Trump’s Testimony Could Cripple the January 6 Committee: Following what could be the conclusion of “investigations” ahead of the midterms, the January 6 Committee voted on Thursday to subpoena former President Donald Trump. It is the culmination of 15 months of work by House Democrats to paint a picture of Republican-backed political violence and an attempted “coup” orchestrated by the former president.
While some may have been shocked by the revelation that Trump is now expected to be quizzed by the committee over their wild accusations, the truth is that this was always going to happen. Not only that, but this decision is part of a broader campaign not just to demonize Trump and his millions of supporters but to imprison the former president and send a message that standing up to the D.C. “Blob” will not be tolerated.
Subpoenaing the president, however, might also prove the downfall of the January 6 committee as it launches a last-ditched effort for the Democrats to fundraise ahead of a difficult election for the governing party.
A Flawed Committee
I’ve written before about how the January 6 committee was fundamentally flawed. This committee was founded on the supposed basis that Trump incited a riot and insurrection – a contested claim not backed by the evidence. It’s a committee that also claims to investigate the “origins” of the riot.
In truth, the committee did not seat a single member who disagrees with this contested notion and has not taken any steps to explore evidence that suggests the contested claim is not valid to begin with. A proper investigation would have allowed the Republicans’ picks to sit on the panel and spent time exploring the possibility that the claims made against the former president may not be true.
But that’s not what happened. Instead of an investigation, we have a politically motivated, partisan committee that has made no attempt to hide the fact that this is an effort to “save” the United States from another Trump presidency.
Democrats Fear Trump 2.0
In an unhinged essay for Slate, Dahlia Lithwick described her fear of a future Trump administration and argued against the decision to subpoena the former president. For Lithwick, allowing Trump to speak after the “investigation” concludes takes away from what she claimed was “devastating evidence” that Trump incited a “coup.” Lithwick’s “devastating evidence” was a hyperlink to another Slate article in which no evidence was provided that Trump endorsed, facilitated, or encouraged a riot or insurrection.
“Am I also scared out of my mind about Trump evading accountability for his myriad crimes, running for office in 2024, and vaulting us all into what will doubtless be the end of the free world as we know it immediately thereafter? Why yes, yes I am,” Lithwick wrote.
Lithwick is not alone. For Democrats, the investigation was just another way to fill the airwaves with obsessive anti-Trump smear campaigns and propaganda. With a faltering economy, rising costs of living, and the prospect of World War Three on the horizon, the Democrats need the January 6 investigation to scare away as many prospective Trump voters as possible simply because they don’t have anything positive to run on.
And in this sense, Lithwick is right. The January 6 Committee was foolish to subpoena Trump, and should he decide to comply with the subpoena, it could unravel all the work they’ve done to confuse the American people and distract from Biden’s myriad of failures and disasters.
But the committee is unwavering. It doesn’t even matter that subpoenaing the former president probably isn’t a good idea – the committee wanted to do it from the beginning, has never changed that position, and is now moving ahead with what they believe will be the ultimate slam dunk for the Democrats ahead of the mid-terms.
Trump Testimony Could Backfire Against Democrats
In the collective minds of the committee, making Trump testify is enough to crush his support nationally. The Democrats’ rose-tinted tunnel vision has seen them conduct a thoroughly biased and frankly unproductive investigation – which yielded nothing new or exciting – on the assumption that the rest of the country believes everything they say. And while it may work to some extent, the fact is that the evidence shows the former president does not condone violence, did not condone violence on January 6, and went out of his way to tell protesters to make their voices heard “peacefully and patriotically.”
Trump’s testimony will allow him to repeat those truths and to smack down the accusations made against him in a way that only Trump can do. The former president rose to power off the back of a wave of anti-establishment sentiment, and forcing Trump to answer questions from extremist ideologues, hell-bent on establishing a one-party rule for generations, will likely reignite that same passion that got him elected in 2016.
President of the United States Donald Trump speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Photo by Gage Skidmore .
Not to mention, he’ll have the truth on his side.
In peddling disinformation, the Democrats got ahead of themselves. Confident in their ability to control much of the media’s narrative, the January 6 Committee thinks their web of lies was woven impenetrable. But Trump is about to walk straight through it.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
Eternal Skeptic
October 14, 2022 at 9:26 am
Totally ignoring all the evidence that has been provided even by people in Trump’s orbit that he knew exactly what he was doing stoking the fear and violence with his Big Lie rhetoric.
The truth is the man is, was, and will continue to be a con artist out for himself that doesn’t give a single thought to the people he’s ingratiated himself with.
The tactics of legal delay and deflection are starting to fall apart for him through the multiple state and federal investigations that Trump, his organizations, and his family have found themselves at the center of.
EarthGrowl
October 14, 2022 at 9:45 am
So you think the American people are stupid? We know how an angry mob functions. Trump summoned his goons to Washington as a last ditch effort to maintain power. If votes failed him, he planned to unleash his swarm of angry worshippers. If Obama had done something like this Republicans would be screaming for his execution. Trump is guilty. He lost and lied, then tried to use the citizens who believed his lies as a show of power and violence so he could stay in office. The rest of America watched in horror as Trump attacked The Capitol.
