Why did Jan. 6 th committee lie and try and hide a witness transcript?

[Luvnit2]

A witness confirms Meadows did ask offer 10,000 National Guard Troops om Jan.6 as they feared 2 groups may clash? Why did Liz Cheney and the committee fail to provide this evidence at Trump's impeachment trial? WAPO and many others owe Trump, Meadows and others a major apology. Liz Cheneu denied this transcript excisted, yet low and behold it does exist.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jan-6-committee-allegedly-suppressed-testimony-showing-trump-admin-pushed-national-guard-presence-report

Jan. 6 committee allegedly suppressed testimony showing Trump admin pushed for National Guard presence: report
Former Rep. Liz Cheney's spokesman says the report is 'flatly false'

The Jan. 6 congressional committee allegedly falsely claimed it did not have evidence showing former President Donald Trump’s administration requested National Guard assistance, according to a report detailing a "hidden transcript" that was recently released.

"The former J6 Select Committee apparently withheld Mr. Ornato’s critical witness testimony from the American people because it contradicted their pre-determined narrative. Mr. Ornato’s testimony proves what Mr. Meadows has said all along: President Trump did in fact offer 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol, which was turned down," Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk said in a statement on Friday.

Loudermilk released a transcript of former White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato’s interview with the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6 on Friday, following the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway, also a Fox News contributor, reporting, "Former Rep. Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence" that the Trump administration pushed for 10,000 National Guard members to be on the streets.

Ornato’s interview was conducted in January 2022, and attended by Cheney, among other members on the committee. In addition to serving as deputy chief of staff under Trump, Ornato served in the Secret Service for decades.



The committee, which included seven Democrats and two now-former Republican Congress members, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, concluded that it found "no evidence" that the Trump administration called for 10,000 National Guard members to Washington, D.C., to protect the Capitol.

Trump has long claimed that he requested the National Guard but that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., failed to act on the request. Amid and following the congressional committee’s investigation, media outlets such as the Washington Post "debunked" Trump’s comments, repeatedly awarding him "Four Pinocchios."

Loudermilk on Friday released a transcript of Ornato’s interview with the committee detailing that he overheard then-White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows asking D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as much protection for D.C. as she needed.

"When it comes to the National Guard statement about having 10,000 troops or any other number of troops, do you recall any discussion prior to the 6th about whether and how many National Guard troops to deploy on January 6th?" a staffer with the committee asked Ornato.

"I remember he had – he was on the phone with [Bowser], and we – I had walked in for something, and I was there, and he was on the phone with her and wanted to make sure she had everything that she needed. Because I think it was the concern of anti and pro groups clashing is what I recall. And not anywhere near the Capitol, this was just out on the mall area or at the event; and wanted to know if she needed any more guardsmen," Ornato responded, according to the transcript reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Ornato went on to cite the "10,000" guardsmen number, according to the transcript, arguing Trump wanted "to make sure that you have enough."

"And I remember the number 10,000 coming up of, you know, the President wants to make sure that you have enough. You know, he is willing to ask for 10,000. I remember that number. Now that you said it, it reminded me of it. And that she was all set. She had, I think it was like 350 or so for intersection control and those types of thing not in the law enforcement capacity at the time. And then that's the only thing I recall with that number 10,000 National Guard guardsmen," he continued.

[SunsetBengal]

If true, that news not only sounds huge, but also like possibly suppression of exculpatory evidence. Why would anyone not want all of the information to be looked at?

[HarleyDog]

(03-10-2024, 05:40 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: If true, that news not only sounds huge, but also like possibly suppression of exculpatory evidence.  Why would anyone not want all of the information to be looked at?

Can't verbally assassinate, or cause fear, or hate against Trump with the truth. Lying by omission seems to be the thing today in D.C.

[Luvnit2]

(03-10-2024, 05:40 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: If true, that news not only sounds huge, but also like possibly suppression of exculpatory evidence.  Why would anyone not want all of the information to be looked at?

