Last night, lawyers for Ed Vallejo, one of 11 members of the right-wing Oath Keepers gang accused of seditious conspiracy for their actions surrounding January 6, filed a motion for Vallejo’s release from pretrial jail. Vallejo’s lawyer describes his client as having “a passionate yet gentle nature, as well as [a] love of animals,” and quotes one of Vallejo’s friends as saying the accused conspirator is a “true man of passion” whose “tools are an abundance of love, sunshine and gratitude to God for giving him a chance to prove it by helping people.” The lawyer tried to explain away the 200 pounds of food Vallejo brought for a 30-day siege (he thought they were going camping, the lawyer says) and his declaration that there would be “guerilla war” if Trump didn’t “bring the f*cking hammer down.” The lawyer’s argument is that Vallejo should be let out of prison because the real culprits were former president Trump—who convinced Vallejo that the election was stolen and that the country must be protected—and Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, who was planning an attack on the Capitol.
It's fair to say that democracy will not stand unless the perpetrators of the insurrection are found guilty and punished according to the law. If not, they'll escalate their next assault to finally achieve their treasonous goals. I for one am in awe of what the Jan. 6 committee has learned. And I'm increasingly confident that the Justice Department will successfully prosecute these crimes, despite the high bar of proof required.
Barring insurrectionist Marjorie Taylor Greene from seeking re-election and eventually others in Congress would be a thunderbolt of deterrence.
I continue to wish that January 6 be described as an attack on CONGRESS rather than an attack on the Capitol. The building may be a metaphorical stand-in for the Legislature. In poetry this is called metonymy. No need for poetry here. Plain speech is better.
“... and might ... affect the candidacy of the former president should he run again in 2024.”
He will never run for office again. I just don’t see it. Arguably there will someday be located the fire at the center of this gigantic billowing cloud of dense smoke, meaning the legal system will eventually catch up with Houdini and nail his ass. Some court will get that job done. But anyway the Republican pols with a brain, the hacks who acutely track which way the political winds blow, realize:
• He lost the House in 2018
• He lost the WH in 2020
• He somehow lost the Senate on Jan. 5, 2021.
And then he lost his Twitter account and a whole lot more since then. This guy magnetically pulls opposition out of nowhere. He was arguably the inspiration for that completely unexpected and astonishing Georgia vote that gave the blue team control of the Senate with a wafer-thin margin.
Thank you for, once again, gathering the connected stories together with a bow. I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall during Kimberly’s deposition.
After the Mueller debacle, it’s hard to hold out hope that the televised hearings will change minds. I’d like to see the major news sources cover the stories over and over again, in the hope that exposure to a firehose of incriminating evidence will change some hearts and minds.
Congressman Raskin said it very clearly “This was a coup organized by the president against the vice president and against the Congress in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election.” It is becoming so clear that these people will go down in history equal to the villains & knaves who plotted to kidnap or kill Lincoln in Baltimore in 1861 and in DC in 1865. If twitter and cell phones had existed in 1861 we'd very likely have a record of evidence similar to this about the Pratt Street Riot in Baltimore...that it was not "spontaneous combustion" but a plot that really started out to kill or kidnap Lincoln a month earlier and then unleashed it's pent up anger on the US troops moving through the streets. The "first blood" of the Civil War. And now 160 years later we are still dealing with core issues of white supremacy.
In NY State, a black lieutenant governor is very publicly arrested by the FBI for campaign fraud and resigns soon after. His crimes seem rather tame compared to those committed by the white Former Guy and his family and followers. And yet not a single arrest of any of these white folks. I hate how I’m becoming cynical but…
I don't know whether this edition went out to everyone. I am on the West Coast and didn't receive it and accessed it by logging into the blog.
To the substance, It looks like a long legal battle is underway and will continue for some time. If the insurrectionists now holding office are disqualified, that will intensely rile up their constituents and the rest of the far right. How far will they escalate then? And yet, what else can be done at this point? If all Democratic senators had held together and passed voting rights legislation, the upcoming elections wouldn't be nearly as vulnerable to subversion. Addressing this through lawsuits that could disqualify elected members of congress could lead us into a very dangerous situation even if justice is served. These are scary times.
The existence of MTG is proof my ancestors were too lenient when they made their walking tour of the former prison colony known as Georgia. As does the existence of most of the other traitor scum mentioned in tonight's post.
When the marshals bring in Trump and need a cell they can release Vallejo, until then keep him locked up for the safety of the democracy. How can this country even aspire to a position of leadership in the civilized world when so many of its least informed citizens want a government that looks just like the one the barbarians attacking Ukraine have?
At the bottom of it all here we are witnessing the fight between an informed democracy and an ignorant autocracy. Talk to some of your Trumpian neighbors; they'll make that plain enough.
