The Witness List for Day 2 of the Hearings Is Out. And You Might Notice Something I did.
The list of witnesses is out for round 2 of the January 6 Committee hearings, set to begin at 10am EST. Here’s a primer for who will be appearing:
William Stepien oversaw the Trump reelection campaign which, after the election, turned into a bogus “Stop the Steal” effort. Despite a key internal campaign staff memo in November concluding that the conspiracies around election fraud were baseless, the campaign continued to help promote the Big Lie that fueled anger within the GOP base, ultimately culminating in the attack on the Capitol. Stepien also oversaw the campaign’s effort to gather alternate slates of electors in the key swing states, which was key to the Eastman plan to have Mike Pence unilaterally overturn the election. It’s surprising to me, honestly, that Stepien has been at all forthcoming and helpful. We’ll have see what he does live tomorrow—his prior testimony under oath likely has boxed him in as to what he can say.
Chris Stirewalt was the former Fox News editor who decided to call the state of Arizona, correctly, for Biden on November 3, 2020. That move foreclosed any hope that Trump could come out and claim he won with enough electoral votes on the night of the election. Stirewalt’s testimony may be part of the reason Fox really doesn’t want to air these hearings—one of their own Decision Desk editors apparently is going to help nail the Trump campaign for what it was doing and saying during and after the election.
Benjamin Ginsberg is a longtime Republican attorney who represented Bush in the 2000 election. He’s come forward as a strong never Trumper who has blasted the former president for sleazy pardons and called out his fellow Republicans for sitting silently by while the GOP dismantles some of the core principles of our democracy.
BJ Pak is a former Republican state representative and former U.S. Attorney assigned to the N. District of GA during the election. Pak had concluded that there was no there there on election fraud claims, just like Meadows had been told by the Trump campaign lawyer. Trump was going to fire Pak, apparently, for not being aggressive enough in pursuing these false claims and finding the votes Trump needed. Pak caught wind of his imminent firing and resigned before he could be. He also had been told about the Jeffrey Clark plan to send a letter from the DoJ urging the state legislators in Georgia to reconvene in light of the Department’s alleged investigation into fraud. Pak called the move “just highly crazy.” His testimony likely will tie into the ongoing GA investigation for election interference and fraud currently being investigated by Fulton County DA Fani Wallis.
Al Schmidt is a Republican and served as a city Commissioner for Philly. He led the push back against false claims of fraud and to stop Philly’s vote count. Trump personally attacked him on Twitter for ignoring what Trump falsely labeled “a mountain of corruption and dishonesty” in Philadelphia. After that, Schmidt’s family began receiving death threats, forcing them to move and have security at all times. This will help show that Trump was aware what his words and false accusations could do, i.e. put at risk the lives of Republicans officials just trying to do their jobs as civil servants. Schmidt has been vocal about election integrity, appearing on CNN, 60 Minutes, and other news programs to the Big Lie.
We should take note of who these witnesses are: the Trump campaign head, a Fox News-affiliated witness, a GOP election attorney, a Republican state official and U.S. Attorney, and a Republican city commissioner. The Committee knows and understands that it must at least try and reach middle of the road conservatives, and others who may not have given the matter much thought, to show that it’s not just the Democrats who are accusing the former president of lies and threats over the election. It’s his fellow Republicans.
* * *
Sources:
https://thehill.com/news/media/3519512-who-is-chris-stirewalt-the-former-fox-news-editor-set-to-testify-before-jan-6-panel/
https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2020/11/22/trump-michigan-canvassers-certify-election/6364488002/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/01/ben-ginsberg-voter-suppression-republicans/
https://www.ajc.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-bjay-paks-strange-and-trumpian-election-journey/QT45XLFHRBGIVAMVBN2XTYPCQQ/
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/al-schmidt-select-committee-january-6th-testimony-20220612.html
10am EST is pretty normal. I am sure there will be plenty of rebroadcast availability - esp CSPAN for example. Lots of folks need to see what went on - lift the veil from their eyes - as they did with Nixon.
The stated goals of these hearings are to inform the American public of the committee findings and to identify what actions can and should be taken by the legislative branch to prevent a repeat. The hearings address the first goal - in part. Without the cooperation of The Fox News Channel the goal is partially met at best. Holding hearings at 10am on weekdays is another issue. In the end the hearings will inform some Americans. Somehow in 2022 I expected better reach. As to the second goal - how do we legislate moral behavior? We are talking about a group of immoral thugs here, led by a street boss figure. What things should be considered as preventative and possible solutions going forward?