Today a very brave young woman, Cassidy Hutchinson, testified before the January 6th Committee. A number of things about the hearing were noteworthy. First was that it happened at all; this was almost certainly because Hutchinson had been threatened by Trump and his MAGA cronies and the Committee was fearful that she might either refuse to testify if the intimidation succeeded; or possibly worse.
Next were some important revelations. Three stood out for me:
- Trump wanted to let heavily armed individuals (probably members of the Oath Keeps, the Proud Boys or other similar pseudo-paramilitary clubs) into his speech at the Ellipse on the morning of January 6th. Despite being told they were heavily armed he reasoned (rightly) that they were not there to harm him, and he wanted a really really big crowd for the TV - just like at his inauguration.
- Trump and his advisors all new that there was a real possibility for the crowd to turn into an ugly violent mob, yet they were either dismissive (Meadows) or in some cases (Trump) hoping for exactly that.
- Not only is Trump ruthless and utterly unprincipled (something many of us predicted six years ago and for which he has provided ample evidence since), but he is also a sociopath with a tendency for real violence and almost no self-control. His plate throwing was just a taster; his physical assault on his driver and the head of his security detail when they refused to take him to the Capitol after his speech at the Ellipse was simply jaw-dropping.
Yet despite all of the evidence assembled and presented at these hearings, the MAGA crowd will be unmoved, either because the weren't listening or if they were, will say (and may even believe) that is is all part of a sinister plot by the Communists, ANTIFA and the Jews to destroy the white Christian society that they think of as "America".
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