Tonight the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol released a report urging Congress to hold Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he has refused to honor a congressional subpoena.
Every evening I look forward to reading your Letters from an American. Every evening my hair stands on end for a longer and longer time. I cannot conceive the depths the previous administration sank to, and yet, I learn each day the depths are deeper and deeper. Are we looking at the Mariana Trench of official crime and corruption in the Executive Branch of the government of the United States of America? I am stunned that most Republicans believe the former guy and support him unequivocally. I simply do not understand the staying power of that man nor the cultish devotion he receives. I try to read a few articles and interviews of people who are respected for their intellectual abilities to describe their views without inflammatory rhetoric. I cannot finish reading any of the “right of center” without being completely offended by assertions that believers in progressive policies are haters of America (true! Interview in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal) and all progressives want is the destruction of the Great American Experiment! Really! I want to destroy the country I love? I was so offended by that statement I steamed for quite a while!
I intended to write a grateful thank you to Heather Cox Richardson for the work and research she does to produce her Letters from an American. I hope she sees my gratitude first and my rant as a pent up release to a soul who may accept a kindred soul’s despair. I am very afraid.
In early March 2020, Congress held public hearings about the Jan 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Unlike other services, the Defense Department sent a career official who was not a main operational decision-makers at the Pentagon on that day.
Testifying for the DC National Guard, was Commander William Walker, whose late January statements to The Washington Post, had spurred the hearings. Walker spoke about changes Trump appointed officials had made to the chain of command leading up to Jan 6 and the unusual strictures on the DC Guard that day.
Not only was the DC Commander now required to get written directives for deployment from two command streams - the leaders of which were jockeying for priority and one of whom had gone missing in action - he was barred from having his troops ready for deployment. The Trump administration had even hobbled the small rapid response team designed to protect troops on duty - who'd they denied personal protective and defensive equipment.
In an operation which itself was logistically fraught, Walker side stepped Executive branch and Pentagon obstruction to readiness, by secretly having troops gear up and then hiding them while awaiting permission to deploy. Had Walker not taken this personal responsibility, the DC Guard would have been delayed hours more than the 4-5 hours delay imposed by the Pentagon - when every second counted.
Part of the Republican campaign to present the sacking of the Capitol as a kerfuffle, is their demand to know how many armed protestors were apprehended and how many guns confiscated. This is disingenuous. The Trump administration had incited raucous protests to become a violent riot and then allowed the riot to become an insurrection. By the time the National Guard was allowed on the grounds, defense of the Capitol was no longer possible and the mission was to safely clear the Capitol. No measures had been taken nor were there sufficient numbers of troops to make and process arrests. As a result, armed rioters, who can be seen in tactical gear and with weapons on videos, were able to slip away.
Part of the delay to adjudicating the insurrection is caused by having to access and analyze many thousands of hours of video, track down individuals, and then make the evidence available to lawyers who must do their own analysis and interpretations. In the context of participants who not only had tactical gear but tactical training in covert operations - you didn't think the armed militias Republicans have been playing footsie with all these decades were just play acting did you? Not after other armed attacks on government property by such as the Bundy's? They've been revved up for revolution by Republican right wing extremists and they've been rehearsing. Rhetoric has intent and has consequences.
Wow, I cannot believe it. For once, Trump used accurate words to describe something his regime did - the way they dealt with the coronavirus was indeed "unprecedented and incredible." Unprecedented and incredibly BAD.
In case anyone wonders how frantic El Blobbo is, "Communist Democrats"???? I guess he did learn something from Tailgunner Joe's lawyer, Roy Cohn: when you run out of things to say, say "communist."
So much for the old dramatic rule that the antagonist must be the equal of the protagonist. These people make drooling morons look like geniuses.
I don't know how you do it, night after night! You didn't even give yourself a break this weekend! You are AMAZING!! Mere thanks do not convey my deep gratitude for your nightly commentaries.
Tonight's letter is another brilliant chronicle for the annals of history. Just as Herodotus is known as the very first chronicler of history, so, too, is Heather Cox Richardson, our preeminent chronicler of the 21st century -- and, at one of the most precarious and unsettling times in living memory.
Thank you Heather for another fine consolidation of the facts which are being discovered by the Jan 6 committee, and the attempts to hide the information from the public. There is no question that there was a lot of involvement by members of congress and various appointed personnel. The corrupter in chief is hoping to hold out long enough to get a change in congress and end the committee. But if it serves it's purpose, there will be no second coming of Donald Trump, On a different aside, but something which has come to mind: do the religious right realize that the major tornado destruction occurred in the red states. Perhaps God is mad that they have abandoned their Christian teachings, How can they now blame climate change, after denying it for decades? And notice how quick our president was to offer aid to these very states that have been so outspoken about what a lousy national leader he is. I see him as a great, compassionate leader who will bend over backwards to assist Americans, regardless of their political persuasions, It really is time for the whole country to realize this, before democracy comes to a total end in America,
Thank you for codifying this week’s political pathos into bite sized pieces.
