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19 Jan, 43 tweets, 20 min read
Long thread: Because I couldn’t find anything comprehensive, I’m just going to post everything I’ve seen in the news/Twitter about Trump’s activities related to the Jan 6th insurrection. I think the timing & context of his actions/inactions will matter a lot for a senate trial.
12/12: The earlier DC protest over the electoral college vote during clearly inspired Jan 6th. On Dec 12th, he tweeted: “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA.”
12/19: Trump announces the Jan. 6th event by tweeting, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” Immediately, insurrectionists begin to discuss the “Wild Protest.” Just 2 days later, this UK political analyst predicts the violence
12/26-27: Trump announces his participation on Twitter. On Dec. 29, the FBI sends out a nationwide bulletin warning legislatures about attacks apnews.com/article/fbi-wa…
1/1: Trump tweets the time of his protest. Then he retweets “The calvary is coming” on Jan. 6!” Sounds like a war? About this time, the FBI begins visiting right wing extremists to tell them not to go--does the FBI tell the president? nbcnews.com/news/crime-cou…
The violent imagery used throughout the promotion of this event needs a whole separate thread.
1/2: Trump called GA Gov. Kemp to pressure him to “find” votes for him to win. The same day, theDonald site users are openly calling for civil war on Jan 6th. Here’s the post that prompted an FBI intelligence report in VA a few days later. jerylbier.blogspot.com/2021/01/fbi-wa…
1/5: Trump sends a series of tweets promoting the rally the next day and touting “thousands of people pouring into D.C.” as a way to dissuade “weak Republicans” from accepting the results of the election.
1/5: Trump tweets at various law enforcement, intelligence, and military agencies that he supposedly oversees about the threat from “Antifa.” At the same time, a VA FBI Office warns of a “war” at the Capitol from the far right starting the next day. web.archive.org/web/2021011217…
1/6, 1:00am: Trump stays up until well after midnight tweeting that Pence can overturn the election the next day.
1/6, 8:06am: Trump is awake again and hate-watching MSNBC
1/6, 8:17: Trump continues to pressure Pence to overturn the election via Twitter:
1/6, 11:54am: Trump and Trump Jr and family are waiting for Trump to take the stage to address about 8,000 insurrectionists, pre-insurrection, at the Ellipse outside the White House
Question that I haven’t found reporting on: How much did Trump & his team know about the threats when he went ahead with his participation? Were concerns ignored or never raised? The FBI is telling extremists not to come, but not warning the president not to call for them?
1/6, 12:00-12:17pm: Trump begins his speech. At 12:17, he says that he will march with the rioters to the Capitol to demand the election be overturned.
Trump/the White House apparently did not tell anyone at least in federal law enforcement that he was going to order a march to the Capitol following the speech. Was this intentional? wsj.com/articles/in-ca…
1/6, 12:18: Immediately after ordering the march to the capitol, Trump says you can never take back the country with weakness.
1/6, 12:54pm: Trump is still reciting his normal lies about the election to the rest of the protesters a mile away as some protesters who left when Trump first said to walk arrive at the Capitol & immediately attack the Capitol police
1/6, 1:11pm: Trump ends the speech by telling his supporters to join those who are now already inside the barricades around the Capitol fighting with the police
1/6, 1:19pm: Trump returns in his motorcade to the White House. A key moment: He promised the crowd he would go to the Capitol. Was that really an open plan? Did he lie? Or did he hear about the ongoing rioting & decide against it after the speech? web.archive.org/web/2021010618…
According to the AP, Trump attending the riot was “discussed” by “the White House” but “abandoned” but who was involved and did this happened before or after the speech? Maybe other reporting has clarified this? pbs.org/newshour/polit…
1/6, ~1:25: Back in the White House, Trump turns on the TV to watch the riots
web.archive.org/web/2021010702…
At that point, the insurrectionists look like they are still believing that Trump might be with them!
1/6, 1:49: Trump is tweeting a video of his speech starting the riot, which includes all the false justifications for the attack! About this time (or earlier), the Capitol Police makes the request for immediate assistance from the D.C. National Guard.
