6 Things to Expect From Jan. 6 Committee in 2022
The Daily Signal – Approaching the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, the House select committee investigating the matter could have a big year ahead in 2022.
The Jan. 6 select committee has interviewed more than 300 witnesses behind closed doors, including state and local elections officials it says were pressured by the Trump campaign. It has also reviewed about 35,000 pages of documents—notably, text messages to and from Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
The nine-member committee is made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, all appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after she blocked GOP appointments by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
McCarthy and other Republicans have questioned the legitimacy of the committee, its tactics, and its partisan imbalance.
The following are six things to expect in the coming weeks.
1) Televised Hearings, Interim Report
2) Expansive Scope
3) Legal and Legitimacy Questions
4) Potential Witnesses
5) Potential for Criminal Referrals
6) Legislative Proposals
Jan. 6 Detainee at Risk of Dying From Lack of Medical Care, Attorney Says
Epoch Times – A defendant being held in Virginia in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol is extremely ill and at risk of dying because the jail refuses to provide proper medical care and a special diet for his celiac disease, New York attorney Joseph McBride alleges.
“They’re starving the guy out,” McBride told The Epoch Times. “They have moved him six times since he’s been detained. We can’t send him to a facility that’s not going to be able to take care of him.”
Christopher J. Quaglin’s case is the most recent in a series of allegations that Jan. 6 defendants have been beaten, tortured, and denied food and proper medical care while in federal custody. A group of 14 lawmakers on Jan. 3 sent a letter (pdf) to Michael Carvajal, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, demanding that “you use your authority to investigate this abuse or we will use our authority to investigate your failure.”
“Many instances of physical and psychological abuse, denial of medical care, 24-hour solitary confinement, denial of basic personal hygiene, denial of access to legal counsel, destruction of records, and general abuse of rights and mandated standards for prisoners have been brought to our attention,” the lawmakers wrote. The letter was organized by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Quaglin, who is from New Jersey, is charged in federal court with assaulting multiple law enforcement officers during rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He is being held pending trial at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, the sixth facility where he’s been housed since he was charged in April 2021.
McBride said the jail hasn’t provided the gluten-free diet that Quaglin needs to survive, and exposed him to inmates and guards with coronavirus that caused him to develop COVID-19. He was then placed in solitary confinement, McBride said.
Free Thought Project – “Don’t dare call them protesters,” Joe Biden famously said after the largely unarmed mob of pro-Trump hooligans stormed the capitol to take selfies with cops, hang from rafters, sit in politicians’ chairs, and steal memorabilia like they were frat boys. “They were a riotous mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic terrorists. It’s that basic. It’s that simple,” later comparing the riot to an act of “sedition.”
Since that day, the Biden admin has made it its mission to construct an all-encompassing police state to surveil, monitor, and arrest anyone who may challenge the status quo. The Biden administration, on many occasions, has capitalized on the events of January 6 to provoke fear, hatred, and divide among US citizens.
Though there were a handful of actual criminals who may have had plans to carry out violence, the overwhelming majority of the folks who Trump duped into believing they could keep him in power were soccer moms and Joe Sixpacks.
Exactly one year after the Trump supporters were tricked into raiding the Capitol by talking heads and Q-Anon reverberators, 727 people have been charged with crimes. Just 151 of them have entered guilty pleas. And despite the corporate media, the president, congresspersons, and everyone else referring to them as insurrectionists and seditionists, exactly none of them have been charged with these crimes.
Much of the mainstream media also referred to the actions of the rioters that day as “treason” as well — which is even further from reality as treason requires “levying war” against America or “giving aid and comfort” to one of the nation’s enemies—typically a foreign adversary. None of that happened.
Do insurrectionists stop and take selfies with cops?
January 6: A Legacy of Troubling Questions
Epoch Times – The hardened-steel baton made the most disturbing sound as it bounced off Victoria White’s skull. It varied between a hollow click and a deeper snap, depending on where on her head the metal weapon made contact.
“Please don’t beat her!” a man in the crowd yelled.
It was chaos in the West Terrace tunnel entrance of the U.S. Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021. Outside, thousands who had attended President Donald Trump’s “Save America” rally milled about the terrace, while groups of rioters battled police near the tunnel.
An almost demonic cacophony emanated from under the tunnel arch.
“I didn’t even touch you,” a woman cried. “I need help! I need help,” a man shouted.
“Stand up, dammit!” intoned a police officer in riot gear. “Get out!” boomed another.