In my Spring, there was Kennedy getting shot in Texas. Civil Rughts and Vietnam seethed. Now, in my early Fall, we’re in crisis over Trump, a grifter who would turn our Constitution on its head for a dime. He is shameless in his hurry to burn down the house.
It’s defeating to dwell on this any more tonight. But, again, thank you. Your letters frame the first draft of our week’s prequel. You help our wingspan updraft over warm currents.
As I have pointed out here a couple of times. I was stationed at LeJeune in 70-71 with 4th Bn 10th Marines. We as well 82nd Airborne were as 82nd Airborne were trained in riot control in case of rioters in Washington DC attacking the Capitol. They would have Chinook-ed us up to DC and trucked supplies in Six-bys following our departure. This was the plan as decided by Washington DC.
Perhaps, this was initiated by the Secretary of Defense?
That the opposite, using the National Guard, was prescribed for rioters attacking the Capitol and Congress is astounding. Our contingent had no live rounds with the exception of sharpshooters. And that prior heads of the Department of Defense were worried about Federal troops is laughable. The National Guard is controlled by state governors who apparently believe politics surpass their oaths of office to the state and federal government.
People fear the military. It is the politicians we need to fear.
Using Federal troops to defend the Capitol is not the issue. The issue is the Constitution does not appear to consider a rogue President who would be King as supported by various political congressional, senatorial, and politically appointed actors. In passing, how would you react to meeting one who supported the overthrow of our nation?
The next in command and in line to trump, Pence, knew this was going to take place and did nothing to warn others or take action to prevent it. He allowed the attack take place. He is just as complicit in his nonactions to overthrow the US government. Still trying to place innocent, the coward.
Military officers swear an oath to defend the Constitution;
" 'I' do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter"
It does not say allegiance to the President. It says to the Constitution. It also says defend against domestic threats. Others and legal minds may differ with my opinion or reading. However, and in my opinion, the Flynn brothers need to be chased to the equivalent of the Brig in the Army, court-martialed and stripped of rank and military privileges.
There is more to this than what has been put forth. We need to examine where the system has failed us leading up to this "One Day in January."
It is almost as if truth responds in a scientific way, much like warm air rising. You can try and put a lid on it, but it persists in blowing the lid off. Thank you Professor and to this fine community of readers and writers. Namaste 🙏
Dear Dr. R, another clearly written, concise letter of facts. What the former President and his henchmen and minions did stuns me every time I read this. No rule of law for them unless they made it up. No working for our country but against it, all for power and money. Justice must prevail, it just must. You wrote all through the weekend and we thank you. Please, please take care of yourself!
Let’s hear it for the Congressional Research Service and aides for an incredible reconstruction of events, and Professor Richardson for such a lucid narrative! Heres hoping the bad actors will cave in soon under pressure, and that the former Trump administration will have its “ John Dean moment,” albeit belatedly.
“Also, action is needed now before we “vote strategically.” Whatever is in your comfort zone, please support candidates/ incumbents fighting the good fight.
Here’s a great place to start looking for candidates to support.” (Kathy, thanks for your words.)
Another great timeline of compact, clear information. Many, many thanks.
I don't know how many hours a day you are working Dr. Richardson, or how much support and help you have in assembling this information, or how much time "off" you have.
But, as a person who started working long hours around 12 years old and did so until I was outsourced at age 60, I can say: It is not healthy for you or your local people to work too many hours no matter how important you (or anyone) perceives that work to be.
Do give an eye to your health and well being. I do kindly recommend taking time away from whatever maelstrom you might have entered and do so often. It will be great to have your writing around over the long term.
Working all the time is definitely a health compromising approach to this walk through "life".
Being healthy tomorrow is just as important as what happens with these rich guys today, who are very likely going to get away with all that stuff they did on January 6th anyway.
Every evening I look forward to reading your Letters from an American. Every evening my hair stands on end for a longer and longer time. I cannot conceive the depths the previous administration sank to, and yet, I learn each day the depths are deeper and deeper. Are we looking at the Mariana Trench of official crime and corruption in the Executive Branch of the government of the United States of America? I am stunned that most Republicans believe the former guy and support him unequivocally. I simply do not understand the staying power of that man nor the cultish devotion he receives. I try to read a few articles and interviews of people who are respected for their intellectual abilities to describe their views without inflammatory rhetoric. I cannot finish reading any of the “right of center” without being completely offended by assertions that believers in progressive policies are haters of America (true! Interview in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal) and all progressives want is the destruction of the Great American Experiment! Really! I want to destroy the country I love? I was so offended by that statement I steamed for quite a while!
