Earlier on Monday, as Spencer covered, the members of the January 6 select committee held their final public hearing. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre held her press briefing not long after, during which she was afforded the opportunity to add the administration's two cents.
The first question, predictably, was about the select committee's final hearing with a final report to come out on Wednesday. Jean-Pierre was asked a generic question as to if she had any comment, resulting in quite the fear-mongering we've heard for so long.
"So I’ll first say, and you’ve heard me say this many times, and the president as well: We’ve been very clear from the beginning that what we saw on January 6th was the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War," Jean-Pierre declared. She was, however, correct in that she and the president have so oft-repeated such a claim. "And the president has been very clear: Our democracy continues and remains under threat, and we all have a--have a part to protect it."
Biden has been making that claim since long before Jean-Pierre came into the role. In his first joint address before Congress in April of last year, the president claimed that he had inherited "a nation in crisis" in part because the country experienced "the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War." He was referring to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Jean-Pierre was also on point in that the president, which she herself has doubled down on in numerous press briefings, has claimed "our democracy continues and remains under threat." Biden certainly made it a point leading up to the November midterm elections, including and especially with his hyper-partisan political speech outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 1. It was during that speech where he demonized his political opponents as "MAGA Republicans," who, along with former President Donald Trump, "represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."
Biden and the administration certainly kept up this narrative. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) believes it even helped Democrats in the midterms, as they performed far-better than expected, based on polls and historic precedence. Despite beating such expectations, though, Biden and Jean-Pierre continued to warn about this supposed threat in the days following last month's election.
"The committee has been doing important bipartisan work to get to the truth of what happened on that very day so we can--we can make--so we can make sure that that doesn’t happen again. So I’ll leave it there," Jean-Pierre also added.
KJP: "What we saw on January 6th was the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War...Our Democracy continues and remains under threat..." pic.twitter.com/yOGZl4IlNY
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 19, 2022
As our friends at Twitchy shared, people certainly picked up on what one user referred to as "disgusting state propaganda," especially since as, another user pointed out, there are countless more examples in our nation's history that were far more deadly.
I can’t listen to this disgusting state propaganda. Stalin ain’t got nothing on the democrat party of today. This is abhorrent. https://t.co/jbLdOlXG4M
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) December 19, 2022
Jim Crow, segregation, the Tulsa Race Massacre, KKK lynchings, 130,000 Japanese Americans put into camps by FDR, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, and the riots of 2020 … but sure … worst attack on democracy since the Civil War. 🙄 https://t.co/7LmRPo6J0j
— Fuzzy Chimp 🇺🇸 (@fuzzychimpcom) December 19, 2022
Earlier on Monday the select committee had announced four criminal referrals against Trump. Sitting members of Congress, including House Minority Leader (R-CA) and Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Jim Jordan (R-OH) were referred to the House Ethics Committee for refusing to testify after being subpoenaed.
In a statement for Townhall, Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Rep. Jordan, said the Ethics Committee referral "is just another partisan and political stunt made by a Select Committee that knowingly altered evidence, blocked minority representation on a Committee for the first time in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives, and failed to respond to Mr. Jordan’s numerous letters and concerns surrounding the politicization and legitimacy of the Committee’s work."
Rep. Biggs also issued a statement over Twitter.
My response to the J6 Committee's ethics referral. pic.twitter.com/y6CWp4n8HX
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) December 19, 2022
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