We’re all going to need to July to process everything that came out in the hearing of the House Special Committee to Investigate the January 6 2021 Attack on the House of Representatives today! According to the testimony today, Donald Trump’s contacts with the Department of Justice will be some of the strongest evidence of sedition against the United States should Merrick Garland ever grow a pair and charge him.
Whose job is it to investigate the representatives and senators? The FBI? Are they? Why are participants in the insurrection sitting in our house? Could Kavanaugh and ACB be unseated if Trump is charged? Why should a criminal president be able to choose Supreme Court justices? Who needs to start impeachment proceedings against Judge Thomas? It looks like there’s still a lot of clean up required on aisle DC. Meanwhile, time marches on … elections in a little over two years… have the red states appointed their own electors? Will we have a fair election? This “failed” attempt provides a terrifying blueprint… are we looking at our future?
I appreciate your article, TC. I am in the middle of selling my house and moving into an independent senior living apartment. The demands of what all has to be done to vacate and sell a house while simultaneously moving into a new apartment have left me little time or energy to keep up with the 1/6 investigations. Your reports, Lucien's reports, and Heather's letters are my go to sources for all things important going on. Thank you so much.
The Jan 6th hearings all point to the same conclusion. We were so damn close to several scenarios. Any of which could have caused a delay to answer election questions, and thus sent to a partisan SCOTUS, and could have resulted in the end of democracy. This risk is ever present for the next election. Full prosecutions are in order. This is the only way out of a God awful mess.
And as we are seeing in the partisan, poorly reasoned, ahistorical, and results driven majority decisions of SCOTUS this term, there would have been at least five justices willing to throw democracy under the bus to assure Trump remained president.
To DOJ: “Just need you to declare irregularities, announce an “investigation”, leave the rest to me and the Congressman”
The first time I heard this made me suspicious. Ginni Thomas involvement and communications with Meadows confirmed my suspicions. Several recent SCOTUS rulings only cement them. I believe Mrs. Thomas was telling Meadows that TFG had the support of 4 or 5 Justices if he needed them. When the corrupt have that kind of fail safe as a backstop, any ‘narrative’ is possible.
What was the most brilliant move to me was Rosen's pre-Trump meeting directive to Donohue to poll the DOJ Attorneys to find out how many would instantly resign if Trump put Clark in. When Donohue polled them they all immediately said they would resign. ( He clarified that he asked one attorney to be prepared to stay on for continuity.).
In the meeting with Trump, Rosen used the prospect of an entire Department resigning en masse as " ammunition" in his argument against putting in Clark . He framed it as: " it would make you look bad, Mr. President !"
Rosen was fighting, not for his job ( as he said, there were only 17 days left) but for the integrity of the DOJ which would be obliterated by the incompetent and sycophantic Clark It worked on the narcissistic President. He did not put Clark in but he continued to push the stolen election rant with even more desperate fervor, feeding right into Jan. 6th.
Couple things to opine about regarding the exhausting “fine mess” of past, well, 5+ years.
Rusty Bowels “endorsement” of Trump in 2024 was code for the person he wanted to name. He was willing to throw Trump under the bus because the effort is on to get Pence all shiny and ready to run… as far from Trump as possible but ready to hug the base and soothe their tempers at losing their orange lozenge.
Next, you know those kid coloring sheets that are blank until water is brushed over the surface and a pic emerges? It’s like what is emerging from the committee. Every hearing there’s water applied to another quadrant and lo and behold… another tentacle appears dangling from the orange head. And closer to revealing the most treacherous tentacle of the beast. The commander in chief quelling all efforts before and during to call in troops and arsenal at his command to quell the insurrection quickly and save who he is sworn to protect from death and injury and threat and preserve the government. And the democracy. For this, he is bound to be tried for treason.
And finally. I’m wondering if everybody has their can of whoop ass on hand and that the woodshed is tidied. All of this is already creating seismic tremors trickling out to every state. Today there was Republican based pollsters with latest on guv race in Florida. Charlie Crist ahead of DeSantis by a point. That’s right. Ahead.
There’s always glimmers of light getting into the cracks of darkness.
Love your image of the kids coloring sheet......those connect the dots pages come to mind too!!
