Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

A Crisis Of Faith: Why We Should Be Worried More About A Desecration Than An Insurrection

Below is my column in the Hill on the riot at Congress and its implications for our country.  As shown by the unfounded rush for a “snap impeachment,” we are experiencing a crisis of faith in this country — not only in our Constitution but ourselves.  Pushing for a snap vote (and snap judgment) on these issues will only exacerbate our divisions. This is a time for deliberative, not impulsive, action in Congress.

Here is the column:

All the images of protesters scaling the walls of the Capitol and briefly occupying Congress will remain seared in our collective memories for decades. Some called it a riot. Others called it an insurrection. Whatever you call it, it was a desecration. The rioters desecrated the most sacred moment of our constitutional system when the nation comes together to certify our next president. That is why it is too easy to treat this like an insurrection crisis. It is far more dangerous. It is a crisis of faith.

There were some truly dangerous people in this mix, such as the agitators who had pipe bombs and ropes. Groups like the Proud Boys and antifa have fulfilled these roles in violent riots on the left and the right for years. However, the vast majority of protesters on Wednesday were nonviolent. Indeed, if this was a real effort at insurrection, we can take great comfort that many of our homegrown revolutionaries have come across as more Groucho Marx than Karl Marx. Those in the Capitol were spread across the spectrum, from mocking to menacing. There were the various costumed characters but also men in camo with suspicious backpacks. Yet the guy taking a selfie with his feet on the desk of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed more interested in Instagram than insurrection.

The ease with which protesters entered the Capitol was shocking. Despite reports in advance of their plans to march there, Capitol Police seemed undermanned and unprepared. Once inside, protesters seemed to have the run of the building. Many of them seemed as shocked as the members of Congress fleeing the House and Senate chambers. This has happened before, although not to this extent. When I was a young page in Congress, a protest by truckers led to an ornate Capitol building door getting broken down, followed by a rampage through the halls of Congress.

The media portrayed the disgraceful rioters as unimaginable. Yet it was entirely all too imaginable. We have had four years of violent protests, including the attacks on federal buildings, members of Congress, and symbols of our democracy. Former Attorney General William Barr was heavily criticized for clearing Lafayette Square last year after protesters injured numerous law enforcement officers, were injured themselves, burned a historic building, caused property damage, and threatened to breach the White House grounds. There were violent riots during the inauguration of Donald Trump and a lethal assault on some Republican lawmakers playing softball. Indeed, this year started as last year ended, with attacks on federal buildings in Portland and other cities.

Several people viewed those violent protests against the police and the White House as sedition, including Barr. I criticized such labeling of Black Lives Matter or antifa riots as sedition or terrorism. I view those labels as undermining free speech. As with the Black Lives Matter movement, I do not believe most of the protesters this week were rioters, let alone part of an insurrection. As with the protests last year, some instigators pushed for confrontations. But most were at the Capitol to voice an opposition to the certification of votes in an election they believe was stolen. I do not share that view, but it is held by some 40 percent of Americans.

What are these people if they are not insurgents or terrorists? The answer is they are faithless. We face a crisis of faith rather than of revolution. Our Constitution is an article of faith. This republic was founded by a leap of faith taken together by people of different backgrounds and beliefs. Yet the Constitution, no matter how well crafted, is ineffectual if people lose faith in its system or, just as important, in each other.

Our system is designed to give everyone skin in the game. It is meant to bring factional interests to the surface. Unlike those that ignore them, our Constitution forces those out into the open in Congress, where they can be voiced and addressed. Systems that ignore all such divisions explode from within, like in the history of France. Our system is based on a type of implosion in which those pressures are directed into Congress, where factional interests are turned into majority compromises.

The violence this week is not what James Madison hoped for in noting the factional interests in Congress. It was a bit too direct for a system based on representative democracy. However, that is precisely the point. Such action taken reflects the same crisis of faith that was evident in Lafayette Park and on the streets of Portland. That is far more dangerous than a few agitators using a protest to commit mayhem. It is not anarchy but instead alienation that we should fear the most in our nation.

