The biggest story of the week just passed is multifaceted and too big to cover in a single article. Today is part one and I will stay in Washington, DC.

The January 6th Committee held another public session on Tuesday and it, combined with the to date cumulative effect, has made it crystal clear to anyone with an open and well functioning mind that the events of 1/6 were part of a coordinated effort and the puppet master was Donald Trump.

Trump lost the 2020 election, was repeatedly advised of that fact, still plotted various ways to subvert the will of the people, attempting to overturn American democracy in the process and keep himself in office most likely until his death. Several members of Congress were to varying degrees complicit. They include Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Representatives Mo Brooks of Alabama, Brian Babin and Louie Gohmert of Texas, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Jody Hice, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania. Needless to say, all of them are Republicans.

The actions of the Secret Service during this time period have been called into question. There is a lot to unpack here and I could devote several articles to this aspect alone. That said, am I the only one who thinks it doesn’t pass the smell test that the text messages of January 5th and 6th are lost forever? Isn’t that convenient especially when agents contradicting Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony are unwilling to come forward under oath to do so? In their defense the Secret Service has been less than an optimally functioning agency for decades. If you doubt me just read Carol Leonnig’s excellent book, Zero Fail.

While plotting dates back to well before Election Day – deep in his heart Trump knew he was going to lose – the night of December 18 leading into the wee hours of December 19 was highlighted. Late that evening some low level staffer let Mike Flynn, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Patrick Byrne into the Oval Office for a secret meeting with Trump. When senior members of the White House Counsel’s office became aware of it and crashed it, the meeting devolved into a roving insult match. After Mark Meadows escorted Rudy to his car (to ensure that he wouldn’t double back) Trump sent  his infamous ,“Be there, it will be wild” tweet at 1:42am which laid the groundwork for the assault on the Capital on 1/6.

After the break the Committee spent most of the session concentrating on showing more links to the right wing extremist groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. They also heard testimony from Stephen Ayres who was one of the useful idiots that believed Trump’s malarkey, traveled to DC on the 6th and got caught up in the moment becoming a law breaker. He has since gained a criminal record, lost his job and his home. He is lucky to have kept his wife and family. Trump is sitting high on the hog at Mar-a-Lago and people like Ayres are ruined. It reminds me of the average German after World War II. I don’t see any Marshall Plan coming to help these people.

As if all that wasn’t enough (and I left out a lot in the interest of brevity); in her closing remarks Liz Cheney announced that Trump had been caught in a failed (what else is new for Trump?) attempt to tamper with a witness. Based on the little I know I doubt he will face charges for this offense but might I say the ketchup is on the wall and some stuck.

As of this writing the next hearing is scheduled for Thursday evening and is slated to be the last before Congress’ August break. It’s far from over – especially with new witnesses coming forward – but one thing I see is that the hearings are perfect binge watching for future students of American history. That said, it still stinks!

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