;)
The Commentariat -- January 7, 2021
Late Morning Update:
Former Chief-of-Staff Suddenly Notices Trump is Dangerously Crazy. Rachel Elbaum of NBC News: "... Donald Trump's former acting chief of staff and current special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney on Thursday said he has resigned from his post after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol. 'I called [Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo last night to let him know I would be resigning from that. I just can't do it. I can't stay,' Mulvaney said in an interview with CNBC.... 'Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with a couple of them, are choosing to stay because they're concerned the president might put someone in to replace them that could make things even worse,' Mulvaney said."
Trump Banned from Facebook for Remainder of Presidency. Rebecca Heilweil & Shirin Ghaffary of Vox: "... on Thursday, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would be indefinitely suspending Trump's ability to post on the platform. Zuckerberg said that Trump would be barred from posting on Facebook and Instagram for at least the next two weeks, the remainder of his presidency."
Sara Fischer of Axios: "The right's favored media -- conservative TV, websites and social networks -- offered an alternate reality in which everyone but pro-Trump rioters were to blame for the mayhem at the Capitol. Here's the version of events a good chunk of America got: Instead of condemning the pro-Trump mobs that stormed Washington, right-wing media outlets mostly blamed left-wing activists, the media, Vice President Pence -- and even police officers -- for the riots that some suggested were the start of a 'civil war' in America. Hosts on Fox News, One America News Network and Newsmax went so far as to baselessly suggest that the unlawful protestors at the Capitol may have been members of Antifa.... Tucker Carlson ended the monologue at the top of his Fox News show by saying: 'We got to this sad, chaotic day for a reason. It is not your fault. It is their fault.'... Even when it became obvious that the riots were becoming destructive, right-wing networks downplayed the severity of events, calling those marching on the Capitol mostly peaceful protestors."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: "As Americans were transfixed by the spectacle of the Capitol under siege, the coronavirus continued to sweep across the United States. Officials reported at least 3,963 new coronavirus deaths in the United States on Wednesday, a new single-day record, though delayed recording because of the holidays might have played a role. The daily death toll in New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania also set records. Some states also reported single-day case records, while Illinois became one of five states that have now recorded their millionth case since the pandemic began."
~~~~~~~~~~
Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "Members of Congress, shaken and angry following a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of President Trump's supporters, put a final stamp on President-elect Joe Biden's victory early Thursday morning and brought an end to a historically turbulent post-election period. Republicans had at one point planned to object to the electoral college votes in a series of states won by Biden, but after the storming of the Capitol, several GOP senators changed course, disputing only Arizona and Pennsylvania. Both challenges failed.... Shortly after Congress affirmed Biden's win, Trump pledged an 'an orderly transition.' The statement, tweeted by White House social media director Dan Scavino as Trump remained locked out of his own Twitter account, stops short of conceding or congratulating Biden. 'Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,' Trump said, noting that Congress's action 'represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history.'... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she had consulted with fellow congressional leaders, the Pentagon, the Justice Department and Vice President Pence before concluding that Congress should move ahead with the ceremony interrupted earlier in the day by rioters provoked to action by Trump at a morning rally. 'Today, a shameful assault was made on our democracy. It was anointed at the highest level of government. It cannot, however, deter us from our responsibility to validate the election of Joe Biden,'..."
-- NYT Online Banner Headline ~~~
"Trump Incites Mob" -- NYT Print Banner Headline
The New York Times is liveblogging events around what is supposed to be a ceremonial Electoral College vote count before a joint session of Congress. "Congress confirmed President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory early Thursday morning, hours after a mob of loyalists urged on by President Trump stormed and occupied the Capitol, disrupting the final electoral count in a shocking display of violence that shook the core of American democracy. President Trump, who spent months stoking the anger of his supporters with false claims that the election was stolen and refused to condemn the violent protesters on Wednesday, said early Thursday that he would respect the results of the election.... Mr. Trump's comments came moments after Mr. Biden's victory was certified shortly before 4 a.m. by a joint session of Congress presided over by Vice President Mike Pence.... [MB: IOW, he's still pretending he won.]
"... the Senate rejected an attempt from Republicans to overturn the will of Pennsylvania voters early Thursday morning, effectively ending a final attempt from insurgents to turn a loss for President Trump in the state into a win. By a vote of 92 to 7, the Senate turned back the challenge shortly before 1 a.m....
