WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

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1/ In its seventh public hearing, the Jan. 6 committee detailed how divisions between White House lawyers and outside advisers pressing Trump to pursue election fraud conspiracy claims exploded into an “unhinged” meeting that featured screaming, personal insults, accusations of disloyalty, and a challenge to physically fight. Rep. Jamie Raskin said “the meeting has been called, quote, ‘unhinged,’ ‘not normal,’ and the ‘craziest meeting of the Trump presidency.’” Arguments during the Dec. 18, 2020, meeting broke out over Rudy Giuliani, Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell, and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne urging Trump to declare a national emergency, take voting machines from states, and name Powell as a special counsel to pursue baseless claims of fraud – all in an effort to remain in office. Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone recalled “pushing back” on the group by asking them to provide evidence that the election was fraudulent, but they showed a “general disregard for the importance of actually backing up what you say.” Former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann added that at one point he challenged Flynn to a fight as Flynn berating the White House attorneys for being “quitters” and not fighting hard enough for Trump. Herschmann said the group had suggested that Venezuela had meddled with the election and that internet-connected thermostats were changing votes. Cipollone added that he “was not happy to see the people in the Oval Office […] I don’t think any of these people were providing the president with good advice and I didn’t understand how they had gotten in.” The meeting lasted over six hours, beginning in the Oval Office and ending in Trump’s private residence. Hours later, Trump turned to riling up his supporters, tweeting for them to come to Washington and protest the Jan. 6 electoral vote count. “Be there, will be wild!” (Bloomberg / NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Politico / CNBC / CNN)

2/ The Jan. 6 committee notified the Justice Department that Trump contacted one of its witnesses who hasn’t publicly testified yet. “After our last hearing, President Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation, a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings,” Liz Cheney said. “That person declined to answer or respond to President Trump’s call and instead alerted their lawyer to the call. Their lawyer alerted us.” It’s not the first time the panel has warned of potential attempts at tampering. In one phone call, according to the committee, a witness was told to be a “team player” and would remain in “good graces in Trump world” if they demonstrate that they were “protecting who I need to protect.” The Justice Department has the power to prosecute Trump if it determines he tampered with a congressional witness. “President Trump is ...

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