Within Hearing Distance

A friend who lives out-of-town had prior plans last night and recorded the first night of the January 6 Select Committee's public hearings.  But he asked me to send him updates through the night, so he could check his phone to keep in touch.  After my last note of the night, he wrote back – “So, it was short and didn’t blow the roof off?”

Yes, it was short, and no, they didn’t blow the roof off, as committee member Jamie Raskin has suggested will be the ultimate result.  But I think it’s important to recognize that it was only an introduction night, setting up what's to come.  This was like the preface to a long non-fiction book.  We haven't come close to "ultimate results" yet.  In fact, Liz Cheney spent most of her opening statement telling us what we “will be seeing" in the weeks ahead.  All the while, whetting the appetite with a great many videos of the testimony.  And she made clear, saying (and I paraphrase as closely as possible):  “People should understand -- our investigation is ongoing.  So, what we disclose is only part of what we know.  And the Department of Justice is itself investigating and uncovering only part of what is revealed here.”

(This last sentence has been unmentioned by the post-hearing commentary I’ve come across, but I think it’s very important.  I can't imagine that Rep. Cheney said that because she had to fill up time and thought it was a fun tidbit but of little substance.  I don't think you off-handedly mention something like that in your opening statement of a public hearing about an insurrection unless you're trying to make a point.  It should have caused concern to the conspirators.  And given all others a cause for at least hope.)

As such, I thought the committee had two main missions on the first night.

The first was that they knew Republicans would try to smear this as just a partisan circus, and so the committee had to undercut that line of attack for anyone who watched.  And in doing so, set the tone for what was ahead, claiming the narrative.  And so, they were methodical, low-key and detailed.  And relentless.  All the while, peppering the first hour with video.  And importantly, letting Republican Liz Cheney do most of the talking in the first hour.

The second was to make as rock-solid clear that the insurrection was planned, not vacationers who just got out of control, and that Trump absolutely knew he lost, was told relentlessly that he lost, and was personally involved with actual planning the insurrection.

It wasn’t a Great first night, some of it was even a little dry – and a lot of it deeply compelling and important – but mainly I thought it accomplished its two missions, and it was just the introduction.  As Ari Melber put it on MSNBC, it was more like a prosecutor’s opening statement, telling you what the evidence will show and how it will be proven.

It also was short, under two hours, which is important.  Because that helps get people back for the second night, regardless of how they felt about the first.

From my perspective, I thought the first hour of opening statements by co-chairs Benny Thompson and Liz Cheney was gripping.  The second hour, for me, was more flat, though still important.

But what comes first in presentations like this is always the most important thing because, as a friend (who was the chief prosecutor of Honolulu – and later its mayor) once told me, what a jury remembers best is the opening statement and the closing argument.

And I thought the opening hour was very good, very powerful.

Benny Thompson’s opening statement was excellent – tying his birthplace in Mississippi to racism to the Civil War attempting to overthrow the government to the January 6 insurrection attempting to overthrow the government and ultimately to the House Oath of Office that changed as a result of the Civil War, where members now swear allegiance to defend the country against all enemies – foreign…and domestic.

And then Liz Cheney came on and methodically laid out the game plan to come, what they should show – and even showed much of it with videos from committee testimony.  The most impactful of this was when she said that the administration’s actions were not about the election being stolen.  “Don’t believe me?” she asked.  “Here’s Trump’s Attorney General.”  And then showed video of Attorney General William Barr saying that he told Trump that his claim of a stolen election was “bullshit.”

Over and over they made clear that Trump was told he’d lost.  Barr’s video was shown twice.  Benny Thompson reported that Trump would yell at anyone who said there was no fraud, that he lost.  They had video of testimony by Trump adviser Jason Miller saying how a campaign official came in to “tell Trump in no uncertain terms the election was over.”  And Barr again on video saying he told Trump that outrageous claims about bad Dominion voting machines were “complete nonsense.”  Members of Trump's inner circle telling him that he lost.

