Title: The Failed Attempt to Counter Jan. 6 Hearings by Republicans
Dekan Obeidallah
As per the tweet from last week, the procedure aims "to provide the American people with a summary of our findings regarding the coordinated, multi-step efforts to overturn the Presidential election of 2020." As I noted a week ago, Rep. Jamie Raskin predicted that these hearings would shine a light on what he claimed to be the "most egregious political misdeed by a President against the Commonwealth in the history of the United States." Ultimately, I expect a summer vibe to set in.
This program is likely to be devastating for former President Donald Trump and is expected to generate extensive media coverage – which is why Trump and his allies are frantically attempting to offer "counter-programming" to distract from the hearings.
On Saturday, Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-highest Republican leader in the House of Representatives, revealed part of their plan during an interview with Breitbart News.
"We are working closely with President Trump and his team," she said, adding that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Jim Jordan, and "virtually all Republican House members will resist." She continued, "They will see us on TV, and we will make it clear."
Stefanik argued that the committee's work is illegal, claiming that its true objective is to punish political opponents and target "patriotic Trump supporters." Axios reported last week that Trump may have considered media appearances to support these efforts.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress that the January 6th Capitol attack was considered a "domestic terrorist attack." Without Trump's lies about election fraud in 2020, there would have been no attempts to overturn the election, and the investigations would have progressed smoothly.
Had Trump accepted his defeat like any other President, he would not have been involved in secret efforts to overturn the election.
There was no reason for Trump to attempt to win the Department of Justice on December 27, 2020, by telling then-Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen "just to say the election was corrupt" – even though there was no basis for such a claim. Television reports indicated that Rosen refused.
The same is true for January 6th. Had Trump acknowledged his failure, he would not have radicalized his supporters with a series of lies about the election.
Trump was also urging his supporters to "massive protests in Washington" on January 6, as he promised in a tweet on December 19, 2020: "It will be wild!"
Rhetoric from his supporters would not have been possible before the attack – they were shouting angrily "Fight for Trump." Trump said, "We're dealing with a President who lost the election badly, and we'll be dealing with it for another four years," adding, "We won't allow that."
Now, Trump and his allies are planning a surprise counterattack on the January 6th hearings to explain their efforts to block a peaceful transfer of power. This is the definition of un-American.
As Stefanik pointed out, supporters of these efforts include McCarthy and Jordan, who were both subpoenaed by the committee but have yet to testify. If Jordan does end up appearing in the media, let's hope interviewers ask him questions that may reveal information the committee is seeking, such as his phone conversation with Trump on January 6, which lasted six minutes.
This is not the first time some Republicans have attempted to deflect attention from a January 6th committee hearing. In July 2021, four police officers testified in heart-wrenching terms about how Trump supporters had viciously attacked them on January 6.
These are just a few of the obstacles Trump and his allies face if they hope to counter the January 6th hearings. Despite their efforts, the comprehensive evidence collected by the committee is likely to overshadow any misleading or false narratives that Republicans may attempt to introduce.
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Despite their efforts, the Republican counter-plan to divert attention from the January 6th hearings is likely to fail given the extensive evidence collected by the committee. Various Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan, have been subpoenaed by the committee but have yet to provide any meaningful testimony. Furthermore, public opinion strongly supports the congressional investigation, making it challenging for Republicans to effectively counter the hearings with alternate narratives.