For years, the public has shown a lack of trust and faith in our political system. There also is a wide rejection of the media, which once was a shared resource for information. The media has destroyed its credibility with years of bias, including blackouts on stories viewed as harmful to Democrats. Without faith in our leaders or the media, more than half of this nation appears to be untethered from the political system. That detachment is perilous for a representative government.

We need to hold accountable all those who committed violence in the Capitol. However, after we determine who stormed Congress and how they succeeded in doing it, we have a far more difficult task to address. After all, an insurrection can simply be put down, but a desecration is much more insidious and dangerous for our democracy.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can find his updates online @JonathanTurley.

436 thoughts on “A Crisis Of Faith: Why We Should Be Worried More About A Desecration Than An Insurrection”

  1. I am a pretty average citizen. I grew up in a poor family, ate a lot of cabbage and potato’s. I was taught a strong work ethic starting full time work at 13 years old for $1.15 per hour. I was taught to respect the law and those in authority. I served in our military and then adapted to civilian life with disabilities.
    But over my lifetime our government has changed dramatically. No longer are elected offices willing to govern by the will of the constituency but to wield power and become wealthy while carrying out personal ambitions and vendettas of which the constituency is unaware. America does not get the candidate for which they vote. They get pot luck or nasty surprise and hold our breath until the next election.
    But even the electoral process has become a mockery with the best offices going to the best funded campaigns. The wealthy hand pick the government most likely to serve their interests. Good laws are no longer passed until they are loaded with a steaming odorous load of pork additions and crony focused spending. Back room agreements guarantee that what happens in office does not represent the average citizen. We are an afterthought..if ever thought of at all.
    Candidates manipulate their voters through fear and empty promises. The low estimation of the voter’s intelligence is an obvious theme.
    Can we trust government? Does anyone believe they can help initiate change anymore or has our common disgust of greedy, reactive and mean spirited politics killed our sense of hope for a better America. I’m a patriot. I’m saddened by the vicious partisanship that we see in government at every level. The greatest problem with any pendulum is that it swings from one extreme position to the exact opposite. The anger and hatred now being expressed will eventually be turned against those expressing it with equal fervor. There is good reason moderation is welcomed. It means that peace an productivity can continue for a time. The liberal party members created the MAGA movement and now they call for the fascist extreme power to reduce it to rubble because they fear what they have created. They are too arrogant to accept their own complicity.
    It is time to begin a discourse of peaceful compromise. But not the consistent moral compromises of the past 40 years.

  2. No, Jonathan Turley, the Mad King Donald show be impeached again for inciting to insurrection.

    We’ll see tomorrow if enough Republicants agree.

  3. OMG!

    To Protest Siege On Capitol, Kamala Harris Helps BLM Burn Down A Target

    WASHINGTON, D.C.—Kamala Harris gave a powerful speech against the protesters at the Capitol today. But words are not enough, and so Harris then rallied BLM together to march down the street and burn down a Target.

    After pausing to give her protesters time to loot the store and get all the latest Star Wars Lego sets, such as the nice AT-AT and Millennium Falcon and Luke’s X-Wing, Harris incited the crowd to light the place on fire, to show that inciting people to violence is bad and the Democratic party will not stand for such things.

    “We will burn down this corporate store to show that riots are bad!” she cried as she encouraged protesters to throw bricks and Molotov cocktails at the store. “Justice! Only through fire and violence can we demonstrate our commitment to a stable democracy that frowns on any kind of rioting!”

    “Next, let’s go get that Starbucks!” she cried. There is expected to be little effect on the Starbucks, though, since their beans are already burnt.

  6. Anonymous says:January 10, 2021 at 5:11 PM
    He won’t be. Might have been a little quick,

    ——————————–

    “Might have been a little quick”. And thus anonymous proves unlawful use of deadly force. What a genius!

