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Rep. Thompson’s Mississippi colleagues have no comment on his Jan. 6 hearings

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Rep. Bennie Thompson’s Mississippi colleagues have no comment on his Jan. 6 hearings

Even though a record number of Americans are watching U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson lead the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, his Mississippi congressional colleagues do not appear to be interested in his efforts.

None of Mississippi’s other five members of Congress — Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Reps. Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Steven Palazzo — responded to questions from Mississippi Today asking for their thoughts on the often bombshell testimony that has come out of the Jan. 6 committee hearings.

The bipartisan committee was formed to investigate the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol by President Trump’s supporters to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Thompson, Mississippi’s sole Democrat in Washington, was tapped by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to chair the special committee.

The testimony is slated to continue tonight in primetime. One of the focuses of tonight’s hearing will be the 187 minutes that expired between when Trump urged his supporters during a Jan. 6 speech in Washington to march to the Capitol “to fight like hell” and when he finally asked his supporters who were ransacking the Capitol to go home. The hearings also come as it was announced that there will be a criminal investigation into missing U.S. Secret Service texts related to Jan. 6.

READ MORE: Rep. Bennie Thompson tells the world what happened on Jan. 6, 2021

While the congressional delegation did not respond to questions from Mississippi Today, Rep. Trent Kelly of the 1st Congressional District recently said of the hearings on the SuperTalk radio network: “Very little. I try not to. It infuriates me to watch. It is a joke. It is a stage show. It is almost like a TV trial show. They are showing one side of the evidence…

“This is just a witch hunt,” Kelly continued. “They are just trying to make sure President Trump doesn’t run again in 2024. This whole Jan. 6 thing is a sham as far as I am concerned. We have already had the investigation. It was bad that day.”

Though their staffs wouldn’t acknowledge Mississippi Today’s questions, both Sens. Wicker and Hyde-Smith brushed off questions about the Jan. 6 committee when asked by congressional reporter Matt Laslo in Washington in recent weeks.

Wicker, when asked if he was watching the hearings, told Laslo: “I’m headed to this classified briefing. I have seven minutes, so let’s have a conversation later on about this.”

When Laslo caught up with Wicker less than an hour later, Wicker responded: “I’m actually not doing interviews today.”

When Laslo asked Hyde-Smith if she was watching the committee hearings, she repeated a typical refrain of hers at the Capitol: “I don’t do the hallway interviews.” Since she was elected in 2018 and again in 2020, Hyde-Smith has rarely participated in interviews of any nature.

READ MORE: Rep. Bennie Thompson, leading the public Jan. 6 hearings, has long worked to protect democracy

All five members of Mississippi’s U.S. congressional delegation other than Thompson are Republicans. Wicker was the only member of the state’s Republican congressional delegation not to cast votes on Jan. 6 challenging the election outcome. And all other than Guest opposed a plan to establish a bipartisan commission led by non-politicians to investigate the events of Jan. 6 and of efforts by Trump and his supporters to throw out votes and overturn the election.

When Senate Republicans, including Mississippi’s Wicker and Hyde-Smith, blocked efforts to establish a Jan. 6 commission, House Democrats formed the special committee comprised of House members. Thompson, the state’s only African American member of the Mississippi delegation, heads the special committee as chair. The vice chair of the committee is Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming.

Thompson is expected to miss tonight’s hearing because he recently was diagnosed with COVID-19.

None of Mississippi’s five Republican members responded to questions about recent bipartisan efforts to put safeguards in place to make it more difficult for those attempting to throw out election results.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi News

Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: November 22-24

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-11-22 08:50:00

SUMMARY: This weekend (November 22-24), Mississippi offers a variety of events for everyone. Highlights include the Fleet Feet Coffee Run in Ridgeland, the Miss Magnolia State Pageant in Vicksburg, and the Handworks Holiday Market in Jackson. In Jackson, enjoy exhibits like “Dinosaurs Around the World” and “Of Salt and Spirit,” plus festive activities such as the “Magic of Lights” display and the “Journey to the North Pole” exhibit. In Hattiesburg, check out the Faculty Artist Series, the Pine Belt Holiday Expo, and the Ford Foundation Turkey Trot. Other events include markets, festivals, and live music throughout the state.

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Mississippi News

Attorneys file motion to delay Jackson bribery trial

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-11-21 16:41:00

SUMMARY: In connection with the Jackson bribery scandal, attorneys for federal officials and local leaders filed a motion to postpone the trial to allow time for extensive evidence review, including hours of recordings and thousands of pages of documents. Key figures charged include Hinds County DA Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, and Councilman Aaron Banks, each facing multiple counts of conspiracy related to bribery and fraud. The scandal involves alleged bribes amounting to over $80,000 related to a downtown development project, facilitated by individuals posing as real estate developers working with the FBI.

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Family of Dexter Wade rallies outside JPD nearly two years after his death

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www.wjtv.com – Tia McKenzie – 2024-11-20 14:20:00

SUMMARY: Nearly two years after Dexter Wade’s death, his family continues seeking justice. On November 20, Dexter Wade Day was observed in Jackson, declared by Councilman Kenneth Stokes. Wade, hit by a Jackson police cruiser in March 2023, was later found in a pauper’s grave in Hinds County, and his mother, Bettersten Wade, was unaware of his death until August 2023. She believes his death was covered up. No arrests have been made, and authorities consider it an accident. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade expressed condolences and shared updates on new policies to prevent similar tragedies.

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