“Don’t Watch What They Say, Watch What They Do”

The title is, of course, Rachel Maddow’s mantra for dealing with the turbulent years of covering the Trump era. Because when the coin of the realm is bullshit, you’ll spend your life chasing your tail that way. Turn the mute button on, and just watch the action instead.

But that same advice can be very handy in watching the current sturm und drang surrounding the 1/6 committee’s attempt to gain documents and testimony to aid in their investigation. Here’s what I mean.

A lot of pundits are wringing their hands and beating their breasts as they watch various Trump henchmen try to stall and obstruct subpoenas for documents and testimony. They worry that these ass gaskets will once again run out the clock before the committee is shut down if the House changes hands in November. Don’t watch what they say, watch what they do. And I don’t mean the Trumptards.

I mean with the committee. Not what they say, but instead what they do. Does anybody here actually believe that the committee didn’t go into this already knowing that Trump and his allies would obstruct them every step of the way? News Flash! They don’t care. You know why we know that? Because they’re getting ready to hold public hearings! Which means they already know plenty of shit.

Earlier today on MSNBC, Punchbowl News co-founder Gabe Sherman said something I have felt along. He said, I could care less who’s refusing to appear in front of the committee, or turn over documents. What I want to know is who is appearing voluntarily in front of the committee and cooperating. Because that’s where the action is. And Sherman is 100% correct.

Let me ask you a question. Does anybody actually believe that a high mucky-muck like Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows actually answers his own phone calls, does his own research or filing, or answers all of the e-mails he gets? Of course not, he has a staff of underlings for that. And because he’s a power drunk as Trump, he’s got a big mouth. And every one of those underlings has eyes and ears.

How many times in your life at work have you been in a stall in the bathroom, or on an elevator, and two higher level managers or other power players are yakking it up, about things that shouldn’t be out there for public consumption?? So why are they doing it? Because the little people don’t exist for them. And now you know the dirty laundry.

Which is exactly what Sherman and I are talking about. The committee has already interviewed dozens, if not hundreds of lower level staffers that are no longer under the thumb of The Cheeto Prophet, and they came in voluntarily. And hell, why wouldn’t they? They didn’t do anything wrong, and they’d still like to have careers in DC. And if they were asked to do anything they considered possibly dicey, you can bet they kept contemporaneous notes, or copies if possible. All of which they brought with them. And all of which the committee now has.

Of course the committee subpoenaed nabobs like Bannon, Meadows, and Clark. Because they wanted a public show of how the Trump administration was attempting to obstruct the investigation. And if they ever do cooperate, then they will just corroborate what the underlings have given them. But they already have most of what they need.

Here’s a perfect example. One of the burning issues of the Capitol riot is Trump’s feelings about, and interactions with Vice President Mike Pence in the days leading up to, as well as during the insurrection itself. Pence has chosen to remain as silent as the grave. But his Chief of Staff, Mark Short, is fully cooperating with the committee. Short would have been in the room for almost every meeting, and he would have taken notes. What a treasure trove for the committee.

Yes, the committee is under a time crunch, but you’re only going to get one shot at this. If they didn’t have anything compelling and informative to say, they wouldn’t be moving on to public hearings. I have no doubt they have the goods.