PBS \u201cFrontline\u201d is out with a new documentary last week offering the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 the kind of graphic, vivid depiction of their work that the nine-member panel so desperately craved. <\/p>\n

Last Tuesday, PBS published \u201c Democracy on Trial,<\/a>\u201d a nearly two-and-a-half-hour documentary chronicling the inner operations of the since-disbanded Jan. 6 Committee. <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Democracy on Trial\u2019 traces the road to this unprecedented moment,\u201d the video\u2019s description reads, \u201cand examines the implications of the historic criminal case unfolding in the midst of a presidential election year.\u201d That last part is key. Two years ago, committee staff worked with corporate media to gin up enthusiasm about the J6 show trial to get out voters for the midterms<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey hope their recommendations to prevent another insurrection will be adopted, but also that their work will repel voters from Republicans who they say helped propel the attack,\u201d the Post reported at the time. Now that former President Donald Trump appears to be on the cusp of another presidential triumph in November, the Jan. 6 documentary \u2014 which is at least partially funded by taxpayer dollars \u2014 came just in time to set the narrative again before the 2024 election. The documentary also came one month before Trump was set to stand trial in a D.C. federal courtroom, but Judge Tanya Chutkan vacated<\/a> the March 4 start date days after the PBS debut. <\/p>\n

Chris Bray, an ex-soldier and independent journalist on Substack<\/a>, asked<\/a> how \u201chonest and careful\u201d the documentary was with covering the politically charged topic of the Jan. 6 riot. Bray answered with screenshots from the PBS feature, which compared pro-Trump demonstrators to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) because a handful of people carried confederate flags at the Capitol. <\/p>\n

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\u201cNew shamelessness accomplishment UNLOCKED!\u201d Bray wrote. \u201cSee, what happened on January 6 is that, um, hooded Klansmen marched against the Capitol, more or less. Or, well, okay, it wasn\u2019t that, but it was just like it. Grand Imperial Wizard Donald Trump!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

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J6 Propaganda<\/h2>\n
The PBS feature ran as if it were produced by members of the committee itself. The network uncritically aired every propaganda point offered by the panel, told by the members and staff themselves, including fabricated timelines and debunked testimony. <\/p>\n
For example, PBS dedicated a roughly 10-minute segment to an examination of Trump\u2019s conduct over what committee members say was a 187-minute gap between the riot turmoil and the president\u2019s call to peace. Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans appointed to the committee by Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, co-led the \u201c187-minute hearing\u201d in the summer of 2022 and outlined why the panel decided to focus an entire session on the supposed timeline. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was important for us to just hopefully express that outrage of how there are people that are willing to die for this country and this guy couldn\u2019t even follow through on his basic oath to defend the constitutional branch of government,\u201d Kinzinger told PBS. <\/p>\n
A few seconds later, the dramatic male narrator, who spoke in the ominous tone of someone narrating a Batman movie, summarized the timeline. \u201cThe 187 minutes began as Trump left the stage and demanded that his motorcade drive him to the Capitol,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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But the 187-minute timeline was a complete fabrication peddled <\/a>by a complicit press. The Washington Post\u00a0 timestamps<\/a>\u00a0the first break-in at the Capitol around 2:15 p.m. Trump issued a tweet at 2:38 p.m. demanding the rioters \u201cstay peaceful!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!<\/p>\n
\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n