# 7 Jan 2021 and beyond - the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 8, 2021, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020 "2021-01-08T10:28:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 144
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2869 "2022-01-24T21:39:32Z")
As noted upthread: > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > “Is you taking notes on a fucking criminal conspiracy?” ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2870 "2022-01-24T22:24:28Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Perhaps even Donald Trump recognized that issuing an order to the military is just going too far? I’m trying to imagine what the consequences of that would be, aside from the end of the American experiment. > > I don’t think scruples was the problem, but rather the old mob-boss rule of “don’t put anything in writing”. Maybe both. At some point, someone with brains said, “You know, calling in the military could be a line a lot of people might not be willing to cross, and if it backfires we’re all in deep shit.” At which point DJT said, “I never saw this document.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2871 "2022-01-24T23:47:38Z")
Didn’t the Joint Chiefs of Staff make it clear (or did this happen sometime later?) that any attempt by DJT to bring the military into his coup would result in mass resignations? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2872 "2022-01-25T00:07:05Z")
GEN Mark Milley [was alleged to have said that.](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/07/15/top-generals-planned-to-resign-en-masse-if-trump-refused-to-leave-office-reports/) But the proposed move struck me as outmoded and bound to play right into Trump’s hands. Wouldn’t he just have appointed loyalists to those positions? Such acts based on principle require that the people you’re dealing with _have_ principles. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2873 "2022-01-25T00:25:14Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > But the proposed move struck me as outmoded and bound to play right into Trump’s hands. Wouldn’t he just have appointed loyalists to those positions? Such acts based on principle require that the people you’re dealing with _have_ principles. This^. I sincerely doubt the reason Trump didn’t sign the EO was because he thought, _Oh, no, the Joint Chiefs will resign!_ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2874 "2022-01-25T00:36:09Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Wouldn’t he just have appointed loyalists to those positions? Such acts based on principle require that the people you’re dealing with _have_ principles. That would work, if you knew that all of the former officer’s subordinates were on board with you. If there was a mass resignation and mass-appointment of Trump lackeys immediately, outside the normal vetting process, then the subordinates _might_ follow orders to move against the US government, but they might not. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2875 "2022-01-25T00:50:52Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I sincerely doubt the reason Trump didn’t sign the EO was because he thought, _Oh, no, the Joint Chiefs will resign!_ Trump was keenly aware of how it would look. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2876 "2022-01-25T01:05:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Trump was keenly aware of how it would look. I guess I’ve been wrong so many times about how much Trump can get away with that I’m not sure whether he’d have to care. I don’t know anything about rules of succession for senior military officers, but the last few years have taught us that a lot fewer things are coded into law than we used to think, vice norms and tradition. As long as his base stays with him, he can intimidate uppity Republican dissenters. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2877 "2022-01-25T02:58:28Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > GEN Mark Milley [was alleged to have said that.](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/07/15/top-generals-planned-to-resign-en-masse-if-trump-refused-to-leave-office-reports/) But the proposed move struck me as outmoded and bound to play right into Trump’s hands. Wouldn’t he just have appointed loyalists to those positions? This, of course, was a quandary faced by people throughout the administration. Some of his advisers and cabinet people, and others, calculated that they should best stay on in the hope they could be the “adults in the room” and keep some control of things. Most of those, like Rex Tillerson or James Mattis, perhaps even Jeff Sessions, tried to walk a tightrope between keeping Trump under control and keeping him happy, until things got so awful that they just couldn’t in good conscience stick around, or they got fired. And then, in the public debate, some people praised them for doing what they could to keep Trump contained, while others condemned them for being Trump toadies for as long as they did. Others, many many others, were total Trump toadies, and/or thoroughly corrupt themselves, from start to finish. Pompeo, Mnuchin, Wilbur Ross, DeVos, Mulvaney, Meadows, and on and on and on – were nothing more than corrupt grifters. Bill Barr did a kinda-sorta Darth Vader. Serious Trump apologist and protector, but in the end he sort of redeemed himself a little bit by publicly announcing that the 2020 election was mostly clean, and then quitting. I saw in the news just today that he has been cooperating with the Committee. Looks like he’s trying to do some conscience laundering. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2878 "2022-01-25T03:02:37Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That would work, if you knew that all of the former officer’s subordinates were on board with you. If there was a mass resignation and mass-appointment of Trump lackeys immediately, outside the normal vetting process, then the subordinates _might_ follow orders to move against the US government, but they might not.   Someone tell me if I’m remembering a-right or just imagining – I thought I read that the top-most Joint Chiefs had discussed this with their underlings, and had impressed upon them that if they (the top brass) were fired and replaced with toadies, then the underlings should resist them if they tried to do any couping. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2879 "2022-01-25T07:32:19Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > This^. I sincerely doubt the reason Trump didn’t sign the EO was because he thought, _Oh, no, the Joint Chiefs will resign!_ I think he may have been more afraid that that they _wouldn’t_ resign. If the Pentagon simply stopped following his orders - which they might have done, if he’d asked them to get involved in the election process - then he was screwed. I doubt he knew who Nicolae Ceaușescu was, for example, but he knew what could happen to strongmen when they lose the support of the military. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2880 "2022-01-25T15:55:47Z")
i can only imagine the dance putin would have done had the us military resigned wholesale. vodka would have flowed like the volga! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2881 "2022-01-25T16:18:14Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I sincerely doubt the reason Trump didn’t sign the EO was because he thought, _Oh, no, the Joint Chiefs will resign!_ Possibly because he thought ‘Oh, no, the Joint Chiefs will have me arrested’, though. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2882 "2022-01-26T17:40:24Z")
Camp Auschwitz guy gets a chance to work for his freedom: > **[Rioter who wore 'Camp Auschwitz' sweatshirt pleads guilty](https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-riots-virginia-newport-news-a2c7a7a7fd31088d6d9f0f1e78585deb)** > > A Virginia man who wore a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt at the U.S. Capitol during last year's riot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to joining the mob of people who stormed the building. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2883 "2022-01-26T18:40:06Z")
ISWYDT. (Complete sentence for Discourse.) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2884 "2022-01-27T21:15:58Z")
Totes so fun, pepper-spraying Capitol police… > **[Capitol-riot suspect accused of attacking police texted his girlfriend that...](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/capitol-riot-suspect-accused-attacking-152401728.html)** > > The 47-year-old Virginia man was arrested after posting about the Capitol riot online, federal prosecutors said. > [@](#): > > The FBI said Maly told his girlfriend, “We took the fuckin capital,” and added that it “was so fun” after she said she was concerned about violence during the riot. Prosecutors alleged Maly messaged another person, telling them he “stood his ground” against the police during the insurrection and “went back for seconds and thirds even” Yeah, I know - you just can’t get quite that same high like you did the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2885 "2022-01-29T21:36:00Z")
> **[Firefighter who joined the Capitol riot had photo of a Democratic lawmaker...](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/firefighter-joined-capitol-riot-had-165353203.html)** > > Andrew Williams, a firefighter from Florida, said the photo was a "secret Santa" gift from a co-worker. > [@](#): > > The FBI found a photograph of a Democratic member of Congress with a shooting target superimposed over her body in the home of a Capitol Riot defendant, federal prosecutors said. A firefighter from Sanford, Florida, Andrew Williams, pleaded guilty in November to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing inside a Capitol building. > [@](#): > > In videos taken during the insurrection, later obtained by the FBI, Williams doubted he would be arrested. **“How are they going to arrest every single person?”** Williams said in a video taken inside the Capitol, according to an FBI affidavit seen by Insider. Well, ya see, Andy, the deep state moles are planted in a lot more nooks and crevices than you think, and before ya know it, they’ll all come after you, from under your beds and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2886 "2022-02-04T18:48:31Z")
God bless America! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2887 "2022-02-04T19:12:40Z")
The [Republican National Committee has censured Cheney and Kinzinger for participating in the Jan 6 Committee, and called the insurrction “legitimate political discourse”.](https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/04/politics/liz-cheney-adam-kinzinger-censure-rnc/index.html) The loonies have taken over the asylum. And half the country has “Loonies 2024” yard signs. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/2888 "2022-02-04T21:29:19Z")
Sometimes, rarely, a Republican speaks the actual truth, and it always kind of knocks me sideways when that happens. Today, Mike Pence: “President Trump is wrong,” Pence said. “I had no right to overturn the election.” > **[Mike Pence: ‘President Trump is wrong’ in saying VP could overturn election](https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2022/2/4/22918391/pence-trump-wrong-overturn-election)** > > The former vice president says he “had no right to overturn the election” and defended his actions on Jan. 6. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020.md?page=143) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020.md?page=145)