The January 6th Committee has actually accomplished something. They’ve confirmed former president Donald Trump remains the most lied about man in this country. Why? Because his haters are drowning in rage and envy and have no other way to stop his influence. The latest iteration of the establishment’s Big Lie project against Trump was accomplished with committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The 25-year-old who was reportedly passed over for a job in Florida with the Trump team after the election, offered up sworn testimony that was a mélange of gossip and opinion. For a committee supposedly trying to cast Trump as an evil genius trying to “undermine our Democracy” Hutchinson was relied on to provide gossip about a plate of food being thrown in a dining room, Trump getting mad at the Secret Service, trying to commandeer a vehicle, while then assaulting a Secret Service agent.
Trump’s UNFIT screamed the headlines. It’s OVER for Trump according to the It’s-Over-For-Trump crowd. The only thing missing from this cartoonish scenario was South Park’s Cartman jumping through the SUV’s window to punch an agent in the nose while yelling “Respect muh Authoritah!”
Hutchinson made it clear she was conveying things she was told by someone else making the issue less about her, but about the committee itself. They knew this was the sort of garbage she would be putting on the record, and they let it happen. For Hutchinson, she was willing to play that role. Shame on her.
Her remarks were absurd, but they fit the imagination of those who hate Trump and his supporters. Much like the Jussie Smollett hoax requiring his attackers to menacingly announce “This is Trump country!” Yeah, sure Chicago.
The compliant media delivered the headlines they were all waiting for. The Washington Examiner offered up an editorial with the headline “Trump proven unfit for power again.” After recounting Hutchinson’s gossip, their screed concluded “Trump is a disgrace. Republicans have far better options to lead the party in 2024. No one should think otherwise, much less support him, ever again.” Yikes! Many clutched pearls were likely crushed during and after that hearing.
The problem is a lot of what Hutchinson said seems to be untrue. After the hearing the Secret Service came out disputing Hutchinson’s maniac-Trump-in-an-SUV story and said agents would be available to testify to set the record straight. They said publicly and privately to reporters that her story about Trump never happened and noted that they weren’t contacted prior to her remarks in an effort to corroborate her remarkable allegations.
“It’s not clear why the select panel didn’t seek further corroboration from the Secret Service as it planned Hutchinson’s hearing,” Politico reported. Yes, I’m laughing out loud, and you should, too. This is what is known as “too good to check,” a strategy that may be useful for hacks but only negates the credibility of your political hitjob.
Moreover, during the hearing a note with a directive for Trump regarding the Capitol riot was referred to as written by Hutchinson and displayed by Cheney. The problem is a former counsel at the White House says he wrote the note, not her.
Hook, line, and sinker praise was the order of the night by journalists who immediately took her comments at face value. Because there was no reason to think that maybe the apparently ridiculous was actually ridiculous. After all, a congressional committee led by the illustrious, non-partisan and totally not biased Liz Cheney with a singular, partisan goal of continuing to defame Trump would never offer up uncorroborated… gossip. Weird, right?
Why, after all the confirmed lies and collusion by the establishment, government law enforcement agencies, and media to smear Trump as a traitor and Russian spy throughout his candidacy and presidency, would any journalist be so uncritical as to take at face value her remarks is astounding. Even more concerning is that it fuels the distrust among the American people of both media and our government.
The media in general would have done themselves a favor by being more curious about the veracity of Hutchinson’s testimony. Noticing the hug the witness got from Cheney when she concluded would have been a journalisty thing to do. That confessional “thanks honey!” moment makes clear this is not about independent fact-finding and all about the ugly and vile politics of personal destruction.
Donald Trump, no matter what you think of his style, by making the United States energy independent and a powerhouse economically made the world a safer place. Every day we are reminded that leadership matters, and we are reminded by the Democrats and a few of their useful idiots in the GOP, that the bureaucracy remains enraged by a man who made our lives better and more secure. Even in the face of their constant failures, they are desperate to continue burning this nation down. It’s one thing to be focused on elections, which is imperative, but we also must begin to ask, why are these people doing so much deliberate damage to the country and to us? It’s not normal or acceptable. Only when we get that answer will we be able to recognize and stop it from happening again.