Thread by @maddogpac

T-Minus 2 minutes until the 7th hearing of the #January6thCommitteeHearings commences!

As we have from the first hearing, we are once again live tweeting the #January6thCommitteeHearings - we SWEAR we will put up a comprehensive thread of threads of all the hearings we live tweeted this weekend!

From hearing 1 to now, Mad Dog PAC has faithfully chronicled live in real time, with a few unfortunate interruptions from C-SPAN smoking crack (thank you CBS for never wavering though), these hearings as they’ve unfolded.

Oooh Bennie T has us gaveled in and we are started!

Opening: explain importance of US elections: we settle our differences at the ballot box. Sometimes my choice prevails, sometimes yours does. But we accept results even if not happy about it. Can protest, organize, get ready for next election for better chance but no violence!

Any real leader who sees supporters approaching violence has responsibility to say to them STOP we settle differences at ballot box! After electoral college cast votes in December it was already over but Trump supporters were convinced otherwise because of what he told them.

Instead of stopping supporters from violence he “urged them on” as a last ditch effort to retain power. Murphy of FL and Raskin will be presenting. Toss to Cheney.

No hearings last week but last week we talked to Patsy Baloney and we will save for next time the juicy details about Trumps behavior. But you get to see snippets of Patsy today. A Jan 6 rioter will tell us about how it ruined his life. Committee is establishing deep shit.

Now Trump is trying to argue he was manipulated to ignore advisers and couldn’t tel right from wrong. To hang Eastman, Kraken out to dry. Blame the crazies for what Trump did. Trump is 76 not an impressionable child responsible for his own actions. He had access to info he lost.

No rational or sane man could see that info and conclude he didn’t lose. Willful ignorance no excuse. Urge you to keep eye on 2 things :
1) legal team led by Rudy knew they lacked evidence but went ahead w Jan 6 anyway
2) people put faith in Trump and he lied to them

Murphy: Trump lost, but he insisted it was fraud anyway even though told again & again. No evidence. This was big lie, millions believe him, corrosive to our country. He had a single goal: remain in power at all costs. Multiple avenues to his attempts at his fraud.

Dec 14 Electoral College met & declared Biden won. After this they turned their view to Jan 6. Ceremonial event was last chance for Hail Mary. Trump tweeted to invite rioters on Dec 19 to Jan 6 rally. Clear Trump intended crowd to be weapon to use for his coup plot. 1 tool in box

New evidence including meetings about seizing voting machines. Members of congresss plotting w him and later seeking pardons. Trump key actions on Jan 5 and 6. Ad lib speech to further inflame and incite crowd.

Raskin: 4 days after EC met, meeting w crazies and Trump to stay in power. They brought executive order, for Trump to order mass seizure of voting machines. Trump instead opted to call for the crowd to come protest joint session of Congress to count on Jan 6 to intimidate

3 rings of attack: 1) Pence abandon oath 2) domestic violence extremist groups plot to invade & occupy Capitol during count 3) assembled angry mob of poor dumb rednecks to show up on Jan 6

Trump figured he would gin up the rednecks and they’d be the footsoldiers and the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers would do the special ops terrorism for him inside the Capitol.

Some stuff about Lincoln and a racist mob in Illinois and him speaking about danger of violent mobs setting nation on path to tyranny. Old problem new again thanks to this orange asshole! Internet provides new propaganda tools to despots.

Murphy: Biden kicked Trump’s ass hard in the election and in every case Trump tried to file in court after that. “Strained legal arguments without merit” LOL that’s an understatement

You know, they’re saying the president cannot just simply ignore the outcome of his cases. Remarkable, eh?

Cippillone is stiff as a board. We don’t think he’s enjoying his very much. But he agrees! It’s a miracle! He can’t disregard court rulings!

What else did the orange monster do? Here goes Raskin! Next he claimed that the voting machines were manipulated. Fox is going to pay big time for that shit! Barr says zero basis for the alligation. #bullshit

Trumpy-poo Not deterred when Barr and Cippilone told him to lay off.

Enter Powell and General Flynn. It gets more absurd by the moment. And we lived through this! “The secretary of defense Chelseas collect retain and analyze all machines” GOOD ONE!!!!

Plan was to appoint Sidney Powell as special counsel and let her arrest anybody who disagreed with Trump. Jesus. This almost happened!

Cippoline “At some point you have to put up or shut up.”

Seizing voting machines is a terrible idea. The idea that the Fed can come in and seize machines, what a terrible idea for our country.

