By releasing these messages, the House panel pierced the fog of dementia that has allowed conservative experts and many Republicans to forget about the Capitol uprising in real time. serious, while dealing a blow to Meadows’ claims that he did not need to testify beforehand. Committee.
Trump may be one of the biggest voices perpetuating his lie about the 2020 presidential election, but what was clear from Monday’s conduct and from other reports drawn from the investigation is that there is a lot going on. many people joined his circles, which only became more and more obvious and important as the investigation dragged on.
Publicize a case
After months of behind-the-scenes investigation, committee members made their unusual case that Meadows was an accessory to the uprising and began the process of trying to get him to talk.
“We can’t be satisfied with incomplete or half-truth answers, after reading from the text messages,” says Cheney. “And we cannot surrender to President Trump’s attempt to cover up what happened.” The Wyoming congressman is one of two Republicans serving on the panel.
At a special TV-only hearing, convened at prime time, the committee voted to elect Meadows with disdain for Congress. The House of Representatives could weigh in on Tuesday, when members vote on whether to pursue contempt charges against a man many of whom once served in Congress.
The Justice Department could pursue a criminal case against Meadows, like that against Steve Bannon, who was linked to a command center at the nearby Willard Hotel where Trump supporters are believed to have plot to overturn the election and prepare for the January 6 protests.
Meadows, unlike Bannon, was at the White House with Trump, delivering messages from Fox figures like Laura Ingraham and Brian Kilmeade and members of Congress, who were unnamed by the committee Monday night. .
He was able to provide the committee with firsthand knowledge of why the then-President ignored his family and Sean Hannity and let the violence go on for hours.
Resurrection Supporters in Congress
One of the unnamed lawmakers apologized the day after the Capitol riots for failing to stop the counting of electoral votes in key states that Trump lost.
“We’ve tried everything to oppose six states,” they told Meadows, according to an announcement read by Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat on the committee. “I’m sorry nothing works.”
“On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, should repeal all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional because there are no electoral votes at all. “, the lawmaker told Meadows, according to the committee.
Meadows reversed course in recent weeks and stopped cooperating with the commission, but not before turning over the text messages and communications committee members used against him on Monday.
He also published a memoir describing being with Trump at the White House during the riots on the streets of the Capitol.
Even if there were communications that would be protected by executive privilege, as Meadows argues, Schiff said the things he’s recommended to the committee or written about the sale of his book cannot be. are them.
After investigation
What’s not clear is where things will go next. The committee will seek to create a clear record of the uprising, including the initial response of some Republicans who tried to move and the Fox News host exposed via text messages from surname. But while Monday’s hearing is aimed at making a case public, the Fox-watching public is unlikely to hear much about it.
Democrats could lose control of the House in November, meaning the committee has a year to complete its job. Meadows can also beat the clock. Bannon’s contempt of court, for example, won’t happen until July.
President Joe Biden has also shown an interest in trying to sidestep the evils of the previous administration and craft a plan of new government programs rather than simply being a defender of the country. Trump, who seems to be preparing for a return in 2024.
It’s a tough message the rest of the Biden party is grappling with moving into 2022. Democrats can’t seem to figure out how to motivate voters around threats to the populace. Presidents in elections do not have Trump on the ballot.
But Inslee also seems to acknowledge that voters might not understand how the United States has come to the bottom of its democracy if it weren’t for Pence’s rejection of the effort.
“The American mentality didn’t realize we were a vice president after a coup,” he said.
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