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NanceGreggs

(27,815 posts)
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 09:29 AM Jan 2022

I'm Confused

I don't understand why people like Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows, et al are refusing to testify before the Jan/6 Committee.

If they have the courage of their convictions, why are they not chompin' at the bit when given the opportunity to explain to the committee - and the American people - exactly how all of their statements and actions were not only entirely legal, but were said and done in furtherance of democracy.

One would think that self-proclaimed patriots like Jim Jordan would have come forward long before now, in order to set the record straight and let the citizenry know just how diligently they've upheld the Constitution and honoured their oath of office. So why the hesitation to do so?

Come on down, Jeffrey Clark - and tell the viewers at home how convincing Georgia lawmakers to overturn their state's election results was the right thing to do. It's a story so many of us would be absolutely fascinated to hear.

Taking the 5th? That doesn't sound like something an innocent man would do under any circumstances - in fact, it sounds like I'm as guilty as sin, so please don't make me have to admit it in front of the whole class. In fact, it was Trump himself who repeatedly stated that only criminals plead the 5th - so maybe all of you should have checked-in with him before deciding to do so.

It's rather puzzling as to why the people who have insisted that everything they've said and done to keep Trump in power are now so shy about claiming credit for their efforts. It's almost as though they're afraid that having done so will land them in prison - and surely that can't be the case, when their only goal was to ensure that the guy who lost the election was declared the winner - the will of the people be damned.


50 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I'm Confused (Original Post) NanceGreggs Jan 2022 OP
You'd think kacekwl Jan 2022 #1
Thank you Nance... essaynnc Jan 2022 #2
Trump's favorite book, The Bible, The Wizard Jan 2022 #3
The way tRump reads the Bible that reads "ǝǝɹɟ noʎ ʇǝs llıʍ ɥʇnɹʇ ǝɥ⊥" CentralMass Jan 2022 #20
Do not assume The Wizard Jan 2022 #30
True. CentralMass Jan 2022 #31
D.T. reads all about himself in the Bible Grokenstein Jan 2022 #44
I read or heard once that Melania said 3825-87867 Jan 2022 #37
People who knew him have also said DENVERPOPS Jan 2022 #38
yes Evolve Dammit Jan 2022 #48
Not Mein Kampf but The Wizard Jan 2022 #50
I'm with you... agingdem Jan 2022 #4
They did what they did ... NanceGreggs Jan 2022 #7
True.. agingdem Jan 2022 #10
I think that had to be the first political film... electric_blue68 Jan 2022 #45
There sre some signs that soldierant Jan 2022 #46
Yep. +1 BeckyDem Jan 2022 #5
They are cowards. Red Pest Jan 2022 #6
Exactly! Rebl2 Jan 2022 #18
Bingo. And why aren't they charged with sedition? Evolve Dammit Jan 2022 #49
It is all out in the open, gab13by13 Jan 2022 #8
Spot on, as always, niyad Jan 2022 #9
"If they have the courage of their convictions..." They don't Maeve Jan 2022 #11
And that is the point ... NanceGreggs Jan 2022 #13
Hey, we can hope for some LEGAL convictions! Maeve Jan 2022 #32
They should follow the example of their ideological forebears... IrishAfricanAmerican Jan 2022 #12
Marking to return to rurallib Jan 2022 #14
Every American should read and arm wrestle with that logic, it is unassailable /nt bucolic_frolic Jan 2022 #15
Innocent people take the fifth. Stating otherwise is false. twodogsbarking Jan 2022 #16
Since when have Trump-humpers ... NanceGreggs Jan 2022 #17
Correct. The right to silence is essential to our justice system. TomSlick Jan 2022 #42
Thank you for stating this so well. twodogsbarking Jan 2022 #47
That's what cowardly bullies always do The Blue Flower Jan 2022 #19
Total Agreement marieo1 Jan 2022 #21
I want to hear what they envision in place of Democracy jmbar2 Jan 2022 #22
It's all fun and games and politics when they bald-faced lie on TV Mr. Ected Jan 2022 #23
Peter Navarro isn't why about claiming credit. In fact, he is trumpeting it from the rooftops. tblue37 Jan 2022 #24
The Truth shall lock them up. dchill Jan 2022 #25
Just proves the old adage. Snackshack Jan 2022 #26
I remember Nancy Pelosi answer questions for over 10 hours. multigraincracker Jan 2022 #27
Hillary did that. Not Nancy. lunatica Jan 2022 #40
Thanks. multigraincracker Jan 2022 #41
Bullies like them think only fools and weaklings follow the rules or act on their convictions. Ford_Prefect Jan 2022 #28
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Jan 2022 #29
IT'S THE MEDIA.... toughtony Jan 2022 #33
Nailed it malaise Jan 2022 #34
The key word is "courage", Nance. 11 Bravo Jan 2022 #35
I am right there with you MichaelSoE Jan 2022 #36
Fearful of Nancy Roy Rolling Jan 2022 #39
It's simple really; they know our laws and take advantage of them NullTuples Jan 2022 #43

