Some of the recent reporting regarding the January 6 committee stonewalling the DOJ’s request for copies of their interview transcripts is just a wee inaccurate. Some commentators with looser sphincters are outraged that the committee is playing hide-the-salami with critical evidence the DOJ needs.

This isn’t true. Committee Chair Bennie Thompson has made it clear that the DOJ is welcome to send investigators over to their offices, and they’ll be happy to show them the transcripts, they can even take notes, the committee just isn’t parting with the actual transcripts at the moment.

It is obvious now that the DOJ’s investigation into the origins on the Capitol riot is a lot wider and further along than anybody though, but just as I cautioned. They’re looking very seriously at some very serious people for some very serious shit, and the J6 committee has laid some groundwork for them. At the same time, the J6 committee is still investigating, and under a self imposed deadline. It is highly likely that the DOJ has already collected some material that the committee needs, but is having trouble getting due to their limited authority. Thompson is simply playing a little you-show-me-yours-and-I’ll-show-you-mine. The DOJ will get the transcripts soon enough.

But I’ve gotta be honest, when the DOJ gets those transcripts, whenever they get them, I’m not so sure they’re actually mentally prepared to deal with what they’re going to find. Because normally, public corruption is no laughing matter. It’s serious shit, undertaken by very serious people. There was nothing funny about John Gotti, or Whitey Bulger either. And nobody made jokes about the serious attempts of President Richard Nixon’s advisors in Watergate either. But when the DOJ opens those files they’re stepping into uncharted territory for them.

Most of you know that my favorite author is Donald E Westlake, and my favorite character is John Dortmunder. Dortmunder is a career burglar who makes good plans, only to have something off the wall make it all go wrong. In The Hot Rock, Dortmunder has to make 6 separate attempts to steal the same emerald, including breaking into a museum, a local police precinct, and a lunatic asylum. And that’s where the DOJ is heading with the J6 transcripts.

It was actually former GOP strategist and now DNC and DCCC advisor Tim Miller who made the connection for me today. He was talking on Deadline: White House today about the Trump attempts to overturn the election, and the main characters in the plot. But it was how he spoke of them that flipped it for me. He didn’t use their names, instead he referred to them as The pillow guy, the Kraken lady, the insurrection powerpoint dude, and the drippy hair dye guy. And the funny thing is, everybody knew who he meant!

He was obviously speaking of Mike Lindell, Sydney Powell, John Eastman, and Rudy Giuliani. These should be serious people, with serious intentions. 3 of them are barred lawyers, and 1 runs a multimillion company. But they were so blatantly stupid and incompetent that their very public personas became synonymous with cartoon caricatures. How can you take them seriously?

These cases should be slam dunks. These are allegedly serious people. They all knew that the election hadn’t been stolen, so they clearly had criminal intent. And they made detailed plans to execute the scheme. But their plans and execution were so incompetent that a defense lawyer could argue that they were incapable of actually committing the crime. Sure, they may have wanted to rob the bank. They made plans, and they had guns. But when you pull up in front of the bank at 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, what are your chances of success?

Here’s why they likely still go down. Because while they may have been stupid and incompetent, they didn’t operate in a bubble. They went to and worked with very serious people who were totally capable of making it work. People like Mark Meadows, Peter Navarro, and Steve Bannon, who almost pulled it off. And that makes these 4 knotheads co-conspirators.

So sit back, strap in, and enjoy the show. Those of you who read Westlake already know what I’m talking about. Those of you who don’t should pick up a Dortmunder novel or two before the hilarity starts. you’ll feel right at home as the indictments start rolling in. Don’t touch that dial.

 

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2 COMMENTS

  1. I’ve read one of Westlake’s books, but not a Dortmunder book, when I was much younger. I still remember “Help, I’m Being Held Prisoner” very fondly!

    • Oh Lord!!! lol The guy”s last name was Kubt, abd became a practical joker to pay people back…Until he parked his car by the side of the LIE, put a painted nude mannequin on the hood, and went to a movie…Cops got no ense of jumor about that shit…lol

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