I Couldn't Stand It

I had the best of intentions, but the allure was too strong.  I spent part of last night and this morning reading the 154 pages of teh Jan 6th Committee's Executive Summary. 154 pages seems like a lot to be called a Summary, but I tackled it anyway.  

I will spare you the chore of reading it yourself by excerpting some of the highlights from the first 60 some pages.  This should get you through any water cooler conversations that might crop up this week.... if you can get past his taxes and Zelenskyy and the debt ceiling.

(Quotes from the Summary are in italics; the numbers following the quotes refer to the footnotes/documentation))

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Who were these people who thought that storming the Capitol was the right thing to do?  Here's an answer:

12 • Lewis Cantwell testified: If “the President of the United States … [is] out on TV telling the world that it was stolen, what else would I believe, as a patriotic American who voted for him and wants to continue to see the country thrive as I thought it was?”

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Lewis Cantwell wasn't the only one.  The Committee has compiled hundreds of similar statements from participants in the January 6th attack.17.”

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There is snark    This Report supplies an immense volume of information and testimony assembled through the Select Committee’s investigation, including information obtained following litigation in Federal district and appellate courts, as well as in the U.S. Supreme Court.

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They exonerated several entities.

 Although evidence identifies a likely miscommunication between members of the civilian leadership in the Department of Defense impacting the timing of deployment, the Committee has found no evidence that the Department of Defense intentionally delayed deployment of the National Guard. The Select Committee recognizes that some at the Department had genuine concerns, counseling caution, that President Trump might give an illegal order to use the military in support of his efforts to overturn the election.  

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They took on Fox News    

Although the Committee’s hearings were viewed live by tens of millions of Americans and widely publicized in nearly every major news source,22 the Committee also recognizes that other news outlets and commentators have actively discouraged viewers from watching, and that millions of other Americans have not yet seen the actual evidence addressed by this Report. Accordingly, the Committee is also releasing video summaries of relevant evidence on each major topic investigated.

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And then there's this.

According to testimony received by the Select Committee, the only advisor present who supported President Trump’s inclination to declare victory was Rudolph Giuliani, who appeared to be inebriated.40

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And this

 Cipollone: They didn’t think that we were, you know – they didn’t think we believed this, you know, that there had been massive fraud in the election, and the reason they didn’t think we believed it is because we didn’t.

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I'll be watching President Zelenskyy.  I'll be perusing the Trump tax documents.  I'll keep you informed as I plow through the Report and the Transcripts (I'm capitalizing them because they feel Important).

But right now, I'm going to dive into full on holiday mode, with the first Winter Solstice Party I've ever attended.  There will be a ceremony.  I'll tell you all about it next week.