It was DOJ day at the January 6 Committee hearing yesterday. In addition to coup plotting outside the government and in the several states, there was an inside coup plot at the DOJ. We heard more about that today and how Trump appointees staved off an attempt to legalize the coup.
The two Jeffs of the title are former assistant AG Jeffrey Clark and Jeffrey Rosen who was deputy AG under Barr and became acting AG after Barr quit. Jeff Clark’s house was raided by the feds yesterday whereas Jeff Rosen was one of the star witnesses. The timing of the raid was not coincidental. The feds were likely worried that Clark might destroy evidence.
Not only were there Two Jeffs, there was a second Adam Thursday afternoon, Kinzinger. Like his fellow Republican Liz Cheney, he’s out for blood.
The live witnesses were the law firm of Rosen, Donoghue, and Engel. They testified to Clark’s attempt to send a letter on behalf of DOJ claiming that fraud had occurred in Georgia. Then President* Pennywise told them to sign it and let him and his Congressional allies do the rest. Trump said, “What do I have to lose?”
At a meeting on Sunday January 3, 2021, Donoghue told him: EVERYTHING.
That was the fateful meeting at which all the Trump appointed DOJ brass threatened to resign. It could have been a Sunday Night Massacre, but it flopped, fizzled, and other f words. Fuckin’ A.
The effort to foist Jeff Clark on DOJ as Acting AG failed in part because the other lawyers view him with contempt. He’s a nebbish, jerk, and bozo. Others went even farther:
Eric Herschmann, ex-Trump W.H. lawyer, on what he said to Jeffrey Clark:
"I said, good fucking — excuse me, sorry, F'ing A-hole, congratulations, you just admitted your first step or act you would take as Attorney General would be committing a felony and violating Rule 6(e)."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 23, 2022
One more point about Clark. It appears that the Impeached Insult Comedian backed off because it was pointed out to him that the Clark letter would look bad and overshadow the allegations of fraud in Georgia.
Trump had another card up his sleeve: the Pence pressure campaign. That move crapped out as well. Holy mixed gambling metaphors, Batman.
A third Jeff, Gret Stet AG Jeff Landry made a cameo appearance. He was on the short list for a never created Special Counsel post to investigate election fraud. The list was headed by Sidney Powell. Talk about Bad Company:
It was obvious that Adam Kinzinger’s favorite part of his day in the spotlight was the PARDON LIST. That’s right, multiple House members asked their little friends at the White House for blanket pardons. These are some of the same people who ostracized Adam; he took delight in kin zinging them.
Here are the names: Brooks, Gaetz, MTG, Gohmert, Biggs, Perry, and Jordan.
The list reads like a new wing of the Malakatude Hall of Fame dedicated to MAGA maggots. I really should start one. If I were Steve Bannon, I’d commence fundraising right now. I’m not so I won’t.
Kinzinger is a serious and somewhat solemn man. He’s not exactly a sound bite machine. But he had one of the best lines of the day: “You only ask for a pardon if you know you’ve committed a crime.”
That goes for John Eastman as well. He seems to have planted a lawyer in Jeff Clark’s office to encourage him to do the coup mambo. They found a weak and ambitious man to use, then discard after failing to represent the coup mambo:
I just came up with coup mambo. I like it. I hope it’s not because I was overheated when I wrote this. It’s fucking hot here, y’all; even inside.
Back to the hearing. The committee continues to place Trump at the center of all the coup plot mambo variations. Richard Donoghue took notes of his conversations with the Kaiser of Chaos and quoted him directly. He was an excellent witness.
That brings me to an irksome thing. I’m irked that many on the left focus on our disagreements on the issues with the witnesses. All that matters right now is that they chose the right partner in the coup mambo and are dancing with us on the most important issue of all: DEMOCRACY.
If FDR could ally with Stalin, we can ally with Rosen, Donoghue, Bowers, and the rest. They were all fine witnesses who resisted Trump’s personal attempts to corrupt them and steal the election.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Without democracy, nothing else matters.
I’m late with this post because it was unspeakably hot after the hearing, and I was flat-out beat. I didn’t start writing this until dusk arrived to grant us some relief from the fucking hot dome. Fuck that shit, man. Uh oh, I sound like former Trump mouthpiece, Eric Fucking Herschmann.
The post title was inspired by the not entirely successful sequel to Chinatown: The Two Jakes. The Jeffs aren’t as compelling as Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel but who is?
That’s Richard Donoghue as Jake Gittes and Jeff Clark as Jake Berman. (I’m unsure if it’s Harvey but I didn’t want to slow my roll.) I told you Donoghue was a good witness. He all but pantsed Clark at the Sunday Night Non-Massacre.
All I have to add is Get Up, Jake:
The hearings are on hold until next month as new evidence keeps popping up like pimples on a teenybopper. Sorry for the gross analogy but I’m keeping it. It pops.
The hearings have exceeded my expectations. I thought today might be on the dull side: some attorneys are boring as hell. I was wrong. I cannot wait until the next hearing. Keep up the good work, folks.
Repeat after me: Without democracy, nothing else matters.
Since Sean Penn attended the hearing, the last word goes to his older brother, Michael and his wife Aimee Mann with a Beatles tune that comes from a movie starring Michael’s kid brother, Sean:
Repeat after me: Without democracy, nothing else matters.