Kerik email to Meadows confirms that even Rudy’s team didn’t have evidence to support any fraud claims from Drunk Rudy

Oh here is Jason Miller, human amoeba talking about it

Drunk Rudy had no evidence right ? right.

Rusty Bowers talked to Drunk Rudy: that was Him ( who had no evidence but lots of accusations)

Cassidy : Goal was to keep Trump in office, when acknowledging realization not enough fraud to overturn results he began exploring constitutional loopholes such as Eastman plot. Meadows & Trump.

Meeting w Flynn, overstock CEO Byrne, Trump - heated clash w accusations of disloyalty and challenges to fisticuffs. Started in oval ended in residence. Staffers could hear screaming 😱

Sidney Powell was at this meeting too - this crazy bitch - said Cippilone set a new Land speed record getting to meeting w these nuts- Cippilone saw Kraken, Flynn, said who are you and discovered it was Byrne. Sidney Kraken: Trump was very interested in learning terms of 1343A

Herschman: Flynn took out a diagram and talked about thermostats being hooked up to internet.

Was the meeting tense?
Lyons, a low level secretary: uh yeah people shouting at each other not exactly chit chatting

Cippilone and Herschman were sparring w Sidney and Flynn - where is the evidence? A variety of responses like “what do you mean how dare you ask you know where it is “ kind of crap 💩

Herschman asked what about court cases and Sidney Kraken responded judges were corrupt. He was like every single one even who we appointed? Ah but you can’t deter the crazy cult members who want to forge a new Jonestown

drunk Rudy called them a bunch of puss!es !!!

Everyone screaming at each other, sit your f-! Asses down. Drunk Rudy said it was pretty cool to be in the cabinet room all by himself. Sidney Kraken and Flynn kept fighting for any possible way to keep Trump in office no matter what after his term ended.

Cassidy text screen shot: “west wing is unhinged”
Escorted crazies out so they didn’t wander back in to mansion that night after meeting broke up. President asked if he could give Kraken security clearance to name her whatever he wanted to name her -

Cippilone: I don’t know what she thought she was appointed to but this crazy b!Tch thought she was high inquisitor now thanks to Trump saying so. Cippilone said not w/o paperwork. Not getting into what President said he wanted.

Raskin: was she asking about appointment process or thought she was appointed and asserting herself?
Cippilone: as a matter of fact I think she may have thought she was in charge but I disregarded tf out of her crazy ass.

Raskin: Trump sought to subvert the course of history on Jan 6. Trump sent out the invite to Jan 6 shortly after this crazy meeting ended!!!!

As soon as he sent this tweet out, the organizing began around it. Women for America First, Ali Alexander. Details about how to get transportation to the event. Alex Jones and his unhinged ass doing his best monster truck voice to advertise the January 6 events

Here’s a weirdo with a smaller following blogging about it. Here’s a loser podcaster - another. “It’s gonna be a red wedding bitch!”

More Alex Jones monster truck voice: where were you when your childrens destiny was on the line?

TUESDAY TUESDAY TUESDAY!!!

Twitter didn’t take this shit seriously. Twitter employee with voice disguised. Describing how he felt Trump was giving direction to people via Twitter to incite people to insurrection and violence. Twitter relished that Trump used Twitter primarily to communicate, didn’t enforce

If Trump had been any other account he would have been permanently suspended long before he was. Twitter employee was concerned about organizing activity that exploded directly in response to Dec 19 tweet. People were ready to take up arms, but after tweet clear 45 asked them to

Responses to these tweets: stand back and stand by. Locked and loaded and ready for civil war part 2 kind of comments to Trump tweets after Dec 19. Clear it was going to become violent. “Is the 6th D Day is that why Trump wants us to come” “he wants volunteers for firing squad”

Here’s a poor dumb idiot named Watkins who bought a ticket to go to this stupid event.

“Why don’t we just kill them, every last Democrat, man woman & child” “I’m ready to die for my beliefs are you ready to die Police” !!!! 😳 this tracks though… wonder how much was authentic vs how much was Russian paid bots stirring them up more

The Donald dot win website encouraged people to come armed w body armor and to join local Proud Boys chapters maps of tunnels of Capitol. People grew more aggressive in tandem w trump riling them up more.

In recess, ten minutes, gaveled out. Whew that was nuts!

It’s kind of terrifying to consider that Sidney Kraken was almost appointed high inquisitor of the Trumpian Inquisition. We expect that this is only going to get more crazy before today is over.

“So bleed your heart out, there’s no more rides for free, yeah, bleed your heart out, I said, what’s in it for me? Yeah, what’s in it for me?” - “Slaves & Bulldozers” by Soundgarden lyrically has come to mind in these hearings.

