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On Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump took his long-running attempts to reframe the armed insurrection of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 to another level.
Here’s Trump posting on his Truth social site:
Um, no.
We know the facts of what happened that day. There were 200+ FBI agents on Capitol Hill on January 6. But they were called in after the riot began as the U.S. Capitol Police were overwhelmed by the protesters.
How do I know? Because less than a year ago, the Inspector General at the Department of Justice released a report on the FBI’s actions on January 6 that made that fact plain.
You — and Donald Trump! — can read the whole report here but this is the key bit:
The FBI Took Significant and Appropriate Steps in Advance of January 6 to Prepare for its Supporting Role. Despite playing only a supporting role in preparing for and responding to the events of January 6, the FBI recognized the potential for violence and took significant and appropriate steps to prepare for this supporting role…
…No Undercover FBI Employees at Protests or at the Capitol on January 6. We found no evidence in the materials we reviewed or the testimony we received showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6.
I mean, even FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump acolyte, felt compelled to cite these facts in the aftermath of Trump’s false comments.
“Agents were sent into a crowd control mission after the riot was declared by Metro Police – something that goes against FBI standards,” Patel told Fox on Sunday. “This was the failure of a corrupt leadership that lied to Congress and to the American people about what really happened.”
Kash Patel!
Trump’s willingness to entertain fringe conspiracy theories on January 6 is part of his broader efforts to reshape what happened that day.
The president has, in the past, suggested that the vast majority of those at the Capitol that day were peaceful — and that there were far-left Antifa agitators in the crowd responsible for the violence.
The Trump administration recently paid out almost $5 million in a wrongful death settlement with the family of January 6 protester Ashli Babbitt who was shot and killed as she sought to break into the House chamber.
Does Trump believe anything of what he is saying about January 6? I doubt it — but have no way of knowing. Here’s what I DO know: Lots and lots of people in this country believe, contra facts, that what happened on January 6 has been distorted by the media and Democrats.
A CBS News poll on the three year anniversary of the riot showed Republicans softening in their condemnation of that day.
Whitewashing history is a dangerous game. And one in which the president of the United States is very much engaged in.