Then a blood-curdling scream, followed by the ear-splitting sound of an emergency siren.
After repeatedly striking White in the head, the officer in white holstered his baton. Then he made a fist with his bare left hand and punched White in the face.
“Oh, no-no-no! Please! Please don’t beat her!” someone shouted, to no effect.
After three full-force knuckle shots to White’s head, the officer in white paused. Then he went in for two more blows. He grabbed the hair at the back of her head and pulled it hard.
White looked dazed and confused. She wore a blank stare. Another officer reached in with his baton in an apparent attempt to prevent more blows. The officer in white grabbed his colleague’s arm and shoved it back at him.
The almost unbelievable violence meted out on the unarmed, 5-foot-4-inch White provides a stark contrast to the often-preached narrative that Jan. 6 was strictly an insurrection carried out by mobs of Trump supporters wanting to overthrow the government.
White was a victim of brutality. Her lawyer is preparing a civil suit. Hers is one of the hidden stories of Jan. 6, exposed only after a federal judge ordered that three hours of surveillance video held by the U.S. Department of Justice be released to White’s attorney.
Jan. 6 Narrative Depends on Who Tells the Story
Epoch Times – Protesters. Insurrectionists. White supremacists?
The thousands of Americans who went to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and their intentions on that day, have been described in many ways.
They were there to: Have their voices heard. Register concern over election accuracy. Overthrow the government?
The narrative of that day depends on who is telling the story.
The loudest narrative, the one that demonizes attendees, comes from the federal government, politicians, and many media outlets.
The people who can best tell the other side of the story are still suffering the consequences from that day. Four people, all Donald Trump supporters, died. Some attendees are still in prison, some have been getting visits from the FBI, others have had their reputation smeared for attending.
Rick Saccone and his wife rode a bus filled with Pennsylvanians to Washington in support of Trump. He says it was mostly senior citizens peacefully demonstrating.
“People were dancing, singing, and one man dressed like Uncle Sam was walking on stilts in the crowd,” Saccone told The Epoch Times. They had no knowledge of violence until they got back on the bus toward home.
Saccone of Allegany County is a former Pennsylvania state legislator, retired Air Force officer, and current candidate for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor. His attendance in Washington on Jan. 6 is low hanging fruit for media outlets wishing to impose an unflattering lens on his campaign, but he is not bothered by their efforts.
“You have the media twisting this story. It is a deflection of what happened in Portland and Seattle. That is the definition of an insurrection, and nothing has happened with that,” he said of rioters who attacked federal buildings in those cities and tried to set them on fire.
Since Jan. 6, there have been investigations, calls for the public to turn in attendees, home visits from the FBI, arrests, and long prison stays.
“It has a chilling effect on the First Amendment, and we can’t have that in this country,” Saccone said. “We have the right to challenge our political leaders. All those First Amendment rights are being challenged by a small minority of left-wing media that are monopolizing the narrative, which is why we have to speak out and correct the narrative.”
Saccone says too many people, including elected Republicans, are cowering in fear.
“We’re going to tell the truth about Jan. 6 and flip the narrative. Our founders didn’t cower in fear; they stood up for their rights,” Saccone said. “The truth is, a half million people exercised their First Amendment rights.”
The ones who got violent, he says, were not true Trump supporters.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Sues Jan. 6 House Select Committee Over Subpoenaed Cellphone Records
Epoch TImes – MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has sued the House select committee investigating the origins of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol in an effort to stop telecommunications company Verizon from sharing his information with the panel.
The lawsuit (pdf) was filed in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota on Wednesday and names Verizon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other members of the panel.
Lindell filed the suit after the House select committee issued Verizon a subpoena for all of his records of communication on a cellphone he regularly uses for the period between Nov. 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2021.
“The Subpoena demands that Verizon produce certain records associated with a cell phone number regularly used by Mr. Lindell. The cell number was assigned for Mr. Lindell’s use by Verizon’s subscriber My Pillow, Inc,” the lawsuit states.
“Mr. Lindell brings this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to invalidate the Subpoena on several grounds and to prohibit its enforcement,” the lawsuit reads.
Lindell argues that the subpoena violates his First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights.
“Enforcement of the Subpoena would violate the rights of Mr. Lindell and of his sources to freedom of religion, speech, press, political expression, and to associate with others to advance their shared beliefs,” the lawsuit states. “These rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment … Enforcement of the Subpoena would violate the right of Mr. Lindell to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, which is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.”
The lawsuit also claims individual members of the select committee “acted without authority because they were not validly organized as a House committee” under the rules of the United States House of Representatives.
