Capitol Riot Investigation Thread

[LordMortis]

He fancies himself an American John Lennon, only without the poetry or LSD as an excuse or intelligence or attraction of women or...

Always, no sometimes, think it's me
But you know I know when it's a dream
I think I know I mean a yes
But it's all wrong
That is I think I disagree

He does believe he's more popular than Jesus, though and he's not getting panned for it.

[Kurth]

I'm not 100% dismissing her. It does seem suspect since it'd be absolute bonkers if that was real. Still a lot of folks with solid backgrounds are re-tweeting this so she has some level of credibility.

I don't know whether she's credible or not. I don't know whether this "reporting" is factual or bullshit.

But I do know that lots of folks with solid backgrounds retweeting this doesn't do anything to move the needle one way or the other for me. #twittersucks

I get the blanket doubt about Twitter but fwiw she has (had?) a quarter million 'listeners' and has mainstream legal and government officials on her podcast daily. It is alternative news. Cranks rarely get the same crowd that populates MSNBC primetime panels calling into their podcast. But the explosive story? I still haven't seen any alternative sourcing on it. I still have a hard time believing it just because it'd be unimaginable that we'd still be dicking around with Congressional subpoenas. That said, I believe she was told this and didn't make it up but have no idea what the provenance is.

I feel the same way about alternative news that I do about alternative facts. But I’m just an old curmudgeon at this point, so don’t mind me.

I get you. I have trouble taking podcasts and related platforms that don't have any real ethics standards too seriously - there's just too many loonies that use alternative mediums to spew bullshit to large audiences (which isn't to say that "traditional" media guardrails are functioning that well right now), but I (we) seem to be on the trailing edge here I guess.

I love that I self-identify as an old curmudgeon, and the only person who feels the same way I do on the point goes by "geezer." Perfect. Just perfect.

[geezer]

I'm not 100% dismissing her. It does seem suspect since it'd be absolute bonkers if that was real. Still a lot of folks with solid backgrounds are re-tweeting this so she has some level of credibility.

I don't know whether she's credible or not. I don't know whether this "reporting" is factual or bullshit.

But I do know that lots of folks with solid backgrounds retweeting this doesn't do anything to move the needle one way or the other for me. #twittersucks

I get the blanket doubt about Twitter but fwiw she has (had?) a quarter million 'listeners' and has mainstream legal and government officials on her podcast daily. It is alternative news. Cranks rarely get the same crowd that populates MSNBC primetime panels calling into their podcast. But the explosive story? I still haven't seen any alternative sourcing on it. I still have a hard time believing it just because it'd be unimaginable that we'd still be dicking around with Congressional subpoenas. That said, I believe she was told this and didn't make it up but have no idea what the provenance is.

I feel the same way about alternative news that I do about alternative facts. But I’m just an old curmudgeon at this point, so don’t mind me.

I get you. I have trouble taking podcasts and related platforms that don't have any real ethics standards too seriously - there's just too many loonies that use alternative mediums to spew bullshit to large audiences (which isn't to say that "traditional" media guardrails are functioning that well right now), but I (we) seem to be on the trailing edge here I guess.

I love that I self-identify as an old curmudgeon, and the only person who feels the same way I do on the point goes by "geezer." Perfect. Just perfect.

[Isgrimnur]

He fancies himself an American John Lennon, only without the poetry or LSD as an excuse or intelligence or attraction of women or...

Always, no sometimes, think it's me
But you know I know when it's a dream
I think I know I mean a yes
But it's all wrong
That is I think I disagree

He does believe he's more popular than Jesus, though and he's not getting panned for it.

He also has never asked for forgiveness because he doesn’t think anything he’s ever done needs to be forgiven.

[Defiant]

A federal grand jury indicted former Trump advisor Steve Bannon on charges of contempt of Congress.
Bannon faces two criminal counts for refusing to provide documents and testimony to the House lawmakers probing the Jan. 6 Capitol invasion.
Bannon is expected to turn himself into law enforcement Monday and appear in court later that day, a law enforcement official told NBC News.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/12/trump-a ... poena.html

[malchior]

Bannon is making the most out of this.

[Smoove_B]

That whole Bannon thing really seemed to be worth it. /vomit eye roll

In other news:

Breaking: Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for his Jan. 6 role.

Chansley will be on probation for 3 years following his release. He'll have to pay $2,000 restitution.

[Isgrimnur]

He's also getting credit for time served, and he's been in jail since January.

[stessier]

Wow - that's no joke.

[Smoove_B]

I wasn't sure about time served, so I guess that's...something.

Wow - that's no joke.

