Then Vs Now

No public statements found from January 2021 condemning the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Note: Sen. Britt was not a member of the U.S. Senate at the time of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“The people who need to be held accountable are the people who broke the law,” Britt said in response to a reporter’s question. “I believe in personal responsibility, and if you made the choice to break the law, then you should be held accountable.”

…

Asked if Brooks incited the rioters during his speech before the riot in which he encouraged supporters of President Donald Trump to “start taking names and kicking a—”, Britt said that only the lawbreakers themselves are responsible.

“Those things are personal choices by each of those people,” Britt said. “Those people made a choice to break the law, and if they chose to break the law, then they should be held accountable.” [AL.com, Jan. 6, 2022]

Alabama Senate candidate Katie Britt says there was fraud in the 2020 presidential election, but she stops short of calling the election “stolen,” and says she would maintain her independence as a Senator for Alabama.

“I believe that there was fraud,” she told AL.com Wednesday. “I think you have to have a forensic audit. You have to give people peace and clear confidence that their vote is going to matter the next time.” [AL.com, March 23, 2022]

“Yesterday was a sad day for our great country. I strongly condemn the violence and actions we saw from those who stormed the Capitol. It undermines the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, and it has no place in our democracy.

The integrity of our elections is vital to our country. I have serious concerns that the state of Arizona did not act in accordance with their own duly enacted laws when conducting this election. Because I promised to raise these concerns on behalf of my constituents, I voted against seating the electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Although the election results were not what many Alabamians – including myself – would like, the process of certifying the election results needs to be completed. I look forward to working with my colleagues on legislation to create an election commission that could lead to important reforms. Moving forward, I will continue to be a voice for the people of Alabama regarding the security of our elections.” [Statement, Jan. 7, 2021]

The January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a “terrible thing” in which those involved should “be arrested and pay the price,” but which should not be compared to 9/11, Republican U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville said Friday.

The freshman senator, whose first day on the Senate floor occurred during the day of the riot, said he believes those who were involved in ransacking the Capitol should be “looked into,” but he also said that the incident “is all behind us now.”

…

“They are comparing it to 9/11 and it’s a terrible thing,” said Tuberville about the January 6 incident. “Whoever went in there should be arrested and pay the price for breaking windows. We had a couple of people hurt, assaulted, and couple who died. We need to look into it from that point of view, I guess.”

He added, “But in 9/11, we lost 3,000 people. So, I don’t think (the Capitol insurrection) is on that scale. If anything needs to be done, we need to look into why we didn’t have enough security in there to stop whatever was going on, not matter what happened.” [AL.com, Feb. 19, 2021]

“I have many concerns with the House passed bill, but the potential for unequal staffing is the biggest. A January 6th commission needs to be truly bipartisan, and that means not only at the member level, but also at the staff level. As it stands now, there is no guarantee that the staff hired would be bipartisan, and we need that guarantee, because we all know who actually does the work on these commissions. Any partisan tipping of the scales would undermine the entire purpose of the commission. Americans deserve information on what happened that day, but they need to be able to trust it – the Democrats have unnecessarily politicized this process, especially when there are several, truly bipartisan investigation efforts already underway.” [Statement, May 26, 2021]

“I’d go,” said Tuberville, who took a phone call from Trump as senators were being swept to safety. Tuberville was also among senators who had received a voicemail from Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani that night, the committee has said.

Tuberville said he hasn’t been watching the hearings. “There’s nothing, anything, that I’ve seen that would change my mind on anything that I’ve voted on,” he said. [AL.com, Jul. 27, 2022]

I am disgusted by the lawless acts of violence being perpetrated at the Capitol. Disgraceful. A sad day in American history. The world is watching. We are the United States of America. We must be better than this. We ARE better than this. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

My statement on the violence at the U.S. Capitol earlier today:

[Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“I cast my vote today to acquit former President Trump on the single article of impeachment as a result of an extensive review of the Constitution, historical precedent, and, as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story said two centuries ago, ‘a deep responsibility to future times’—just as I did during last year’s impeachment trial and the Electoral College certification in January.

“The constitutional purpose of impeachment is to remove an official from office—and, in this case, that purpose had already been achieved. With their votes this past election, the American people spoke and chose a new President. Thus, pursuing impeachment in this case creates a troubling, unconstitutional precedent in which former officials—private citizens—can face impeachment and conviction. As I said during last year’s impeachment, the American people are well equipped to decide whether or not the former President should be disqualified from holding future office.

“I strongly believe the Senate does not have jurisdiction to try a former President who is now a private citizen. The Senate claiming that jurisdiction contradicts the intent of the Framers to the detriment of our constitutional order. Additionally, the House Managers provided the former President with no due process—and argued none was required—and side-stepped the First Amendment defense of his speech.

“Ultimately, in spite of an emotional and wrenching presentation, the House Managers failed to account for the repercussions of these new precedents and the way in which they went about this rushed, ‘snap’ impeachment. Combined with the power to try private citizens, all of this constitutes a massive expansion of Congress’ impeachment powers never contemplated by our Founders. The temptation to use such power as a regular tool of partisan warfare in the future will be great and has the potential to incapacitate our government.

“Make no mistake: I condemn the horrific violence that engulfed the Capitol on January 6. I also condemn former President Trump’s poor judgment in calling a rally on that day, and his actions and inactions when it turned into a riot. His blatant disregard for his own Vice President, Mike Pence, who was fulfilling his constitutional duty at the Capitol, infuriates me. I will never forget the brave men and women of law enforcement—some of whom lost their lives and were seriously injured—who carried out their patriotic duty to protect members of Congress that day.

“However horrible the violence was—and how angry I have been about it—I believe that it was imperative, for the future of our country and our democracy, to be as dispassionate and impartial about this vote as possible.

“The vast majority of Alaskans who supported President Trump were also appalled by the violence on January 6. They supported the former President because of his policies that helped our state. I will continue to work to make sure that their voices are not silenced and that this dispiriting chapter in American history won’t deter them from speaking out in defense of their beliefs.

“At the end of the day, my obligation is to rise above the passions of the moment and to carefully consider the decisions we make today and the ramifications they will have for our country’s future. I believe that my vote to acquit fulfills that obligation. I want Alaskans to know that throughout all of this, my guiding light has been both fidelity to my constituents and to our Constitution.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

“Considering the broad, in-depth bipartisan work already under way, I do not believe an additional commission is necessary, and risks further dividing Americans at a time when we need to come together,” Sullivan’s statement said. [Alaska Public Media, May 28, 2021]

The violence and destruction taking place at the Capitol are unacceptable and must cease. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“The events that transpired in Washington were not only shocking and unlawful, but represent a dark moment in our country’s history that we must reckon with today and in the days to come.

“The Constitution gives every American the right to peaceably assemble and protest. It does not condone or provide for opportunities to sow chaos or provoke insurrection. Sadly, many of the demonstrators in the nation’s capital yesterday failed to live up to this obligation, and an alarming number willfully participated in an attack on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to thwart the constitutional responsibilities of Congress. ‘The People’s House’ is the place where the will of our citizenry is rightfully expressed through its elected representatives –– not a forum for mob rule and anarchy. The perpetrators of this despicable attack should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. It is also incumbent on every American to soberly recognize that the divisions in our society have reached a place beyond troubling, and we must prayerfully and diligently work to mend those divides so that what occurred yesterday is never repeated, or worse.

“This assault is not the final word, however. Congress was not intimidated or cowed. We eventually reconvened and ultimately certified the vote of the Electoral College, performing our prescribed constitutional duty. Amid the mayhem, there were countless acts of heroism and compassion on behalf of law enforcement, first responders, Members of Congress, our support staff and others. As we always do in times of uncertainty and trouble, Americans helped each other, prayed for one another and demonstrated that what united our ancestors over two centuries ago can still bring us together today.

“We all, as Americans, deserved better than what we experienced –– a disturbing, demoralizing and entirely avoidable episode. We must pray for healing, and we must pledge to demand better from each other. This incident cannot define us, but it must persuade us that choosing a different and better course –– one that lives up to the high ideals which have reliably sustained the United States and inspired our exceptional story –– is the only path forward.”  [Statement, Jan. 7, 2021]

January 6, 2021 will forever be remembered as one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. The attack on the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob was a threat to our democracy. Courageous law enforcement officers defended lives and safeguarded the constitutional duty of Congress to certify the presidential election.

While former President Donald Trump bears some responsibility for what happened that day, the perpetrators who planned, coordinated and assaulted the Capitol building must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and brought to justice.

I maintain my belief that the constitutional legitimacy of this impeachment trial was lacking, and therefore the outcome was expected. The Senate’s time would have been better spent considering solutions that improve COVID-19 vaccination deployment, advance economic recovery efforts and reopen our nation’s schools. We should immediately work together to achieve those critical objectives.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

This violence is unacceptable and needs to be met with the full force of the law.

God bless the Capitol Police who are keeping us safe. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Violence and anarchy are unacceptable. We are a nation of laws.

This needs to end now. + @TomCottonAR Tweet [Quote Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“Last summer, as insurrection gripped the streets, I called to send in the troops if necessary to restore order. Today, insurrectionists occupied our Capitol. Fortunately, the Capitol Police and other law-enforcement agencies restored order without the need for federal troops. But the principle remains the same: no quarter for insurrectionists. Those who attacked the Capitol today should face the full extent of federal law.

It’s past time for the president to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence. And the senators and representatives who fanned the flames by encouraging the president and leading their supporters to believe that their objections could reverse the election results should withdraw those objections. In any event, the Congress will complete its constitutional responsibilities tonight.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021 |Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

HH: But I want to go to the Nancy Pelosi 1/6 Committee, Senator, because Josh Hawley is your colleague. And when that committee departed from its alleged intent to smear him and attempt to shame him by the manipulation of image, not only did they fulfill what Dr. Kissinger told me on Friday on this show that we are in an age of image that is replacing reason, I think they nakedly revealed that they’re fueled by rage and fury and no other mission at all. What did you make of that particular moment?

TC: Well, Hugh, I think that was clear from the very beginning of this committee. It was clear in Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to seat Jim Jordan and Jim Banks as Republican members of that committee, a break with precedent going back to the beginning of the House of Representatives in the 18th Century. And I think what you’ve seen over the last few week is why Anglo-American jurisprudence going back centuries has found that adversarial inquiry, cross-examination is the best way to get at the truth. There is no one on that committee who takes a view different from Nancy Pelosi, or even a view that’s like we should examine the full context of all of these statements, of all of these recordings, of all of this video. We have no idea of the videos and the audio recordings and the testimony is being presented in its full context. For instance, all those snippets of depositions you see the committee putting up? They’ve never released the full transcripts. They’ve never released the full videos. We have no idea what those witnesses said in the full context of their depositions. And even if we had those, there was no lawyer in the room who was probing in the other direction. So for instance, Hugh, remember I think one of the witnesses testified that the President supposedly lunged for the steering wheel in one of the presidential vehicles. Well, did anyone ask the Secret Service agents who were in that vehicle whether he did that or not? To my knowledge, they did not. Why? Because it’s such a convenient story for them, why would they want to get in the way of a story? This is why they hired a former TV news producer to make these hearings.

HH: So let me ask you specifically about Josh Hawley, what they call Jogging Josh. And this really outrages me, because it is a manipulation of video to engage in emotional response from the hard left of the sort that ends up with what we had with Brett Kavanaugh and the attack on Lee Zeldin. It’s an appeal to anger and rage. And I have never seen, again, I’m not old enough to remember Army McCarthy hearings when Joe Welch said have you no decency, sir. But that was really an indecent moment. That was the manipulation of video for no purpose whatsoever other than to make the left even angrier with Josh Hawley. Or am I wrong?

TC: I can’t see any other reason for it, Hugh. Like what the purpose of the hearing, like what inquiry they were conducting to try to get at some kind of understanding of actions that happened that day that then might be the subject of proper legislative response within the scope of Congress’ responsibilities.