  7. Some people really can’t see the forest for the trees! I truly believe Anonymous would refuse all requests, offers, and demands to get into the lifeboats by saying this over and over:

    “The ship is unsinkable. The designers said so. The travel agency said so. Conde Nast said so. Howard Hughes said so.
    And The New York Times said so. I’m staying right here.”

      1. I live in Los Angeles, am gay, and a Republican. This is my first time on here. The one guy who everyone says is gay and trolls on here is well known in West Hollywood. As you know West Hollywood is a gay area in LA and though we have normal gay good people living here, there are a few freaks like the gay anonymous troll on here. She is crazy as frack and no one here I know in gay circles goes near him.

      2. There is one Anonymous on the left that distinguishes himself by pure stupidity. That Anonymous should be called by his rightful name, Anonymous the Stupid.

  8. VIET VET IS ESTOVIR THE BLOG TROLL

    VietVet says:January 10, 2021 at 4:45 PM

    What “we” think means squat to me. The other day you alluded to “West Hollywood”, being an East coast guy I thought West Hollywood had something to do with the entertainment industry. When I looked it up I realized who YOU were and your agenda Mary, being you continue to label yourself as anonymous I’ve placed Mary as your post handle. I won’t speak for “we” but as for me I’d love to get you and me in a ring. You’ve found courage behind a keyboard because they let you continually malign posters but would you be as bad in a ring Mary?
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

    For months our blog troll, first known as ‘Estovir’, has been fielding endless puppets to dominate these threads. Said puppets include ‘Viet Vet’, as seen above. How shameless can one get! To masquerade as a war veteran, just to bolster comment credibility, illustrates what a despicable loser this troll is.

  10. RIOTING is what Antifa/BLM have done for 12 months. That includes arson of city, state and federal buildings. Arson of private buildings, vehicles, and other property. Assaults on conservatives. And the murder of three conservatives.

    Democrats NEVER ONCE condemned these horrific crimes. In that silence they gave tacit approval and the go ahead to continue this insurrection against the sitting government.

    LAW ABIDING AMERICANS on Jan 6, 2020 confronted the Communist leaders of the 4 year coup d’etat against a sitting president, as those Communist leaders were approving their Reichstag Orders to complete their takeover of the United States government.

    Those Communist leaders whom are called Congress, are the Domestic Enemies of whom many swore an oath to defend the Constitution against. Emasculated military brass above FB Colonel, all boot lickers and back strokers of Obama, refused to step in and halt the Communist led insurrection, thereby overtly supporting the overthrow.

    Without any support from those whom swore oaths to defend the Constitution, the people, the citizenry whom that Constitution represents and protects, had no choice but to exercise their God given, Constitutionally guaranteed right to determine the type of government best suited to their goals.

    ** The GOVERNMENT DOES NOT GET TO CHOOSE WHICH GOVERNMENT THE PEOPLE WANT. THE PEOPLE CHOOSE. **

    Absent any assistance from the established authorities to stop the Communist takeover via the Reichstag Orders installing the vote thief and Communist sympathizer Biden into office, patriotic Americans stepped into the breech and tried to stop the takeover of their country by Congressional Communists.

    A rabid, mindless, tyrannical armed ‘officer’ shot and killed a female who was stuck in a 20″ by 36″ window frame, with hands on the windowsill, when she clearly was NOT A THREAT TO THE SHOOTER. Moreso in peace than war, ROE require LEO to be in imminent danger and thus in fear of life or limb before shooting. A woman stuck in a window, with hands on windowsill is NOT AN IMMINENT THREAT.

    Those who have any view of the events outside of the above facts are utterly and hopelessly delusional.

