On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes was arrested for his participation in the Gunpowder Plot, a scheme by disaffected Catholic terrorists to blow up King James I and his Parliament using 36 barrels of gunpowder in the basement of the House of Lords. It seems oddly fitting that the presidential general election of 2024 is taking place on the 419th anniversary of that date. It seems very likely that the contest will drag on for days or even weeks, but the result may come down to this question: how man...
Nov 05, 2024•57 min
Returning again to the "19th Brumaire Scenario," I examine what documentary evidence there is regarding the "OTR movement" on January 6th, 2021, when the Secret Service informed Trump they would not take him to the Capitol. It is likely that this is a key question for the evidentiary hearings in DC before Judge Chutkan, presuming these actually move forward. Key questions include what Trump's intent was in his plan to go to the Capitol, what he intended to do once there, and the possibility that...
Jul 18, 2024•2 hr 15 min
With sentencing in the hush money case coming right before the Republican National Convention, the leading contender for that party's presidential nomination has claimed that he doesn't care about his supporters, he just wants their votes, and also that suicide ought to be preferable to them than voting for his opponent. At the same time, every discussion of consequences too includes some claim that allowances ought to be made for the possibility of political violence, as if leniency for the dea...
Jun 15, 2024•2 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 13
"It was just a delay that somebody or somebodies were willfully, deliberately delaying making the decision." (Transcript of Major General William Walker before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, p 118) For three hours and 19 minutes, the NC National Guard waited in the DC Armory on January 6th, 2021, supposedly awaiting approval from Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy to deploy to the US Capitol. That order was never conveyed to Walker, although Secretary of Defen...
Mar 28, 2024•3 hr 18 min•Season 4Ep. 12
I interview Aquilino Gonell, formerly of the United States Capitol Police. Gonell has published American Shield, an autobiography recounting his life story from his childhood in the Dominican Republic, and New York City, his service in the Second Iraq War, and also detailing his leadership role in a Civil Disturbance Unit on January 6th, 2021, as well as the aftermath of the attack and his decision to testify before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack. Sergeant Gonel...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 4Ep. 11
For the third anniversary of the January 6th Attack, I speak with Riverfox, a sedition hunter whose current role includes a crowdsourced effort to debunk the "Fedsurrection" narrative. We discuss what this campaign of far-right propaganda is, why it is central to the politics of the Trumpist movement, and how to counter it. After the interview, I will review some recent developments, to include the arrests of three longstanding Florida fugitives for charges stemming from their alleged roles in t...
Jan 06, 2024•1 hr 54 min•Season 4Ep. 10
This episode's guest is Julie Farnam, who was a witness before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, in which she testified regarding intelligence she had obtained before January 6th that attendees intended to come to the event armed, that white supremacists planned to attend, that participants were sharing maps of the Capitol tunnels, and many other data points that ought to have been sufficient for the USCP to adequately prepare. This interview is occasioned by the ...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Following the latest developments in the January 6th story, including the arrest of the 1,200th January 6th Attack defendant, a key ruling by the DC Circuit Court in the Blassingame civil case in DC, the rejection of Trump's claim of absolute immunity in the election interference case in DC, the rape allegation against the Chairman of the Florida Republican Party, and the claim by the House Speaker that he will release all the security video from the Capitol taken on January 6th, 2021, but only ...
Dec 07, 2023•2 hr 16 min•Season 4Ep. 8
We get caught up on arrests in the January 6th Attack, which have picked up again. I also discuss the attempt by an AFO defendant in New Jersey to flee from the FBI, and the sentencings of some notable defendants. Also: leaked proffer videos in the Fulton County case, and the effort to get cameras in the courtroom in the Trump's DC case. Most of the episode consists of a review of the figures connected with the Tomotley Plot, a ring of attorneys and former military intelligence officials who wor...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr 44 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In this episode, I will read the final chapter of Franz Neumann's Behemoth, which I see as a touchstone for understanding Trumpism. Writing in exile, Neumann described Germany as a nullity, a place with no underlying political theory, no theory of society, and ultimately not even properly a state. He describes it as a nation where a coalition of elites rule through careful application of propaganda, which is used to control the people directly, without the mediation of the state. https://archive...
