There was a hearing today with the House Oversight Committee on the insurrection of January 6 that featured testimony from former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.
Republicans on the committee desperately tried to draw attention from the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, calling them “peaceful Patriots” under harassment from the DOJ.
Miller told the committee he was concerned before the insurrection that sending troops to the Capitol could fan fears of a military coup and cause a repeat of the deadly Kent State shootings in 1970.
Democrats clashed with Miller about the delays in sending National Guard, with Rep. Ro Khanna of California saying he was dumbfounded “we had someone like you in that role.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland urged his Republican colleagues to stop with the “evasions” and “distractions.”
Miller said that although Trump had encouraged his supporters to protest the election results, he did not believe Trump’s rhetoric – which led to his impeachment – was the “unitary” factor in the riot. Miller said that the two men did not speak on the day of the insurrection, and Trump had no role in the Department of Defense’s response.
Arizona Rep Paul Gosar rewrote his own version of history and asked former AG Rosen “who executed Ashli Babbitt?”
Ohio’s favorite Rep, Jim Jordan, said it was unfair that Republicans were being maligned for disputing election results when Democrats had protested against election results — albeit citizens protested in pink knitted hats on the streets of Washington, not as a criminal mob inside the Capitol. He called it a “double standard.”
Rosen testified in defense of the Justice Department’s preparation and also said there was no evidence of widespread election fraud that could have caused the results to be voided. The former AG Bill Barr has said the same.
From Detroit News