By Aaron Miller-
Former President Donald Trump post on Twitter one of his many baseless claims about the presidential election, alleging that it was “statistically impossible” for him to have lost to Joe Biden, influenced extremist groups, the January 6 Committee have suggested.
The twitter in question read :“Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Trump tweeted then. “Be there, will be wild!”
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That tweet invited far-right militant groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers as well as other violent extremists who were part of the pro-Trump mob that overran the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to block the certification of Biden’s electoral college win, members of the House select committee investigating the insurrection said Sunday.
The effect of that tweet — as well as other messages from Trump and his allies will be the subject of the January 6 committee resumes its public hearings. Tuesday’s session will focus on Trump’s connections to those far-right and political extremist groups.
“People are going to hear the story of that tweet, and then the explosive effect it had in Trumpworld, and specifically among the domestic violent extremist groups, the most dangerous political extremists in the country at that point,” Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”
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Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), who is scheduled to lead Tuesday’s hearing with Raskin, said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” described the Dec. 19 tweet as “siren call” to those groups that Jan. 6 would be a “last stand” to keep Trump in power.
She added that Trump had already mounted a broad and ongoing pressure campaign — on Vice President Mike Pence, the Justice Department and state election officials — to help overturn the election results, and his tweet amounted to a call for those violent groups to provide “additional support” leading up to Jan. 6.
Trump had also announced during a rally preceding the Capitol Hill
Committee members also confirmed on Sunday that they had received a letter from a lawyer for former Trump chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon stating that Bannon will waive his claim of executive privilege and testify at a public hearing.
Bannon was indicted on charges of contempt of Congress last year after refusing to comply with the committee’s subpoena.
Bannon could still assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and may insist on conditions, such as testifying on live TV rather than in a closed-door deposition, that committee members may not want to agree to.
Raskin said Sunday that the committee would be “very interested” in hearing from Bannon, but indicated it was unlikely that his initial testimony would be public.
The hearing on Tuesday will be the committee’s first since Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, gave bombshell testimony about Trump’s rage and inaction on the day of the Capitol attack.
Hutchinson testified on June 28 that Trump knew that some of his supporters were armed but urged them to march on the Capitol anyway, and that Trump had told Meadows to talk to some of his aides who had relationships with far-right militia groups.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said Sunday it would be “a logical conclusion” that Trump was aware the mob that day included members of those violent extremist groups.
“We are going to be connecting the dots during these hearings between these groups and those who are trying in government circles to overturn the election,” Lofgren said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “So we do think that this story is unfolding in a way that is very serious and quite credible.”
In a closed-door hearing on Friday, Cipollone testified before the committee for eight hours, providing information that “corroborated key elements of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony,” committee spokesman Tim Mulvey said in a statement Sunday.
Hutchinson had testified that Cipollone sought to prevent Trump from traveling to the Capitol on Jan. 6 with his supporters, fearing criminal liability and telling her “something to the effect of: ‘Please make sure we don’t go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. Keep in touch with me. We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen.’’
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