Time to Move On
By RJ Caster
By this point everyone should be in agreement that what happened on January 6th was, in fact, utterly defenseless and condemnable in every way.
Having worked on the Hill, one of my fondest memories was walking through the Capitol from the Senate side to the House side to avoid the weather, and not once did I make that walk and not think about the history encapsulated beneath those frescoed ceilings. Nevertheless, the political angle to the January 6 investigation is a demonstration of tone-deafness by the Democrats.
The polls already are working against the Democrats heading into the midterms, and polls about January 6th show that Americans are increasingly ready to move past it. Fewer people than a just a few months ago believe President Trump is accountable. At a time when Americans are bracing for a recession and planning for how they’ll pay to balance rising fuel and food costs, I don’t think the Democrats are going to find a very receptive audience outside of the Beltway.
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Servant Cheaters
By Stephen Macaulay
Solemn Promise to a Divine Witness.
First, the oath that members of the U.S. House of Representatives take upon assuming office, which is codified in Title 5, Section 3331 of the United States Code:
“I, ______, do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Second, a Thought Experiment
A local social media sensation with a marvelous toothy grin posts that said dental remarkability is the result of a daily gargle with bleach and that it is recommended that whoever else wants such a dentifrice, said rinse is the ticket.
You know, having checked out the National Library of Medicine of the National Center for Biotechnology Information:
“Mouth/throat: In the home and emergency department, give plenty of water to drink. Milk may be more soothing but not necessarily.
“Stomach/GI tract: At home and in the emergency department, do not induce vomiting; if the bleached burned on the way down, it would burn on the way back up. Give plenty of water.”
It may not kill the person who possibly ingests it, but it can cause damage.
You work for a bleach distributor. If people follow the advice of the local media star the demand for bleach will rise and you will get a bonus.
You also know, from the aforementioned source, “a 2010 pediatric study over a 16-year period that just under 270,000 US children (< 5 years of age) were injured by household cleaning products. Bleach was the leading source (37%) and usually by ingestion (63%).”
Do you:
- Ask that the company you work for to start a campaign that promotes the gargling with bleach?
- Ask that the company you work for to start a campaign that promotes safe practices to protect the population?
The Details
On May 12, 2022, Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, released the following statement:
“The Select Committee has learned that several of our colleagues have information relevant to our investigation into the attack on January 6 and the events leading up to it. Before we hold our hearings next month, we wished to provide members the opportunity to discuss these matters with the committee voluntarily. Regrettably, the individuals receiving subpoenas today have refused and we’re forced to take this step to help ensure the committee uncovers facts concerning January 6. We urge our colleagues to comply with the law, do their patriotic duty, and cooperate with our investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done.”
The members receiving letters signed by Thompson are Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Scott Perry (R-PA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Mo Brooks (R-AL).
All of them had previously received invitations to appear. Those invitations were ignored. Which resulted in a subpoena.
Why the subpoenas? you might wonder.
According to the Committee:
- McCarthy: “in communication with President Trump before, during, and after the attack on January 6. . . also in communication with other members of the White House staff during the attack and in the days before and after January 6 concerning the events at the Capitol. . . .”
- Perry: “directly involved with efforts to corrupt the Department of Justice. . .had various communications with the White House about a number of matters relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation, including allegations that Dominion voting machines had been corrupted.”
- Jordan: “in communication with President Trump on January 6 and participated in meetings and discussions throughout late 2020 and early 2021 about strategies for overturning the 2020 election.”
- Biggs: “participated in meetings to plan various aspects of January 6 and was involved with plans to bring protestors to Washington. . . . was involved in efforts to persuade state officials that the 2020 [election] was stolen.”
- Brooks: “spoke at the rally on January 6, encouraging rioters to ‘start taking down names and kicking ass.’ In addition, Mr. Brooks has publicly described conversations in which the former President urged him to work to ‘rescind the election of 2020’ and reinstall Mr. Trump as President.”
It is worth knowing why the Select Committee exists. In part:
“(1) To investigate and report upon the facts, circumstances, and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex (hereafter referred to as the “domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol”) and relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power, including facts and causes relating to the preparedness and response of the United States Capitol Police and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies in the National Capital Region and other instrumentalities of government, as well as the influencing factors that fomented such an attack on American representative democracy while engaged in a constitutional process.”
So these five men were politely asked to come. They refused. Now they are being subpoenaed. They will probably refuse.
Why?
They have sworn to uphold the law. The Committee, whether they like it or not, is a legally constituted body. So how does their refusal square with their oath?
They might claim that their discussions with Donald Trump are privileged. Except it isn’t. According to the U.S. Department of Justice: “Privileged communication is defined as statements made by people within protected relationships (e.g., husband and wife, attorney and client).”
They are (1) not Donald Trump’s spouses nor are they (2) his attorneys.
They may argue that this could set a bad precedent in terms of being forced to reveal a private discussion with the president, but there are a couple things to consider here.
First of all, what the Select Committee is going to ask them about is something bounded by the events occurring on and related to the events that occurred in Washington on January 6.
Second, their discussions with the president are discussions that occurred in their roles as public servants. They are not private individuals. They are in Washington at the behest of and in the service of the people. They might not like having to share what they said, but what they said was only because of their being elected. (Odd none of them claim that the votes that put them into office were somehow invalid.)
Whither Truth, Justice and the American Way?
January 6 was an unprecedented event that put the Constitution in danger (e.g., the 12th Amendment). Presumably the purpose of the Select Committee is to keep it from being a precedent for other Electoral College vote certifications being put at risk.
So regardless of what political party you support, ask yourself this question about the five subpoenaed congressmen:
If they have nothing to hide, if they did nothing untoward, then why the resistance to simply telling what they know?
One gets the sense that were they holding the bleach franchise they’d be beating the drum for it.
Where is their probity?
Some Considerations
So what should the Select Committee do?
They should simply publicly make it clear to the American people what these people are staying quiet about. If they did nothing wrong, then why aren’t they owning up to it?
What’s more, they should also make it plain that if a regular American is subpoenaed, they are likely to do their civic duty and show up where and when they are directed to, and that these men, for whatever reason (one suspects it has more to do with avariciousness than principle) are refusing to do what the rest of us are expected to.
They talk about “making America great again.”
How is their behavior, how is their example, helping?
That there was an attack on the Capitol is something that no one can doubt.
That there was a stolen election is something that no one has put forth compelling evidence to support.