I keep seeing it pointed out that he was one of the first people that was collared and he has been (1) cooperative and (2) openly remorseful. If that is in any way affected his sentencing and we can expect things to escalate as they work through the bigger cases, I guess that's giving me some hope.

[Isgrimnur]

U.S. Attorneys » District of Columbia » Capitol Breach Investigation Resource Page

A quick and dirty count shows ~536 cases with only 35 marked as sentenced.

[Isgrimnur]

In case you're wondering what part of NJ I'm living in.

Federal authorities are seeking a prison term of more than three years for the New Jersey gym owner who was caught on film storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and later punching a law enforcement officer in the face outside the government building.
...
“They pulled the pin on the grenade, and the blackout is coming,” Fairlamb said in a video two days after the attack, according to the sentencing memo. “What a time to be a patriot.”

Fairlamb was sentenced:

Arrested 1/22/21. Indicted 2/12/21.

Superseding indictment issued on 4/7/21. Arraigned 4/13/21 and pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Plea agreement hearing held on 8/6/21 and pleaded guilty to counts 2s and 3s.

Sentenced 11/10 to 41 months incarceration. Defendant remains committed.

[Isgrimnur]

I wasn't sure about time served, so I guess that's...something.

12 News

The federal judge's sentencing was 10 months less than what the prosecution in the case was seeking. The judge also gave Chansley credit for time served, making the net sentence around 31 months in prison.
...

[Skinypupy]

All while being denounced by the MAGA Derp Squad as a deep state antifa plant, which probably hurts him worse.

FAFO, indeed.

[Defiant]

[Brian]

I'm sure Mr. "I-Take-No-Responsibility" will get right on that.

[malchior]

I mean he might do something for his volk but he has to wait 2+ years. They have good reason to think he would spring them. (Especially if it made him more popular) He can only help so much right now.

[Jaymon]

Perhaps he should join them in person at their new living space. I'm sure that will boost morale.

[Remus West]

Perhaps he should join them in person at their new living space. I'm sure that will boost morale.

I know it would raise mine.

[Holman]

It's hard to imagine Roger Stone or Alex Jones actually testifying. They'll flee to Belarus first.

[Jaymann]

I hope it's not THAT Jennifer Lawrence.

[Isgrimnur]

It's not

[Holman]

It's not

Posing with that car is just asking to be killed in a hail of gunfire.

[Holman]

The Democratic-led House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a new round of subpoenas to far right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.

In all, the panel issued five new subpoenas, which includes demands for records and testimony. Subpoenas were also issued for Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, who was chairman of the Proud Boys, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, president of the Oath Keepers, and Robert Patrick Lewis, chairman of 1st Amendment Praetorian, which provided security at multiple rallies leading up to January 6.

[Pyperkub]

The Alex Jones subpoena is also interesting:

Jones. The Committee’s subpoena cover letter is chock-full of explosive information that much of the public likely did not yet know. The information relates directly to what seems like an increasingly apparent conspiracy.

For example, on December 29, 2020, Jones said on his show, “Now I know some incredible information that I am not at liberty to tell you. But I am at liberty to give you a hint, which I don’t think is too hard. You notice Trump said, ‘January 6th will be wild in D.C.?’ Well, it will be wild.”

A natural set of questions arise from this. With whom had he been speaking about this “incredible information”? Did it include members of the administration? What did they tell him? The information had to be something other than the basic notion that people were going to attend a rally at the Ellipse where then President Trump would be speaking, which was already commonplace information. These statements, which are both self-aggrandizing and could tie him criminally to a conspiracy, can’t logically be seen as much other than an admission that official higher-ups were informing him of a real plan. That plan, as the facts seem to demonstrate more and more, depended on large numbers of people assembling on the Ellipse, being whipped into a frenzy by rally speakers, and then unleashed upon the Capitol. Jones was at the heart of this by urging his followers to show up in Washington, D.C. and by lining up the financing to fund the Ellipse rally.

The letter also notes that on Jones’s show on December 31, he had host Matt Bracken stand in for him. Bracken told listeners:

We’re not going to be saved by anybody above us. We’re only going to be saved by millions of Americans moving to Washington, occupying the entire area, if necessary storming into the Capitol. We know the rules of engagement. If you have enough people, you can push down any fence or wall.

Again, some key questions arise. Did Jones discuss a plan with Bracken? If so, was it the same plan discussed by the White House? It would be highly unusual for Bracken to make such incendiary statements without Jones’s prior consent, and in any event there is no evidence that Jones did anything to edit or censor him afterwards. Bracken was effectively speaking for Jones on his show. And what he was calling for, a week before it actually happened, was a mob takeover of the Capitol by force.

