The Jan. 6 propaganda show puts me in mind of the nine-year “Perry Mason” series, which graced our homes weekly about 60 years ago.
In that series, lawyer Perry Mason’s client typically was accused of some crime, usually murder. For the first one-half to three-fourths of the show, you saw the crime, the chase, and the arguments by Hamilton Burger, the prosecutor who presented a seemingly unassailable case against the accused. In the last one-fourth of the show, enter Perry Mason, who proceeded to destroy the prosecution evidence, identified the real criminal and exonerated his client.
The Jan. 6 Committee can be compared to the first one-half to three-fourths of the Perry Mason show. Committee chair Bennie Thompson, assisted by his co-prosecutors Liz Cheney, Adam Schiff, Jamie Raskin, et al, have played the parts of police and D.A. and have amassed a large pile of highly suspicious edited evidence, which, they hope, will convince an audience that Donald J. Trump is a criminal.
However, unlike the Perry Mason show, these “prosecutors” have no intention of letting the last part of the show unfold. They have banned any would-be Perry Mason, i.e., Jim Jordan, from the courtroom and have no intention of bringing him back to ask embarrassing questions.
The time for this committee with this membership is limited. If, as expected, the Republicans win the House in November, they will set up their own Jan. 6 Committee, hopefully manned only by Republicans. One or two Democrats may be allowed to participate but only if they are willing to call for the impeachment of Joe Biden.
This is only fair since these are the rules used to construct the current Democrat committee. When the new committee is in place, it will be time to proceed with the last quarter of this Perry Mason show. Here are a few of the key questions for which the new committee must seek answers:
President Trump authorized the deployment of 20,000 National Guard troops ensuring crowd control on Jan. 6, anticipating up to a million visitors. Both Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed this support. WHY? The committee should demand records for all emails, conversations, text messages, etc., from Ms. Pelosi and staff and from Ms. Bowser and staff, in seeking this answer. At the very least, it is clear that Pelosi and Bowser were negligent in the Jan. 6 problems. Whether they deliberately supported the Capitol breach by denying crowd control is a viable consideration. It fits their agenda to maim Trump.
The new committee should release all existing media from Jan. 6, not just select portions. Release all media of Rosanne Boyland being trampled in the ensuing riot. Were the Capitol police causative in this death?
Why did a Black cop shoot and kill protester Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed veteran white woman, who represented no lethal threat to him or anyone? Officer Michael Byrd admitted he knew she was not armed. Why were no charges brought against him? Why no public hearings held for this incident as would have occurred in almost any other venue in this nation? Was this a “racist” murder?
Why did the Capitol police open doors and seem to politely invite the protesters (also polite) into the Capitol?
Why were the Capitol police undermanned that day?
Were FBI agents in the crowd and, if so, why were they there and what were they doing? (Note: it is very important to answer this question in light of the fact that would-be Gretchen Whitmer kidnappers were declared “not guilty” on grounds that FBI agents had promoted and induced them to participate in the crime.)
Who is Ray Epps? Is he an FBI agent, or informant, or does he have any other connection with the FBI or any other government agency? There are numerous pictures of Ray Epps in the area on both Jan. 5 and Jan. 6. On the 5th he’s heard telling protesters that on the 6th they must go into the Capitol, at which some of the protesters began pointing at him while yelling “FED, FED, FED,” indicating he was a federal agent. The next day he’s seen speaking to protesters and pointing toward the Capitol, perhaps to say “go in there.” But Epps never went in himself. Epps was on an FBI list for Jan. 6 but was taken off post-haste. Why?
Numerous protesters have been arrested by the FBI and placed in the D.C. jail, some for over a year, often in solitary confinement, and purportedly in inhumane conditions such as cold cells with little or no clothes and sometimes no basic amenities like BEDS. Most have been charged with misdemeanor crimes like trespassing or entering without permission. Some have not been charged at all. All have been grossly over-punished and possibly had their fundamental constitutional rights violated such as the right to a speedy trial; the right to not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment; the right to face accusers; and others.
It is imperative that the “Perry Mason” Jan. 6 committee thoroughly investigate these incarcerations. If, as suspected, there is reason to believe that constitutional rights have been violated, a thorough and independent investigation of responsible parties must be undertaken. Potential responsible parties include: The D.C. jail and those, i.e. Nancy Pelosi, et al, responsible for overseeing the jail; the Justice Department, judges and the FBI.
Of course, the new Jan. 6 committee will experience many barriers to their work. The media will suddenly find their inquiries “illegitimate.” Nancy Pelosi will take a cue from Hillary Clinton and find that her records including emails, phone records, etc., inadvertently have been erased, misplaced or lost. The Justice Department and the FBI, sadly, will be unable to comment on investigations.
The new committee, however, must persist in hopes of exposing the current committee for what it is — a completely biased political hack job by politicians who care nothing about truth.
John Weaver is a Valencia resident.