1/6, ~2:13: Congress suspends action, and Trump is apparently “enthusiastic” that the riot might stop the vote, exactly what he wanted!
1/6, ~2:15: Trump calls Sen. Lee looking for Sen. Tuberville to sure up votes to overturn the election. Presumably, Sen. Lee thought Trump wanted to discuss how to stop the attack on the Capitol, not how to aid it cnn.com/2021/01/08/pol…
1/6, ~2:20: After rioters break into the capitol, Trump is watching TV, “enjoying the spectacle”
web.archive.org/web/2021011603…
1/6, ~2:20: As chaos overtakes the Capitol, aides are telling senators that Trump is walking around the White House “delighted” with the situation and is “confused” why everyone else isn’t on board with the insurrection vox.com/2021/1/8/22220…
1/6, 2:24: Trump tweets an unhinged condemnation of VP Pence--even as the insurrectionists are just a few feet away from getting to him. His tweet provokes a scramble to find him by the insurrectionists inside the Capitol
web.archive.org/web/2021011702… web.archive.org/web/2021010622…
1/6, 2:38: After the insurrectionists seize control, Trump aides finally convince him to tweet about it, but only to say “stay” peaceful (as if they already were) and refuses to tell them to leave the Capitol--he didn’t even want to say “stay peaceful” web.archive.org/web/2021011603…
1/6, ~2:45: Trump resists requests to act on the request to bring up the National Guard. Ultimately, VP Pence does so even without the legal authority to do so! web.archive.org/web/2021011006… web.archive.org/web/2021011607…
1/6, ~2:55: Trump talks to GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on the phone. McCarthy yells at Trump for refusing to take action. This conversation where Trump showed contempt for his life probably led McCarthy to blame Trump for the riot. cnn.com/politics/live-…
1/6, ~3:00: Trump is conferring with the world’s worst group of “advisors” about the situation. We know that this same group thought the entire situation was overblown by the media even the next day after everything! web.archive.org/web/2021011006…
1/6, 3:13: Trump tweets to ask everyone “at the U.S. Capitol” (not inside attacking it) to “remain peaceful” (again, as if they were). Not to tell them to leave the capitol and stop attacking it! Rep Gallegher tweets a vid hiding in his office urging the president to call it off
1/6, ~3:45-4:17: Trump goes outside of the White House to film three takes of a video telling the “very special” insurrectionists to go home, while noting that he “loves” them. What's in the other takes? He goes inside and tweets the video at 4:17 web.archive.org/web/2021011603…
1/6, 6:01pm: After the Capitol is secured, Trump tweets what amounts to his thanks to the insurrectionists telling them to go home and “remember this day,” revealing publicly for the first time that he believed their actions were worth remembrance.
1/6, 7pm: Giuliani calls Sen. Lee leaving a message intended for Sen. Tuberville about trying to prevent Congress from voting. Basically the same as Trump’s phone call earlier in the day. There’s reason to believe that Trump was behind this effort as well thedispatch.com/p/giuliani-to-…
1/7, 7:10pm: It was not until Thursday night that Trump posted a video conceding the election and that a new administration will take office. Yet he immediately regretted doing so. web.archive.org/web/2021011603…
Questions: what did Trump know about extremists attending his speech? When/why did Trump decide against going to the Capitol? Who else was Trump calling during the riot? What're in the other takes of the video? Will anyone testify? Will Pence?
There were also a huge number of phone calls going out to Trump, his aides & family. I didn't list them all, but having a full account of how Trump ignored all his "friends" during the crisis would be important as well.
Did Trump know his supporters saw him as backing their move? Even if he never saw analysis like this one below (because he distrusts and refuses to take meetings with his intel services), doesn't that failure only further support the case against him?