[Smoove_B]

Rolling Stone with another scoop (I think):

EXCLUSIVE: Jan. 6 rally organizers used anonymous ‘burner phones’ to communicate with White House and Trump family, sources say

From the article:

Kylie Kremer, a top official in the March for Trump group that helped plan the Ellipse rally, directed an aide to pick up three burner phones days before Jan. 6, according to three sources who were involved in the event. One of the sources, a member of the March for Trump team, says Kremer insisted the phones be purchased using cash and described this as being “of the utmost importance.”

The three sources say Kylie Kremer took one of the phones and used it to communicate with top White House and Trump campaign officials, including Eric Trump, the president’s second-oldest son, who leads the family’s real-estate business; Lara Trump, Eric’s wife and a former senior Trump campaign consultant; Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff; and Katrina Pierson, a Trump surrogate and campaign consultant.

The member says a second phone was given to Amy Kremer, Kylie Kremer’s mother and another key rally organizer. The team member says they did not know who the third phone was purchased for.

[Pyperkub]

Maybe. Not big on the anonymous sources, though 3 is better than 1. The fact that they were able to park at the Trump property is some interesting evidence (needing documented corroboration, of course).

[Isgrimnur]

CNN

Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows is cooperating with the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot and is providing records and agreeing to appear for an initial interview, CNN first reported Tuesday.

The move represents a critical shift in the relationship between the top Trump ally and the panel, and staving off a criminal contempt referral for now.

[Carpet_pissr]

"If you just allow us to save a little face and agree to appear and actually show up, then we won't go after you for whatever bullshit nonsense you spout off when you get here. If the only thing out of your mouth when you're here is a rousing rendition of "It's a Small World" or Conan O'Brien's 2011 Dartmouth College Commencement speech, we're good, understood?"

[malchior]

Steve Bannon trial set for...July While I'm glad we don't have instant "justice" like some other authoritarian countries, 9 months to start a trial from the time he tells Congress to pound sand is a long time. The system is just too slow to catch up with the collapse we are seeing.

[malchior]

"If you just allow us to save a little face and agree to appear and actually show up, then we won't go after you for whatever bullshit nonsense you spout off when you get here. If the only thing out of your mouth when you're here is a rousing rendition of "It's a Small World" or Conan O'Brien's 2011 Dartmouth College Commencement speech, we're good, understood?"

Yup. Yet, Meadows seems to be calculating that he could delay the committee itself, delay an Indictment, draw out a trial, maybe win or lose it, but in the end it is better to stick with what will probably be the winning side of our cold civil war. We will know today whether he will join the rest of the group thumbing their noses at Congress.

[Octavious]

I'd say the lawsuit he filed answers that question. I mean it's totally going to work. Just muck things up in court until the midterms and poof everything is gone. We're just so fn screwed.

[malchior]

I'd say the lawsuit he filed answers that question. I mean it's totally going to work. Just muck things up in court until the midterms and poof everything is gone. We're just so fn screwed.

Yup. Liz Cheney said she looked forward to litigating this. I'm sure the whole lot do because it'll serve as a distraction from the lack of progress. This was the smart move because he actually is in a position where everyone serious will say he has a reasonable case.

[malchior]

Meanwhile, the one of the few who fucking gets it. Unfortunately he is being ignored by Pelosi et. al.

[Kraken]

Appeals court rules that trump documents are fair game. Next stop will be his toadies in SCOTUS.

The appeals court said Trump could not show any specific harm that he would suffer from the disclosure of the documents.

Millett closed her ruling by quoting Benjamin Franklin’s words that we have “[a] Republic”—“if [we] can keep it.”

“The events of January 6th exposed the fragility of those democratic institutions and traditions that we had perhaps come to take for granted,” she wrote. “In response, the President of the United States and Congress have each made the judgment that access to this subset of presidential communication records is necessary to address a matter of great constitutional moment for the Republic.”

[Grifman]

Meadows provided this PowerPoint to the committee. I'm not sure who put this together but it was an outline for Trump to throw out all electronic and absentee ballots, count on "legal" paper ballots and seize power:

[Jaymann]

I would love to see some actual analysis to see if you discount these votes if Florida Man still loses.

[Grifman]

I would love to see some actual analysis to see if you discount these votes if Florida Man still loses.

If you throw out absentees, he wins, as Democrats were overwhelmingly absentee voters, more so than Republicans.

[hepcat]

I feel like The End on the final page should slowly fade in a question mark while the letters drip blood.

[malchior]

I like that they made a PowerPoint for their coup. I think it is fair to say we pretty much know how wthey tried to steal the election. The reason they failed was that several groups of brave folks stood up against it. And the GOP learned from the failure and has spent the entire year minimizing the attempt and ensuring those impediments won't be there next time.