A Timely reminder about Trump...
He could deny allegations much more effectively if he'd testify under oath.
But who takes the Fifth?
But who takes the Fifth?
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ElwoodBlues · M
@Thinkerbell
What happened to the COMMISSION? Republicans blocked it in the Senate. Republicans blocked any sort of Senate involvement in the Jan 6 investigation. So the only investigative method left was a House Committee.
Republicans had their chance at a commission made up of five Democrats and five Republicans. They rejected it. That wasn't Pelosi's doing.
There could also have been non-RINO Republicans on the committee,
The original proposal was to have a bipartisan COMMISSION, with equal numbers of republicans and democrats. The proposed commission was modeled on the one established to investigate the 9/11 terror attacks, with 10 commissioners — five Democrats and five Republicans — who would have subpoena powers. A Democratic chair and Republican vice chair would have had to approve all subpoenas with a final report due at the end of the year.
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1000524897/senate-republicans-block-plan-for-independent-commission-on-jan-6-capitol-riotWhat happened to the COMMISSION? Republicans blocked it in the Senate. Republicans blocked any sort of Senate involvement in the Jan 6 investigation. So the only investigative method left was a House Committee.
Republicans had their chance at a commission made up of five Democrats and five Republicans. They rejected it. That wasn't Pelosi's doing.
Thinkerbell · 41-45, F
@ElwoodBlues
So?
That didn't stop Nancy from having a committee with equal numbers.
But maybe McConnell knew beforehand that she would never agree to that.
If so, rejecting the commission was a pretty smart move on his part.
It set Schiff and the Democrats up to making fools of themselves once again, as they did with the Mueller investigation.
"The original proposal was to have a bipartisan COMMISSION, with equal numbers of republicans and democrats."
So?
That didn't stop Nancy from having a committee with equal numbers.
But maybe McConnell knew beforehand that she would never agree to that.
If so, rejecting the commission was a pretty smart move on his part.
It set Schiff and the Democrats up to making fools of themselves once again, as they did with the Mueller investigation.
LeopoldBloom · M
@Thinkerbell Amazing how all these people hate Trump so bitterly, they’re willing to lie under oath.
Thinkerbell · 41-45, F
@LeopoldBloom
Not if they have assurances that AG Garland would never prosecute them.
Republican AGs also seem remarkably reluctant to prosecute perjury.
At least if the perjurers are Democrats.
They usually are allowed to just quietly resign, like Lois Lerner and others in the IRS, for example.
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/27/560308997/irs-apologizes-for-aggressive-scrutiny-of-conservative-groups
Of course, you wouldn't remember that, would you, Leo? 🤔
Not if they have assurances that AG Garland would never prosecute them.
Republican AGs also seem remarkably reluctant to prosecute perjury.
At least if the perjurers are Democrats.
They usually are allowed to just quietly resign, like Lois Lerner and others in the IRS, for example.
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/27/560308997/irs-apologizes-for-aggressive-scrutiny-of-conservative-groups
Of course, you wouldn't remember that, would you, Leo? 🤔
ElwoodBlues · M
@Thinkerbell
@Thinkerbell No matter how you try to spin it, Republicans, lead by Trump, BLOCKED a bipartisan commission. Why would they do such a thing? Maybe Trump thought he could ignore all the subpoenas from the House committee. Or perhaps because republicans expected they could sucker millions of fools into ignoring what the House committee is finding. Whatever their reasons, their plan backfired. Now they are reaping what they've sown.
But maybe McConnell knew beforehand that she would never agree to that.
She had ALREADY agreed to that! That was the basis for the original COMMISSION that McConnell stifled! Here is the bill passed by the House: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3233/actions Back in early 2021, the House passed a bill to form a January 6 panel modeled on the 9/11 commission, with the Democratic caucus and 35 Republicans voting in favor. But it was blocked by a Republican filibuster in the Senate after Trump, congressional GOP leaders, and the far-right congressional Freedom Caucus opposed it.
Criticizing the 35 Republican representatives who ignored his call to vote against forming a commission, Trump said at the time that "sometimes there are consequences to being ineffective and weak."
But Republican leaders could have used the commission as an effective platform to defend Trump, or at least try and mitigate the damage.
Under commission rules, they would have been free to choose five Republicans to sit on the commission and select a Republican co-chair. Trump allies selected for the panel could've sought to undermine arguments by Democrats and Trump's critics, and subject witnesses to cross-examinations.
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-shot-himself-foot-opposing-112454758.htmlCriticizing the 35 Republican representatives who ignored his call to vote against forming a commission, Trump said at the time that "sometimes there are consequences to being ineffective and weak."
But Republican leaders could have used the commission as an effective platform to defend Trump, or at least try and mitigate the damage.
