6-January Commission | “Trump tried to call a witness”

Former US President Donald Trump has attempted to reach a witness who has spoken with the January 6 Commission’s investigative committee, but has not yet testified in public. This is the revelation made by the Vice-President (Republican) of this commission, Liz Cheney, at the end of the seventh hearing held Tuesday in Washington.

“Following our last hearing [le 28 juin]President Trump tried to call a witness you haven’t seen yet, Mr.^me Cheney. This person refused to answer the president’s call. Instead, she informed her lawyer who informed us. This commission forwarded this information to the Department of Justice. »

The news had the effect of a bombshell as the commission adjourned its work until next week.

“If this is true, it is still quite serious. The Department of Justice is aware and this may be an attempt to intimidate the witness, says Valérie Beaudoin, associate researcher at the United States Observatory of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair in Strategic and Diplomatic Studies. But how much can this be proven, as there has been no [de conversation] telephone [car le témoin n’a pas répondu] ? »

We will now have to wait to see if there will be a follow-up to this case, especially on the side of the Department of Justice.

Punctuated by testimony from Stephen Ayres and Jason Van Tatenhove, two former protesters once associated with extremist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Tuesday’s hearing also shed light on the fact that President Trump’s idea to march to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not spontaneous.

Thus, an exchange of text messages obtained by the investigators shows that, as of January 4, 2021, Kylie Kremer, organizer of the demonstration in support of Trump at the Ellipse, land located near the White House, wrote to a relative of Trump that the president would “unexpectedly issue a call to march to the Capitol.”

Ditto with Ali Alexander, a far-right activist who, in a message on January 5, wrote: “Trump is supposed to order us to march to the Capitol at the end of his speech, but we will see. »

Video clips also showed two close Trump aides, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, hanging out with members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and even receiving their protection.

” [Sa] rhetoric killed someone »

In an exchange with a colleague, Katrina Pierson, former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale referred to “a sitting president who is asking for a civil war” before adding that “Trump’s rhetoric has killed someone”, about an activist who died during the uprising.

“There were at times weapons pointed at law enforcement officers,” Van Tatenhove said of the Jan. 6 assault. After a long sigh, he continued.

“These two witnesses said that we were very close to the outbreak of an armed revolution. They [les manifestants] did not intend to stop there. In theory, they wanted to go so far as to prevent the Biden presidency and use weapons and different means to ensure that Donald Trump remains in power, ”sums up Valérie Beaudoin.

To freeze the blood

The first part of the hearing returned to the attempts of Trump and his close guard to overturn the results of the November 3, 2020 election won by Joe Biden, even if it means ordering the army to seize ballot boxes.

In desperation, at 1:42 a.m. on the night of December 19, 2020, Donald Trump issued a protest call for January 6. “Be there, it will be crazy. »

However, in the hours and days that followed, thus well before the events, many exchanges of messages between supporters of the 45^e president show that the latter saw a call to arms there.

Some messages are blood-curdling. “The cops have no power to act if they are lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood”, writes one of them.

“Trump just told us to come armed. Put…, it will happen”, launches another. “Bullet-proof vests, brass knuckles, shields, sticks, pepper spray, everything you need…”, suggests a third.

The committee also unveiled excerpts from the meeting held behind closed doors last week with Pat Cipollone, former legal adviser to Mr. Trump. Mr. Cipollone recounted the many situations in which he stood up against the schemes of the president and those close to him to retain power.

Mr. Cipollone, whose testimony was eagerly awaited because it was many crucial meetings, praised the courage of Vice President Mike Pence, who resisted the president’s repeated demands to block and reverse the results of the election. “He made the right decisions. He was very brave and deserves to be given the Medal of Freedom,” the councilor argued.