Pictured: House Select Committee vice-chair Liz Cheney (R-WY)

1/6 hearings continue in earnest … Twenty million television viewers watched last Thursday’s House Select Committee public hearings on the January 6 Capitol insurrection, according to the Nielsen ratings organization. No doubt fewer people will watch when the hearings resume Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern (and again on Wednesday and Thursday). But most of those viewers will be watching replays of highlights along with analysis prime time Monday on all the major cable news networks and ABC, CBS and NBC and not on Fox News. 

That’s a substantial number (The New York Times notes that “nearly” 13 million people watched the peak of Game 1 of the NBA championship series between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics, again per Nielsen). 

It would be smart money to bet that much of that small but vocal minority who don’t see a violent attack on the Capitol in the videos presented Thursday and who don’t think former President Trump was so determined to hold onto power that he incited said attack will be part of the follow-up audience. 

After Thursday’s hearings, The Hustings posted a poll on Twitter, asking followers whether they were a.) Making a case against Trump; or b.) Waste of time. We got just 254 votes, but admit we suffered a glitch in the timing between the poll and its paid (to Twitter) promotion. Select tweets in response to the poll are here, in the left and right columns. 

The results?

•74.4% said the House Select Committee is making a case against Trump.

•25.6% said the public hearings were a waste of time.

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Gun legislation ‘progress’… Gun control advocates who emerged after Sandy Hook and the Stoneman Douglas High School shootings will not see much in the “compromise” legislation being negotiated by 10 Republican and 10 Democratic senators. As-yet unwritten legislation “increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons,” according to a statement by the 20 senators (per Roll Call). 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is enthusiastic. The deal “could get a quick vote,” he said. Well in time for the midterms.

--Todd Lassa