Stunning revelation proves Trump wanted the attack on the Capitol Building
In their final summation on day 4 of the second impeachment of Donald Trump, Trump defense attorneys maintained that their client was not culpable for the violence that followed his January 6th speech. They support this conclusion by suggesting that elected officials enjoy “enhanced” First Amendment rights to free speech. They then laid out an absurd series of false equivalencies and whataboutisms where everyone from Hillary Clinton to Madonna employ similar words and phrases that Trump used in his speech, as if to suggest it’s the English language and not Donald Trump that is on trial here.
Whatever the merits of the burden Trump defense lawyers may or may not have created by their spurious defense, Stacey Plaskett, the delegate to the House of Representatives from the US Virgin Islands, easily met that burden with a few pointed questions.
In her rebuttal, Ms.Plaskett came to the heart of the matter when she asked, “Why did president Trump not tell the protesters to stop as soon as he learned about [the attack on the Capitol Building]? Why did president Trump do nothing for two hours to stop the attack after the attack began? Why did president Trump do nothing to help protect the Capitol and law enforcement battling the insurgents?”
The answer, as it turns out, is Trump did nothing because he was loving it. In a new stunning revelation, details of a conversation between Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy expose Trump’s willingness, and even eagerness, to allow the attack to continue. These details come from multiple Republican members of Congress revealing that Trump had no intention whatsoever to call off the rioters or send help to the beleaguered DC police force, even as McCarthy and other members begged him to do so.
In his conversation with McCarthy Trump at first tried to blame Antifa for the violence. McCarthy bluntly contradicted him and said, “No, it’s not Antifa, these are your people,” as if the source of the violence was somehow relevant to whether or not they should receive help. It was at this point that Trump said to McCarthy, “Well Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.” To which McCarthy replied, “Who the f*** do you think you are talking to?”
CNN has confirmed this exchange with Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, who was briefed on the call by McCarthy himself on January 10th. Ms. Butler took copious notes on the call. Several other Republican members confirm McCarthy’s version of the call.
Republican Congressman Anthony Gonzalez also said on the record, “I think it speaks to the president’s mindset. He was not sorry to see his unyieldingly loyal Vice President or the Congress under attack by the mob he inspired … In fact, it seems he was happy about it, or at least enjoyed the scenes that were horrifying to most American across the country.”
This revelation demonstrates beyond doubt that Trump knew very early on what was happening at the Capitol Building and he deliberately and with malice refused to assist members of Congress and the Vice President while they were under deadly attack. There can now be no doubt that Trump is directly culpable for the violence as it continued at the Capitol Building, and we now have material witnesses — Republican material witnesses — to back that revelation up. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.