Why is it that the people circling around Donald Trump like moths drawn to the flames think they can imitate him and go sailing into the future free of repercussions? Can they not see people going down one after another? It is reminiscent of an abusive relationship where individuals fall for the empty promises and fake praise until they are so hooked that they could not pull out even if they wanted to do so. Another of Trump’s band of followers has begun to fall. And fall hard.
Last week, the House Select Committee investigating January 6 requested 35 telecom and social media companies hold and preserve records of the ex-president’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, among others. They wanted to know whether the former president and his White House were involved in planning or at least knew of the incoming insurrection.
The Committee requested records of several hundred individuals including Meadows and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and 10 of his Republican cohorts. We knew that he called Trump during the failed coup asking for help.
McCarthy’s response was emotional and certainly not logical, according to The Guardian.
‘McCarthy argued, without citing any specific law, that it would be illegal for telecom and social media companies to comply with the records requests – even though congressional investigators have obtained phone and communications records without issue in the past.’
McCarthy threatened some of those entities against complying with the Committee:
‘The Republican House minority leader, McCarthy, last week lashed out at the select committee’s records preservation requests and warned that the GOP would retaliate against companies that complied when his party retakes the House majority.’
Had the Capitol Police not given their lives in some cases and been injured to the point of losing an eye and fingers, Donald Trump probably would be sitting in President Joe Biden’s Oval Office right now. The mob came to within mere minutes of reaching the legislators with direct orders to “Hang Mike Pence” the vice president and find “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).” They were also told to prevent Pence from certifying the 2020 election.
Meadows was right there at Trump’s elbow as the attempted coup unfolded watching the bloody mess on television He was in the Oval office with him when the ex told Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) he was “delighted.” That made the former chief of staff a prime witness. Delighted?
At first, the public did not know whether Meadows was on the Committee’s watch list. Its members were especially interested in social media sites such as 8kun popular, which has been big with QAnon conspiracy theorists, but “did not even receive a list of names, counsel for the forum said,” according to The Guardian.
The Committee should begin hearings by this month’s end:
‘The National Archives had started the process required by law for the review of presidential records.’
Thus far, the Committee has embedded a number of Trump attempt’s to overturn the 2020 election into its investigation, “including one by the House oversight committee that was examining how Meadows pressured the justice department to investigate baseless allegations of election fraud,” The Just Security reported.
Nonetheless, Republican leaders have manned a counterattack of threats and intimidation focused on the major telecom and social media companies.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
Three White Lions podcast, Gloria Christie reads her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery. Find her here on Facebook.