HH: You were a…

TC: Hugh, Hugh, I’ll confess, though, I did not, I will confess that I did not watch that hearing, and I have not watched any of the hearings, so I’ve not seen any of them out of the context that I see a snippet here or there on the news.

HH: Well, I’ve just got to tell you, Chris Hayes and Stephen Colbert on Thursday night or Wednesday night were congratulating themselves on how these hearings have finally produced a hearing worthy of emulation. That’s so ignorant of law and history that I can’t even begin to communicate. 30 seconds, what is the principal defect of this committee?

TC: That it has no adversarial process whatsoever. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the two Republicans, clearly share the views of the Democrats on the subject of the committee’s inquiry. If you had someone like Jim Jordan or Jim Banks on there, not only would they be privy to all the information, but they would be probing that information and probing witnesses to try to get at truth, which is again what the Anglo-American legal system has done for centuries.

“The Democrats are always saying that ‘never forget Jan. 6.’ Yeah, remember that on Jan. 6, gas was at $2.40 a gallon,” Cotton told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “It was at $2.40 a gallon because, for four years, we had an administration that understood that American energy production, and specifically fossil fuels, natural gas, oil, and coal, literally power our economy.” [Washington Examiner, Oct. 6, 2022]

There is nothing patriotic about what is occurring on Capitol Hill. This is 3rd world style anti-American anarchy. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Mr. President @realDonaldTrump the men & women of law enforcement are under assault. It is crucial you help restore order by sending resources to assist the police and ask those doing this to stand down. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Some misled you

That the VP could reject ballots

That objections could pass or used as leverage to force an audit

They knew the truth but thought it was a great way to get attention & raise money [Tweet, Jan. 7, 2021]

SEN. RUBIO: Well, anybody who committed crimes on January 6th should be prosecuted. If you entered the Capitol and you committed acts of violence and you were there to hurt people, you should be prosecuted and they are being prosecuted. But the January 6th commission is not the place to do this. That’s what prosecutors are supposed to do. This commission is a partisan scam. They’re going after- they’re- the purpose of that commission is to try to embarrass and smear and and harass as many Republicans as–

MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s what you believe–

SEN. RUBIO: –they can get their hands on.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –your two Republican colleagues are doing? Liz Cheney–

SEN. RUBIO: Well I believe–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –and Adam Kinzinger?

SEN RUBIO: –that’s what the commission is doing. Well, let me tell you, I know that’s what the commission is doing because they’re focused well beyond January 6th. There are people, for example, like in an older member of the RNC whose husband just died and she wasn’t even in Washington on January 6th–

MARGARET BRENNAN: But that’s not what the censure said.

SEN RUBIO: But she signed some papers. No, but well, I’m sure it is because that’s what- she- she- she wasn’t even in Washington on January 6th. She can’t afford to lawyer up, and she’s being harassed by this commission. This commission is nothing but a partisan tool designed to go out and smear and attack and get their hands on as many people as they can, including people that weren’t in Washington on January 6th.

MARGARET BRENNAN: OK, sounds like you say they do speak for you. Let’s get to China.

SEN. RUBIO: Well, no I told you where I stand on that commission. I think that commission is a scam. I think it’s a complete partisan scam. And I think anyone who committed a crime on January 6th should be prosecuted and if convicted, put in jail. I do not believe that we need a congressional committee to harass Americans that weren’t even in Washington on January 6th, that were not in favor of what happened on that day, have condemned what happened on that day, but they want to smear them anyway. I’m against that, yes. [Face the Nation, Feb. 6, 2022]

​​”There was no way they were going to overthrow the government,” said Rubio. “I​​t was a riot. It was a dangerous riot. It was a violent one. It should have never happened and it should never happen again. But I also do not think people should be misled to think this somehow was on the verge of overthrowing the government.”

…

“They were able to delay [it] by a few hours, the vote count but there was absolutely no way did we ever come close in any way shape or form to those people leading to the overthrow of the government of the United States of America,” said Rubio. [Newsweek, Feb. 9, 2022]

Thank you to the Capitol Police officers who protect us and our institutions every day. And thank you to all law enforcement working to keep people safe in DC.

Everyone has a right to peacefully protest. No one has a right to commit violence. What happened today at the Capitol is disgraceful and un-American. It is not what our country stands for. [Tweet Thread, Jan. 6, 2021]

The thugs who stormed the Capitol today and incited violence should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Every single one of them.

Thank you to the Capitol Police for your bravery today. I believe Congress should return tonight and finish our work. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

The Jan. 6 commission being pushed by Pelosi and Schumer is pure political theater, similar to the impeachment charade from earlier this year. It’s just an attempt to re-litigate the last election and take the American people’s attention away from the Dems’ disastrous polices.

A commission is a typical government move – do a study, have a commission, form a committee. It’s all nonsense, and they are trying to fix a problem that does not exist.

The people who broke into the Capitol and committed acts of violence and property damage are being prosecuted in the judicial system, as they should be.

This was not a coup, or an attempt to overthrow the government. It was a riot, it was awful, it is over. Washington DC loves political theater, and the Democrats are better suited for the Kennedy Center than the US Capitol.

So…if congress were to create a Jan. 6 commission, I have some more suggestions for commissions that should also be created in order to fully investigate things that should have never happened.

1 – Let’s have a commission to investigate how it is that a police station in Minneapolis was burned to the ground while the authorities stood by and watched.

2 – Let’s have a commission to investigate how it is that a portion of downtown Portland was seized by a group of anarchist lunatics who destroyed property and businesses.

3 – Let’s have a commission to investigate why our southern border has become a completely out of control humanitarian crisis now that @JoeBiden is President.

4 – Let’s have a commission to investigate the new woke @MLB for their decision to take $100 Million away from the Atlanta economy by taking away the All Star Game.

5 – Let’s have a commission to investigate how Hunter Biden got rich in foreign countries, what he did to earn that money, and how he got those contracts.

[Tweet Thread, May 25, 2021]

This nonsense and violence needs to stop now. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“Today’s events in the United States Capitol, meant to disrupt a process at the heart of our democracy, were unpatriotic and un-American in the extreme. Our republic has long been the envy of people all over the world, and we must stand united against those who wish to tear us apart. We are grateful to the law enforcement officers that placed themselves in harm’s way and kept those working at the Capitol safe today. I was proud to join my colleagues and reconvene at the Capitol tonight to prove that mob rule never prevails. Freedom and law and order will always triumph.

“The business we conducted today showed there is deep distrust in the integrity and veracity of our elections. We need to restore American’s faith in our voting process. I am committed to pursue that so all of America has the benefit of what we enjoy in Idaho – solid confidence in the outcome of our elections. An open, transparent system with clear guidelines and rigorous safeguards is vital.

“Now, we must come together as a country.

“I am confident we will emerge from this challenge stronger, just as America has done so many times before.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021]

A statement from Risch’s office reads in part:

He had strong concerns about putting politicians at the helm of a commission to investigate January 6th because it would unquestionably become partisan, and he intended to oppose it if today’s motion to proceed passed. He has confidence in the ongoing FBI and other criminal investigations into the January 6th violence at the Capitol. [KTVB, May 28, 2021]

“I don’t do interviews on Jan. 6, but thanks,” Risch said. [NBC News, March 9, 2023]

The violence we are seeing at the Capitol is wholly unacceptable. It must be stopped immediately and all perpetrators prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. God bless the Capitol Police, National Guard and other law enforcement on the scene here and at other sites. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“I stand by the First Amendment rights of Americans to peaceably assemble and demand redress for their grievances. What we witnessed at the U.S. Capitol today was not peaceful; such violence is wholly unacceptable. All perpetrators should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Actions like today thwart the rule of law and could leave lasting, devastating consequences on our nation. I am truly thankful for the heroic actions by U.S. Capitol Police, the National Guard and other law enforcement officials on the scene here and at other sites to keep the public safe.

“Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution is clear. Election laws are entrusted to the states. The Constitution and the statutory law of the United States give explicit jurisdiction over the certification of the Electoral College electors to the states. Through the Electoral College, the election of the president is entrusted to the states, not to Congress. When disputes arise, adjudication rests in the courts. Any effort by Congress to abandon the Electoral College’s constitutional significance for states to certify and send their Electors would set a dangerous precedent I cannot support. To undercut this system would inevitably lead to federalizing our election process and remove the authority of states under the Constitution. This is an outcome many have sought for years, but it would be a serious mistake. It would gravely diminish Idaho’s role in electing future presidents. I took a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and to faithfully discharge the duties of the office I represent. That is why I will not join efforts to have Congress reject validly certified Electoral College votes.”

“During the course of our nation’s history, there have been occurrences of voting irregularities and fraud, including in this election. Unfortunately, that always seems to be the case. It is past time that this country thoroughly examine the election process, especially in states where the allegations of fraud are the strongest, uncover the facts, and develop reforms that make our election process trustworthy.

“The integrity of our election process is critically important and vital to our republic. I support the establishment of a commission to study the last election and recommend meaningful reforms to protect the integrity of our elections. I will be highly engaged in any proposals put forth by Congress to ensure they adhere to constitutional principles of state sovereignty. It is imperative that states implement and enforce election policies that protect the integrity of all future elections and restore Americans’ faith in our electoral system. Americans deserve free and fair elections.

“I will continue to fight for the principles of limited government, protection of the private sector, free market policies, and protecting personal freedoms as guaranteed by the Constitution.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021 | Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“This week’s trial was unconstitutional. The House’s impeachment proceeding blatantly violated established guarantees of due process. Furthermore, the plain text of the Constitution limits impeachment to current civil officers of the United States, specifically stating that, ‘The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ Both by text and by precedent, the Constitution does not allow impeaching private citizens–even those who formerly occupied federal office. Private citizens are subject to accountability for their actions under our legal justice system. We must not dismiss the foundational tenets of our Constitution, particularly in the heat of the deep divisions we face in America.

“The violent, despicable acts of January 6th have shaken our republic to its core and must not go unpunished. Investigations, arrests and court proceedings are already underway for those responsible, and law enforcement and the National Guard are vigilant in maintaining order on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in our country. [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021 | Tweet, Feb. 13, 2021]

What we’re seeing at the Capitol is wrong, hurts the cause of election integrity, and needs to stop immediately. Rioting and violence are never acceptable. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Today’s events changed things drastically. Though I will continue to push for a thorough investigation into the election irregularities many Hoosiers are concerned with as my objection was intended, I have withdrawn that objection and will vote to get this ugly day behind us. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Regarding the events of January 6th, Senator Braun reiterated his focus on accountability for those involved in the riot, but criticized what he called the overreaching nature of the current investigation.

“Anyone that broke into the Capitol, or brawled with the police, should be held accountable,” Sen. Braun said. “That constituted probably under a percent of the people that were there. When you try to generalize that into a bigger picture or narrative, like maybe the January 6th Commission has done, then it gets political.” [Fox 59, Feb. 20, 2022]

In America we have a right to peacefully protest, but what has occurred today goes against everything we stand for as a nation. This is not a peaceful protest – it is violence and it is reprehensible. This must stop. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“I remain troubled and saddened by the events leading up to and on the day of the Capitol riots. However, it is improper under the present circumstances for the former president of the United States to be subject to an impeachment trial.

“Simply put, the U.S. House of Representatives conducted a rushed and incomplete process for this snap impeachment. In its haste to impeach the former president, the House declined to engage in any fact-finding, investigation, hearing, or testimony before adopting the article of impeachment. Therefore, the former president and his counsel were denied the opportunity to review and test the integrity of the evidence offered against him.

“As I warned after the last impeachment, the House majority’s rigged process is creating a dangerous new precedent to weaponize impeachment, a precedent that is increasingly likely to lead to serial impeachments in a polarized America.

