Seth Abramson

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

22/ Indeed, and this can’t be overstated, the big takeaway from the first House January 6 Committee meeting—this is the third—is that Pence made all the decisions and calls on January 6 (to DOJ, DHS and the National Guard) that Trump would *not* because he was 100% AWOL as POTUS. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

RT @SethAbramson: 2/ This live thread is of course free. If, as you follow along between now and 3:30PM today, you feel moved to use the ti… — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

RT @SethAbramson: 1/ At times I may make reference in this thread to evidence previously published in the nearly 200 reports on January 6 t… — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

RT @SethAbramson: (🧵) LIVE THREAD: I’m live-tweeting today’s (Thursday’s) 1PM ET House January 6 Committee hearing. I’m a lawyer, journalis… — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

21/ On the other hand (and here’s why I say I’m of two minds) because everything about Pence is so high stakes—his ambitions; his value as a hostage; his centrality in Trump’s lies; and now, with Milley’s depo, his role as unofficial POTUS on January 6—there’s a *lot* to chew on. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

20/ It’s for this reason that I find myself ambivalent—in the sense of being of two minds—about the Pence topic. As often as not, it pulls us from more critical topics: e.g., what was going on in the U.S. Secret Service and Trump’s lies about what he knew of January 6 in advance. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

19/ For these reasons, the Pence issue is like a nautilus shell that keeps turning in on itself. Why did Pence have to pretend—for any duration—he might do as asked? Well, go back to the start of this thread: Pence wants to be POTUS and feared a *security situation* on January 6. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

18/ We’ll hear today that Pence asked for advice from Judge Luttig and Luttig told him he couldn’t do as Trump asked—just as Jacob had told Pence. But this may obscure the simple fact that no one serious *ever* implied to Pence he could do this and Pence *never* thought he could. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

17/ While Pence had Jacob write a three-page memo formally ditching the idea he could overturn the election, it is really important to understand that neither Pence nor Jacob ever *seriously* considered doing as Trump asked. They were just trying to stay in Trump’s good graces. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

16/ This is so important to underscore: there was *no valid legal argument* for Pence having *anything* but a ceremonial role on January 6, and *Pence knew it* and *his legal counsel knew it* and *Trump’s lawyers privately knew it*. That whole rigamarole was for Trump’s benefit. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

15/ But for all this, at the heart of *most* conversations and Pence and January 6 is—unfortunately—a rather boring and stupid and open-and-shut conversation about whether Pence had the legal authority to overturn the election. He did not, and he knew that *from the jump*, folks. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

14/ 7⃣ Tracking Pence’s movements in the Capitol on January 6 may be the *best* way of underscoring how *dangerous* the movements of the mob were, in terms of how close they came to him and the nuclear football and actually capturing one of the highest value hostages in America. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

13/ 6⃣ The Pence narrative is adjacent to *most* big January 6 narratives: Eastman’s coup scheme (repeatedly pitched to Pence); pro-Trump corruption in the USSS; Trump hiding his foreknowledge of January 6 violence from Pence; Pence acting as POTUS with CJCS Milley on January 6. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

12/ 5⃣ Pence is the epicenter of many January 6 mysteries he won’t resolve—like why he was unwilling to get in a Secret Service vehicle on January 6 due to mistrust of the USSS and how his friend/donor Bubba Saulsbury knew to flee D.C. after meeting with him on Insurrection Eve. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

11/ 4⃣ As PROOF has reported, Trump knew *days* before January 6 that Pence wasn’t going to join in his criminal conspiracy—so we have days of statements by Trump and the Trump campaign that are known lies on this subject that must now be fully revealed as such through evidence. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

10/ 3⃣ Pence is one of the two people (with Speaker Nancy Pelosi) we *know* the January 6 rioters writ large wanted to kidnap, torture, and/or kill, and unlike with Pelosi we have eyewitnesses saying Trump *supported* violence toward—possibly assassination of—the Vice President. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

9/ The topic of today’s hearing—Pence—is one of the most complex ones in the January 6 timeline. I’d like to go through a few of the reasons for that: 1⃣ Pence is himself unwilling to be a witness. 2⃣ Pence—unlike any other January 6 witness but Trump—has presidential ambitions. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

8/ CNN has previewed J. Michael Luttig’s opening statement (which may or may not be read in full live, we don’t know). Given that Luttig is a giant in conservative circles, the language of his opening statement—a *full-throated* indictment of Donald Trump—is considered stunning. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

7/ BREAKING NEWS 2: This announcement by the House January 6 Committee follows by a few hours a report by the NYT revealing that Trump attorney John Eastman was (a) in private email contact with Ginni Thomas pre-J6, and (b) had non-public knowledge of internal SCOTUS discussions. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

6/ BREAKING NEWS: Chair of the House January 6 Committee Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) Announces That the House Select Committee Now Wants to Interview Ginni Thomas, Wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; Committee Had Previously Been Split on This Critical Issue — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

5/ The Committee is also expected to air a big portion of the recorded deposition of Marc Short, former chief of staff to Pence. Short is considered one of the key HJ6C witnesses. The questioning today will be by Rep. Aguilar, a Democrat. Stand by for mid-thread breaking news... — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

4/ The two known live witnesses for today: ▪️ Greg Jacob, former legal counsel for former Vice President Mike Pence ▪️ J. Michael Luttig, conservative former federal judge from the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit As noted above, Luttig is a respected *conservative*. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

4/ The 2 known live witnesses for today: ▪️ Greg Jacobs, former legal counsel for former Vice President Mike Pence ▪️ J. Michael Luttig, conservative former federal judge from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit As noted above, Luttig is a respected *conservative*. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

3/ I’ll be offering logistical, legal, and historical framing for today’s hearing, and outlining what to expect from the hearing (and how it fits into the larger work of the House January 6 Committee and future work by the Department of Justice). Today’s hearing focuses on Pence. — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

2/ This live thread is of course free. If, as you follow along between now and 3:30PM today, you feel moved to use the tip jar in my bio (see image below for location) I appreciate it, even as I add that it is—as ever—100% optional. I’ll do the best work I can today either way. https://t.co/XatRn89YDe — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

1/ At times I may make reference in this thread to evidence previously published in the nearly 200 reports on January 6 that appear at PROOF (link below). About half of these reports are free at PROOF, while the other half are for subscribers ($5/month). https://t.co/94g4fNJ989 — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

(🧵) LIVE THREAD: I’m live-tweeting today’s (Thursday’s) 1PM ET House January 6 Committee hearing. I’m a lawyer, journalist and historian who’s been contacted by the Committee and whose J6-focused substack, PROOF, the Committee has cited. I hope you will RETWEET and follow along. https://t.co/l5sfaWNulk — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

(📢) With each new piece of breaking news about John Eastman it becomes more and more critical that you read about the contact between Eastman and Ginni Thomas PROOF disclosed 4 months ago. How did Eastman know about internal SCOTUS discussions? Read this: https://t.co/1yGayOLcKe — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

RT @rebeccaballhaus: “Mr. Eastman’s email, if taken at face value, raised the question of how he would have known about internal tension am… — PolitiTweet.org

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson

RT @maggieNYT: Another Trump lawyer, Ken Chesebro, suggested the justices may be more inclined to weigh in if they had “fear” of “‘wild’ ch… — PolitiTweet.org