Under commission rules, they would have been free to choose five Republicans to sit on the commission and select a Republican co-chair. Trump allies selected for the panel could've sought to undermine arguments by Democrats and Trump's critics, and subject witnesses to cross-examinations.
@Thinkerbell No matter how you try to spin it, Republicans, lead by Trump, BLOCKED a bipartisan commission. Why would they do such a thing? Maybe Trump thought he could ignore all the subpoenas from the House committee. Or perhaps because republicans expected they could sucker millions of fools into ignoring what the House committee is finding. Whatever their reasons, their plan backfired. Now they are reaping what they've sown.
Thinkerbell · 41-45, F
@ElwoodBlues
I t remains to be seen in November if McConnell's plan has backfired.
His primary motivation is to regain the Senate majority.
If he he could do that most effectively by maneuvering the House Democrats into looking like they have been conducting another unconvincing Schiff/Nadler/Pelosi circus, his purpose will have been served.
"Whatever their reasons, their plan backfired. Now they are reaping what they've sown."
I t remains to be seen in November if McConnell's plan has backfired.
His primary motivation is to regain the Senate majority.
If he he could do that most effectively by maneuvering the House Democrats into looking like they have been conducting another unconvincing Schiff/Nadler/Pelosi circus, his purpose will have been served.
LeopoldBloom · M
@Thinkerbell If the conservative groups were crossing a line that liberal groups weren't, they deserved additional scrutiny. To give an example, would you say that a church that welcomes LGBT members is equivalent to the Westboro Baptist Church? It's not like the first approves of LGBT while the WBC merely disapproves.
The Dobbs ruling throws a money wrench into the midterms. Now, they're going to be about abortion rights, and not inflation or perceived Democratic overreach with the 1/6 hearings. By the way, I think the hearings are having an effect. Notice that Fox News isn't spending any time debunking the hearings. Instead, they're ignoring them. This sets the stage for the next step, which will be "we never supported Trump anyway." There may be a few Republicans who vote because they're mad about the hearings, but I think those were people who were going to vote anyway.
The Dobbs ruling throws a money wrench into the midterms. Now, they're going to be about abortion rights, and not inflation or perceived Democratic overreach with the 1/6 hearings. By the way, I think the hearings are having an effect. Notice that Fox News isn't spending any time debunking the hearings. Instead, they're ignoring them. This sets the stage for the next step, which will be "we never supported Trump anyway." There may be a few Republicans who vote because they're mad about the hearings, but I think those were people who were going to vote anyway.
Thinkerbell · 41-45, F
@LeopoldBloom
That remains to be seen in November, Leo.
BTW, have Biden's approval ratings improved any lately...? 🤔
I haven't noticed anything of the kind. In fact, last night they spent a good deal of time debunking Hutchinson's cock-and-bull story about Trump grabbing the wheel of the presidential limousine. 🙄
"Now, they're going to be about abortion rights, and not inflation or perceived Democratic overreach with the 1/6 hearings."
That remains to be seen in November, Leo.
BTW, have Biden's approval ratings improved any lately...? 🤔
"By the way, I think the hearings are having an effect. Notice that Fox News isn't spending any time debunking the hearings. Instead, they're ignoring them.
I haven't noticed anything of the kind. In fact, last night they spent a good deal of time debunking Hutchinson's cock-and-bull story about Trump grabbing the wheel of the presidential limousine. 🙄
LeopoldBloom · M
@Thinkerbell Biden needs to take some bold action if he wants his approval ratings to go up. I thought the idea of leasing space on federal property to abortion clinics was a great idea, but it was shot down. If he doesn't do something, he's going to be challenged in 2024 by other Democrats who will.
I hadn't seen much before Hutchinson's testimony other than "the hearings are biased, now let's look at the football scores." There is video evidence of Trump lunging for the wheel, however. I would agree that her testimony was lurid but not really meaningful. I'm more interested in the videos that documentarian turned over to the committee.
If it could be proven to your satisfaction that Trump attempted to overturn the election results and encouraged the Capitol riot, would that matter to you? I've heard some conservatives say that even if he legitimately lost the election, he was entitled to violently overturn it because we needed him to stay in the White House.
I hadn't seen much before Hutchinson's testimony other than "the hearings are biased, now let's look at the football scores." There is video evidence of Trump lunging for the wheel, however. I would agree that her testimony was lurid but not really meaningful. I'm more interested in the videos that documentarian turned over to the committee.
If it could be proven to your satisfaction that Trump attempted to overturn the election results and encouraged the Capitol riot, would that matter to you? I've heard some conservatives say that even if he legitimately lost the election, he was entitled to violently overturn it because we needed him to stay in the White House.