    ** They’d refuse to get into the lifeboats and go to their deaths still believing the ship is unsinkable. **

    1. “The Disastrous Rise of Misplaced Power”

      The communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs) get to release “China Flu, 2020” 9 months before the election, censor negative news about Biden, censor the President, corrupt the election, tamper with the votes and steal the election from Gallup’s Most Admired Man in America, the same President who historically improved the U.S. economy, because the American Communist Deep Deep State says so.
      ___________

      “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military/industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

      – Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 17, 1961 (2 1/2 years before the Deep Deep State Military/Industrial Complex assassinated John F. Kennedy)

    2. Pointing out your distortions and false assertions would take far too much time. It’s unfortunate that Res Ipsa has taken on so many echo chamber dwellers. Not to be confused with Conservatives.

    3. She wasn’t stuck in the window.

      She had already broken into the Capitol and was attempting to climb into the Speaker’s lobby through the window portion of a locked door. The Speaker’s Lobby joins directly to the House floor, from which some members of Congress had apparently not yet been evacuated. She had been alerted that there was someone with a gun on the other side of the door. That plain clothes officer was there to protect members of Congress.

      More info, including video from different perspectives –
      https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/01/08/the-journey-of-ashli-babbitt/

      Your comment includes lots of false claims, such as “Democrats NEVER ONCE condemned these horrific crimes.”

  11. “They bring a knife, you bring a gun.”
    ~ Barack Barry Soetoro Hussein Obama, the Magic Mushroom Muslim installed by CIA as New World Order puppett.

    1. Randy, never seen your name before. But your written voice is all too familiar.

  12. ** COMMUNIST DEMOCRATS are guilty of insurrection, sedition, and treason by their blatant, broad daylight overthrow of America via a stolen election. **

    ** On January 6, 2020, over one million true American patriots tried to prevent the overthrow of their government in a peaceful protest whereby they entered THEIR OWN CAPITAL BUILDING. Contrary to what the libtards, communists, Antifa/BLM, MSM, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc say, THE PEOPLE OWN THE CAPITAL, not the politicians. The Capital is the PEOPLE’S HOUSE, not the government’s house. **

    ** THE PEOPLE OWN THE GOVERNMENT, not the other way around. And when communist traitors are actively overthrowing our government, it’s the people’s right and constitutional duty to STOP THAT OVERTHROW. **

    ** Congress is fortunate the men of 1776 weren’t alive today because the outcome would’ve been totally different. Joe Manchurian Biden would be facing trial for sedition and election fraud (“We’ve put together the largest vote fraud organization in the history of America”), and everyone who participated, from the mail boy to the Lawfare scum, would be indicted also. **

    A coordinated effort among 5 battleground states caused counting in all states to be shut down at 10:30 pm. Something that’s *NEVER HAPPENED IN ALL OF OUR HISTORY*. Over the next hours, days, weeks, and months, millions of ballots were trucked, bused, carried, pulled, pushed, and dragged into counting offices, and the theft began in earnest. Over the next 30 days the traitor Communist Democrats created fake ballots, read and re-read those ballots, caused the same ballots to read as errors, and re-read the already re-read ballots.

    ** Treacherous, treasonous, seditious Communist Democrat Governors and SOS, most all installed with Soros’ money, lied, cheated, turned a blind eye, obfuscated, encouraged, aided, and abetted the falsification of millions of votes among those states. When challenged they stonewalled, lied again, pretended to investigate, and in the end said “Huh? What? Nope. No cheating here.”

    Trump won the election with an estimated 80,000,000 to 100,000,000 votes. Biden, who couldn’t get 50 people to a “rally” all summer long, didn’t win squat. Biden lost. He’s an imposter and illegitimate occupier of the Oval Office. He’s an apparent Communist stooge, a traitor to his oath (when you announce you’ve the largest vote fraud organization ever seen in America, you’ve just convicted yourself in any law abiding country, and when you promise to eliminate the 2nd Amendment rather than uphold it, you’re a traitor to your oath), and a traitor to America who should be charged with it all, tried, convicted, and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law. Ditto for Kamala Harris.

