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Jan 6 hearings: Ivanka Trump recalls father called Pence ‘a wimp’ in final call
Bombshell testimony regarding a pressure campaign by Donald Trump and law professor John Eastman to get former vice president Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election featured in the third public hearing of the January 6 House select committee on Thursday.
The committee has sought to demonstrate Mr Trump knew he lost the election but “oversaw a scheme” to overturn the result “when the vice president refused to go along with it” and that “he [Mr Trump] unleashed a violent mob against Pence at the Capitol”.
Members of Mr Trump’s family and staff testified about a “heated” call with Mr Pence that morning, after which the president rewrote his rally speech with sharp lines about his vice president.
He later sent a tweet causing angry rioters to surge forward, with some coming within 40ft of Pence as he was evacuated.
The day after the failed attempt to overturn the election, Mr Eastman emailed asking for a pardon, which he did not receive.
The committee also sent a request to Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas’s wife Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, a conservative activist and lawyer.
Recommended ‘Pouring gasoline on the fire’: Trump knew election plot was illegal and egged on riot that threatened Mike Pence’s life, Jan 6 hearing reveals Bill Clinton says he’s ‘never’ been more worried about US democracy than in Trump era Who is ‘Coup Memo’ author John Eastman and what role did he play in pushing Trump’s plan to derail democracy? Photo shows Pence in secure Capitol location watching Trump’s Jan 6 video praising rioters
Key points ‘Pouring gasoline on the fire’: Trump knew election plot was illegal but stoked riot that threatened Pence’s life Mike Pence told Trump ‘many times’ that plan to overturn election was illegal, ex-VP’s aide says Rioters got within 40 feet of Pence and informant reveals Proud Boys ‘were willing to kill' Jan 6 witness knocks down Trump lawyer’s argument to overturn election Trump White House attorneys called plan to overturn election ‘completely crazy’ “I DEMAND EQUAL TIME!”: Trump’s Jan 6 hearing Truth Social ranting continues
Show latest update 1655445600 ‘The Costanza defence’: Trump’s Jan 6 arguments likened to ‘Seinfeld’ joke
Donald Trump has been accused of using the “Constanza Defence,” a reference to an episode of the classic sitcom Seinfeld, to justify his false claims about the 2020 presidential election.
In a Tuesday episode of MSNBC’s The Beat, host Ari Melber said the former president seemed to be copying a line of logic from Seinfeld character George Constanza, who says in one episode, “Remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it.”
Josh Marcus reports:
Trump’s Jan 6 arguments dubbed ‘the Costanza defence’ after ‘Seinfeld’ joke In the ‘Seinfeld’ episode, a character says, “It’s not a lie if you believe it.”
Oliver O'Connell 17 June 2022 07:00
1655444702 ‘Pouring gasoline on the fire’: Trump knew election plot was illegal
Video depositions made public by the House select committee revealed on Thursday that Donald Trump knew the plan to have his vice president commandeer the 6 January session of Congress and declare Republicans the winners of the election was illegal.
Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter-turned-senior-adviser, recalled how she heard Mr Trump on the phone telling Mr Pence: “You are a wimp, you’ll be a wimp.”
Shortly after the call, Mr Trump posted a tweet in which he said Mr Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify”.
A former White House aide told the January 6 committee that the tweet was like “pouring gasoline on the fire” as rioters starting chants of “hang Mike Pence” and calling for Mr Pence to be brought out from the Capitol.
Trump knew plan for Pence to reject electoral votes was illegal but pushed it anyway New testimony reveals one of Mr Trump’s White House lawyers telling law professor John Eastman he was ‘out of his effing mind’ for suggesting that then-vice president Mike Pence unilaterally throw out electoral votes for Joe Biden
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 06:45
1655443800 ‘Democracy is on a knife’s edge’
Below is the full statement from retired conservative federal judge J Michael Luttig submitted to the January 6 committee ahead of his testimony. The statement was obtained and published by CNN.
‘Democracy on a knife’s edge’: J Michael Luttig’s full statement to Jan 6 committee J Michael Luttig advised then-vice president Mike Pence against participating in Donald Trump’s scheme to overturn the 2020 election results . He speaks to the January 6 committee today.
Oliver O'Connell 17 June 2022 06:30
1655443202 Who is John Eastman?
Conservative attorney John Eastman has been at the centre of this week’s House Select Committee on the January 6 hearing.
