Republicans have been putting in a lot of work today to convince you, before the Jan. 6 committee has even spoken a word this evening, that the findings are all a bunch of bs; the product of hysterical lefty Democrats being snowflakes about a few people breaking into the people’s House.
It’s not even worth paying attention to. It’s the same set of defenses we’ve been seeing since the initial shock of the attempted coup wore off, and Republicans remembered they have someone they have to bow to in order to win elections. The violent insurrection wasn’t as bad as the media tells you it was. It was an inside job by the FBI. It was antifa. Biden did steal the election and election fraud will continue if we don’t stop it. The Jan. 6 select committee is illegitimate. The investigation is a sham and a political hit job. etc. etc. etc.
And, while the distraction campaign is happening and will continue to happen this evening and throughout the rest of the month, Republican reactions or lines of attack on this front don’t really matter anymore. We all saw Trump incite a violent insurrection in broad daylight after spending months setting the stage for himself to try to overturn the results. And while we know much about the committee’s work already, the hearings will play an important role in simply putting the truth out into the world, no matter how Republicans try to twist the facts.
Trump did, for his part, issue his own counterprogramming today, spouting a typical line about crowd sizes and claiming Jan. 6 wasn’t simply a protest, but a “movement.”
He got that part right. He did create a “movement.” He did incite a violent coup. And he did spend the months leading up to Jan. 6 and since expanding his Big Lie movement into 2022, 2024 and beyond.
The Best Of TPM Today
Here’s what you should read this evening:
The latest from Josh Kovensky: Putin Suggests Russia Is Entering A Period Of Indefinite Expansion
In breaking news today: FBI Arrests GOP Contender For Michigan Governor
GOP Candidate Carl Paladino Gives A Shout-Out To ‘Inspirational’ Hitler
Biden Is Weighing Executive Action To Protect Abortion Access
New in TPM Cafe: Regardless Of Sedition Charges’ Outcome, Proud Boys And Others Will Still Seek To Overthrow Gov’t
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Laura Ingraham Admits Fox Is Catering To Viewers By Not Airing Jan. 6 Hearings — Cristina Cabrera
What We Are Reading
‘He’s Not God’: Trump’s MAGA Creation Takes On Life of Its Own — Mark Niquette
5 percent of young adults identify as trans or nonbinary, survey says — Anne Branigin
The “Newly Constituted Court” Keeps Obliterating Civil Rights, Sotomayor Warns — Mark Joseph Stern