Meadows said it happened and a witness said it happened. 

Yet, his transcribed interview was not used as evidence by the committee. 

Once again, Trump is falsely accused. 

[SunsetBengal]

(03-10-2024, 06:09 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Meadows said it happened and a witness said it happened. 

Yet, his transcribed interview was not used as evidence by the committee. 

Once again, Trump is falsely accused. 

Wouldn't that request for the Nat'l Guard have been an official communication?  If so, how could that possibly not be admitted into court?

[Luvnit2]

(03-10-2024, 06:17 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Wouldn't that request for the Nat'l Guard have been an official communication?  If so, how could that possibly not be admitted into court?

It appears it is a conversation Meadows had with Mayor Bowser prior to Jan. 6th.

Didn't Democrats impeach Trump for a phone conversation?

[SunsetBengal]

(03-10-2024, 06:36 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: It appears it is a conversation Meadows had with Mayor Bowser prior to Jan. 6th.

Didn't Democrats impeach Trump for a phone conversation?

That definitely sounds like possibly exculpatory evidence, what was the reasoning given for suppressing it?

[GMDino]

Here's the press release:

https://cha.house.gov/press-releases?ID=05CC8BC4-AC1D-4D16-90C5-957D52B3674C

Based on a Federalist investigation:

https://thefederalist.com/2024/03/08/exclusive-liz-cheney-january-6-committee-suppressed-exonerating-evidence-of-trumps-push-for-national-guard/

Quote:Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato’s first transcribed interview with the committee was conducted on January 28, 2022. In it, he told Cheney and her investigators that he overheard White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows push Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as many National Guard troops as she needed to protect the city.

He also testified President Trump had suggested 10,000 would be needed to keep the peace at the public rallies and protests scheduled for January 6, 2021. Ornato also described White House frustration with Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller’s slow deployment of assistance on the afternoon of January 6, 2021.

It, it uh, is quite the mishmash of reporting...with a *wee bit* of right wing spin.  lol.

Quote:A January 6 committee staffer asked Ornato, “When it comes to the National Guard statement about having 10,000 troops or any other number of troops, do you recall any discussion prior to the 6th about whether and how many National Guard troops to deploy on January 6th?”


Ornato surprised the committee by noting he did recall a conversation between Meadows and Bowser: “He was on the phone with her and wanted to make sure she had everything that she needed,” Ornato told investigators.


Ornato said White House concerns about January 6 were related to fears that left-wing groups would clash with Trump protesters and that no one in the White House anticipated a riot at the Capitol. Antifa and other left-wing groups were planning protests for the same day. Left-wing groups had been involved in violent assaults on Trump supporters following public protests.


Meadows “wanted to know if she need any more guardsmen,” Ornato testified. “And I remember the number 10,000 coming up of, you know, ‘The president wants to make sure that you have enough.’ You know, ‘He is willing to ask for 10,000.’ I remember that number. Now that you said it, it reminded me of it. And that she was all set. She had, I think it was like 350 or so for intersection control, and those types of things not in the law enforcement capacity at the time.”


Ornato was correct. Bowser declined the offer, asking only for a few hundred National Guard and requiring them to serve in a very limited capacity.


“No DCNG personnel shall be armed during this mission, and at no time, will DCNG personnel or assets be engaged in domestic surveillance, searches, or seizures of US persons,” Bowser wrote in her letter requesting the D.C. National Guard. Bowser had been a strenuous critic of Republican efforts to limit rioting from leftwing political activists in U.S. cities during 2020’s summer of violence.
Bowser’s decision to decline help from the White House did not end the Trump team’s efforts to secure troops ahead of the protest. When the D.C. mayor declined Trump’s offer of 10,000 troops, Ornato said the White House requested a “quick reaction force” out of the Defense Department in case it was needed.


