Did America learn anything from January 6? Did we?

It’s not a popular Subject in any kind of way. We, as Americans, lived they it.We saw it. And it was very sad.

But dang, it cost some individuals a heavy cost for seeking and finding the Truth that 🇺🇸 needed to know. MI matter what impact such January 6 Committee Findings affected anyone, all of 🇺🇸 needed to know. And what we learned brought tears to many 👀s in disbelief. But let’s look at the Big Loser-

The election of 2020 has been marred by the unprecedented turmoil that the American public had to endure. The consequences of the election have been far-reaching, causing division and unrest in the country. The most controversial episode of the post-election period has been the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021. This attack was perpetrated by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump and has been widely condemned for sparking fear amongst citizens and legislators.

One of the people who has been impacted by the aftermath of this attack is Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY). Chiefly, Representative Cheney has been vilified for her participation in the investigation of the incident, and for her refusal to repudiate the results of the election, despite immense pressure from her party. This eventually cost her her seat on the House Republican Leadership. This paper will discuss the treatment of Liz Cheney by the Republican party and analyze what this reflects of the Republican party today. It will also explore the events that led up to the January 6th attack, the consequences of Liz Cheney’s involvement in the investigation, and finally, present ideas on how to hold all participants of the attack accountable.

Background

Liz Cheney is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and the 9th U.S. Representative of the state of Wyoming. She is a Republican and currently holds a seat on the House Republican Leadership as House Republican Conference chair.

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, many Republican representatives supported Donald Trump’s claim of election fraud. The election was officially certified on January 7th, 2021, and on the same day, Cheney proposed a separate investigation into the state of the election and the events that preceded the attack on the Capitol. Despite considerable pressure from other Republican representatives, she refused to repudiate the election results and stuck to her candidacy.

In the months leading up to the attack, President Trump had used various methods to delegitimize the election and the subsequent certification of Joe Biden as the President-elect. He used social media to spread fake news, and his campaign filed several lawsuits claiming fraud, and simultaneously, Trump made repeated calls to overturn the election and his supporters often chanted “stop the steal” at campaign rallies. This created a false narrative of the election, and many of his supporters became convinced that the election was fraudulent and that Trump should remain in power. This eventually culminated in the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Impact on Liz Cheney

Cheney was passionate about investigating the attack and she was one of the few Republicans to recognize the extent of the attack. She proposed the formation of a separate investigation of the attack, which was later approved and named the January 6 Committee. This committee was tasked with working on legislation related to the attack and its investigation. Despite receiving criticism from Republican leadership, Cheney persisted with her candidacy for the chairmanship of the committee.

Throughout the investigation, Cheney faced immense criticism from the Republican party. Pence harshly criticized her for her involvement in the investigation, calling her out for her “unwillingness to accept the legitimacy of the False outcome of the election”. This led to a resolution proposing that Cheney should be removed from their leadership. Cheney addressed the resolution and stated that “this isn’t about policy… It’s about loyalty,” and she recognized the divide in the Republican party. Ultimately, the resolution passed, and she was removed from her leadership position. This was seen as a punishment by many and a sign of the Republican party’s commitment to President Trump.

The Investigating Committee

The committee was tasked with investigating the attack, with key leads including examining the role of elected officials and social media platforms. Additionally, the committee was expected to ask questions about the response by law enforcement and the role of Trump’s misinformation campaign in the attack. The committee was also expected to conduct a full review of the government’s response to the attack and uncover any potential conspiracies.

The committee’s findings were released in a 98-page report and were divided into three parts:

• The planning and coordination of the attack
• The security and law enforcement response
• The potential influence of Trump’s misinformation campaign

The report would assess the roles of the federal government, federal and local law enforcement and the military. This would include a review of the effectiveness of the response from the Department of Justice, FBI, Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police Department.

Timeline of events and the warning signs leading up to January 6 • The timeline of events leading up to January 6 should be analyzed in the report in order to determine if there were any warning signs that security should have been beefed up in advance, or if the response by federal and local law enforcement agencies was timely.

