Jan 6 hearing critics say a real 'pursuit of truth' would focus on threats to Supreme Court justices
Thompson objected to the 2004 Ohio electoral count, which could have swung the election to Kerry
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Following the first "primetime" Jan. 6 committee hearing, critics said a true "pursuit of truth" would be one focusing on the threats to Supreme Court justices, or a Capitol riot investigation with a panel not stacked with Trump opponents.
The hearings chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., are meant to be a "reality show," Will Cain said on "The Five."
"[Jan. 6] was a shameful day," he said. "If this were an honest pursuit of the truth and you were looking to say, ‘What is a threat today to our country,' you would talk about the attempted assassination of a Supreme Court justice."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You would talk about another target by a group called RuthSentUs toward another Supreme Court justice," he said, with the panel adding Justice Amy Coney Barrett's Falls Church, Va., home has now also been a focus of protests.
They discussed reports former President Donald Trump authorized National Guard presence at the Capitol prior to the rally-turned-riot while D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi purportedly did not follow through on calling them up.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1/6 Committee ((Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty))
Former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., said he once appeared in an MTV reality program, noting the produced-for-TV feel of the hearing after the committee retained former ABC News chief James Goldston.
"So here you have Nancy Pelosi who says, I'm going to edit this production and present it to the American people [but] the theory of my case [regarding] Jan. 6 is so weak that I can't allow Jim Jordan and Jim Banks to sit on the committee and actually look for evidence," Duffy said.
"We're not even going to talk about Donald Trump actually authoriz[ing] the National Guard to come and protect the very place that he wanted to have an insurrection, allegedly."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'STONE COLD EVIL' MEDIA SILENT ON KAVANAUGH: WATTERS
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., center, flanked by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., left, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. ((AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))
If Thompson and his colleagues want to investigate a case of allegedly trying to overturn an election, he should first examine the false Russia collusion narrative and probe forwarded by his own party and its allies, Duffy added.
Fellow panelist Dagen McDowell noted some members of the committee had objected in one way or another to previous elections, saying Rep. Jamie Raskin — then a Maryland state lawmaker — "wanted to get rid of the electoral college when Al Gore lost."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thompson also joined a motion by then-Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, D-Ohio, and about 30 other Democrats to object to Ohio's electoral count following the 2004 election, which would have swung the victory to John Kerry if successful.
Raskin (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
However, Kerry had already conceded to former President George W. Bush prior to that vote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In response to the fact that there are a handful more televised hearings to come, McDowell remarked she would rather be "locked in a Port-a-John" than have to watch committee member Adam Schiff for "five episodes of anything."