“The only thing I remember with DOD and the National Guard was even though the mayor didn’t want any more National Guard in D.C., that a request was made to have kind of a, lack of better term, a quick reaction force out at Joint Base Andrews being that it was a military installation,” Ornato told investigators in the previously concealed interview. “I remember Chief Meadows talking to DOD about that, I believe. I remember Chief Meadows letting me know that, ‘Hey, there was going to be National Guard that’s going to be at Joint Base Andrews in case they’re going to need some more, we’re going to — the Mayor would need any, we’re going to make sure they’re out there.'”


Meadows was concerned that D.C. would be unprepared for the size of the crowd coming to protest the controversial 2020 election in which hundreds of laws and processes were changed to enable tens of millions of unsupervised mail-in ballots to flood the country. The January 6 Committee prevented an investigation into Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s preparation — or lack thereof — for Capitol security ahead of the event, so it is unclear if she was as concerned about keeping the peace as Meadows and the Trump White House were.

“And, again, the crowd sizes were, you know, the organizers were saying, you know, there may be 50,000 here. So that’s where it started, I think, to scare the chief a little bit of how many people were coming in for this event, and wanted to make sure that they would be able to bring in National Guard if needed for this size of this many people inside D.C.,” Ornato said.
Once the Capitol was breached, the Trump White House pushed for immediate help from Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and grew frustrated at the slow deployment of that help, according to the testimony.


“So then I remember the chief saying, ‘Hey, I’m calling secretary of defense to get that [quick reaction force] in here,” Ornato said. Later he said, “And then I remember the chief telling Miller, ‘Get them in here, get them in here to secure the Capitol now.'”


Still later, he said, “[T]he constant was, you know, where is the National Guard? Why isn’t — you know, we’ve got to get control of this.” And again, “But, you know, [Meadows] understood the urgency, that’s for sure. And he kept, you know, getting Miller on the phone, wanting to know where they were, why aren’t they there yet.”


Days prior, Cheney had “secretly orchestrated” a pressure campaign to prevent the Defense Department from deploying resources on January 6, 2021. She organized an op-ed for the Washington Post from her father and other former secretaries of defense specifically to discourage Miller from taking action.


Ornato described Meadows’ strenuous efforts to quicken the Defense Department’s deployment of the National Guard: “Every time [Meadows] would ask, ‘What’s taking so long?’ It would be, like, you know, ‘This isn’t just start the car and we’re there. We have to muster them up, we have to’ — so it was constant excuses coming of — not excuses, but what they were actually doing to get them there. So, you know, ‘We only have so many here right now. They’re given an hour to get ready.’ So there’s, like, all these timelines that was being explained to the chief. And he relayed that, like, you know — he’s like, ‘I don’t care, just get them here,’ you know, and ‘Get them to the Capitol, not to the White House.'”


Cheney hid this testimony and instead asserted in her report that President Trump “never gave any order to deploy the National Guard on January 6th or on any other day. Nor did he instruct any Federal law enforcement agency to assist.”


Her report noted that the secretary of defense “ultimately did deploy the Guard. Although evidence identifies a likely miscommunication between members of the civilian leadership in the Department of Defense impacting the timing of deployment, the Committee has found no evidence that the Department of Defense intentionally delayed deployment of the National Guard. The Select Committee recognizes that some at the Department had genuine concerns, counseling caution, that President Trump might give an illegal order to use the military in support of his efforts to overturn the election.”


Cheney has never addressed the effects of her secretly orchestrated campaign to prevent Miller from acting ahead of the January 6, 2021 protest. A new book confirms prior reporting that Cheney secretly conspired with District Attorney Fani Willis in Fulton County’s prosecution of Republicans and that she viewed it as a “platform for her to resuscitate her political career” and would “provide a springboard for a Cheney presidential run.”

So he overheard Meadows saying a suggestion was made?

Now none of this says anything about the order must come from the President...not just a suggestion from him to anyone talking to someone else.

But I digress.