There’s just been so many people who had their own angle, their own agenda by which they saw fit to personally profit somehow by enabling Trump. Whether by power, influence or $. Rats. So. Many. Rats.

Coming back to the hearing though now, looks like we are gaveling in shortly.

It’s like Shakespeare and Machiavelli had a bukakke session with Nietzche and Hitler, this chapter of history.

Here’s some goofy ginger looking guy in the witness chair now. Wonder what his tale is.

Feel the sludge

Technical difficulties are delaying the resumption of the hearing so you all have plenty of time To listen to some @soundgarden while we wait.

This hearing room is making such consequential history it makes the room feel bigger than it really is but this is actually a pretty small hearing room.

Bennie T coming back in with the Team

Looks like we have 2 goofy looking dudes at the witness table. Gavel!!!

Raskin: Trump tweet drew 10s of thousands of people to DC on 1/6. United violent groups on the far right under one cause. Organizing and non aligned groups aligning. Armed militias collaborating w white nationalists and conspiracy theorists = TERRORISM PROBLEM NOW OK

They had what looked like pre operational intel of coordinated plans to collaborate together to overthrow govt for Trump. Proud Boys were a paramilitary force for Trump personally after Dec 19. Hours after tweet Oath Keepers, Kelly Meggs of OK declared alliance w PBs + 3%rs

Ministry of Self Defense encrypted chats of leaders of these groups and Trump allies like FLYNN and Byrne who were at that Dec 18 meeting!!!

Roger Stone also part of this shit. Trump pardoned Stone in Dec 20. Stone, Rhodes, Tarrio, Ali Alexander. Friends of Stone urged to go to state capitols if couldn’t go to million maga March on 11/14/20. Rhodes demanded Trump declare martial law so Oath keepers didn’t have to

Clips of various assholes on megaphones at these events. Stone guarded by OKs who have since been indicted on seditious conspiracy. Stone ties to PBs too. Has taken initiation creed for first degree of PB initiations. Kelly Cerell a trump lawyer explained how Stone role org’d

Kelly Cerell: he was like a center point for everything.
All these principals of these groups spoke at rallies night before despite qualms of saner advisers and rally planners. Trump watched them in approval night before and was excited about next day.

Murphy: Katrina Pierson helped organize Jan 6 rally but grew apprehensive after learning Alex Jones, Roger Stone and Ali Alexander were involved. She texted another rally organizer about why where they being selected? POTUS Likes the crazies!

Did you really mean that?
Katrina P: yes I meant that he loved the crazies and it bothered me enough I reached out to Meadows about it. Text of that. Meadows called 8 min later: I told him suspicious people coming in and why I raised red flag. My concerns w rhetoric, history

She was especially concerned about Ali Alexander and Alex Jones because they had already tried to enter the GA capitol. Katrina P had convo on same day Cassidy had been warned by Meadows about Jan 6.

Undated tweet of draft unsent tweet- “arrive early, March to Capitol after, stop the steal!”

Kylie Kremer to Mike Lindell the pillow guy. Trump was planning for Capitol March wasn’t being broadly discussed but news was getting disseminated Trump was going to call for them to March. Advance plans!!!

This wasn’t a spontaneous march IOW!!!

Private meeting w members of GOP CONGRESS on 12/21 re: Jan 6. Mo Brooks email.

Donoghue prior testimony about asking to just say election corrupt and leave rest to him and the GOP Congress people. THIS WAS THAT MEETJNG. Murphy names the names of who was there.

They discussed the Eastman theory at this meeting and pressure Pence. WH counsel confirmed last week via Cippilone testimony.

Cippilone: Pence didn’t have legal authority to do anything except what he did, confirm results.

Miller told Committee Cippilone thought Eastman idea was nutty. On Jan 4 Eastman met w Trump. Cippilone tried to attend but Trump wouldn’t let him - Cippilone has to claim privilege here though. Cippilone said just blame me if I am wrong but Pence can’t do this.

Cippilone: Pence did the right thing and the courageous thing. He understood my opinion & did a great service to this country and should receive medal of freedom for his actions!!! That’s deep

Earlier we told you how Drunk Rudy was full of crap. They kept looking for reasons but never found anything. Caucus of GOP plan to object. Jan 5 hordes converged on DC. Trump was talking to Bannon on Jan 4. Bannon then said on podcast all hell would break loose. Strap in!

Speakers deemed too extreme for main stage at ellipsis were on second stage at freedom plaza. People testifying about Trump in Oval Office dictating tweet to Scavino about Jan 6 on Jan 5. Crowd already there on night of Jan 5. Trump in good mood listening to them out there.

