good criminal prosecution opening argument, the hearing made We the Jury want to hear more, yearn to see the evidence, and eager to learn about the charges for which 45 and others are to face. Attorney General Merrick Garland, are you listening?

Will there be punishment for the former president*? We've already seen two impeachments end in acquittals. Congress can't do much more. It'll be up to A.G. Garland. Public pressure may sway him, if the overwhelming evidence somehow doesn't. So let your voice be heard. 

Will minds be changed? Unsure. If enough people can get a glimpse, they may be. Every major news outlet carried the hearing live. But Faux News did all they could to make sure their minions did not get a glimpse. During *ucker Carlson's show on Thursday, running at the same time as the hearing, they did not run a single commercial, for fear that casual channel-surfing would expose their viewers to the truth. 

There's more. It was a packed two hours, and not a moment was superfluous. If you missed it, I highly encourage you to watch the full hearing, and also plan to watch the rest of them over the next few weeks. The next televised hearing will be on Monday, June 12 at 10am EDT (7am PDT).

Watch Thursday's hearing here. 

I'll be back.

Click here for Part 2: The Big Lie and The Big Con

"Freedom for the wolves has often meant death to the sheep."

"Freedom for the wolves has often meant death to the sheep." ~ Isaiah Berlin

It's over. No conviction.

Yesterday, another day from the defense, Another fail.

They blathered angrily for three of their allowed 16  hours, talking to their client through the T.V.

Their "defense" included falsities and red herrings:

But Hillary! But what about....! I had to work during the proceedings. I got into my car, and listened to the radio on my way to my patient. The defense was playing out-of-context clip after clip after clip of Democrats, including Hillary, using the word "fight" as lawmakers do to describe their hard work. I went in, saw my patient, and when I got back in my car nearly an hour later, they defense was playing clip after clip after clip of Democrats using the word "fight" as lawmakers do to describe their hard work. No, your client's actions were not simply political rhetoric, nor was it protected under the First Amendment.

Damn the Process! When you have no defense, attack the process. It's just a lot of hot air. There's been bipartisan agreement on the process. Sit down.

The Big Lie! They brought up *sigh* Georgia again. At this point, it's just getting embarrassing. Just leave it!

But Antifa! Again, false equivalents and lies. No, anti-facist agitators were not involved in the January 6 Insurrection. The protests in Oregon have nothing to do with the events inside the Capitol building on January 6. 

The Dems just hate our client! Well, yes, but again, not relevant. Your client perverted his authority, inflamed a mob, failed to uphold his oath, and put lives and our Democracy in peril.

He didn't like that it happened! No, the evidence is clear that he was not horrified, sad, concerned, or any other feeling than satisfied and gleeful. If he can even feel glee. As a sociopath, it's doubtful that he can feel even that.

The defense attorneys just came off as incompetent. It's obvious that they are third-string attorneys. We knew that, as it was difficult for the accused to even find a team to represent him. Their primary objective, we can assume, was not to defend him but to litigate his grievances and give good TV face.

Mr. van der Veen especially seemed incompetent. He was frequently angry and belligerent, and he actually got laughed at when he suggested that depositions would be held in his "office in Phillydelphia." He was out of his depth, and in fact, when you go to his firm's website, you see his specialty in "Phillydelphia" is:

Mr. van der Veen considers it his life’s work to be the voice of injured accident victims and an advocate for the accused. With a tremendous track record of success, he is one of the premier Philadelphia personal injury attorney you can trust to fight for you. 

I can just see him down there at Mar-a-Lago. "Get me the best ambulance chaser in the greater Philly area!"

After a little scuffle over witnesses, the attorneys provided their closing arguments today. Again, the House Managers were powerful and effective. The defense hauled out their tired whataboutisms once again. 

The Senators, eager to go home for a week, voted 43 to 57 on his guilt, acquitting the former president*. Remember those 43 sheep when they are up for reelection. 

I fear for the future of our nation. 

Tying to "overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."

"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." --Abraham Lincoln (Happy Birthday, President Lincoln.)

Impeachment Dos: The trial begins. 

Congress conducted three days of the Impeachment Trial so far.

Day One: This was really a pre-trial day. After noise from Rand Paul and the vote about the Constitutionality of the trial, the Senate took a vote after arguments about the Constitutionality question. The House Managers did a great job presenting a powerful set of initial evidence, including this video about the events of January 6.

The defense completely flailed in their presentation. I was only able to listen to snippets, but it was obvious the defense was under water. They practically folded on the first statement, that the managers did such a good job that the defense changed their planned presentation. They rambled and contradicted themselves, and at times seemed to make arguments for the prosecution.

In the end, the Senate voted 56 to 44 that the trial is constitutional. Six GOP Senators, most surprisingly Sen. Bill Cassidy from deep red Louisiana, along with five moderate Republicans (Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb, and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn) joined the 50 Democrats to affirm proceeding under the Constitution.

