And for more reaction to and analysis of last night's hearing, I'm
joined by two people who've been following it closely. Former Democratic
United States senator from Alabama Doug Jones and former Republican
US representative from Virginia Barbara Comstock. Welcome to the
program to both of you before I ask you about last night's hearing.
Let me first. Just ask you about today's news. Doug Jones, Senator
Jones that
Steve Bannon found guilty by a federal jury of of contempt of Congress
for refusing to answer questions by the jet from the January 6th
committee. What's the significance of that?
You know, Thank you for having me Judy Appreciate it. And look that
this jury struck a blow for democracy. They struck a blow for truth
for accountability. They've struck a blow for the institutions of
government, which have been under attack in this country over the
last couple of years in and under attack by Steve Bannon. And I think
the fact that Bannon was found guilty of flaunting the subpoena sends
a significant message to a lot of people, you know, Band and the
other day outside the courtroom challenge, Bennie Thompson said he
was gutless.
Refused to come testify.
Ah, under oath and in his criminal trial, But Bannon's the gutless
one. He's the one that challenged everybody. He was gutless when
he refused to testify under oath. He was gutless when he refused
to testify at his trial. He is the one that's the coward and stands
behind a microphone and a radio and just spits out just things that
are just anti Democratic and anti American Barbara Comstock. This
first conviction of someone close to former president Trump based
on the work of this committee how significant
Very significant. As you know, Judy. Oh, before I was in Congress.
I was a Congressional council and this is for the rights of Congress
asserting their right to investigate. So I think it's very significant
that now Congress can play its role in asserting its right to investigate.
And so the gutless Steve Bannon, who was so critical
In this insurrection. We know Steve Bannon was calling the president,
you know, all during Christmas time saying Get in there and, you
know, be running this insurrection, which we know Steve Bannon was
very much involved in. I think Steve Bannon is going to have more
liability in this because he was telling Donald Trump to come back
and to be, you know, involved in this January 6th thing. Remember
the night before Steve Bannon was saying? It's not going to be what
you think it is. It's you know all hell.
Is going to break loose, and we now know in October Steve Bannon
was on tape saying, You know, even if Donald Trump loses, he's going
to say he's going to win. So there's all kinds of documents and records.
Bank records that we need to get from Steve Bannon. And now Congress
can assert its authority and I, Steve Bannon is going to have a whole
lot more trouble. So you know, he said he was gonna go medieval.
And I think I certainly hope you know that Congress is going to go
medieval in terms of getting these records on this guy who I think
is very much an insurrectionist and and was very key and involved
in this in this whole plot to of over.
Throw an election. Let me and Doug Jones. Let's turn now to these
hearings. What do you think that committee has accomplished so far?
I think they've gone far above their expectations and in the eyes
of the American people, they have really put together a compelling
story and factually accurate about what happened before, during and
after January, 6th. They have put together and they've done it, not
in a partisan way. I know there are a lot of people out there that
think that this was just all about getting Donald Trump. It was not.
It was all about democracy and getting to the truth of what happened
on January 6th and how
Was planned. What happened during that day and what is going on?
Even today? As we speak, Judy, I think they've done a remarkable
job of connecting all the dots. And really all of those dots lead
back to one person. They lead back to Donald Trump in some form or
another.
So it's a Barbara Comstock. If the committee the committee was about
describing President Trump's role former President Trump's role in
all of this, but in the end if the people who support him are not
watching these hearings, which they say they are not, um, how much
how much headway can the committee make?
It's been so critical in this investigation. It's been Donald Trump's
own presidential staff, his campaign stuff and his, uh, you know,
Justice Department staff unequivocally and consistently condemning
him under oath and factually. This has never happened before. They've
made the case through contemporaneous documents, texts, saying We
told him he lost. He continually refused to accept it.
His campaign manager said. He lost, his attorney general, said he
lost his own White House counsel again and again said he lost. They
told him not to go to the capital. They told him not to say the things
that he said, and then those 187 minutes when he said, when he refused
to do anything, and then time and time again, his own vice president
said he lost. So it is again and again his own people. His own daughter,
his own son, saying, You've got to say
More so it's It's own people saying you aren't you know you lost.
So you're seeing this sore loser again and again being told by his
own people, So I think you have a very strong case.
Of criminal liability, So I certainly hope that Justice Department
will take this up. And that's what I want to ask you both about Doug
Jones. What? What amounts to success for this committee? Is it whether
in the end there is a prosecution of former president Trump or not?
No, I don't think that that is going to be a consideration for the
success of the committee. This committee has succeeded. This committee
has succeeded in putting forth the facts in a very compelling way,
in fact, says, Barbara said, from Trump's inner circle of facts that
showed our threat to democracy and how fragile our democracy is.
How it almost lost it on January 6th and how efforts are still today,
So I don't think that the Justice Department which by the way, I
believe
Is really working very, very hard. They're trying to put all these
pieces together in a way that that could be presented in a court
of law. It's a far different body than what we've seen with the January
6th committee of what can be admissible in to a court of law. I think
they're working on that, but I don't think at the end of the day
That a an indictment is the barometer of the success of the committee.
They have succeeded for and above what I believe Most people thought
that they would. Comstock, How would you define success for this
committee?
Well, I would agree with Doug that has been successful, whether or
not there's an indictment, and so I also think that the Justice Department
I do expect that they will probably have more information also. So
I agree that it's successful regardless because the American people
have have seen what a sore loser you know when profile in cowardice
that Donald Trump is while we've also seen, you know Liz Cheney being
I think a profile in courage and many of you know our capital.
Police how courageous they were. While you're seeing somebody like
Josh Hawley running away and letting our poor Capitol police have
to be beaten for hours while Donald Trump was just sitting there
watching this violence go on.
So I think, yes, they've been very successful on that front. But
I also expect there will be lots more evidence coming forward. We've
seen these courageous young woman like that. We've seen that Donald
Trump continues to attack and they get death threats. But I do think
there are more people daily coming forward who are going to continue
to fill out this record, and I do think that the Justice Department
will be able to fill in those gaps and I expect will be able to have
more indictments.
Um and and continue to have convictions like we had today with Steve
Bannon.
Former Republican congresswoman Barbara Comstock. Former Democratic