Author Archive for: emptywheel
About emptywheel
Marcy Wheeler is an independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties. She writes as emptywheel at her eponymous blog, publishes at outlets including Vice, Motherboard, the Nation, the Atlantic, Al Jazeera, and appears frequently on television and radio. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit, a primer on the CIA leak investigation, and liveblogged the Scooter Libby trial.
Marcy has a PhD from the University of Michigan, where she researched the “feuilleton,” a short conversational newspaper form that has proven important in times of heightened censorship. Before and after her time in academics, Marcy provided documentation consulting for corporations in the auto, tech, and energy industries. She lives with her spouse in Grand Rapids, MI.
Entries by emptywheel
The Structure of the January 6 Assault: “I will settle with seeing [normies] smash some pigs to dust”
/100 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, emptywheel, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelThe effort to spark an insurrection at the Capitol was one implemented not by “foot solders,” but some highly trained veterans, including an alarming number of Marines. And the network of people who stoked the normies to serve as useful bodies to this effort ties via just one or two steps right to Trump.
The Green Bay Sweep Is Inextricably Tied to the Violent Mob
/202 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelProof that Trump had already sown the seeds of a violent riot when he asked DOJ to lay the groundwork for the Green Bay Sweep is what changes the (as Judge Mehta described it) legal conspiracy to sow distrust in the election into an illegal conspiracy, with demonstrated mens rea of corrupt intent, to obstruct the vote count.
After a Six Hour Hearing on Lawsuits against Trump, the Only Clear Thing is Don Jr Is in the Clear
/32 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, emptywheel, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelA long hearing in several lawsuits against Trump and others for January 6 leaves just two key takeaways, in my opinion: Don Jr is probably in the clear based on his fruitless effort to get his dad to call the riot off, and it’s fairly uncontroversial to claim the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys entered into a conspiracy together.
The Six Trump Associates Whom DOJ Is Investigating
/116 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, emptywheel, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelDOJ is investigating Roger Stone, Alex Jones, and Sidney Powell for their roles in January 6. Their investigation of Rudy Giuliani could include January 6 without any public notice. And there are two more Trump associates, including Tom Barrack, whom Merrick Garland’s DOJ has investigated.