Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

I just sent this to a media outlet that asked me to respond to today's "history" conference.

Passing it along.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Chairman Thompson:
"We settle our differences at the ballot box."
If something seems off we can challenge results & investigate"

You can protest.
You can organize.
You can get ready for the next election.
But you can't turn violent.
You can't get a victory thru force.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Thompson:

A real leader -- seeing things moving towards violence -- would work against it.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Cheney:

Today, we'll look at the calling of the mob -- and will hear from someone who answered that call, & how doing so altered his life.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Cheney:

Today, seems to be general realization that DJT lost -- & was told so.

So now, the defense changes. The latest strategy? He was fooled by his advisors. He was misled. DJT was "poorly served."

"This of course is nonsense."

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Cheney:

DJT is a grown man. It's nonsense to say that he someone didn't know he lost the election.

"No rational or sane man" could reach a different conclusion.

Well then.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Murphy and Raskin making statements.

Courts, justice department, campaign officials, closest advisors: ALL told DJT that he lost.

Yet he still claims so today.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Murphy: DJT pursued multiple interlocking ways to keep power, although he knew he lost.

That "interlocking" component is a big part of the hearings. Each hearing shows another link in that chain. Each new hearing reiterates that point and adds a new link.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Editorial: Some part of me *still* can't believe that the events of January 6 happened.

An attempted coup.
In our lifetime.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Hey! We get a reference to the storming of the press and murder of abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy.

Lincoln replied that mobs will push us to political tyranny.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Playing clips, they show that former WH spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany and Ivanka Trump both felt at the time:

The election was over.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Clearly, they're setting up the clear purpose of DJT's tweet and calling of his followers to the Capitol.

Everyone told him the election was over.
He knew it.
So he went in a different election: rousing a mob.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Now they're reviewing Barr's testimony that claims of manipulated voting machines were "complete nonsense" & he told DJT that it was "crazy stuff" that was doing a grave disservice to the country; some people believed it.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

The committee is traveling down a runway towards exposing and then demonstrating the motive behind the calling of DJT's supporters to the Capitol.

It was his last hope to overturn the election.
It was a deliberate attempt to do so.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Cipollone: Seizing voting machines? It's terrible for the country. We have no authority to do that.

"I don't know why I even have to tell you that it was a bad idea. It was a terrible idea."

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Even Giuliani's own legal team admitted they had no evidence of fraud. They show a letter from him saying as much.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Raskin: "The startling conclusion is this: even a complete lack of evidence couldn't stop DJT from trying to overturn a free and fair election."

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

A "heated and profane" discussion in the Oval Office that even featured challenges to fight? They're moving into my lane.

People could hear it from outside the office.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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 Overstock.com. Cipollone: Who are you?

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Jҽȥι
Follow

Dr. Joanne Freeman

People at the Oval Office meeting:
It was NOT casual, NOT chit-chatting. It was intense.

Flynn & Powell attacked Cipollone verbally, aggressively. He asked: Where's the evidence?

Response: What do you mean? "General disregard for backing things up w/facts."

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

The Oval Office meeting ended after midnight.

They show Hutchinson text messages about that night: "The west wing is UNHINGED."

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

DJT supporters registered a website: "WILDPROTEST.COM"

Had event times, speakers, and details about transportation to D.C.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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?"

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Editorial: I didn't watch Game of Thrones. But the reference from a YouTube program DJT supporter that January 6 would be a "red wedding"......even I know what he meant.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

They're showing tweets and other statements showing that some of the online discussion of the coming events on 1/6 were openly homicidal (focused on killing people) and white nationalist.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

While they're on break, witnesses have entered and been seated.

One is a former Oath Keeper spokesman -- though he left years before 1/6. He's going to testify on what the Oath Keepers are.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Editorial: I think the other witness is a junior member of one of the white supremacist organizations (Proud Boys?) who will discuss why he felt that DJT had called him to DC on 1/6.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Roger Stone was guarded by several Oath Keepers who were later indicted for 1/6 activities. They testified that they were ready to use "lethal force" against anyone who tried to remove DJT from power.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Raskin notes -- as others on the committee have -- that they've gotten significant evidence since the hearings began, and it will be discussed or shown to the public at a later point.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

They have a draft tweet of DJT's from the National Archives. Interesting.

"I will be making a Big Speech at 10AM on January 6 ...March to the Capitol After. Stop the Steal"

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

DJT supporters clearly knew that DJT was going to tell his supporters to march to the Capitol at the end of his speech -- though it wasn't publicly discussed.

The surge to the Capitol wasn't spontaneous.
It was planned, and supporters knew.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

They repeat a DJT statement to DOJ from an earlier hearing.

Just claim the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me & Republican congressmen.

There it is.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

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.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

The White House phone log shows DJT spoke with Bannon twice on 1/5.

Bannon then went public and said: "All hell will break loose [tomorrow]....All I can say is, strap in."

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Former WH staffer recalls DJT in the Oval Office "dictating a tweet he wanted sent out." He was in a great mood that nite, hadn't been for awhile.

As a historian, I would use that "dictating a tweet" detail for all it was worth. Sometimes, tiny details reveal a LOT.

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Jҽȥι  

Dr. Joanne Freeman

Others in the Oval Office note that DJT on 1/5 in the Oval Office was fired up -- and was excited that the crowd was fired up as well.

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Comfortably numb  

@Jezibaba 👍🏿

'He was in a great mood that nite'

🤔 I suspect today he's a bit more somber.

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