“Our nation is facing a crisis. It’s time to put this improper impeachment trial behind us and focus on the issues that matter most to the country — bipartisan efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and restore the health of our economy.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

“Today’s violent attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attack on American democracy itself. This was not a demonstration of any of our protected, inalienable rights. These were un-American acts worthy only of condemnation. Those who plowed over police barricades, ignored law enforcement or desecrated our monument to representative democracy flouted the rule of law and disgraced our nation.

“I condemn today’s violence in the strongest terms and perpetrators deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“The United States has stood as a beacon of self-governance, free expression and the peaceful transfer of leadership since its founding, and we must uphold these principles. Our nation has been through highs and lows. We’ve vigorously debated differing philosophies and have endured disagreements on policy and leadership. Through it all, our shared values have held strong. We must not lose grip of those shared values today.

“This is a sad day for America. As a nation, we must be better than this.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021]

For the past two weeks, the bipartisan committee’s hearings have examined former President Trump’s role in the attack, and the attempt to stop the Electoral Vote certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. In an interview as part of his weekly public affairs program, Grassley called the hearings “political theatre.”

“It’s not like most congressional hearings are held,” said Grassley. “You’re able to cross-examine people. There’s nobody here to cross-examine any of the witnesses, and it tends to be a scripted primetime hearing. We know that it produced by television executives, and you wonder what they’re up to when they’re going to issue their report just before the elections.”

Grassley also says Iowans are more interested in other issues besides the January 6 hearings.

“I hear from Iowans not about this issue,” he said. “But, I hear about gas prices, inflation, the southern border, immigration–all of those things.”

During the interview, Grassley was asked whether there’s growing consensus among Republican circles that the 2020 election’s results weren’t legitimate.

“I don’t think anything’s changed on that since January 6,” said Grassley. “I think there’s a sizable number of people who believe it wasn’t legitimate, but I haven’t seen that grow during the period of time you’re asking about over the last 18 months.” [KMALand, June 22, 2022]

I served in uniform to defend the right to peaceful protest.

What’s happening at the Capitol right now is not peaceful nor a protest. It’s anarchy, & a betrayal of the American ideals we all hold dear.

My staff and I are safe.

Thanks to Capitol Police for your selfless work. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Welker: Donald Trump has gotten a lot of attention for labeling those who are serving time for the January 6th attack as “hostages.” You obviously know the difference between those convicted of crimes related to January 6th and hostages. Does it bother you that Donald Trump is using that language?

Ernst: It does in this context, because we do have American hostages that are being held against their will all around the globe. And especially if you look at the innocents that were attacked and kidnapped on October 7th. We are approaching nearly 100 days. These are people that have been taken. They’re held in tunnels with terrorists. They are being tortured. They have been raped. They have been denied medication. So equating the two, there is no comparison. Our Americans that are being held overseas, they are innocent. They were — they are — celebrating the high Jewish holidays, and were taken by these horrible terrorists.

So there is no equal term. The hostages are hostages. I would certainly ask to speak to any of their families and see the anguish and the pain of not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead. There is a very clear difference.

…

Welker: And as you know, Mr. Trump is also talking about pardoning some of those who have been convicted. Would you advise him against that? Are you opposed to pardoning those who are serving time for January 6th?

Ernst: I am not opposed to that. That is a president’s prerogative. And so if former president Donald Trump is elected as our next president. He does have the right to do that.

…

Welker: Seven hundred of them have pled guilty to crimes related to storming the Capitol on January 6th. You would support pardoning them?

Ernst: Well, again, I am not saying that I would support pardoning them, but that is a president’s prerogative to do so. We have seen many presidents through the years that have pardoned many others. And so if Donald Trump chooses to do that as our next President of the United States, again, that will be his decision.

Welker: These are people, though, who attacked the building that you were in. You called them “insurrectionists” at the time. Would you not counsel Mr. Trump against pardon?

Ernst: I did not call them “insurrectionists.” I don’t remember using that term. Um, I would say that they did break the law. They did break the law. And I am not excusing any of their behavior. But again, that’s up to the president. [Mediaite, Jan. 14, 2024]

“I condemn the violence and destruction at the U.S. Capitol in the strongest possible terms. It is completely unacceptable and unpatriotic. This is a sad day for our nation and it is an unwelcome reminder that our democracy is fragile.

“God Bless the Capitol Police and our law enforcement officers. Please pray for our nation.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021]

Moran’s office confirmed Thursday he also would oppose the commission. In a statement released Friday, Moran said he had no problem with an investigation but said it should be left to other entities.

“I have full confidence in the men and women of the Department of Justice and trust they will continue to investigate, arrest and bring to justice those who have committed crimes related to the attacks on the Capitol,” Moran said in the statement. “We have Senate Committees and a Department of Justice for a reason, and we should allow them to do their work.” [The Topeka Capital-Journal, May 28, 2021]

[Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Marshall said in a statement that he was supportive of ongoing probes “into what exactly happened and where the security breakdowns occurred” so that practices could be improved moving forward.

But he slammed the bill as an attempt to “shame conservatives” and “relitigate President Trump’s actions on Jan 6th, for the 100th time.”

“Nancy Pelosi’s commission is redundant, far too narrow, and should have instead focused on broader political violence issues occurring across our country since last summer,” Marshall said in the statement. [The Topeka Capital-Journal, May 28, 2021]

Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. on the January 6th Committee: “This is a political smokescreen, they want to get rid of the Electoral College.” + Video [Newsmax Facebook Post, Jun. 9, 2022]

Democrats won’t say Merry Christmas, Biden doesn’t speak or go to the 9/11 service, but he can give an address to the nation for Jan 6th.

January 6th has become the Democrat’s favorite day of the year. [Tweet, Jan. 5, 2024]

“The United States Senate will not be intimidated.

“We will not be kept out of this chamber by thugs, mobs, or threats. We will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation.

“We are back at our posts. We will discharge our duty under the Constitution for our nation.

“And we are going to do it tonight.

“This afternoon, Congress began the process of honoring the will of the American people and counting the Electoral College votes.

“We have fulfilled this solemn duty every four years for more than two centuries.

“Whether our nation has been at war or at peace, under all manner of threats, even during an ongoing armed rebellion and Civil War, the clockwork of our democracy has carried on.

“The United States and the United States Congress have faced down much greater threats than the unhinged crowd we saw today. We have never been deterred before and we will not be deterred today.

“They tried to disrupt our democracy. They failed.

***
“This failed attempt to obstruct the Congress, this failed insurrection, only underscores how crucial the task before us is for our Republic.

“Our nation was founded precisely so that the free choice of the American people is what shapes our self-government and determines the destiny of our nation.
“Not fear. Not force.

“But the peaceful expression of the popular will.

“We assembled this afternoon to count our citizens’ votes and formalize their choice of the next president.

“Now we are going to finish what we started.

“We will complete this process the right way, by the book. We will follow our precedents, our laws, and our Constitution to the letter.

“And we will certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

“Criminal behavior will never dominate the United States Congress.

“This institution is resilient.

“Our democratic republic is strong.

“The American people deserve nothing less.” [Press Release, Jan. 6, 2021]

“January 6th was a disgrace.

“American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of democratic business they did not like.

“Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the Vice President.

“They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth — because he was angry he’d lost an election.

***

“Former President Trump’s actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty.

“The House accused the former President of, quote, ‘incitement.’ That is a specific term from the criminal law.

“Let me put that to the side for one moment and reiterate something I said weeks ago: There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.

“The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President.

“And their having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated President kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth.

“The issue is not only the President’s intemperate language on January 6th.

“It is not just his endorsement of remarks in which an associate urged ‘trial by combat.’

“It was also the entire manufactured atmosphere of looming catastrophe; the increasingly wild myths about a reverse landslide election that was being stolen in some secret coup by our now-President.

“I defended the President’s right to bring any complaints to our legal system. The legal system spoke. The Electoral College spoke. As I stood up and said clearly at the time, the election was settled.

“But that reality just opened a new chapter of even wilder and more unfounded claims.

“The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things.

“Sadly, many politicians sometimes make overheated comments or use metaphors that unhinged listeners might take literally.

“This was different.

“This was an intensifying crescendo of conspiracy theories, orchestrated by an outgoing president who seemed determined to either overturn the voters’ decision or else torch our institutions on the way out.

***

“The unconscionable behavior did not end when the violence began.

“Whatever our ex-President claims he thought might happen that day… whatever reaction he says he meant to produce… by that afternoon, he was watching the same live television as the rest of the world.

“A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags, and screaming their loyalty to him.

“It was obvious that only President Trump could end this.

“Former aides publicly begged him to do so. Loyal allies frantically called the Administration.

“But the President did not act swiftly. He did not do his job. He didn’t take steps so federal law could be faithfully executed, and order restored.

“Instead, according to public reports, he watched television happily as the chaos unfolded. He kept pressing his scheme to overturn the election!

“Even after it was clear to any reasonable observer that Vice President Pence was in danger… even as the mob carrying Trump banners was beating cops and breaching perimeters… the President sent a further tweet attacking his Vice President.

“Predictably and foreseeably under the circumstances, members of the mob seemed to interpret this as further inspiration to lawlessness and violence.

“Later, even when the President did halfheartedly begin calling for peace, he did not call right away for the riot to end. He did not tell the mob to depart until even later.

“And even then, with police officers bleeding and broken glass covering Capitol floors, he kept repeating election lies and praising the criminals.

“In recent weeks, our ex-President’s associates have tried to use the 74 million Americans who voted to re-elect him as a kind of human shield against criticism.

“Anyone who decries his awful behavior is accused of insulting millions of voters.

“That is an absurd deflection.

“74 million Americans did not invade the Capitol. Several hundred rioters did.

“And 74 million Americans did not engineer the campaign of disinformation and rage that provoked it.

“One person did.

***

“I have made my view of this episode very plain.

“But our system of government gave the Senate a specific task. The Constitution gives us a particular role.

“This body is not invited to act as the nation’s overarching moral tribunal.

“We are not free to work backward from whether the accused party might personally deserve some kind of punishment.

“Justice Joseph Story was our nation’s first great constitutional scholar. As he explained nearly 200 years ago, the process of impeachment and conviction is a narrow tool for a narrow purpose.

“Story explained this limited tool exists to “secure the state against gross official misdemeanors.” That is, to protect the country from government officers.

“If President Trump were still in office, I would have carefully considered whether the House managers proved their specific charge.

“By the strict criminal standard, the President’s speech probably was not incitement.

“However, in the context of impeachment, the Senate might have decided this was acceptable shorthand for the reckless actions that preceded the riot.

“But in this case, that question is moot. Because former President Trump is constitutionally not eligible for conviction.

***

“There is no doubt this is a very close question. Donald Trump was the President when the House voted, though not when the House chose to deliver the papers.

“Brilliant scholars argue both sides of the jurisdictional question. The text is legitimately ambiguous. I respect my colleagues who have reached either conclusion.

“But after intense reflection, I believe the best constitutional reading shows that Article II, Section 4 exhausts the set of persons who can legitimately be impeached, tried, or convicted. The President, Vice President, and civil officers.

“We have no power to convict and disqualify a former officeholder who is now a private citizen.

“Here is Article II, Section 4:

“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

“Now, everyone basically agrees that the second half of that sentence exhausts the legitimate grounds for conviction.

“The debates around the Constitution’s framing make that clear. Congress cannot convict for reasons besides those.

“It therefore follows that the list of persons in that same sentence is also exhaustive. There is no reason why one list would be exhaustive but the other would not.

“Article II, Section 4 must limit both why impeachment and conviction can occur… and to whom.

“If this provision does not limit the impeachment and conviction powers, then it has no limits at all.

“The House’s ‘sole power of Impeachment’ and the Senate’s ‘sole Power to try all Impeachments’ would create an unlimited circular logic, empowering Congress to ban any private citizen from federal office.

