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On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold a hearing to examine the events of Jan. 6 chaired by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). In a statement, the committee said this hearing will focus in particular on the Trump Administrations preparations in advance of January 6 and response to the attacks, and that it

will also consider the response of federal and local law enforcement agencies to the attack, and the need to establish a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission, so that Congress and the American people can fully understand the causes and circumstances that led to the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

The witnesses include:

The hearing is the first to include former high-ranking government officials who were directly involved in the events other than FBI Director Christopher Wray, who has already testified. The hearing comes after the chairs of seven House committees requested information from 16 agencies in late March. It also comes as a proposal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to create a National Commission on Jan. 6 remains under consideration, though is apparently languishing.

There is a great deal that is still unknown about the events of Jan. 6, and discrepancies in key accounts that have been made public. In particular, little is known about the actions of President Donald Trump in the crucial hours between his rally at the Ellipse, where he encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol, and hours later, when he finally called on them to stand down. There are key questions about attempts to push the Justice Department to take action on false voter fraud claims. And, there are inconsistencies and questionable omissions in the Pentagons public timeline that need to be addressed.

Below are key questions Congress should ask Rosen and Miller about the events of Jan. 6 and its immediate aftermath.

For Former Acting Defense Secretary Miller:

1. In prepared remarks on Jan. 7, President Trump said, I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders.Is that true?

Background: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows also told Sean Hannity that Trump acted quickly to deploy the National Guard on Jan. 6 and that Miller could back up that account.

2. Can you state on what occasions you or your office spoke to Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, or Meadows about the events of Jan. 6, from that day until you left office? How would you characterize those conversations?

Background: Millers chief of staff Kash Patel has said, I was talking to [White House chief of staff, Mark] Meadows, nonstop that day.

3. You apparently told a reporter that you did not try to contact Trump on Jan. 6; however, the reporter quoted another senior defense official who said, They couldnt get through. They tried to call him. Under oath now, did you or your office try to contact President Trump on Jan. 6? If so, what came of those efforts?

4. In a video interview, you said to a reporter, Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the presidents speech? I think its pretty much definitive that wouldnt have happened. It seems cause-and-effect, you said. Since those statements, have you been in touch with former President Trump, or anyone directly associated with him about your remarks? What was their response?

5. In a video interview, you sought to downplay concerns about the timeframe for the response at the Capitol. You said It comes back to understanding how the military works this isnt a video game, its not Halo, its not Black Ops Call of Duty,' suggesting expectations about the speed of response were not reasonable. Since those comments, do you continue to believe that the response that day was as fast as it could have been?

6. How do you contend with D.C. Guard Commander William Walkers testimony that he had a Quick Reaction Force on standby but was specifically not given the authority to deploy it?

7. How do you contend with Major General Walkers testimony in which he said, Its a long standing process, but it can work in minutes. So for example, during the first week of June, the secretary of the Army was with me. I watched him call the Secretary of Defense [Esper] and consult with the Attorney General and respond back to me with an approval within minutes?

8. Specifically, what obstacles prevented DOD from responding more quickly to the attack on the Capitol? Were there bureaucratic steps that could be streamlined? Could individuals in the chain of command have been more responsive? Were any orders or directives issued that delayed response?

9. What explains the 36-minute gap between the time you conveyed final authorization to the Army for deployment of the National Guard and the Armys leadership informing Walker of the approval?

Background: In a Senate hearing, senior Pentagon official Robert Salesses acknowledged the failure in an exchange with Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO).

BLUNT: Hows that possible, Mr. Salessesdo you think that the decision, in the moment we were in, was made at 4:32, and the person that had to be told wasnt told for more than half an hour after the decision was made?

SALESSES: Senator, I think thatsthats an issue. There was decisions that were being made. There was communications that needed to take place. And then there was actions that had to be taken. All of that was happening at simultaneous times by different individuals. And I think that part of the challenge is that some of the delayed communications probably put some of the challenges that we had that day.

BLUNT: Well I would think so. If you have to have the communication before General Walker and the National Guard can take the action and the communication doesnt occur for over half an hour, thats a significant problem for the future if we dont figure out how the decision, the communication and the action all happen as nearly to the same time as they possibly can.

SALESSES: I agree, Senator.

10. You have been quoted as saying that Trump told you you would need 10,000 troops at the Capitol on January 6th. Why did he say this? How did you respond?

11. Who had the authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard Quick Reaction Force? Just yourself or did Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy also have the authority to do so?