Loudermilk has his own problems and I find it odd he is heading a subcommittee "investigating" the Jan 6 committee that has questions about his own involvement.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-jan-6-panel-releases-video-of-rep-loudermilk-leading-a-capitol-tour-day-before-attack#:~:text=There%20has%20been%20no%20evidence,Loudermilk%20said%20in%20his%20statement.

Quote:The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection released video on Wednesday of a tour led by a Republican lawmaker the day before the attack, showing participants taking photos of stairwells and tunnels in the Capitol complex.


Watch the footage in the player above.


The panel released the video as it renewed calls for the GOP lawmaker, Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk, to speak to the committee about the tour. Loudermilk has so far declined the interview and denied any wrongdoing, and the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police said in a letter to Republicans this week that after reviewing surveillance video, “we do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious.”


Still, the committee says it has questions. In addition to the surveillance video, the footage released by the panel also includes video of an unidentified man walking toward the Capitol on Jan. 6 holding a flagpole that appears to have a sharpened end, which he says is “for a certain person.” The committee says the man who took the video, who is not seen in the footage but is laughing and urging on the man with the flag, is one of the tour participants who was taking photos inside the Capitol the day before.


Read the full text of the letter below:

Later footage taken by the same man shows people approaching the Capitol. The man taking the video then makes apparent threats toward Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and New York Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.


“They’re coming in, coming in like white on rice for Pelosi, Nadler, even you, AOC,” the man says in the video released by the committee. “We’re coming to take you out and pull you out by your hairs. … When I get done with you, you’re going to need a shine on top of that bald head.”


The panel did not say whether the man got into the Capitol or whether he has faced any charges. While more than 800 people have been charged for breaking into the building, or for violently beating police officers, thousands of other protesters were outside the building or on the National Mall and did not engage in violence. The breach temporarily halted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

[JustWinBaby]

Wouldn't it be the job of Trump's team / defense, to bring this up during the Impeachment hearing?  I don't think in putting on a prosecution of Trump that the prosecution is required to submit this into evidence, that would be the job of the defense.

Not sure "suppressed" applies here.  If it was concealed, then that's a different story.

[NATI BENGALS]

Let's see here. I've known Cheney's to do shady shit. I've known Trump to do shady shit. I see this Loudermilk guy is the one who led that suspect tour of people gathering intel prior to jan 6.

Sounds like a bunch of people we need to drain from the swamp. ?

In Cheney's defense last I saw was she was defending herself https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4522861-liz-cheney-spars-with-mark-levin-over-social-media-after-he-called-her-sleazy/

[Mike M (the other one)]

Not sure what this is about, but it's been known for a long time that Trump requested an additional 10k NG's to be present on that day.
Wasn't it the Dem Mayor that didn't approve it?

This whole thing just Reeks, if DJT was requesting 10k NG's to be there on that day, then it kinds backfires that he was leading an insurrection.

[GMDino]

(03-12-2024, 11:24 AM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: Not sure what this is about, but it's been known for a long time that Trump requested an additional 10k NG's to be present on that day.
Wasn't it the Dem Mayor that didn't approve it?

This whole thing just Reeks, if DJT was requesting 10k NG's to be there on that day, then it kinds backfires that he was leading an insurrection.

Except he didn't.  

Someone said they overheard Meadows saying the President said something about it.

Trump had to actually do it.

[*pally*]

(03-12-2024, 11:24 AM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: Not sure what this is about, but it's been known for a long time that Trump requested an additional 10k NG's to be present on that day.
Wasn't it the Dem Mayor that didn't approve it?

This whole thing just Reeks, if DJT was requesting 10k NG's to be there on that day, then it kinds backfires that he was leading an insurrection.

No, Trump claimed without proof he wanted 10,000 but he said Nancy Pelosi turned them down.

1) Trump is the Commander in Chief...if he wanted 10,000 National Guard personnel in Washington that day they would have been. He would have called up that many just to spite Pelosi

2) why if he thought the city needed that many Guardsman did it take the Trump admin so long to call them up when it was apparent it was needed?