“This is an incredible claim. But it is the argument the House Managers seemed to make. One Manager said the House and Senate have ‘absolute, unqualified… jurisdictional power.’

“That was very honest. Because there is no limiting principle in the constitutional text that would empower the Senate to convict former officers that would not also let them convict and disqualify any private citizen.

“An absurd end result to which no one subscribes.

“Article II, Section 4 must have force. It tells us the President, Vice President, and civil officers may be impeached and convicted. Donald Trump is no longer the president.

“Likewise, the provision states that officers subject to impeachment and conviction ‘shall be removed from Office’ if convicted.

“Shall.

“As Justice Story explained, ‘the Senate, [upon] conviction, [is] bound, in all cases, to enter a judgment of removal from office.’ Removal is mandatory upon conviction.

“Clearly, he explained, that mandatory sentence cannot be applied to somebody who has left office.

“The entire process revolves around removal. If removal becomes impossible, conviction becomes insensible.

***

“In one light, it certainly does seem counterintuitive that an officeholder can elude Senate conviction by resignation or expiration of term.

“But this just underscores that impeachment was never meant to be the final forum for American justice.

“Impeachment, conviction, and removal are a specific intra-governmental safety valve. It is not the criminal justice system, where individual accountability is the paramount goal.

“Indeed, Justice Story specifically reminded that while former officials were not eligible for impeachment or conviction, they were “still liable to be tried and punished in the ordinary tribunals of justice.”

“We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former Presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.

***

“I believe the Senate was right not to grab power the Constitution does not give us.

“And the Senate was right not to entertain some light-speed sham process to try to outrun the loss of jurisdiction.

“It took both sides more than a week just to produce their pre-trial briefs. Speaker Pelosi’s own scheduling decisions conceded what President Biden publicly confirmed: A Senate verdict before Inauguration Day was never possible.

“This has been a dispiriting time. But the Senate has done our duty. The framers’ firewall held up again.

“On January 6th, we returned to our posts and certified the election, uncowed.

“And since then, we resisted the clamor to defy our own constitutional guardrails in hot pursuit of a particular outcome.

“We refused to continue a cycle of recklessness by straining our own constitutional boundaries in response.

“The Senate’s decision does not condone anything that happened on or before that terrible day.

“It simply shows that Senators did what the former President failed to do:

“We put our constitutional duty first.” [Press Release, Feb. 13, 2021]

“As my colleagues know, I have been clear and unflinching in my own statements about January the 6th. But, as I’ve also repeated, there is no new fact about that day that we need the Democrats’ extraneous ‘commission’ to uncover.

“The Department of Justice is deep into a massive criminal investigation. 440-plus people have already been arrested. Hundreds have been charged. Even more arrests are said to be planned. And the Attorney General indicates this investigation will remain a focus.

“Multiple Senate committees are conducting their own bipartisan inquiries.

“And obviously, the role of the former President has already been litigated exhaustively in the high-profile impeachment trial several months ago.

“I do not believe the additional, extraneous “commission” that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing. Frankly, I do not believe it is even designed to.

“That’s why the Speaker’s first draft began with a laughably rigged and partisan starting point, and why the current language would still lock in significant unfairness under the hood.

“So I’ll continue to support the real, serious work of our criminal justice system and our own Senate committees. And I’ll continue to urge my colleagues to oppose this extraneous layer when the time comes for the Senate to vote.” [Press Release, May 27, 2021]

“January 6th, 2021 was a dark day for Congress and our country. The United States Capitol, the seat of the first branch of our federal government, was stormed by criminals who brutalized police officers and used force to try to stop Congress from doing its job. This disgraceful scene was antithetical to the rule of law. One year later, I am as grateful as ever for the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police who served our institution bravely that day and every day since. I continue to support justice for those who broke the law.

“As I said yesterday, it has been stunning to see some Washington Democrats try to exploit this anniversary to advance partisan policy goals that long predated this event. It is especially jaw-dropping to hear some Senate Democrats invoke the mob’s attempt to disrupt our country’s norms, rules, and institutions as a justification to discard our norms, rules, and institutions themselves.

“A year ago today, the Senate did not bend or break. We stuck together, stood strong, gaveled back in, and did our job. Senators should not be trying to exploit this anniversary to damage the Senate in a different way from within.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2022]

Violence and mob rule is wrong and un-American, and it will not bring about election reform.

Today’s mayhem sets back any intelligent debate for a generation. Just stop it. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“Frankly, I think the violence of Jan. 6 was abhorrent,” Paul said. “But there was also violence all throughout the summer that many on the Democrat side did not criticize the violence or tried to stop the violence in our cities. We had violence in Louisville, frankly.”

Paul added he thinks “there has been violence on both sides, and extremists on both sides ought to be condemned.”

…

Paul told Scott “everybody needs to be very careful with their language on both sides of the aisle,” adding that “both parties are pretty much equally guilty” of “claiming that elections were stolen.” [Louisville Courier Journal, Feb. 11, 2021]

”I had six ribs broken, had part of my lung removed, almost died from an infection after having my lung removed,” Paul said. “The thing is, yes, I take it very, very personally. There’s no justification for violence from the left or the right and the people who committed violence ought to be punished.”

The resolution that passed in the House only garnered two Republican votes. It likely wouldn’t get the same traction in the Senate.

Ultimately, Paul says it comes down to looking at the severity of the crimes committed.

”Somebody who wandered into the Capitol, smiling taking pictures of themselves, but didn’t assault a police officer is a lot different,” Paul said. “Assault a police officer, you deserve to go to jail.” [Wave 3, Jul. 1, 2021]

The FBI arrested exactly zero of the mob who attacked my wife and me. Meanwhile every day the FBI arrests anybody and everybody who came to DC on January 6th. Double standard? You bet!

Kelley Paul: Our harrowing, dystopian night https://washex.am/34DddYC [Tweet, Jul. 26, 2021]

BLM rioter punched a police officer in the face requiring surgical repair. Punishment? Released on his own recognizance! Non-violent trespassing in Capitol on January 6th? Solitary confinement without parole! Double standard? You bet! + Link [Tweet, Jul. 27, 2021]

Yet we have heard nothing from Vice President Harris on the Jan. 6 detainees held for nearly a year without trial, some of whom have not been charged with any acts of violence against persons. Indeed, the sentences for the charges many face would likely fall short of the months they have already been jailed without conviction of a crime. Many have been held for long periods in solitary confinement.

…

I condemned all violent acts on Jan. 6 and continue to do so. But that does not mean we should destroy the lives of non-violent protesters by deliberately conflating them with the acts of others, denying them bail, and incarcerating them for nearly a year with no trial. That is not justice. Our laws demand that even those accused of the most horrific crimes of mass murder are guaranteed due process. To abandon those principles for political purposes is to abandon the very bedrock of American jurisprudence. [Op-Ed in Fox News, Feb. 10, 2022]

The Capitol Police have done an extraordinary job keeping us safe. I’m thankful for their heroism.

I condemn this violent assault on the democratic process & will not be intimidated by a mob that confuses chaos & destruction with strength & wisdom. I’ll continue to work for LA. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was despicable and shameful. The rioters responsible should go to jail and pay for the destruction they caused. No exceptions. I condemned rioters and mob violence last summer in our cities, and I condemn them now. I’m proud that Congress was not cowed. We returned to the Senate floor late last night and finished our work early this morning.

“Most Louisianians get up every day, go to work, obey the law, pay their taxes and try to do right by their kids. They would never join a mob. They care about election integrity, and many are concerned about irregularities surrounding the Nov. 3 election. I came to the Capitol yesterday to give them a voice. I joined several Senate colleagues in calling for a bipartisan commission to inspect election issues raised across the country. Our proposal was not successful, but our goal to ensure full confidence and transparency in our elections—for all Americans—is a noble one, and I’ll keep pursuing it.

“I want to thank the Capitol Police, the National Guard and all the law enforcement officers who bravely kept us safe. They are heroes.

“God bless America.” [Statement, Jan. 7, 2021 | Tweet, Jan. 7, 2021]

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: We haven’t had an opportunity to have a real objective analysis of what happened on January 6, before and after. What the Democrats in the House did was basically a partisan car wreck. We only got half of the information. Republicans were excluded. There have been no attempts in the Senate, by Senator Schumer. I think what we need is an objective look, if necessary, by some nonpartisan outside experts. The American people would like to know. But it’s gotten so politicized. I was there on the sixth [Jan. 6, 2021]. It was an abomination. I’m sorry that it happened. I wish it hadn’t happened, but we’re entitled to know, the American people are, why it happened. And if [the] federal government had advance notice and if so, why wasn’t it better prepared? I just don’t think any of that’s reasonable. But it’s all shot through with politics now.

…. I just don’t know why the Justice Department and the leadership in the House and Senate and the FBI won’t just tell the American people the truth. The institutions in Washington are not going to regain their integrity in the eyes of the American people until they start telling the truth, and I’m afraid the problem is that all these people think the American people are morons. Now, it’s true the American people don’t read Aristotle every day because they’re too busy earning a living and they may be poorer under Joe Biden, but they’re not stupid. They get that something is very, very wrong in all this and it upsets them that they, on both sides, that they can’t get any answers. [Fox News, Jun. 27, 2023]

Thank you for the messages of concern. My staff & I are safe. Whatever frustrations any American may have, violence & destruction in the US Capitol, the seat of our democratic government, is unacceptable. I’m grateful for @CapitolPolice & those working to stabilize the situation. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“The shameful attack on our Capitol in January deserves to be investigated thoroughly, but this Democratic proposal would enable a politically-skewed exercise that I cannot support. There are, in fact, multiple bipartisan congressional investigations underway, including work by the Rules Committee. The Justice Department, FBI, and law enforcement are also actively pursuing the prosecution of those who broke the law as part of the January 6 riot. I support these ongoing activities and responsible efforts to improve security at the Capitol.” [Statement, May 28, 2021]

To everyone who has asked, I am safe.

I thank the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police and federal law enforcement for their work to bring this lawlessness and violence in the Capitol building to an end. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“During the nearly 234 years of our Constitution’s existence, no public official has ever been convicted in an impeachment trial after leaving office. That long-standing precedent was followed again today.

“After carefully reviewing the evidence and legal arguments from counsel for both parties, I am convinced that impeachment was intended only as a means of removing presidents and other officials from office. On two occasions during this trial, I had already voted not to proceed to trial based on this jurisdictional issue. My vote for acquittal today was consistent with those previous votes.

“Like all Americans, I am deeply troubled by the violent actions of individuals who invaded the U.S. Capitol and attacked our law enforcement officers on January 6. The facts surrounding this attack should be fully and thoroughly investigated, and those criminals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“I hope we can put this trial behind us and recommit to the cooperative spirit we need to meet our republic’s pressing challenges.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

“It is clear that the events of January 6 have been and will continue to be investigated by Congress and our law enforcement agencies.

“It is my view that adding a new commission to this mix would inevitably delay and distract from the productive investigations already underway.” [Statement, May 28, 2021]

Every American has a right to peacefully protest but violence and lawlessness simply cannot be tolerated.

Please join me in praying for the Capitol Police and other law enforcement today in Washington DC. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Note: Sen. Schmitt was not a member of the U.S. Senate at the time of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The January 6 committee is a joke, meant to smear President Trump and his allies and is an intentional distraction from Joe Biden’s failures. [Tweet, June 9, 2022]

A reminder — the January 6 committee is a joke and nothing more than a smoke screen for Joe Biden’s failures. [Tweet, June 21, 2022]

Another reminder — the January 6 committee is a joke and nothing more than a smoke screen for Joe Biden’s failures. [Tweet, June 28, 2022]

Statement from Senator Josh Hawley:

Thank you to the brave law enforcement officials who have put their lives on the line. The violence must end, those who attacked police and broke the law must be prosecuted, and Congress must get back to work and finish its job [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“No, I don’t regret anything on that day, I would do it again,” Hawley, R-Mo., said Friday when asked by Fox News Digital if he regretted waving at a crowd of protesters as he entered the Capitol that day, in a picture that eventually went viral.

