A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Noise, Denialism, and False Equivalency:
Join me for a moment as we peruse the right-wing media treatment of the first hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee.
- What hearing? OAN leads obliquely with Capitol security funding and tucks in a mention of GOP bellyaching about the committee (click for full view):
- Fox News was in rare form all evening long, with Brit Hume calling Jan. 6 largely “peaceful”:
Fox News' Brit Hume on the Jan. 6 insurrection: "If this were covered the way the riots of last summer were covered, it would be described as mostly peaceful. I think to a great extent it was peaceful." pic.twitter.com/cIZBk6Ddcg
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 28, 2021
- Tucker Carlson mocked any display of emotion, calling members of Congress “emotionally fragile” and “unstable.” Said Carlson: “They certainly cry a lot.”
- Laura Ingraham handed out acting awards to the police officers who testified:
Laura Ingraham is giving out best performance awards to police officers from today’s hearing pic.twitter.com/NyDynIN7rP
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 28, 2021
- Sean Hannity’s 12-minute opening segment devoted a whopping 4 minutes to falsely equating Jan. 6 with the “violent riots” of the summer of 2020.
- Fox News is fronting this morning with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the Pelosi-rejected wannabe committee member (click for full view):
What Really Happened?
For a quick recap on the emotionally charged, tightly orchestrated opening hearing:
- TPM’s 5 Takeaways
- The wackadoodle caucus struggled to make its sideshow heard.
- Our blow-by-blow coverage
- Keeping it real: “The Jan 6th Insurrection Was The Centerpiece of a Failed Coup by Donald Trump“
Deranged
What officers are still enduring:
Holy shit!
Michael Fanone shared with CNN a deranged voice mail that he received during his testimony today.
"You’re a punk f*ggot, you’re a lying fuck! … too bad they didn’t beat the shit out of you more. You’re a piece of shit!"
This is demented and despicable! pic.twitter.com/Pb7mDpnAps
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 28, 2021
Big News Out Of DOJ
Two important new developments on the legal underpinnings for holding the Jan. 6 plotters to account:
- The Justice Department formally took the position that Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) is not immune to the lawsuit filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) over Jan. 6.
- Brooks spoke at the Jan. 6 rally immediately before the Capitol attack.
- Tough language from DOJ that Brooks was at the rally campaigning, not acting in the scope of his role as a federal officeholder:
Inciting or conspiring to foment a violent attack on the United States Congress is not within the scope of employment of a Representative — or any federal employee.
- DOJ has also cleared the way for Trump administration officials to testify to the committees investigating Jan. 6.
- The Jan. 6 investigations are “an exceptional situation in which the congressional need for information outweighs the Executive Branch’s interest in maintaining confidentiality,” DOJ wrote in a letter to former Trump administration officials.
- Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL):
The Committee has been pushing DOJ for this waiver for months. Now that we have it, we’ll proceed to interview relevant witnesses ASAP so we can get to the bottom of this plot to enlist DOJ in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump Thwarts CDC Message
The new mask guidance from the CDC set the former president off:
- A new Trump statement defying the updated guidance:
We won’t go back. We won’t mask our children. Joe Biden and his Administration learned nothing from the last year. Brave Americans learned how to safely and responsibly live and fight back. Don’t surrender to COVID. Don’t go back! Why do Democrats distrust the science? Don’t let this happen to our children or our Country.
- What Trump’s flock sees:
Trump-Endorsed Candidate Loses
Trump had endorsed the widow of Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX), who died of COVID-19, but she lost to Republican state Rep. Jake Ellzey in a special election in the Texas 6th.
Trump-Backed Candidate Allegedly Assaulted Trump Press Secretary
Max Miller, the former aide to President Trump now trying to unseat an Ohio congressman who voted for impeachment, allegedly assaulted former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, according to a new report in Politico. Miller strenuously denied the claim.
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