Tonight the Washington Post reported that the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol is weighing possible criminal referral for former president Trump, focusing on the 187 minutes between Trump’s urging his supporters to march on the Capitol and the video he finally released telling them to stop.
I am contemplating why: "when the Capitol was under attack and the next three people in the line of succession to the presidency were all inside the besieged building." TFG was filming a video outside the WH.
Because he could. He is all about staging and showmanship. It's all a play and he wants to be the lead...forever. TFG would have been fine with the Capitol literally going up in flames burning to a cinder all it's inhabitants. Does anyone really think he would care about a line of succession?
And he is a coward. So he would have had assurances from the Secret Service that he was in a safe place. (as Michael Sanchez already described)
Just the fact that the President of the United States stood by for hours while our Capitol (filled with OUR government leaders) was under attack - filmed for the world to see - should have been enough to arrest him the very next day. But certainly, it should have happened no later than January 21.
What more evidence is needed? I just don't get it. I just don't.
Merrick Garland, a fine man, a good judge who would likely have been great on the Court, needs to realize he put aside his black robes and stop acting like an Appeals Court Judge. He has to indict Trump before Trump announces he's running for re-election. Once that happens, it will be impossible. He can't sit back and fiddle while Rome burns, waiting for the 1/6 Committee to make their report. As numerous former Federal prosecutors have noted, there is more than enough evidence out there now at hand to indict Trump. The Justice Department opened their case against John Gotti with less. I am really afraid that the wrong Good Man is sitting in the Attorney General's office. In the meantime, Trump continues to subvert the government, to destroy the basis of our constitutional republic, and to reveal himself every day as the greatest threat this country has ever face, including the Civil War.
"It seems to me there is also something very odd about that video, in that it appears to have been shot outside the White House at a time when the Capitol was under attack and the next three people in the line of succession to the presidency were all inside the besieged building. The fact that Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Chuck Grassley (R-IA) were all in the same building was unusual by itself, and that they were under attack together was unprecedented. Even aside from normal procedures, with the line of succession in such danger, why wasn’t the president himself in a secure location, rather than outside the White House recording multiple takes of a video?"– HCR
Heather, you have devoted your life to unraveling and understanding the actions of the men and women who create our history. For better or worse, you dig until you find the truth of a situation and communicate that truth. At the risk of assuming too much and over stepping bounds, it seems odd to you, and to many of us, that Trump would shoot a video message outside of the White House multiple times while the next three people in line of succession to the presidency were under siege and in hiding in the Capitol because you, like many of us, believe that Trump actually thought his supporters had the physical capacity and raw passion to storm the building, capture their targets and create his moment of triumph and glory. In that moment Trump believed he would be able to call out the troops in support of his coup and that it would be a done deal. He truly believed he would succeed. And what better backdrop than the White House for Trump to direct his coup and claim his prize?
The optics of the entire day provided the illusion that Trump owned not only the moment but the White House itself. Trump wanted to convey to the nation that HE was in complete control of the siege and "his people" were doing his bidding. His refusal to use specific language to call off the siege bolsters the idea that he had every intention of claiming victory once at least one of the three targets was captured.
Perhaps I oversimplify the meaning of the visuals employed by Trump, but consider this: everything he does is a part of his own reality show. His hair and makeup; he lives his life on one "scene set" after another. He's all about projecting grandeur and opulence; if he projects it and he says it people will believe him. And look – his ploy worked for decades! It almost worked on January 6th. But for the resolve of those who stood their ground against him we might be in a very different place today.
I read your letter Heather and it appears so clear that our President was orchestrating a coup. A dictator was trying to take over our country. He failed this time but the fragility of our democracy is frightening. He created severe discord in our country. He continues to dismantle our government by removing secretary of states who don’t support Republicans. We have lost and ruined so many lives in our history to create and protect our democracy. Now is our democracy so corrupt we can’t depend on our courts to protect our right to vote? McConnell and Trump packed the courts to dismantle democracy. Our right to free and fair elections is in jeopardy.
I called my senator from Maine to find out why she is not supporting the Build Back Better Bill. Is she not aware of the plight of woman and children who are living Inn poverty with food insecurity lack of healthcare no paid leave ? Her staff assured me she was aware of thes issues but because she did not like the process of how this bill was created she could not support it. So it is better to keep our children at risk and not have food, shelter and healthcare? How can yoh call yourself a Christian and live in a country with such gross disparity between the haves and have nots? We complain about the price of gas as if this a disaster? The media focuses on the hardship of the price of gas and what a crisis it is. Give me a break. If the sole caregiver works at a job earning $10 an hour how does this family live? That is a crisis. The media has taken on Trumps playbook divide and conquer.
