The Season 1 Finale: Hearing 8 Recap

187 Minutes

The season 1 finale did not disappoint. This hearing focused on the excruciating 187 minutes between when Trump learned about the attack and when he finally released the video telling the attackers to stop. Using testimony, phone call data, text messages, video, real-time news coverage, and law enforcement radio chatter, the Committee presented nearly a minute-by-minute review of Trump’s complete and total abdication of his duty and his oath to the office.

We have already been presented with Trump’s 7-part plan to overturn the election. We understand his motive — to stop the vote count in order to stay in power. The armed mob was what finally worked to stop the vote count. He deliberately chose not to act during those 187 minutes because the mob was finally accomplishing his goal.

VP Pence’s secret service detail had rushed him out of the chamber and they were frantically trying to get him out of harm’s way. The Committee synced up video from that day with the Secret Service police radio. As a cop’s wife, I can’t tell you how HAIR RAISING it was to hear that Pence’s Secret Service detail were saying goodbye to their families over the radio. They didn’t think they’d make it out alive. If the mob had broken into the room that Pence was in, the agents would have unloaded their weapons on American citizens. Trump put those Secret Service agents in that position. Trump put those citizens in that position. It’s so dishonorable it is sometimes difficult to comprehend.

Trump sat in the White House dining room watching Fox and calling Guiliani. He didn’t call anyone in the government for help. He didn’t call the National Guard or cabinet heads or law enforcement. He called freaking Guiliani. Twice. The Committee even showed what Fox was showing during those minutes to prove that he knew the violence was happening. He also demanded a list of senators’ phone numbers to badger them not to certify the electoral college count.

Staff, family, members of congress, and media personalities begged him to make a statement. The dining room is only 60 seconds from the press room, where the cameras are always at the ready. He resisted using the word “peace” in tweets and had to be cajoled into it. As they haggled about what message to release, some staff were worried about giving a strong condemnation of the violence, because it would be handing the media “a win”. You guys, these are not good people. We deserve so much better.