Make no mistake, most voters hold Trump at least partly responsible for the insurrection. A late September Monmouth University Poll found that 38 percent of Americans believe that Trump caused the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814, while another 25 percent believe that he encouraged the rioters. Only one-third thought he did nothing wrong. On this question, Americans offer a much more unforgiving verdict on Trump than Kevin McCarthy and the other GOP enablers in the House.
The opening minutes of the ninth hearing of the committee were partly a greatest-hits album of the facts already established. But once the hearing began to focus on new information and videos, it became riveting. For the first time, we saw Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer pleading for help on calls with the governors of Virginia and Maryland as the mob ransacked the Capitol. Talking with acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, Pelosi said bluntly, “They’re breaking windows and obviously ransacking our offices.… Much of it at the instigation of the president of the United States.”