The Crist news is amazing! But also just saw some polling on CNN about Rep. distancing from Trump and DeSantis's rising popularity was shown as an indicator! Buckle up !!
I had occasion to drive through central Florida on my way to Orlando. I was on back roads, and there were so many signs of support for Trump. This is not an area of wealth, although there are always folks in area who have money. I’m talking about folks I double wide mobile homes. tRump would not give these folks the time of day. In fact, these people, who are often self-employed are the very people that tRump has spent his adult life cheating out of rightfully earned payment. Yet, they despise a decent guy like Biden. Go figure?!
Yes, the oversized " Trump 2024" banners are all over the more rural areas. But also, the I-4 overpass in wealthier northeast Orlando suburbs has " F### Biden" signs off and on. I guess there are various reasons people ( monied and un-monied) want Trump in again. But you are so right about the very folks Trump despises and cheats are waving the flag for him. You are also right that all that is rural is not always financially poor. Some of those property owners have a lot to protect and feel it is all threatened by spendthrift, immigrant loving "Rats" (the name Trumpies use for Democrats)!!!!
I'm concerned that Barr's saying that Trump was "detached from reality" may become grounds for an insanity plea.
Jeffrey Clark is an ANTI-environmental lawyer, defending corporations and opposing regulation of greenhouse gases:
"Clark had opposed regulation of greenhouse gases.[21] In 2010, he had characterized US efforts to regulate greenhouse gases as "reminiscent of kind of a Leninistic program from the 1920s to seize control of the commanding heights of the economy."[22][23]
While Assistant Attorney General, Clark tried to delay the DOJ in seeking criminal and civil charges against North Dakota pipeline operator Summit Midstream Partners for its role in the largest-ever inland spill of waste water from oil drilling. Clark's attempts to delay the case led prosecutors under his supervision to go directly to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with the prosecutors arguing that Clark's rationale for delaying the case was inconsistent with "decades of case law." Ultimately, the DOJ proceeded with the case, which would become one of the largest water pollution cases in U.S. history. Summit Midstream Partners ultimately pleaded guilty and incurred $36.3 million in civil penalties.[24] "
His appointment by Trump to that agency was made under the same perverted rationale that Trump used to install people as head of government agencies who were tasked to destroy those organizations: viz. Louis DeJoy as head of the US Postal Service, who did everything he could to slow mail delivery at the time before the last election when many were voting with absentee ballots in order to stay alive during Covid. DeJoy also removed mail boxes and mail sorting machines, destroying the latter so they could not be returned to service.
I don't believe an insanity plea would be able to be entered, let alone allowed to stand. Imagine the furore if it was to be publicly acknowledged and written into the history books for the whole world to see for all time that America had a certifiable loon residing in The White House and in control (allegedly, hah) for four years. I can't see that happening. We all know it's too damn close to the truth, but official acknowledgement? Let's just set our sights modestly and hopefully on successful criminal indictments and long, long, long, federal jail time.
that's all completely true. still, if the old standard for legal insanity still stands (I read this once in a Robertson Davies novel) as whether you'd commit the same crime with a cop standing next to you, I'd have to say that TFF definitely answers that description. of course, if he was found to be insane, he'd end up building his own wing at Macleans or another one of those "retreats" for the wealthy chronically insane, eventually building his own golf course there. it'd be like the presidency, without all the headaches.
well, I didn't have to check or wait for confirmation that anyone called an "environmental lawyer" appointed by TFF was effectively an anti-environmental lawyer strictly based on the fact that in no way could a pathetic little schmuck like that break the established model in any way whatsoever. if TFF was absolutely consistent in any way, it was in his appointments. they were all shit. and shit in the same way. remarkable consistency for someone so consistently inconsistent. try saying that five times, fast.
for me, the most damning piece of evidence is the "...and leave the rest to me..." thing, because it certainly sounds like somebody is conscious that he's hatching a plot. and I'm still not so sure why it's so important that the DOJ has to prove that he was conscious that he was lying because there is no way that even a moron like TFF couldn't know that EVERYTHING he was doing was illegal. he might have wanted to call it "extra-legal" or "necessary in an emergency," but he wouldn't have kept things as secret as he kept them (he's too stupid to actually not get found out) if he honestly thought he was behaving appropriately. as much as I loathe and despise the "I was only increasing shareholder profits" explanation of vile behavior, having stockholders might have trained TFF early on to give, at very least, the APPEARANCE of doing something that would be considered "appropriate" in the corrupt universe we find ourselves in.