Days Two and Three were the House Managers' days to present their case, and they were organized, elegant, concise, factual, and impactful. They clearly showed how ***** began to cultivate his base months ago, first by telegraphing that the only way he could lose is through a "rigged election." He started that shit months before the election, as the managers showed. The second way he cultivated the crowd to do violence was to endorse violence himself, all throughout his term. And he assembled the crowd, sending a "Save the Date" 18 days before the event.

The managers used audio/visuals very powerfully, sharing new footage from Capitol security cameras and animated maps showing the movements of the mob as well as the Members of Congress and other players. We at home – and some of the Senators – learned more about the events that day. I say "some" because some of those Despicables thumbed through other paperwork, read, put their feet up on their desks, or otherwise didn't pay attention. What would happen to a jury who did this in another courtroom?

We learned that Officer Goodwin had ushered Senator Mitt Romney away from the mob after Romney had unwittingly ran toward them. Sen. Romney had not known that the officer who helped him was Officer Goodwin, who of course we had all learned heroically used himself as a decoy to lead the mob away from the Senate chambers as Senators were still being evacuated.

Here is what the managers showed. It's powerful. If you missed it, please take the time to watch. It is important to bear witness to the events that day.

The House Managers were effective in their use of charging documents and TV interviews from some of the insurrectionists who made it plain that they came expressly at the explicit request of "their president" and were specifically doing his bidding. Videos showing them reading his live tweets during the insurrection really drove the point home. The defendant summoned them, assembled them, directed them, and did not ever condemn them.

The managers illustrated that *****'s behaviors before, during, and after clearly were meant to incite violence and disrupt the U.S. government. There's just no question about it.

Today, the defense presents its case.  The attorneys for the defendant have 16 hours to present. There really is no defense, but the thought is that they will continue to go after the constitutionality, the process, their go-to false equivalency, and the argument of free speech.

To this last, Lead Manager Raskin (D-MD) made a smoldering analogy as a pre-buttal to their lame defense. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once famously said, “you can’t shout fire in a crowded theater." Raskin applied this analogy to January 6, saying, “This case is much worse than someone who shouted fire in a crowded theater. It’s more like a case where the town fire chief, who is paid to put out fires, sends a mob, not to yell fire in a crowded theater, but to actually set the theater on fire. And who then, when the fire alarms go off and the calls start flooding into the fire department, does nothing but sit back, encourage the mob to continue its rampage and watch the fire spread on TV.”

It's been widely speculated that there aren't enough Repug Senators to convict. Yet, Pollyanna LSR refuses to speculate until the trial is over. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled to his folks that the vote should be one of "conscience," and that he hasn't made up his mind yet. This is pretty big. The number two Republican in the Senate, Sen. John Thune (SD) has also indicated that he is keeping an open mind. Thune said that the House Managers are "effective," "compelling," and they are "connecting the dots." If these two flip, it could lead to a cascade of followers. 

But, most analysts are not Pollyannas but are realists. And political expediency is more powerful than conscience within the GOP brain. 

It boggles the mind, though. Is it political expediency anyway? The GOP is divided right now, and at death's door. They've allowed extremists into the fold. Why not come down on the side of the sane Republicans? Why not try to rise from these ashes and rebuild their party into something admirable again? 

And why do they think if they are loyal to ***** that he will ever be loyal to them? What about him sending the mob toward his Vice President to assassinate him speaks to them and makes them think he won't do the same to them?

The evidence presented these past two days is a powerful piece in our nation's public record. Those Senators who vote to acquit will be remembered for their cowardice and complicity. 

Random other thoughts:

• It's not an impartial jury. Besides the sycophant worms such as Senators Cruz and Hawley, we saw other jury members putting their feet up and reading, and generally shrugging at the proceedings. It's shameful. Can't they even pretend for a moment to be thoughtful?

• Not only that, but three jurors met with the defendant's lawyers last night to strategize!

• The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote a scathing piece. I include it here; sorry for the paywall. But here is an analysis of it. It's pretty big for the conservative publication to come down so hard. But you know, I wonder if the QAnon shaman and his ilk read the WSJ?

• In fact, it appears many of them don't even vote. The insurrectionists committed federal crimes in their effort to Stop the Steal of the presidential election. But lookie here: CNN analyzed voting records of those arrested, found that many of them didn't even freaking vote. As I watched their wretched acts that day, I wondered if they would even know their own Representative if they came face to face. I seriously doubt it. 

• The defense suggested that there is another remedy to convicting at impeachment: arrest and prosecute under the regular justice system. Good idea, counselors! What's stopping us?

