Please don't ask Luttig anything else. Just ask Keebler Elf Guy.

[Funtatlaguy]

Luttig comes off like Mueller did in his final interview. Not all there.

[SheilaAnn]

1. They ask him, I mute..n/t

[Peregrine Took]

15. Me, too. n/t

[Haggis 4 Breakfast]

34. Apparently there are people here on DU

who cannot wrap their minds around that WHAT he is saying is far more important that HOW it comes out.

LISTEN TO HIS WORDS.

This man is a one of the MOST repected judges in the US today. He was (top of the) short-list for SCOTUS, but the trumpies knew that he tolerates NO misinterpretation or re-imagining of the Constitution. He does not tolerate fools. He is a brilliant legal and Constitutional scholar, with very few peers at his level. Glenn Kirscher has spoken about Michael Luttig in the most reverent of terms.

For those who cannot follow a speaker who doesn't speak in soundbites, or flashy commentary, welcome to the world of legal scholarship at the highest level.

Try to keep up.

[Ilsa]

60. Amen. He impresses me as a person who speaks slowly to cover

for a speech impediment, such as stuttering. I enjoyed hearing what he had to say. I just wish the Rs would finally take this seriously and throw trump to the wolves. Or out of a window.

[iemanja]

43. He has important testimony

So you are muting away evidence.

[frogmarch]

56. I thought I was the only one.

[LymphocyteLover]

2. Exactly. Painful to listen to him.

If they need to ask Luttig anything, just yes or no questions.

[sop]

3. A simple yes or no question would take twenty minutes.

[Ocelot II]

4. He's all there. Just listen to what he's saying and don't get hung up on his delivery.

[Funtatlaguy]

5. I'm truly trying but it is driving me bonkers.

[Siwsan]

7. I'm wondering if maybe he's, at one time, had a stroke

[PatSeg]

16. I thought he was just very nervous

but thought that was odd for a federal judge. Perhaps he did have a stroke at one time. I really feel for him as he seems so uncomfortable.

[inthewind21]

17. He's thinking about his answers

before he just blurts them out. Would you rather a 90 to nothing word salad?

[Haggis 4 Breakfast]

22. There was some speculation about that years ago.

But no actual facts have been available.

[Ocelot II]

9. He's making it easier to take notes, though.

[sop]

19. Court reporters probably love him.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

6. What..... do..... you.... mean.....?

Seriously though, I think he's invaluable as a witness. Eastman clerked for him.

[NightWatcher]

8. An ultra conservative is saying that tfg is guilty as shit and should be in prison

It pains him to condemn a fellow "republican", but he knows he has to do it.


Imagine a parent testifying to send a child away to prison. He's being particular and plain. Showing no effectuation.

[mahina]

10. Imagine the stress.

I hope he’s ok.

[Baitball Blogger]

21. I agree. His testimony is painful to him.

But he knows it's the right thing to do. Maybe the perfect example of the old meaning of ambivalent.

[txwhitedove]

24. Exactly. The answers can't be Yes, No, Lock Him Up, though we would like.

Former Federal judge doesn't miss a beat on rapid fire questions.

[cilla4progress]

36. And also his former

Clerk, Eastman.

I think he is just shocked..never thought it could come to this.

Suffers from a failure of imagination..

SMDH

[woodsprite]

11. Either he's not all there OR he's trying to answer the question without really saying anything. nt

[inthewind21]

20. He's saying a LOT

Maybe a Rudy 90 to nothing word salad would suit you better?

[txwhitedove]

26. Ha, I thought same thing, a drunken word salad.

[woodsprite]

31. Maybe it's just all the long pauses and how he's delivering it that it seems very disjointed. nt

[Ocelot II]

29. He's all there and he's really saying something.

He's talking faster now; maybe he's just running on an older OS that takes awhile to boot up.

Now he's explaining how Eastman, et al. tried to take advantage of the wording of the 12th Amendment to enable Pence to decide the election. "Constitutional mischief," he said.

[Eliot Rosewater]

12. Ask

Him what the Democratic slang word used by democratic politicians and lawyers is for Republicans.

And when he has no answer ask him to politely start calling the Democratic people by the proper name.

I might be talking about a different person I am only listening not watching I’m talking about the person who purposely said democRAT

[dchill]

13. He's. Very... Thoughtful.

[Funtatlaguy]

14. Just imagine if SNL parodies this.

Every comedian on that show would be begging to play Luttig.

[yorkster]

40. Maybe Peter Coyote for Mr. Elfman, er Jacob.

I think Luttig is a slow and thoughtful speaker, aware of gravity of the situation, etc.

I have to admit, though, that I would definitely tune in for a cold open based on Messrs. Luttig, Jacob et al at today's hearing.

[Funtatlaguy]

42. Just have two people dressed as a sloth and KeeblerElf.

[Bucky]

69. He reminded me of Tim Conway's 100 year old man character

[Better Days Ahoy]

18. So agree!

Plodding, uninteresting, excruciatingly slow. Hard to remember the first part of each sentence as he crawls toward the end of each comment. Reminds me of an international studies professor who really should have retired 10 years earlier.
The panel must have amazing facial expression control as he slow-walks his explanation. Good thing that they're not showing them during his testimony.

[inthewind21]

48. Hard to remember

the first part of the sentence? That speaks more about you than him.

[Better Days Ahoy]

62. You know, in retrospect ...

... I have to agree with you. I read a later post that Luttig, SCOTUS runner-up to Alito, was aiming his remarks at the current SCOTUS members should they be tempted to rule stupidity on this topic.
Judge Luttig's final comments took my breath away. Respect. I should take down my initial comment as it wasn't fair to him.