12. Why did neither you nor Secretary McCarthy speak to Maj. Gen Walker that day? Was that a dereliction of leadership?

Background: Walker testified, I never talked to secretary of defense Miller and I didnt talk to the secretary of the Army.

13. Would it have been possible to remission the D.C. Guard members on traffic duty with Metropolitan Police Department to send the Guard to the Capitol when the MPD responded to urgent calls for help from U.S. Capitol Police? Did you ever receive a request for the D.C. Guard to do this?

14. On Jan. 8, during your tenure, the Department of Defense published a timeline of events leading up to and including January 6, which was later referred to by the Department of Defense in congressional testimony. Why did the Department omit significant entries in the Timeline including:

More: The DoD timeline noted one call between Walker and Sund on Jan. 6 at 1:49 p.m., but the AP reported that Sund frantically called Walker again and asked for at least 200 guard members and to send more if they are available. Why was this information left off the publicly released timeline?

15. On January 8, during your tenure, the Department of Defense published a timeline of events leading up to and including January 6, which was later referred to by the Department of Defense in written congressional testimony. The timeline states that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy was on a significant conference call at 2:22 p.m. on Jan. 6. But McCarthy subsequently told the Washington Post he was not on the call. In his testimony under oath, D.C. National Guard Commander Walker told the Senate, We dialed in trying to get the Secretary of the Army on the call but he wasnt available.

Is the DoD timeline accurate? Was there a subsequent conversation in which McCarthy did not participate?

16. Why did the Army initially falsely deny that Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn participated in the 2:22pm call with D.C. leadership and U.S. Capitol Police? Was it a bungled approach to fears of political fallout should his participation become public?

Background: The brother of Trumps former national security adviser Michael Flynn was on the call, although his participation in this key meeting was initially strongly and repeatedly denied by the Army for several days. HE WAS NOT IN ANY OF THE MEETINGS! an Army official said, for example, in an email to The Post. The Army and Flynn later admitted he was on the call.

17. Did Maj. Gen. Timothy Gowen, the adjutant general of the Maryland National Guard, get rebuffed by the Pentagon. The general ... kept running it up the flagpole, and we dont have authorization, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has said.

18. What steps were taken to preserve documents related to the events of Jan. 6? If no steps were taken, why not?

19. In the aftermath of the attack, did anyone at the White House or DOD attempt to scope or limit the degree to which DOD or DOD personnel cooperated with congressional investigations into the Jan. 6 attacks?

20. In the past year, we have seen menacing and/or violent protests at the U.S. Capitol, as well as state capitols and government buildings (e.g., Michigan). Is the Department of Defense adequately prepared to respond to threats beyond the U.S. Capitol?

21. According to the AP, an internal DoD timeline states that Vice President Mike Pence urgently called you at 4:08 p.m. Pence said the Capitol was not secure and he asked military leaders for a deadline for securing the building, according to the AP. Clear the Capitol, Pence demanded. Was it unusual for you to receive any such order (or however you would like to characterize it) from the vice president who is not in the chain of command? Why were you receiving such communications from the vice president but not from the president?

Background: On Jan. 6, Miller also released a statement saying, Chairman Milley and I just spoke separately with the Vice President and with Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Senator Schumer and Representative Hoyer about the situation at the U.S. Capitol. Reporters noted that absent from the list of individuals was Trump.

For former Acting Attorney General Rosen:

1. Can you state on what occasions you spoke to President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, or Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about the events of Jan. 6, from that day until you left office? How would you characterize those conversations?

2. What steps were taken to preserve documents related to the Jan. 6 events, including documents in the custody of DOJ, other agencies, or the White House? If no steps were taken, why not?

3. In the aftermath of the attack, did anyone at the White House or DOJ attempt to scope or limit the degree to which DOJ personnel cooperated with congressional investigations into the Jan. 6 attacks?

4. It has been reported that a Justice Department lawyer, Jeffrey Clark, devised a plan with former President Trump to oust you from your position as acting attorney general and to put pressure on Georgia state lawmakers to overturn that states election results. Other Justice department lawyers apparently made a pact to resign in a bid to protect your job, and reportedly you met with Trump and Clark in the White House, where the president pressed you to appoint special counsels to look into false voter fraud claims. What can you tell us about these conversations, and about the presidents intentions?

5. When you reminded President Trump that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, what did he say?

6. You were reportedly concerned that Clark, the Justice Department lawyer, believed false conspiracy theories about the election, and that he was acting on that information. What prompted those concerns?