essaynnc

(801 posts)
2. Thank you Nance...
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 09:38 AM
Jan 2022

For stating the obvious in a way that ought to get some people to think!

How do we get you essay in front of all Americans, not just DUers??

The Wizard

(12,545 posts)
3. Trump's favorite book, The Bible,
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 09:48 AM
Jan 2022

says the truth will set you free. Back then they didn't have the Fifth Amendment. So they must answer for their sedition (domestic treason). Or, it's off to Uzbekistan for extraordinary rendition. Anyone remember waterboarding? Who knows, maybe Garland has the pictures of Trump wearing a stained blue dress.

Grokenstein

(5,723 posts)
44. D.T. reads all about himself in the Bible
Thu Jan 6, 2022, 02:36 AM
Jan 2022


(Of course, this is just Hollywood; a Trump would NEVER go to a military academy.)

3825-87867

(850 posts)
37. I read or heard once that Melania said
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 06:27 PM
Jan 2022

trump kept one book on his bedside stand and that was Mein Kampf? And that was the only book he ever read?

Anybody ever hear or read that?

DENVERPOPS

(8,835 posts)
38. People who knew him have also said
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 06:38 PM
Jan 2022

he thought Hitler was brilliant...............and Hitler's strategy and tactics were incredibly well done...........

I think it was one of his first wives that spilled the beans on his bedtime reading, not Melania..........

That was before Viagara, so he probably needed something to give himself an erection..........

agingdem

(7,850 posts)
4. I'm with you...
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 09:52 AM
Jan 2022

Last edited Wed Jan 5, 2022, 08:06 PM - Edit history (1)

they wrote books, how-to manuals, PowerPoint presentations, media interviews...and now they're refusing to testify..why?..if those treasonous assholes are so damn proud of their "work" then why not sit across from the 1/6 Select Committee and justify their reasons for overturning an election and shredding the Constitution?...what are they so afraid of?...jail time, maybe, but only if Trump goes first...and we know that's not going to happen...

NanceGreggs

(27,815 posts)
7. They did what they did ...
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:04 AM
Jan 2022

... because they thought Trump would be "reinstalled" as pOTUS, and they'd be rewarded.

Sadly for them, things didn't quite pan out as expected.

As for jail time, Trump won't be "going first". Jailing his lackeys is a much easier task.

Remember that Nixon never served a day in jail - but his lackeys did.

agingdem

(7,850 posts)
10. True..
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:39 AM
Jan 2022

when I hear Navarro crow how close he and his like-minded Congress traitors came to anointing the orange cretin President For Life but for those "rambunctious tourists" blowing his carefully crafted plan to hell, I think of that 1960s movie Seven Days in May...sans the murderous riot, there are a lot of similarities...

BeckyDem

(8,361 posts)
5. Yep. +1
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:00 AM
Jan 2022

A missed opportunity on the national stage to speak of their convictions, all their efforts they could spell out in detail!

Red Pest

(288 posts)
6. They are cowards.
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:02 AM
Jan 2022

They know what they did was sedition. They failed. Now they hope to run out the clock with the expectation that the Republicans will take back the majority in the House.

gab13by13

(21,350 posts)
8. It is all out in the open,
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:12 AM
Jan 2022

Mark Meadows is the hub who was used by Trump to keep his hands clean. Meadows was the relay man who relayed Trump's wishes.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, honest people don't use burner phones and encryption to do official government business.

When the select committee gets the White House documents and correspondence, Meadow's burner phone texts better be there archived.

Maeve

(42,282 posts)
11. "If they have the courage of their convictions..." They don't
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:41 AM
Jan 2022

Neither real courage nor real convictions

NanceGreggs

(27,815 posts)
13. And that is the point ...
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:50 AM
Jan 2022

... they are inadvertently driving home.