Why was Trump willing to venture outside the White House without fear during the insurrection to record a video? I and others have assumed it was because he knew the insurrectionists weren't a threat to him. It seems logical. But the issue raises questions. For example, did the Secret Service push to move Trump to safety, but he refused? What did he say?
The fact that the next three people in line for the presidency were at the Capitol makes me wonder whether Trump ever asked aides about their safety. I would assume no. Also, Trump likely knew that the Defense Department would resist calling in the National Guard and had factored this into his plan.
We can only hope that the day will come when Trump has to answer these and other questions in a televised hearing.
What continues to blow my mind is that, by comparison, this makes Watergate look like kindergarten stuff. And yet, it brought down an administration. I am so demoralized by the fact that we are still dealing with this a year later. How much time and money will be spent before justice gets rid of all these traitors? Why is Trump even a consideration for 2024? Why is he not in jail yet? Is Merrick Garland too cautious, too deliberative??
This is another instance of Heather providing information that has been published, but then goes on to connect the dots. Most of us knew the initial components of the National Guard having taken so long to respond to the insurrection, TFG having told people that the National Guard would be standing by the protect the pro-Trump demonstrators, rumbles that invoking the Insurrection Act had been considered in several other demonstrations, and my personal opinion was that someone at the Pentagon (i.e., Flynn's brother) had influenced the late response of the National Guard. However, Heather has pointed out the very plausible theory that the military feared that they could be used to "protect" against the Insurrection Act that day, and perhaps facilitate TFG's attempts to retain power. Who needs the biased, negative MSM, when we have the source that can read between the lines and make sense of the muddled pieces? Thank you, Heather!
I’m so disgusted with this. I’ve been disgusted since 2015. The power, money, corruption seems to be fine when one is in the top layer of privilege. They all seem to skate. One gets as much Justice as one can afford, for the most part. (& yes, I know it didn’t start in 2015)! Humbug!!!!
This is what Teump referred to when he said he could shoot someone in broad daylight and get away with it.
White privilege, white collar crime, Presidential privilege. However, you want to phrase it, Trump has gotten away with "murder" his entire life. He intuitively knew that being President would be an added shield.
Liz Cheney explained it perfectly. He broke the law, his oath of office. He incited violence and death. He committed one of the greatest crimes in our nation's history. We have institutions, government offices and citizens who don't know what to do with this. Yet anyone of color or at the bottom of society would be in prison for life by now.
We see precedent in how Confederate leaders walked away after the Civil War without a hanging or day in prison, to run for office again. This leads to having no protection at all
My read on why Trump was not rushed to a secure location was always that it was because they understood the mob to be in support of Trump and that he was in no danger from them. Even though they immediately tried to spin it as a "false flag operation" it was clear that everyone involved knew it was Trump supporters.
I am not super-"connected," but I still have some military connections. I know for certified FACT that GEN Milley 1) despises Trump (and did for a long time before 6 Jan), 2) was wary/deeply concerned after Trump used his moment in uniform as propaganda. So, I think Heather's line of reasoning makes a lot of sense. I think SOME of the hesitancy was about being surprised and worried about the ramifications AFTER Trump had tried to use the military as propaganda during BLM demonstrations...but yes, I think the emergent, larger concern in those 3 hours was exactly what Heather stated. The military is very, very, VERY cognizant of and worried about such a thing (ordinary citizens might think the military is bristling and waiting for a chance to "take over." They are not. They are, institutionally, more adverse to it than the people themselves).
Trump could see that procedural means were failing and would probably fail to give him the election. A riot might be quelled. But, if things escalated and really got out of hand, let's say because for some reason law enforcement at the Capitol was overwhelmed, let's say because Trump's men at the Pentagon and DOD stalled calling in the National Guard, then there was the potential for something really bad happening. A gun battle? The abduction or worse of the Vice President or Speaker?
Trump had been toying with the idea of declaring martial law. He'd been stymied at his trial run of calling in the troops. His was being stymied again by the brass. Now they'd have to let him play at being Commander in Chief, as Rambo. And even if it were at the cost of putting Pelosi or even Pence out of picture, then they'd also be out of his hair.
All Summer Trump had been inciting law enforcement to take extreme measures and to use maximum force. He would not care if it were against his own mob. That could be spun. And they were disposable. We are really lucky that even in extremis and under attack, the Capitol Police were self restrained. Trump put them through hell for over 2 1/2 hours, hedging his bets on violence; he gave them 187 minutes to totally lose it. They stood firm.
Trump was not actually in any danger. Our government and nation were. The Capitol Police came through for us. At least some that day fulfilled their oath of office.
