Congressman Adam Kinzinger said last night that “Donald Trump’s conduct on January 6 was a supreme violation of his oath of office and a complete dereliction of his duty to our nation. It is a stain on our history. It is a dishonor to all those who have sacrificed and died in service of our democracy.” One commentator said in those three hours, he wasn’t the President of the United States, he was the leader of an insurrection to overthrow the U.S. government.
A complete dereliction of his duty
In late October 2020, knowing they were about to lose the election, presidential advisor Steve Bannon revealed Trump’s “Facts Don’t Matter” game plan. From the very beginning this was a premeditated plot to stage a coup to overturn the election. On January 6 Bannon was at the riot command center at the Willard Hotel with a host of other disgraced Trump advisors as they coordinated attack plans. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows appears to have been the conduit to Trump.
Bannon revealing Trump’s game plan
Trump decided that he needed a mob in D.C. on January 6 to stop the counting of Electoral College votes as he became more obsessed with overturning the election. None of his fake claims of election fraud were getting any traction as his losses in court piled up. “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild,” he tweeted to summon his followers to Washington on the day Congress would meet to certify Biden’s victory.
Calling his mob to Washington, DC
Former Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews, appearing in person at last night’s hearing, testified senior Trump aides tried to get him to call off the attack. He refused each time. His tweet attacking Mike Pence was, as she said, “like pouring gasoline on the fire.”
As the rioters ransacked the Capitol shouting “Hang Mike Pence,” the Secret Service struggled to ensure Pence’s safety as they moved him to another part of the Capitol. This is a recording of those discussions.
The committee also shared a recording telling the story of how dire things had become at the Capitol with the Secret Service. A White House security official recounted what was heard over radio traffic as Secret Service agents began to fear for their own lives. At one point the rioters came within five feet of Pence and his family and agents protecting them.
Secret Service agents fear for their own lives
Pat Cipollone, former White House counsel, told the committee about the many attempts to get Trump to intervene to call off the rioters and stop the attack. Aides and family members repeatedly asked him to act. Each time he said no as he relished press coverage of the chaos he had unleashed.
Cipollone recounts attempts to get Trump to act
We heard a shocking recording of rioters discussing what to do after Trump tweeted to respect Capitol police. As to the members of Congress being hunted, rioters proclaimed “There is no safe place for these motherfuckers.”
Matthew Pottinger, a former deputy director of National Security told the committee that Trump’s actions that day put the national security of the United States at risk. He said the Capitol attack “emboldened our enemies by helping give them ammunition to feed a narrative that our system of government doesn’t work, that the United States is in decline,” He added that in the days after the attack, he heard from top allied officials who “were concerned about the health of our democracy.”
On January 7 and to this day, Trump refuses to say the election is over. He remains fixated on disproven lies of fraud and a stolen election. This video shows a soon-to-be former president taping a speech the day after his failed coup. “But this election is now over — Congress has certified the results…” Trump says in an outtake. “I don’t want to say the election is over, I just want to say Congress has certified the results without saying the election is over.”