Nov 07, 2023•1 hr 51 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In this episode, I chat with sedition hunter Jewelz about the sedition VIPs who are still at large and apparently uncharged, which is concerning, given the expiration of the 5-year federal statute of limitations on January 6, 2026. I also discuss the recent plea deals of Sidney Powell, Ken Chesebro and Jenna Ellis in the Georgia election interference case in Fulton County. We also catch up on developments in the cases of certain January 6th defendants. I also examine the transcripts from the Jan...
Oct 25, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Season 4Ep. 5
In the intro to this episode, we hear Donald Trump declare the beginning of communism in our country in response to the failure of his own attorneys to request a jury trial in the civil case brought by Leticia James being heard before Judge Engoron. We will then review almost every new criminal defendant charged since the last episode: in the beginning of September, these were mainly AFO defendants, but moved to parading defendants later in the month. The trend of defendants who are connected to...
Oct 11, 2023•1 hr 58 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Over the summer of 2023, the pace of arrests quickened once again, with over 8 Capitol attackers arrested on average every week. These arrests included a great many individuals who assaulted police on January 6th, 2021, and a number of VIP defendants. We will catch up on these cases, and review a few other developments, including news that Molly Michael is offering evidence against Trump in the stolen documents case. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.259850/gov.uscourts.dc...
Sep 22, 2023•2 hr 36 min•Season 4Ep. 3
We begin with the bombshell revelation that Trump's main fake elector attorney, Kenneth Chesebro, was on Capitol grounds on January 6th, following Alex Jones, Trump's stand-in, and appearing to send messages to persons unknown, for over an hour. Other topics include the Fulton County indictment, the surrender of Trump and his 18 co-defendants, the Coffee County data breach, the threat to the community posed by Trump and other January 6th defendants, and the decision by violent convicted gang mem...
Aug 26, 2023•1 hr 47 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Donald Trump has now been charged with four felony counts for his scheme to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to deprive voters of the right to vote and to have their votes counted. In this episode, I examine the indictment, the identity of Trump's co-conspirators, and also selections from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack depositions of fake electors and others involved in the consp...
Aug 11, 2023•2 hr 26 min•Season 4Ep. 1
This episode consists mainly of a close reading of "Planned in Plain Sight: A Review of the Intelligence Failures in Advance of Januart 6th, 2021," a report written by the majority staff of the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, chaired by Senator Gary Peters. This report offers the best look yet at the failures of the FBI and DHS I&A in the runup to January 6th, building on the work of the House Select Committee--although it certainly also has its own issues,...
Jul 22, 2023•3 hr 43 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Mainly consisting of a reading of Appendix 1 of the Final Committee Report, which gives a very perfunctory depiction of "intelligence failures" in the runup to January 6th. Also an interview with artist and illustrator Brian Michael Weaver, whose careful research and satirical style are both evident in his "Insurrection Maze!" artwork, a work of comic art that would be the perfect gift for anyone interested in the January 6th attack. We will also review the developments in the invesyigation by S...
Jun 30, 2023•3 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Mainly consisting of a reading of the 37-count indictment of Donald Trump and Waldine Nauta, on the occasion of their arraignment in Miami. Other topics include the resumption of arrests of January 6th suspects, including some who had inexplicably not been charged long after identification, such as Mr. Show actor Jay Johnston and Long Island funeral home director Peter Moloney, #BlackBonoHelmet. Also discussion of the court finding that former Oath Keepers General Counsel Kelleye SoRelle is not ...
Jun 13, 2023•2 hr 28 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Mainly consisting of an examination of how Antifa was used in the runup to January 6th, as red herring to distract from the potential for Trumpist violence, and eventually as a scapegoat in a cover story concocted to shift the blame for the attack away from the Trumpist mob that committed the attack. https://kurier.at/chronik/niederoesterreich/erik-prince-kriegsgeraet-niederoesterreich-us-soeldner-chef-wiener-neustadt-gericht/402451938 https://abcnews.go.com/US/eve-hearing-fbi-revoked-security-c...
May 25, 2023•3 hr 52 min•Season 3Ep. 19
We recap recent developments, including Pence's grand jury testimony, the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy verdict, the civil case brought by E Jean Carroll and news that Special Jack Smith is investigating the Big Rip-Off. I then have a conversation with a sedition hunter who goes by the handle Patr10tic who has applied his skills in artificial intelligence to develop tools, and who has lately been keeping tabs on the community that has developed a series of bizarre conspiracy theories regarding...
