Day 8 of the January 6 Committee Hearings

Day 8 of the January 6 Committee hearings focused on what Trump was doing during the insurrection.  It featured two witnesses, both loyal Trump supporters until the actual insurrection, but was not witness-oriented.

Once again, I have been open to persuasion either way on whether Trump knew he was inciting a a violent insurrection and intended to do so.  The hearing shed no light on that subject.  I have never believed Trump had any role in planning the insurrection, and the hearing confirmed that such a thing would simply not have been possible under the watchful eye of the White House staff.  Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony raised some intriguing questions whether Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and perhaps Rudy Giuliani were involved, and whether Mark Meadows had inside knowledge.  However day 8 shed no light on the subject.  So what did the day reveal?

Oval Office dining room

First, it showed that Mike Pence and his Secret Service guards believed themselves to be in serious danger to the point that many guards called their families to say goodbye.  It confirmed that Trump wanted to go the the Capitol and became enraged when his driver and Secret Service detail refused to take him, and the the White House motorcade was on standby 45 minutes to an hour waiting for the Secret Service to decide whether it was safe to go to the Capitol.  The Committee also reported that Trump learned about the violence within 15 minutes of leaving the stage.  That raised an immediate question in my head -- did he sit for 45 minutes to an hour in the presidential limo or SUV waiting for clearance?  How frustrating!  The answer appears to have been no, Trump's driver took him back to the White House, where he waited for clearance in the White House dining room, watching Fox.*  The Committee also showed what was on Fox at the time of each Trump tweet, to give us an idea of what he knew at the time.

The Committee did not quote Trump's tweets individually.  I had to look them up. At 1:49, Trump tweeted a recording of his speech.  The Committee did comment on this. At 2:24 he made his most infamous tweet:

Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!

The Committee mentioned a more conciliatory tweet at 2:39 but did not quote the exact words.  They were, "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"  This was presumably what Don, Jr. was referring to when he said, "The Capitol Police tweet is not enough."  There were two important revelations about this tweet.  One was that the Oath Keepers immediately picked up on the significance of what was not said.  There was no call to refrain from violence against members of Congress.  The other was that, while Trump was apparently willing to ask his followers to spare the Capitol Police, it took a great deal of pressure and arm twisting to get him to include the part about staying peaceful.  

At 3:12, Trump sent out another Trump, barely even mentioned by the Committee, somewhat more strongly urging calm, "I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"  Once again, there was no call to go home, or to refrain from harming members of Congress.  Trump never put in a call to the military, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, or the Mayor of Washington, D.C. to call out any forces to put down the revolt.  He did call up Republican members of Congress to pressure them to vote against certification.  He appeared to think the rampaging mob was an acceptable form of pressure on law makers.

Trump sent out his stand-down video about an hour later, at 4:17.  The Committee took some pains to point out that by the time he sent it, it was clear that the insurrection had failed, that the fighting had by no means ended, but that the outcome was clear.  The video was effective.  The rioters did, indeed, take it as a command to go home and went home.  Also of interest: There was some talk of having Trump call a press conference to denounce the violence, but White House staff decided against it.  They feared that he would make even more inflammatory remarks.  Pat Cipollone said that the entire White House staff, including Mark Meadows, advocated taking stronger measures to stop the riot.  Cassidy Hutchinson has called the Mark Meadows part into questions.  And at least one unnamed White House staffer did not want to send out a video denouncing the violence for fear of handing the media a win. (Seriously!).  After getting Trump to make his video (no easy task), the White House staff were too emotionally drained to do any more that day.  Elaine Luria, the Committee member speaking at the time, was outraged.  Drained!  What about the Capitol Police and others who still had to contend with the mob?  What about Congress, who reconvened and met into the wee hours of the night to finish their job?  But I am more sympathetic with the White House staff.  You try spending three hours trying to get a 74-year-old, 250 pound orange man-baby to do his most elementary duty.  And then consider the time and effort it would take to get him to do any more.

Perhaps the most emblematic, most shocking but least surprising, revelation of the hearing was Trump's remark to an unnamed White House staffer before  retiring to the residential wing.  "Mike Pence let me down!"  That was all the events of the day meant to Trump.

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*By the way, the Committee showed a picture of the White House dining room.  It is a rather modest affair -- more elegant than a cafeteria, but certainly nothing like a state banquet hall or even a well-furnished private dining room.