Last night was quite the night. The word “unprecedented” is weary from overuse, but once again, it is a descriptor that fits. Never in the history of this republic have we been forced to hold a congressional hearing to examine a riot at the Capitol incited and engineered by a losing incumbent president who couldn’t accept the fact that he had lost.
But that’s not the mind boggling part. Not in the least. The mind boggling part is that a good thirty to forty percent of the country, maybe more, doesn’t believe that the riot was real. Or, if they do, they don’t think that Donald Trump was the architect of the outrageous event.
Here’s the Lincoln Project’s take.
This isn't about politics or party. It's about principle.#January6thHearings pic.twitter.com/0FUpr8lmh5
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) June 10, 2022
June 10, 2022 – The Lincoln Project released the following takeaways from the January 6th Committee Hearings:
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After the first night of hearings, it is obvious Donald Trump remains the single largest threat to American democracy. He was the central figure in the plot to overthrow the lawful results of the election. Trump and his self-serving flatterers must be held accountable for the damage they have caused in undermining our democratic institutions.
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It’s clear now that even Trump’s family and top staff were all running away from his attempts to overturn the election. Attorney General Bill Barr thought the effort was “bullshit” and was so appalled that he left office. Ivanka and Jared claimed they “checked out” in an attempt to avoid culpability for one of the most dangerous moments in American history.
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This is the most serious attempt to break the nation since the Civil War. The people who planned and executed January 6th are beyond your typical crooked politicians – they are out to destroy our nation’s very soul. They want to disenfranchise millions of American votes – particularly African American votes in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
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FOX News is so afraid to show the hearings live they went commercial-free so their viewers wouldn’t be tempted to change the channel. They don’t want the veil to be lifted and their viewers to see the dirty laundry laid bare: that they helped Trump drive his supporters into a frenzy that resulted in violence and sedition at the Capitol.
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Will Kevin McCarthy and Elise Stefanik finally find their moral center and repudiate the Big Lie now that it’s clear that even Trump’s closest people didn’t believe his claims the election was stolen? The Attorney General, FOX personalities and Trump’s own family knew the election wasn’t stolen and Trump made it all up. Why do they still believe it?
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Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton, and Mike Pompeo all want to be President. Will they continue to hold Trump’s hand as more criminal revelations come, or will they finally use this as an opportunity to break-up with Trump?
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Do GOP candidates Doug Mastriano and Mehmet Oz both agree the election in Pennsylvania was stolen and Trump was right all along? Or do they see things differently the morning after the revelations?
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The nation is at one of the most dangerous moments in its history. These revelations will only make the true MAGA believers double and triple down on the Big Lie – making them more dangerous and perhaps more violent. Every single American needs to decide if they are the side of the seditionists who tried to tear down a free and fair election, or do they support our Republic and its democratic principles?
The Lincoln Project is a leading pro-democracy organization in the United States — dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy.