one funny thing, though: for years, I've been saying how unbelievable it is that people plan criminal activity in e-mails, which are eternal. what I'd say was stuff like "whatever happened to 'burn after reading?' or even just eating the message?" yep. I actually mentioned EATING it. so when we found out that he was doing exactly that, I couldn't help but think that maybe he was developing some sense of the appropriate. I said I thought it. I didn't say I was PROUD of thinking it.
I think SOMEONE was paying attention to the hearing yesterday and perhaps also to the fact that it was rescheduled "for some reason." That the search warrant for Clark was delivered "in the early dawn" of the day BEFORE this hearing indicated to me that they knew he was going to have good reason to begin destroying evidence after that hearing. I don't know how long such searches normally take, but this one apparently took three hours and all his "electronic" stuff was confiscated. No doubt there will be forensic evidence still on those electronics - even if he did try to delete them - that reveal communications with the WH.
This was a fascinating hearing. I could almost see the steam rising from those three DOJ former officials. Clark had to be the dumbest duck in the pen to think he could claw himself over the backs of career, seasoned, supremely qualified men who had spent their lives working their way up the food chain into those leadership roles. I'll bet that oval office meeting was salted with a lot more than the insults we heard yesterday. Lawrence O'Donnell had an interesting take on why Clark, after "winning" the AG role, "lost" it in that meeting. He said last night that Clark looked like a wimp and it was clear to the mob boss that he would not be able to be "his" guy in DOJ. In fact, DOJ would be virtually empty of anyone with competence and skills.
I need to clear my mind of all that has happened today! What a hearing! But too soon for me to comment. I'm going to watch Professor T and put all this "real world" wackoness behind me for a brief time, and enjoy a cold beer.
Whose job is it to investigate the representatives and senators? The FBI? Are they? Why are participants in the insurrection sitting in our house? Could Kavanaugh and ACB be unseated if Trump is charged? Why should a criminal president be able to choose Supreme Court justices? Who needs to start impeachment proceedings against Judge Thomas? It looks like there’s still a lot of clean up required on aisle DC. Meanwhile, time marches on … elections in a little over two years… have the red states appointed their own electors? Will we have a fair election? This “failed” attempt provides a terrifying blueprint… are we looking at our future?
FBI searched Jeffrey’s Clark’s house last night or early this morning, while he waited outside, in his PJ’s.
Great questions, Carla. Let's hope they actually are answered the way we'd like them to be.
I appreciate your article, TC. I am in the middle of selling my house and moving into an independent senior living apartment. The demands of what all has to be done to vacate and sell a house while simultaneously moving into a new apartment have left me little time or energy to keep up with the 1/6 investigations. Your reports, Lucien's reports, and Heather's letters are my go to sources for all things important going on. Thank you so much.
The Jan 6th hearings all point to the same conclusion. We were so damn close to several scenarios. Any of which could have caused a delay to answer election questions, and thus sent to a partisan SCOTUS, and could have resulted in the end of democracy. This risk is ever present for the next election. Full prosecutions are in order. This is the only way out of a God awful mess.
And as we are seeing in the partisan, poorly reasoned, ahistorical, and results driven majority decisions of SCOTUS this term, there would have been at least five justices willing to throw democracy under the bus to assure Trump remained president.
Gary, 100%.
To DOJ: “Just need you to declare irregularities, announce an “investigation”, leave the rest to me and the Congressman”
The first time I heard this made me suspicious. Ginni Thomas involvement and communications with Meadows confirmed my suspicions. Several recent SCOTUS rulings only cement them. I believe Mrs. Thomas was telling Meadows that TFG had the support of 4 or 5 Justices if he needed them. When the corrupt have that kind of fail safe as a backstop, any ‘narrative’ is possible.
What was the most brilliant move to me was Rosen's pre-Trump meeting directive to Donohue to poll the DOJ Attorneys to find out how many would instantly resign if Trump put Clark in. When Donohue polled them they all immediately said they would resign. ( He clarified that he asked one attorney to be prepared to stay on for continuity.).