And in perhaps the second most impactful video of the night, Trump’s own daughter Ivanka on camera in her testimony saying that what Barr said about there being so fraud, no stolen election “affected my opinion, because I respected William Barr.  So, I accepted what he was saying.”  In essence, Trump's daughter saying her dad is a liar.

(Even Jared Kushner was there testifying on video, with a silly comment about dismissing a Trump White House lawyer's threats to resign about the illegal, dangerous actions created -- the larger point missed by Kushner is that Trump was continually warned by experts.)

There was important video testimony by General Milley which stood out.  He said bluntly how it was Mike Pence who was giving orders that day and actively so.  But nothing from Trump, as all the violence was exploding.  The only thing related to Trump, Milley said, was when a Trump official came to him to say they had to change to the narrative from Pence taking charge and Trump doing nothing.  As Gen. Milley then said, “I could tell it was just political, political, political.”

Damning, as well, was a video of January 6 insurrectionists one after another explaining that the reason they acted as they did was because Trump told them to.  As one said, "Trump only asked me for two things. He asked for me vote. He asked for me to come on January 6th."

And once they all were there, the video shown of never-before seen footage of the violence building on January 6 was difficult to watch.  The Proud boys gathering.  One of their members, a woman, saying to the camera -- “I’m not allowed to say what’s going to happen tonight.  But it’s going to happen.  Something is going to happen.”  It’s clear, this was planned.

Then, this footage was intercut with Trump addressing the crowd telling them if Mike Pence does what he’s supposed to do, it will be very special.   Cut again to previously-unseen footage of the violence growing.  And material of Trump addressing them.  The breaching of the Capitol.  And video we haven't seen of members of Kevin McCarthy's staff running for the lives, trying to get to safety.  Except for footage of Trump, all never-before-seen video.

This 10 minutes of previously unseen footage of violence and breach was horrific.

And then ended this video by playing audio over it of Trump saying, “The crowd was really incredible.  There was so much love in the air there.”

That was the first hour, and I thought it was very strong.  Not flashy, but solid, relentless, detailed and repeating the important points:  Trump knew he lost, the insurrection was planned, and Trump was involved.

The second hour was more standard, and I’m not sure it was the best choices, though I think I sort of understand what they were doing.

The second hour was moving testimony from a female officer, Caroline Edwards, who had been injured, and a detailed statement and video material from documentary filmmaker Nick Quested who’d been making a movie and had been spending time with the Proud Boys.

I think the point of having Quested’s testimony on the first night was largely to show from the footage he took (never before seen) that this was all planned and not spur of the moment -- even expressing surprise that the Proud Boys didn't stay to hear Trump speak (which Quested thought was the point of the day), but instead walked off to do reconnaissance.  And the point of Officer Edwards' testimony seemed largely to put a personal face on dealing with the attack -- her bravery, being knocked unconscious, getting up later to rejoin officers, getting sprayed and taken for treatment. 

She did a very good job testifying, and her efforts were impressively brave and heartbreaking.  What she said was very valuable, just surprising she was the first witness, because there have been other police officers who have been more prominent over the last 17 months.   My only guess is that it might possibly have been because she has an unexpectedly low-key, warm, ingratiating personality, all of which made her more relatable to the public, who could personalize with her, caught in the day's hell, as opposed to a Big Tough Cop, which is our more usual perception of police during a riot.

I thought the first night was very good – though flawed.  But the first hour met its missions and filled it with a lot of video, much of it critically important.  If the second hour was more flat, it still helped set the table for what we were continually told was coming.  And ultimately, it was the opening statement.  Not intending as the "blow the roof off" material.

Above all, I’ll repeat what I wrote in an article several weeks ago – the biggest mistake Kevin McCarthy made was not participating in putting his members on the committee.  Because for the next few weeks, it’s clear that this committee is rock-solid united and will spend ALL their time shredding Trump and Republican claims about a stolen election and fraud and that this was just a rally that got out of control…without ANY diversion from any committee member.

They are being methodical, low-key, blunt and filling it with video after video. 

It was a huge mistake by McCarthy.  Massive.

And this is just the set-up.