"Congress voted down an attempt to overturn the will of Arizona's voters on Wednesday night, after a violent mob stormed the Capitol in a brazen effort to keep President Trump in office despite his decisive election loss in November. While the House rejected the attempt with 303-to-121 vote, more than half of the Republican conference sought to overturn the Arizona electoral slate despite pleas from Democrats to reconsider after an insurgent mob stormed the Capitol. Representatives Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader, and Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, were among those seeking to keep Mr. Trump in office despite his loss. The Senate offered a sharper rebuke with a 93-to-6 vote after at least four Republican lawmakers ... said they had changed their minds and would vote to uphold the Electoral College results...." ...
“Lawmakers resumed counting Electoral College votes on Wednesday, hours after a mob of Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol resulting in the death of one woman, with Vice President Mike Pence gaveling in the session and saying that Wednesday was a 'dark day in the history of the United States Capitol.' 'To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win,' Mr. Pence said. 'Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people's house.' Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, promptly vowed that the Senate would finish its work Wednesday night, undeterred by 'failed insurrection.' 'They tried to disrupt our democracy,' he said. 'They failed. They failed.' ~~~
~~~ "Earlier in the evening, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues that they were determined to reconvene saying, 'We always knew this responsibility would take us into the night.' Violence overtook the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, when a mob loyal to President Trump stormed the building, halting Congress's counting of the votes as the police evacuated lawmakers in a scene of violence, chaos and disruption that shook the core of American democracy. The sergeant-at-arms, the top security official at the Capitol, announced that the building had been secured around 5:40 p.m.... ~~~
~~~ "In a scene of unrest common in authoritarian countries but seldom witnessed in the history of the United States capital, hundreds of people in the mob barreled past fence barricades outside the Capitol and clashed with officers. Shouting demonstrators mobbed the second floor lobby just outside the Senate chamber, as law enforcement officials placed themselves in front of the chamber doors. For a time, senators and members of the House were locked inside their respective chambers. Images posted on social media showed at least one person took to the rostrum of the House chamber to declare his support for Mr. Trump.... ~~~
~~~ "In a brief video posted to his Twitter account shortly after 4 p.m., Mr. Trump repeated his baseless claim that 'the election was stolen' and spoke in sympathetic and affectionate terms to members of the mob, before advising them to 'go home.' 'We love you,' he added. The posting, which Twitter later removed after locking the president's account, came hours after Mr. Trump appeared at a rally in which he exhorted his supporters to go to the Capitol to register their discontent....
"Appalled by the violence that engulfed the Capitol on Wednesday, at least four Republican lawmakers, including Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, said they had changed their minds and would vote to uphold the Electoral College results after having previously said they would object to them.... Ms. Loeffler's remarks came after Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and Senator Steve Daines of Montana condemned the actions of the mob of Trump loyalists who stormed the Capitol earlier on Wednesday and said they would no longer back an effort by some of their Republican colleagues to throw out the election results. Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, joined the group late Wednesday as well, releasing a joint statement with Mr. Daines that called on 'the entire Congress to come together and vote to certify the election results.'...
"The violence at the Capitol broke out around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday.... Within minutes of Trump supporters breaching the Capitol complex, a mob was pounding on the doors of the House gallery, where a group of lawmakers were trapped. 'I thought we'd have to fight our way out,' said Representative Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado and a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq. He said he moved the others away from the barricaded door in the gallery, helping them don gas masks and telling them to take off the lapel pins assigned to all House members.... Representative Patrick Fallon, Republican of Texas, wrote on Facebook: 'We broke off furniture to make clubs to defend the US House of Representatives.'... After 15 minutes, Mr. Crow said, the Capitol Police and SWAT team members cleared a path outside the gallery, above the House floor, and hustled the lawmakers out on a rescue mission. With the police in the lead, guns drawn, the lawmakers entered a scene of chaos and mayhem, Mr. Crow said. Some officers rushed to barricade other doors to block the mob, which swarmed the hallways just steps from where lawmakers were meeting, wearing and carrying pro-Trump paraphernalia. Other officers pinned some Trump supporters to the ground to allow the lawmakers pass....
