The President Who Stood Still on Jan. 6 - WSJ Editorial
No matter your views of the Jan. 6 special committee, the facts it is laying out in hearings are sobering. The most horrifying to date came Thursday in a hearing on President Trump’s conduct as the riot raged and he sat watching TV, posting inflammatory tweets and refusing to send help.
Shortly after Mr. Trump urged protesters to march on the Capitol, he was told violence was breaking out. At about 1:30 p.m. he went to the dining room, where he stayed until 4 p.m. There is no official record of what he did, and the photographer was told no pictures. All of MAGA world was texting Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that Mr. Trump needed to call off his supporters. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone testified that he argued internally “there needs to be a public announcement, fast, that they need to leave the Capitol.” He added that Mr. Meadows joined those calls throughout the day, as did Ivanka Trump.
By 2:13 the Capitol was breached. The committee played radio traffic from Vice President Mike Pence’s security detail. “I’ve got public about five feet from me down here below,” one voice said. Another warned: “If we lose any more time, we may lose the ability to leave.” At 2:24 Mr. Trump issued his tweet saying Mr. Pence “didn’t have the courage” to stop the electoral count. The VP was evacuated from a Capitol office at 2:26, according to the committee. What if that route had been blocked? Would the mob have harmed Mr. Pence? Would the Secret Service have opened fire?
At 2:38 Mr. Trump tweeted: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” .. How did rioters react to the tweet about the Capitol police? The committee played what it said was radio chatter by Oath Keepers. “He didn’t say not to do anything to the Congressmen,” one voice chuckled. Another added: “Well, he did not ask them to stand down.” Not until 4:17 did Mr. Trump post a video telling rioters to go home, while justifying their actions, since “this was a fraudulent election.”
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Still, the brute facts remain: Mr. Trump took an oath to defend the Constitution, and he had a duty as Commander in Chief to protect the Capitol from a mob attacking it in his name. He refused. He didn’t call the military to send help. He didn’t call Mr. Pence to check on the safety of his loyal VP. Instead he fed the mob’s anger and let the riot play out.
In the 18 months since, Mr. Trump has shown not an iota of regret. On Thursday he claimed to be vindicated by a bill to clarify the Electoral Count Act. “Mike Pence told me, and everybody else, there was nothing he could do,” Mr. Trump wrote. “If so, how come the Democrats and RINOs are working so hard to make sure there is nothing a VP can do.” Character is revealed in a crisis, and Mr. Pence passed his Jan. 6 trial. Mr. Trump utterly failed his.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-president-who-stood-still-donald-trump-jan-6-committee-mike-pence-capitol-riot-11658528548 (subscription)
= new reply since forum marked as read
to say anything to stop it, too.
This is vital information. that I for one hadn't seen before.
& from the WSJ, too.. Biden is the President & trump knows this.. he just didn't want to Lose All his Ways to Fuck Over America.. MF Russian Puppet.
TY question everything!
Focus! 
Please Fight to Save Our Democracy💙 in 2022 & 2024!