Additionally, Lindell says that “even if the Select Committee could issue subpoenas, the Subpoena exceeds the authority of the Select Committee because it requires production of records that are far beyond the scope of the Select Committee’s investigation.”
Kamala Harris: Jan. 6 Riot Like Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 9/11 Terror Attacks
Breitbart – Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off the Biden administration’s remarks on the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot by comparing it to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
“Certain dates echo throughout history, including dates that instantly remind all who have lived through them where they were and what they were doing when our democracy came under assault. Dates that occupy not only a place in our calendars, but a place in our collective memory. December 7th, 1941. September 11, 2001. And January 6th, 2021.”
Dr. Robert Malone, After Twitter Ban, Has ‘No Choice but to Carry On’
Epoch Times – Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist and immunologist who has worked on the development of mRNA vaccines, reacted to recent bans handed down by Twitter and LinkedIn.
“I felt compelled by my own ethics, that I needed to speak about what I was observing,” Malone told EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program on Wednesday in reference to comments he’s made about vaccine mandates. The full interview with Dr. Robert Malone will premiere on EpochTV in coming days.
“I may be one of the very few that has this depth of understanding of the technology that doesn’t have a direct financial conflict of interest,” Malone told The Epoch Times. “If I’m not allowed to speak about my concerns, whether they’re right or wrong … who is a valid person to participate in the dialogue?”
Malone said due to his publicly vocal opposition to COVID-19 vaccine requirements and mandatory vaccinations in children, he and Dr. Peter McCullough—a cardiologist who recently argued that COVID-19 vaccine mandates should be repealed—have been “shut down, attacked, [and] had purposeful attacks” against their medical licenses or freedom to practice medicine.
Last week, Twitter suspended Malone’s account without warning for alleged violations of the platform’s policies around COVID-19. Malone also reiterated during Wednesday’s interview that LinkedIn suspended his account.
“We have no choice but to carry on,” Malone said, adding that if he were “go back to my farm, and hang out with my wife, which is what I would far prefer to do,” he would be “abdicating the responsibility that I now hold as … one of the identified leaders of this globally.”
Malone noted during the interview that during his podcast with Joe Rogan about a week ago, he made reference to a theory known as “mass formation psychosis,” also known as mass hysteria.
“I mean, it has been amazing watching it, and what it demonstrates is the lack of self-awareness by Big Tech,” he said in reference to reports of Google allegedly manipulating search results about the term. “They are caught up in the mass formation themselves, or they are intentionally manipulating” results, he added.
Mayo Clinic Fires 700 Unvaccinated Employees Weeks After Nurses’ Warning
Epoch Times – The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota fired 700 unvaccinated health care workers on Tuesday, despite nurses at the clinic issuing a warning several weeks ago about staffing issues.
“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors, and communities safe,” the Mayo Clinic said in a statement Tuesday in confirming the mass firings. “If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings.”
The employees had until Monday to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Officials said the 700 workers who were terminated represent approximately 1 percent of the Mayo Clinic’s 70,000 employees.
“While final numbers are still not available, nearly 99 percent of staff across all Mayo Clinic locations have complied with the required vaccination program, meaning they have been vaccinated or have received medical or religious exemptions,” said the Clinic in its statement.
Outside of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic operates hospitals in Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, and Iowa. The Mayo Clinic is the largest employer in Minnesota.
“Based on science and data, it’s clear that vaccination keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives. That’s true for everyone in our communities—and it’s especially true for the many patients with serious or complex diseases who seek care at Mayo Clinic each day,” added the Mayo Clinic, without noting that studies and data suggest the COVID-19 Omicron variant appears to easily infect fully vaccinated individuals.
Some longtime Mayo Clinic employees who were fired for not receiving the vaccine told Twincities.com that they wouldn’t comment on the firings because they fear “community retaliation against either themselves or their families.”
San Francisco Teachers to ‘Shut the Whole System Down’ in Omicron ‘Sickout’
Breitbart – Teachers in the San Francisco Unified Schools District (SFUSD) are planning a “sickout” on Thursday to protest what they say is the district’s failure to protect them from the omicron strain of the coronavirus, which is now surging in the state.
Hundreds of teachers are planning to call in sick, potentially disrupting schools — echoing the Chicago Teachers Union’s (CTU) vote to refuse to work this week, which resulted in classes being canceled for the second day in a row Thursday.
