Frank Eathorne, chair of the Wyoming GOP, is - like other politicians at the Jan 6 Capitol attack - a liar: “No violence or property damage was observed during my..brief stop there” But Eathorne was at the Capitol for 2.5 hours and saw violence up close - we’ll show you. 1/
Because Eathorne was on Capitol grounds so long - with a radio - we held off Tweeting to try to understand more. But now that NBC is reporting on him, it’s time to go over his footage. This thread has highlights; see the full report for video links. 2/ docs.google.com/document/d/1WT…
Eathorne seems to head to the Capitol directly from the Trump rally, arriving around 1:30 PM, right behind GA State Rep Vernon Jones. By that time police are fighting hard on the Plaza and lobbing tear gas and flashbangs into the crowd. Everyone comments on it. 3/
Eathorne stayed on the W. lawn for an hour while the Plaza battle raged. He wasn’t up at the police lines, but would have seen the tear gas, heard people yelling on bullhorns: “Move forward - they can’t arrest all of us!” This is 2:06 PM. 4/
Eathorne would have seen invaders seize the NW Scaffolds and methodically slash its tarp all the way up to the top (“no..property damage was observed”). This clip is 2:07 and 2:08 PM. 5/
At 2:28 PM, after invaders had breached the Capitol, a coordinated violent attack broke the police lines on the W. Plaza. Eathorne wasn’t this close but he would still have seen something from the lawn. 6/
Here’s what the fall of the W. Plaza looked like from about where Eathorne stood. The crowd cheers “We did it!” “F— yeah!” “Let’s go!” as the mob moves forward, and others carry police barricades away. 7/
At 2:37 PM (L), while the last police officers retreat, Eathorne is still on the lawn, but by 2:45 PM (R), he’s moved forward with the mob onto the W. Plaza. 8/
This is the peak of the coordinated attack, when invaders breached multiple doors to the Capitol, and several signals appear set off to mark the successes. At 2:46 PM, Eathorne is right next to the red smoke signal on the Plaza. 9/
Eathorne stays on the Plaza for at least another hour, gradually moving forward, while the mob attacks at the tunnel above. He would have seen the bleachers fill with invaders, heard the shouts. At 3:32 he’s looking cheerful. 10/
At 3:50 PM, a half hour after Officer Fanone was dragged, Eathorne is still there. 11/
Here’s Eathorne’s full statement issued after the riot. It is a lie. Video shows he “personally witnessed” violence. That he personally witnessed property damage. And 2.5 hours is not a “brief stop”. 12/ wyomingnewsnow.tv/2021/01/10/sta…
If Eathorne was just making a peaceful, normal, protest, it’s worth asking also: what’s with the costume? We literally found no photographs of him without his cowboy hat - except at the Capitol attack. 13/
At Saturday’s rally in Casper, Eathorne talked tough, said he’d “crawl over barbed wire for Trump”. But like other J6 politicians, ask him a question about Jan 6 and he sounds like a toddler instead: “no no, not me!” Might reconsider that barbed wire. 14/ cowboystatedaily.com/2022/05/28/gop…
Eathorne’s not alone: other politicians of the insurrection also sound like toddlers. They all stayed outside; they’re unlikely to be arrested - but they lie anyway, instead of owning up to their actions. They can’t handle the smallest accountability. 15/
Lots of competition for the most spineless politician of the insurrection. Eathorne is Candidate 1. Candidate 2 is Mark Finchem, former AZ State Rep, running for AZ Sec. of State. Came to watch on the E. Plaza, then claimed “I was never really there”. 16/
Candidate 3 is Doug Mastriano, former PA State Senator, running for PA Governor. Toured the insurrection, walking over barricades, police retreating before him. Then claimed “I respected all police lines” except that, well, “police lines did shift.” 17/
Here are Mastriano's exact words, in a statement he issued after news reports of his presence at the Capitol on Jan 6. 18/ senatormastriano.com/2021/05/25/mas…
Candidate 4 is JR Majewski, running for Congress in OH-9. Rushed in in the first wave with his QAnon pal Zak Paine (RedPill78), stayed on the W. Plaza through concussion bombs & tear gas. Then swore on Twitter he’d never been on illegal grounds & had been “cleared by the FBI” 19/
Another strong contender would be Dana Rohrabacher, formerly “Putin’s favorite Congressman” (CA). Bravado on Jan 5: “Now I’m headed to DC to join the patriots that are mobilizing there..” Watched for over an hour, then blamed “leftist provocateurs” 20/
Vote: which Jan 6 politician had the most spineless excuses? (Only 4 options so choose among the current pols.) Please retweet for maximum voter turnout. 21/