"President Trump on Wednesday evening openly condoned on social media the violence unfolding at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol, prompting Facebook and Twitter to remove his posts and lock his accounts. 'These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,' Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday evening, after spending much of the afternoon in the Oval Office watching footage of escalating violence unfolding on Capitol Hill. 'Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!'... It was only hours into the melee, and after an explosive device was found at the Republican National Committee headquarters, that Mr. Trump released a message telling the mob to leave....
"In the hours after President Trump took to social media to openly condone the violence at the Capitol, he found himself increasingly isolated as White House officials began submitting their resignations, with more expected to follow suit. Stephanie Grisham, the former White House press secretary who served as the chief of staff to Melania Trump..., submitted her resignation after the violent protests.... Rickie Niceta, the White House social secretary, also said she was resigning.... And Sarah Matthews, a deputy White House press secretary, also submitted her resignation, saying in a statement that she was 'deeply disturbed by what I saw today.'...
"After a mob of President Trump's supporters stormed Capitol Hill, egged on by his rejection of the 2020 election results, a small but growing chorus of civic and business leaders and lawmakers released statements calling for his removal from power. Some suggested that Vice President Mike Pence should invoke the 25th Amendment, which provides procedures that can be used to replace a sitting president who is no longer capable of fulfilling his duties." [Here's the full statement of National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons, who has worked closely with Trump but now is calling for invocation of the 25th Amendment.]
Kaitlin Collins, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger resigned Wednesday afternoon in response to Trump's reaction to a mob of his supporters breaching the US Capitol, a person close to Pottinger confirms to CNN. Pottinger told people there was very little for him to consider.... Several of Trump's top national security aides -- including national security adviser Robert O'Brien -- are considering resigning in the wake of his response to a day of chaos and violence, according to multiple sources familiar with their thinking. Deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell is also considering resigning, according to the sources. Earlier Wednesday, O'Brien took the unusual step of defending Vice President Mike Pence, as Trump has been consumed by the vice president's refusal to do his bidding instead of the mob that breached Capitol Hill. O'Brien said Pence showed courage as Trump lambasted him."
Phone-challenged Rudy Is Still Trying to Slow Vote Count. Steve Hayes of the Dispatch: "Rudy Giuliani ... is calling Republican lawmakers urging them to delay the electoral vote count by at least one day to allow the president and his team to present more evidence of alleged election fraud. Giuliani was making calls this evening, as late as an hour before Congress reconvened, in a desperate attempt to block the final count of Electoral College votes. At approximately 7 p.m., Giuliani called newly sworn-in Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, imploring him to stall the process.... Giuliani tells Tuberville that McConnell wants to narrow the objections to just three states and explains that the Trump team wants to object to 10.... The problem for Giuliani? He left his message on the voicemail of another senator, who shared it with The Dispatch. It's not clear whether Giuliani -- who opens the call by referring to himself as 'the president's lawyer' -- was directed to call Tuberville by President Trump." Update: Now includes the audio of Giuliani's call. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't know what Trump directed Rudy to do, but A.B. Stoddard, appearing on MSNBC, reported that Trump was "excited" by his supporters' invasion of the Capitol. See also Kaitlan Collins' CNN report, linked below.
Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the Washington Post: "A handful of Senate Republicans who had vowed to protest President-elect Joe Biden's electoral college win abruptly reversed their objections after a mob of President Trump's supporters violently stormed the Capitol -- even as other rogue senators signaled they would continue to contest the election results after Wednesday's deadly siege.... But one key senator -- Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the first senator to announce he would protest the electoral college results &-- refused to relent. Hawley still plans to object to confirming the electoral votes from Pennsylvania during joint session.... Hawley noted that he would speak about the Pennsylvania electors during the debate over Arizona's results, 'in lieu of speaking about it later.'"
Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "Vice President Mike Pence, not ... Donald Trump, helped facilitate the decision to mobilize members of the DC National Guard Wednesday when violence at the US Capitol building started to escalate, according to a source familiar with the move and public comments from top officials. Trump, who has proven over the past year to be eager to deploy the National Guard when violence breaks out, initially resisted doing so on Capitol Hill Wednesday as a mob of his supporters breached the building, per a source familiar. Pence played a key role in coordinating with the Pentagon about deploying them, and urged them to move faster than they were. The news raises questions about who was acting as commander in chief on one of America's darkest days, which saw the country's legislature overrun for the first time since the British attacked and burned the building in August 1814."