[Scottie Mom]

23. I was so embarrassed for this man who was suppose to be a legal scholar.

He should have never been a witness.

[iemanja]

45. WTF are you talking about?

Maybe they should have George Clooney as a stand it and read for him. JFC.

[chowder66]

47. +1

[Scottie Mom]

53. My agreement with the above comments.

Perhaps you missed them.

[iemanja]

55. The OP above and your response

Are absurd. You don't appear to be listening to the substance of what he says. He speaks slowly and deliberately, but there is nothing embarrassing to anyone but Trump and his lickspittle about his testimony.

[inthewind21]

50. You should

re-consider ever speaking in public as well. It's embarrassing.

[Scottie Mom]

51. Never had a problem.

Have done a lot of speaking in public considering my occupation.

[Funtatlaguy]

25. The people behind Luttig may need to use electric paddles on him.

[Funtatlaguy]

28. He speaks the way I do to my 2 year old nephew.

[Quakerfriend]

27. He suddenly seems to have woken up now

[Hassin Bin Sober]

30. I'm skipping his testimony. Will watch later on YouTube at 2x speed.

[bottrott]

32. He's attempting to thread the needle

Luttig is trying to limit the damage to just the ambiguous wording of the 12th instead of a widespread, coordinated attempt to overthrow government despite the fact he, himself, would have attempted to stop that abuse. That requires extreme hesitation and deliberation of every response so as not to open the door to a more widespread interpretation or reframing of what he says.

[Funtatlaguy]

33. Jeez Louise. Al Gore speaks 10 times faster than Luttig. Al Gore.

[mcar]

35. Wow, really?

He's speaking slowly and deliberately in an old-style lawyer way. But hey, he's not moving along as quickly as you'd like, so let's just ignore his very important testimony.

[Triloon]

38. Bad TV, huh?

He's not there to entertain you. His testimony for the Congressional Record may not be slickly delivered but it is intelligent, deeply considered, clear, and very helpful.
Why you would insult the man who is helping you is beyond me.

[tavernier]

39. Well he just said he would lay down his body on the road

before he allowed Pence to certify Trump.

I think his mind is perfectly clear.

[yorkster]

41. Well said. n/t

[iemanja]

44. The person who posted another OP is right

There is an expectation to be entertained that is truly disturbing. This is about the gravest threat to our republic, and the Judge is giving crucial testimony about that. But you don't like him because he doesn't meet your notion of good TV.

[Hamlette]

46. What in the world are you talking about?

He's a slow talker but his answers are considered and kick ass. I was spellbound through all of his 3 hour interview on the subject with frontline. You should slow down long enough to watch.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/j-michael-luttig-judge-mike-pence-house-jan-6-committee-hearings/

[W_HAMILTON]

49. When our democracy dies, look back at this post and many of the replies...

...and realize that even the people on our side that should know better are helping contribute to the downward spiral through trivial and downright petty criticisms like this.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

52. Amen to that!

What a childish way to look at things. This very measured and conservative judge in an extremely uncomfortable position was smart enough to know the world was watching and was put in a role where there was ample opportunity to politicize anything he said. If you watched until the end, you know he had something very powerful to say-made all the more impactful because it came from a guy who probably never said anything hyperbolic or over the top in his life. A clear and present danger to democracy is a very intense thing to say-coming from someone clearly not prone to such statements speaks volumes.

[inthewind21]

54. Exactly

Can't see the forest for the trees.

[MerryBlooms]

59. 💯💔

[lamp_shade]

57. His testimony was riveting. You should have listened.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

61. +1. N/T

[Bucky]

68. I wish I could have. He was like streaming a movie by dialup

He literally paused so long between each word that I would forget the subject of the sentence by the time he got to the verb or predicate. I think there might be some kind of medical condition inhibiting his ability to communicate. He clearly has an incisive and experienced legal mind. But he made it very hard to listen to what should have been compelling testimony

[lamp_shade]

58. Who is Keebler Elf Guy that you speak of?

[Funtatlaguy]

63. I was just being silly because his ears stick out.

[MerryBlooms]

64. Did you mean, immature? Disregarding?

Disrespect to our J6 committee for calling him as a witness? Do you think our committee didn't know what they were doing? I find these attacks on the judge, bizarre and ridiculous. He was very insightful and his guarded language and delivery was riveting. These hearings are more than 20 second sound bites. This is about laying out the crimes that were committed.

[Funtatlaguy]

65. Mea culpa. I get it. Going to bed now. Take care.

[MerryBlooms]

66. You take care too. 🤗

[EndlessWire]

67. I thought the guy was fascinating.

Unless you are attending an ivy league law school and he is the lecturer, or you are in some deep doo doo in court somewhere, how are you going to meet someone like this?

But, I agree, I was fairly alarmed when he first started to speak. His first paragraph was almost incomprehensible, and quite frankly, I forgot what the question was. I listen very well, and some of what he said in the beginning made no sense.

But, I finally decided that the problem is that this guy is so smart, when he explains stuff, he speaks like a text book. It is not casual conversation. He filled in every nuance of each situation, and he spoke slowly, which I think was good. His role is to explain to the American public exactly why what Trump did was illegal, and that Trump is a threat to our Democracy.

I was a bit taken back at the end when the final questioner asked him a question, and he flatly said that he had already answered the question--or something like that. The questioner had the good sense to move on immediately and thank both the witnesses for their participation.

So, I personally can understand why some people think he was awful, but also I think that he added the perspective of a legal scholar who knows what he is talking about. He did use the forceful language I seem to crave lately, and I think he nailed it.

I thought the other witness was also good, and made a good contrast to Luttig. I can't wait to hear Donald's rebuttal to today's testimony.