It's Friday morning, what do we know?
Trump and John Eastman's attempts to overturn the election & Europe's leaders arrive in Kyiv
The House January 6th Committee
The January 6th Committee held its third hearing Thursday afternoon, in what might otherwise be called the ‘Eastman Hearing’
The hearing focused largely on Dr. John Eastman’s attempts to cajole, persuade and deceive former Vice President Mike Pence to illegally and unconstitutionally reject the results of the electoral count and throw the nation into chaos, at the behest of Donald Trump
In meticulous detail, the committee, witness and former Pence lawyer, Greg Jacob, and video testimony from from Pence chief of staff Marc Short, described Eastman’s relentless efforts to convince the former vice president to help overturn the election. This, in spite of the fact that Eastman knew what he was advocating was both criminal and unconstitutional. Efforts that continued well into the early hours of January 7th
The committee also provided email evidence and testimony demonstrating the indifference by both Trump and Eastman to the welfare and safety of the former vice president and his staff while the Capitol was under siege
The hearing offered eyewitness accounts of several occasions when Donald Trump attempted to intimidate Mike Pence into abetting him in his efforts to overturn the election and remain in power
Further testimony laid out a timeline that directly implicated Donald Trump’s tweets in the mounting and very grave danger the former vice president faced on January 6th. The testimony included an audio recording of a Proud Boy member who stated that had either Nancy Pelosi or Mike Pence been captured, they would have been murdered
Along with Mr. Jacob, the committee also heard testimony from a retired federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Michael Luttig. Judge Luttig had advised former V.P. Pence on his January 6th role and responsibilities
Judge Luttig’s closing remarks are of particular note. Luttig made it clear in the starkest of terms that Donald Trump and his associates continue to represent a ‘clear and present danger’ to the country. A point the judge made in a New York Times Op-Ed piece in February and that I made in my opinion piece on Wednesday, which can be read here
What do we know in Ukraine?
Russian forces are consolidating their control of Sievierodonetsk and turning their focus to Lysychansk, a sister city, immediately across the Siversky Donets River
At a NATO summit in Brussels, defense ministers from member nations announced plans to bolster forces and improve deterrence along the alliance's eastern flank. NATO will forward deploy combat groups including more air, sea and cyber defenses in response to potential Russian threats to some NATO members
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited Kyiv on Thursday, as well as its suburb, Irpin, site of some of Russia’s most gruesome atrocities to date
The three leaders issued a joint statement in favor of Ukraine’s immediate candidacy and expedited membership into the European Union