Brandy Zadrozny & Ben Collins of NBC News: "Radical conservative activists and allies of ... Donald Trump quickly began to spread disinformation about the Capitol riots Wednesday, claiming with no evidence that pro-Trump protesters photographed breaking into congressional chambers were anti-fascist activists. L. Lin Wood, a lawyer behind multiple failed lawsuits seeking to overturn the election results who has also pushed QAnon-related conspiracy theories, tweeted photos of the break-in alongside photos of a pair of notorious American neo-Nazis, claiming that the photos offered 'indisputable photographic evidence that antifa violently broke into Congress today.' The claims are typical of many that arise during major news events and particularly violent acts; fringe communities often label them 'false flag' attacks meant to push a liberal political agenda."
The Washington Post's live update of Wednesday's debacle is here. The page is free to non-subscribers: "Trump ... took the stage about noon to roaring crowds, falsely claiming he had won the election. Later at the U.S. Capitol, throngs of people pushed past police who were trying to block them from entering the building as lawmakers inside debated counting electoral college votes confirming Biden's victory. A mob was able to breach security and successfully enter the building, where one person was shot and later died....
"Former presidents and members of Congress denounced Trump and his supporters Wednesday for inspiring and enabling the violent storming of the Capitol. Former president Barack Obama said in a statement that history will remember violence 'incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election.' But he also blamed 'a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem' for playing along with Trump's falsehoods, saying Republican leaders can either continue down a dark path or 'choose reality.' Former president Bill Clinton said that Wednesday's 'unprecedented assault on our Capitol, our Constitution, and our country' was long in the making. 'The match was lit by Donald Trump and his most ardent enablers, including many in Congress, to overturn the results of an election he lost,' Clinton tweeted....
"Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) released a blistering critique of Trump, saying the day's events were the result of a 'selfish man's injured pride and the outrage of his supporters whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning.... 'What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States,' he said. Former president George W. Bush did not mention Trump or any other leader by name but criticized the politicians who 'inflamed' those who broke into the Capitol building, where a woman was fatally shot.... [Here's Romney's full prepared statement.]
"What appeared to be two realistic-looking homemade bombs were found near the Republican National Committee headquarters and the Democratic National Committee headquarters in downtown Washington, officials said Wednesday, adding to the danger and disorder centered around Congress....
"Twitter locked President Trump out of his account for the first time late Wednesday, the most punitive step the social media giant has taken so far against the president on a day of social unrest and violence in Washington. The timeout, which will last for 12 hours, also included the removal of three tweets and a warning that Trump could be subject to a permanent suspension if he continues tweeting baseless conspiracies about the election and inciting violence....
"As pro-Trump protesters began to wander away from the Capitol, some showed up at Black Lives Matter Plaza, where a brawl erupted with anti-Trump protesters involving pepper spray and at least one Taser....
"Shortly before 5 p.m., law enforcement officers on the uppermost level of the Capitol's west plaza began moving to break up the mob, using flash bangs and other riot-control tools. Earlier, some rioters scaled the walls to join the crowds on the elevated plaza and climbed the viewing platforms and media scaffolding set up for the inauguration. As they chanted 'shame on Pence,' a firecracker went off. A line of police officers in gas masks and riot gear stood between the crowd and the lighted windows of the building. 'These f------ are lucky we're not here with our AR-15s,' one man said....
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants senators to return to the chamber Wednesday night to finish counting electoral votes, and he puts a lot of the blame for the day's events on President Trump, an adviser to the Kentucky Republican said. The adviser ... said McConnell had not spoken to Trump on Wednesday but is angry with him and blames Trump for inciting his supporters....
"D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser condemned rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol, urging residents to stay calm and stay at home under a citywide curfew she imposed that begins at 6 p.m....
"Just before 4 p.m., police officers confronted a mob of hundreds trying to break through a door on the north side of the U.S. Capitol. Law enforcement used batons against demonstrators, who swung flagpoles. Both groups used pepper spray. Shortly after, the rioters overpowered the officers and stormed into the building, chanting 'treason' and 'our house.' A few minutes later, clouds of tear gas emerged over the crowd, and people ran from the Capitol. The mob members who made it inside the Capitol took on a celebrity status when they came back out....
