Tuesday 23 November 2021

Two notable promoters of Trump's falsehoods are called to testify before Congress


Alec Jones and Rogert Stone, two key figures in the spread of conspiracy theories and the infundy of fraud promoted by Trump, were summoned to testify in the House of Representatives committee's investigation into the assault on the Capitol on January 6.

The Select Committee of the House of Representatives on Monday cited six new witnesses in its investigation of the assault on the Capitol on January 6 , among them one of the advisers of former President Donald Trump and a recognized promoter of right-wing conspiracy theories.

Among the five subpoenas issued by the committee are Roger Stone, a confidant and former political adviser to Trump, and Alec Jones, a radical right-wing radio personality, for their role in planning and financing the political event outside of Trump. the White House in which the former president who preceded the attack on the headquarters of Congress and from which many of those who made up the aggressor mob spoke.

"The Select Committee is seeking information about the event and the subsequent march to the Capitol that turned into a violent mob that attacked the Capitol and threatened our democracy," the chairman of the panel said in the statement informing of the new subpoenas , Democrat Bennie Thompson.

"We need to know who organized, planned, paid and received funds related to those events, as well as what communication the organizers had with officials of the White House and Congress," the statement explains, adding that it considers that those mentioned have "relevant information".

Both Stone and Jones spoke to the crowd that day and the day before. Stone allegedly received protection from members of a far-right militia called the Oath Keepers, while Jones claims to have facilitated a donation that would have provided 80% of the funds used that day to hold the events.

The others named are Dustin Sotckton and his fiancee Jennifer Lawrence, who hosted the event outside the White House, and Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson who raised about $ 200,000 to fund the rally.

With this new round of subpoenas, there are 40 people summoned by the committee to be questioned about the events of that day, which left 5 dead, dozens of injured, damage to the Capitol and stopped the protocol session of both chambers in the that Joe Biden's victory in the November elections was certified.

Several of those mentioned are close allies of Trump, such as Stephen Bannon, who was the White House strategist at the beginning of the Republican presidency, or his chief of staff, Mark Medows.

Others were part of the White House team, such as his then press chief, Kayleigh McEnany, or adviser Stephen Miller. Also, there are officials for Trump's reelection campaign on the list.

Of all, the most emblematic case has been that of Bannon, who two weeks ago was indicted for contempt of Congress in court by the Department of Justice, after Congress declared him in absentia by refusing to come to give his testimony.

It seems likely that, following Banon's example, both Jones and Stone will refuse to attend the meeting with the committee's MPs.

Meanwhile, the former president is locked in a legal battle with the committee , to which he does not want to hand over documents that contain the communications that took place on January 6 between White House personnel, organizers and Republican congressmen, and the people who were in the presidential residence.

Trump claims that 'executive privilege' prevents him from disclosing those papers, despite the fact that the power is considered to belong to the incumbent president. In fact, Joe Biden's White House rejected the ex-president's request to keep them a secret.

The case is in a federal appeals court, after a district judge said that the former president cannot invoke the 'executive privilege' because it does not correspond to those who held the position of president but to whoever occupies it at the time.

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