Among the revelations from the most recent round of hearings held by the House Select Comittee on the January 6 coup attempt were details about the "unhinged" meeting in the Oval Office on December 18 to plan the events of that day.
The meeting included the usual election conspiracy theorists like attorney Sidney Powell and and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, as well as a number of Members of Congress.
Now, following the release of the logs of the meeting, we know exactly which Members of Congress were there, and it's pretty much exactly who you'd expect—a veritable who's who of the Republican Party's conspiracy theory peddlers.
The logs reveal that among the 10 Congressional attendees were the Republicans who have been spinning former Republican President Donald Trump's "Big Lie" in attempts to overturn the election for nearly two years now.
Texas Representative Louie Gohmert and Arizona Representative Paul Gosar, who was instrumental in Trump's attempts to overturn the surprise victory of Democratic President Joe Biden in that state, were present as were right-wing trolls like Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio and accused sex trafficker Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Perhaps simultaneously most interesting and most unsurprising was the presence of Georgia Representative and QAnon devotee Marjorie Taylor Greene, who attended the meeting despite not even having yet been sworn into her seat.
Others, including conspiracist Republican Alabama Representative Mo Brooks joined the meeting virtually.
The meeting was one of the cornerstones of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony, which has provided insight into the workings of Trump's inner circle during the January 6 coup and in the days leading up to it.
The meeting centered on Trumpworld's strategy to have former Vice President Mike Pence reject the Electoral College's vote on January 6 and seat so-called "alternate electors" at a later date who would elect Trump instead of Biden. Pence of course refused to do so because there was no legal justification for such a move.
The December 18 meeting is among the most damning events that link Trump himself directly to the planning and execution of the coup attempt and aligns with testimony from former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donohue, who said Trump told him to "just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen."
On Twitter, people were not the least bit surprised to see the names that appeared on the list, but the revelation left them angrily calling for everyone involved to be brought to justice.
A number of attendees at the meeting, including Gaetz, requested pardons in advance for their participation, indicating that everyone involved knew the gravity of the high crimes they were committing.