"A mob of about 100 people stormed a press staging area with TV cameras just before 5 p.m. They knocked over barricades and began stomping on and destroying camera equipment, some hitting the equipment with Trump flags. The people yelled: 'CNN sucks!' and 'These are the real enemies; these are the real problem.'...
"Compared to the mass of demonstrators who surrounded and stormed the Capitol earlier in the afternoon, just hundreds remained at dusk. They appeared to be intent on causing additional chaos. Those who remained spoke of violence, taunted police and surrounded a group of TV reporters -- threatening them, destroying their camera equipment and taking over their staging area. 'Traitors get the rope!' one man chanted. As law enforcement moved protesters off the Capitol steps with flash bangs and canisters that released irritants, several demonstrators charged the officers. One man threw a Trump flag, while others chanted 'Traitors!'...
"Violence was evident among rioters Wednesday when, shortly after 4 p.m., a fight broke out on the east side of the Capitol building, with one man tumbling down the stairs as others threw punches. Other protesters pulled the fight apart. It was unclear who was involved. By this time, hundreds of people who had previously gathered in the area had fled, saying they feared injury after reports of a shooting inside the building spread through the crowd. Still, hundreds remained, mostly gathered on the steps and allowed to roam freely. Groups of police officers were convened nearby, but they stayed back from the protesters and did not interfere....
"Soon after facing backlash, Ivanka Trump deleted her tweet describing the mob that violently stormed the Capitol as 'American Patriots' and condemned the violence. In the now-deleted tweet, the president's eldest daughter wrote, 'American Patriots -- any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful.'...
"By 3 p.m., rioters were using ropes and makeshift ladders to reach the north side of the Capitol -- although far more simply walked around the corner and reached the building&'s outer walls on foot.... An hour later, thousands were still massed outside the Capitol, filling the bleachers set up for Biden's inauguration and spilling out onto the Mall. They sang the national anthem, blew shofars and horns, and chanted 'U-S-A!' and 'Fight for Trump!' as police lined up along the Capitol railing nearby....
"Ahead of Wednesday's events, several law enforcement officials said that they did not want to overreact to the planned protest, and that street clashes are primarily the responsibility of D.C. police and the U.S. Capitol Police. But on Wednesday, after angry pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, officials scrambled to pull in resources to take back control of the building. Acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen, who is overseeing the federal response, called the violence 'an intolerable attack on a fundamental institution of our democracy' and said the Justice Department has been working with the Capitol Police 'from the outset.' In the afternoon, hundreds of federal law enforcement agents from the FBI, ATF and the U.S. Marshals Service were sent to assist the Capitol Police 'in addressing this unacceptable situation, and we intend to enforce the laws of our land,' Rosen said....
"President Trump called on people who had stormed the Capitol on Wednesday to 'go home' in a video message posted to Twitter. 'This was a fraudulent election, but we can't play into the hands of these people,' Trump said in the taped video outside the Oval Office that was posted around 4:15 p.m. 'We have to have peace. So go home, we love you, you&'re very special.' The message came shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday called on Trump to issue a statement urging the rioters at the Capitol to disperse....
"After U.S. Capitol Police were overwhelmed by a mob, other law enforcement agencies, including the Maryland and Virginia state police, are rushing to help. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed the Federal Protective Service and Secret Service to assist Capitol Police at the latter's request, said DHS spokesman Alexei Woltornist....
"Maryland and Virginia state troopers and National Guard members will assist at the U.S. Capitol. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said shortly after 3:30 p.m. that he had sent members of the Virginia National Guard and 200 state troopers to the District at Mayor Muriel E. Bowser's request. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) also said he was sending 200 state troopers and an unspecified number of Maryland National Guard members to help restore order....
"President Trump, who repeatedly urged his supporters gathered on the Ellipse earlier Wednesday to march to the U.S. Capitol to demand that Congress overturn the election, tweeted a call to 'stay peaceful' as some of those supporters broke into the Capitol building....
"As Trump supporters stormed the Capitol trying to overturn his victory, President-elect Joe Biden delivered a stern call to stop what he called 'a god-awful display' and called on Trump to 'step up.' 'I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,' Biden said, condemning the president for stoking the flames.... 'At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we have seen in modern times, an assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself,' Biden said, calling the protests an 'assault on the most sacred of American undertakings -- the doing of the people's business.'... Biden offered his remarks from Wilmington, Del....