[Mickeypoo]

(03-10-2024, 05:33 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: A witness confirms Meadows did ask offer 10,000 National Guard Troops om Jan.6 as they feared 2 groups may clash? Why did Liz Cheney and the committee fail to provide this evidence at Trump's impeachment trial? WAPO and many others owe Trump, Meadows and others a major apology. Liz Cheneu denied this transcript excisted, yet low and behold it does exist.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jan-6-committee-allegedly-suppressed-testimony-showing-trump-admin-pushed-national-guard-presence-report

Jan. 6 committee allegedly suppressed testimony showing Trump admin pushed for National Guard presence: report
Former Rep. Liz Cheney's spokesman says the report is 'flatly false'

The Jan. 6 congressional committee allegedly falsely claimed it did not have evidence showing former President Donald Trump’s administration requested National Guard assistance, according to a report detailing a "hidden transcript" that was recently released.

"The former J6 Select Committee apparently withheld Mr. Ornato’s critical witness testimony from the American people because it contradicted their pre-determined narrative. Mr. Ornato’s testimony proves what Mr. Meadows has said all along: President Trump did in fact offer 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol, which was turned down," Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk said in a statement on Friday.

Loudermilk released a transcript of former White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato’s interview with the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6 on Friday, following the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway, also a Fox News contributor, reporting, "Former Rep. Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence" that the Trump administration pushed for 10,000 National Guard members to be on the streets.

Ornato’s interview was conducted in January 2022, and attended by Cheney, among other members on the committee. In addition to serving as deputy chief of staff under Trump, Ornato served in the Secret Service for decades.



The committee, which included seven Democrats and two now-former Republican Congress members, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, concluded that it found "no evidence" that the Trump administration called for 10,000 National Guard members to Washington, D.C., to protect the Capitol.

Trump has long claimed that he requested the National Guard but that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., failed to act on the request. Amid and following the congressional committee’s investigation, media outlets such as the Washington Post "debunked" Trump’s comments, repeatedly awarding him "Four Pinocchios."

Loudermilk on Friday released a transcript of Ornato’s interview with the committee detailing that he overheard then-White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows asking D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as much protection for D.C. as she needed.

"When it comes to the National Guard statement about having 10,000 troops or any other number of troops, do you recall any discussion prior to the 6th about whether and how many National Guard troops to deploy on January 6th?" a staffer with the committee asked Ornato.

"I remember he had – he was on the phone with [Bowser], and we – I had walked in for something, and I was there, and he was on the phone with her and wanted to make sure she had everything that she needed. Because I think it was the concern of anti and pro groups clashing is what I recall. And not anywhere near the Capitol, this was just out on the mall area or at the event; and wanted to know if she needed any more guardsmen," Ornato responded, according to the transcript reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Ornato went on to cite the "10,000" guardsmen number, according to the transcript, arguing Trump wanted "to make sure that you have enough."

"And I remember the number 10,000 coming up of, you know, the President wants to make sure that you have enough. You know, he is willing to ask for 10,000. I remember that number. Now that you said it, it reminded me of it. And that she was all set. She had, I think it was like 350 or so for intersection control and those types of thing not in the law enforcement capacity at the time. And then that's the only thing I recall with that number 10,000 National Guard guardsmen," he continued.

A group of politicians with massive TDS lying to get Trump at any cost?  Stop.  No way.  I'm shocked I tell ya!  

[Luvnit2]

(03-11-2024, 11:17 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote: Wouldn't it be the job of Trump's team / defense, to bring this up during the Impeachment hearing?  I don't think in putting on a prosecution of Trump that the prosecution is required to submit this into evidence, that would be the job of the defense.

Not sure "suppressed" applies here.  If it was concealed, then that's a different story.

The Trump team was never put on trial in the Senate for the Jan. 6th impeachment due to the Senate led by Schumer and a majority in the chamber refused to put Trump on trial.

