What A Day - Jan 6th Back, Alright!

Episode Date: July 12, 2022

The House Select Committee investigating January 6th is back in action with another hearing today. Dan Pfieffer, co-host of Crooked’s “Pod Save America,” gives us a refresher on what we’ve learned so far and what to watch for today.And in headlines: Russia is ramping up its attacks on eastern Ukraine, a Minnesota judge struck down most of the state’s abortion restrictions, and actress Lea Michele will replace Beanie Feldstein in the Broadway revival of "Funny Girl."Show Notes:Crooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffeeVote Save America: Fuck Bans Action Plan – https://votesaveamerica.com/roe/Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Tuesday, July 12th. I'm Josie Duffy Rice. And I'm Travelle Anderson, and this is What A Day. Here to tell space you look real cute in them new pics from the James Webb telescope. Yeah, of course, you always look gorgeous, and you're way more than a pretty space. But we wanted to talk you up just for a second. Yes, just take the compliment, soak in it, you deserve it. You really do. On today's show, a Minnesota judge struck down most of the state's restrictions on abortion. Plus, an intense heat wave in Texas has pushed the state's electricity

grid to the brink again. But first, the House Select Committee investigating January 6th is back to hold another hearing today. This is the committee's first public hearing since the end of June. We have been following it here on WOD, but we know that between then and now, there's been a whole holiday, a lot of barbecues, and that gripping season finale of Stranger Things on your minds. Do not tell me what happened. I haven't seen it yet. So we're here to talk about what to watch for today. But first, let's catch you up. Previously on The Insurrection Hearings. Thanks to everyone watching tonight for sharing part of your evening to learn the facts and causes of the events leading up to and including the violent attack on January 6th. I mean, I saw friends with blood all over their faces.

I was slipping in people's blood. I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the president was bullshit. The president said, just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest of me and the Republican congressman. Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States to target you?

There is nowhere I feel safe. The president said something to the effect of, I'm the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now. Oh, wow. Oh, my God. Wow. That was gripping.

Law and order has nothing on us, OK. Shout out to the production team. So those were some of the greatest hits from the first six public hearings the committee has and his allies had with far right extremists like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leading up to that day, during and after. We also know that on Friday, the committee interviewed former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone behind closed doors. We should expect to see some video from that testimony and learn more about who Trump planned to pardon following people's attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Yeah, so it sounds like we can expect a lot from today's hearing. Absolutely. And earlier I spoke with our special insurrection correspondent, Dan Pfeiffer, one of the hosts of Crooked's Pod Save American, author of Battling the Big Lie. I started our pregame convo by asking Dan to give us a little refresher on what we learned before the break. The last thing that happened was the biggest of all the hearings. Cassidy Hutchinson, the special assistant to Mark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff, testified. She was the

first Trump insider to testify publicly and tell what happened on that day in the lead up to it. It contained a ton of revelations about what Trump knew, what folks at the White House were trying to do, how intertwined they were with the actual plan to overturn the election and the organizers of the rally. And according to a lot of legal experts, gave all of the criminal investigators a lot that you could potentially build a criminal case on. You just mentioned Cassidy Hutchinson as a refresher for the folks. The committee's last session before the break was like, hastily put together because they wanted to bring in Cassidy. But from reporting last weekend, we now know why it was sort of sudden. Can you tell people about that?

Based on what we know, they sped this up because one, she wanted to get her story out there. She was feeling under tremendous pressure. She had security at her home. There was a very ominous point at the end of her hearing where Liz Cheney read two text exchanges from people sent to witnesses that had all the markings

of Soprano-style witness intimidation. We now know from reporting from Punchbowl News and others that one of the recipients of that text was Cassidy Hutchinson. It was sent by an ally of Mark Meadows'. And so I think the committee had this opportunity to get this testimony out. They didn't want to wait. Because of the congressional recess, had they not done this hearing a of weeks ago, they were going to have to wait until now. And given the pressure on her, the security risk to her and her family, rushing it seemed better than waiting to the committee.

Yeah. So now what would you say was like the ending message of the committee, you know, before the break, that thing that was supposed to get us to come back? Right. Well, what Cassidy Hutchinson testified to is that Trump knew the following things. One, that he lost the election. Two, that there was real potential for violence on that day. Three, the crowd there to see him at the Stop the Steal rally was armed. Four, Donald Trump told the organizers to bring down the magnetometers

to get the crowd with the weapons in so that he would have a larger crowd site, including saying, essentially, I'm paraphrasing it, what are you worried about? They're not here to hurt me. And then he told a crowd he knew to be violent and knew to be armed to march on the fire via tweets. And according to Hutchinson's testimony, not even not bothered by the rioters, but supportive of them, including the idea that Mike Pence should be hung. So all in all, does not paint a particularly pretty picture of our former president. That's assuming the picture was somehow pretty before the hearing. Yes. Yes. It's even worse than we thought is the real theme of the last five or six years. Yes. Right. Okay. So now where do you think they will pick back up than we thought is the real theme of the last five or six years. Right. Okay.

