Throughout the testimony presented in the Jan. 6 select committee hearings, former President Donald Trump, who may yet face criminal prosecution based on the evidence emerging, attempted to shape public perceptions of the Republican witnesses who appeared.
During some testimonies, like former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson’s blockbuster performance on Tuesday, Trump offered real-time responses on social media. In other parts, such as last Thursday’s appearance by former Justice Department officials who testified Trump asked them to “just say the election was corrupt,” the former president made a series of statements declaring what he calls “the UNSELECT Committee,” self-attacked.
Although polls show that a majority of Americans now believe Trump should be prosecuted by the Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the former president continues to claim that he was involved in the U.S. Capitol riots January 6, 2021.
“This is merely an attempt to prevent a man who leads by a large margin in every poll against both Republicans and Democrats from running for the presidency again,” Trump said in a falsehood-laden 12-page statement , which was released after the second day of testimony earlier this month. In donation emails, Trump has also repeatedly attacked the two Republican representatives on the committee as “Crazy Liz Cheney” and “Cryin’ Adam Kinzinger.”
As with the two impeachment trials that took place during his presidency, Trump has cracked down on those who testified against him. In doing so, he has, at times, drastically revised his own earlier statements about these individuals, some of whom he had lavishly praised when they worked for him.
William Barr
During his testimony before the special committee, which took place during the first hearing on June 9, former Trump Attorney General William Barr testified that his department investigated the former president’s allegations of voter fraud and told him there were none There is evidence to support Trump’s claims.
Barr then described how Trump had “disconnected from reality” over his election loss and had no “interest in the actual facts.” The notion that cheating cost Trump the election is “bullshit” and “utter nonsense,” Barr testified.
Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump showered Barr with praise, calling him “a very straight forward shooter” and “a man of incredible integrity.”
In response to the June 9 hearing, which featured portions of Barr’s testimony, Trump called him “a coward” and a “weak and frightened attorney general.”
Three days later, with Barr’s comments dominating the news, Trump used a different term to describe his former AG, referring to him as RINO, which stands for “Republican in name only.”
“Former Attorney General Bill Barr, a RINO if there ever was one, had neither the courage nor the stamina to take action against voter fraud – he was afraid of being charged,” Trump wrote in a statement posted on his social media platform was released. truth social. “NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED!!!”
Ivanka Trump
Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka also appeared on video during the first hearing of the special committee. As with Barr, her testimony before the committee was played to the country. The part of her testimony that struck a chord came when she was asked to respond to Barr’s Dec. 1, 2020, statement that there was no evidence of significant voter fraud.
“That influenced my perspective. I respect Attorney General Barr, so I accepted what he said,” she told the committee.
Trump has long praised Ivanka, who has officially joined his government as his only child. In an interview with the Atlantic in 2019, Trump gushed about his daughter and said he considered her for the role of World Bank president. “She would have been great at it because she’s very good with numbers,” he said.
After seeing her during the select committee hearing, he was quick to downplay his daughter’s remarks.
“Ivanka Trump was not involved in viewing or investigating the election results. She was already checked out and I think she was just trying to be respectful of Bill Barr and his position as Attorney General (he sucked!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Rusty arbors
Arizona Republican House Speaker Rusty Bowers testified in person before the special committee on June 21, recounting how Trump and his allies waged a pressure campaign to persuade him to replace Arizona voters, despite the lack of evidence that voter fraud led to Joe Biden’s victory there.
Pending Bowers’ statement that Trump and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, called Bowers to try to persuade him to overturn Arizona’s election results, the former president released a statement attacking him.
“Rusty Bowers, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, is the latest RINO to team up with the Unselect Committee,” Trump said in a statement.
Bowers testified that he told the then-President and Giuliani, “You are asking me to do something that is against my oath,” and said he refused to go along with the conspiracy because he “didn’t want to be considered abused.” pledge.” However, he later told the Associated Press that if Trump were the Republican nominee in 2024, he would likely vote for him again.
Cassidy Hutchinson
A former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Cassidy Hutchinson testified Tuesday under oath and in person that Trump knew some of his supporters were armed before ordering them to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6; that she was told that Trump is struggling for control of his limousine with his intelligence detail; that the former president threw dishes at the wall after learning that Barr would not support his conspiracy theories about a stolen election; and that Meadows and Giuliani had inquired about presidential pardons.
As her testimony unfolded, Trump attempted to downplay Hutchinson’s role in his administration, even though her office was a few steps from his.
“I hardly know who this person, Cassidy Hutchinson, is, other than hearing very negative things about her (a total fraud and ‘leaker’) and when she asked to go to Florida with some of the other members of the team Having served a full term, I personally declined her application,” Trump wrote in a statement.
“Why did she want to go with us if she thought we were so awful? I understand that she was very upset and angry that I didn’t want her to leave or join the team. It’s bad news,” he wrote.