Complicity amongst elected officials and other government staff • The report should also address any potential complicity amongst elected officials, high-level staff, or other government staff with regard to the events of January 6. This should include an assessment of their behavior prior to, during and after the attack, and potential motivations for their decision-making.

Security protocols, emergency procedures, and communication protocols • The report should examine the security protocols, emergency procedures, and communication protocols utilized by federal and local law enforcement agencies, Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police Department leading up to, during, and after the attack, and assess their effectiveness.

Influences outside of Capitol Hill, including social media, domestic terrorism and disinformation • Finally, the report should examine the potential influences outside of Capitol Hill, such as social media, domestic terrorism, and disinformation that may have played a role in leading up to January 6 or in the response to the attack.

Recommendations for preventing a similar event from occurring in the future • Lastly, the report should provide recommendations for preventing a similar event from occurring in the future. This should include changes to security protocols and emergency procedures, as well as policy recommendations to help stop the spread of misinformation and disinformation, and to protect against domestic terrorism.

But America wants to know the true narrative and no false narratives-

On January 6th 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by a large group of supporters of then-president Donald Trump. The event is widely known as the Capitol Hill Insurrection and resulted in serious consequences for the nation. Since then, numerous investigations and court proceedings have been launched in order to bring those responsible to justice. At the same time, it has become clear that certain media outlets, and particularly Fox News, had played a noteworthy role in influencing public opinion and stoking the fire.

This paper examines the roll Tucker Carlson had on January 6th and afterwards by holding back the true story of what took place and why Fox is in a defamation lawsuit with Dominion voting machines. Through evaluating emails and text revealed thus far, this paper will demonstrate how the influence of Fox News, and in particular Carlson, aided Liz Cheney in losing the election for the Wyoming Senate seat.

Background

In the weeks leading up to the Capitol Hill insurrection, there was a constant stream of false news and unfounded accusations being spread on Fox News, and in particular by prime time host Tucker Carlson. Throughout his show, Carlson continually questioned the validity of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, continually claiming voter fraud and irregularities had taken place. His claims were accepted unchecked, and many viewers accepted his words as fact.

At the same time he was fanning the flames of distrust with regards to the election, Carlson was also promoting the “March for Trump” rally that was scheduled for January 6th. On the same day Congress was to ratify Joe Biden’s victory in the electoral college.

Fox News’ Role

It is clear that Fox News had a tremendous role to play in the events leading up to, and the aftermath of, the Capitol Hill Insurrection on January 6th. Their prominent coverage of the false accusations of voter fraud, as well as the promotion of the January 6th rally, undoubtedly played a role in the breakdown of trust in the legitimacy of the election.

Furthermore, Fox News continued to falsely propagate the narrative that the election had been fraudulent and that it was stolen from Donald Trump. Such claims were not backed up by any concrete evidence, however they were presented as fact by Tucker Carlson and the other prominent personalities at the network.

Fox News had in fact been receiving cease and desist letters throughout the weeks and days leading up to the insurrection, demanding that they cease their false and dangerous rhetoric. They had however failed to comply with these letters and instead continued to spread false information.

Tucker Carlson’s Role

Tucker Carlson was one of the prime time hosts at Fox News and had a huge role to play in the disinformation prior to and after the attack on the Capitol. While other Fox News hosts such as Lou Dobbs were applauded for simply “stoking the flames”, Carlson instead actively and knowingly spread false information on his show.

Despite receiving numerous objections from other Fox News employees, Carlson continued to propagate his false news stories and claims of voter fraud. In some cases he even went so far as to personally warn viewers not to trust the election results.

Even after the insurrection, Tucker Carlson continued to downplay the impact of what had taken place and even went so far as to cast doubt that the attack had been instigated by far-right extremists.

The Defamation Lawsuit

In the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, Dominion Voting Systems filed a lawsuit accusing Fox News of knowingly defaming them and causing mass disruption to their business. Dominion accuses the network of having propagated lies and falsehoods to their millions of viewers, and that the false stories they spread had caused considerable harm to the company.

