Excellent article with great timeline posted in this
original NEWSWEEK article that is easy to follow
and comprehend with this headline:
“I
Can't Afford a Big Frontal Attack on the President”
Mitch McConnell Confided
However, this one aspect from the analysis bothers me.
We now see more and more senior Republicans who were anti-Trump “Big Lie” non-supporters behind the scenes coming out now, yet they were afraid to stand up to him in public before now.
They somehow were afraid of him and could not find the courage and honor and dignity to stand up and let the people whom they serve all across the country see and know just how dangerous and off the rails Trump truly was leading up to January 6.
Sadly,
many of them are still that way today.
This NEWSWEEK article lays out facts that support my contention that I just stated above that follows (edited format to fit the blog):
The introduction in this daily series, Newsweek explores the steps
that led to the January
6 Capitol Riot.
On Monday, November 23, 2020 Attorney
General William Barr met with President Trump in the Oval
Office, the first time the two had met or even spoken since mid-October. He had
been one of Trump's most loyal cabinet members and an unquestioned
conservative.
A White House aide had called Barr to tell him that the president was displeased that he hadn't heard from him.
According to the Bob Woodward & Robert Costa book: “Peril,” Barr went to the White House where Trump complained about election fraud, telling Barr that he had heard that the DOJ was “hanging back.”
Trump then asked
Barr why Justice wasn't looking into the fraud reports.
Barr straight forward answered: “It's not our role to take sides
between you and the other candidate. That's what we have elections to decide.”
Trump insisted that Justice should investigate, that there was a “Crime of sufficient magnitude that could affect the outcome.”
Barr agreed that Justice would look into
allegations on a “case-by-case basis.”
Noteworthy: Barr had already instructed U.S. Attorneys around the
nation to review all credible allegations of substantial fraud.
Sixteen Assistant U.S.
Attorneys in fifteen districts urged Barr to cease the investigation because
there was no evidence of irregularities.
Richard Pilger, head of the Justice Department's election crimes
branch, resigned in protest saying the investigations turned up nothing.
According to Carol Leonnig
and Philip Rucker in their book: “I Alone Can Fix It,” Barr told his senior deputies: “At some point someone was going to have to
say that the emperor has no clothes. The question was when.”
None of that was conveyed to the president, who continued to
tighten his circle. From the outside Barr looked like a Trump apologist, or
even co-conspirator, though the evidence now suggests that Barr was just
humoring the president.
At the White House
that day, Barr urged Trump to protect his legacy, to focus on all the great
things you've accomplished, saying: “Be
positive. Then go down to Georgia and make sure the Republicans
hold the Senate.”
Barr was reportedly so alarmed by Trump's mindset from the meeting, he told the White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner that things were “getting out of hand.”
Those two assured Barr him that the president was easing into his defeat, as evidenced by his outward support of the beginning of transition preparations for President-elect Joe Biden.
Jonathan Karl in his
new book “Betrayal:
The Final Act of the Trump Show,” Barr
told him: “I had no motive to
suppress any actual evidence of fraud or impropriety. But my suspicion all the
way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullshit.”
Barr then spoke to Mitch McConnell, the GOP Senate
majority leader who hadn't spoken up and was therefore portrayed as pro-Trump,
but was actually one of the few high-level elected officials who was thinking
strategically at the time, his actions matching his words.
McConnell told Barr they still needed Trump to focus on
Georgia ahead of the January 5 runoff election that would determine if
Republicans held the Senate or not, telling
Barr: “I can't afford a big frontal
attack on the president at this point.”
According to both “Betrayal” and “Peril,” McConnell felt
that he couldn't declare Joe Biden the winner, fearful that his pronouncement
would provoke Donald Trump into doing something like sabotage the Georgia race,
or worse as he pleaded with Barr saying: “You're in a better position to inject
some reality into this situation. You are really the only one who can do it.”
Barr responded: “I understand that, and I'm going to do it at the appropriate time.”
Over the next few days, McConnell urged Barr saying: “Come
out and shoot down the talk of widespread fraud. Bill, I look around, and you
are the only person who can do it.”
A week later, all of his ducks in order, Barr broke with the
president.
Then rumors were flying all over that Trump was going to
fire Barr and he was told not to. Then, Barr submitted
his resignation with only five weeks left in the Trump administration
My insert: To save what
little face he still had left I suppose?
READ MORE
· This Trump Advisor Used the Word Transition — and
Scuttled Out of Town
· The “Silent Coup Against Trump” Emerged in a Super-Secure
Meeting Room
My 2 Cents: Nothing to add to the fine reporting – simply to say I hope the House Select has the goods on Trump and he is never again anywhere near the White House or Oval Office.
America deserves better and the sooner those who still stick by him and see him
for who and what he truly is: One giant Con, the better for the country.
That will be better
for all of us and enable us to again move forward out of this darkness like we have in our past so
many times. At least in my humble view – I hope you agree.
Thanks for stopping by.
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