The hearing has heard lots about Mr Eastman and his opinions, and how he and then president Donald Trump had tried to persuade vice president Mike Pence on 5 Jan in an Oval Office meeting, that he had the constitutional power to block Biden’s ascent.
Andrew Buncombe explains the role Mr Eastman played in pushing Mr Trump’s plan to derail democracy:
Who is John Eastman and why did he ask Trump for a presidential pardon? Andrew Buncombe on how fringe conservatvive ended up at heart of last days of Trump adminisration and inside head of president
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 06:20
1655442602 Never been as worried about US democracy, says Bill Clinton
As the January 6 Committee hearings continue on last year’s Capitol insurrection, former president Bill Clinton says he has “never” been as worried about the fate of US democracy than he is right now.
“I actually think there is a fair chance we could completely lose our constitutional democracy for a couple of decades if we make bad decisions,” Mr Clinton told Late Late Show host James Corden in an episode airing Thursday.
“I am not naive about this. I have been in a lot of fights. I have lost some and won a bunch. I have been elated and heartbroken. But I have never before been as worried about the structure of our democratic form of government.”
Josh Marcus reports:
Bill Clinton tells James Corden he’s ‘never’ been more worried about US democracy US has slipped in democracy rankings in recent years
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 06:10
1655442000 New photo shows Pence in secure Capitol location on January 6
A photo released from the National Archives to the House Select Committee investigating the attack on the Capitol on January 6 2021 shows then-Vice President Mike Pence in a secure Capitol Hill location watching a video of then-President Donald Trump praising the rioters.
Gustaf Kilander reports:
Photo shows Pence in secure location watching Trump’s Jan 6 video praising rioters Pence refused to get into Secret Service limousine as he worried they would remove him from premises against his wishes
Oliver O'Connell 17 June 2022 06:00
1655441400 Opinion: Ginni Thomas’ involvement in January 6th shows we have a big problem with the Supreme Court
Noah Berlatsky writes:
New emails provide even more damning evidence that Ginni Thomas may have been involved in efforts to illegally overthrow the 2020 election victory of Joe Biden. Thomas is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — and together, the Thomases seem determined to demonstrate just how vulnerable our democracy is.
Ginni Thomas’ involvement in January 6th shows we have a big SCOTUS problem Critics have now called on Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from future cases involving Trump’s efforts to overthrow the 2020 election — efforts in which we now know his wife was intimately involved — but there’s no process to make him do so
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 05:50
1655440202 Committee sends request to Ginni Thomas
The January 6 committee probing last year’s Capitol riots has sent a letter to Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The panel in its letter has asked her to speak to them about her role in the effort to overturn the 2020 electoral results, committee chair Bennie Thompson said on Thursday.
“We think it’s time that we, at some point, invite her to come talk to the committee,” Mr Thompson told reporters on Thursday.
Ms Thomas had said in an interview with conservative outlet The Daily Caller that she “can’t wait to clear up misconceptions”.
“I look forward to talking to them,” she was quoted as saying in the interview published on Thursday.
Recently, text messages between Mark Meadows and Ms Thomas were released by the panel indicating Ms Thomas had played an active role in attempting to convince White House staff to go along with former president Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the election.
John Bowden reports:
Jan 6 committee to seek testimony from Ginni Thomas ‘We think it’s time that we, at some point, invite her to come talk to the committee,’ Jan 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson says
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 05:30
1655439261 Photos show Trump and family in Oval Office on Jan 6
Previously unreleased photographs from inside the White House provided to the House select committee show then-president Donald Trump with his children and aides inside the Oval Office that day.
The images show the Trump family including the then president, and his children - Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump - along with chief aides and members of the administration at the White House as the joint session of Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which the former president baselessly asserted as fraudulent and stolen.
Mr Trump is also photographed on the phone.
Alex Woodward has the details:
Previously unreleased photos show Trump and family in Oval Office on Jan 6 House select committee publishes previously unreleased images from White House on day of attack
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 05:14
1655438357 Biden says recession ‘not inevitable’
Joe Biden told the Associated Press that a recession is “not inevitable” at a time when the federal government is working to increase interest rates to curb inflation.
His comments come after a speech in Philadelphia in which he blasted Republicans, billionaires, and Wall Street while defending his economic plans.
Graig Graziosi reports on the president’s remarks.
Biden says recession ‘not inevitable’ Financial analysts worry that the recent move into a ‘bear market’ foretells a coming recession
Oliver O'Connell 17 June 2022 04:59
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