In the meeting with Trump, Rosen used the prospect of an entire Department resigning en masse as " ammunition" in his argument against putting in Clark . He framed it as: " it would make you look bad, Mr. President !"
Rosen was fighting, not for his job ( as he said, there were only 17 days left) but for the integrity of the DOJ which would be obliterated by the incompetent and sycophantic Clark It worked on the narcissistic President. He did not put Clark in but he continued to push the stolen election rant with even more desperate fervor, feeding right into Jan. 6th.
Couple things to opine about regarding the exhausting “fine mess” of past, well, 5+ years.
Rusty Bowels “endorsement” of Trump in 2024 was code for the person he wanted to name. He was willing to throw Trump under the bus because the effort is on to get Pence all shiny and ready to run… as far from Trump as possible but ready to hug the base and soothe their tempers at losing their orange lozenge.
Next, you know those kid coloring sheets that are blank until water is brushed over the surface and a pic emerges? It’s like what is emerging from the committee. Every hearing there’s water applied to another quadrant and lo and behold… another tentacle appears dangling from the orange head. And closer to revealing the most treacherous tentacle of the beast. The commander in chief quelling all efforts before and during to call in troops and arsenal at his command to quell the insurrection quickly and save who he is sworn to protect from death and injury and threat and preserve the government. And the democracy. For this, he is bound to be tried for treason.
And finally. I’m wondering if everybody has their can of whoop ass on hand and that the woodshed is tidied. All of this is already creating seismic tremors trickling out to every state. Today there was Republican based pollsters with latest on guv race in Florida. Charlie Crist ahead of DeSantis by a point. That’s right. Ahead.
There’s always glimmers of light getting into the cracks of darkness.
Salud!
Love your image of the kids coloring sheet......those connect the dots pages come to mind too!!
The Crist news is amazing! But also just saw some polling on CNN about Rep. distancing from Trump and DeSantis's rising popularity was shown as an indicator! Buckle up !!
I had occasion to drive through central Florida on my way to Orlando. I was on back roads, and there were so many signs of support for Trump. This is not an area of wealth, although there are always folks in area who have money. I’m talking about folks I double wide mobile homes. tRump would not give these folks the time of day. In fact, these people, who are often self-employed are the very people that tRump has spent his adult life cheating out of rightfully earned payment. Yet, they despise a decent guy like Biden. Go figure?!
Yes, the oversized " Trump 2024" banners are all over the more rural areas. But also, the I-4 overpass in wealthier northeast Orlando suburbs has " F### Biden" signs off and on. I guess there are various reasons people ( monied and un-monied) want Trump in again. But you are so right about the very folks Trump despises and cheats are waving the flag for him. You are also right that all that is rural is not always financially poor. Some of those property owners have a lot to protect and feel it is all threatened by spendthrift, immigrant loving "Rats" (the name Trumpies use for Democrats)!!!!
Oh please! From your keyboard to God’s eyes that Charlie Crist would overtake DiSantis.
I'm concerned that Barr's saying that Trump was "detached from reality" may become grounds for an insanity plea.
Jeffrey Clark is an ANTI-environmental lawyer, defending corporations and opposing regulation of greenhouse gases:
"Clark had opposed regulation of greenhouse gases.[21] In 2010, he had characterized US efforts to regulate greenhouse gases as "reminiscent of kind of a Leninistic program from the 1920s to seize control of the commanding heights of the economy."[22][23]
While Assistant Attorney General, Clark tried to delay the DOJ in seeking criminal and civil charges against North Dakota pipeline operator Summit Midstream Partners for its role in the largest-ever inland spill of waste water from oil drilling. Clark's attempts to delay the case led prosecutors under his supervision to go directly to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with the prosecutors arguing that Clark's rationale for delaying the case was inconsistent with "decades of case law." Ultimately, the DOJ proceeded with the case, which would become one of the largest water pollution cases in U.S. history. Summit Midstream Partners ultimately pleaded guilty and incurred $36.3 million in civil penalties.[24] "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Clark
His appointment by Trump to that agency was made under the same perverted rationale that Trump used to install people as head of government agencies who were tasked to destroy those organizations: viz. Louis DeJoy as head of the US Postal Service, who did everything he could to slow mail delivery at the time before the last election when many were voting with absentee ballots in order to stay alive during Covid. DeJoy also removed mail boxes and mail sorting machines, destroying the latter so they could not be returned to service.
