As the 2024 election season heats up, Democratic members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol are suddenly taking their own advice to heart.
For years, they have warned America to take former President Donald Trump at his word, and it seems they are finally starting to believe it themselves.
After months of investigation, the bipartisan Jan. 6 select committee concluded that Trump had incited the violence that left five people dead and dozens injured.
However, as Trump’s criminal trials face delays that could stall them past election day, some committee members are now worried about potential retribution from the former president, who has made several threatening comments about locking up his political enemies.
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) has long been a burr in Trump’s side, and he is now taking “real-time conversations” with his staff about how to ‘stay safe’ if Trump follows through on his threats.
Other committee members, such as Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), are also preparing for the worst. Lofgren said she doesn’t have a plan in place yet, but “one thing I did learn on the committee is to pay attention and listen to what Trump says, because he means it.”
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who was vice chair of the select committee, called Trump’s legal moves “a delaying tactic,” while Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) remains optimistic that a trial may conclude before the election.
However, with the Fulton County, Ga. trial not yet scheduled and involvement of multiple defendants, it seems likely that none of Trump’s election obstruction cases will be resolved before November.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are conducting their own investigation into the causes of the Jan. 6 insurrection, hoping to shift the blame away from Trump.
The House Administration Committee’s oversight panel is expected to hold several hearings before the election, with a focus on whether the select committee has hidden information that may have exonerated Trump.
In an interview with conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck, Trump said, “The answer is you have no choice because they’re doing it to us,” when asked if he would lock up political enemies if he became president again.