"The lawyer’s argument is that Vallejo should be let out of prison because the real culprits were former president Trump—who convinced Vallejo that the election was stolen and that the country must be protected"
I almost completely agree with Vallejo that he should be let out of prison. Almost.
However, I was also aware of Trump's tweets to organize for a Jan 06 March (my wife has twitter).
Twelve seconds after reading Trump's tweets with my wife holding her phone for me to see, I mentally discarded the information as a lie and a call to those so ignorant that they may not see the lie.
But, I almost agree because: I have been lucky to be a strong reader since 1st Grade. Not everyone is. Not everyone has that chance at a good teacher and a quiet class in 1st Grade.
So, for those with less ability to discern, due to the luck of the draw, I DO think we should be considering letting some of the Jan 06 folks go.
Because, Trump DID convince them that their government was at risk and they DID think they were being patriots on that day (most of them).
I don't think Stewart Rhodes is in that benign category however.
But, I do think Vallejo might be.
I also think that it is TRUMP that should be in jail and TRUMP should be asking to be let out.
BUT, he is already free to raise money, lie, make stuff up, go on Tucker Carlson, phone his Daddy Putin for more instructions and generally do whatever he wants.
Even though we all knew and know, from Jan 06, that he was a criminal that had sponsored an illegal coup.
I wish people would stop viewing this as a movie, hoping for a good, neat, and tidy ending. The only good ending will be if we, the voters, use this information in public discourse to push for democracy. We cannot punish Republicans into sanity. Arrests will not solve anything unless we lay the groundwork first.
So many of us want promises that things will be fine before emotionally investing in democracy. Its wrong and holding the discourse back. Even more claim that there's just no point to anything if we don't get to see Trump in jail, as if that matters more than what actually happens yo the rest of us 330,000,000...
True justice sometimes lets the guilty go free because we rely on procedures, not emotions. We would be stronger if we followed the lead of John Adams and embraced that strength in our system.
Fascinating reading, partly because it sounds like a bunch of children planning a raid on a neighboring clubhouse, and partly because they sound so angry about...what, exactly? Kimberley Guilfoyle said they would not allow Democrats to steal their dream. I am at a loss to understand exactly what their dream was. To keep Trump in office, but what had he done for them except goad them to be mad? Were they all so grateful that he was backing away from NATO and embracing Vladimir Putin? Were they delighted that he ignored the seriousness of Covid? Do they hate the earth so much that environmental laws infuriated them? I suspect none of the above. There's one thing at the core of their hatred. They hate people of color. Period. They hate that Democrats elected a Black man as President. Hated it. It drove them insane.
It's fair to say that democracy will not stand unless the perpetrators of the insurrection are found guilty and punished according to the law. If not, they'll escalate their next assault to finally achieve their treasonous goals. I for one am in awe of what the Jan. 6 committee has learned. And I'm increasingly confident that the Justice Department will successfully prosecute these crimes, despite the high bar of proof required.
Barring insurrectionist Marjorie Taylor Greene from seeking re-election and eventually others in Congress would be a thunderbolt of deterrence.
I continue to wish that January 6 be described as an attack on CONGRESS rather than an attack on the Capitol. The building may be a metaphorical stand-in for the Legislature. In poetry this is called metonymy. No need for poetry here. Plain speech is better.
“... and might ... affect the candidacy of the former president should he run again in 2024.”
He will never run for office again. I just don’t see it. Arguably there will someday be located the fire at the center of this gigantic billowing cloud of dense smoke, meaning the legal system will eventually catch up with Houdini and nail his ass. Some court will get that job done. But anyway the Republican pols with a brain, the hacks who acutely track which way the political winds blow, realize:
• He lost the House in 2018
• He lost the WH in 2020
• He somehow lost the Senate on Jan. 5, 2021.
And then he lost his Twitter account and a whole lot more since then. This guy magnetically pulls opposition out of nowhere. He was arguably the inspiration for that completely unexpected and astonishing Georgia vote that gave the blue team control of the Senate with a wafer-thin margin.
We shall fight in the courts, we shall fight at the ballot box, we shall fight at every level of government, we shall never surrender.
Thank you for, once again, gathering the connected stories together with a bow. I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall during Kimberly’s deposition.
After the Mueller debacle, it’s hard to hold out hope that the televised hearings will change minds. I’d like to see the major news sources cover the stories over and over again, in the hope that exposure to a firehose of incriminating evidence will change some hearts and minds.
Congressman Raskin said it very clearly “This was a coup organized by the president against the vice president and against the Congress in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election.” It is becoming so clear that these people will go down in history equal to the villains & knaves who plotted to kidnap or kill Lincoln in Baltimore in 1861 and in DC in 1865. If twitter and cell phones had existed in 1861 we'd very likely have a record of evidence similar to this about the Pratt Street Riot in Baltimore...that it was not "spontaneous combustion" but a plot that really started out to kill or kidnap Lincoln a month earlier and then unleashed it's pent up anger on the US troops moving through the streets. The "first blood" of the Civil War. And now 160 years later we are still dealing with core issues of white supremacy.
