Scoop: Blockbuster witness for Jan. 6 hearings

[demmiblue]

Source: Axios

J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge and lawyer who advised former Vice President Mike Pence, is expected to testify in the Jan. 6 select committee's public hearings this month, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The committee, which has until now been interviewing witnesses behind closed doors, has revealed little about its plans for the public hearings set to begin next week.

The desire to showcase Luttig — a judge lionized within the conservative legal movement — matches what sources have described as the committee's strategy to reach as broad an audience as possible, including conservatives.

The big picture: Luttig, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, was a key behind-the-scenes figure in the lead up to Jan. 6. He furnished Pence with the legal argument the vice president used to publicly reject Trump's unconstitutional order to overturn President Biden's victory.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2022/06/02/january-6-public-hearings-witness-luttig

[sarcasmo]

1. My popcorn order arrived this week. Let's go!

[TheRealNorth]

2. Won't matter for Republicans.

If he goes against Trump, he's a RINO in their eyes. Maybe it will make a difference for moderates, if they actually pay attention.

[LymphocyteLover]

7. Very few if any Republicans will be swayed by these hearings

but the hope is it will reach the undecided and centrists and get the media to focus on GOP crimes

[BaronChocula]

11. Exactly!

maga TRASH isn't the only right-leaning demo. People who think they are render themselves completely useless in the messaging effort because their first reaction is "but it won't convince the Trumpers."

[agingdem]

12. I agree..

my daughter lives in Atlanta and has a "walking" friend...the woman and her husband, both staunch Republicans, own a second home in Florida not far from Trump...she and her husband voted for Trump in 2016 but would vote for Biden in 2020...she said his disastrous pandemic response, separating families at the border, babies in cages, teargassing protesters repulsed her..and the woman said she was not alone in her condemnation of Trump, someone they knew personally...

people like this woman and her like-minded friends are who will be affected by the J6 committee hearings..

[LymphocyteLover]

13. fingers crossed!

[certainot]

20. there are a lot of people too busy or apathetic to pay attention and they rely on friends

and family and coworkers who are 'well informed' because they listen to the talk radio gods and fox idiots and repeat the common talking points and a lot of it's built on years of repetition.

a lot of that secondary and tertiary audience is going to wake up bit when they find out they've been listening to duped idiots.

it would help also if somehow in these hearings or otherwise they exposed the kremlin's involvement in all this going back to at least 2008, when, for instance, using limbaugh, unwittingly probably, to force palin on mccain. or at least pointing out more recent stuff like trump's coordination of the giuliani/powell press conference with the start of the limbaugh show to reach an extra 15 mil

the guy with the molotov collection on jan 6 had the names and numbers of several radio blowhard shows incl sekulow and hannity i think, maybe levin. were those general public numbers or more direct numbers given to the guy to call in reinforcements once they took over the capitol?

investigators and media need to start exposing the dupe show that's been going on for 30 years

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. Great news! Nt

[FakeNoose]

4. Well OK, how about calling Dan Quayle to testify? Pence called him before the insurrection

... and asked him (Quayle) if there is any way a sitting Vice President can refuse to recognize the duly elected slate of Elector College voters. Dan Quayle was in the same position as Pence back in 1992. when Bush/Quayle lost their re-election to Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Dan Quayle said "NO," there is no way Pence can refuse to accept the vote, and he doesn't have to recuse himself either.

This conversation took place between Pence and Quayle in mid-December 2020, at least 3 weeks before the insurrection of Jan. 6th.

[Hawaii Hiker]

5. I remember Pat Buchanan a while back saying

Luttig should be a George HW Bush pick for SCOTUS.......Luttig is a conservatives conservative so the goons at FOX, Newsmax, etc can't call this a partsian show

[Joinfortmill]

6. Interesting

[Orrex]

8. Trump himself could brag under oath that he was responsible for the whole thing...

and his kkkult of ignorant racist fuckheads would still vote for him in a heartbeat, and not a single KKKonservative fuckhead in Congress will act against him.