The lawsuit accuses Carlson specifically of playing an “integral role in introducing and emphasizing the false narrative that Dominion had engaged in election theft, as well as its consequences”. Following this, Carlson continues to introduce and emphasize additional false statements about the company and their voting machines.

In addition to the lawsuit, numerous emails and text messages have been revealed that demonstrate just how close Tucker Carlson’s influence was on Fox News. It has been revealed that prior to the attack, Carlson had received internal memos from the Fox News legal team warning him to steer clear of promulgating false information. However, it appears as though he simply ignored this advice and recklessly pushed conspiracy theories and baseless claims – particularly relating to the 2020 presidential election – that served only to further divide the nation and embolden right-wing extremists. In doing so, Tucker has been at the forefront of a disinformation campaign which has culminated in his network, Fox News, being sued by voting technology firm Dominion Voting Systems for defamation. This paper will discuss the various aspects of Tucker Carlson’s role in the election fraud conspiracy, the subsequent Fox News coverage of the narrative, leading to their current legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems, and the effect Carlson’s devious rhetoric has had on Liz Cheney’s political career.

Tucker Carlson’s role in the disinformation campaign surrounding the 2020 election began during the days leading up to the Capitol insurrection on January 6th. On that day, Carlson appeared on Hannity – another Fox News show – and stated: “We have total confidence in the Carter-Baker commission to do a real investigation, we’ve been telling you that for weeks. We also have very grave concerns that some of the results of the election were not fair and accurate.” As the testimony of numerous election officials have verified, there is no evidence of any widespread fraud in the election, and since then, Carlson has yet to provide any shred of evidence to support his claims.

Matters further escalated the following weeks, when Carlson and other Fox News hosts systematically downplayed the events of January 6th, choosing to blame liberal activists for the assault on the Capitol instead of President Trump or his supporters. Furthermore, after Rudy Giuliani told Carlson that he had proof of fraud in the election, but would only provide it in private, Carlson accepted the offer without hesitation, despite not verifying the legitimacy of the claims. At a subsequent hearing on the Capitol attack, Carlson testified that he was unconvinced that President Trump had incited the insurrection on January 6th, and blamed the event on “extremists on both sides of the aisle”. While testifying, he referred to the rioters as “peaceful patriots”, which further incensed those who felt as though he was trivializing the violent attack.

Carlson’s devious tactics have led to Fox News becoming the target of a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. The claims in the lawsuit detail the various allegations and false information spread by Fox News personalities between November 3rd, 2020 and January 6th, 2021. These include claims that Dominion had provided Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez with voting machines and the suggestion that the machines had the ability to change votes. Aside from the legal action, these malicious and unsupported claims have caused a significant increase in safety concerns for Dominion employees.

Additionally, Tucker Carlson’s devious election rhetoric has been detrimental to Liz Cheney’s political career. In February 2021, Cheney, who is the Republican House Conference Chair, was one of only eleven House Republican to vote in favor of impeachment. Soon after, Tucker Carlson began to rally against her, implying in his show that her vote for impeachment was the only reason the House was considering ousting her from her leadership role. He likened her vote to a form of moral blackmail, accusing her of trying to ingratiate herself with the left. The boycott against Cheney gained traction and she eventually lost her seat in Congress. The events that transpired highlight the power of Tucker Carlson and Fox’s broadcasting reach and serve as a stark reminder of how the network can use its platform to push unsubstantiated claims and shape political narratives.

In conclusion, Tucker Carlson and Fox News have had a huge role to play in the election fraud conspiracy, and now face significant legal ramifications as a part of their ongoing defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. Carlson and his cohorts have also played a key role in the downfall of Liz Cheney, who was one of the few Republicans to vote in favor of the President’s impeachment. As emails and text messages between Carlson and other Fox News personnel have revealed, their network appears to have intended to use their immense platform to spread false information, despite being aware of the potential legal repercussions. It is apparent that Carlson and the rest of Fox News have acted recklessly and should be held accountable for their role in the ongoing disinformation campaign.

Only the Courts can determine who’s Roles caused What? But 🇺🇸 wants to Know. Tell 🇺🇸 the Truth always…