The January 6 Hearings - Part Three

Or, sing a song of Mike Pence.

Former Vice President Mike Pence was the subject of the third public hearing of the U.S. House January 6 select committee, in which he was viewed as some sort of a martyr because he did not reject the electoral votes of seven swing states and did not declare Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election.  Pence's top aides and retired federal conservative judge J. Michael Luttig made it clear that Pence could not  negate Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election and declare Trump the winner, even though right-wing attorney John Eastman (not Linda McCartney's brother) was telling Pence that he could . . . while knowing full well that what he was proposing was illegal!  Eastman was left hoping for a pardon, which he may still get as early as January 2025.  

Mike Pence, however, shouldn't be exalted for doing the right thing, though, not even after the mob camethisclose to getting their hands on them and made him the first Vice President of the United States to be assassinated.  Even though Trump and Eastman pressured Pence greatly to do Trump's bidding - and at one point Trump egged on the January 6 mob to lynch Pence - Pence should have known as early as November 4, 2020 that he had no right to reject the results of the election.  If he had been a true hero, he would have made this clear right after the election, or at least right after Trump's election lawsuits failed, and such a statement would, while it may have not prevented a demonstration outside the Capitol on January 6, have likely prevented such a demonstration from turning into an insurrection.

Judge Luttig, by the way, left the January 6 committee with this warning.  Trump's threat against democracy is still ongoing, and he and his supporters are already planning how to hijack the 2024 election.  Once back in office, of course, Trump will likely find an excuse to make sure he stays in power after that.  In which case, we may be "celebrating" the nation's 250th birthday in 2026 with bayonets at our backs.     

Attorney General Garland, are you listening?