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Jan 6 hearings: Ivanka Trump recalls father called Pence ‘a wimp’ in final call
The 6 January select committee has requested testimony from Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, over texts and emails she sent to Mark Meadows and John Eastman in advance of the Capitol riot – and the longtime right-wing activist has said she will comply.
“I can’t wait to clear up misconceptions,” she told the conservative Daily Caller site. “I look forward to talking to them.”
The committee’s third public hearing yesterday featured 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.
Members of Mr Trump’s family and staff testified about a “heated” call with Mr Pence on the morning of the riot, 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 asked for a pardon, which he did not receive.
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 Ginni Thomas agrees to talk to riot committee ‘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 Jan 6 witness knocks down Trump lawyer’s argument to overturn election Trump White House attorneys called plan to overturn election ‘completely crazy’
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A leading anti-vaccine California doctor was sentenced to two months of imprisonment for storming the US Capitol and delivering a speech to the rioters during the January 6 insurrection.
Simone Gold, a former emergency room physician known for spreading previously debunked claims about Covid-19 vaccines and promoting disproven treatments like ivermectin, pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanour charge of unlawfully entering a restricted area.
Gold told the court that she regreted entering the Capitol and didn’t intend to get involved in an event that was “so destructive to our nation”.
“It’s the opposite of who I am,” she told US district judge Christopher Cooper.
Namita Singh has the story.
Anti-vaxx doctor sentenced to jail for role in Capitol riots Simone Gold pleads guilty to misdemeanour charges of unlawfully entering a restricted area
Andrew Naughtie 17 June 2022 13:00
1655465423 Ginni Thomas agrees to testify
The pressure to get Ginni Thomas to explain her communications with the Trump team before 6 January will soon be off, as the longtime right-wing activist and 2020 election conspiracy theorist has now said she “looks forward” to testifying, which she views as an opportunity to clear up unspecified “misconceptions”.
Johanna Chisholm has the story.
Ginni Thomas agrees to talk to Jan 6 committee to ‘clear up misconceptions’ The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly communicated with Trump’s attorney John Eastman
Andrew Naughtie 17 June 2022 12:30
1655462745 Ivanka Trump and others testify about overheard Trump-Pence call
Among the most important figures interviewed by the 6 January committee over the past year is Ivanka Trump, who gave several hours of virtual testimony apparently without acrimony.
She was expected to have crucial insight into her father’s mood during the riot and in the days leading up to it – and based on video of her interview that was shown during yesterday’s hearing, those expectations were correct.
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Jan 6: Ivanka Trump gives testimony on father's final phone call with Pence
Andrew Naughtie 17 June 2022 11:45
1655460645 Watch committee witnesses describe pushing back on Eastman’s ideas
One of the main elements of yesterday’s 6 January committee hearing was extensive evidence that multiple members of the Trump administration’s upper echelons, in particular senior legal aides and Mike Pence’s staff, repeatedly conveyed to the president, the vice president and others that John Eastman’s plans for Mr Pence to overturn Joe Biden’s victory were nonsensical and illegal.
Here’s a supercut from the committee pulling some of that evidence together.
Andrew Naughtie 17 June 2022 11:10
1655457961 Read the Jan 6 panel’s letter to Ginni Thomas
The New York Times has obtained the text of the 6 January committee’s letter to Ginni Thomas. Confirming what emerged yesterday, Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney write that “the select committee has obtained evidence that you had certain communications with John Eastman” during the interregnum between the election and the day of the Capitol riot. The letter also asks Ms Thomas to preserve and provide “documents that are relevant” to the investigation.
Read the letter below:
Andrew Naughtie 17 June 2022 10:26
1655454602 Trump was repeatedly told vice president lacked legal authority to overturn 2020 election
The January 6 committee shared a video clip of Marc Short’s testimony in Thursday’s hearing.
Mr Short was the former vice president Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff who served in the Trump administration in multiple positions over four years.
In his testimony, Mr Short said Mr Trump was told repeatedly that Mr Pence lacked the Constitutional and legal authority to do what Trump demanded he do.
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 09:30
1655451002 Pence did his job that day, says Rep Pete Aguilar
Committee member Pete Aguilar has said former vice president Mike Pence, who was allegedly pressured by then president Donald Trump to overturn the election results, did his job that day and “acted presidential”.
In an interview with ABC News’s Linsey Davis, Mr
said: “I think Mike Pence stood behind Donald Trump during a lot of times when I would oppose the policies that they advocated.
“I think its important and we need to remind folks that he did his job that day. He acted presidential. He was down in an undisclosed location but he was acting presidential- calling the acting secretary of defence, calling congressional leaders, he was doing the job. While I am frustrated with policies of the Trump-Pence administration, I think it is important to be honest about his role that day.”
In Thursday’s hearing the committee revealed 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”.
An image of former Vice President Mike Pence on the night of January 6, 2021 is displayed during the third hearing of the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 08:30
1655449200 Jan 6 hearing - day 3: Trump knew election plot was illegal and egged on riot that threatened Mike Pence’s life
The third public hearing into the Capitol riot heard evidence that Donald Trump was repeatedly told his plan to overturn the election result was illegal, even by the lawyer urging him to do so.
The Independent’s Washington team was on Capitol Hill today for the shocking testimony.
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
Oliver O'Connell 17 June 2022 08:00
1655448302 YouTube deletes video of January 6 committee hearing, report says
YouTube has allegedly deleted a video of former Attorney General William P Barr’s testimony to the January 6 Committee hearing on the grounds that it included a clip of former president Donald Trump sharing lies about the 2020 elections, reported The New York Times.
“The excerpt, which was uploaded June 14, included recorded testimony from former Attorney General William P Barr. But the problem for YouTube was that the video also included a clip of former President Donald J Trump sharing lies about the election on the Fox Business channel,” the report said.
In a statement, YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi said: “Our election integrity policy prohibits content advancing false claims that widespread fraud, errors or glitches changed the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election, if it does not provide sufficient context.”
The video of the committee’s Thursday hearing is still available on YouTube.
Sravasti Dasgupta 17 June 2022 07:45
1655447400 Opinion: What we just heard about Trump, Pence and Giuliani on January 6th was beyond the worst-case scenario
Ahmed Baba writes:
They knew. They all knew.
Today’s hearing focused on Donald Trump, John Eastman, and his allies’ effort to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 election on January 6. According to testimony, key players in Trump’s inner circle — including Trump and Eastman themselves — knew that Pence overturning the election would be illegal, but pushed him to do it anyway. In other words, they knowingly launched an illegal attempted coup.
What we just heard about Trump and Pence on Jan 6th is beyond the worst-case scenario As the Capitol was under attack, Pence’s counsel sent an email to John Eastman, reading: ‘Thanks to your bulls**t, we are now under siege.’ Eastman replied in a Trump-like fashion: ‘The siege is because you and your boss did not do what was necessary’
Oliver O'Connell 17 June 2022 07:30
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