May 05, 2023•3 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 18
We begin with a short summary of recent sentencings in January 6th cases: many of the defendants who have faced more serious charges have opted to go to trial, which has meant that we were always going to reach a point when a large number of serious felony defendants would be found guilty and sentenced all at once. We have reached that point, so I take a moment to take stock of the felony defendants who have been sentenced since March 1. The bulk of the episode consists of an interview with a se...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 17
In the defendant profile, will revisit Shane Jenkins, who was convicted on all counts on March 29, 2023, and faces a lengthy stint in the federal prison system. Also covering the news that a Manhattan grand jury has issued an indictment for 34 charges, which may be the first of several indictments to be issued in the many potential cases in which Trump would stand as a defendant. The majority of the episode consists of a close reading of the transcript of Senior Advisor to the President Eric Her...
Mar 31, 2023•2 hr 38 min•Season 3Ep. 16
This episode begins with the numbers, and the description of a category of defendants who have recently been charged, after a long wait. These are defendants whose cases center in the "heave-ho" attack in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, who it appears are being charged with felony counts of acts of violence on restricted grounds during civil disorder, rather than Assault on a Federal Officer. We then move on to some recent news, including what may be the most significant January 6th case to date,...
Mar 22, 2023•3 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 15
A quick update on some of the latest January sixth news, followed by a close reading of 300 pages of transcripts from crucial testimony by a key figure in the January sixth Committee Report, Trump campaign attorney Alex Cannon. Topics include the arrest of an AFO defendant who was arrested on January 6th, only to be released from his cuffs by the mob of Trumpist thugs, an analysis of the daunting task of reading some 18,000 pages of testimony, a call for assistance with regard to this task, with...
Mar 07, 2023•2 hr 52 min•Season 3Ep. 14
With 265 witness transcripts totaling approximately 18,000 pages of testimony into the Attack, The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack has created a record that goes far beyond what's included in the final Report. One transcript that I think will be of interest is the testimony of Justin Clark, a former Chris Christe aide who served as the Deputy Campaign manager for the Trump/Pence ticket, and whose firm, Elections LLC, has been receiving $40,000 to $60,000 a month, sup...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr 59 min•Season 3Ep. 13
In the introduction, we catch up a on the latest numbers, and also a bit on the McGonigal case, the convictions in the second tranche of Oath Keepers in their seditious conspiracy case, and the ongoing seditious conspiracy case for the Proud Boys leadership, which should last at least a month longer. Then I am joined by Dakota Adams, son of Tasha Adams, and we discuss growing up with the specter of the collapse of civilization always 18 months away, eating powdered eggs, the Declaration of Order...
Feb 02, 2023•2 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Focusing on recent reporting that signals Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating a question that figures in Appendix 3 of the final Committee Report, "the Big-Rip Off." Possible charges include wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as the Big Lie was used after the conclusion of the 2020 election campaign to supposedly pay for an "election defense fund" that was never created. Instead, these funds were used to create the Save America PAC on November 9th, 2020. Appendix 3 of the Re...
Jan 13, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Recorded on the occasion of the second anniversary of the January sixth attack on the US Capitol, this episode is a page by page analysis of the Executive Summary of the Final Report of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23466430/introductory-material-to-the-final-report-of-the-select-committee.pdf
Jan 06, 2023•3 hr 35 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Being the last episode before the final business meeting of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, I used this as an occasion to speak with Opal Katz, a member of the open-source intelligence community who has worked since immediately after the Capitol Insurrection to investigate what happened that day. Also includes a defendant profile of a key defendant whose case is currently before the DC Circuit Court. https://www.justice.gov/opa/page/file/1359541/download https:/...
Dec 16, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Mainly an examination of the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case in light of the verdict in the Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy case, as well as a breakdown of the Oath Keepers verdict itself, and a look at the consequences of the appointment of Jack Smith as Special Counsel moving forward. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1549501/download https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59704100/united-states-v-nordean/?page=3 https://apnews.com/article/proud-boys-government-inf...
Dec 02, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 8