Georgia Begins Probe of Illegal 2020 Ballot Harvesting
Epoch Times – State officials in Georgia are now investigating allegations that ballot harvesting–a practice that is unlawful in the state—was used widely during the November 2020 general election and the U.S. Senate runoff elections that followed two months later.
The allegations originated from good-government group True the Vote, which promises to release other information on voting irregularities in five other states.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, confirmed to John Solomon of Just the News, that a probe is underway and that subpoenas from the state’s election board may soon follow as part of the evidence-gathering process.
True the Vote, which focuses on electoral integrity issues, acknowledged in a statement late on Jan. 5 that following “a year’s worth of research and analysis,” the group “submitted three official complaints to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office regarding occurrences in the 2020 General and 2021 Run-off Elections.”
As a result of this, on Jan. 3, 2022, Raffensperger “announced a statewide investigation into ballot trafficking in Georgia.”
True the Vote added that “shockingly similar findings will soon be released to appropriate authorities in five additional states.”
Raffensperger fought efforts by activists including Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias to overturn the state’s ballot harvesting ban. He also clashed with then-President Donald Trump and Republicans in 2020 when he dismissed claims that fraud was widespread in the election.
Raffensperger told Solomon in an interview that was podcasted that his office considers allegations it has received to be sufficiently credible to open an investigation.
“We do have some information, and we are going to investigate that,” Raffensperger said.
“We did deploy drop boxes that were under 24/7 surveillance … and we’re really just going through that.”
Ballot collecting, more commonly known as ballot harvesting, is when organized workers or volunteers collect absentee ballots from voters and deliver those ballots to a polling place. The tactic was thrown into the spotlight after Republicans said it helped California’s Democrats defeat many Republican candidates, including incumbents, turning the state’s congressional delegation deep blue in 2018. Critics say ballot harvesting makes it easier for the votes of illegal aliens and those not interested in the political process to be cast.
Trump repeatedly denounced the practice during the 2020 campaign. “Get rid of ballot harvesting, it is rampant with fraud,” he tweeted in April of 2020. “The USA must have voter I.D., the only way to get an honest count!”
DOJ Announces New Rule for Firearm Storage
Epoch Times – The Department of Justice has announced a new rule about how licensed sellers must store firearms, set to take effect on Feb. 3.
The new rule implements the existing Gun Control Act requirement that imposes strict licensing and regulation on the firearms industry, and states that federal firearms licensees (FFLs) that sell firearms to the general public must certify that they have secure gun storage or safety devices available.
The act defines secure gun storage or a safety device as “a device that, when installed on a firearm, is designed to prevent the firearm from being operated without first deactivating the device,” “a device incorporated into the design of the firearm that is designed to prevent the operation of the firearm by anyone not having access to the device,” and “a safe, gun safe, gun case, lock box, or other device that is designed to be or can be used to store a firearm and that is designed to be unlocked only by means of a key, a combination, or other similar means.”
“Not all devices are compatible with varying types of firearms. Therefore, integral to the new rule is the requirement that FFLs have available secure gun storage options that are compatible with the firearms they are selling,” the DOJ said.
In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives published a best practices guide it says is designed to assist FFLs in “complying with all required firearm laws and regulations that are designed to ensure public safety and the traceability of firearms” and to encourage them to “provide customers with ATF publications to help firearms owners better understand their legal obligations,” along with the practical steps they can take to ensure firearms are kept away from prohibited persons and ensure the safe storage of firearms.
Disgraced FBI Agents Under Scrutiny in Whitmer Kidnapping Case
Epoch Times – The five defendants accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are pushing for more information about the wrongdoing allegedly committed by FBI agents who handled their case.
In a flurry of filings on Dec. 31, the defendants in the Whitmer case opposed a motion from federal prosecutors to exclude evidence about FBI agents involved in the investigation. The defendants—Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta—also sought to admit as evidence 258 statements they believe will prove the FBI entrapped them.
The motions follow the dismissal of one FBI agent in the Whitmer case for beating his wife. Another agent has been accused of perjury in a separate case, and a third was pulled from testifying in the trial after it was revealed that he was operating a private intelligence business while investigating the defendants.
Federal prosecutors have painted the slew of recent motions by the defendants as a stall tactic that threatens to delay the March 8 trial date. Defense attorneys, however, say the motions are crucial to prove entrapment and protect the rights of their clients.
When it comes to the alleged wrongdoing committed by investigating FBI agents, the defendants said the Department of Justice has been stonewalling them for more information.