Thank you for working and writing to us an overview of “the News”. Thank you as well for footnotes - occasionally they become unavailable and I feel bereft.
I read the referenced article in Just Security. Thoughtful and chilling.
One idea keeps surfacing for me: the critical need for education surrounding the News, politics, history, critical reading. Perhaps that education comes around the supper table if the TV is turned off. Kids and young adults need that education (and the uneasy tension it may create) as much, and more, than I do.
Another idea that keeps surfacing: this is not a perfect world. Compromise is not a dirty word. How do we achieve workable solutions for this moment in time? At least in part we need to stop and listen to each other and read the footnotes.
Finally, I ask, rhetorically, how much has been spent fighting baseless lawsuits regarding the claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. When will sanctions be imposed on those lawyers who filed these frivolous (and damaging) suits?
I am very grateful when your Letter from an American arrives in this American’s inbox here in Basel in time for my morning coffee.
I think this explanation of why the military held back on January 6th makes more sense than any I’ve seen, particularly in light of prior words and actions by military brass. It’s at once comforting and terrifying. If true, our military—and I emphasize OUR military—made a very tough call. In spite of the destruction, casualties and loss of life on January 6th, it could have been so much worse. Thank God there was not a counter protest to play into the hands of the TFG and his henchpeople, causing more chaos and bloodshed. It also seems to show that Antifa as a unified front is a figment if right wing imaginations. AND, our Congress did its job in the wake of a terrifying attack. Now, the Justice Department must carry out its work with dispatch, without cutting corners. I try not to get carried away on a tide of anger and disgust that this maniac who was our president has eaten up so much time and so many resources at a time when the American people are in the midst of a major health crisis.
I read that Vice President Pence and staff were locked out of their offices during the insurrection, that somehow the access cards were inactivated. It seems to me that someone made a decision to lock the VP offices and block a safe retreat. The VP ended up in a loading dock. I would like to know the details on how this happened, who authorized the doors locked. Was this done as a matter of procedure, or was it done to expose the VP to the angry mob?
I know that the DOJ is not wont to rush investigations or indictments lest the overlook some possibly exculpatory evidence. It is good that it moves with all deliberate speed. But from here on the sidelines it seems that DOJ is taking its cue as what “all deliberate speed” means from the Southern states in the post Brown v. Board of Education decision as they moved to desegregate their schools.
I am contemplating why: "when the Capitol was under attack and the next three people in the line of succession to the presidency were all inside the besieged building." TFG was filming a video outside the WH.
Because he could. He is all about staging and showmanship. It's all a play and he wants to be the lead...forever. TFG would have been fine with the Capitol literally going up in flames burning to a cinder all it's inhabitants. Does anyone really think he would care about a line of succession?
And he is a coward. So he would have had assurances from the Secret Service that he was in a safe place. (as Michael Sanchez already described)
Just the fact that the President of the United States stood by for hours while our Capitol (filled with OUR government leaders) was under attack - filmed for the world to see - should have been enough to arrest him the very next day. But certainly, it should have happened no later than January 21.
What more evidence is needed? I just don't get it. I just don't.
Merrick Garland, a fine man, a good judge who would likely have been great on the Court, needs to realize he put aside his black robes and stop acting like an Appeals Court Judge. He has to indict Trump before Trump announces he's running for re-election. Once that happens, it will be impossible. He can't sit back and fiddle while Rome burns, waiting for the 1/6 Committee to make their report. As numerous former Federal prosecutors have noted, there is more than enough evidence out there now at hand to indict Trump. The Justice Department opened their case against John Gotti with less. I am really afraid that the wrong Good Man is sitting in the Attorney General's office. In the meantime, Trump continues to subvert the government, to destroy the basis of our constitutional republic, and to reveal himself every day as the greatest threat this country has ever face, including the Civil War.
"It seems to me there is also something very odd about that video, in that it appears to have been shot outside the White House at a time when the Capitol was under attack and the next three people in the line of succession to the presidency were all inside the besieged building. The fact that Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Chuck Grassley (R-IA) were all in the same building was unusual by itself, and that they were under attack together was unprecedented. Even aside from normal procedures, with the line of succession in such danger, why wasn’t the president himself in a secure location, rather than outside the White House recording multiple takes of a video?"– HCR
Heather, you have devoted your life to unraveling and understanding the actions of the men and women who create our history. For better or worse, you dig until you find the truth of a situation and communicate that truth. At the risk of assuming too much and over stepping bounds, it seems odd to you, and to many of us, that Trump would shoot a video message outside of the White House multiple times while the next three people in line of succession to the presidency were under siege and in hiding in the Capitol because you, like many of us, believe that Trump actually thought his supporters had the physical capacity and raw passion to storm the building, capture their targets and create his moment of triumph and glory. In that moment Trump believed he would be able to call out the troops in support of his coup and that it would be a done deal. He truly believed he would succeed. And what better backdrop than the White House for Trump to direct his coup and claim his prize?