I intended to write a grateful thank you to Heather Cox Richardson for the work and research she does to produce her Letters from an American. I hope she sees my gratitude first and my rant as a pent up release to a soul who may accept a kindred soul’s despair. I am very afraid.
In early March 2020, Congress held public hearings about the Jan 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Unlike other services, the Defense Department sent a career official who was not a main operational decision-makers at the Pentagon on that day.
Testifying for the DC National Guard, was Commander William Walker, whose late January statements to The Washington Post, had spurred the hearings. Walker spoke about changes Trump appointed officials had made to the chain of command leading up to Jan 6 and the unusual strictures on the DC Guard that day.
Not only was the DC Commander now required to get written directives for deployment from two command streams - the leaders of which were jockeying for priority and one of whom had gone missing in action - he was barred from having his troops ready for deployment. The Trump administration had even hobbled the small rapid response team designed to protect troops on duty - who'd they denied personal protective and defensive equipment.
In an operation which itself was logistically fraught, Walker side stepped Executive branch and Pentagon obstruction to readiness, by secretly having troops gear up and then hiding them while awaiting permission to deploy. Had Walker not taken this personal responsibility, the DC Guard would have been delayed hours more than the 4-5 hours delay imposed by the Pentagon - when every second counted.
Part of the Republican campaign to present the sacking of the Capitol as a kerfuffle, is their demand to know how many armed protestors were apprehended and how many guns confiscated. This is disingenuous. The Trump administration had incited raucous protests to become a violent riot and then allowed the riot to become an insurrection. By the time the National Guard was allowed on the grounds, defense of the Capitol was no longer possible and the mission was to safely clear the Capitol. No measures had been taken nor were there sufficient numbers of troops to make and process arrests. As a result, armed rioters, who can be seen in tactical gear and with weapons on videos, were able to slip away.
Part of the delay to adjudicating the insurrection is caused by having to access and analyze many thousands of hours of video, track down individuals, and then make the evidence available to lawyers who must do their own analysis and interpretations. In the context of participants who not only had tactical gear but tactical training in covert operations - you didn't think the armed militias Republicans have been playing footsie with all these decades were just play acting did you? Not after other armed attacks on government property by such as the Bundy's? They've been revved up for revolution by Republican right wing extremists and they've been rehearsing. Rhetoric has intent and has consequences.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4949771/dc-national-guard-commander-testifies-unusual-delay-approval-send-troops-secure-capitol#
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/capitol-riot-hearing/2021/03/02/a4867a48-7b81-11eb-85cd-9b7fa90c8873_story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/us/jan-6-capitol-attack-takeaways.html
Wow, I cannot believe it. For once, Trump used accurate words to describe something his regime did - the way they dealt with the coronavirus was indeed "unprecedented and incredible." Unprecedented and incredibly BAD.
In case anyone wonders how frantic El Blobbo is, "Communist Democrats"???? I guess he did learn something from Tailgunner Joe's lawyer, Roy Cohn: when you run out of things to say, say "communist."
So much for the old dramatic rule that the antagonist must be the equal of the protagonist. These people make drooling morons look like geniuses.
Dear Heather,
I don't know how you do it, night after night! You didn't even give yourself a break this weekend! You are AMAZING!! Mere thanks do not convey my deep gratitude for your nightly commentaries.
Tonight's letter is another brilliant chronicle for the annals of history. Just as Herodotus is known as the very first chronicler of history, so, too, is Heather Cox Richardson, our preeminent chronicler of the 21st century -- and, at one of the most precarious and unsettling times in living memory.
Thank you Heather for another fine consolidation of the facts which are being discovered by the Jan 6 committee, and the attempts to hide the information from the public. There is no question that there was a lot of involvement by members of congress and various appointed personnel. The corrupter in chief is hoping to hold out long enough to get a change in congress and end the committee. But if it serves it's purpose, there will be no second coming of Donald Trump, On a different aside, but something which has come to mind: do the religious right realize that the major tornado destruction occurred in the red states. Perhaps God is mad that they have abandoned their Christian teachings, How can they now blame climate change, after denying it for decades? And notice how quick our president was to offer aid to these very states that have been so outspoken about what a lousy national leader he is. I see him as a great, compassionate leader who will bend over backwards to assist Americans, regardless of their political persuasions, It really is time for the whole country to realize this, before democracy comes to a total end in America,
Professor,
Thank you for codifying this week’s political pathos into bite sized pieces.
In my Spring, there was Kennedy getting shot in Texas. Civil Rughts and Vietnam seethed. Now, in my early Fall, we’re in crisis over Trump, a grifter who would turn our Constitution on its head for a dime. He is shameless in his hurry to burn down the house.
