It has been a long time coming. In what will definitely be the last public hearing prior to the election and possibly the last hearing prior to the publication of the final report, there were tempered expectations. The public was told to expect further evidence of Trump receiving warnings about impending violence and doing nothing to tamper down on the possibility of violence. Indeed the opposite.
Committee Chair Bennie Thompson from Mississippi began the hearing by reviewing the lack of partisanship in the investigation, noting that the vast majority of witnesses were Republicans, former Trump staff, and others in law enforcement as apolitical witnesses.
Liz Cheney noted that they would prove Trump’s state of mind with a premeditated plan that he had prior to election day and followed that plan going forward to the point that even after Trump had been told repeatedly that there was no fraud, he still went forward with no facts, only denial. She also mentioned the unsettling truth that the Republic could not survive with a man who serves only himself and a party that only serves only the man. The evidence would prove that Roger Stone was on the same page regarding an earlier plan to declare victory.
Rep. Lofgren of California emphasized that Trump had planned on declaring victory no matter what the vote count and do so on election night and called for the states to stop counting ballots. An almost comic dictatorial move disenfranchising millions.
The very first new evidence presented was a video of Roger Stone stating that he hoped that Trump would win but that Trump was going to declare victory anyway and that “possession” is 9/10s of the law. Roger Stone was also present at the Willard Hotel on January 5th and 6th and maintained contact with the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, along with Mark Meadows. Lofgren went on to note that people from both the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have been charged with Seditious Conspiracy, implying that Stone was closely associated with these groups. This was especially true with Enrique Tario, head of the Proud Boys.
Lofgren ended by reiterating that Trump had all this planned out prior to the election, and the people most involved in the January 6th attack were aware of the plan early. As Cheney said, this evidence is direct proof of Trump’s state of mind. He intended to declare victory and steal the election no matter the results.
The film of Roger Stone admitting they were going through with the plan to declare victory and use the maxim that possession is 9/10s of the law was the most compelling evidence early in the hearing.
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.