"The situation outside the Capitol escalated around 2 p.m. In one big push, Trump supporters, who had earlier stormed past the barricades, climbed up the steps to the Capitol building, overwhelming the line of officers on guard. Hundreds, then thousands followed them. Some scaled the walls to get up; others climbed over one another to reach the top. For over an hour, people banged on the doors of the Capitol on the north and west sides, chanting, 'Let us in! Let us in!' Chaos ensued whenever authorities inside the building released pepper balls or smoke bombs into the crowd but it was never enough to disperse the group completely. Within minutes, protesters, primarily White men, would cluster around the doors again, yelling, arguing and calling for revolution. On the west side of the Capitol, facing the Washington Monument, protesters mounted Confederate flags and Trump 2020 flags to waves of applause from the crowd....
"The entire D.C. National Guard will be activated within hours, putting 1,100 guardsmen on duty after protesters supporting outgoing President Trump breached the Capitol. The rapid expansion of military involvement came after Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) requested that guardsmen already on duty be sent to the Capitol, said the defense official and a District official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due the sensitivity of the issue....
"As debate on the first electoral objection lingered on, senators started realizing that the chaos was ensuing, and shortly after 2 p.m. Vice President Pence and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the president pro tempore of the Senate, in the line of succession, were evacuated. From the second floor, just outside the Chamber, protesters could be heard on the first floor, as police screamed back and loud thwacking sound could be heard. As Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) finished defending her state's electoral count for President-elect Joe Biden, the Senate went into a quorum call. Capitol Police circled the Senate Chamber, ordering all staff and reporters and any nearby senators into the Chamber -- which was immediately sealed off, locked down on the second and third floors, sealing off any entry to the Chamber. The Senate adjourned....
"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) condemned the storming of the Capitol and called on President Trump to make a statement in a bid to calm the mob....
"Throngs of pro-Trump supporters burst through security barricades and stormed the U.S. Capitol, where they entered the Senate chamber and forced police to deploy tear gas inside. Lawmakers, tweeting from inside, captured a terrifying scene, with many Democrats assailing Trump for provoking his supporters to attempt what some called a coup of the federal government.
Vice President "Pence, in a letter to lawmakers Wednesday, rejected Trump's view that he could unilaterally reject electoral college votes from states won by Biden when he presides over a joint session of Congress. 'My oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,' Pence said in the letter. 'My role as presiding officer is largely ceremonial.' His letter circulated as Trump repeatedly implored him to intervene in Congress's counting of the results during a rally at the White House Ellipse.... ~~~
~~~ "Rudolph W. Giuliani ... deployed violent imagery Wednesday in describing the president's efforts to overturn Biden's win, calling for the White House race to be settled by 'trial by combat.' As he addressed a crowd gathered outside the White House awaiting Trump's remarks, Giuliani asserted that Pence has the power to unilaterally reject the electoral vote tally, even though the vice president has no such authority." (Also linked yesterday.)
These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. -- Donald Trump, in a tweet Wednesday afternoon ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Before Trump left the White House to give his incendiary speech yesterday, he chastised Vice President “Pence as soft. He accused Mr. Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, of being responsible for Mr. Pence's position, and told his own aides that Mr. Short ... was 'not welcome' [in the White House].... He made clear in his roughly 70-minute speech that he was furious with Mr. Pence and that he wanted the people gathered on the National Mall to go to the Capitol immediately afterward in protest of what he falsely claimed was a stolen election.... [Earlier in the day,] Donald Trump Jr., warmed up the audience by warning of challenges to Republican members of Congress who did not back the pro-Trump efforts: 'We're coming for you,' he said.... Mr. Trump monitored the [violent] scene [at the Capitol] as it unfolded on television.... He continued to disparage Mr. Pence and told people that he was glad that the two Republican incumbents in Georgia, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, lost their Senate races, saying they had not done enough to defend him.... [He] he president resisted repeated appeals from advisers [to condemn the violence].... As allies of the president began to go public with their disgust ... and urged him to speak out, White House aides finally coaxed Mr. Trump into a tweet in which he did not condemn the violence." ~~~
~~~ Marie: During his speech, as he told his followers to "we'll walk to the Capitol," President* Trump said, "I'll be there with you." He was not.