For example, federal prosecutors have called the perjury claims against FBI agent Henrik Impola “unfounded,” but the defense said the government hasn’t provided records proving that.
“It is of record that a local attorney has filed a complaint with the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility alleging that Mr. Impola committed perjury in another case,” the defendants said.
“It is not clear why the government won’t disclose the outcome of the investigation into allegations it characterizes as ‘unfounded,’ when a simple disclosure could very well clear Mr. Impola’s name and moot this issue in its entirety.”
Likewise, the government has allegedly refused to provide records about the private business of FBI agent Jayson Chambers. BuzzFeed News revealed that Chambers had registered a business called Exeintel, which was linked to a Twitter account that posted about the case before it became public.
In its motion to exclude evidence about Exeintel, prosecutors said Chambers’s business had nothing to do with the Whitmer case.
“The BuzzFeed story (and the defendants) implied that SA Chambers leaked confidential law enforcement information in this and/or other cases to an Exeintel-related Twitter user, to drum up business by making the company look prescient,” prosecutors said. “The defendants have produced no evidence, however, showing SA Chambers had a financial stake in the outcome of this case.”
Americans on the Move, Looking for Less Populated and Greener Pastures
Epoch Times – “Vote with your feet,” said President Ronald Reagan in 1982.
Forty years later, many Americans are still heeding his advice and moving to what they see as greener pastures.
Florida, with its sunshine, warmth, and no individual state income tax, is a big draw, as demonstrated by the annual study of interstate migration by United Van Lines, the nation’s largest moving company.
United Van Lines has been conducting the study since 1977. It is based on interstate household moves handled by United in the lower 48 states, plus Washington D.C. The company also surveys customers concerning the motivations and circumstances that have influenced their moves.
Company spokesperson Eily Cummings told The Epoch Times that the company moved just over 125,000 customers between states in 2021.
Of those, 21,560 responded to the survey. “These are weighty and statistically significant numbers. They confirmed some recent trends, but also contained some surprises,” Cummings said.
Of all the interstate moves performed by the moving giant in Florida in 2021, 62 percent were people moving into the state, and 38 percent were people moving out.
The Florida move-in to move-out ratio placed the Sunshine State in the top five in the nation, behind Vermont (74 to 26), South Dakota (69 to 31), South Carolina (63 to 37), and West Virginia (63 to 37).
Children Are Dying From COVID Lockdowns and Overdoses
Mercola – Children have, by far, the lowest risk for serious COVID-19 infection; COVID policies have therefore had an outsized impact on children and teens
Suicide attempts among girls rose 51% in 2021
Between 2019 and 2020, adolescent overdose mortality rose from 2.35 per 100,000 to 4.58 per 100,000, a 94.3% increase
Fentanyl fatalities among teens nearly tripled between 2019 to 2020, and represented 76.6% of adolescent overdose deaths in 2021
Children’s health is also being decimated by COVID jab mandates. A declaration signed by 16,000 doctors and scientists calls for the elimination of all COVID jab mandates for children
How Do Tyrants Make People Act Against Their Own Interests?
Mercola – Tyranny is rearing its ugly head all over the planet
The tyrants have a rich arsenal of weapons, such as direct violence, destruction of food supply chains, going after the children, blatant deceit, fake “community values,” and the “New Moral”
We are in a spiritual battle of our time, and we are the heroes we have been waiting for
Yahoo Sports – Brandon Brown won’t be capitalizing on his “Let’s Go Brandon” fame on the side of his Xfinity Series car.
Per multiple reports, NASCAR will not allow Brown to run a sponsorship from a Let’s Go Brandon cryptocurrency on his car in 2022. Brown’s team announced last week that it had secured a full-season deal with LGBCoin to be on its car in the second-tier Xfinity Series.
NASCAR immediately said that the team’s announcement was premature and made the decision Tuesday to bar the sponsorship from happening.
There Won’t Be a Wave of Foreclosures in the Housing Market
Keeping it Current – When mortgage forbearance plans were first announced and the pandemic surged through the country in early 2020, many homeowners were allowed to pause their mortgage payments. Some analysts were concerned that once the forbearance program ended, the housing market would experience a wave of foreclosures like what happened after the housing bubble 15 years ago.
Here’s a look at why that isn’t the case.
- There Are Fewer Homeowners in Trouble This Time
- Those Left in the Program Can Still Negotiate a Repayment Plan
- Most Homeowners Have More Than Enough Equity To Sell Their Homes
- There Have Been Far Fewer Foreclosures Over the Last Two Years
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