It’s defeating to dwell on this any more tonight. But, again, thank you. Your letters frame the first draft of our week’s prequel. You help our wingspan updraft over warm currents.
Sincerely,
Patty
As I have pointed out here a couple of times. I was stationed at LeJeune in 70-71 with 4th Bn 10th Marines. We as well 82nd Airborne were as 82nd Airborne were trained in riot control in case of rioters in Washington DC attacking the Capitol. They would have Chinook-ed us up to DC and trucked supplies in Six-bys following our departure. This was the plan as decided by Washington DC.
Perhaps, this was initiated by the Secretary of Defense?
That the opposite, using the National Guard, was prescribed for rioters attacking the Capitol and Congress is astounding. Our contingent had no live rounds with the exception of sharpshooters. And that prior heads of the Department of Defense were worried about Federal troops is laughable. The National Guard is controlled by state governors who apparently believe politics surpass their oaths of office to the state and federal government.
People fear the military. It is the politicians we need to fear.
Using Federal troops to defend the Capitol is not the issue. The issue is the Constitution does not appear to consider a rogue President who would be King as supported by various political congressional, senatorial, and politically appointed actors. In passing, how would you react to meeting one who supported the overthrow of our nation?
The next in command and in line to trump, Pence, knew this was going to take place and did nothing to warn others or take action to prevent it. He allowed the attack take place. He is just as complicit in his nonactions to overthrow the US government. Still trying to place innocent, the coward.
Military officers swear an oath to defend the Constitution;
" 'I' do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter"
It does not say allegiance to the President. It says to the Constitution. It also says defend against domestic threats. Others and legal minds may differ with my opinion or reading. However, and in my opinion, the Flynn brothers need to be chased to the equivalent of the Brig in the Army, court-martialed and stripped of rank and military privileges.
There is more to this than what has been put forth. We need to examine where the system has failed us leading up to this "One Day in January."
Rant over and taking a breather . . .
It is almost as if truth responds in a scientific way, much like warm air rising. You can try and put a lid on it, but it persists in blowing the lid off. Thank you Professor and to this fine community of readers and writers. Namaste 🙏
Dear Dr. R, another clearly written, concise letter of facts. What the former President and his henchmen and minions did stuns me every time I read this. No rule of law for them unless they made it up. No working for our country but against it, all for power and money. Justice must prevail, it just must. You wrote all through the weekend and we thank you. Please, please take care of yourself!
Let’s hear it for the Congressional Research Service and aides for an incredible reconstruction of events, and Professor Richardson for such a lucid narrative! Heres hoping the bad actors will cave in soon under pressure, and that the former Trump administration will have its “ John Dean moment,” albeit belatedly.
I have to ask again, and to echo the Professor's point: What must be in the materials that Meadows is refusing to turn over? Wow.............
So—the stunning question forming in my head—maybe we need to be thankful that the guard was held back!? Until it was clear whom they would support...?
I feel so nauseated at the thought there could have been any doubt...
I will remain a skeptic regarding the power of The Select Committee until I see someone in handcuffs.
Opportunity for ACTION as this unfolds…
“Also, action is needed now before we “vote strategically.” Whatever is in your comfort zone, please support candidates/ incumbents fighting the good fight.
Here’s a great place to start looking for candidates to support.” (Kathy, thanks for your words.)
http://lenspoliticalnotes.com/
The current Note focuses on Governors’ races. It includes information on Democratic Incumbents and candidates to flip Republican governors.
https://lenspoliticalnotes.com/political-note-432-stacey-abrams-governor-georgia/
We depend so much on your clear presentation of FACTS.
Time to move forward with contempt of Congress charges. Now is NOT a time for mercy.
The three branches of government have run off the rails. The GOP has been hijacked.
The Supreme Court has been packed with Trump loyalists and its refusal to uphold Constitutional rights (in my opinion) make it illegitimate.
Since Trump and his followers are determined to burn the entire institution down,
I can only hope it is a phoenix that will arise anew from the ashes.
Another great timeline of compact, clear information. Many, many thanks.
I don't know how many hours a day you are working Dr. Richardson, or how much support and help you have in assembling this information, or how much time "off" you have.
But, as a person who started working long hours around 12 years old and did so until I was outsourced at age 60, I can say: It is not healthy for you or your local people to work too many hours no matter how important you (or anyone) perceives that work to be.
Do give an eye to your health and well being. I do kindly recommend taking time away from whatever maelstrom you might have entered and do so often. It will be great to have your writing around over the long term.
Working all the time is definitely a health compromising approach to this walk through "life".
Being healthy tomorrow is just as important as what happens with these rich guys today, who are very likely going to get away with all that stuff they did on January 6th anyway.