The optics of the entire day provided the illusion that Trump owned not only the moment but the White House itself. Trump wanted to convey to the nation that HE was in complete control of the siege and "his people" were doing his bidding. His refusal to use specific language to call off the siege bolsters the idea that he had every intention of claiming victory once at least one of the three targets was captured.
Perhaps I oversimplify the meaning of the visuals employed by Trump, but consider this: everything he does is a part of his own reality show. His hair and makeup; he lives his life on one "scene set" after another. He's all about projecting grandeur and opulence; if he projects it and he says it people will believe him. And look – his ploy worked for decades! It almost worked on January 6th. But for the resolve of those who stood their ground against him we might be in a very different place today.
I read your letter Heather and it appears so clear that our President was orchestrating a coup. A dictator was trying to take over our country. He failed this time but the fragility of our democracy is frightening. He created severe discord in our country. He continues to dismantle our government by removing secretary of states who don’t support Republicans. We have lost and ruined so many lives in our history to create and protect our democracy. Now is our democracy so corrupt we can’t depend on our courts to protect our right to vote? McConnell and Trump packed the courts to dismantle democracy. Our right to free and fair elections is in jeopardy.
I called my senator from Maine to find out why she is not supporting the Build Back Better Bill. Is she not aware of the plight of woman and children who are living Inn poverty with food insecurity lack of healthcare no paid leave ? Her staff assured me she was aware of thes issues but because she did not like the process of how this bill was created she could not support it. So it is better to keep our children at risk and not have food, shelter and healthcare? How can yoh call yourself a Christian and live in a country with such gross disparity between the haves and have nots? We complain about the price of gas as if this a disaster? The media focuses on the hardship of the price of gas and what a crisis it is. Give me a break. If the sole caregiver works at a job earning $10 an hour how does this family live? That is a crisis. The media has taken on Trumps playbook divide and conquer.
Why was Trump willing to venture outside the White House without fear during the insurrection to record a video? I and others have assumed it was because he knew the insurrectionists weren't a threat to him. It seems logical. But the issue raises questions. For example, did the Secret Service push to move Trump to safety, but he refused? What did he say?
The fact that the next three people in line for the presidency were at the Capitol makes me wonder whether Trump ever asked aides about their safety. I would assume no. Also, Trump likely knew that the Defense Department would resist calling in the National Guard and had factored this into his plan.
We can only hope that the day will come when Trump has to answer these and other questions in a televised hearing.
What continues to blow my mind is that, by comparison, this makes Watergate look like kindergarten stuff. And yet, it brought down an administration. I am so demoralized by the fact that we are still dealing with this a year later. How much time and money will be spent before justice gets rid of all these traitors? Why is Trump even a consideration for 2024? Why is he not in jail yet? Is Merrick Garland too cautious, too deliberative??
This is another instance of Heather providing information that has been published, but then goes on to connect the dots. Most of us knew the initial components of the National Guard having taken so long to respond to the insurrection, TFG having told people that the National Guard would be standing by the protect the pro-Trump demonstrators, rumbles that invoking the Insurrection Act had been considered in several other demonstrations, and my personal opinion was that someone at the Pentagon (i.e., Flynn's brother) had influenced the late response of the National Guard. However, Heather has pointed out the very plausible theory that the military feared that they could be used to "protect" against the Insurrection Act that day, and perhaps facilitate TFG's attempts to retain power. Who needs the biased, negative MSM, when we have the source that can read between the lines and make sense of the muddled pieces? Thank you, Heather!
I’m so disgusted with this. I’ve been disgusted since 2015. The power, money, corruption seems to be fine when one is in the top layer of privilege. They all seem to skate. One gets as much Justice as one can afford, for the most part. (& yes, I know it didn’t start in 2015)! Humbug!!!!
This is what Teump referred to when he said he could shoot someone in broad daylight and get away with it.
White privilege, white collar crime, Presidential privilege. However, you want to phrase it, Trump has gotten away with "murder" his entire life. He intuitively knew that being President would be an added shield.
Liz Cheney explained it perfectly. He broke the law, his oath of office. He incited violence and death. He committed one of the greatest crimes in our nation's history. We have institutions, government offices and citizens who don't know what to do with this. Yet anyone of color or at the bottom of society would be in prison for life by now.