So now where do you think they will pick back up once we start seeing the hearing this morning? So we know a little bit about today's hearing. One is they're going to focus on the violent militia groups that were involved in the organizing of the rally and the assault on the Capitol. There will be testimony from a former high-level Oath Keeper. He was a spokesperson for the Oath Keepers who had a close relationship with Stuart Rhodes, who a former high-level Oath Keeper. He was a spokesperson for the Oath Keepers who had a close relationship with Stuart Rhodes, who's the head of the Oath Keepers. There are going to be a couple of participants reportedly in the riot themselves, in the insurrection themselves, who will testify. And then I think perhaps most interestingly,

and the thing we know the least about now, is this hearing is supposed to focus some of its time on what Trump was doing in the White House during the rally. This has been a big mystery. Was he ambivalent? Was he actively resisting efforts to help? Why did it take so long to get the National Guard and other reinforcements called in? It's possible we're going to know a lot more about that by the end of today. Gotcha. So now over the weekend, we also got some other news that Donald Trump's close ally, Steve Bannon, has agreed to testify before the committee. And yesterday, a federal judge denied his request to postpone his criminal contempt trial that was set

to start in just a few days. Should we be excited about this? Do you think if he testifies that this will just be a stunt of sorts? Yeah, I am very skeptical that Steve Bannon has any interest in being helpful to the committee or to the country. What is noticeable is he agreed to testify after Donald Trump wrote a letter waiving executive privilege. Now, what is also notable is that Donald Trump's attorney told the FBI that at no point had Donald Trump specifically exerted executive privilege over anything specific involving Bannon. And the idea that Bannon was covered by executive privilege was always absurd. Bannon left the White House in 2017, I think. So the idea that he was covered by executive privilege about what happened on January 6th is totally absurd. It seems very clear the reason he is agreeing to testify is because he does not want to go to jail.

The federal government is pursuing up to two years in prison and huge fines against Bannon. But the Department of Justice is also saying the crime you committed was eight months ago when you refused to abide by the subpoena that was sent by Congress. Coming back eight months later and saying that you're going to do that, the U.S. will testify does not obviate the crime you obviously had. So that does not seem to have any impact, at least on the criminal case. It is expected to start on Monday. So we'll have to see where that goes. But I don't think Steve Bannon is about to become the John Dean of this hearing, referring to the Nixon counsel who turned on Nixon. I think he's just trying to stay out of jail for one day longer, which may be a fruitless endeavor on his part,

given his long criminal past. Right. So what will you specifically be paying attention to in the upcoming hearings that we will have throughout this month? What is still outstanding for you? So some of the things that I'm looking for, we might learn more about today.

The first is the specific interactions and relationships between Trump, close Trump aides, and these right-wing militia groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. There were some references in Cassie Hutchinson's testimony about Mark Meadows dialing into a meeting at the war room at the Willard where they were actively planning this. Some conversations with Roger Stone, who was very close to the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers were providing security for Roger Stone, the former Trump campaign aide, on the day of January 6th.

And then what we really want to know, the big cliffhanger is, what is Merrick Garland going to do? Is someone going to jail, right? Is he going to charge Trump? And that could be months away, but these hearings are at least giving us a path of what that could look like were he to do so.

And Josie, that was my conversation with Cricket's own Dan Pfeiffer. Today's hearing begins at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Be sure to check out the live group thread by Cricket hosts reacting to it in real time. That'll be on YouTube.com slash Cricket Media. And that is the latest for now. We'll be back after some ads. Good news, What A Day listeners. Crooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, it's called What A Morning, named after this very podcast. And it's available in medium and dark roast, okay?

They're both so good. And I say this as somebody who's not really a coffee drinker, but I know a good cup of joe when I taste it and in the words of what we used to say back in the day guess what what a morning it's busting uh-huh it's specialty grade ethically sourced and small batch roasted to perfection and you don't have to take my word for it because Alexa Larson shared this review good coffee I am admittedly a bit of a coffee snob and the dark roast did not disappoint.