    ***** THE ONLY INSURRECTION AND DESECRATION WAS BY TREASONOUS, SEDITIOUS, TRAITOROUS COMMUNISTS WHO OVERTHREW THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IN A LONG PLANNED, TRANSPARENT, AND PATENTLY OBVIOUS COUP D’ETAT. HERE’S THEIR STATEMENTS ON VIOLENCE: *****

    Chris “Fredo” Cuomo
    >>>>> “Show me where in the constitution protests are supposed to be peaceful”

    Nancy Pilosi, when Antifa/BLM tore down statutes across America:
    >>>>> “People will do what they will do”

    Nancy Pelosi on Portland, Seattle, NYC riots:
    >>>>>> “Honestly I don’t know why they’re not doing this more”

    Maxine Waters 2019:
    >>>>> “At the gas station, supermarket, in the park, you get in their face and tell them they’re not wanted!”

    AOC 2020:
    >>>>> “Peaceful protests never changed anything. You have to make them sit up and take notice.”

    Kamala Harris to John Colbert:
    >>>>> “The protests aren’t gonna stop, and they shouldn’t. They’ll go on until the election and continue afterwards”

    *** THE ABOVE WORDS BY THE ABOVE BAD ACTORS CONDONED, ENCOURAGED, AND INCITED RACIST, BIGOTTED, HATE FILLED, ANTIFA/BLM TO RIOT\; TO BURN CITY, STATE, FEDERAL, AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS TO THE GROUND ALL SUMMER; AND TO MURDER THREE CONSERVATIVES AT TRUMP RALLIES. **

    ** NOT ONE COMMUNIST DEMOCRAT EVER APOLOGIZED FOR CAUSING THE MURDERS OF THOSE THREE AMERICANS, NOR FOR ENCOURAGING THE BURNING OF AMERICA BY THEIR BROWN SHIRT ARMY. **

    ** If anyone should be charged, tried, and imprisoned, it’s the above bad actors for THEIR INCITEMENT, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND CONDONING VIOLENCE against conservatives. **

    ** THE ABOVE PERSONS and their ilk who tried to TAKE AMERICA DOWN, whereas the conservatives on Jan 6 were trying to SAVE AMERICA FROM COMMUNIST TAKEOVER **

    2. another right wing commentator, who probably has a good heart, but who foolishly thinks “communism” whatever that means, is behind every event and social change engineered by billionaires over the decades

      one of the biggest tricks they- the plutocracy– ever pulled on the right wing was convincing them that ‘communism” was the bogeyman
      they have kept up the theme even as they implemented one socialist program after another, somehow convincing people that the US has not been in a form of socialism since FDR, which is fairly obvious, and hey Im not calling socialism the boogeyman, Im way past that one. you guys keep on drinking the kool aid about that, I gave it up years ago

      you can see that was the excuse for various imperial wars over the decades and it still stops patriots from seeing the foes right before their faces

      i sometimes wonder how the US government & its private media propaganda arms, all turned on a dime in 1940 or so, and changed communists in Russia into allies and then a mere 5 or 6 years later they were foes again.

      I guess they had to get rid of hitler another one of their rogue agents gone wild, and they needed the Russian muscle to get it done

      https://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Rise-Hitler-Astonishing/dp/1905570279

      trusting the American plutocrats is ever the big mistake, from day one

      saloth sar

      PS the funny thing is that American billionaires always had access to the Russian markets in the USSR if they wanted it. Armand Hammer was one, another funny story is how Adidas helped with the boycotted 1980 Olympics. Yeah, you gotta look that one up. dig deep for it, Im sure google won’t let you find it easily

  13. President Trump and Trump supporters want the perpetrators of the riot at the Capitol to be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

    The rioters acted of their own volition and will never represent President Trump or Trump supporters.