7. It was also reported that when Trump was considering replacing you in order to pursue false claims of voter fraud, that he wanted the Justice Department to ask the Supreme Court to invalidate Bidens victory. Can you characterize the nature of that request, and the reasoning and justification the president, Clark, or others involved in the discussion used?

8. Were you aware that former interim U.S. attorney Michael Sherwin was at the Ellipse and walked alongside rally participants to the Capitol on Jan. 6th? If so, when did you become aware? Was he acting within the scope of his authority?

Editors Note: You can read more about the Defense Departments public timeline and what it appears to have omitted here.

Read more from the original source:
Investigating Jan. 6 Key Unanswered Questions for Congress and Media to Ask - Just Security

If Pence is seeking solidarity, however, it has not entirely been reciprocated. Since January 6, Trump and Pence have talked more than five times, according to a Pence aide, including three this month. But the two have mostly gone their own separate and distinct ways. And Trump aides say they are not keeping tabs on his political machinations like they are for other leading Republicans. Indeed, a handful of those contacted for this piece confided that they had no idea Pence was making his post-White House debut on Thursday.

The Vice Presidents foray into 2024 politics will be met with a more reserved golf clap, said a former Trump senior administration official, who described Trumps relationship with Pence as cordial but not intimate.

Inside Trumpworld, there is a sense that Pence no longer has the utility he once did. When he was chosen as Trumps running mate in 2016, it was in large part because of his appeal to evangelical conservative voters and the need to sooth over the GOP establishment. But political advisers to the 45th president see evangelicals as one of his most steadfast voting blocs now. And Trump himself has replaced or driven out the establishment that once recoiled at him.

Former President Donald Trump walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House while departing for a Merry Christmas campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

I like Mike Pence. I think he was a great VP. A great guy, said a former campaign aide. But the reality is a large portion of the Trump base doesn't like him or care about him. He wasn't a liability [in 2020]. But was he an asset? Sure. He could give good interviews. But his ability to attract new voters wasn't really there.

As they ponder another run for the presidency in 2024, Trump aides have discussed people other than Pence to serve in the VP candidate role (assuming Trump wins the nomination). On Thursday morning, Fox Business Maria Bartiromo floated the name of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a potential sidekick in the next presidential election, a suggestion Trump did not rule out.

A lot of people like that you know, Im just saying what I read and what you read they love that ticket, Trump said on Fox News. But certainly, Ron would be considered. Hes a great guy.

And when asked about the future of the Republican party on The Truth with Lisa Boothe podcast, Trump skipped Pences name in favor of singling out others like South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Penny Nance, CEO and President of the conservative group Concerned Women for America, said Pence looms large as someone we know and trust and supported very strongly in the past four years. Nance, who worked closely with the White House on conservative issues, also said, I dont think hes the only one I havent endorsed anyone but he is someone who has a lot of respect among evangelical Christian voters.

While some in Trumps own circle are skeptical of Pence assuming the MAGA mantle, according to a March survey from GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, the former VP is the top pick among Republican voters for a presidential ballot without Trump.

I think if Pence got into a Trumpless field hed be a top-tier candidate but he wouldnt be the only top-tier candidate, said a former Trump adviser. Would it surprise me to see Mike Pence heading up Heritage instead of running for president or being the GOP nominee in 2024? No.

Pences political career and deep network within the evangelical conservative corners of the Republican party has been carefully built up over the years, as a talk radio host, congressman from Indiana, governor of the state, and a sobering force on the 2016 Republican presidential ticket. Over the course of Trumps tumultuous four years in office, he stood by Trumps side through repeated controversy. The belief among Pence aides was that Trump supporters would reward him for that loyalty.

January 6 has changed that, sullying Pences reputation among the MAGA crowd and Trump, who told Republican donors behind closed doors earlier this month he was disappointed in his vice president for not doing more to stop election certification.

View original post here:
Mike Pence reemerges. But Trumpworld is moving on. - POLITICO

EXCLUSIVE In a move that will spark further 2024 speculation, former Vice President Mike Pence will headline a major Republican Party dinner and fundraising event in early June inNew Hampshire, the state that for a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House, Fox News has learned.

Pence will headline the Hillsborough County GOPs annual Lincoln Reagan awards dinner on June 3 in Manchester, New Hampshire, the political committee said.

"We are very excited to have the vice president as a our keynote speaker," Republican National Committee (RNC) member and Hillsborough County GOP Chair Chris Ager told Fox News.

