Republicans in the House of Representatives, eager to anticipate a series of revelations the commission has planned to hear at its best tomorrow night, launched a serious counter-program attack this morning.
Top News: GOP House Speaker Elise Stefanick (RN.Y.), one of former President Trump’s top deputies on Jan. 6, accused Democrats of “seeking to change headlines by praying the nation focus on their guerrilla witch hunts from our pocketbooks. “
- Stefanic called the investigation a “slanderous campaign” against Trump and criticized the hiring of former ABC president James Goldston to produce the televised hearings.
- Representative Jim Jordan (Ohio) also chased the panel in a new publication for The Federalist entitled: “The J6 Commission’s real goal is to slander and embarrass conservatives outside the public sphere.”
Why it matters: This is just part of what Republicans have prepared for the upcoming press war – a counter-offensive set up during private discussions in which key Trump deputies look at old documents, stop talking and draw up their media strategy.
Between the lines: One big hurdle is that since January 6, the commission has kept many of its cards close to the vest. No matter how much the Republicans have prepared, they have little way to know what bombs they will be forced to drop.
What we watch
1. The pledge of disobedience to the summons.
- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and four other Republicans in the House of Representatives have signaled that they do not plan to comply with last month’s subpoenas.
- This is unexplored territory: the refusal of Republicans to cooperate with unprecedented calls will force the commission to decide whether to prosecute allegations of contempt, bringing the Justice Department to light in the political spotlight.
2. Trump’s involvement.
- Axios said last week that the former president had not ruled out a public appearance as part of his and his allies’ efforts to flood the air with their own messages.
- During the opening arguments of his first impeachment lawsuit in 2019 – before he was banned from Twitter – Trump was so lively that he broke the record for most tweets sent in one day.
3. Loyalty test.
- While it is clear that Republicans in the House of Representatives – namely McCarthy, Stefanick, Jordan and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) – plan to begin a full defense of the former president, some Republican members want nothing more than that. to continue from Jan 6 in total.
- Choosing not to defend the former president could provoke a backlash and potential retribution.
- Pay extra attention to the eight other Republicans – in addition to representatives Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) And Adam Kinsinger (R-Ill.), Who serve on the committee – who voted to impeach Trump after the attack.
- MP Tom Rice (RS.C.) – one of 10 Republicans who voted that way – said on Sunday that he was still “furious”. Trump had done nothing to stop the uprising.
4. Basis for revenge.
- Republicans in the House of Representatives are eager to bite their teeth into the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress if they regain a majority next year, including with their own Watergate-style hearings covering a catalog of alleged violations.
- Speaking at today’s press conference, Jordan will chair a powerful House Judiciary Committee next year if Republicans are in power, and he has vowed to unleash a stream of investigations in retaliation.
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