…

“Always an honor to be attacked by the January Sixth clown car,” Hawley also told Fox News Digital. “And that’s what it really is. I mean, this is an attempt to talk about anything other than the Democrats record, their obsession with President Trump, their obsession with people who have supported MAGA voters, who are MAGA voters, and their effort to demonize half the country.”

Hawley added: “So, you know, I imagine they’ll go right on doing it because they don’t want to talk about what voters actually want to talk about.” [Fox News, Jul. 22, 2022]

I condemn any kind of violence and intimidation. This is unacceptable. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“Today is a sad day for our country. The destruction and violence we saw at our Capitol today is an assault on our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and must not be tolerated. As Americans, we believe in the right to peaceful protest. We must rise above the violence. We must stand together. We will not let today’s violence deter Congress from certifying the election. We must restore confidence in our electoral process. We must, and we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021 | Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

A year later, Daines, a Republican, does not call the attack on the Capitol an insurrection.

“This was a protest. Remember, there were tens of thousands of people who were making their voice heard that day. You had a group of individuals who broke the law when they broke into the Senate, into the House, the Capitol, when they assaulted members of law enforcement. But it was not an insurrection.”

Daines says criminal prosecution should continue for those involved who have been charged. But he says the U.S. House investigation into what caused the events should end.

“I’m very concerned that Nancy Pelosi is choosing to politicize this issue that further divides our country.”

Daines says an earlier bipartisan investigation conducted by the U.S. Senate accomplished its goal of giving recommendations to prevent the events of Jan. 6 from happening again. [Montana Public Radio, Jan. 6, 2022]

These rioters have no constitutional right to harm law enforcement and storm our Capitol. We are a nation of laws, not some banana republic. This must end now. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“It remains true that Congress simply does not have the constitutional authority to impeach a former president. And rather than take its time to hold hearings and assess all evidence, the House had a rushed impeachment process that denied President Trump due process. Accordingly, I voted to acquit President Trump. It is now time to come together and move forward.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

What is happening at the U.S. Capitol is unacceptable. I condemn the violence in the strongest possible terms. Peaceful protest is the American way. Violence and destruction of property is not. I encourage the protestors in D.C. to leave and go home. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Note: Sen. Ricketts was not a member of the U.S. Senate at the time of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Pete Ricketts is declining to get embroiled into the controversy over whether the Jan. 6 violent riot at the U.S. Capitol was “legitimate political discourse.”

In a response to questions submitted by the Nebraska Examiner earlier this week, a spokeswoman for Ricketts said Friday that he had no comment on that description of the riot made recently by the Republican National Committee.

Nor did the governor want to weigh in on the RNC’s censure of two GOP congressional representatives who are members of the congressional select committee investigating the violent attack.

Spokeswoman Alexis Reuss said Ricketts, a two-term Republican, has indicated in the past that the right to “peaceful protest” is of “utmost importance” but that anyone who broke the law Jan. 6 “should be prosecuted and held accountable.”

“It’s a shame when anyone uses a peaceful protest as an opportunity to riot, cause destruction and bring harm to others. It’s unacceptable, and we should prosecute those who break the law and hold them accountable,” Reuss said. [Nebraska Examiner, Feb. 12, 2022]

“Every one of those people who broke the law that day did so of their own volition. And, that’s what we believe in this country.  That you’re responsible for committing your crimes.  Nobody else is responsible for committing your crimes for you.”

…

Ricketts also said some of former President Trump’s complaints about the 2020 election should receive closer examination.

“I think if you go back and look at what happened in States like Pennsylvania, and it just happened again, where the Courts are ignoring State Law.  I think that raises a lot of questions about Election integrity.  It just happened in this Republican Primary, where the State said you don’t have to have an absentee ballot that’s signed.” [KFOR Now, June 13, 2022]

Pete Ricketts on Wednesday called the congressional hearings into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol a “partisan rehash of mostly old information.”

…

Ricketts, who said last week he wasn’t paying much attention to the hearings, on Wednesday said that people need to keep the testimony “in perspective.”

“Ms. Hutchinson, she is reciting things that are second- or third-hand,” Ricketts said.

He said viewers of the hearings should not “fall into the same trap” as the Washington Post, which had to publish a correction to a January 2021 story maintaining that Trump had pressured a Georgia election investigator to “find the fraud” in the 2020 voting and become “a national hero.”

…

“You have to have the whole story here,” Ricketts said of the recent testimony in Congress. “We’re getting one person’s perspective. It’s third-hand.” [Nebraska Examiner, June 29, 2022]

“I don’t think there’s any evidence to charge President Trump with any crimes,” the governor said, in response to a question after a press conference Friday.

…

Ricketts, when asked Friday if what Trump did prior and during the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol “was appropriate,” gave the following answer:

“I believe everybody who went into the Capitol building intent on doing violence did so of their own accord,” the governor said. “We have a system of laws that holds people accountable for their actions.”

Does Ricketts think what the president did was appropriate?

“In hindsight, we can always look back and see if we would have done things differently,” Ricketts said. “But everyone who participated in those attacks did so of their own free will.” [Nebraska Examiner, July 22, 2022]

“The mob violence I witnessed at the Capitol on January 6th was not representative of our country and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. I was on the House floor when the brave Capitol Police officers and the Sergeant at Arms locked down the chamber and told us to evacuate. We were ushered to safety and remained in secure locations for several hours. At that point, everyone ceased being political opponents. We were fathers, mothers, and fellow Americans. I stayed in constant touch with my team throughout the day. The business of my office did not stop.

“When I was able to return to my office, I resolved to not let a violent mob stop me from giving voice to the thousands of North Carolinians who demanded a debate on the irregularities and Constitutional violations in the presidential election. Going through the Constitutional process of debate was never about overturning an election, it was about standing up for the integrity of each and every citizen’s vote. That issue transcends any one candidate or election. The American people deserve to know without a doubt that their votes, our electoral system, and the choosing of our public officials is fair and accountable. That is why I objected. At around 1:40am, I returned to the House rostrum and delivered my objection to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“As the president said earlier this morning, it is time for an orderly transfer of power. That’s what we do in America. We debate and campaign vigorously. We use all legal and Constitutional options available to make sure the vote is fair, and then we move on and persevere. I plan to continue to stand up for what’s right, no matter who is president.” [Statement, Jan. 7, 2021]

7 months later, @RepTedBudd is still defending and downplaying the U.S. Capitol attack on January 6:
“It was nothing. It was just patriots standing up.” #ncsen + Video [American Bridge 21st Century Tweet, Aug. 23, 2021]

I proudly back the blue and support law and order, which is why I condemned the violence that took place in cities across the nation this summer. It’s a national disgrace to have a mob attacking Capitol Police and engaging in anarchy. This is not what America stands for. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

We should not let the disgraceful assault on the Capitol and our democratic system stop Congress from fulfilling its Constitutional duty tonight. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“My vote was based on two fundamental issues with the impeachment process. The first being the decision to hold a trial for a private citizen, and the second being the charge itself.

“There are valid questions whether it is constitutional for Congress to put a private citizen on trial. And even if it is constitutionally permissible, it isn’t prudent in the absence of a thorough impeachment inquiry. The House managers argued impeachment was necessary to bar former President Trump from running for president again. Their rationale is not rooted in any consistent, objective standard and collapses on itself: what accountability would a trial provide to a second-term president who commits impeachable offenses in their final days in office when they are already constitutionally barred from seeking another term? I have faith in the American people to determine whether former President Trump disqualified himself from seeking the presidency in the future.

“An impeachment trial is not the best or only way to hold a former elected official accountable for their actions. The ultimate accountability is through our criminal justice system where political passions are checked and due process is constitutionally mandated. No president is above the law or immune from criminal prosecution, and that includes former President Trump.

“Casting aside the question of whether it was wise or constitutional to hold the trial, there were also significant issues with the case made by House Democrats.

“During their impeachment inquiry, the House declined to interview a single witness and conduct a formal and thorough investigation. The impeachment power should be used sparingly and only after careful and deliberate consideration, regardless of whether the individual is still in elected office. In their haste to impeach, they completely bypassed all due process for the first time in our nation’s history— including no representation of defense counsel in House proceedings, limited sharing of validating evidence, and only calling for witnesses after they already rested their case before the Senate.

“The next presidential election is four years away. The House has plenty of time to follow due process to attempt to build a credible case if the goal is to disqualify President Trump from running for office again.

“The charge of incitement of an insurrection, which is a subjective standard where one elected official’s ‘passionate and fiery speech’ is another’s ‘incitement of violence,’ especially in an age where politicians on both sides of the aisle have repeatedly used overcharged and provocative rhetoric. That raises the question that if President Trump is to be impeached for such language, should it follow that any member of Congress who uses similar language, including telling a crowd on the steps of the Supreme Court that justices ‘have released the whirlwind and will pay the price’ be similarly sanctioned?

“The most serious aspect of President Trump’s conduct was not necessarily what he said in the lead-up to the attack of the Capitol, but the leadership he failed to provide to put an end to it, and yet the House curiously chose not to file a charge or build their case around this point.

“It is important to note that a not guilty verdict is not the same as being declared innocent. President Trump is most certainly not the victim here; his words and actions were reckless and he shares responsibility for the disgrace that occurred on January 6.

“Everyone knew going into this impeachment trial that it would infuriate one half of the electorate regardless of the outcome and make our nation even more polarized. I hope that the end result is short-lived, and the responsibility falls on all of us to do better. Elected officials must stop embracing and propagating dangerous and baseless conspiracy theories that undermine the faith we have in our nation and our institutions. And when we see violence, anarchy, and thuggery—regardless of whether it comes from white nationalists in the Capitol or ANTIFA in the streets of Portland and Seattle—we have an obligation to condemn it. And most importantly, we need to stop casting those who we disagree with as ‘enemies’ with evil motives and instead recognize that despite our differences we are all fellow Americans.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

“January 6th was a dark day in American history that should never be repeated, and every single person who broke the law should be held responsible. The Department of Justice has already charged more than 400 individuals, and I fully support this ongoing investigation.

“The committees of jurisdiction in the Senate are currently conducting their own investigations and preparing reports on the January 6th attack, and to date these efforts have been bipartisan. On the other hand, the current commission proposed by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats appears to be a platform to score partisan political points instead of facilitating a good faith, bipartisan review of the facts. The antics we have seen from House Democrats over the last few days, including their attempt yesterday to politicize the Capitol Police and mislead the media and public, made their motivations very clear.

“While I have full confidence in the current DOJ investigation and Senate efforts that appear to be on a bipartisan track, I have no confidence in Speaker Pelosi’s proposal, which is why I will vote against it.” [Statement, May 20, 2021]

We condemn the violence at the U.S. Capitol and encourage respect for the rule of law. We are grateful to the Capitol Police and law enforcement for their dedication as they work to restore order. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“America is the beacon of freedom and democracy in the world. That is why it is very important that we have returned to the Senate and House chambers to finish our work tonight. We are a nation of laws and we must enforce our laws. We condemn those who occupied the Capitol and the acts of violence and destruction. We are grateful for our law enforcement officials and all those who put their own well-being on the line to defend our nation’s capital. We all must be committed to the rule of law and preserving our great democracy for future generations. America will always persevere.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021 | Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“Kelly Armstrong would do a fantastic job and that’s the point I’m making. It should have been bipartisan, it could have been bipartisan, but she wouldn’t let the Republican leader designate the Republicans on the committee. She was instead to decide them? Had the situation been reversed, she never would have allowed that,” Hoeven said.