David Corn of Mother Jones: "By depicting his electoral loss as a theft and profound threat to the nation, Trump signaled to his followers, especially the extremists, that now was a desperate time requiring desperate measures. With such talk, he has become the instigator of one of the most significant terrorist actions in modern American history.... He has been enabled and supported for years by the Republican Party, Fox News, and other right-wing media, and the conservative movement, even as he fueled hatred and division and his corruptions were repeatedly exposed.... The perps are white people who have been riled up by Trump -- and by his handmaids.... After the election, when Trump would not concede, Republican officials, following suit, would not recognize the results. Humor Trump, they said. What harm could come from giving him time to get used to being a loser? Here is the result: Terrorism."
The BBC posts a page of photos of the attempted coup. For instance, there's this guy: ~~~
~~~ Richard Ruelas of the Arizona Republic: "Among the supporters of ... Donald Trump who mobbed their way into the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday [MB: Wednesday], one -- unmistakable in his fur, horned hat and painted face -- was Jake Angeli, a QAnon supporter who has been a fixture at Arizona right-wing political rallies over the past year." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post has a slide show here. The Post's staff reconstructs the attack on the Capitol.
Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "Pro-Donald Trump rioters overwhelmed the Capitol Police and stormed Congress on Wednesday afternoon, interrupting the certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College win and throwing the U.S. Capitol into a deadly spiral of chaos and violence.... Protesters breached the Capitol, entering the Senate chamber and streaming through Statuary Hall. They broke windows and one man sat in the very seat Pence had been sitting in just a few minutes before, while another was in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. A handwritten message was left on the speaker's desk, saying, 'We will not back down.' Lawmakers, reporters and staffers sheltered throughout the building as pro-Trump rioters banged on doors and shouted. At one point, gunfire was heard inside the Capitol as Capitol police officers barricaded the doors to the House chamber, guns drawn and blocking rioters from entering. D.C. Police later confirmed one person was shot and killed.... Tear gas was deployed in the rotunda and an improvised explosive device was found on the Capitol grounds. The FBI later said that an investigation into the IED was 'ongoing.' Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) were quickly whisked away to undisclosed locations as the violent protesters broke through the Capitol, busting through secure doors, shattering windows and even scaling scaffolding outside of Senate leadership offices. One person was injured when they fell more than 30 feet from the scaffolding."
Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "The storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of President Trump's supporters on Wednesday was a disastrous failure of security: In a city on high alert, in a building with its own 2,000-officer police department, people forced their way into the sanctums of American democracy with nothing more than flagpoles, riot shields and shoves. Nobody stopped them -- and some officers were captured on video appearing to stand back as rioters streamed inside.... Law enforcement experts said they were mystified by the tactics that police used once the mob was already inside the Capitol.... One image posted on social media showed an officer taking a selfie with one of the intruders, and a video seemed to show officers opening the security fence to let Trump supporters closer. Police did not appear to try to detain the rioters, allowing them to leave unhindered. One even held a woman's hand to steady her on the Capitol steps. The result was an invasion, in which a heavily guarded symbol of American strength and order fell to chaos with stunning speed.... Wednesday's response by the Capitol Police was a striking contrast to how the force has handled apparent threats near the building in the past.... Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who chairs a committee that oversees the Capitol Police budget, said Wednesday night that he expected officials to be fired." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If you take a look at this page, you'll see a photo & video of a Capitol policeman taking a selfie with a protester. CNN also showed the photo.
Shaila Dewan, et al., of the New York Times: "The [Capitol P]olice force, which numbers about 2,000 officers and has sole jurisdiction over the Capitol's buildings and grounds, was clearly outnumbered and unprepared for the onslaught, even as it was openly organized on social media sites.... It took more than two hours, and reinforcements from other law enforcement agencies, before order was restored. One woman who appeared to have wrapped herself in a flag was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer, according to Robert Contee,chief of the city's Metropolitan Police Department, which was called in for backup. Another woman and two men died during the events because of as yet unspecified medical emergencies, he said.... The criticism of the Capitol Police was swift and, in some quarters, unforgiving. Some law enforcement experts were astonished by the sight of an officer cowering in the crush of pro-Trump extremists and rioters using police shields and metal barricades as battering rams.... On the east side of the Capitol..., officers eventually retreated up the stairs, allowing the crowd to follow. Another video shows officers appearing to move the barricades aside and let the protesters in."
