Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, loathe to cross Pres. Trump, was not responding to the January 6th attack on our US Capitol, according to Cassidy Hutchinson’s courageous June 28th testimony. Top aide to Meadows, her office was near the President’s. In her Congressional hearings testimony, Ms. Hutchinson expressed being proud of Pres. Trump’s accomplishments. As January 6th unfolded, however, she feared for V.P. Mike Pence’s safety. White House staff and President Trump only watched the mayhem. Questioned by Rep. Liz Cheney, Ms. Hutchinson revealed she wanted January 6th behavior in the White House and at our Capitol building to show real patriotism. It didn’t.

New to me is that on January 7th, Pres. Trump’s department heads discussed the Constitutioin’s 25th Amendment, about removing a President who “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” 15 cabinet-level departments exist, some being Defense, Justice, Treasury, State. Also: Interior, Commerce, Labor, etc. On January 7th, only thirteen days remained in Pres. Trump’s term. These Trump appointees saw the worst on January 6th, including unsettling Presidential behavior.

While the Russian war on Ukraine has my daily attention, and loss of women’s reproductive rights causes dismay, and more gun deaths in our USA are intolerable, these Congressional hearings are important duty-being-done regarding our democracy. Our democracy may appear less concrete than war images/loss/cost, and people holding our signs expressing our feelings, and families having to bury their loved ones untimely, but our abstract treasure – democracy – needs protecting. The January 6th hearings are essential to that and need legal follow-up on evidence brought to light.