    1. They were Trump supporters. Lots of them, sent there by Trump. So ya, they do represent Trump supporters.

        1. No, I don’t have any evidence. It is just my opinion. If there were photos of them with Trump flags, or videos of them explicitly saying they support Trumps while storming the capital, of Trump saying to them to go to the capital, or even a video of Trump saying that he loves them and they are special. But we don’t have that so I am just musing.

          1. Have you seen his FB page or reviews his Twitter account , no you say than there is no prof just babbling. Again all evidence that many of these people rioting will be Antifa like posing as Trump supporters but don’t rely on FBI to come forth with that information since we know what they did in the past.

      2. FACT:

        President Trump and Trump supporters want the perpetrators of the riot at the Capitol to be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

        The rioters acted of their own volition and will never represent President Trump or Trump supporters.

          1. There’s no doubt that the crowd of protesters outside the Capitol were Trump supporters overwhelmingly so, obviously

            Also many entered into the Capitol once it was breached. Tresspass, disorderly conduct, riot at best

            As for the IEDs and the initial breach, look to those miscreants very carefully and see if they were not, in fact, agent provocateurs, informants, and clandestine agents of alphabet soup agencies

            Overall we can agree that it was a manifestation of rage among Trump voters that spilled over into illegal activity

            1. They’re already identifying and arresting people who broke in. See my 5:58 PM comment for links about a couple of them, one of the guys carrying flex-cuffs on the House floor and the QAnon Shaman.

              You don’t carry a bunch of flex-cuffs by chance. That was planned illegal activity. There were plenty of other insurrectionists dressed in tactical gear, carrying communications devices, etc. Simple rage among Trump supporters wouldn’t lead them to start chanting “Hang Mike Pence” and looking for him. He’s Trump’s VP. They wanted the election stolen by Pence for him and were angry that he abided by his sworn oath to the Constitution. According to the news, Trump didn’t even bother to check on Pence while all of this was occurring.

          2. Did we ever get to the bottom of 9/11, why the FBI had Muhammad Atta under surveillance in Florida, before the event, and why some Saudi prince’s wife was paying his rent?

            Did we ever find out why wtc 7 collapsed on its own footprint in 11 seconds, after NOT being hit by airplane like the other two buildings, after burning on a few floors for about 45 minutes, and then POOF all the many support columns simultaneously giving way, and the government obviously lied when they told us it was not a controlled demolition?

            Enquiring minds want to know

            1. Im going to be blunt about this. The US government has certain agencies that are in charge of A. COMMITTING ILLEGAL ACTS OF CRIME AND WAR ON PERCEIVED FOES (CIA) & B. COVERING UP OFFICIAL ACTS WHICH EMBARASS THE GOVERNMENT AND SUPPRESSING INTERNAL RIVALS (FBI)

              THESE ROGUE AGENCIES ARE IMMERSED IN EVERY SINGLE “SURPRISE” EVENT WHICH REALLY ISNT

          3. George, Anonymous the Stupid is unable to recognize the facts you provide. There was evidence of leftists that rioted along with some that say they support Trump but one doesn’t support Trump by causing damage. All rioters should be arrested and I support Trump, but not the violence.

            Anonymous the Stupid supported the BLM and Antifa rioters all over the country because he is a hypocrite and doesn’t care about anyone even those who lost their homes and jobs. Anonymous the Stupid is a selfish twit.

      1. A sense of irony and humor, which you arbitrarily, erroneously and insidiously pronounce to be dogma.

  14. “The people are going to turn on them, they gonna protest, they gonna absolutely harass them until they decide they gonna tell the President, “No, I can’t hang with you.”

    – Maxine Waters

  15. TRUMP’S METHOD:

    SMALL LIES LAY FOUNDATION FOR BIGGER LIES

    Like historical fascist leaders, Trump has presented himself as the single source of truth. His use of the term “fake news” echoed the Nazi smear Lügenpresse (“lying press”); like the Nazis, he referred to reporters as “enemies of the people.” Like Adolf Hitler, he came to power at a moment when the conventional press had taken a beating; the financial crisis of 2008 did to American newspapers what the Great Depression did to German ones. The Nazis thought that they could use radio to replace the old pluralism of the newspaper; Trump tried to do the same with Twitter.

