January 6th Committee Smears Another Republican They Don't Like With a Lie;
Fox News' Brett Baier "Likes" The Lie on Twitter

Breaking/Related: Steve Bannon has been found guilty by a DC court-- by the same jury pool that let Hillary Clinton's lawyer off, the jury forewoman deciding that lying to the FBI wasn't really a crime -- for ignoring two congressional subpoenas. Two counts of contempt of Congress which, you know: find me guilty right now, bitches.

Each contempt of Congress count is punishable by 30 days to one year behind bars, as well as a fine of $100 to $100,000.

They're misdemeanor counts but Republicans can expect felony-level penalties.

I think the normal process, for a non-Republican, would be that he remain free on bail as he appeals. But he's a Republican, so....

Back to the main story:

The Federalist's Tristan Justice watched AllahPundit's favorite cable news scripted "reality" show so you don't have to:

The Select Committee on Jan. 6 introduced new footage of the Capitol riot Thursday night featuring Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley fleeing the complex as members of Congress were evacuated from the chambers.

"Earlier that afternoon before the joint session started, he walked across the east front of the Capitol," said Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., who played the clip after airing an image of the senator cheering demonstrators hours before the riot. "As you can see in this photo, he raised his fist in solidarity with the protesters."

Luria proceeded to show Hawley running out of the Capitol as peaceful protests turned into violent trespassing and shut down congressional proceedings. The committee played the clip twice, once in real time, and then in slow motion to drive home the point, as if an active 42-year-old jogging down a hallway or a flight of steps was a rare sight (the average age in the Senate is 64).

The committee sought to smear Hawley as a coward who was complicit in the violence by raising his fist to the same crowd that would later obstruct the joint session of Congress. The image of the senator's fist, however, which Hawley promoted on a campaign mug Friday morning, was captured hours before rioters would breach the first barriers of the Capitol.

David Harsanyi @davidharsanyi

I'm no Hawley fan, this is complete bs. He never gave a "supportive fist pump to rioters." He gave a fist pump to protestors. There is no proof he knew, or incited them, to riot.

If Democrats were held responsible for the BLM and antifa rioters they encouraged or actually funded in 2020 and 2021, how many of them would remain free from imprisonment?

Perhaps we should find out?

In any event, he was showing a solidarity fist to protesters, not rioters. This is early in the day.

As many noted, Alexandria Donkey Chompers threw a solidarity fist to the Insurrectionists blocking the street in front of the Supreme Court, and no one is trying to link her to Ruth Sent Us.

But maybe we should.

The committee's deceptive footage of the senator is a telling reveal of the panel's true intentions. Initially established in pursuit of a third impeachment of President Donald Trump, the probe has widened its targets as the former Republican president is no longer the only conceivable contender to be the nominee in 2024. The committee weaponized to persecute political opponents ahead of the upcoming elections has now taken the opportunity to pivot its smears toward other potential White House rivals, Hawley included.

But you know who liked the lie?

Fox News's thick-necked liberal, Bret Baier.

The other thing the kangaroo court is trying to claim is a big deal is that Donald Trump, who we already knew intended to press his claims about a stolen election in court as far as he could, did not want to say the "election was over" and edited that part out of a statement condemning the riots.

In the outtake, Trump at one point cuts himself off to say that he does not want to say "the election's over" while reading a script from a teleprompter.

"'But this election is now over. Congress has certified the results' -- I don't want to say the election's over, I just want to say Congress has certified the results without saying the election's over, OK?" Trump said.

Someone with cases in front of judges does not give judges easy excuses to stamp the cases as "moot" and reject his complaint.

Breaking: Man who did not think the election was over caught on video saying the election is not over.

posted by Ace at 03:21 PM

| Access Comments