Clearly he thought the mob was going to do his coup for him. Asked staff for ideas for how “to make the RINOS do the right thing” nobody said anything because they were processing what did he mean by that. Trump excited about how fired up crowd was.

How did Trump know they were fired up? Because he could hear the sounds outside blocks away. Video of Stone speaking night of 1/5. “Godly vs godless, good vs evil or America will plunge into 1000 years of darkness “ -fucker

Here’s another asshole at the rally the night before. Now Ali Alexander “1776 is always an option. The deep state will give us what we want or we will shut the country down”

Alex Jones: “1776!!l”
TUESDAY TUESDAY TUESDAY ITS MONSTER TRUCK INSURRECTION AT THE CAPITOL

Poor exhausted Twitter employee tried to warn the vain fools at Twitter to take this seriously but NOPE

“I knew people were going to die…” we were at the mercy of a violent crowd that was locked and loaded

Murphy: also concerns among members of Congress. Convo between Lesko R AZ: wanted safety plan for members of Congress. Concern about antifa and Trump supporters who demand overturning of election going nuts

Murphy: speech at ellipsis was intended to incite crowd. President daily diary. He spoke with Stephen Miller aka Santa Monica Goebbels. Inserted comment to pressure Pence. Of course Santa Monica Goebbels wrote that

Oh here he is now: Herschman told Miller it would be counterproductive to discuss speech edits publicly. Miller removed line about Pence in response.

Murphy: After Pence refused to go along w plot Trump inserted Pence lines back in after calling him a wimp. Wanted to use speech to incite crowd on Pence. Ivanka wouldn’t say so but it’s clear she went to try to calm her dad down after Pence call.

Here’s Ivanka and her filter denying it and here’s her chief of staff saying that’s exactly the case, she went to calm his crazy ass down.

1 reference to Pence ad libbed up to 8. 1 ref to March went to 4 more ad libbing to fight like hell etc

Clips of this Orange Asshole in his elliptical speech

Murphy: this speech was built on a foundation of lies to trick his followers into marching to the Capitol and ruined a bunch of peoples lives in the process using them for his schemes. A sitting President asking for civil war. Brad Parscale regretted helping Trump win.

Katrina P to Parscale: it wasn’t the rhetoric that killed St Ashli of the Attrumption
Brad: yes it was Katrina.

Now Bennie T introducing Ayres the Oath Keeper goofy ginger looking guy

Sworn in. Bennie T questioning Ayres. Everyone was swept up in fervor of the day.

Jason Van Tatenhove covered Oath Keepers after covering some RW extremist standoffs. Spent a few years w OK’s - they don’t want to call themselves militia but they are and they’re violent. What they are was on display on Jan 6 in stacked formations.

Watched as Stewart Rhodes drifted further right until it was straight up racist. I couldn’t work for them anymore. Driven by ego of Rhodes who sees himself as a paramilitary leader. Sees them as very dangerous.

Bennie T: what is Ok vision and why should we be concerned?
jVt: not rule of law but intimidation and violence and swaying people by lies and propaganda. I got swept up by it too at one point.
Bennie: when did you break w OKs?

JVt: straw that broke camel back for me was in Eureka Mt denying the reality of the Holocaust. We were broke but we had to leave this crazy shit so I took my family and left.

Now we have the ginger guy Ayres: I was just a family man and a working man in my family business 🙄🙄🙄 no you were still an asshole then too just not radicalized yet

Bennje: here we have you on video breaking into the Capitol on Jan 6. Why did you do that stupid shit?
Ayres: social media told me to come to this and I decided to come to Washington and rode in with some friends at the last minute because I’m a dumb red neck with poor judgment

Cheney asking him how it made him feel when Trump said election stolen. Do you still believe it was stolen? ayres: No because I got away from social media and actually did some real research

Ayres: even a dumb redneck with poor judgment on life decisions eventually figured out this was a crock of shit when I actually stopped and thought about it

Murphy again: Trump Dec 19 tweet summoned people like this poor schmuck to get them there, told them fight fight fight to get them to March. Ayres did you plan to March that morning when you went? Ayres : NOPE but trump told us to go so my dumb ass went

Ayres: thanks to his tweets and the speech I was worked up and so was everyone else there. We kept hearing there would be a big reveal after we got there. We all thought Trump was going to be marching with us too.

Murphy: bless your heart I see. When and why did you leave? Ayres: when our orange god told us to leave by tweeting we left.

Good testimony re Rhodes and OK. I like this guy. He’s telling the truth.

