Former President Donald Trump's vitriol toward the Jan. 6 select committee and former Vice President Mike Pence is tantamount to a confession about his role in the Capitol riot, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
Driving the news: Thursday's Jan. 6 select committee hearing unveiled testimony from numerous Trump administration aides about a "heated" phone call in which Trump berated Pence for refusing to overturn the election, with one former White House assistant testifying that he recalled Trump calling Pence a "wimp."
Trump pushed back against the allegations at a gathering of Christian conservatives on Friday, saying he never called Pence a "wimp" but lamenting that "Mike did not have the courage to act."
Trump also hit back at the select committee, accusing it of "knowingly spinning a fake and phony narrative."
What they're saying: "Yeah, he's essentially saying, 'Yeah I did it and I’ll do it again,'" Raskin replied when asked by host Chuck Todd whether Trump was in fact confessing by lashing out at the committee.
"Which is what we have been contending all along. That if you allow impunity for attempts at unconstitutional seizures of power — which is what a coup is — then you're inviting it again in the future," Raskin added.
"And to be a strong, self-sustaining, self-respecting democracy, we can't allow people to decide that they are above the law and that they are more important than our constitutional processes."
The big picture: The committee is using the hearings to make a comprehensive case for Trump's culpability in the Capitol riot as the Justice Department watches closely.
sylsau on June 19th, 2022 at 16:15 UTC »
Donald Trump has done all this. We know it, he knows it, and he even brags about it. His only regret? Not that he did this attempted coup, but rather that he failed in his endeavor to turn America into an autocracy.
You only have to see how he constantly calls Mike Pence a traitor to see that. Donald Trump would do the same thing again if he were in the White House. We must prevent him from threatening American democracy again.
EmmaLouLove on June 19th, 2022 at 16:12 UTC »
And of course Trump spoke to a conservative Christian group. Confirmation they are not watching the January 6 hearings.
People tend to focus on the possibilities they see as normal and to ignore the ones they see as abnormal. So what happens when someone like Trump floods his supporters with lies and conspiracy theories?
Much like a cult, if people’s ideas about what is normal changes, this changes the possibilities they consider and the actions they take. On January 6, some of his supporters said they had no choice but to come to the US Capitol to “stop the steal”. Trump had invited them and primed the pumps for months saying the only way he could lose is if there was massive voter fraud.
Now that the January 6 hearings are underway and evidence confirms Trump knew it was illegal to overturn the election, did nothing to stop the rioters, and in response to “Hang Mike Pence, said “he deserves it”, Trump will continue to flood his followers with an alternate reality to limit their options to consider. Only a few will take the off-ramp given by conservative federal Judge Luttig’s testimony who made it clear Trump is a clear and present danger.
dremonearm on June 19th, 2022 at 16:01 UTC »
Is there any crime that Donny hasn't committed?