2024 BUZZ SURROUNDING PENCE, BOTH SCOTTS, CHRISTIE, AND MORE

News of Pence's upcoming trip to New Hampshire comes just four days after he traveledto South Carolina, the state thatvotes third in the GOP's nominating calendar and holds the first southern contest in the presidential primaries, to give his first address since the end of Donald Trump's administration on Jan. 20.

Pence took aim at President Biden's agenda during a speech in Columbia, South Carolina, to the Palmetto Family Council, a conservative Christian nonprofit, on Thursday night.

THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING PENCE'S BOOK DEAL

While the address to the Hillsborough County GOP is the only event announced so far for Pence in New Hampshire, it's likely he will make other stops while in the Granite State, following his model in South Carolina. Pence kicked off his swing through the Palmetto State with a tour of the Spartanburg campus of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, which took a leading role in assisting the Palmetto State's efforts to combatthe coronavirus pandemic. Last year, Pence became the face of the administration's battle against COVID-19, as he chaired the White House coronavirus task force.

Former Vice President Mike Pence takes part in a 'fireside chat' with approximately 400 pastors gathered at the First Baptist Church of Columbia, in Columbia, South Carolina on April 29, 2021.

Pence then held what was described as a fireside chat with roughly 400 pastors at the First Baptist Church of Columbia, before keynoting the Palmetto Family dinner, which was sold out.

Palmetto Family president Dave Wilson told Fox News that the "genuineness of Mike Pence came through in the time that he spent with our pastors that afternoon."

And Wilson saidthe standing room only audience at the dinner "has been hearing something from President Biden. They wanted to hear the counter side from Mike Pence andhe gave them that Thursday night."

Pence spotlighted in his speech that "we've got to guard our values ... by offering a positive agenda to the American people, grounded in our highest ideals."

And he pledged that "over the coming months, I'll have more to say about all of that."

PENCE TARGETS BIDEN IN FIRST POST-VICE PRESIDENCY SPEECH

The former vice president also touted that he'll be spending the coming months "pushing back on the liberal agenda" of the Biden administration, which he stressed was wrong for the country.

His advisers saidthe South Carolina speech marked the start of a more vigorous travel schedule for Pence, with one or two trips per week going forward, to help fellow Republicans on the ballot this year and next year.

"You will see him on the road a lot helping for the 2022 cycle," Marc Short, a close Pence aide and adviser who served as his chief of staff the past two years, told Fox News.

Pence will be in Texas this week to headline an event for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and will also speak a donor appreciation gathering hosted by Karl Rove, the former President George W. Bush political adviser, longtime GOP strategistand Fox News contributor.

A source close to the former vice president confirmedto Fox News that Pence will discuss the future of the Republican Party during an address in June at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in California. The next day he will co-headline the RNC's summer donor retreat along with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is considered another potential 2024 GOP presidential contender. News of those events was first reported by Politico.

Also in June, the former vice president will go to South Carolina, an important early primary state, to raise money for freshman Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. And in September, hell speak at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, an event on Michigans Mackinac Island thats long been considered an important cattle call in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

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Since the end of the Trump administration, Pence has slowly built his post-vice presidency profile. In February, Pence joined the Heritage Foundation, one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in the conservative movement, as a distinguished fellow. Hell speak at the Heritage summit in North Carolina in June. Healso joinedthe Young America's Foundation, a leading conservative youth organization. And last month, Pencelaunched Advancing American Freedom,a political advocacy group.

Pence was last in New Hampshire in September, when he headlined a Trump-Pence 2020 reelection rally at the Laconia Municipal Airport in the state's Lakes region.

Read the original:
Pence headed to New Hampshire in June, sparking more 2024 buzz - Fox News

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) has emerged as the Republican Party's man of the hour while former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence look to hold its focus.

The 2020 presidential election took place less than six months ago but speculation is already rife about the next one, with attention focused on who the GOP will choose as its candidate.

Trump remains the frontrunner and there is continued speculation of a Pence run, but Scott's standing has been boosted following his response to President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress this week.

Scott's Republican colleagues have lavished praise on him, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggesting he could be the future of the party.

But the GOP's recent past maintains a grip on its present and could have a profound effect on the party's 2024 choice.

Former President Trump spoke to Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on Thurday and kept the door open for a possible third run at the White House.

When Bartiromo asked Trump about another presidential campaign, he said: "Yes, 100 percent."

"And the polls show that everybody wants me to do it. One hundred percent I'm thinking about running, and we will, I think, be very successful," he added.