We see precedent in how Confederate leaders walked away after the Civil War without a hanging or day in prison, to run for office again. This leads to having no protection at all
for us, our Constitution or our nation.
My read on why Trump was not rushed to a secure location was always that it was because they understood the mob to be in support of Trump and that he was in no danger from them. Even though they immediately tried to spin it as a "false flag operation" it was clear that everyone involved knew it was Trump supporters.
I am not super-"connected," but I still have some military connections. I know for certified FACT that GEN Milley 1) despises Trump (and did for a long time before 6 Jan), 2) was wary/deeply concerned after Trump used his moment in uniform as propaganda. So, I think Heather's line of reasoning makes a lot of sense. I think SOME of the hesitancy was about being surprised and worried about the ramifications AFTER Trump had tried to use the military as propaganda during BLM demonstrations...but yes, I think the emergent, larger concern in those 3 hours was exactly what Heather stated. The military is very, very, VERY cognizant of and worried about such a thing (ordinary citizens might think the military is bristling and waiting for a chance to "take over." They are not. They are, institutionally, more adverse to it than the people themselves).
Why didn't Trump do anything?
Trump could see that procedural means were failing and would probably fail to give him the election. A riot might be quelled. But, if things escalated and really got out of hand, let's say because for some reason law enforcement at the Capitol was overwhelmed, let's say because Trump's men at the Pentagon and DOD stalled calling in the National Guard, then there was the potential for something really bad happening. A gun battle? The abduction or worse of the Vice President or Speaker?
Trump had been toying with the idea of declaring martial law. He'd been stymied at his trial run of calling in the troops. His was being stymied again by the brass. Now they'd have to let him play at being Commander in Chief, as Rambo. And even if it were at the cost of putting Pelosi or even Pence out of picture, then they'd also be out of his hair.
All Summer Trump had been inciting law enforcement to take extreme measures and to use maximum force. He would not care if it were against his own mob. That could be spun. And they were disposable. We are really lucky that even in extremis and under attack, the Capitol Police were self restrained. Trump put them through hell for over 2 1/2 hours, hedging his bets on violence; he gave them 187 minutes to totally lose it. They stood firm.
Trump was not actually in any danger. Our government and nation were. The Capitol Police came through for us. At least some that day fulfilled their oath of office.
Thank you for working and writing to us an overview of “the News”. Thank you as well for footnotes - occasionally they become unavailable and I feel bereft.
I read the referenced article in Just Security. Thoughtful and chilling.
One idea keeps surfacing for me: the critical need for education surrounding the News, politics, history, critical reading. Perhaps that education comes around the supper table if the TV is turned off. Kids and young adults need that education (and the uneasy tension it may create) as much, and more, than I do.
Another idea that keeps surfacing: this is not a perfect world. Compromise is not a dirty word. How do we achieve workable solutions for this moment in time? At least in part we need to stop and listen to each other and read the footnotes.
Finally, I ask, rhetorically, how much has been spent fighting baseless lawsuits regarding the claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. When will sanctions be imposed on those lawyers who filed these frivolous (and damaging) suits?
I am very grateful when your Letter from an American arrives in this American’s inbox here in Basel in time for my morning coffee.
I think this explanation of why the military held back on January 6th makes more sense than any I’ve seen, particularly in light of prior words and actions by military brass. It’s at once comforting and terrifying. If true, our military—and I emphasize OUR military—made a very tough call. In spite of the destruction, casualties and loss of life on January 6th, it could have been so much worse. Thank God there was not a counter protest to play into the hands of the TFG and his henchpeople, causing more chaos and bloodshed. It also seems to show that Antifa as a unified front is a figment if right wing imaginations. AND, our Congress did its job in the wake of a terrifying attack. Now, the Justice Department must carry out its work with dispatch, without cutting corners. I try not to get carried away on a tide of anger and disgust that this maniac who was our president has eaten up so much time and so many resources at a time when the American people are in the midst of a major health crisis.
I read that Vice President Pence and staff were locked out of their offices during the insurrection, that somehow the access cards were inactivated. It seems to me that someone made a decision to lock the VP offices and block a safe retreat. The VP ended up in a loading dock. I would like to know the details on how this happened, who authorized the doors locked. Was this done as a matter of procedure, or was it done to expose the VP to the angry mob?
I know that the DOJ is not wont to rush investigations or indictments lest the overlook some possibly exculpatory evidence. It is good that it moves with all deliberate speed. But from here on the sidelines it seems that DOJ is taking its cue as what “all deliberate speed” means from the Southern states in the post Brown v. Board of Education decision as they moved to desegregate their schools.