Topic: Newsmax
Michael B. Abramson wrote in a May 30 Newsmax column:
The Republican presidential nominee, especially if it is President Trump, and Republicans in other races will have to defeat the Democrats' arguments that President Trump and Republicans caused the riot and are a threat to democracy.
Republicans, and House Republicans in particular, must defeat these arguments.
Unfortunately for Abramson, those arguments don't bode well for Trump and Republicans, despite what he thinks. He went on to write:
Republicans must point out that the Jan. 6 Committee did not produce any evidence indicating that Trump ordered the Riot.
As I wrote on Jan. 12, 2021, it was obvious that President Trump did not cause or commit the Capitol Riot.
Democrats will refer to the Jan. 6 Committee's point that President Trump worked to have representatives object to states' awarding of electoral votes.
Republicans must point out that this strategy is not the same as calling for a riot.
In fact, several rioters have cited in their trials a Trump tweet calling for a protest on Jan. 6, adding, Be there. Will be wild!" as motivation for them to come to Washington to protest. And it has been revealed that Trump knew his election challenges were false before he made them, which means that there was little reason to believe that there was no reason to push them beyond inciting his supporters. Abramson continued:
They must investigate aspects of the Capitol Riot which run counter to the Democrats' narrative and then report their findings to the American people.
Most importantly, Republicans must validate President Trump's claims that he authorized 10,000 National Guard troops to be deployed in Washington, D.C., and that this offer was denied.
These troops would have prevented the Capitol Riot.
In all likelihood, the offer of National Guard troops was both conveyed and responded to in writing. Republicans merely need to obtain these writings and put them on a public website.
If writings do not exist, Republicans could prove the existence of the offer by calling individuals to testify such as those were in the Oval Office when President Trump requested the National Guard.
Republicans must also have those responsible for the security of the Capitol and Washington, D.C., testify under oath. Concurrently, Republicans must subpoena their emails, notes, and memoranda regarding any security issues and planning for Jan. 6.
They should be asked about why the Capitol was not better fortified, any intelligence about possible attacks, and their responses to President Trump's request to authorize National Guard troops.
Abramson referenced a Newsmax article repeating a 2022 claim by Trump official Keith Kellogg that he heard Trump request to the Department of Defense that the National Guard be available, but there's no evidence Trump ever issued such an order. But a week before, however, the House committee looking into the riot aired footage of Kellogg stating that he never heard Trump ask for the National Guard or a law enforcement respons on the day of the riot.
Abramson went on to spout a right-wing conspiracy theory:
Third, Republicans must determine the FBI's role in the Riot. FBI officials have implied that FBI agents were in the crowd but have declined to explain why they were there due to the protection of "sources and methods."
Republicans must determine these agents' actions during the Riot.
The Durham Report notes that the FBI meddled in a previous election (2016) and affected political outcome(s). Republicans must determine if the FBI did so on Jan. 6 as well.
This appears to be a version of the Ray Epps conspiracy theory -- which even Epps says has testified false.
There isn't evidence of the things Abramson is demanding not because nobody has searched for it -- it's because those things didn't happen.
To add insult to (nonexistent) injury, Newsmax stuck a disclaimer at the top of Abramson's column stating that "The following column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party, or candidate, on the part of Newsmax." Never mind that Abramson didn't explicitly endorse anyone.