    Thanks to technological capacity and personal talent, Donald Trump lied at a pace perhaps unmatched by any other leader in history. For the most part these were small lies, and their main effect was cumulative. To believe in all of them was to accept the authority of a single man, because to believe in all of them was to disbelieve everything else. Once such personal authority was established, the president could treat everyone else as the liars; he even had the power to turn someone from a trusted adviser into a dishonest scoundrel with a single tweet. Yet so long as he was unable to enforce some truly big lie, some fantasy that created an alternative reality where people could live and die, his pre-fascism fell short of the thing itself.

    In November 2020, reaching millions of lonely minds through social media, Trump told a lie that was dangerously ambitious: that he had won an election that in fact he had lost. This lie was big in every pertinent respect: not as big as “Jews run the world,” but big enough. The significance of the matter at hand was great: the right to rule the most powerful country in the world and the efficacy and trustworthiness of its succession procedures. The level of mendacity was profound. The claim was not only wrong, but it was also made in bad faith, amid unreliable sources. It challenged not just evidence but logic: Just how could (and why would) an election have been rigged against a Republican president but not against Republican senators and representatives? Trump had to speak, absurdly, of a “Rigged (for President) Election.”

    The force of a big lie resides in its demand that many other things must be believed or disbelieved. To make sense of a world in which the 2020 presidential election was stolen requires distrust not only of reporters and of experts but also of local, state and federal government institutions, from poll workers to elected officials, Homeland Security and all the way to the Supreme Court. It brings with it, of necessity, a conspiracy theory: Imagine all the people who must have been in on such a plot and all the people who would have had to work on the cover-up.

    Edited from: “The Abyss”

    The New York Times, 1/9/21

    1. Like the nazis, Trump breathes oxygen and drinks water.

      Your logical fallacy is…you suck at syllogisms.

      2. You missed the point. And didn’t read the article. You suck at penetrating glimpses into the obvious.

    2. the “BIG LIE” is that America is a “DEMOCRACY”

      it is just a stage show managed by billionaires

  16. Pelosi should hire the McCloskeys to guard her office. The McCloskeys have been in the news on their effort to bear arms to protect their property and the gated community jointly owned sidewalks, Gates and street called Portland Place in St. Louis.

  18. You keep ignoring the fact the President sent them there. You pull a quote made AFTER they breached the capitol, after the President charged them up and incited them to go “fight” to “stop the vote” and you ignore the fact he said he’d be with them. He incited them, they were calling for him at one point in the capitol, saying “we want Trump”, thinking he was going to come lead the insurgency. Apparently he thought there would be senators like Cruz stepping forward to march with the Mob, and police and law enforcement favorable to him would also side with them, giving him the opening to declare martial law or some form of it. Its clear they intended to arrest members of congress. All of this is clear, by not only what was said, and done, but by the fact that you, along with the head of the Capitol Police keep pretending to be oblivious of. The fact that MILLIONS of Trump supporters online are DAILY SAYING THEY”RE GOING TO DO THIS. Its like you have cotton in your ears intentionally. They say they’re going to arrest members of Congress. They say they’re going to “revolt” and start a civil war (murder their political opposition), they say these things. They said what they were going to do. We see the ravenous rage, frothing at the mouth rage and all you can do is say “yea but what about Antifa”…. “. The President didn’t send Antifa to the Capitol to try to arrest congress, stop the vote and overthrow the Government. He sent his supporters there. All facts you dishonestly ignore with each keystroke in your apologetic blog. So when Georgetown law dept begins distancing themselves from you this week, don’t ask why. You’re defending the untenable. And you’re lying, by telling half truths about what happened and leaving out key facts that change your entire premise when acknowledged. You’re painting yourself further and further into that corner, only the red paint has some blood mixed into it now. I’d stop painting and start looking for a rag.