Don Clement
October 14, 2022 at 10:44 am
Very flawed view on your part. Trump lied and lied and stirred his followers to invade the Capitol
Sherrie
October 14, 2022 at 10:48 am
Are you serious? All the testimony and the “EVIDENCE” has come from Republicans those who were working close with him and his co-conspirators and his own family! And video of the event and I’m not talking about the news videos. You can’t possibly think that anybody that genuinely wants to know the truth is going to believe anything that Trump says even before all that evidence as he lies so much even if he tells a truth it’s suspect, lying is like breathing to Trump!
Rick
October 14, 2022 at 10:49 am
The author would be well advised to apply actual facts to his narrative and leave out the far-right talking points.
Steve
October 14, 2022 at 10:50 am
How much did the GQP pay you to write this garbage Jack? You’re not really this stupid are you?
The subpoena is a matter for historical record. Nobody expects Trump to testify. There isn’t time given the legal challenges he’ll make anyway. What it does is dispel Trumps claim that he was never given a chance to tell his side of the story. I don’t see a grimy lying coward like Trump doing this as he will never consciously tell the truth about his crimes.
As for Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, do you think having two participants in the plot to overturn the 2020 election investigating that plot is a smart move? That is an asinine idea and Nancy Pelosi was right to object to their presence on the committee. The blame for lack of Republican participation rests squarely on the shoulders of a weak and pathetic Trump lackey, Kevin McCarthy. A blunder to be sure but probably not the last one he’ll make in politics.
Anyway Jack, have some respect for yourself. Don’t be a whore for the GQP.
Steven Mays
October 14, 2022 at 10:52 am
Americans are smarter than pipe smoking tea drinking gardeners from England. Patronize the former impeached President with your cross eyed perspective of the fear the Democrats have of him in the near future. He is a con artist!The Indians are circling his wagon and he is doomed to wear handcuffs in an orange suit for his efforts to overthrow our democracy.
Johnathan Swanson
October 14, 2022 at 11:02 am
How is it that people like you are allowed to voice their opinion and lie about facts? I mean literally if you’ve watched anything pertaining to the January 6th committee they have done nothing but bring to light what happened leading up to on and since that day of January 6th all based on Republican testimony. These are people closest to Donald Trump who had the closest and most interior insight of what really happened and what was really going on with Donald trump. They know exactly what he is and what he was capable of and what he did. There’s no misleading when the facts are laid out and the pieces are put together based on actual testimony of those closest to donald.
Not just that but they have tons of video and people closest to them under oath, I repeat under oath, who have given us a timeline and evidence of what Donald Trump was doing the minute that we all knew he was trying to steal an election. And we all knew it started months before the election even happened because he knew he would done things wrong pertaining to covid and he knew the people were not going to stand for it. And thank God we voted his butt out of office.
But now the real danger continues, because people like you want to sit here inside with him as though he has facts and Truth standing behind him. That man wouldn’t know truth if it kicked him in the ass and spit in his face. He literally is one of the most disgraceful men to ever serve this country. And I honestly can say he did not serve this country one day of his presidency. He served his own agenda. People like you need to be shut down for the simple fact you encourage the most ignorant of this country to continue to believe in a man who is the most despicable, evil and disgraceful person to ever serve as president.
anybody
October 14, 2022 at 11:30 am
Trump testifying will make the demos pay???? Only in you totally closed world on Mars.
Here one earth, if Trump will testify, the demos will make sure that happens before mid-term elections. Just like they will do anything, including switching parties to vote in pre-primaries, to make sure they go up against Trump candidates. The demos know they will win very big cause the middle 50% will run, not walk, away from the Repubs. Those middle 50% still want their democratic country, not see their country fall into the Chinese one-party authoritarian rule.
signed: I am not sure if I will call myself a closet-repub, but I have zero problem if somebody calls me a anti-demo. I hate demos with a vengeance. No good 2 faced lying so-and-sos.
pagar
October 14, 2022 at 11:35 am
The November 2020 US presidential contest was fought by a con artist and a criminal. And all for US$14 billion.
People describe trump as a con artist, but aren’t all beltway politicians top flight super mega con-artists.
Biden is a criminal, with big money from foreign nations illegally set aside for ‘big guy’ meaning corruption and treason within the Biden family.
Criminal, as he falsely compared trump to Goebbels in September 2020 when he knew very well msm was funded by anti-trump magnates with oodles of money and closely aligned to democrat party.
Criminal, as Biden failed miserably to stop bloodshed in Europe during his watch but instead goes out on a limb to bring Europe to the very edge of ww3.
Ross
October 14, 2022 at 12:52 pm
Yes, all the evidence has come from Republicans who worked in the White House. This article is laughable.
tom k
October 14, 2022 at 12:57 pm
wow….do you drink the regular kool-aid or the sugar free?
JACK
October 14, 2022 at 1:24 pm
The worst thing that could happen to the Democrats is for Trump to NOT run again for President.
That would virtually guarantee that our next President would be a underage 55 Republican !