No one says "I did what I did because I believed it to be legal, moral, and ethical - but I refuse to discuss it."

Maeve

(42,282 posts)
32. Hey, we can hope for some LEGAL convictions!
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 02:53 PM
Jan 2022

Followed by jail time...
Always enjoy agreeing with you.

IrishAfricanAmerican

(3,816 posts)
12. They should follow the example of their ideological forebears...
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 10:46 AM
Jan 2022

and stand up before the public and shout out their staunch beliefs in fascism and then commit suicide like Hermann Göring. Then I'd give some credit for at least being honest about themselves.

What they really are is cowards.



TomSlick

(11,098 posts)
42. Correct. The right to silence is essential to our justice system.
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 09:58 PM
Jan 2022

If the police read you your rights, your only response should be to ask for a lawyer. If the police ask you questions without reading your rights, test your position by asking if you may leave. If you are not allowed to leave, you are a suspect and should stay silent. It does not matter if you are innocent. To talk to the cops when you are a suspect is foolish.

There is a reason that is unusual for a criminal defendant to testify at their own trial, the risk is simply too high and innocence does not remove that risk. There can be no inference draw from exercising the right to silence. If the absence of any such inference is lost, none of us is safe from corrupt police or an overzealous prosecutor.

The right to silence for the guilty must be protected to guard it for the innocent.

marieo1

(1,402 posts)
21. Total Agreement
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 11:51 AM
Jan 2022

Thank you, NanceGreggs for sorting through all the BS for us. I always trust and value your opinion.

jmbar2

(4,888 posts)
22. I want to hear what they envision in place of Democracy
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 11:52 AM
Jan 2022

When applying for sales jobs, you might be asked, "Sell me this pen".

OK, sell me a better alternative to Democracy. Lets have that debate.

Mr. Ected

(9,670 posts)
23. It's all fun and games and politics when they bald-faced lie on TV
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 11:56 AM
Jan 2022

Put them under oath and those same lies amount to a " Go to jail, go directly to jail" card.

multigraincracker

(32,687 posts)
27. I remember Nancy Pelosi answer questions for over 10 hours.
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 12:26 PM
Jan 2022

No taking the 5th or "I don't recall". No loop holes to get out of it. She just answered question with the truth.

I think we should throw this in their face every time. A little old lady has the balls to do it, why can't they?

Thanks for the post.

Ford_Prefect

(7,901 posts)
28. Bullies like them think only fools and weaklings follow the rules or act on their convictions.
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 12:38 PM
Jan 2022

They'd throw their own mothers and grandchildren under the bus to escape punishment. Some of them already have done.

They know that what they did is indefensible morally or in any other measure because they did it out of greed rather than moral purpose. They know the big lie is just that: a con to steal the election from the voters and the Democrats in order to permanently establish the white racist theocracy they hold so dear.

They fear the truth told by anyone. It lays bare their greed and the sanctimonious scams they have been running.

toughtony

(88 posts)
33. IT'S THE MEDIA....
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 04:31 PM
Jan 2022

You can say whatever you want to the media, why? BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT UNDER OATH.

If the media doesn't push back you can just talk, and talk, and talk. You know like they do on foxnews or OANN, or newsmax. Or more recently peter navarro on MSNBC's ari melber.

11 Bravo

(23,926 posts)
35. The key word is "courage", Nance.
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 05:12 PM
Jan 2022

The slimy bottom-feeders are only comfortable when operating behind the scenes, under cover of darkness.
When it comes time to put up or shut up, they either try to hide behind the protections afforded them by a government which they tried to overthrow; or they go full Boebert/Taylor Greene - barking at the moon while spewing incoherent, insane bullshit.

On another note, Happy New Year to you, one of my all-time favorite DUers!

MichaelSoE

(1,576 posts)
36. I am right there with you
Wed Jan 5, 2022, 05:26 PM
Jan 2022
Confused or as Roget would have it
baffled
befuddled
bewildered
dazed
disorganized
distracted
muddled
perplexed
perturbed
puzzled


NullTuples

(6,017 posts)
43. It's simple really; they know our laws and take advantage of them
Thu Jan 6, 2022, 01:31 AM
Jan 2022

They don't care what it says about them; they know what they can get away with.

And from their point of view all they need to do is stall until say, 2022 when the big pause button will be pressed and then 2024 they're right back on top again.

It all ties back to the urgency of protecting our elections from the very states that are in charge of them and a SCOTUS that says it's none of their business.

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