OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The House Democrat-led January 6th committee just got more bad news.
According to Nielsen figures, their latest primetime hearing brought in only an estimated 17.7 million viewers – this is 11% lower than their first primetime televised hearing in June.
In fact, the hearing brought in less than a normal night for the networks that cleared the airwaves for the Democrats hearing.
“The figures from Nielsen are across 10 networks. The committee’s June 9 hearing, kicking off its series, drew about 20 million on 11 networks. Nielsen said that each of the eight hearings averaged 13.1 million, while the two primetime hearings averaged 18.9 million. The daytime hearings averaged 11.2 million,” Deadline reported.
“The highest viewed daytime hearing was on June 28, drawing 13.2 million. That was the hearing featuring the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, the former aide to the chief of staff Mark Meadows. Thursday’s primetime hearing was treated as a season finale of sorts, as the committee focused on Donald Trump’s inaction as the Capitol was under siege. Sarah Matthews, former deputy press secretary, and Matt Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser, testified,” the outlet added.
Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney has also been hit with quite a bit of bad news lately, as well.
Cheney is reportedly furious with the January 6 Select Committee’s decision to not make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for former President Donald Trump.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, said the committee would not be sending criminal referrals for Trump, saying the committee does not have that authority, CNN reported.
“No, you know, we’re going to tell the facts. If the Department of Justice looks at it and assumes that there’s something that needs further review, I’m sure they’ll do it,” he said.
He was asked again and explained “No, that’s not our job. Our job is to look at the facts and circumstances around January 6, what caused it, and make recommendations after that.”
This was not what Cheney and other Democrats wanted to hear, but Cheney has bigger issues as her star witness is under heavy fire.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified before the committee during a special hearing and many of her allegations against Trump have been refuted as being outright lies.
After Hutchinson’s testimony, many of her salacious claims were rebuffed by those with the knowledge of what actually happened.
Much of Hutchinson’s testimony was hearsay and second-hand information that she heard from someone else but did not witness herself.
One of the most spectacular parts of her testimony came when she accused Trump of grabbing for the steering wheel of the presidential limo after being told that he could not go to the Capitol on January 6, 2020, and then grabbing for the throat of Secret Service agent Bobby Engel.
But within hours of her testimony, Engel said that the incident she spoke of never happened.
Engel, the agent who was driving the presidential SUV, and Trump security official Tony Ornato both disputed Hutchin’s allegations and said they would testify under oath that no agent was assaulted and Trump never lunged for the steering wheel.
A third official, former Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann, disputed Hutchinson’s claim that she wrote a note for Trump to read on January 6.
Herschmann said the note was written by him, not Hutchinson.
Cheney’s bid to retain her seat in Wyoming is increasingly being seen as a bridge too far.
A new survey finds that she remains significantly behind her GOP primary opponent Harriet Hageman, who earned former President Donald Trump’s backing last fall.
The poll also found that Cheney is down a whopping 30 points to Hageman and Wyoming voters are also prepared to vote her out.
Related:
—Trump-Backed Harriet Hageman Rips Liz Cheney in GOP Primary Debate
—Cheney Ripped After Skipping Event In Wyoming To Focus on Hearings
—Liz Cheney Gets Horrible News From Top GOP Senator Just Weeks Before Primary
—RINO Rep. Liz Cheney Won’t Rule Out 2024 Presidential Bid
—Cheney’s Democrat ‘Friends’ Turn On Her Following Pro-Life Tweet