…

“We have to realize that this is a democracy, that we have to honor and respect our constitution, or laws, and work through the process,” Hoeven said. [KVRR, Jan. 6, 2022]

The United States of America is the greatest country the world has ever known, but we did not live up to that standard today. The violence at our nation’s Capitol is disgusting. It should never have happened, and we all need to make sure it never happens again. What we saw today does not reflect the feelings or actions of the patriotic Americans I know and serve.

“Thankfully, our nation is better than our worst moments, and we will not be bullied by a few anarchist thugs trying to prevent us from following the Constitution and doing the job we are required to do.

“To those who are scared, remain calm. To those who are angry, know there will be justice. To those continuing to incite violence, leave. You are not welcome here. To all Americans, please join me in praying for our country and finding ways to ensure we emerge from this ordeal stronger than ever.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2021 | Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

When you come into the chambers, when you start opening members’ desks, when you stand up in their balcony, to somehow put that in the same category as permitted protest is just a lie,” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told reporters.

Cramer said his recollection of Jan. 6 was “that it was not just some rowdy protest of Boy Scouts,” and those who participated in the attack should be held accountable. [CBS News, Mar. 8, 2023]

“A four-hour stroll through the Capitol that’s marred by a half-hour of rioting doesn’t make it a peaceful protest. Nobody was supposed to be in the Capitol, so there’s not a single person who’s completely innocent of wrongdoing, but not everybody that day is at the same level of crime. 518 [people] have confessed to committing crimes that day. 420 [people] have been prosecuted and sentenced. So, clearly, it wasn’t a peaceful protest. That’s not to say the vast majority of them don’t have regret, or they didn’t understand the severity of what they were doing or the severity of what some other people are doing… I do think it’s unfair to put them all in the same bucket.

“I’ve never felt like democracy is actually in trouble. We survived a civil war, we’re going to survive this as well. What frustrates me is that we’re talking about it again. […] We should be talking about the southern border. We should be talking about China and the challenge it possesses, and talking about inflation, and a budget that drives up deficits forever. Those are winning arguments for Republicans, not re-litigating January 6, 2021.

“What I do regret about the release of the 41,000 hours [of Capitol surveillance] is it was released to one person in primetime who is rather sensational in his approach, rather than just releasing it to everybody. Transparency absolutely is the best way to go. I think Kevin McCarthy has a right to do it, I just wish he would have released it to everybody at the same time.” [Press Release, Mar. 13, 2023]

No public statements found from January 2021 condemning the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Note: Sen. Vance was not a member of the U.S. Senate at the time of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

I was worried the people prosecuting nonviolent MAGA grandmas for January 6 wouldn’t be diverse enough. Great to see our government solving the problems that matter. + @FoxNews [Quote Tweet, Aug. 29, 2021]

Why are nonviolent protestors from January 6 sitting in prison while a guy who repeatedly instigated the incursion into the Capitol walks around free? A couple of possible explanations, all of them bad. + @Cernovich Tweet [Quote Tweet, Oct. 26, 2021]

If the January 6 committee was anything more than a sham it would look into the role of Ray Epps. Kudos to @DarrenJBeattie and team. + @CortesSteve Tweet [Quote Tweet, Dec. 18, 2021]

The fraudulent J6 Select Committee is the real assault on Democracy. Dems are using it to bully & torture their political opponents.

The weak Republicans who can’t see this are part of the problem.

A GOP Majority MUST fight fire with fire & investigate BLM’s Summer of riots. + Video [Tweet, Jan. 5, 2022]

There are dozens of people who protested on J6 who haven’t even been charged with a crime yet are being mistreated in DC prisons. A friend suggested the below link if you’re able to support them. + Link

*Even if* the very worst of the Democrats’ claims about J6 are true (they’re not), it is an insult to all of us that so many people are rotting in prison without being offered a speedy trial. These people are political prisoners, and their captivity is an assault on democracy.

If you can’t give, maybe consider writing a letter or offering words of encouragement. Many of these prisoners are veterans who served their country honorably and are accused of nothing. They are our people. Help them if you can.

*convicted (not charged) [Tweet Thread, Jan. 6, 2022]

The January 6 Committee was a farce, more interested in political revenge than the truth. Good to see this video footage getting out there. + @ColumbiaBugle Tweet [Quote Tweet, March 7, 2023]

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you’re not troubled by the sexual assault and defamation. Let me ask you about January 6th. You’ve mentioned as a possible vice president for Donald Trump. Had you been vice president on January 6th, would you have certified the election results?

VANCE: Oh, George, this is such a ridiculous question, in part because the law has changed here. We, of course, had a major legal change in the Electoral Count Act.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, I didn’t ask you about going forward. I asked you what you would have done. I asked you what you would have done.

VANCE: George, here’s what I think – here’s – here’s what I think happened in 2020. And I know you guys are obsessed with talking about this. I have to make a point here. You constantly say to people like me, why do you talk about January the 6th, why do you talk about the election of 2020, and then you ask about this multiple times during a six minute interview.

But, look, you asked the question, and I’ll answer it. Do I think there were problems in 2020? Yes, I do. Do I think it was a problem that big technology companies, working with the intelligence services, censored the presidential campaign of Donald Trump? Yes. Do I think it’s a problem that Pennsylvania changed its balloting rules in the middle of the election season in a way that even some courts in Pennsylvania have said was illegal? Yes, I think these were problems, George, and I think there is a political solution to those problems.

So, litigating which slate of electors were legitimate I think is fundamentally the political solution to the problems that existed in 2020. It’s a reasonable debate to have. And I find it weird, George, that people like you obsess with what I call what happened in 2020, you’re so incurious about what actually happened in 2020, which is why so many people mistrust our elections in this country. We’ve got to do better, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m not the least – I’m not the least bit incurious. In fact, you laid out a litany there, but you didn’t answer the question. I asked, would you have certified the election results had you been vice president?

VANCE: If I had been vice president, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others that we needed to have multiple slates of electors and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there. That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020. I think that’s what we should have done. [ABC News, Feb. 4, 2024]

Peaceful demonstration is an American value – violent destruction is not. Attacking police and destroying the Capitol is never a pursuit of truth and freedom. Never [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“Today is a sad day for our country. The destruction and violence at our nation’s Capitol is an assault on democracy. We thank the men and women of the US Capitol Police for working to restore peace. The actions at the Capitol are indefensible and not supported by the vast majority of Trump supporters. We must rise above the violence.

“We must, and we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power. The violent actions of these rioters severely damages efforts to restore confidence in our elections. We will continue our calls to examine election integrity through all legal and peaceful means.

“We now need the entire Congress to come together and vote to certify the election results. We must stand together as Americans. We must defend our Constitution and the rule of law.” [Joint Statement, Jan. 6, 2021 | Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Distract and enrage—that is the Democrats’ strategy for the midterms. The House 1/6 commission was about keeping America distracted to deflect from their own failure to govern.

Democrats want to blame President Trump, but the Biden policies are what brought us this mess. [Tweet, Jun. 4, 2021]

I 100% support peaceful protest but this is not it. What is happening at the Capitol right now is unacceptable and it has to stop immediately. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin found himself face-to-face with rioters in the U.S. Capitol Wednesday afternoon.

“This whole situation, it shouldn’t have happened,” Mullin said.

Mullin was in the House Chamber when he said things escalated quickly.

He said they started hearing a commotion, rioters attempting to enter the chamber. Video shows him getting close to those at the doors. He said glass broke, but no shots were fired.

“I started talking to the protesters and I said, ‘You almost got shot. Do you realize you almost got shot? Is that worth it? Is that worth it?’” Mullin said. “And they said, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘Is that worth it? You almost died.’ And they quit beating on the door. Except there’s always the agitator. Which is what brings, you know, a protest into a mob. And this one little protester, agitator, started in his way. And he started saying, ‘You know it’s our house. It’s our house. It’s our house.’ I said, ‘It’s our house too and I’m not going to let you come in here.’”

Mullin did an interview with a local radio station Wednesday morning, prior to the events, and mentioned how he did not believe President Trump’s supporters would escalate the situation, but instead would stop it. He said this is different from what he’s seen at President Trump rallies in the past.

“This was a different group of individuals,” he said. “As I said the police officers I talked to said the protesters went on and there was a group that broke away from them. And they had evil intentions. They had evil in their eyes. I don’t know who’s to blame for that, I don’t know who the antagonizers were or who sent them.”

Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol led to many officers getting injured. Mullin said he visited with them in a triage center set up in a basement of an office building and commends them for their service.

“The real heroes tonight were law enforcement,” he said. “Because a lot of them got hurt tonight. A lot of them got hurt. They put their life on the line to make sure that me and my staff, our we could get home to our families but they have families too.”

Mullin said after the electoral votes, he expects Congress to recess for a bit so members and staff can go home and take a breath. [KJRH, Jan. 6, 2021]

While locked in his office Wednesday evening amid violent and deadly protests in and outside the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie by telephone that “both sides” were to blame for the political rhetoric which resulted in rioters storming the building and shutting down a joint session of Congress convened to count Joe Biden’s certified victory in the Electoral College. He also said he had “a hard time believing” that “actual, true Trump supporters” were causing the illegal mayhem because the considered the conduct atypical of their character.

Mullin said no shots were fired in the House chamber but that “guns were drawn” when glass was broken. He said law enforcement officers showed “phenomenal restraint” when they were “strongly outnumbered.” He said that he “stood right there with them, and we made sure the chamber was completely cleared.”

He called the perpetrators “completely out of line.”

Guthrie noted that Mullin, a supporter of President Donald Trump, was planning to object to the count to certify Biden’s win. She then asked whether Mullin felt Trump’s reaction to the deadly violence at the Capitol was “enough” or whether Trump was still “fanning the flames by contending” that 2020 was “a stolen election” — resulting in people breaking the law and storming Congress.

“People are responsible for their own behavior, first and foremost,” Mullin responded. “You can’t blame this on the president or anybody else. You’re responsible for your own behavior. Full stop.”

“The president told them to go home, and even he said, ‘I love them,’” Mullin continued. “People are trying to criticize him for saying he loved them, but I wake up every single morning and I say ‘love the people, love the call.’ And I love these guys too, that isn’t . . . that doesn’t mean I condone what they did.”

Mullin said he talked to between 25 to 50 law enforcement officers — maybe more — in a “triage center” after things cooled down slightly.

“I shook every one of their hands; I told them ‘thank you.’ Every one of these guys had families,” he said, or at least most of them did. “They were shaken up; they were shaken up quite a bit. One young man unfortunately is probably going to lose his eye . . . because he got hit with some object.”

Mullin said he asked the officers what happened. The response he received was that there were two distinct groups on the capitol grounds Wednesday when the violence erupted.

“Every one of them [the officers] told me the same thing,” Mullin recalled. The people who stormed the building “separated from the protesters.”

“These guys had evil in their eyes when they came after us,” Mullin said while recounting what the officers told him. “The rest of the protesters continued on their way. These guys broke away. They were there as agitators.”

Mullin said that when the vandals started breaking glass, he met them at the door, told them not to shoot, and told them that “they almost got shot.” He said he asked people why they were “willing to do this;” most “calmed down a little bit.” However, he said he could not reason with “one guy” — the primary agitator — who “kept running his mouth.”

“We have the right to protest, but we don’t have the right to destroy public or private property,” Mullin said. “We don’t have the right to go this far.”

“I’ve seen this overseas,” he continued, but not in America. “This went too far.”

On the merits, Mullin said the “belief isn’t there” that the 2020 election was fair and that there are “real questions” about the constitutionality of the process; however, he said there was “no excuse” for what happened in and around the Capitol. He said discussions were occurring about how to study the 2020 election but that “the manner by which we present the findings may change.”

He then said he knew some of the protesters who arrived in town from Oklahoma to be part of a so-called “Stop the Steal” rally that President Trump encouraged on Twitter and ultimately addressed in person shortly before the Capitol building was stormed.

“They’re all headed home. They weren’t part of this. This was a separate group. These were agitators that came there to make as much destruction as possible,” Mullin said.