1/6, ~2:08: Trump calls Lee. It appears my timing for Lee's call is off. It appears that the president called him between 2:03 and 2:08 since the senators were rushed off at 2:13. I had originally placed it at 2:15 just after the senators left the floor. web.archive.org/web/2021011401…
1/6, ~7pm: At the time of the Rudy Giuliani call to Sen. Tuberville after the attack, Trump is still telling advisors he wanted to keep up the effort to overturn the election. Even with the threat of violence barely removed, he wouldn't concede. web.archive.org/web/2021010702…

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More from @David_J_Bier

David Bier Profile picture
7 Jan
Congress is much more likely to pass substantive immigration reforms this Congress. Key Senate Republicans have lost their positions to object to passage of bills containing liberalized immigration provisions, and it's clear that the House will act aggressively.
The most likely method will be changes to immigration enforcement policy & legalizations that will be included in must-pass legislation like appropriation bills. These legalizations could include almost anything up to and including the Dream Act/green cards for TPS recipients
But I think the preferred method for the Dream Act/Dream & Promise Act would be a standalone bill initially with other legalization provisions on must-pass bills. Dreamers have bipartisan support and are the most likely legalization to hit 60 senate votes.
Read 12 tweets
David Bier Profile picture
18 Dec 20
New! @CatoInstitute published today 30 short essays by 15 authors including some of America's leading immigration law experts urging Biden to go beyond reversing Trump's cuts & act to streamline & expand legal #immigration w/ agency action #BuildBackBetter cato.org/publications/s…
My coauthors & I sped after Nov 7 to compile the most rigorous but brief & readable cases for specific exec actions. Thanks @IraKurzban @CyrusMehta @WStock215 @AllyBolour @DavidKubat @AngeloPaparelli @SYaleLoehr @ASGvisalaw @GSiskind @MLaCorte_ @AILANational (& Amy/Scott/Lindsay)
Our list (1) is solely #legalimmigration & (2) goes past all Trump actions. We feel reversing them is not enough. Obviously, we didn’t touch on every issue, but went for novel or high impact ideas. This list sets the bar high but much more needs to be done by the admin & Congress
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David Bier Profile picture
11 Dec 20
Here is my attempt visualize the harm President Trump has caused not in terms of policies, but in terms of people, immigrants not coming to America, not receiving permanent residence, or being denied employment authorization and status.
cato.org/blog/visualizi…
Immigrant visa issuances were down 83 percent in October 2020 compared to FY 2016. Even before the pandemic, permanent immigration from abroad had declined by about 24 percent.
One reason for fewer issuances: USCIS started denying petitions for immigrant visas at a much higher rate. The denial rate basically doubled from about 8 percent in FY 2016 to 16 percent in the third quarter of FY 2020.
Read 17 tweets
David Bier Profile picture
9 Dec 20
Nearly all green cards are already awarded to those on temporary work visas, and the bill doesn't shrink the number of green cards available. It awards the same number in a different manner. This tweet is just confused.
1) Indians work in many industries including medicine, finance, education, energy, and much else. 2) The "national interest" is stopping discrimination based on birthplace, so talented people know that if they come to America, they'll get a fair deal.
Also, I have no idea whether the underlying report prompting these tweets is true. But there's no active spending legislation for consideration in the House. Image
Read 4 tweets
David Bier Profile picture
20 Nov 20
"The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released new data showing that the green card backlog for employment-based immigrants in April 2020 surpassed 1.2 million applicants—the highest number ever." cato.org/blog/employmen…
The backlog increased from November 2019 to April 2020 at three times the monthly pace that it increased from April 2018 to November 2019. Image
Most of the increase in the EB backlog occurred in the EB-2 and EB-3 employer-sponsored categories for immigrants with a bachelor's or master's degrees. Image
Read 6 tweets
David Bier Profile picture
11 Nov 20
Out today, I provide an overview of suggested reforms for the major components of the immigration system. I provide detailed citations for how to make the reforms to the statutes. Congress shouldn't wait to take up reform next year cato.org/publications/e…
Here is my list of 52 specific ideas to vastly improve America's immigration system. Of course, much more should and can be done. But these are my priorities.
Congress should start with the premise that the U.S. permanent immigration system is very restrictive compared both with other wealthy countries among which it ranks in the bottom third for foreign born share and compared to its own history.
Read 16 tweets

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