Rhodes asked me to create a deck of cards that would include politicians, judges, Clinton. I refused. They all went through explosive training. Oh joy!

He feels there’s been potential for years with oath keepers for disaster. We’ve been lucky. He seems emotional. Thoughtful guy. We are exceedingly lucky that more bloodshed did not happen.

look at the iconic images of that day. The gallows, the military gear. He fears for the next election cycle. Who knows what it might bring?

If a president tries to whip up a Civil War using lies deception and snake oil, all bets are off at that point. That’s a scary notion.

Now Raskin and Ayres.Soon as Trump sent the tweet after 4 PM, the crowd started to disperse. That was what made Ayres leave. Trumps tweet.

Taskin: Did you think these organize groups oath keepers, proud boys etc. we’re on your side? Ayers: I didn’t have a problem. I thought it was a good thing.

Ayers: Lost his job, sold his house, thank God a lot of charges got dismissed. It changed his life. Not for the good.

Raskin, Trump is still promoting the lie. Ayers: that makes me mad. People are still following and doing that. The next election could be the same path. We just don’t know.

Raskin: what lessons should the American people learn question Ayres: biggest thing I’m a family man, love my country. No one man is bigger than that. I had horse blinders on. Take the blinders off, make sure you see what’s going on before it’s too late.

These witnesses were a good call. Very real very believable. Both regretting their actions and now having seen the light, encourage others to seek the truth.

Raskin closing: Trump’s the first Prez to try and block the transfer of power. And the dangerous extremists mobilized. Trump knew they were angry, knew they were armed, sent them to the capital anyway.

Trump knowingly sent an armed mob to the capital. The founders actually warned everyone about Trump. Not by name but that ambitious politicians would mobilize mobs to tear down institutions.

Man, We love Jamie Raskin. He is a class act. This has been an emotional hearing.

An update on Gonell - he didn’t see anything this bad in Iraq. His doctors told him that his permanent injuries will make it impossible for him to continue as a police officer. What a fucking heartbreak. This is so unfair

Raskin thanking him for his service - everybody’s in tears.

Trump‘s inaugural speech when he called out American carnage, turned out to be a prophecy. True dat.

American carnage. Trumps true legacy. Well said, Raskin! He nearly toppled our institutions. Traumatized thousands.

We need to all fortify our elections. And take action. Trump continues to expand his big lie to cover January 6.

If you’ve missed this hearing make sure you see Raskin speech. The whole damn thing. I could never transcribe it and begin to do it justice.

American democracy is a precious inheritance. Something rare in the history of the world. Democracy is a silver frame upon which the golden apple of freedom rests. Damn.

Let’s all hang tough for American democracy.

Murphy is up now. We’re here about protecting the country we love. This is not about any of us. Born in America she was born in Vietnam. Her family fled communism and were given sanctuary here. Her patriotism is rooted in her gratitude. I love this country.

January 6 she was in the capital fleeing from fellow Americans. Trump lied to them. Committees jacked if it’s to separate fiction from fact. To defend our democracy. To make sure it never happens again.

Here comes Liz… Hearings have laid out the elements that comprise trumps effort to overthrow the government. So far they’ve covered all but one element. She lists them all. Can’t type that fast.🤷‍♀️

Donald Trump participated substantially in each element. Next week, committee returns to January 6 itself.

Trump refused to intervene for hours. Let the mob do its damage. Many pleas for help from Congress did no good. He would not call of the attack.

Here’s some Cippolone tape. Trump did not follow his advice. Would not call off the crowd, and he could’ve done it easily.

After last hearing, Trump tried to call a witness in this investigation. A witness we’ve not yet seen. That person declined to respond to him. Instead alerted their lawyer. Their lawyer alerted committee. Committee has alerted department of justice. WOOT MOFO!

Benny wraps it up… we all have different ideas, but the institutions of our government are the failsafe. We have a federal government to protect us. January 6 was a moment in history that tested our government. It was an attack on our country. On our democracy. On our Constitut

It makes his blood boil to think of it - that a sitting president would do that. Yeah, us too. What a son of a bitch. He Sent the mob. Nothing in our history has even come close to that sort of betrayal. Thank God our system held in spite of a Pres who worked against it.

Next meeting, we will tell story of extreme dereliction. How close we came to losing it all. Gobble out. What a great freaking hearing. Find this however you can.

MSNBC has a wrap up at 8 PM with all their Rockstars. It is worth listening to every little bit of it. We really encourage you to do that.

MADDOG out. Almost time for a cocktail.

Now for the 4 hour hearing on women and the economy, which absolutely nobody is going to watch, much like the one about cattle futures a few weeks ago.