Guthrie suggested that the First Amendment allowed healthy protests but that “when you fan the flames, sometimes you can unleash an element that isn’t responsible — there are rioters and agitators” of violence.

“The rhetoric’s been irresponsible on both sides; we’ve seen it from both sides,” Mullin said after Guthrie’s comments. “There’s been some really, some really — big flames . . . that was fanned even before President Trump got into office — before he was even sworn into office.”

Mullin said anger has been “bubbling” for some time but disavowed any suggestion that Trump was to blame for the Senate and the House losing control of their own chambers to protesters and rioters.

“It hasn’t been from our side, and that’s why I said I have a hard time believing these are actual, true Trump supporters because you haven’t seen this from Trump supporters,” Mullin said. “Trump supporters have been out there too. They’ve been on the streets. They’ve been to rallies; they’ve had conflict with ANTIFA and the other groups; and this has never went to this point. This is the first time we’ve ever seen it go to this point. And as I’ve said before, It doesn’t make any difference who’s fanning the flames, at the end of the day, we are all responsible for our own actions. And the way you choose to act, is, you should be held responsible for, and I hope everybody that came in there is held responsible because — you — a lot of people’s lives have changed. There’s a lot of law enforcement, a lot of Capitol Police, and D.C. Police, and Sergeant of Arms, that came to work today that’s going to go home a little bit different. There’s a young lady that died because she stormed through the door and an officer had to make the split decision and had to shoot her, and guess what, their families lives have changed. His life has got changed because the first time you discharge your weapon, it changes you, it changes you — and it changes you forever.”

Mullin said the victim’s family “lost a loved one” and would “grieve tonight” because of “what got out of hand” in a “dark day for all of us.”

“We can debate in a better manner,” he said as Guthrie wrapped up.

The interview was broadcast starting at about 4:10 p.m. Eastern time on the streaming media channel NBC News Now. [Law & Crime, Jan. 6, 2021]

In an interview this week, Rep. Mullin said January 6, 2022 “is just going to be a day for me.”

Mullin, and many other Republicans, believe Democrats are using the memory of insurrection for political purposes. He says, fine, let them do that.

“But if we are not going to learn from the lessons and move forward,” said Mullin, “then I’m not going to waste any time reflecting on it. I’m just going to move forward with my life…I’m going to realize that there’s still some lessons that can be learned there and I’m going to do better myself and that’s the only thing I can control.” [News 9, Jan. 6, 2022]

While Americans are being crushed by gas prices, inflation, a border crisis, and rising crime, the sham J6 committee is creating a primetime TV spectacle in a desperate attempt to change the narrative on Biden’s disastrous agenda. Oklahomans see right through this partisan scam. [Tweet, Jun. 9, 2022]

I support peaceful protests but not violence and destruction. People need to leave the Capitol now!

This is a national embarrassment. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Those who made this attack on our government need to be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Their actions are repugnant to democracy. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president, but today, first thing you’ll see. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough. I’ve tried to be helpful… [Rev, Jan. 6, 2021]

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to also make sure since you are on the Judiciary Committee, I asked you about what is happening right now with this pressure for the Supreme Court eventually, potentially to take on some of these cases involving the election. You said back in 2021, after the Senate impeachment trial, you said of Donald Trump, the President’s conduct is subject to the law of the land. If you believe he committed a crime, he could still be prosecuted after he’s out of office. Do you stand by that statement that Mr. Trump could be prosecuted and criminally liable?

SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah, it depends on what the conduct is. Now, if you’re doing your job as president and January 6th he was still president, trying to find out if the election, you know, was on the up and up. I think his immunity claim, I don’t know how it will- will bear out, but I think it’s a legitimate claim. But they’re prosecuting him for activity around January 6th, he didn’t break into the Capitol, he gave a fiery speech, but he’s not the first guy to ever do that. So at the end of the day, I think this case will not go to trial before the election. I think there are more legal issues around this than you can even imagine about what- what- what can a president do as president? What are the limitations of being President?

MARGARET BRENNAN: But to be clear, you do not believe that a president should be immune from prosecution if he committed a felony?

SEN. GRAHAM: Well, it depends on- right. I mean, nobody is immune from the law. But you do have presidential immunity to do your job. I mean, I have immunity to do my job under the Speech and Debate Clause. That’s what the legal issue is. This went before the nation through impeachment, he got acquitted. I think January 6th is baked into the cake. I think the Jack Smith cases are not changing the political outcome in polling. We’ll see what the court does. At the end of the day, Donald Trump is in a good position to win the Republican primary because Republicans believe he had a good presidency. And I think he can win the general election. And all these, like in Maine, knocking him off the ballot. The Secretary of State in Maine is a pretty radical person. She said the Electoral College was a product of white supremacy. No it’s a product of negotiation. Civil War was about slavery. The Electoral College was about negotiations between small states and large states.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, all this will go to the courts as you’re laying out there–

SEN. GRAHAM: Right it will. [CBS News, Dec. 31, 2023]

The violence occurring at the United States Capitol right now is simply unacceptable, and I fully condemn it.

Team Scott is safe.

God bless the U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Secret Service for protecting us. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Sen. Tim Scott said former President Donald Trump is “simply not guilty” of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol building on Jan. 6.

“The president is simply not guilty,” Scott said Monday on Fox News. “I was in the chamber when the rioters were coming over. I was taking my jacket off, my tie off, rolling my sleeves up, just in case I had to fight. The chances of me understanding and appreciating the severity of the situation is 100%. The one person I don’t blame is President Trump.”

“The Democrats should put the blame where it stands, where it should be,” Scott said Monday on Fox News. “And it does not have to do with the president who said go ‘peacefully’ to protest.” [Washington Examiner, Feb. 9, 2021]

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who was present in the Capitol on Jan. 6, said last week that he would “only hold responsible the very people who threatened my life, and the former president did not threaten my life.” [Axios, Jul. 24, 2023]

“Would you call the people who are now facing prosecution ‘hostages’?” she pressed.

“I would say that every single person facing our justice system should have justice done,” he offered. “The facts and the evidence in each individual case matters. I have confidence that that process will play out. Here’s what I said also in the book that I wrote. I talked about January 6th because I’m one of the few people who was actually there. With the people outside, 99 percent of the people who showed up were there to exercise their First Amendment rights. What I said then is what I’ll say now. I don’t hold those people at harm. I don’t hold them responsible for the actions of a few. I do hold the few responsible.”

“So, to use your words, ‘the few,’ who are being prosecuted and going through the justice system, would you call them hostages?” Bash pressed.

“I believe that our Department of Justice should allow a jury of our peers to make the decisions. That’s America,” he replied, once again avoiding the question.

“So just to be clear, and I want to move on, you disagree with Donald Trump calling them hostages, it sounds like,” the CNN host asked again.

“For the third time, I believe that we should have confidence in restoring the blindfold to Lady Justice’s eyes,” Scott replied. [Raw Story, Jan. 21, 2024]

Today has been a sad day for America.
The violent behavior at the Capitol is inexcusable and disgusting, but we won’t be deterred from our Constitutional duty.
We need to work together to protect our democracy.
Please pray for our country. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“The impeachment trial is over and former President Trump has been acquitted. My vote to acquit should not be viewed as exoneration for his conduct on January 6, 2021, or in the days and weeks leading up to it. What former President Trump did to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power is inexcusable.

“But he is no longer president. The Constitution is clear that the primary purpose of impeachment is removal from office, and that’s what I believe the Founders intended. I have great concerns with the Senate punishing a private citizen with the sole intent of disqualifying him from holding future office. Our Founders designed impeachment to be an extreme remedy and cautioned against its use as a political weapon. We should heed their caution. In our democracy, matters of representation should be left with the people, as the Founders intended.

“I have faith in the American people and the strength of our democracy.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

As a nation, we should stand together in opposition to the violent acts & lawlessness that occurred at the US Capitol today. Violence & destruction are never the answer-we are better than this. It’s past time for cooler heads to prevail. I continue to pray for our great country. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“I’ve said all along that impeaching former President Trump is a moot point as the Constitution is clear that removal from office is the primary purpose of impeachment. Our Founding Fathers intended the process of impeachment to remove public officials from office, not to punish private citizens. After carefully listening to every minute of the presentations made by the House Managers and the former president’s legal team, I am convinced that the Senate does not have jurisdiction to render a judgement against the former president. Therefore, I voted not guilty. It is now time to get back to the work of the American people.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

I have always believed in peaceful protesting. What is happening at the U.S. Capitol right now is not peaceful, this is violence. I condemn it in the strongest terms. We are a nation of laws and this must stop. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“Yesterday was a shocking day of lawlessness. We watched in horror as rioters breached the security of both Houses of Congress and inflicted significant property damage upon those historical halls.

“Our Republic will rise above the chaos that ensued yesterday in the Capitol. These violent assaults on our democratic processes threaten to unwind the fabric of this country. As Americans, we must unite in our commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law.

“We are grateful for the heroic law enforcement officials who helped restore peace, allowing us to complete our work. Last night we reconvened with our Senate colleagues to fulfill our constitutional duty to certify the 2020 election results and prepare for a peaceful transition of power. On January 20th, we will prove to the world that America is still the shining city on the hill.” [Joint Statement, Jan. 7, 2021]

Carmichael: Senator, I have a question in regard to January 6. There’s evidence that now comes out that the FBI had people inserted in these groups. And some of the reports I’ve read is that the FBI was actually helping to insight the riot. Do you all have any information that the riot that happened was contrived?

Hagerty: Crom, this is very disturbing. I’ve heard the same reports that you have. I would actually be meeting with FBI Director Wray today. We have very, very strong reason to be concerned as a nation when we find out how the intelligence community has been abused, how law enforcement has been abused, and we need to get to the bottom of this.

Do we know the answers to this with certainty today? No. But are these serious serious questions? Absolutely, Crom.

Leahy: Well, that’s breaking some news that we didn’t know – that you’re meeting with the FBI director today. [Tennessee Star, Jun. 24, 2021]

These actions at the US Capitol by protestors are truly despicable and unacceptable. While I am safe and sheltering in place, these protests are prohibiting us from doing our constitutional duty. I condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We are a nation of laws. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

To the protestors that have breached the Capitol building: you are disrupting the democratic process. You should be ashamed of yourself. This is violence. This is a crime. It must stop. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

Today’s impeachment trial is being staged for partisan political purposes as millions of families struggle to find jobs and make ends meet,” said Senator Blackburn. “Congressional Democrats are opening up a Pandora’s box and wasting tax dollars and legislative time in the process. This will not help rebuild trust with the American people.” [Statement, Feb. 9, 2021]

The House Impeachment Managers launched an unconstitutional show trial to humiliate the former President and his supporters. The Impeachment Managers have accomplished nothing but to extend the pain of the American people. They achieved one thing – Donald J. Trump’s acquittal. [Tweet, Feb. 13, 2021 | Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

Today we all grieve for this brave officer and his family, whose life was needlessly lost because of Wednesday’s violent and preventable attack on the Capitol.

USCP put their lives on the line every day to protect us, our staff, reporters, and visitors to the Capitol. Their heroic work, and that of supporting law enforcement agencies, ensured we could complete our work and preserve our Democracy. + LINK [Tweet Thread, Jan. 8, 2021]

What happened on January 6th, and I was there in the Senate chamber, was wrong,” he said. “It demonstrates what happens when you get a group of people together, a large mob, and really it’s the lowest common denominator characterizes the whole effort.” Senator Cornyn said former President Trump had the right to say what he said prior to that riot about the election being stolen.

…

Senator Cornyn is not part of the growing group of Republicans falling in line with the former President’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen. “I believe Joe Biden won the election,” he said. “President Trump had about 60 different lawsuits that were unsuccessful in changing the outcome and the Constitution says the new President should be sworn in on January 20th and Joe Biden was.” [Click 2 Houston, Oct. 16, 2021]

Violence is always unacceptable. Even when passions run high.