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get your crooked coffee. Let's get to some headlines. Headlines. The war in Ukraine continues and the most recent updates have been devastating to say the least. Now that Russia has begun targeting more residential areas in the country. On Saturday, a Russian rocket strike hit an apartment block in the eastern city of Chazafyar, killing at least 29 people and injuring several others. As we're going to record on Monday at 9.30 p.m. Eastern, emergency workers were still trying to free people trapped under the wreckage. And just yesterday, a Russian missile strike hit a residential area in the city of Kharkiv,

killing at least three people and injuring 28 others. There, the youngest of the dead was 16 years old. Both attacks make it clear that Moscow is ramping up its attacks on eastern Ukraine in hopes to take control of the embattled Donbass region. And according to Ukrainian officials, it seems that Moscow's goal is to declare victory there before moving west. In some much-needed good news about abortion access, yesterday a Minnesota court ruled that several of the state's abortion restrictions violate its constitution.

The ruling does away with Minnesota's 24-hour waiting period and lifts the requirement for minors to inform both of their parents before seeking an abortion. It also allows people to seek abortions from providers outside of hospitals, and it throws out laws that would make performing the procedure a felony. Now, on a federal level, President Biden's Department of Health and Human Services told healthcare providers that they must provide abortions to people whose lives would be at risk without the procedure. The new guidance is based on the idea that a federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act takes precedence over state-level abortion bans.

For the first time ever, a pharmaceutical company is seeking FDA approval to sell its birth control pills over the counter, meaning you wouldn't need a prescription to get them. The company in question, HRA Pharma, claims that the move is not related to the recent political attacks on reproductive rights or the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, but if approved, the move would make birth control pills much more accessible, as conservative states consider restricting access to contraceptives. The process might take a while, though. It could be up to a year until the FDA gives a green light, and the decision would only apply to HRA pharma's pills. Texas's power grid is psyching itself up in the mirror again for another day of intense heat. Record-breaking temps began on Sunday, hitting 113 degrees in some areas and prompting ERCOT, the operator of the state's grid, to ask Texans to conserve electricity between 2 and 8 p.m. yesterday. The idea is that by foregoing air conditioning and instead cooling off by conjuring a mental image of an ice cube,

people can avoid blackouts. Notably, those blackouts wouldn't be so prevalent in Texas if the state hadn't pushed for energy independence and deregulation throughout the 20th century. Pretty bold of Texas politicians to ask Texans to think of the collective, you know? Just think about all of us. Just go without your air conditioning between 2 and 8. It's really about all of us.

Speaking of reasons we need to apologize to Mother Nature, there is an over 2,000-acre wildfire burning in California's Yosemite National Park right now. That is a very devastating sentence. The fire has entered Mariposa Grove, which is home to more than 500 giant sequoia trees, some of which are thought to be over 2,000 years old. Fire crews seem optimistic that the sequoias will be protected. One of the largest ones has even been equipped with its own sprinkler system. And parts of the park that are relatively less on fire are still accessible to visitors personal sprinkler

systems we love to see it i love it i need one absolutely and lastly some drama in the world of drama yesterday as actress leah michelle was announced as the replacement for beanie feldstein in broadway's revival of funny girl feldstein announced on instagram this sunday that she'd leave the show early citing a decision by the production to, quote, take the show in a different direction. Never good coded language there. Yesterday, it was revealed that that direction is straight towards Lea Michele, who has often expressed interest in starring in Funny Girl,

but was initially passed over for the role in this revival. Part of what makes the Funny Girl recasting saga, or Funnygate as we're calling it, so controversial is Michelle's reputation. Multiple cast members on her old show, Glee, have accused her of racist and cruel behavior. In one case, she allegedly threatened to quote, shit in the wig of her co-star Samantha Ware. Ware responded to the casting announcement yesterday by tweeting in part, quote, Yes, I'm black. Yes, I was abused.

Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. I have a lot of questions about threatening to shit in someone's wig. But I'm not going to ask them right now. It's a lot. Because it's not the time. It's not the time. But we will be having a special episode of WOD later this week.

I will just say, Lea Michele is going to sing her face off in this role. I know. It's going to be really good. Listen, all of the Rachel Berry stans out there, this is for you. Okay? I truly do love Beanie Feldstein. But you just can't deny that Lea Michele is going to destroy this role in a good way. Absolutely.

And those are the headlines. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, visualize an ice cube, and tell your friends to listen. And if you are into reading and not just the lines for your new part in Funny Girl, like me, I obviously have the starring role. What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Travelle Anderson. I'm Josie Duffy Rice.

And keep shining space. Yes, we need you. Okay, so if you have the starring role, who am I? I haven't seen Funny Girls, I don't know. Me either. I'm no help. You're like, all I know is I'm the star. I just know I'm the center of attention. I love it. I admire it. I support it. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance.

Jazzy Marine and Raven Yamamoto are our associate producers. Our head writer is John Milstein and our executive producer is Leo Duran. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kishaka.