MaxAmoeba
October 14, 2022 at 1:41 pm
How do you “cripple” something that doesn’t have the strength to lift itself out of its own cesspool?
Bertram
October 14, 2022 at 2:10 pm
Looks like the Russian bots have turned against Donald Trump.
Does this mean that Joe Biden is colluding with Russia now?
Good article.
TomTom
October 14, 2022 at 2:43 pm
Your little bio has a comma splice. Lol
Dr. Scooter Van Neuter
October 14, 2022 at 2:53 pm
History will rightfully show how the left DID steal this election. The Democrats have reduced our justice system to the equivalent of the 60’s KGB. Even discounting electronic voting irregularities (of which there were many), there has been evidence uncovered of enough malfeasance to have swayed the electoral vote in the battleground states.
Trump stating the obvious truth didn’t order anyone to do anything.
Roger Bacon
October 14, 2022 at 3:15 pm
Trump: God-Emperor for life!
MAGA wave in 2022 and 2024.
Drain the swamp for real this time.
If they try to indite Trump they will see a REAL insurrection. Picture 70 million armed Trump and liberty supporters (including the bulk of the rank and file in the US armed forces). It would be sad and ugly but it would be quick. Ruling party establishment insiders are everything that is wrong with this country. Time to water the tree of liberty again.
Keith Diggs
October 14, 2022 at 3:16 pm
You are clinically insane if you think these scumbags are gonna let Trump testify in public.
Brent
October 14, 2022 at 4:30 pm
Screw the traitor trump, hope the bastard rots in hell.
US Army Vet
October 14, 2022 at 5:28 pm
To call this article garbage would be an insult to garbage. This is propaganda perpetuating an insidious cancer upon the feeble minds drawn to the politics of fear and hatred we endured under Trump. The editors of this site should reconsider publishing this.
Californian7
October 14, 2022 at 6:42 pm
THE COMMITTEE put to death due process and my fellow commenters on here appear to have lapped it right up. I’d bet dollars to donuts they won’t let President Trump speak beyond their leading narratives and they certainly won’t ask him questions of any value that might jeopardize their insurrection tale. They won’t give him a advertising free platform to campaign on their dime. Isn’t that what this is about – destroying a political opponent using the power of the state apparatus.
Were there any weapons other than the ones used to kill Ashli Babbitt? What an insurrection – a bunch of escorted-in unarmed, selfie takers who were finished in a few hours and then returned to their homes. Wow – democracy was at risk! Oh, the humanity.
What a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Poh A Merik
October 14, 2022 at 11:23 pm
Donald Trump, the poor innocent victim, born with a silver spoon he lost in his first rigged game of ‘go fish’… All the contractors he has refused to pay were trying to rip him off. The banks that put him on stipends after Taj, just out to get him. The washed up KFC salesman put on television as a laugh, was actually a great business man behind the curtain of failure. Hah
Can I borrow your watch?
a reader
October 14, 2022 at 11:51 pm
If the Pelosi panel does subpoena Trump, then will the TV networks all live-broadcast it because it’s Jan 6, or not cover it because it gives Trump airtime? (And will the trial have an audience, so he can invite Ray Epps and relatives of Ashli Babbitt and Rosanna Boyland?)
Jack
October 15, 2022 at 6:45 am
Let’s talk about this in January 2023…. when the new Congress is installed
Perf
October 15, 2022 at 9:41 am
I read 19fortyfive because of the many interesting articles the website has. Mr Buckby’s article was not one of them.
That a whacko like Mr Buckby is allowed to spew his false claims on this website really drags down 9fortyfive.
And: Beyond me that can you let this guy appear on the website. ???
Dan Zigmund
October 15, 2022 at 2:50 pm
Why would Trump do anything other then take the 5th if he testifies. We have seen him take the 5th on everything but his name already.
scooter mc nuetered
October 15, 2022 at 7:25 pm
Scooter, Just so there is no mistake: you are an absolute idiot thinking the election was stolen from the fat guy! LOL
GhostTomahawk
October 15, 2022 at 11:26 pm
You people thinking Trump really was involved are stupid.
FACT: There is a criminal trial under way for the Oath Keepers in DC right now. If there was evidence he would be listed as a co-conspirator.
Sorry idiots… yall got nothing. Jan 6 circus is just political theater used as well placed subterfuge for bad press
CRS, DrPH
October 16, 2022 at 1:24 am
19fortyfive.com would be a pretty amazing site IF they left out all of the MAGA propaganda!
Do us a favor & stick to the Ukraine-Russia war, modern military developments, weapons history and other good stuff. Trump is going to be indicted and tried, and his MAGA crowd will dissolve from age, boredom and lack of leadership.
Slava Ukraini!
Ezra Teter
October 16, 2022 at 2:23 am
This article really triggered all the shitlibs. The truth is that Trump’s testimony won’t change any Democrat, Republican, or Independent opinions. I made up my mind about this two years ago and I am sure all the other people of other ideologies did the same.
5am
October 16, 2022 at 3:06 am
Any American that backs show trials/hearings has about as much democratic credibility as a potato.