KUSI News San Diego: "The woman who was shot and killed inside the US Capitol during the protests was from the San Diego area. KUSI News has spoken with her husband. The woman is Ashli Babbit, a 14-year veteran, who served four tours with the US Air Force, and was a high level security official throughout her time in service. Her husband says she was a strong supporter of President Trump...."
Jane Lytvynenko & Molly Hensley-Clancy of BuzzFeed News: "The supporters of ... Donald Trump who rioted in the US Capitol building on Wednesday had been openly planning for weeks on both mainstream social media and the pro-Trump internet. On forums like TheDonald, a niche website formed after Reddit banned the subreddit of the same name, they promised violence against lawmakers, police, and journalists if Congress did not reject the results of the 2020 election. In one interaction four days ago, a person on TheDonald asked, 'What if Congress ignores the evidence?' 'Storm the Capitol,' one replied, which received more than 500 upvotes. 'You're fucking right we do,' another said."
Brad McElhinny of WVMetro News: "A newly-elected member of West Virginia's House of Delegates was among the mob who stormed the U.S. Capitol today. Derrick Evans, R-Wayne, livestreamed and then deleted videos from inside the Capitol, but others took screenshots and videos of the original videos. In one, he is shoots cell phone video out into the Capitol interior while surging through a door. He says, 'We're in! We're in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!' In a Facebook post, Evans said he was on a bus traveling home to West Virginia this evening and described himself as 'an independent member of the media to film history.'" MB: Uh-huh.
Yes, Trump Claimed He Won in a "Landslide Election Victory."* Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "... before the Wednesday joint session of Congress even begins, Trump's effort will have fractured the GOP, activated thousands of MAGA marchers to descend on D.C. -- drawing acute security concerns in the capital -- and even pressured the vice president to exercise powers he doesn't have to stop Joe Biden. 'I hope the Democrats, and even more importantly, the weak and ineffective RINO section of the Republican Party, are looking at the thousands of people pouring into D.C,' Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon. 'They won't stand for a landslide election victory to be stolen.' And overnight, as the results of two Senate runoffs in Georgia rolled in, it became clear that the effort by Trump loyalists to challenge the election would take place against the backdrop of a Washington about to land under full Democratic control. That reality underscored the extent to which Trump and his allies are powerless to affect the outcome, and in fact may have damaged their electoral prospects in the process." *Wherein Minus 7 Million Votes is a landslide. (Also linked yesterday.)
Tyler Pager, et al., of Politico: "Joe Biden has selected Judge Merrick Garland to serve as his attorney general, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Biden selected Garland over former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) and former deputy attorney general Sally Yates, choosing to elevate the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals in D.C. to run the Justice Department." MB: If Garland intends to prosecute Trump for one or more of his many crimes, this is a great pick. If he doesn't, there are many other better choices. Update: The Washington Post's story is here.
Georgia Senate Races
Richard Fausset, et al., of the New York Times: "Jon Ossoff completed a Democratic sweep of Georgia's Senate runoffs on Wednesday.... The outcome prompted some Republicans to blame President Trump for dissuading the party's voters from turning out in force with his false assertions that Georgia's elections were rigged. Mr. Ossoff, the 33-year-old head of a video production company, defeated David Perdue, a Republican who had just completed his first full term in office. Less than 12 hours earlier, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, unseated Senator Kelly Loeffler, becoming the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from the South.... The results of the Georgia Senate races will reshape the balance of power in government. Though the Democrats will have the thinnest of advantages in the House and the Senate, where Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will break the 50-50 tie, they will control the committees as well as the legislation and nominations brought to the floor. That advantage will pave the way for at least some elements of Mr. Biden's agenda.... The unrest [in Washington, D.C.,] spread to state capitals across the country, including Atlanta, where a gathering of protesters at the Capitol led to the evacuation of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and some of his staff members." CNN's story is here.
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
Aleksander Furtula & Mike Corder of the AP: "The European Union's executive commission gave the green light Wednesday to Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine, providing the 27-nation bloc with a second vaccine to use in the desperate battle to tame the virus rampaging across the continent. The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine. The decision came against a backdrop of high infection rates in many EU countries and strong criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations across the region of some 450 million people." (Also linked yesterday.)
Share Article 
