Jan. 6 Committee Prepares For Public Hearings As More Hannity-Meadows Sexts Leak
Set your DVRs, kids, because the House January 6 Select Committee Show is coming to town! It’s like the circus, only everyone is frumpy and exhausted, and the future of democracy is at stake.
Yesterday Committee Chair Bennie Thompson announced to reporters that the House January 6 Select Committee plans to hold public hearings laying out its evidence beginning on June 9.
“We’ll tell the story about what happened. We will use a combination of witnesses, exhibits, and things that we have,” he said. “We have tens of thousands of exhibits … as well as hundreds of witnesses we’ve deposed or talked to in general. It will give the public the benefit of what more than a year’s worth of investigation has borne to the committee.”
Thompson went on to reveal that he’s invited Republicans to testify in the hearings, which will take place over several weeks and will be televised during the day and in primetime.
“Some other members will be sent letters,” Thompson promised. “And we plan to provide the press copies of the letters.”
Let’s go out on a limb and speculate that Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, and Tommy Tuberville will decline the offer to be deposed on live TV by Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney about their roles in the Capitol Riot. Ditto for Reps. Jim Jordan and Scott Perry, as well as Leader Kevin McCarthy. But perhaps the invitation will be issued so that, when it is inevitably rejected, Democrats can claim that Republicans chose not to participate. We’d also note that the committee has made pretty good use of those letters, as well as leaked texts, to get information out to the public about witnesses who refuse to cooperate — and in a forum where the subject can’t really rebut the allegations in real time.
And right on time CNN is out with another tranche of texts between Mark Meadows and Fox “News” personalities Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo, and Tucker Carlson. Apparently Hannity scripted a campaign spot for Trump which was supposed to run after Labor Day, something which he denied when journalist Michael Bender reported it in his book. Hannity and Meadows were also planning on going into business together, possibly with Jay Sekulow.
“Also if this doesn’t end the way we want, you me and Jay are doing 3 things together. 1- Directing legal strategies vs Biden 2- NC Real estate 3- Other business I talked to Rudy. Thx for helping him,” the Fox host wrote on December 6.
Carlson appeared to be prepping for a show, and only exchanged one text with Meadows from this batch, but Bartiromo, who still pretends to be a journalist, gave Trump questions in advance and coached him on how to answer.
At 9:21 on November 29, Bartiromo texted Meadows:
Hi the public wants to know he will fight this. They want to hear a path to victory. & he’s in control. 1Q You’ve said MANY TIMES THIS ELECTION IS RIGGED… And the facts are on your side. Let’s start there. What are the facts? Characterize what took place here. Then I will drill down on the fraud including the statistical impossibilities of Biden magic (federalist). Pls make sure he doesn’t go off on tangents. We want to know he is strong he is a fighter & he will win. This is no longer about him. This is about ????. I will ask him about big tech & media influencing ejection as well Toward end I’ll get to GA runoffs & then vaccines.
Less than an hour later, when Trump called in to her show, Bartiromo asked, “Mr President, you’ve said many times that this election was rigged, that there was much fraud. And the facts are on your side. Let’s start there. Please go through the facts. Characterize what took place.”
LOL, remember when Donna Brazile gave Clinton a debate question — about clean drinking water, for a debate that was taking place in Flint — and the Right lost its shit for years?
CNN, which sure as hell looks like it’s got all the texts and is dribbling them out little by little, reports that the committee is “planning to produce a multimedia presentation and hire a writer as part of its effort to turn its largely secretive work into a compelling narrative.” Perhaps Aaron Sorkin would like to make his magic happen here? Maybe Shonda Rhimes?
Whoever they get, the committee members are setting sky-high expectations for these hearings and the eventual report.
“The hearings will tell a story that will really blow the roof off the House,” Rep. Jamie Raskin said last week at Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice in Washington, adding later, “I want people to pay attention to what’s going on here, because that’s as close to fascism as I ever want my country to come to again. This was not a coup directed at the president. It was a coup directed by the president against the vice president and against the Congress.”
No pressure guys, but those hearings better be GOOD.
Follow Liz Dye on Twitter!
Click the widget to keep your Wonkette ad-free and feisty. And if you’re ordering from Amazon, use this link, because reasons.