Also, the woman who the Jan. 6th committee who stated (not under oath) Trump grabbed the wheel of his limousine has had her testimony rebuked by a secret service agent.

Democrats continue to lie and use propaganda to stop Trump from being the next POTUS. Just as the Jan.6th committee was loaded with only Democrats and never Trumpers (imagine if Coner loaded his committee to impeach Biden with 100% Republicans) and their goal was to create an image of something that never happened. They ignored or suppressed any evidence of Trump's innocence and never gave Trump or his attorneys and opportunity to address the Jan. 6th committee.

It was a farce and the majority of Republicans and Independents know it. Democrats know it also, but they will do anything to hurt Donald J. Trump.

[Luvnit2]

(03-12-2024, 12:00 PM)pally Wrote: No, Trump claimed without proof he wanted 10,000 but he said Nancy Pelosi turned them down.

1) Trump is the Commander in Chief...if he wanted 10,000 National Guard personnel in Washington that day they would have been. He would have called up that many just to spite Pelosi

2) why if he thought the city needed that many Guardsman did it take the Trump admin so long to call them up when it was apparent it was needed?

Your Democratic spin is not working any longer. No, Trump did not have the power to call up 10,000 National Guard troops. The commander and chief controls the military, not the National Guard.

The National Guard is part of the U.S. military but is unusual because it is controlled by both state and federal leaders.

D.C. is not a state, so the mayor controls the approval to call up the National Guard. Meadows testified and now confirmed Trump's team tried to get Bowser to call up the National Guard days prior to Jan. 6th, she did not do it.

[GMDino]

(03-16-2024, 12:56 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Your Democratic spin is not working any longer. No, Trump did not have the power to call up 10,000 National Guard troops. The commander and chief controls the military, not the National Guard.

The National Guard is part of the U.S. military but is unusual because it is controlled by both state and federal leaders.

D.C. is not a state, so the mayor controls the approval to call up the National Guard. Meadows testified and now confirmed Trump's team tried to get Bowser to call up the National Guard days prior to Jan. 6th, she did not do it.

https://dc.ng.mil/About-Us/

Quote:The D.C National Guard was formed in 1802 by President Thomas Jefferson to defend the newly created District of Columbia. As such, the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard is subordinate solely to the President of the United States.  This authority to activate the D.C. National Guard has been delegated, by the President, to the Secretary of Defense and further delegated to the Secretary of the Army.  The D.C. National Guard is the only National Guard unit, out of all of the 54 states and territories, which reports only to the President. 

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/07/27/chris-miller-donald-trump-january-6-national-guard-sot-ctn-vpx.cnn

Quote:Hear ex-Trump acting defense secretary contradict Trump under oath

Don Lemon Tonight



The January 6 committee released new audio of former Trump acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller testifying under oath that no one ordered to have National Guard troops ready to protect the US Capitol on January 6, contradicting assertions made by Trump and his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Video is at the link.

I mean it's easy to understand even though you may not want to.

[JustWinBaby]

(03-16-2024, 12:51 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: The Trump team was never put on trial in the Senate for the Jan. 6th impeachment due to the Senate led by Schumer and a majority in the chamber refused to put Trump on trial.

But that was, at least partially [if not mostly], a choice from Trump and the Repubs that they wouldn't participate and just try to dismiss is all as political.  In any event, it appears moot as there's no proof, and contradictory statements, that Trump requested the NG.  It also doesn't really jive with Trump ignoring pleadings from his own staff, including Ivanka, to quickly issues a statement for the protestors to leave and go home.

Again, people presenting evidence for impeachment are likely not obligated and are not going to present evidence in favor of Trump.


I also don't think the riot was an "insurrection" or that Trump participated.  I DO believe the impeachment was correct simply on the grounds that it was a dereliction of duty, and his denials and phony elector scheme also apply to that.  The only way to believe otherwise is to think his actions were somehow justified [which is never the case, the remedies are through the courts where Trump went something like a staggering 0-59] because the election was stolen, despite no evidence of that.