Tag: GOP trying to whitewash Trump insurrection

‘I was there’: Reporters sharply rebuke Megyn Kelly for claiming the media exaggerated the insurrection

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Megyn Kelly is under fire after telling a Trump-voting comedian on her podcast that the “media represented” the January 6 attack on the Capitol “as so much worse than it actually was.”

Kelly, who also claimed on Monday it “wasn’t an insurrection,” was not in the Capitol that day. Her guest, who was at the Capitol January 6 described it as, “like, mostly the, the most chill thing ever, just like people have blankets and picnics and families.”

But an actual reporter who was at the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection made sure to correct the record. Continue reading.

CNN reveals that a man from the Capitol riot joined House Republicans on a border trip

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Anthony Aguero, a far-right YouTuber and ally of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, was reportedly among the group at the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, though at this point he has not been charged with any crime related to the insurrection. And his proximity to the shocking attack, apparently, isn’t preventing some House other Republicans from associating with him. According to CNN reporters Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck and Drew Myers, Aguero “accompanied Republican members of Congress” on a visit to the U.S./Mexico border earlier this week and served as a translator for them.

“During his livestream of the Tuesday visit,” the CNN journalists explain, “Aguero interviewed and chatted with Reps. Tom. Tiffany of Wisconsin, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Chris Jacobs of New York, Michael Cloud of Texas, John Rose of Tennessee, Ronny Jackson of Texas and Mary Miller of Illinois.”

During the livestream, Aguero can be seen getting Cawthorn’s last name wrong and saying, “Hi guys, Congressman Hawthorn is behind me. That is freaking awesome. That is freaking awesome. I’ll tell you that.” Continue reading.

GOP Blocked Bipartisan Jan. 6 Investigation — But Now They Demand One

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One month after congressional Republicans blocked a bipartisan investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection, congressional Republicans are demanding a bipartisan investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

The House in May passed by a vote of 252-175 a bill that would have created a bipartisan commission modeled on the one that investigated the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The bill, the result of a compromise between Republican Rep. John Katko of New York and Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, was nearly identical to a January GOP proposal. It would have established an outside panel with an even number of Democratic and Republican appointees.

But just 35 Republicans joined the Democratic majority in voting for it after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy refused to support it and Donald Trump instructed Republican lawmakers to block the legislation. Continue reading.

House to vote on bill launching probe of Jan. 6 insurrection

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WASHINGTON — A new committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol would have 13 members and the power to subpoena witnesses, according to legislation released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week. 

The effort comes after Senate Republicans blocked the formation of an independent, bipartisan commission to probe the attack, in which hundreds of former President Donald Trump’s supporters violently broke into the Capitol and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory. 

The new, partisan House panel would have eight members appointed by Pelosi and five appointed “after consultation with” Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. A Pelosi aide said the speaker is considering including a Republican among her appointments, which would bring the likely partisan split to 7-6. The aide was granted anonymity to discuss her thinking.

Pelosi said in a statement Monday that Jan. 6 was “one of the darkest days in our nation’s history” and that the committee will seek the truth about it. Continue reading.

Pelosi announces select committee to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol riot

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will create a House select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Why it matters: The creation of a single Democratic-controlled special committee, which will consolidate several House investigations, comes after Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have established a bipartisan 9/11-style commission.

  • While Republicans would have had equal control over the blocked 9/11-style investigative commission, it’s unlikely they will have the same leverage over the House select committee investigation. Continue reading.

GOP’s ‘Offensively Absurd’ Spin On Capitol Riot Gets A Firm Debunking

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Seven Republican claims about the Jan. 6 insurrection were dismantled by CNN’s Brianna Keilar and John Berman.

CNN’s “New Day” anchors Brianna Keilar and John Berman dismantled seven “offensively absurd” claims that conservatives are now pushing about the deadly U.S. Capitol riot.

On Friday, Berman noted how “some Republicans and some deranged entertainers keep developing new and provably false ways to say the insurrection did not happen.”

The co-hosts then firmly debunked each current GOP claim about the attack carried out by the violent mob incited by Donald Trump ― from their “peaceful protesters” spin to the falsehood that they weren’t armed.

View the post here.

FBI Director Testifies Capitol Rioters Carried ‘All Sorts Of Weapons’

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FBI Director Christopher Wray testified under oath on Thursday that at least one person among the supporters of Donald Trump who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 carried a firearm, while many used other items as weapons, refuting GOP attempts to portray the insurrection as less violent than it was.

Asked by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee whether anyone involved in the riot had been armed with a firearm, Wray responded, “I can think of at least one instance where there was an individual with a gun inside the Capitol, but for the most part the weapons were weapons other than firearms.”

Gohmert is one of several GOP lawmakers who have downplayed the attack that left five people dead and 140 law enforcement officers injured. Republicans like Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) falsely described the riot as a “normal tourist visit,” while Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) described the Trump supporters who violently pushed their way into the Capitol and beat up police officers guarding the building as “peaceful patriots.” Continue reading.

10 Emerging GOP Lies About The U.S. Capitol Riot Shredded On MSNBC

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The latest Republican spin on the Jan. 6 insurrection got firmly fact-checked by “The Beat” anchor Ari Melber.

MSNBC’s Ari Melber on Monday pointed out how “more and more” Republicans are embracing lies about the U.S. Capitol riot by pretending the violence wasn’t that bad or trying to cast blame away from former President Donald Trump for starting it.

“The Beat” anchor then swiftly shredded 10 emerging falsehoods — by playing audio of outlandish GOP claims alongside footage of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection incited by Trump and his election lies.

“There are signs of (how) blatantly rejecting the evidence of your eyes and ears has become a litmus test for some hard-right figures,” said Melber. “This matters for truth and justice and how these lies spread matters for our future as a country.” Continue reading.

‘Sick and twisted excuse for a human being’: Wisconsin paper slams Ron Johnson for defending Jan. 6 insurrectionists

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Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin not only voted against a bill calling for a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection — he has also downplayed the violence that occurred that day, insisting that the insurrectionists did not frighten him and claiming that the riot was mostly a “peaceful protest.” The Cap Times, based in Wisconsin’s state capitol of Madison, slams the far-right GOP senator in a blistering editorial published on June 2 — describing his actions as those of a “sick and twisted excuse for a human being.”

Gladys Sicknick, mother of Brian Sicknick — a Capitol Police Officer who died following the violence of January 6 — tried to convince Johnson and other Senate Republicans that a January 6 commission was badly needed. But Johnson was unmoved.

“Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson met last week with the mother of fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died on the day that former President Trump incited an insurrectionist mob to attack the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” the Cap Times’ editorial board explains. “She did so despite the fact that Johnson has declared that he was not frightened by the attack on the Capitol because the seditionists were people who ‘truly respect law enforcement.’ Gladys Sicknick wanted to explain to Johnson that what happened on the day her son died was not, as the senator continues to claim, a ‘peaceful protest.'” Continue reading.

‘Raw political fear’: George Conway torches GOP lawmakers for their ‘dereliction’ on Jan 6 commission vote

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George Conway is displeased with Republican lawmakers’ handling of all things Trump, but he argues that there is one failed effort that tops all of the rest. In a new piece published by The Washington Post, Conway fired off as he voiced his frustrations about Republicans’ efforts to block the Jan. 6 commission which would have established an entity to investigate the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. 

Although they allowed Trump to slide during both impeachment trials, Conway noted that at least they had some form of excuse for their actions regardless of how futile their justifications were.

However, where the Jan. 6 commission is concerned Conway argues: “There was no excuse — none — for what they did last week.” Continue reading.