To The Reader’s Forum:

The January 6 (J6) Congressional Committee has completed its first round of public hearings. While the hearings were intended for the full public, I don’t know how many people were paying attention. Be that as it may, the J6 Committee put together words from Trump administration officials, Capitol police testimony and video of the J6 attack on the US Capitol. The conclusion from just those hearings is that the attack was planned based upon the false allegation that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen”. There have also been subsequent reports that solidify the conclusion.

I came away with the fact that the attack was initiated and prolonged by Donald Trump. Note that the J6 attack was the first to be initiated by a President – “the most powerful person in the world”. Fortunately, video on J6 shows the oath to protect Congress taken by the police was stronger than the attack. I understand the “oath”. I was a federal employee who took an oath to “defend the Constitution…against all enemies, both foreign and domestic”. I still subscribe to that oath.

Some people have chosen to ignore the evidence and conclusion; some people are choosing an “alternate reality” believing, without any substantive evidence, that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen”. I really feel sorry and sad for people who maintain “the big lie”.

While many people offer “whataboutisms” as a defense of Trump, the real issues are WHO, alone or in conspiracy, initiated the J6 attack and what should be done. It does not matter if anyone was in DC for a rally, the fact is that everyday people have been charged with crimes for the actual attack. What matters is that the evidence leads to the conclusion that Trump called for people to come to DC on J6 and that Trump let the attack go on for hours, which led to deaths and many injuries. There is no excuse, or no “whataboutism”, for any President to foment, lead on and not stop an attack on the Capitol – and American democracy itself. My hope is that the people who led the attack are held to account, by the DOJ, for their actions.

I believe that there can be mitigation of penalties for crimes committed, but people first need to be held accountable for crimes committed. “Healing” begins when accountability for one’s guilt is accepted.

Jamestown