Chaos: two rival factions - one tied the president and one to the VP - are trying to set US policy on Ukraine, cutting out the State Dept. Each pushes Ukraine to surrender, then leaks to press to claim they are official. FT now reports Vance's faction is holding its own talks. 1/
In Oct. the Trump faction - son-in-law Jared Kushner & business pal Steve Witkoff - met secretly with a Russian rep in Miami. Now the Vance faction - his Yale friend Dan Driscoll - is meeting in Abu Dhabi with Russians and a Ukrainian. Rival efforts. 2/ ft.com/content/55a9f8…
FT's source is clearly part of the Vance camp and tries to portray SecArmy Dan Driscoll, a 39-year-old former 1st lieutenant whose only qualification his friendship with Vance, as a new important conduit to Russia. FT had to ask if Ukrainians were involved at all. 3/
Tony Perkins frets about "political disaster" from Trump's involvement with Epstein. Back in 2016, when Ted Cruz floundered at the polls, Perkins pushed religious-right leaders to switch to Trump, calling it a "calculated risk". How does that calculation look now, Tony? 1/
Tony Perkins was the mentor of a young Mike Johnson, an unmarried law student who had oddly taken in a young boy. Perkins knew what Johnson was, but pushed him into politics anyway. @tperkins: all this will be in the history books, as your legacy. 2/
@tperkins Before Mike Johnson ran for office, he was Dean of a new law school named for notorious pedophile Judge Paul Pressler, who preyed on young boys. Tony Perkins sat on its board. And also on the board was a relatively unknown Ted Cruz - who'd known Pressler since he was a teen. 3/
Each Epstein email has so many layers of slime people miss some. This is Ken Starr, fired for covering up sexual assault, offering to help former client Jeffrey Epstein's friend's sexual harassment case by introducing him to Jed Rubenfeld, put on leave for sexual misconduct. 1/
Epstein's elite world was VERY elite: Yale Law prof Jed Rubenfeld's wife Amy Chua, also a Yale Law prof, was the mentor of Yale Law student JD Vance. Ken Starr was the mentor of Yale Law grad Brett Kavanaugh, also accused of sexual assault but now seated on the Supreme Court. 2/
Ken Starr, despite his long trail of sexual grossness, cosplayed as a warrior for an also-gross sexual prudishness. He and Brett Kavanaugh went after Bill Clinton (a visitor to Epstein's island) for oral sex with an intern. Kavanaugh came up with the graphic sexual questions. 3/
One fascinating thing in the Epstein email drop is an exchange around Trump's election in 2016. It suggests a tense, ongoing relationship, and Epstein's power.
Part 1, Sept 23: Linda Stone jokes that Epstein will get a cabinet position if Trump wins. Like Trump owes him. 1/
Backing up: the exchange is with Linda Stone, a tech exec who'd known Epstein since the 1990s: she brokered his entrance into academia, linked him with scientists. In 2016 they were close enough to be chatty, far enough to go months between emails. 2/ politico.com/news/magazine/…
Part 2, Sept. 26: three days after Stone asked Epstein if Trump could win, he answers: "too soon to tell, we will know more come oct 15". He doesn't explain: what would he learn then? Meanwhile Stone isn't even sure if Epstein supports Trump: "Which team you pulling for?" 3/
This week in Trump-Epstein: first @JSweetLI IDs the 14-year-old girl Epstein brought to Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump in 1994. Then the House Dems release an email where Epstein says Trump hung out at his house with underaged girls: "[VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him" 1/
in short: Trump spent so much time with Epstein and underaged girls that even Epstein couldn't figure out how it wasn't news!
"Jane", who testified she'd been abused by Epstein, was entered in Trump's pageants in the 1990s, long before Kirk and Halligan in 2009. Still, it's odd how so many women in Trump's circle had walked the stage in front of him as barely-clad teenagers. 3/
Realize: when Ed Martin drafted the pardon for the fake electors he was pardoning himself: he made it pre-emptive and general, covering "all United States citizens for conduct relating to ... efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election" 1/
Ed Martin was one of the first people who Ali Alexander drafted into Stop the Steal, on Nov. 4, the day after the election. He was a major player, and was deferential to Ali ("Orders, General Ali?"). Ali in turn said he leaned on Ed for advice and for contacts to lawmakers. 2/
The Jan 6 Capitol attack was astroturfed. It could not have happened without efforts from the top - filing bs election-fraud suits, whipping up crowds and getting media attention with Stop the Steal rallies, then pressuring lawmakers to comply. Ed Martin was deep in it. 3/