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Two big "aha" moments for me: (1) "...The committee established that he released the video only after law enforcement was deployed and was gaining control of the Capitol, making it clear the violent insurrection would not succeed." I am now convinced that if law enforcement had not gotten the upper hand, Trump's video would not have been released when it was; and (2) the "Outtakes of the January 7 video recording" showed that on top of his sheer evil nature, Trump is at his core a pathetic excuse for a human being, let alone the Leader of the Free World.

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I’m especially glad that Hawley was shown to be an absolutely venal, craven opportunist. I hope the history books juxtapose the raised fist photo beside the still of him running for his life. That’s how he should be remembered.

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And still the former president has strong support within the Republican Party?! When is that dam going to burst? Perhaps never?

The problem isn’t Trump. The problem is the huge block of our fellow citizens who still, STILL! say they would vote for him if he runs again.

Reasonable people can disagree. What do we do with unreasonable people? Millions of them!

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Hours of Trump flubbed out takes ? Ask the Apprentice editors.

"Mark Burnett's chief legacy is to have cast a serially bankrupt carnival barker in the role of a man who might plausibly become the leader of the free world...

Editors were often obliged to “reverse engineer” the episode, scouring hundreds of hours of footage ... in an attempt to assemble an artificial version of history in which Trump’s shoot-from-the-hip decision made sense...Most of us knew he was a fake,” Braun told me. “He had just gone through I don’t know how many bankruptcies. But we made him out to be the most important person in the world. It was like making the court jester the king.” Bill Pruitt, another producer, recalled, “We walked through the offices and saw chipped furniture. We saw a crumbling empire at every turn. Our job was to make it seem otherwise.”"

This was no secret. Every eligible voter who did not vote for Hillary Clinton had a hand in staging this take down of American democracy. There are no legitimate self justifications.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/07/how-mark-burnett-resurrected-donald-trump-as-an-icon-of-american-success

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As the events the day enfolded in real time, much of this was discussed. And, for the months since, there has been a concerted campaign to convince us what we saw and heard, what we suspected, was all partisan gibberish.

After tonight’s testimony, there can be no doubt. Riveting, conclusive, and more than a little frightening.

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It seems somehow particularly fitting that this hearing was coordinated by veterans of the armed forces. It is my reading that Trump did not call a halt to the insurrectionary mob violence and Trump plants at DOD obstructed deployment of national guard troops because letting things get entirely out of control was Trump's Hail Mary, the last official act of his first term - an excuse for declaring martial law. Trump's last act as legitimate executive and possibly the last act before the curtain came down on democracy in the United States. As scripted and staged by the Republican party and its named and unnamed co conspirators.

Leonard Leo's crew are picking up where Hawley, Cruz, et al left off in hollowing out the constitutional foundations of the nation. Hubris and mendacity - works for them. Until it doesn't. We are all collateral damage now - until we take back the electoral process by getting out the vote for Democratic candidates.

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It is small and petty but I really enjoyed Cheney's dig at the cowardice of the 50, 60 and 70 year old men. Sorry guys.

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Thank you Heather.

As I watched tonight's hearing in disbelief, I kept thinking Trump is choosing not to try to stop this insanity. It was a clean cut choice to disengage himself from the reality of the destruction of the Capitol. Its one thing to try to stop a situation and fail, but an entirely different mindset to encourage and let it play out. It was brought up at the end of the hearing as well that he chose not to stop it.

Watching the outakes of Trump finally making a statement showed me what an unstable lunatic he truly is. Let the powers that be rain down every legal force on him. His free ticket has expired.

It's time for him to pay the piper.

Be safe. Be well.

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Okay, yes. The witnesses came forward EVENTUALLY. But they saw what they saw in that White House for 4 years and they let it happen. They never said a word before he lost re-election. Would they have said anything if he had won? Or would they have stayed on the ship if it wasn’t sinking, but rather just poisoning the ocean it floated on? They aren’t heroes. They’re room readers. I don’t want my daughter to grow up to be like Cassidy Hutchinson. I want my daughter to do the right thing from the start. I want her to be able to discern evil before she’s so involved in it that only a major shock will jolt her back into her integrity.

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Jul 22, 2022·edited Jul 22, 2022

It is time decide, at the appropriate law enforcement agency, if Trump committed a crime.

If so, arrest him and begin the process of prosecution.

If not? Let us move on from Jan 06.

Otherwise we are just feeding the Trump soap opera apparatus which, on balance, is probably in his favor.

Let’s treat Trump like any other American now.

No more hearings, no more talking.

Arrest and prosecute or move on.

If the DOJ does not have enough evidence now, assuming they even have an active investigation of Trump ongoing, they never will.

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I would never vote for Liz Cheney but I do admire her fierce adherence to her oath and belief in the Constitution. I enjoy her wrap ups at the end of each hearing. I hope a Wyoming miracle happens and she wins the primary.

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Tonight’s hearing was a humdinger. I thought Luria and Kinzinger were brilliant factual orators. I also admired their military histories. They revealed those questionable 187 minutes, bit by bit, with questions geared to the two witnesses and by the video outtakes. Trump and his handlers truly deserve to see be put in front of a firing squad. Okay, I know that’s not going to happen but his consequences must be severe. He defied the advice of his staff and of his own children. ( Eric must’ve been on vacation. :) ) Like a child stomping his foot to make a point of what he wanted, We got to observe a clearly nasty old white guy, enraged. He is also responsible for influencing corruption upon the Secret Service. May he never ever rest in peace.

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Well done, Heather Cox Richardson! Well done, J6 select committee!

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Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson have been examples of excellence and how Congressmen should be collegial not enemies.

The committee is to be congratulated for excellence and control. Although I know the ending, each hearing was mesmerizing.

And the Hawley fist bump followed by a terrified run for his life might have been a Monty Python skit. It showed the little, little man he is.

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Let's not forget that tRump has forever changed the Supreme Court and that his devotees still preside over important decisions.

I call on Joe Biden to immediately expand the USSC by nominating Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Adam Schiff.

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Thank you HCR for an excellent summary of last night’s J6. I’ll be watching it again. A few new details to add to the memory bank on our Crime Boss POTUS. My Goddess, what a horrible hollow shell resembling a person. ❤️🤍💙

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