Former President Trump and his allies, along with the top leadership of the People’s Party of the House of Representatives and conservative groups, began downloading documents and coordinating behind-the-scenes efforts to counterprogram the commission’s January 6 televised hearings, Axios learned.
Why it matters: Republicans face a huge challenge in the upcoming communications war. The committee has been building at this point for months, hoping to use the summer hearings to paint a vivid picture of how close Trump and his supporters have come to undermining democracy.
- Republicans plan to compete with wall-to-wall cable coverage, using their own platforms to claim the commission is a guerrilla fishing expedition that has no legal legitimacy.
- This framing will be fundamental to their hopes of refuting any negative revelations that come to light during the hearings.
What we hear: Trump and his inner circle will rely heavily on members of Congress, from House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) to Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Jim Banks (R-Ohio). Ind.) And Elise Stefanick (RN.Y.) – to manage counterprogramming, sources familiar with their planning told Axios.
- Trump himself does not rule out the possibility of appearing, says one of the sources.
- People close to Trump are working closely with members of Congress, the RNC and outside groups such as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to collaborate on their offensive narrative.
- Matt Schlap, a former political director at the Trump White House and chairman of the CPAC, is a leader in the effort, sources said.
A crucial component is to ensure that these surrogates have the tools they need to fight, Republicans say.
- This includes digging up old White House documents and diaries to help Trump’s surrogates get a complete picture of what happened before and on January 6, 2021.
What to watch: These surrogates will inflate the airwaves – especially on networks and social media platforms, which they believe are more conducive to their cause.
- These include Fox News, Steve Bannon’s War Room, Real America’s Voice, Facebook and Trump’s own Truth Social and Save America PAC.
- Members of Congress and other conservative influencers also plan to write publications and spread their own quick responses through their personal social media.
- Which witnesses the commission called to testify publicly will dictate a coordinated response, sources said.
Details: Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and future Republican members of the committee plan to meet early Jan. 6 to discuss a potential strategy, two senior congressmen told Axios.
- Jordan and Banks, who were barred from the House of Representatives by Nancy Pelosi (D-California) on January 6 last year, will seek to highlight the message that the committee “lacks merit and legitimacy” and is hyper-partisan, said one collaborators.
- Another key point that Republicans plan to point out is that Democrats’ priorities are “out of touch” with what Americans are most concerned about: inflation, rising gas prices, shortages of formula and recent mass shootings.
- They are betting that voters are “tired” on January 6, said an aide to the leadership of the People’s Party in the House of Representatives.
- “We need to be strict and responsible, but many Republicans believe that if MPs want to talk only about January 6 between now and the midterm elections – success,” he added.
The RNC also circulated a one-page note outlining the message points, according to a copy of the document received from Axios and first reported by Vox. Conversation questions include “RNC Objectives” and “Requests from [Trump]”:
- “Attack the Nancy Pelosi Commission and its members, portraying them as partisan, illegitimate and distracting from real issues.
- “Mark this as rigged hearings” and “Determine that Democrats are the real deniers of the election.”
- “Network shape coverage” and “conservative channels”; “Use a studio so that when the committee takes a break, we can stream on FPOTUS channels.”
Between the lines: Republicans have so far tried to avoid attracting more attention by Jan. 6 in hopes that the public will largely forget about the shocking scenes of the Capitol.
- Now they are facing a difficult balance: do not give the hearings free publicity, but also create a coordinated defense strategy to repel the upcoming bombs.
What they say: “We are ready for any machinations in this process and we are ready to provide real-time facts and bring them back in real time through coordinated and synchronized efforts.”
- “It is worth noting that many of the people who are relied on to repel these procedures are also people who have first-hand accounts of how the commission has abused its powers for political gain. They are not just repulsed as surrogates or operatives, they are repulsed as Americans whose rights have been violated by a dangerous party congress.
- As of January 6, the commission declined to comment. A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
What follows: The first hearing will be held on June 9 at 8:00 pm ET at the Cannon House office building on Capitol Hill.
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