Attempted Coup: In two hours of hearings live on television last night, Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney outlined the case for how President Donald Trump pushed false claims of election fraud, plotted to overturn the 2020 election, and inspired the crowd that stormed the Capitol. 

  She painted him as the leader of a conspiracy saying, “President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack.”

  This was the first of six scheduled public hearings by the committee investigating the January 6^thinsurrection. It was an historic event on the level of the Watergate and Army/McCarthy hearings. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the committee, opened the proceedings and said, “January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup.”

  Cheney is vice chair and one of few Republican politicians who have stood up to Trump’s election lies. She said, “Tonight I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”

  Cheney laid out how Trump continued his claim of fraud even after political and legal aids including Attorney General William Barr — even the president’s daughter Ivanka — had assured him the election was legitimate and Joe Biden won. The committee presented video of Barr saying he had told the president his claims of fraud were “bullshit.” Barr resigned.

  And Trump’s son in law, Jared Kushner, was shown reacting to the White House Counsel’s threat of resignation saying, “I kind of took it up to be just whining.” 

  The hearing touched on how Education Secretary Betsey DeVos talked about invoking the 25^thAmendment to remove Trump from office and how some members of Congress inquired with the White House about being granted pardons for their actions. 

  The hearing produced by James Goldston, the former president of ABC News, displayed newly-revealed video of the mob and the violence building outside the Capitol until the cops were overrun, windows broken, doors smashed, and rioters were wandering the halls of Congress.

  Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who was knocked out in the early going before returning to the line, described how she was slipping on the blood of fellow officers as they fought to hold back the rioters. 

   The hearing included video testimony by members of the right wing Proud Boys, some of whom have been indicted, who said they had gone to the Capitol responding to President Trump’s call.

The Shooting Gallery: Three people were killed and three others injured,  including the suspect and a state trooper, in a mass shooting yesterday at a manufacturing company in Smithsburg, Maryland.  

The War Zone: The Ukraine military claims that it has killed as many as 800 Russian servicemen from the 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and  wounded 400 more. That’s out of a total of 1,800 men in the unit, meaning the 15^th has lost two-thirds of its force. 

  The Ukraine General Staff also reports that Ukrainian defenders have inflicted significant losses on the invaders on the Bakhmut front, and forced the Russians to withdraw some units to restore their combat effectiveness.

  This doesn’t mean the Ukrainians are winning, but they are inflicting serious losses.

  Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday compared himself to Peter the Great, who conquered neighboring lands and made them Russian. Marking the  350th anniversary of Peter’s birth, Putin described the land Peter conquered as rightfully Russian. “He was returning it and strengthening it,” Mr. Putin said, leaning back in his armchair, before smugly suggesting that’s what he’s doing with Ukraine. “Well,” he said, “apparently, it has also fallen to us to return and to strengthen.”

  A Russian-backed tribunal in the separatist region of Donetsk sentenced two captured Brits and a Moroccan man to death, Russian state media reports. They are the first foreign fighters to be sentenced since the start of the war.

  The men were charged with working as foreign mercenaries in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which Moscow recognized as independent on the brink of invasion. The three men have 30 days to appeal. Executions in the DPR are carried out by firing squad. 

Teed Off: The PGA Tour suspended the 17 golfers participating in the first event of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour. In a memo to members, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said the golfers who teed off in the first LIV event outside London are “no longer eligible to participate” in events on the American-based tour.

  The murderous regime of Saudi  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to “sportswash” its image by sponsoring the gentle and civil game of golf. The LIV issued a statement saying, “It’s troubling that the Tour, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the entity blocking golfers from playing.”

  The Saudis are pulling in players with eye-popping amounts of money, a reported $200 alone for Phil Mickleson. Tiger Woods is reported to have turned down $1 billion.

  The 2010 US Open champion, Graeme McDowell said, “If Saudi Arabia wants to use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be, and they have the resources to accelerate that experience, I think we’re proud to help them on that journey.”

  In other words, it’s about the money. And you can be certain the Saudis will not be sponsoring a women’s tour.

The Spin Rack:  The FBI arrested Ryan Kelley, a Republican running for governor in Michigan, for his participation in the January 6^th Capitol insurrection.  Kelley is the first political candidate to be arrested in the attack. Video taken during the riot reveals Kelley shouting “Come on, let’s go! This is it! This is — this is war, baby!” All four charges are misdemeanors. — Germany is facing a shortage of returnable beer bottles because customers are either too lazy or drunk to take them back for the deposit.