Tuesday Open Thread: A Surprise Hearing and Witness!

Well played, January 6th Committee.

While the majority of us have been stuck in a haze since Friday's horrific Supreme Court decision, leave it to those congressional members investigating the insurrection to throw us all for a massive loop.

Despite announcing there would be no further committee hearings this month and with Congress out of town for the week, news broke early yesterday afternoon that the January 6th Committee members would be flying back into town for an unannounced hearing today at 1 PM. Even more surprising, the committee has stated the reason for the hearing was due to recent information that has suddenly become available and as of yesterday evening, there was significant speculation about a surprise witness, whose testimony is so potentially explosive that her/his identity is being kept under wraps to everyone except the committee members.

This could mean a number of things. Is the witness in need of protection so that they must testify immediately? Is this a breakthrough of someone who has recently been identified as being critical to the investigation? Is this someone who recently testified to the committee whose testimony is so damning that it deserves a national television audience? These are all questions that will be revealed today at 1 PM Eastern. 

Remember when Republicans and the pundits were saying this would do nothing to move the needle? 

Well, as we've seen the first 5 hearings have been explosive. And now, with this surprising hearing and witness, the Beltway is abuzz about what will potentially unfold. Combined with the Republicans forcing women to become second-class citizens, whatever we learn today about the party's involvement in the January 6th insurrection will only continue to showcase the modern-day Republican Party to be criminal, corrupt, and catastrophic for the peace and prosperity of the United States of America.

June 28, 2022. Are we finally getting the John Dean moment for our generation? Only time will tell. 

This is your January 6th Committee: Day 6 open thread. 

                                                                     

***Update***

Well, so much for secrecy. 

Just before 11 PM last night, news broke that the witness will be Cassidy Hutchinson, former senior aide to Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. 

Meadows, and thus Hutchinson by proximity, was in the room where it happened for much of the criming that the committee has already described. We've already seen video recorded footage of Hutchinson describing the GOP's least-finest asking for pardons. But now, today, it appears as if we will have her live in the flesh.

Cassidy Hutchinson is not a household name. That all changes today. The need to bring forth someone who has already testified under oath proves that something big has happened. Maybe Hutchinson is being threatened. Maybe new evidence corroborates something the committee had long suspected. Or maybe Meadows himself or one of his cronies is at risk for destroying evidence and the committee needed Hutchinson's public testimony sooner rather than later. Whatever the reason is, Chairman Thompson and the committee have earned the benefit of the doubt and their reason(s) for bringing her in immediately should not be questioned.

We're in uncharted territory, folks. Is Cassidy Hutchinson our new John Dean? 1 PM cannot get here fast enough.

This is your surprise hearing open thread.