In NY State, a black lieutenant governor is very publicly arrested by the FBI for campaign fraud and resigns soon after. His crimes seem rather tame compared to those committed by the white Former Guy and his family and followers. And yet not a single arrest of any of these white folks. I hate how I’m becoming cynical but…
I don't know whether this edition went out to everyone. I am on the West Coast and didn't receive it and accessed it by logging into the blog.
To the substance, It looks like a long legal battle is underway and will continue for some time. If the insurrectionists now holding office are disqualified, that will intensely rile up their constituents and the rest of the far right. How far will they escalate then? And yet, what else can be done at this point? If all Democratic senators had held together and passed voting rights legislation, the upcoming elections wouldn't be nearly as vulnerable to subversion. Addressing this through lawsuits that could disqualify elected members of congress could lead us into a very dangerous situation even if justice is served. These are scary times.
The existence of MTG is proof my ancestors were too lenient when they made their walking tour of the former prison colony known as Georgia. As does the existence of most of the other traitor scum mentioned in tonight's post.
"This might... affect the candidacy of the former president should he run again in 2024."
Seen from outside, this very phrase presents America as a very bad joke.
A land in which crime has been shown to pay, and where nothing pays like it.
Will America now bequeath the world government of, by and for criminals?
That is the question.
Clinging to a thread that MTG and dumbass Madison Cawthorne don’t return to office. Both are despicable and a disgrace.
When the marshals bring in Trump and need a cell they can release Vallejo, until then keep him locked up for the safety of the democracy. How can this country even aspire to a position of leadership in the civilized world when so many of its least informed citizens want a government that looks just like the one the barbarians attacking Ukraine have?
At the bottom of it all here we are witnessing the fight between an informed democracy and an ignorant autocracy. Talk to some of your Trumpian neighbors; they'll make that plain enough.
"The lawyer’s argument is that Vallejo should be let out of prison because the real culprits were former president Trump—who convinced Vallejo that the election was stolen and that the country must be protected"
I almost completely agree with Vallejo that he should be let out of prison. Almost.
However, I was also aware of Trump's tweets to organize for a Jan 06 March (my wife has twitter).
Twelve seconds after reading Trump's tweets with my wife holding her phone for me to see, I mentally discarded the information as a lie and a call to those so ignorant that they may not see the lie.
But, I almost agree because: I have been lucky to be a strong reader since 1st Grade. Not everyone is. Not everyone has that chance at a good teacher and a quiet class in 1st Grade.
So, for those with less ability to discern, due to the luck of the draw, I DO think we should be considering letting some of the Jan 06 folks go.
Because, Trump DID convince them that their government was at risk and they DID think they were being patriots on that day (most of them).
I don't think Stewart Rhodes is in that benign category however.
But, I do think Vallejo might be.
I also think that it is TRUMP that should be in jail and TRUMP should be asking to be let out.
BUT, he is already free to raise money, lie, make stuff up, go on Tucker Carlson, phone his Daddy Putin for more instructions and generally do whatever he wants.
Even though we all knew and know, from Jan 06, that he was a criminal that had sponsored an illegal coup.
I wish people would stop viewing this as a movie, hoping for a good, neat, and tidy ending. The only good ending will be if we, the voters, use this information in public discourse to push for democracy. We cannot punish Republicans into sanity. Arrests will not solve anything unless we lay the groundwork first.
So many of us want promises that things will be fine before emotionally investing in democracy. Its wrong and holding the discourse back. Even more claim that there's just no point to anything if we don't get to see Trump in jail, as if that matters more than what actually happens yo the rest of us 330,000,000...
True justice sometimes lets the guilty go free because we rely on procedures, not emotions. We would be stronger if we followed the lead of John Adams and embraced that strength in our system.
It Is a privilege to observe a talented historian excavating a troubled and conflicted territory before she writes about it as an historian!
Fascinating reading, partly because it sounds like a bunch of children planning a raid on a neighboring clubhouse, and partly because they sound so angry about...what, exactly? Kimberley Guilfoyle said they would not allow Democrats to steal their dream. I am at a loss to understand exactly what their dream was. To keep Trump in office, but what had he done for them except goad them to be mad? Were they all so grateful that he was backing away from NATO and embracing Vladimir Putin? Were they delighted that he ignored the seriousness of Covid? Do they hate the earth so much that environmental laws infuriated them? I suspect none of the above. There's one thing at the core of their hatred. They hate people of color. Period. They hate that Democrats elected a Black man as President. Hated it. It drove them insane.