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The evidence is mounting that top Trumpworld figures had foreknowledge of potential Jan. 6 violence
October 26, 2021
Hunter Walker of Rolling Stone interviewed two anonymous Republican activists who helped organize the January 6 rally at the Ellipse where President Trump ordered his supporters to "take back their country" just before the mob assaulted the Capitol. Legislators had gathered there to certify Joe Biden's victory. Trump was impeached largely based on the statements he made at that rally.
These two anonymous sources, identified as "an organizer" and "a planner," say they are in contact with the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection and both expect to be called to testify. MAGAland is a hive of deceit and vainglory, so proceed with caution.
The Rolling Stone piece has gotten a lot of attention based on Planner and Organizer's vague assertion that various extremist Republican members of Congress were involved in planning the rally on the Ellipse in some capacity. Some, like Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, spoke at the rally, which implies at least some level of cooperation. Another explosive claim is that Rep. Paul Gosar promised blanket pardons, which he said had been approved by Trump. Maybe, maybe not. If Walker inquired as to why pardons would be an incentive for an event conceived as a peaceful protest, the piece makes no mention of it.
But here's where the story really gets interesting: "The two sources also claim they interacted with members of Trump's team, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who they describe as having had an opportunity to prevent the violence."
This sentence reminded me of a June 25 story by Josh Kaplan and Joaquin Sapien of ProPublica entitled "New Details Suggest Senior Trump Aides Knew Jan. 6 Rally Could Get Chaotic." Their story delves into a power struggle within MAGAland in the run-up to January 6. The story makes a strong case, backed by named sources and text messages, that the White House was warned by their own organizers that Stop the Steal was planning a potentially violent march on the Capitol.
On December 19, Donald Trump issued a Twitter invitation to his followers: "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" Thus began a bitter intra-MAGA power struggle over which faction was going to organize the protest and what would take place.
One faction included Tea Party co-founder Amy Kremer, the head of the anti-feminist organization Women for America First, and Steve Bannon associate Dustin Stockman. This faction allegedly wanted to hold an "extended oral argument" on January 6 detailing their (non-existent) evidence of systemic election fraud. Kremer and her allies got the upper hand and secured the permit for the main rally on the Ellipse, at which the soon-to-be-ex president spoke on January 6.
The more extreme faction was Stop the Steal, led by Ali Alexander, and featuring conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, dirty trickster Roger Stone, anti-feminist Kimberly Fletcher and retired reki practitioner turned right wing organizer Cindy Chafian. Alexander openly embraced paramilitary groups like Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and racists like Nick Fuentes and the groypers. Stop the Steal favored a confrontational approach.
So much so that they doubted they could get a permit to rally under their real name, given the violence and intimidation that had marred previous Stop the Steal events across the country. A Stop the Steal organizer confirmed to ProPublica that "One Nation Under God" was a front name used to get their permit to rally on Capitol grounds. Alexander later bragged in a livestream that Reps. Gosar, Brooks and Andy Biggs helped him come up with the idea for a march to put maximum pressure on lawmakers gathered to certify the election.
Ellipse organizers told ProPublica that as January 6 approached, they worried Stop the Steal was planning an unauthorized march that would arrive at the Capitol just as election results were being certified.
Bannon associate Dustin Stockton told ProPublica that he and Amy Kremer, the Tea Party co-founder, tried warning former White House employee Katrina Pierson about the danger posed by Stop the Steal's march. When that didn't work, Stockman said, they took their concerns up the chain of command to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Kremer now denies doing so, but the record says otherwise.
"The WH and team Trump are aware of the situation with Ali and Cindy," Kremer wrote in a text message obtained by ProPublica.
Rolling Stone appears to describe a dynamic very similar to the one laid out in the ProPublica piece: Ellipse organizers getting nervous about Stop the Steal's capacity for violence, reaching out to Katrina Pierson with their concerns and finally to Mark Meadows.
"Katrina was like our go-to girl," Organizer told Rolling Stone. "She was like our primary advocate." Rolling Stone continues:
Both sources also describe Trump's White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, as someone who played a major role in the conversations surrounding the protests on Jan. 6. Among other things, they both say concerns were raised to Meadows about Alexander's protest at the Capitol and the potential that it could spark violence.
Amy Kremer has been subpoenaed to testify, as of October 25.
Dustin Stockman has not.
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Biden tries to goad Trump into campaigning for Glenn Youngkin during Virginia campaign rally
October 26, 2021
President Joe Biden on Tuesday all but dared former President Donald Trump to campaign for Virginia GOP gubernatorial hopeful Glenn Youngkin.
During a campaign rally for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe, Biden brought up the fact that Youngkin had previously heaped praise on Trump and now seems to want nothing to do with him.
"Terry's opponent has made all of his private pledges of loyalty to Donald Trump," Biden said. "And what's really interesting to me: He won't stand next to Donald Trump now that the campaign's on! Think about it! He won't allow Donald Trump to campaign for him in this state."
Biden, who defeated Trump by 10 points in Virginia last year, then took the opportunity to needle Trump's ego even further.
"He's willing to pledge his loyalty to Trump in private, why not in public?" he said. "What's he trying to hide? Is there a problem with Trump being here? Is he embarrassed?"
Watch the video below.
Biden: He’s willing to pledge his loyalty to Trump in private, why not in public? What’s he trying to hide? Is ther… https://t.co/z6REqxFewe— Acyn (@Acyn) 1635297031.0
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A pro-Trump lawyer who authored the so-called "coup memo" on overturning the results of the 2020 election is expected to face a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.
"It will happen," House Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told the Washington Post on Tuesday, referring to a subpoena of Eastman.
Eastman reportedly told the newspaper last week that he had not been contacted by the committee, but a person familiar with the panel's work disputed that claim, saying investigators have been in contact with him.
"This person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, added that a subpoena would be avoidable if Eastman cooperated with the committee's investigation voluntarily," the Post reports. "The committee is expected to issue additional subpoenas to other witnesses in the days ahead."
In addition to Eastman's testimony, the committee has requested documents and communications related to Eastman's legal advice.
Eastman's memo, described as "an instruction manual for a coup," reportedly offered Vice President Mike Pence a detailed six-point plan to declare the 2020 election invalid and give the presidency to Trump. The memo served as the basis of an Oval Office meeting between Eastman, Trump and Pence on Jan. 4.
Eastman has recently tried to distance himself from the memo, telling the National Review last week that it didn't represent his legal advice.
In addition to crafting the memo, Eastman "played a key role in the legal operation that was run out of a 'command center' at the Willard Hotel in Washington in the days and hours leading up to Jan. 6," the Post reports.
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