Sure, you'll get scripted "mavericks" like Romney and Collins furrowing their brows, and some irrelevant retirees like Flake and Ryan might lament the state of the party, but the bulk of the irretrievably corrupt party will faithfully goosestep behind him for years.

[czarjak]

9. Shooting someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and not losing one supporter was fact.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

25. He could get his followers to commit mass murders "to save America."

He's a mob boss who never gets his hands dirty but the nasty stuff still gets done. Look at how he fires people -- he has someone else do it. Only once that I know of the individual went to the Oval Office and handed in his resignation in person. Trump thought it was a letter praising him until someone explained it to him,. Then he said he had already fired the guy before he resigned, and called him a bunch of names, like "incompetent." I'm sorry I don't have the man's name. I'll keep looking for it.

[czarjak]

29. Unfortunately, the adoration is boundless.!

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Will Luttig be a witness to events, or a commentator?

It seems more like the latter, in which case I can't see this as a "blockbuster":

Luttig is expected to describe his view of the stakes of Jan. 6 and his argument that American democracy is at a crossroads.

He'll then answer questions, many of which are likely to be centered on the technicalities of the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 1887 — the statute that Trump hoped Pence would violate to reverse his 2020 election loss.

If he's just going to appear as a sane conservative, I don't see how that changes things much. "Lionized within the conservative legal movement" means little; it's standing with the conservative base that matters. The rabid Trump base will just dismiss him as "RINO", "Deep State" or whatever, when they hear about him.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. I expect much of this will be directed to independents who are 1/3rd of the electorate

as we all know the RW loons don't care.

[FBaggins]

16. Hardly a "scoop"

He announced that he would be happy to testify a month and a half ago.

[Icanthinkformyself]

17. The

Revolution will not be televised. The Insurrection was and many Americans remain apathetic. I doubt that the hearings, which I'm looking forward to, will move any needles. The media is excited to show the massive auto accident, but, no doubt, will make it appear to be partisan or somehow a Democratic problem to fix. Democrats always rebuild government after Republicans take it apart to sell it off in pieces. Kinda like Russia after the wall went down. Oligarchs grabbing everything, even stuff nailed down, like Roe. Conservative disdain of all things democratic, including the party with that name, will prevent them from seeing the true depth of the fascism in the Republicans. Indeed, conservatives embrace the fascism that is Republicanism/conservatism/America Firster, forced birthers. Conservatives will not vote for a Democrat no matter how disgusting and vile the Republican running. We may sway the few who claim to be independent. There is no such thing. You are either for freedom (Democrats) or not (the GQP, Fear, Fraud and Fascist Party).

[Evolve Dammit]

18. good post. Welcome

[machoneman]

19. True, the needle (voters) may not be moved but jurors will be.

[Calista241]

21. So, i'm trying not to get my hopes up.

But I really question whether this was 'illegal' or not. I mean, most of this seems to be exploiting an un-foreseen loophole, rather than being straight up against a specific law.

Why has the committee not spoken to Pence? Seems like he could confirm or deny this whole plot rather easily.

[SKKY]

23. I think they're going to get a lot of "conversations" with Pence by the people...

...who are testifying.

[Calista241]

30. Trump is really the target of the investigation, and he'd never show

And if he did, he’d plead the 5th, which is his right.

But it seems like kind of a risk to not know what Pence is going to say. He’s at the center of the whole thing, Biden doesn’t get certified that day without him, and his buy in was critical to any plot.

He could legit blow up the whole investigation, since he’s basically above reproach in his conduct on Jan 6.

[Novara]

22. There still exist old-school republicans who are pissed off at what's become of their party

It's possible that the hearings will entrench them further into being exiles of their party. These people - and independents - can be swayed. If the evidence is damning enough, some of the old school republicans won't hold their nose and vote R. These are also the kind of people who understand patriotism a lot better than the rabid fascists.

At any rate, bring it on. Bring it ALL on. I am so ready.

[ultralite001]

24. The J6 committee will need to draw blood...

to draw a crowd...

That is all...

[867-5309.]

26. If that's a blockbuster

we're in trouble.