Maybe it's a good idea to separate people into two batches: the public stonewallers and the private testifiers.
CNN's Zachary Cohen goes into detail on each of the
five known people who are stonewalling -- either defying the committee or planning to plead the Fifth Amendment and seek protection against self-incrimination.
RELATED: Here's what pleading the Fifth is and what it means for the January 6th Committee
You've probably heard of all of the stonewallers:
- Steve Bannon -- Trump's one-time chief strategist. The committee wants to know about his involvement in the "so-called war room of Trump allies at the Willard hotel in Washington in early January," Cohen writes. Bannon's contempt of Congress trial is set for July 18.
- Meadows -- the self-described chief's chief who is now at odds with the committee over what exactly is covered by Trump's claim of executive privilege. Cohen notes, "There is also a growing body of evidence indicating Meadows played a direct role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election."
- Jeffrey Clark -- the former Justice Department official most closely tied to Trump just before the insurrection. Clark wanted the Department of Justice to more actively question election results and intervene in key swing states like Georgia.
- John Eastman -- the conservative lawyer who hatched the bonkers legal strategy that Pence had the constitutional authority to interrupt the certification of the election results. Eastman appeared for a deposition with the committee Thursday but may be pleading the Fifth.
- Roger Stone -- the dirty trickster who Trump pardoned after he was convicted of lying to Congress and who encouraged supporters to march on the Capitol on January 6. Stone plans to plead the Fifth.
As the committee quietly works toward accountability, the rest of the political world is, for now, carrying on with life. And elections are approaching.
A primary in Georgia. As the House committee looks at whether Trump and officials in his administration tried to overturn election results in Georgia, a Trump ally and former senator, David Perdue, announced a primary challenge to the state's sitting Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Perdue says he wouldn't have signed off on the 2020 election results. CNN's Chris Cillizza writes that
election rejection is now a must for aspiring Republican candidates.
Pence in New Hampshire. While his former staffers were in Washington cooperating with the January 6 committee, CNN's Randi Kaye literally
ran into Pence in New Hampshire. New Hampshire! It traditionally holds the first-in-the-nation primary. Pence wouldn't say if he'll be running for President in 2024. But it's early.
Will Trump run again? CNN's Gabby Orr writes that Trump's lack of commitment on whether he'll run has
frozen the GOP field in place.
Asked by conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt
if he might not run, Trump said, "If I do decide that, I think my base is going to be very angry."
So it at least sounds like he's running in the next presidential election. Which makes the inquiry into the effort to overturn the last election all the more important.
www.cnn.com
www.nationalpriorities.org
