If anyone spends any time in court during trials, one notices a pattern pretty quickly. Opposing attorneys can expose what scientists have known for a long time. What used to be the gold standard, eyewitness testimony, is now far less dependable and compelling than video and other means of electronic records made at the time, as things happened.
The Select Committee can be thought of as a court in many ways, especially with respect to its interest in evidence. They want to know what happened that day. Yes, they want to speak to the witnesses that were there, but given all the lying that occurred during the Mueller investigation, they are really after the electronic records, in particular – phone records and visitor logs.
At least that was the “tell” that Mark Meadows gave during an interview on the terribly right-wing Real America’s Voice network, where he mentioned specifically that they wanted “phone records” as if it was insane. It was a fear so obvious that the Morning Joe team picked up upon and discussed this morning,
Scarborough said:
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“I thought there was a tell in that interview that Meadows had. The thing they’re the most scared about are the phone records. Who called whom? That’s going to reveal the tick-tock of who Donald Trump’s calling, who they’re calling, who’s furiously calling them to try to get, you know, Donald Trump to actually call out the National Guard and save the lives of people inside the Capitol. But for him, for Meadows, he goes, ‘Oh, well, when they did what’ — by the way, everybody does it in every lawsuit. This is what everybody does.”
It is very fashionable to be cool and hate on Scarborough – to each his own – but Joe is unquestionably right in this instance. Meadows must be very scared of those third-party phone records because Scarborough is right, that is the most obvious request for evidence in any administration. Ask your local detective.
Think about what could be in those records? Phone calls from someone – maybe from Meadow’s office, or Don Jr.’s phone, to one of the leaders of the Proud Boys? Maybe to certain members of Congress that are also suspected to have played a role. Just yesterday, Marjorie Taylor-Greene was quoted as furiously pledging to “get back” at the Democrats who subpoenaed phone records from around the Capitol that day. Strange. Those records would include calls made by every Democrat and yet they’re not afraid.
The phone records could easily build a “network” regarding who called whom and at what time. Or more importantly, who didn’t call who! Was Trump the least bit interested in protecting the building, Congress, Mike Pence? But of course, it doesn’t end there:
You get the phone records, you get office records — you get everything. You get the files in discovery. But, of course, they’re freaking out because that helps put the tick-tock together.
It is also far more difficult to claim executive privilege over records like phone logs. The laws requiring that presidential records be kept arise straight out of the Watergate after-action review. Congress passed a law to address a situation just like this. Additionally, all privileges exist only to protect discussions involving advice, to promote and protect certain private discussions. Records only reveal the pattern, they don’t reveal what was discussed.
But it would be very powerful to learn with whom the White House was in contact with that morning, and who called the Pentagon and when.
Meadows gave another tell last night on Hannity. First, Meadows broke executive by discussing the fact that Trump did authorize the National Guard earlier in the day. Of course, the Committee would have loved to have followed up. “Under what circumstances? If they are within the building and breaking things, then the National Guard is authorized…” It is a worthless point. More below:
Mark Meadows answering questions from Hannity about January 6th despite refusing to answer questions from the January 6th committee on the same subject pic.twitter.com/wL7HxzVnXa
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 8, 2021
But again, it really does go to show just how much they fear this Select Committee, which should be extremely odd because, if you recall, we were told that Trump gave a speech to an angry protest and that protest got way out of hand, correct?
The entire resistance to this committee, the Republicans’ refusal to participate as full members, Trump’s claim of privilege, and Meadows refusing to give phone logs from that day?? How could that be incriminating…
Scarborough is right. It is a tell, in fact, their entire pattern of behavior is a tell.
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact with any concerns.
