Jeff Danziger lives in New York City. He is represented by CWS Syndicate and the Washington Post Writers Group. He is the recipient of the Herblock Prize and the Thomas Nast (Landau) Prize. He served in the US Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. He has published eleven books of cartoons and one novel. Visit him at DanzigerCartoons.com.
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Capitol Assault ‘Much Worse Than People Realized’ Says Republican After ‘Classified Briefings’
January 21 | 2021
Rep. John Katko
Screenshot from Rep. John Katko's Twitter (@RepJohnKatko)
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), the first Republican lawmaker to publicly support efforts to impeach former President Donald Trump, is speaking out about the deadly Capitol riots that erupted on Jan. 6 as lawmakers worked to complete the Electoral College certification.
<p>Although the American public watched in shock and dismay as the disturbing series of events unfolded, Katko insists the riots were far worse than reported on television. During an interview with Syracuse.com, Katko <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/politics/2021/01/rep-john-katko-us-capitol-attack-was-much-worse-than-people-realized.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shared details about the day of the deadly U.S. Capitol riots</a>.</p><p>While he could not offer specific details about the classified briefings he has received, he did reveal that the incident was far worse than reported.</p><script id="3d14008d7e044c36b256c61ff82728bb">
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</script><p>"I've had a lot of classified briefings on it, and it's deeply troubling," Katko told Syracuse.com. "I was left with a profound sense that it was much worse than people realized."</p><p>He went on to stress the importance of taking a full objective look at the situation, how the series of events unfolded, and who else should be held accountable.</p><div class="inarticle_ad_placeholder" data-aa-adunit="/5931858/NatMemo_RM/NatMemo_Middle_Desktop_2" data-aaad="true"></div>
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<div id="vid"></div><p>"We need to have a full stem-to-stern look back on this to see what happened, how it happened, the sequence of events, who contributed to it, and how we make sure it never happens again," he said.</p><p>Katko's latest remarks come just weeks after he spoke out against Trump's rhetoric and antics. He <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/john-katko-capitol-riots-donald-trump-intelligence-troubling-1562905" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">noted the president's misinformation campaigns on social media and his speech during the "Save America" rally that provoked the Capitol siege</a> as he stressed the importance of holding the president accountable for his actions, according to <em>Newsweek</em>.</p><p>He insisted that the former president "deliberately promoted baseless theories that created a combustible environment of misinformation and division."</p><p>Katko added, "To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy and to our security."</p><div class="inarticle_ad_placeholder" data-aa-adunit="/5931858/NatMemo_RM/NatMemo_Middle_Desktop_3" data-aaad="true"></div><p>While the former president has departed from Washington, D.C., he still has a number of legal investigations to contend with in the coming weeks.</p>
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