    1. Translation: there is nothing wrong with ANTIFA BLM barricading police officers in buildings and setting them on fire

      Nope, nothing wrong with that picture one bit

      LEO beg to differ as to non-Democrats

  19. I had to come back to the blog to mention the following: Anyone know who Ashli Babbit was? I’m guessing some of you do, for those who don’t she was the Unarmed, White, Woman shot and killed during the recent Washington election protest. I’ve looked at the video over and over and cannot find any reason why this woman was shot and killed. Very little has been said about the shooting or this Unarmed White Woman who incidentally was an Air Force veteran. By now had she been other than an Unarmed White Woman there probably would had been rioting, looting and burning of businesses throughout the nation. In fact they probably would have renamed the capital building in her name. I’m sure the usual suspects will come back and label her God knows what and that will be the extent of her recognition. Feel the double standard here?

    1. Viet Vet, Ashli Babbit was climbing through a window to a room where Congresspeople were sheltering from the rioters. They had good reason to fear for their safety. Show us the video you claim makes her so innocent. Not that we really think you’re a Viet Vet.

      1. In my opinion, he served as a “hilltop” telephone operator and receptionist; busy doing his nails while men fought and died.

        He uses a fraudulent, misleading moniker to steal the glory of the wounded combatants who suffered and the dead who gave all.

        Shame is his true nom de cowardice.

      2. What “we” think means squat to me. The other day you alluded to “West Hollywood”, being an East coast guy I thought West Hollywood had something to do with the entertainment industry. When I looked it up I realized who YOU were and your agenda Mary, being you continue to label yourself as anonymous I’ve placed Mary as your post handle. I won’t speak for “we” but as for me I’d love to get you and me in a ring. You’ve found courage behind a keyboard because they let you continually malign posters but would you be as bad in a ring Mary?

          1. Mary-Wow. Kid, I must have hit some nerve with the connection of you and West Hollywood, you’re pounding away behind your keyboard in caps, LMAO.
            You want to call me a puppet of Escabar or whoever the hell you want, mock my military service go right ahead but boy did I ever out you!

          2. Mary (AKA) Anonymous – A couple months ago I saw Mr. Turley on a new’s cast I was amazed how he was able to see political differences from both sides. I especially liked he’s defense of the constitution, that’s why I came to this blog. When I got here not being a highly educated person I enjoyed the post’s of some of the guys who are active in law. But then there are the posts of those who when they don’t like posts go off on maligning and name calling, like you. For some reason you have a guy with the of handle “Escobar” in your head. Based on what you’ve posted and where you hail you have had a bad experience with “Escobar”, maybe a date, I don’t know?
            If it helps you, in whatever way to feel better about yourself or anyone here, you or them can continue to think I’m “Escobar”, one of his puppets and you or Anyone else can malign my military service. At this stage of my life I’m real secure in my skin and proud of my military service of that make no doubt! Have at it kid but I will continue to submit my thoughts as I see fit and yes it will continue to be VietVet.
            I hope you’re able to get “Escobar” out of your head and post like a real guy does? Enjoy your day in West Hollywood wherever the hell that is.

      3. The shooter was on the side of the hallway and shot Ashli at the moment she climbed onto the window ledge. She was a threat to no one. He could have walked over and pushed her back. He is being investigated for excessive use of force. Hope he is charged with murder.

        1. He won’t be. Might have been a little quick, but she was trying to get through the window into the speakers gallery. She joins the list of people who got shot doing a home invasion.

          Elvis Bug

        2. Daring someone to shoot you, looking right at the gun….too bad. Some choices have no reverse gear. Poor lady, driven by QAnon and Trump’s Big Lies. No critical thinking capacity.

    3. It was clearly a fully justified shooting. She was a clear threat to Members of Congress.

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