Getting it Right

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At last, the time has come and history textbooks wait to be written. Will they be read or allowed to be read – or even be allowed to be written about what really happened?

‘We have to get it right,’ Dem vows as Jan. 6 probe begins | NEWS10 ABC


“We have to get it right,” Thompson said. If the committee can find ways to prevent anything like it from happening again, “then I would have made what I think is the most valuable contribution to this great democracy.”

Thompson, 73, is a liberal fixture in Congress and longtime champion of civil rights, the only Democrat in the Mississippi delegation, hailing from a majority-black district in the state’s western half. He has avoided the limelight during his more than 15 years on the Homeland Security Committee, notching achievements with careful bipartisan outreach.

Several Democrats and Republicans said Thompson was the right choice to lead an investigation that is certain to be partisan and fraught.

“I’ve dealt with Bennie for 15 years, and we disagreed on a lot, but I don’t think there was ever a harsh word between us,” says former Republican Rep. Pete King of New York, who was the chairman and top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee for years opposite Thompson. “Bennie is low key, he manages his side well. He was a good guy to work with. He was strong and knew what he wanted, but there was very little drama.”

New York Rep. John Katko, who is now the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, gave a similar assessment. Thompson is “a good man, a patriotic American” and a “productive partner,” Katko said in statement.

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23 thoughts on “Getting it Right”

  1. more from the above linked AP story:

    A frequent critic of Trump, Thompson joined other Democrats in filing a lawsuit against the former president after the insurrection, charging that he incited the attack and conspired to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
    Last week, Thompson withdrew his participation in that lawsuit, which he joined soon after the Senate acquitted Trump, at his second impeachment trial, of inciting the insurrection. Thompson’s withdrawal petition said he “wishes to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest between his role on the Select Committee and his role as a Plaintiff in this litigation.”
    The lawsuit, which is still active, names as defendants Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, and the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. The Justice Department has filed charges against members of those groups in connection to the attack, and the panel is expected to investigate them as part of its probe.
    Domestic extremism and its links to white supremacy are a familiar subject for Thompson not only from his time on the Homeland Security Committee but also from his early involvement in the civil rights movement in Mississippi. He was active with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in college and organized voter registration drives before he was elected mayor of his small hometown of Bolton.
    The FBI’s assessments about the growing dangers of domestic extremism, he said, show that “the significance of this committee’s work is as important as it can ever get.”

  4. The GQP wants to hold a separate investigation, since they weren’t allowed to infect the committee with folks who were probably handpicked by Orange Adolf when McCarthy met with him in NJ.

    How does the GQP publicize their contrived findings? Do they only use the GQP propaganda machine of Faux Noise and the Rushun-backed channels, preaching to their cult? Do they hold a sham hearing? Would CSPAN cover it, too?  Who would they call to testify?

    https://apnews.com/article/pelosi-capitol-investigation-jordan-banks-00d2cfd5ddde4aa1d8c0c72189738ce6

  5. I keep asking but never get an answer … on what authority can the minority party convene a committee to investigate anything?

  6. John Oliver was on fire last night.  Nothing quite like laying out history to prove the damage done by systemic racism in creating an underclass.  I remember block busting, red lining, and real estate covenants from only 60 years ago.  So many act as if the Civil Rights legislation suddenly cured everything, are sadly deluded.

     

  9. I guess the GQP’s game of claiming they’ll do a separate investigation is doing its intended job. We’re talking about their idiocy and audacity, which will take the focus away from the actual committee investigating Jan 6th,…cuz we’re talking about it.

    Republican Party = Sideshows ‘R’ Us

  11. sturge, here’s a story on that subject from ABC in 2019

    What happens when a congressional subpoena is ignored in impeachment probe? – ABC News (go.com)

    According to a Congressional Research Service Report, “Congress currently relies on two formal legal mechanisms to enforce subpoenas: criminal contempt of Congress and civil enforcement of subpoenas in the federal courts.”

    The report, titled “Congressional Subpoenas: Enforcing Executive Branch Compliance,” said that criminal contempt statute can lead to “criminal punishment of the witness in the form of incarceration, a fine, or both.”

    However, the report states that since this option is considered “punitive,” its used “mainly as a deterrent.”

    “In other words, while the threat of criminal contempt can be used as leverage to encourage compliance with a specific request, a conviction does not necessarily lead to release of the information to Congress,” the report said.

    Taylor also noted that its generally the executive branch that decides about the enforcement of criminal law.

  12. Sturg, Reuters explains. 
    The remedies are there but they are slow and convoluted. I wouldn’t suggest holding one’s breath until the subpoenaed person or document shows up – that could prove fatal.

  20. We all know what a republican “investigation” into the Jan. 6th insurrection by obvious former-guy supporters will conclude:
    “AntiFa did it!”
     
    HUA concerning retail infection hubs, Pogo.
    We needed to vaccinate the  world, not just the United States, and that effort is a complete failure, so smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
     
    …some doctor quoted saying it was arrogant for Americans to ask for a 3rd dose when the majority of the world’s population can’t get one dose, and i concur with him
     

  21. We needed an 85% national vax-rate, temporarily closed borders, to help Canada and Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala get similar rates ASAP next, then South America, then Africa.  Nah let’s go to Mars, instead🙄

  22. https://www.abc12.com/2021/07/26/bezos-offers-nasa-billions-lunar-mission-contract/

    “Jeff Bezos is offering NASA up to $2 billion if his rocket company is given a contract for a second human landing system (HLS) to Earth’s nearest neighbor.”

    Or, the asshat could spend some of the money he’s made since the pandemic began on getting shots to poorer countries.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2021/04/30/american-billionaires-have-gotten-12-trillion-richer-during-the-pandemic/

    “Total American billionaire wealth stands at $4.6 trillion as of the stock market close on April 28, by our count. That’s up 35% from $3.4 trillion when markets opened on January 1, 2020, just as Covid-19 was beginning to take the world by storm.“

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