Posted on 05/23/2023 5:30:34 AM PDT by MtnClimber
More than a year into January 6 jury trials, Epps, one of the most prolific Capitol protesters, has not taken the stand.
Over the past month, speculation has swirled around why Fox News honchos ousted the nation’s most popular cable news host just hours before he was set to begin his nightly monologue. Tucker Carlson reportedly was stunned by the news, which was announced in a terse statement released by the network on April 24: “FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”
Subsequent reports suggested any number of reasons why Carlson was yanked off the air, including the company’s settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, a separate lawsuit filed by a one-time producer for “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” political differences with the sons of Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch, and his questioning of the war in Ukraine.
But the timing of his removal—less than 24 hours after “60 Minutes” aired a puff piece on Ray Epps, the infamous January 6 instigator frequently covered by Carlson’s show—fueled rumors that Fox News wanted to silence Carlson before he could respond to several accusations made in the interview.
Carlson is “obsessed with me,” Epps told reporter Bill Whitaker, who repeatedly used the term “conspiracy theory” to describe claims Epps’ acted as a federal agent during the Capitol protest. “He’s going to any means possible to destroy me.”
Now it appears Carlson was, in fact, prepared to address Epps’ interview in his April 24 monologue. Chadwick Moore, author of an upcoming biography on Carlson, revealed in a video message posted on Twitter on Monday that Carlson’s scheduled monologue that night “dealt with, among other things, investigations around January 6 and particularly Ray Epps, the only person captured on video inciting people to violence at the Capitol that day and allegedly an FBI informant who still has not been arrested or charged.”
Carlson quote-tweeted Moore’s video with a wide-eye emoji to confirm Moore’s report.
If true, Fox News executives join a long list of Ray Epps’ sympathizers both in the news media and in Congress. For example, former Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who was vice chairman of the January 6 select committee, publicly condemned “conspiracy theories about the role that [Epps] was playing that day.” Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), also formerly a member of the committee, routinely covered for Epps, even insisting Epps “broke no laws,” when he clearly did.
In the same “60 Minutes” interview that gave Epps the warm and fuzzy treatment, Tom Joscelyn, an investigator on the January 6 select committee, also came to Epps’ defense. Calling Epps a “pebble” in a “mountain range of evidence” about the breach of the Capitol, Joscelyn mocked the notion Epps acted on behalf of a government agency. The conspiracists, Joscelyn said, have to “come up with some connective tissue between Ray Epps and the FBI and they’ve got none.”
But Joscelyn didn’t explain why Epps has so far evaded criminal charges when others involved in similar or even lesser behavior have not. Not only does Epps remain uncharged, he also has not been called as a government witness even though he was a key figure at the first exterior breach point on the west side of the Capitol grounds and whispered in the ear of Ryan Samsel, the first Capitol protester to knock down metal racks near Peace Circle right before 1 p.m.
Several defendants who participated in that first breach face various conspiracy counts. But not Ray Epps.
Ironically, on the same day Carlson planned to once again raise questions about Epps’ suspicious involvement in the events of January 6, a prosecutor had to confront the Epps issue during closing arguments in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial. (Proud Boys were at the breach point with Epps and Samsel that afternoon.)
Assistant U.S. Attorney Conor Mulroe told the jury on April 24 that any intimation Epps acted on behalf of the government was a “fantasy.” Epps made several cameo appearances throughout the nearly four-month trial in the Justice Department’s most important January 6 case to date, appearing in a video disclosed by the government in a last-minute dirty trick to smear Zachary Rehl, one of four men convicted of seditious conspiracy.
One defense attorney attempted to subpoena Epps to testify during the trial. “It is significant that the government appears to be protecting Epps,” attorney Roger Roots, representing Dominic Pezzola, wrote in a motion in March. “Epps has never been indicted or arrested for his activities on January 5 and 6. This is despite the fact that Epps is the only Jan. 6 demonstrator who publicly (multiple times, actually) urged protestors on video to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6. Epps played a direct role in instigating the first breach on the west side. Ray Epps is seen on video recordings all over the West plaza and grounds of the U.S. Capitol and often within a short distance from Dominic Pezzola on Jan. 6.”
But Judge Tim Kelly refused to compel Epps’ testimony in the trial. And now more than a year into January 6 jury trials, Epps, one of the most prolific Capitol protesters, has not taken the stand to answer questions from prosecutors and defense attorneys about his role in the events of January 6.
And now it appears that Fox News, which has a brick on nearly all January 6 reporting, also is running cover for Epps and, potentially, the government.
One can only hope Tucker gets to finally read that monologue soon.
The elephant in the room.
You never give up your assets.
Enrique Tarrio was an FBI informant.
He was the leader of the Proud Boys.
Epps is one of the Deep State Communist organizers of this fake riot???
Ray needs to assume ROOM TEMPERATURE Status.
...or a spook.
As bad as it is that the feebles were running a false flag, it's an even bigger story if the CIA was running a psyop domestically, much like their attempted color revolution over the preceding summer.
I never said that though. I’ll leave that judgment to God. :)
There have been two sympathetic 60 Minute interviews with Ray Epps, a NYT profile, Fox firing its most popular host to silence talk about Epps. Add the howl in response to Trump’s election comments on the CNN townhall, it all adds up to a desperate J6 cover up. The more they scream about election/J6 denialism, the more assured you can be that it’s true.
The best J6 video of Ray Epps that I saw shows Epps encouraging people to go into the capitol and this fellow pointing at him saying fed, fed, fed.
Yes, and your comment highlights one of the worst aspects - the judges are a huge part of the problem.
Sydney Powell’s book, “Licensed to Lie”, shows clearly how federal judges - for the most part - seem to be corrupt. Powell also eviscerated Andrew Weissmann, and yet he is now standing taller than ever.
Thanks. I was being sarcastic because, as you mentioned, it is so obvious. But. I like your details—very helpful. Thank you.
Why hasn’t the GOP House called this guy to testify? Same reason they are ignoring the political prisoners in the DC gulag.
Indeed rights are one sided and you ain’t in it.
Room 101 always open
“...the judges are a huge part of the problem.”
That’s for sure, the “judges” in the Proud Boys’ and the Carroll case in NY both acted as if they were part of the prosecution team. In the Carroll case the “judge” was actually making objects when Carroll’s lawyer wasn’t, and he would cut off lines of questioning when he thought that the questions were making Carroll look bad.
When you have people who did much less, in fact did not even go in the Capital building despite the doors being opened and the police offering to show you around, being arrested and this guy is not?
Yeah. He's a fed.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: If Ray Epps were truly innocent, he’d be in prison with the other January 6th political prisoners.
Seems Epps is Pelosi’s boy who was brought in to expedite the protesters to storm the Capitol. Who paid his expenses and travel? He also had others working with him as seen on Video. Epps denied he ever entered the Capitol but vids show him in the Building.
Seems Epps is Pelosi’s boy who was brought in to expedite the protesters to storm the Capitol. Who paid his expenses and travel? He also had others working with him as seen on Video. Epps denied he ever entered the Capitol but vids show him in the Building.
.
A Pebble. The writer just referred to Ray Epps as a “PEBBLE”. Well, in the Rock Quarry Hell of Washington D.C., he certainly is far more than that!
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