This morning, Rolling Stone published a story claiming a major bombshell regarding January 6th. Specifically, the headline reads “Exclusive: Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in ‘Dozens’ of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff.” It was written by Hunter Walker, one of the far-left hatchet men over at that outlet, and is clearly meant to stoke the conspiracy theory that Republican congressional members helped plan an “insurrection.”
That, of course, set social media on fire, and those predisposed to believe such nonsense ran with it.
So, is this a big revelation if confirmed? The answer is a definitive no, and that’s not because the story is completely false. Rather, it’s because the framing is completely false. Yes, organizers did meet with GOP members of the House prior to January 6th. But they did not meet to plan a riot and entry into the Capitol Building. Rather, they met to spur attendance at Donald Trump’s speech and other rallies around the country.
The two sources, both of whom have been granted anonymity due to the ongoing investigation, describe participating in “dozens” of planning briefings ahead of that day when Trump supporters broke into the Capitol as his election loss to President Joe Biden was being certified.
“I remember Marjorie Taylor Greene specifically,” the organizer says. “I remember talking to probably close to a dozen other members at one point or another or their staffs.”
For the sake of clarity, we will refer to one of the sources as a rally organizer and the other as a planner. Rolling Stone has confirmed that both sources were involved in organizing the main event aimed at objecting to the electoral certification, which took place at the White House Ellipse on Jan. 6. Trump spoke at that rally and encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol. Some members of the audience at the Ellipse began walking the mile and a half to the Capitol as Trump gave his speech. The barricades were stormed minutes before the former president concluded his remarks.
First, note that these are anonymous sources. Second, pay attention to what’s said and what’s not said. If these sources actually exist, at no point do they claim Republican politicians had any part in planning any “storming” of the Capitol. Rather, they admit to helping organize Trump’s speech, which occurred over a mile away. Last I checked, it is legal for a president to give a speech, though, I’m sure many on the left would love to criminalize that as well.
Further, we already knew that protest organizers met with figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Andy Biggs, but there is no evidence it went past planning peaceful rallies. This article admits that while trying to frame what these sources are saying as something more nefarious. Yet, that something nefarious is never denoted. Instead, the writer claims they aren’t giving details because there’s an “ongoing investigation,” as if the House is a law enforcement arm or something.
Later, one of the sources claims they were offered a “blanket” pardon by Paul Gosar, and they go on to complain that no such pardon ever materialized. Whether that’s true or not is largely irrelevant as Trump clearly did not act on any such promise. Maybe Nancy Pelosi can impeach him for a third time, though?
The article concludes by announcing that these two sources are going to cooperate with the January 6th committee.
While it was already clear members of Congress played some role in the Jan. 6 events and similar rallies that occurred in the lead-up to that day, the two sources say they can provide new details about the members’ specific roles in these efforts. The sources plan to share that information with congressional investigators right away. While both sources say their communications with the House’s Jan. 6 committee thus far have been informal, they are expecting to testify publicly.
“I have no problem openly testifying,” the planner says.
The planner has no problem openly testifying but wants to remain anonymous for this report? Does that make sense to anyone?
Here’s what this is really about: This report is a rehash of things we already knew framed in a way to bolster the January 6th committee’s standing, making it seem as if they are doing important, ground-breaking work. In reality, they haven’t come up with anything. There’s no actual meat on the bone of this report, and whatever these sources provide, assuming they exist, will have nothing to do with those who chose to enter the Capitol Building that day.
But this is what Rolling Stone does. It’s a dumpster fire of a “news” outlet that has been caught lying and misleading more times than I can count, and that’s not even considering their general leftwing bias. Just recently, the magazine was caught making up stories about ivermectin overdoses overwhelming hospitals. Why would anyone believe anything they have to say at this point?
The United States has real issues right now, and January 6th isn’t one of them. Normal people are worried about inflation, gas prices, the economy, their children’s schools, and a myriad of other problems that are impacting their lives. No one cares about Pelosi’s committee, and they certainly don’t care about Rolling Stone’s misleading reporting on the subject.