March 23, 2023
The January 6th Report
The January 6th Report
I’ve just finished reading The January 6th Report, more formally titled Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
Following forewords by Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Thompson and Vice Chairwoman Cheney, there is an Executive Summary. It lists the findings made by the Committee based on its investigation, then provides a 90-page Overview of the Evidence Developed. In the next section of the Executive Summary “the Committee makes . . .criminal referrals to the Department of Justice’s Special Counsel.”
The last section is a list of witnesses; of those for whom a party affiliation is noted, nearly all were Republicans. In his foreword, Committee Chairman Thompson pointed out that the plan to overturn the election “faltered at several points because of the courage of officials (nearly all of them Republicans) who refused to go along with it.” Those two facts are beacons of hope in an otherwise dark night for that Party.
The material which follows the Summary, described as The Narrative, is a further review of evidence, divided into eight chapters. Because the chapters are topical rather than chronological, it is difficult to keep track of the sequence of events. There is a good deal of overlap and repetition and a lack of overall scheme. However, both the Executive Summary and the Narrative add to the record in numerous ways.
The Report is massively end noted —there are 762 endnotes to the Executive Summary — which will provide material for scholars.
Following forewords by Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Thompson and Vice Chairwoman Cheney, there is an Executive Summary. It lists the findings made by the Committee based on its investigation, then provides a 90-page Overview of the Evidence Developed. In the next section of the Executive Summary “the Committee makes . . .criminal referrals to the Department of Justice’s Special Counsel.”
The last section is a list of witnesses; of those for whom a party affiliation is noted, nearly all were Republicans. In his foreword, Committee Chairman Thompson pointed out that the plan to overturn the election “faltered at several points because of the courage of officials (nearly all of them Republicans) who refused to go along with it.” Those two facts are beacons of hope in an otherwise dark night for that Party.
The material which follows the Summary, described as The Narrative, is a further review of evidence, divided into eight chapters. Because the chapters are topical rather than chronological, it is difficult to keep track of the sequence of events. There is a good deal of overlap and repetition and a lack of overall scheme. However, both the Executive Summary and the Narrative add to the record in numerous ways.
The Report is massively end noted —there are 762 endnotes to the Executive Summary — which will provide material for scholars.
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