Anyone engaged in violence—especially against law enforcement—should be fully prosecuted.

God bless the Capitol Police and the honorable men & women of law enforcement who show great courage keeping all of us safe. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“The attack at the Capitol was a despicable act of terrorism and a shocking assault on our democratic system. The Department of Justice should vigorously prosecute everyone who was involved in these brazen acts of violence. I thank the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police and all other law enforcement agencies who responded to restore peace…” [Statement, Jan. 7, 2021 | Tweet, Jan. 7, 2021]

Yesterday, I used a dumb choice of words and unfortunately a lot of people are misunderstanding what I meant. + VIDEO

I was NOT calling the thousands of peaceful protestors on Jan 6 terrorists. I would never do so; I have repeatedly, explicitly said the OPPOSITE—denouncing the Democrats’ shameful efforts to do so & to try to paint every Trump voter in America as “terrorists” & “insurrectionists”

I was ONLY talking about the limited number of people who committed violent assaults on police officers.

For over a decade, I’ve referred to those who violently attack police officers as terrorists. If you assault a cop you should go to jail.

The snippet from yesterday didn’t include my passionate & repeated defense of the patriots and peaceful protestors supporting President Trump. I’m sorry that that 20-second clip led so many to misunderstand what I was saying. [Tweet Thread, Jan. 6, 2022]

The American people deserve to know the precise level of culpability the federal government bears for January 6.

Yet the Biden DOJ and FBI remain dug in and are adamantly opposed to any accountability!

The FBI could answer this question… #Verdict [Tweet, Mar. 8, 2023]

The violence at the United States Capitol is completely unacceptable. It is time for the protesters to disperse.

My staff and I are safe. We are working to finish our constitutional duty to finish counting votes today.

God bless the Capitol Police keeping us all safe. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

I don’t understand why any senator — Republican or Democrat — would be “outraged” by your reporting on public surveillance camera footage from January 6th, especially given that the footage in question raises legitimate questions that need to be answered. + @TuckerCarlson [Quote Tweet, Mar. 8, 2023]

I walk through these doors every day—several times a day.

I’ve never seen this happen. + @CitizenFreePres Tweet [Quote Tweet, Nov. 17, 2023]

We need to investigate the J6 committee. [Tweet, Nov. 18, 2023]

Given the evidence they apparently suppressed, how much footage (and how many other records) do you think Nancy Pelosi and the J6 committee deliberately lost or destroyed? [Tweet, Nov. 18, 2023]

Liz, we’ve seen footage like that a million times.

You made sure we saw that—and nothing else.

It’s the other stuff—what you deliberately hid from us—that we find so upsetting.

Nice try.

P.S. How many of these guys are feds? (As if you’d ever tell us). + @Liz_Cheney Tweet [Quote Tweet, Nov. 18, 2023]

I can’t wait to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about this at our next oversight hearing.

I predict that, as always, his answers will be 97% information-free. + @DerrickEvans4WV Tweet [Quote Tweet, Nov. 18, 2023]

Why didn’t Liz Cheney and Adam Kizinger ever refer to any of these tapes?

Maybe they never looked for them.

Maybe they never even questioned their own narrative.

Maybe they were just too busy selectively leaking the text messages of Republicans they wanted to defeat. + @charliekirk11 Tweet [Quote Tweet, Nov. 18, 2023]

Remember: the people who helped hide the J6 tapes are cut out of the same cloth as those who will tell you that FISA 702 must be reauthorized without reforms—“because search warrants require too much effort.”

Here are two pictures of what some of those people look like: + Image [Tweet, Nov. 18, 2023]

Taxpayer dollars funded the sham J6 committee. [Tweet, Nov. 18, 2023]

Not one person has been charged with insurrection in connection with Jan. 6th.

Not. Even. One.

Libs STILL insist on keeping Trump off the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Even if he were guilty of insurrection—he isn’t—that provision STILL wouldn’t apply to him. [Tweet, Dec. 29, 2023]

This is the United States of America. This needs to stop right now. We don’t do this. It’s not who we are. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“January 6, 2021 was a terrible day in our nation’s history, and it was a dark day for our democracy. We live in the greatest country on earth that allows us to express our opinions freely, but what occurred at the Capitol a year ago today was shattering to the American conscience, and it is not who we are as a country. Since this horrific day, I have been and continue to be supportive of efforts—through my role on the Senate Rules Committee—to make sure we are instituting changes in our security and safety measures to prevent such an attack from occurring ever again. Through multiple hearings, discussions with countless on-duty Capitol Police officers, coordination with all relevant government agencies, and a review of thousands of documents, Congress has and continues to take its oversight role seriously in investigating the buildup and fallout from January 6 in a bipartisan way. One of the biggest takeaways from January 6 for me is that we will not be intimidated and bullied. We live in the best country on earth that stands for great principles. We are going to live up to these principles as a country and make sure that we protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our country.” [Statement, Jan. 6, 2022]

Please, if you are in or around the Capitol, respect law enforcement and peacefully disperse. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

The Capitol Police have acted with incredible professionalism. I sincerely thank them for their service and condemn all lawless activity. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“This didn’t seem like an armed insurrection to me,” the Oshkosh Republican said in an interview on WISN-AM with conservative talk radio show host Jay Weber, after condemning the events at the U.S. Capitol that day.

“I mean ‘armed,’ when you hear ‘armed,’ don’t you think of firearms? Here’s the questions I would have liked to ask. How many firearms were confiscated? How many shots were fired? I’m only aware of one and I’ll defend that law enforcement officer for taking that shot. It was a tragedy, OK? But I think there was only one.”

…

“To call that an armed insurrection, it was the most pitiful armed insurrection anybody could ever possibly imagine,” Johnson said in an appearance on WTAQ, one of at least three interviews Monday with conservative radio hosts.

“The one guy in the Senate chambers there, he had plastic wrist ties. What was he expecting to do? Literally go up to Mike Pence and capture him? It’s absurd.”

…

In his interview on WISN, Johnson criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for saying Trump provoked the crowd and was morally responsible for the attack. McConnell made his floor speech after voting against conviction because he said he didn’t think the Senate could convict a president who had already left office.

Johnson said he didn’t appreciate McConnell making his remarks because he didn’t believe most Senate Republicans felt the way McConnell does.

“You’ve got our leader out there really representing himself, and that’s his right to do, but at the same time, he has to realize as our leader, what he says reflects on us,” Johnson said. “I didn’t particularly like it.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 15, 2021]

“On January 6th, I never felt threatened, of course I didn’t see the violence I condemned it immediately,” said Johnson.

The Senator didn’t directly answer if he watched the primetime hearing.

“It’s just a highly partisan exercise, it’s really not getting at the truth of the matter, ” said Johnson.

He explained how he steered clear of the violence.

“You did not feel unsafe that day, did you watch the hearings last night?” asked WISN 12 News reporter Hillary Mintz.

“First of all, as always I tell the truth, so on January 6th I was sitting in the Senate chamber and they closed the doors and said people have breached the Capitol, so in my mind I thought a couple crazies got past security and running around, and within 5, 10 minutes they opened the doors, escorted us out and I walked back to my office,” Johnson responded.

The committee says President Trump’s inaction allowed the attack to press on. Johnson blamed the breach on a lack of security.

“Why didn’t they provide proper security when they knew there was going to be tens of thousands of people protesting and coming to the Capitol?” said Johnson. [WISN, Jul. 26, 2022]

Johnson again contended he didn’t regard the incident as an “armed insurrection,” despite video footage and photos of the attack showing participants erecting gallows, deploying pepper spray, hurling a fire extinguisher, using baseball bats to smash windows, and throwing flags like spears at police officers.

“Now some of the protesters did teach us all how you can use flagpoles and that kind of stuff as weapons,” Johnson said. “But to call what happened on January 6 an armed insurrection, I just think is not accurate.”

He said protesters “stayed within the rope lines” in the Capitol Rotunda and that Congress reopened around six hours after the riots and the Electoral College votes were counted. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Oct. 4, 2022]

Call it what it is: An attack on the Capitol is an attack on democracy. Today we are trying to use the democratic process to address grievances. This violence inhibits our ability to do that. Violent protests were unacceptable this summer and are unacceptable now. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

“From the start, I made it clear that I believed this exercise was an unconstitutional distraction that prevented Congress from addressing the very real issues that Wyoming citizens are dealing with. While we spent a week on a political sideshow to which we already knew the ending (acquittal), Congress could have been working on a bipartisan COVID relief package to help struggling businesses in Wyoming. We could have been working to safely reopen schools as health experts recommend. We could have been marking up the POWER Act to ensure American energy independence. Instead, we spent the last week trying to impeach a private citizen from an office he no longer holds – at the expense of American taxpayers.”

“With this trial, I fear Democrats have sent a dangerous precedent that enables any former President to be subjected to this spectacle all in the name of political theater. The people of Wyoming deserve better.” [Statement, Feb. 13, 2021]

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who was among a small fraction of GOP senators to oppose the certification of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election results, also expressed little interest in the Jan. 6 commission, according to a statement from spokeswoman Abegail Cave.

“Senator Lummis is intent on moving forward from the events on Jan. 6,” she said in an email Thursday. “The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security are working diligently to bring those who infiltrated the Capitol to justice, and a partisan commission would do nothing to aid them in those efforts.” [Jackson Hole News & Guide, May 22, 2021]

This violence and destruction have no place in our republic.  It must end now. [Tweet, Jan. 6, 2021]

STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, I want to ask you about President Trump. As you know, Jon Karl, our chief Washington correspondent, had an interview with President Trump he released this week where the president seems to defend those who were saying “hang Mike Pence” on January 6th. I want to show it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JON KARL, ABC NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Were you worried about him during that siege? Were you worried about his safety?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: No. I thought he was well-protected and I had heard that he was in good shape.

KARL: Because you heard those chants. That was terrible. I mean, you know, those —

TRUMP: He could have — well, the people were very angry.

KARL: They were saying “hang Mike Pence”.

TRUMP: Because it’s common sense — how can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right, how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: So he says, hang Mike Pence is common sense.

Can your party tolerate a leader who defends murderous chants against his own vice president?

BARRASSO: Well — well, let me just say, the Republican Party is incredibly united right now and it’s because of the policies of this administration. And I think the more that the Democrats and the press becomes obsessed with President Trump, I think the better it is for the Republican Party. President Trump brings lots of energy to the party. He’s an enduring force.

But elections are about the future, not the past. And that’s what we saw in Virginia and all across the country. And the Republican policies and the Trump policies of a strong economy and American energy, not begging Vladimir Putin to produce more oil, which is what Joe Biden is doing, those are policies that we’re going to continue to run on in the future.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you have no problem with the president saying, hang Mike Pence is common sense?

BARRASSO: I was with Mike Pence in the Senate chamber during January 6th. And what happened was they quickly got Vice President Pence out of there, certainly a lot faster than they removed the senators. I believed he was safe the whole time. I didn’t hear any of those chants. I don’t believe that he did either. And Vice President Pence came back into the chamber that night and certified the election.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, we just played the chants. I’m asking if you — if you believe — if you can tolerate the president saying, hang Mike Pence is common sense?

BARRASSO: It’s — it’s not common sense. There are issues of every election. I voted to certify the election. And what we have seen on this election, there are areas that needed to be looked into, like what we saw in Pennsylvania. We all want fair and free elections. That’s where we need to go for the future.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you’re not going to criticize President Trump for those views?

BARRASSO: I don’t agree with President Trump on everything. I agree with him on the policies that have brought us the best economy in our — my lifetime. And I’m going to continue to support those policies and continuing to work to stop what Joe Biden is doing to this country, which I believe is almost irreversibly bad. [ABC News, Nov. 14, 2021]