• Mitch McConnell: Dude, you aren't up for reelection for six more years. A presidency and a half. You'll be 84 years old then. Let your legacy include this vote. Come on, grow a pair and vote to convict this cancer!

Matt Wuerker

Lastly, here is my favorite late-night guy, Stephen Colbert, and his take on the proceedings:

 

"Justice delayed is justice denied."

"Justice delayed is justice denied." - William E. Gladstone

Ah you know I couldn't stay away for long. As I had promised impeachment trial dishing, so shall you receive it! 

The Impeachment

The House swiftly impeached ***** for the second time, taking just one week after the riots to impeach on one article: Incitement of Insurrection.  Though the timing was fraught as he had just another week in office, things are still moving relatively swiftly.

 

The Agreement

The House and the Senate have agreed on a timeline. The Article of Impeachment was delivered on January 25, just a few days after the new Senate was sworn in. The House and Senate agreed that the accused shall have two weeks to prepare a defense. In the interim, the Senate can get to other business, namely confirming President Biden's (oh, how sweet the words!) cabinet and working to pass an additional COVID relief bill. The trial is scheduled to begin in one week, on Wednesday, February 9. 

Nick Anderson

The Defense

What defense?

It's been a bit of difficulty for ***** to round up lawyers who will take the case. The attorneys from the first impeachment trial passed on the opportunity, and then, just days before the trial is set to begin, the defendant's entire legal team of five attorneys quit. Yup. Walked away. Apparently, the defendant wished the defense to be a carrying-on of the false election fraud narrative. Sounds like more of a tutorial than a defense. Allies suggest a more sensible strategy of calling into question the constitutionality of an impeachment trial for a former president, but that didn't sit well with Individual-1. No, he'd rather the trial be a megaphone for his continued lies about how the election was stolen from him. Please. Shut up!

The team was headed by Butch Bowers, a pretty respected South Carolina attorney. Today it was reported by Axios that, besides the disagreement on the trajectory of the defense, part of the dust-up between them and ***** was over money. Their client just didn't want to pay them much. ***** had offered $250,000, but the attorneys estimated $3 million to mount a proper defense. After some negotiations, there was apparently an agreement of $1 million, but that still got *****'s tightey whiteys in a twist. Dude, you fleeced your minions out of millions upon millions of dollars for your "defense fund." You won't pay crackerjack lawyers what they need to mount a plausible defense in two weeks' time? You dumb!

This week, he rounded up two new lawyers to represent him. They are, uhhh, ...well, not ones I would choose. Bruce Castor, as a D.A., declined to prosecute Bill Cosby in Pennsylvania, and David Schoen represented the 100% odious Roger Stone and believes the conspiracy theory that Jeffery Epstein was murdered. In an interview with The Atlanta Jewish Times, Schoen said, “I represented all sorts of reputed mobster figures: alleged head of Russian mafia in this country, Israeli mafia and two Italian bosses, as well a guy the government claimed was the biggest mafioso in the world.” Sounds like the perfect match.

By the way, guys? Get your money up front. 

The Prosecution

The House Managers, led by House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), are ready to bring their case. They've filed an 80-page brief outlining their arguments. They plainly state that ***** is "singularly responsible" for the January 6 Insurrection.

The House Managers have not ruled out witness testimony, but it doesn't seem that they are keen on calling witnesses. One possible witness? The horned idiot himself, Jacob Chansley. His lawyer says that he has agreed to testify. The Repugs definitely don't want him to testify. Truthfully, I'm not sure that the prosecution would want him either. He's a nut. He's deep, deep into the QAnon shithole. Credible witness? Doubtful. Still, it would be great TV. 

It would be good to have some witnesses testify, though. How about the members of Congress who aided and abetted the insurrection? How about the ones whose lives were threatened? Oh, oops, that's the whole jury. The details of the trial schedule and rules have yet to be worked out.

The Jury

Forty-five Repug Senators, goaded by Sen. Rand Paul (KY), have already voted that the impeachment trial is unconstitutional. It's been widely speculated that this is a preview of the final vote tally. 

The thought has been out there, specifically by Robert Reich, for the Senate to adopt rules that allow for secret votes. If that were the case, perhaps more Senators will find their cajones and vote to convict. In the end, it isn't likely to happen. 

The Trial

The trial is set to begin on Wednesday, February 9. It is expected to run 6 days a week. It is speculated that it will be a quick trial. As for format, it's likely to be molded after the last impeachment trial. During that one as well as Clinton's, each side was given 24 hours to present their arguments, followed by 16 hours of questions by the Senate. The last impeachment trial lasted less than three weeks. 

The Constitution states, "When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside." But since the accused is the ex-president, Chief Justice Roberts has passed the torch to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who serves as the president pro tempore of the Senate.

You can bet that LSR will be watching and listening to as much as possible! Who's with me?

Are you ready for jusssstice?!