Trump remains the favored candidate among Republicans, with 6 in 10 saying they want him to run in 2024, based on polling by Reuters and Ipsos earlier this month. But he's not the only potential option Republican voters could be offered in three years.

Former Vice President Pence delivered his first speech since leaving office on Thursday in what has been seen as a potential opener for his own White House campaign.

"We've got to guard our values ... by offering a positive agenda to the American people, grounded in our highest ideals," Pence told an audience at a dinner in South Carolina sponsored by the Palmetto Family Council, a Christian nonprofit that supports what it calls "biblical values."

"Now, over the coming months, I'll have more to say about all of that," Pence said, the Associated Press reports.

"We will stand with the right of every American, of every faith, to live, to work, to speak and to worship according to the dictates of their conscience," he added.

Pence has not yet directly indicated an interest in running in 2024 but there has been widespread speculation about his ambitions. The Reuters/Ipsos poll did not ask respondents about Pence but a March poll conducted by Echelon Insights found that the former vice president enjoyed 16 percent support when Trump was excluded as a 2024 option. However, this fell short of support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on 17 percent.

Pence's speech on Thursday was overshadowed by Scott's response to Biden and the effusive praise he received from both GOP leaders in Congress. It was McCarthy who first mooted a Scott presidential run.

"People are going to start talking tomorrow that Tim Scott should be running for president. Could you imagine him on the debate stage versus Joe Biden? It's not even close," McCarthy said.

The Republican primary process will begin in Iowa in early 2024 and many campaigns can be expected to be up and running by the fall of 2023.

Whoever the party chooses will likely face Biden, who has said it is his plan to run for a second term.

Newsweek has asked former President Trump, former Vice President Pence and Senator Scott for comment.

More here:
Donald Trump Hints and Mike Pence ReturnsBut Tim Scott Is Man of the Hour - Newsweek

Former Vice President Mike Pence is due to have a book in stores in 2023, and two years out, we can confidently predict that Pences volume will come nowhere near toppling sales records set by, say, The DaVinci Code or Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.

Tomes by second-tier political figures rarely set the world aflame, and Pence is also in the unenviable position of being despised both by folks who adore his former boss Donald Trump, and those who abhor Trump with the heat of a thousand suns. He is viewed by detractors as having been too obsequious to Trump through most of his term, and not obsequious enough by the Trump die-hards who insist he had the power to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Congress on Jan. 6 (he did not, but thats another story).

This hardly sets up Pence to sell lots of books, never mind stage a successful presidential run in 2024.

Still, Pence has the right to seek whatever publishing deals he wants and have his say. But thats not the view of some employees at Simon & Schuster, the publishing company that gave Pence an advance somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million. They want Simon & Schuster to not only cancel the deal, but they also want the venerable publishing house to agree not to publish any books by any other former Trump administration officials. Doing so would, according to these employees, put them on the wrong side of justice.

For people who are in the business of publishing books, its a mighty peculiar stance to take.

Jonathan Karp, the chief executive of Simon & Schuster, has rejected these demands, pointing that the companys employees come to work every day to publish, not cancel, which is the most extreme decision a publisher can make, and one that runs counter to the core of our mission to publish a diversity of views and perspectives.

Obviously, Pence has little in common with Woody Allen, but the announcement last year that the Hachette Book Group was going to publish the filmmakers autobiography stirred up a similar tempest among employees of that company. They objected to Hachette taking on Apropos of Nothing because Allens daughter has accused him of molesting her close to 30 years ago. Even though no charges were ever brought, the statute of limitations has long since expired, and no one else has accused Allen of molestation in the three decades since, the mere allegation was apparently sufficient to render Allen guilty to the Hachette rank-and-file. Unfortunately, their bosses caved, canceled Allens contract, and the book was ultimately published by a smaller house.

Of course, publishers have the right to decide who they want to publish or who they dont want to publish, based on the quality of an authors work, their reputation, and whether it will make the cash registers ring. And there are some perspectives that are, frankly, beyond the pale no publisher should be in the business of disseminating modern-day versions of Mein Kampf or Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This is not a black-and-white issue. There are shades of gray. Still, except for egregious cases, publishers should err on the side of letting the presses roll.

Last year, Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman made the following observation about the Allen book, and it applies to Pences, too: What a strange, through-the-looking glass world we live in, when people who consider themselves liberals celebrate suppressing others words.

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Despite objections, Pence's book should be published | News, Sports, Jobs - The Sentinel - Lewistown Sentinel