Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Raskin: When the idea of seizing election machines was voted down by DJT advisors, he moved on to another strategy to cling to power & overturn the election: stoking a mob.
His 1:42 AM tweet galvanized supporters, esp. groups like the Proud Boys who were itching to fight.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Raskin notes social media has had a huge impact on this kind of mob-raising.
I've said this many times: democratic governance is basically a conversation bet. power-holders & the people who gave them power. Any technology that affects that conversation affects democracy.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Last week the Committee conducted an 8-hour interview w/White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. Will hear some today & more in the next hearing.
Now they play a clip. Cipollone: early December, McConnell went announced that the election was over. That was my view as well.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Meeting was w/Sidney Powell & Michael Flynn. Cipollone was told he'd better go to the Oval Office. There was no one there from the WH
Cipollone: I wasn't happy to see those people in the Oval Office. There was someone from http://Overstock.com. Cipollone: Who are you?
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
DJT supporters registered a website: "http://WILDPROTEST.COM"
Had event times, speakers, and details about transportation to D.C.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
They're showing footage of Alex Jones and other podcast and YouTube commentators commenting that DJT has called on us to storm the Capitol.
"With enough people, you can push down any wall."
Jones: "The time for action is now. Where were you when history was happening?"
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
They're playing a voice-disguised interview with a former Twitter employee who says that if DJT had been anyone else, Twitter would have acted against him because of his violence-calling tweets."
Twitter was where his supporters connected with him. They answered his call.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
They're showing interviews, statements, even tweets from people saying they knew what DJT was saying in his "wild" tweet.
Calls for people to come armed.
Statements: it's time to kill the Democrats.
Cops don't have standing if they're lying in a pool of their own blood.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Donell Harvin, former head of Homeland Security & Intelligence for DC:
When you have armed militia collaborating w/white supremacist groups & conspiracy theory folk--coordinating efforts on media channels (What are you bringing? What will you wear?) -- it's a red alert.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Cipollone: The VP had no authority to do what DJT supporters wanted him to do.
Cipollone said at the time: I'll take the blame. I'm a lawyer. This is my legal opinion. Just blame me.
Cipollone thinks that VP Pence did a major service for his country by doing his duty on 1/6, and deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Recently released recording bet. Republican congressmen on the night of 1/6:
Rep. Debbie Lesko said she wanted a safety plan for members. There were thousands of people; DJT supporters who actually believed that DJT won -- and when they learned he didn't, they'll go nuts.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Oath Keeper former spokesman:
He was with them for sev'l years.
They may not want to call themselves a militia, but they are.
A largely violent militia.
Former Oath Keeper spokesman: saw radicalization of Oath Keepers over time. At a certain point, he had to break with them.
A dangerous organization driven by ego of Oath Keepers leader Elmer Rhodes, who sees himself a a paramilitary leader.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Oath Keepers leader Rhodes was obsessed with the Insurrection Act of 1807 (!) that said that the President had the power to call militias to put down unrest or insurrection.
He felt that it justified his actions.
The Insurrection Act of 1807 being used by the Oath Keepers leader as a legitimate way to be a paramilitary force.
That's....quite something.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Ayres is asked: what led him to leave the Capitol on 1/6?
His reply? Everyone saw the DJT tweet at just after 4:00 asking people to go home, and a lot of the crowd left at that time. It got people talking. Ayres left at that time, and he saw a lot of others leave too.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Ayres: Says he was hanging on DJT's every word. That's why he was there. And some people still are doing the same. He -- and the Oath Keeper's witness -- worry about the next election.
Ayres says -- looking back -- he felt like he had horse-blinders on. He couldn't see.
He urges people to take a step back and look around.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Raskin will now give a closing statement.
DJT's tweet made him the first President to call a mob to march to the Capitol and overturn a free & fair election.
Says: our founders would have been shocked.
Oh God. Is the Hamilton quote going to appear again...?
Raskin: The Founders DID foresee this kind of thing. They knew about the danger of demagogues.
[Raskin DID quote Hamilton, but Federalist #1 -- not the quote I expected. Whew.]
@Jezibaba thank you for the live updates! Appreciate them so so very much. I will only be able to watch the recap on MSNBC tonight
@Jezibaba This was too loony for Parscale?! Holy crap.
Dr. Joanne Freeman
#hearings #HATH
Clearly, Pence's decision to do his duty as VP outraged DJT. Another way for DJT to grab power was defeated. So he spoke against Pence harsher than the script called him to.