WASHINGTON — Dramatic new footage, startling revelations and graphic testimony made Thursday night’s opening salvo from the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection must-see-TV for many Americans.
But the prime-time presentation that aired live on most networks was not priority viewing for Texas Republicans in Congress, who either bashed the committee’s work or ignored it entirely in favor of unrelated issues.
“Americans are still waiting for the primetime hearing on record inflation,” Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, tweeted Friday.
Sen. Ted Cruz made clear well before the chairman’s gavel fell that he would rather watch paint dry than listen to what he characterized as a “kangaroo court” intended to distract from economic challenges such as rising inflation.
“It’s politics, but I don’t think it’s going to be very effective politics,” said Cruz who pushed objections to certifying the 2020 results from key states.
Sen. John Cornyn, who has been focused on bipartisan gun talks this week, had not commented on the hearing by Friday evening.
Republicans who tuned out missed plenty, including videos of Trump’s own Attorney General Bill Barr recounting how he told Trump that talk of a rigged election was “bullshit” and Trump’s daughter Ivanka saying she respected Barr’s assessment that there was no major election fraud.
Committee vice chairwoman Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., shared an account of Trump being told Capitol attackers were chanting to hang Vice President Mike Pence for not overturning the election results. Trump responded that maybe the rioters had it right and Pence “deserves it,” according to Cheney.
A documentary filmmaker testified about the role played by far-right groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in fueling the violence. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards provided live testimony about how she slipped in other people’s blood amid the “carnage” and “chaos” that left scores of officers injured.
Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, tweeted Friday those officers stepped up to protect democracy in the “face of unspeakable violence” that day.
“What they did was nothing short of heroic,” Allred wrote. “I thank Ms. Edwards for her bravery & I’m grateful to the officers who put their lives on the line.”
Five Texas Republicans in the House voted to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory: Reps. Chip Roy of Austin, Dan Crenshaw of Houston, Van Taylor of Plano, Michael McCaul of Austin and Tony Gonzales of San Antonio. Reps. Kay Granger of Fort Worth and Kevin Brady of The Woodlands did not vote.
Van Duyne objected only to the Pennsylvania results, while the remaining Texas Republicans in the House objected to the results from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Many of them did not respond to a request for comment on the Thursday night session, which was the first of a series, with the next three different hearings scheduled for next week.
Those who did respond provided statements that largely sidestepped details from the hearing and instead criticized those behind it.
“Liz (Cheney) is a nice lady but she’s a Hollywood star and a darling of the Democrats — I wouldn’t put much stock in any allegations she and Nancy Pelosi conjure up,” said Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas.
The committee described how it will present evidence in the coming weeks that the Jan. 6 attack was no accidental, spontaneous burst of violence but rather the culmination of an “attempted coup.”
But don’t expect many GOP lawmakers to set their DVR’s.
Democrats are “orchestrating a political side show” instead of addressing issues such as inflation, rising gas prices, a baby formula shortage and illegal border crossings,” said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas.
“Americans see past the partisan theater that is nothing but a continuation of their obsession with President Trump,” Williams said.
Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, was busy and couldn’t watch the proceedings, aides said, but he had earlier called the hearings a “sham.”
Some Texas lawmakers could land at least cameos in the hearings.
The committee has sought testimony from Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, to explain why members of the Oath Keepers militia group exchanged messages on Jan. 6 worrying about his security and saying he had “critical data to protect.”
Jackson has said he doesn’t know those individuals and won’t cooperate with the committee.
In a Thursday tweet before the hearing, Jackson called out Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, the only other Republican on the committee besides Cheney.
“For America Last Swamp Creatures like Kinzinger, this is just POLITICAL THEATER,” Jackson wrote. “Have fun at your TV debut tonight Adam, I look forward to you being OUT of Congress next year!!”
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who raised the prospect of “violence in the streets” to block Biden from becoming president, described the hearing as a “Soviet-style production.”
Roy was among the Republicans who texted Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in the period after the election urging him to keep fighting.
As Jan. 6 approached, however, Roy suggested Trump should instead give a “statesman speech” and pack it in.
“My position has been from the beginning — we have standing committees through which we should pursue truth wherever it leads. Not prime time political shows,” he said Friday.
Republican shrugs stand in stark contrast to reactions from Democrats who see the hearings as an important defense of democracy.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, tweeted that Thursday night’s hearing was the beginning of the country getting the answers it deserves.
“On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump left everyone in the U.S. Capitol for dead,” Castro wrote. “What should have been a peaceful transfer of power resulted in chaos and a horrific attack from right-wing extremists.”
(Washington correspondent Rebekah Alvey contributed to this report.)