Yes, the title "environmental lawyer" is not necessarily an indication of a knight in shining armor.
A commenter over at TPM nailed Clark: "Anti-environmental lawyer"
I don't believe an insanity plea would be able to be entered, let alone allowed to stand. Imagine the furore if it was to be publicly acknowledged and written into the history books for the whole world to see for all time that America had a certifiable loon residing in The White House and in control (allegedly, hah) for four years. I can't see that happening. We all know it's too damn close to the truth, but official acknowledgement? Let's just set our sights modestly and hopefully on successful criminal indictments and long, long, long, federal jail time.
that's all completely true. still, if the old standard for legal insanity still stands (I read this once in a Robertson Davies novel) as whether you'd commit the same crime with a cop standing next to you, I'd have to say that TFF definitely answers that description. of course, if he was found to be insane, he'd end up building his own wing at Macleans or another one of those "retreats" for the wealthy chronically insane, eventually building his own golf course there. it'd be like the presidency, without all the headaches.
well, I didn't have to check or wait for confirmation that anyone called an "environmental lawyer" appointed by TFF was effectively an anti-environmental lawyer strictly based on the fact that in no way could a pathetic little schmuck like that break the established model in any way whatsoever. if TFF was absolutely consistent in any way, it was in his appointments. they were all shit. and shit in the same way. remarkable consistency for someone so consistently inconsistent. try saying that five times, fast.
for me, the most damning piece of evidence is the "...and leave the rest to me..." thing, because it certainly sounds like somebody is conscious that he's hatching a plot. and I'm still not so sure why it's so important that the DOJ has to prove that he was conscious that he was lying because there is no way that even a moron like TFF couldn't know that EVERYTHING he was doing was illegal. he might have wanted to call it "extra-legal" or "necessary in an emergency," but he wouldn't have kept things as secret as he kept them (he's too stupid to actually not get found out) if he honestly thought he was behaving appropriately. as much as I loathe and despise the "I was only increasing shareholder profits" explanation of vile behavior, having stockholders might have trained TFF early on to give, at very least, the APPEARANCE of doing something that would be considered "appropriate" in the corrupt universe we find ourselves in.
one funny thing, though: for years, I've been saying how unbelievable it is that people plan criminal activity in e-mails, which are eternal. what I'd say was stuff like "whatever happened to 'burn after reading?' or even just eating the message?" yep. I actually mentioned EATING it. so when we found out that he was doing exactly that, I couldn't help but think that maybe he was developing some sense of the appropriate. I said I thought it. I didn't say I was PROUD of thinking it.
Not a plot. A con. It’s the ‘Oceans Eleven’ of Drumf World. Conspiracy to defraud democracy and 340,000,000 people who need our Government to work.
I think SOMEONE was paying attention to the hearing yesterday and perhaps also to the fact that it was rescheduled "for some reason." That the search warrant for Clark was delivered "in the early dawn" of the day BEFORE this hearing indicated to me that they knew he was going to have good reason to begin destroying evidence after that hearing. I don't know how long such searches normally take, but this one apparently took three hours and all his "electronic" stuff was confiscated. No doubt there will be forensic evidence still on those electronics - even if he did try to delete them - that reveal communications with the WH.
This was a fascinating hearing. I could almost see the steam rising from those three DOJ former officials. Clark had to be the dumbest duck in the pen to think he could claw himself over the backs of career, seasoned, supremely qualified men who had spent their lives working their way up the food chain into those leadership roles. I'll bet that oval office meeting was salted with a lot more than the insults we heard yesterday. Lawrence O'Donnell had an interesting take on why Clark, after "winning" the AG role, "lost" it in that meeting. He said last night that Clark looked like a wimp and it was clear to the mob boss that he would not be able to be "his" guy in DOJ. In fact, DOJ would be virtually empty of anyone with competence and skills.
I need to clear my mind of all that has happened today! What a hearing! But too soon for me to comment. I'm going to watch Professor T and put all this "real world" wackoness behind me for a brief time, and enjoy a cold beer.