Main Justice: "Mary McCord Joins House Dems to Mark Five Years Since January 6th"

Date: January 7, 2026
Hosts: Andrew Weissmann (solo for intro), Mary McCord (featured witness)
Special Hearing Guests:

• Rep. Bennie Thompson
• Rep. Jamie Raskin
• Former Capitol Police Officer Winston Pynjon
• Former DOJ Prosecutor Brennan Ballou
• Mary McCord (Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection)
• Pamela Hemphill (J6 participant who refused a Trump pardon)
• Various House Democrats

Episode Overview

This bonus episode centers on the fifth anniversary of the January 6th Capitol insurrection. Rather than a standard analysis, the episode presents select, powerful excerpts from a House Democratic forum, where Mary McCord testified alongside a former Capitol Police officer, a former DOJ prosecutor, and a self-proclaimed "MAGA Granny" who participated in the riot but later denounced it and refused a Trump pardon. The panel addresses not just the events of January 6, but also the subsequent mass pardons of insurrectionists by President Trump upon his return to office, the impact on the rule of law, and the ongoing danger posed by minimizing or rewriting the events of that day.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Stakes: Remembering vs. Rewriting January 6th ([01:01]–[07:46])

• Purpose of the hearing: To "set the record straight" on the insurrection as attempts to minimize or distort its reality gain traction.
• Danger of forgetting: Speakers warn that failing to remember the truth about January 6 endangers democracy and emboldens similar threats.
• Quoting Dr. King: “Human progress is neither automatic or inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice...” (Rep. Thompson, [02:44])
• Resisting revisionism: “Remembering January 6th is not an exercise in partisanship. It’s an obligation…” (Thompson, [06:46])

2. The Anatomy of January 6: Coup, Insurrection, Mob ([07:46]–[14:47])

• Three "rings" of sedition: The panel describes the coup attempt, the organized insurrection by extremist groups (Proud Boys, Oath Keepers), and the broader "mob"—ordinary Americans radicalized by disinformation.
• Lying as violence: "As Voltaire said, anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." (Raskin, [11:17])
• Trump’s role: Raskin details how months of lying set the stage, quoting Trump's tweet: "Be there, will be wild." ([12:23])

3. The Impact of Trump’s Mass Pardons ([15:03]–[18:41])

• Scale and danger: Over 1,600 pardons on Trump’s first day back in office, including violent offenders and repeat criminals.
• Consequence-free violence: “They were essentially a payoff to Trump’s private militia, which is now ready to stand back and stand by…” (Raskin, [14:06])
• Further crimes: At least 33 pardon recipients have reoffended, including violent and sexual crimes ([15:05]).

4. Witness Testimony: Personal Perspectives

Officer Winston Pynjon ([19:28]–[22:45])

• Personal cost: "I was called a traitor, violently assaulted in the line of duty... thought, I’m going to die here on the steps of the U.S. Capitol." ([19:29])
• Condemns pardons: “Pardoning criminals who severely beat me and my fellow officers that day is completely unacceptable... Violence is never acceptable. It must be unequivocally condemned by the President and our fellow Americans.” ([21:52])

Prosecutor Brennan Ballou ([22:50]–[26:33])

• On the mass pardons: “I believed, if nothing else, than out of pure political self interest, President Trump would not pardon those rioters... I was wrong.” ([22:58])
• Systemic rot: Trump has “fired or demoted career FBI agents and prosecutors... installed a literal rioter, Jared Weiss, to a senior Department of Justice job.” ([24:05])
• Historical erasure: “If January 6th is forgotten, or worse yet, excused as legitimate political discourse... attacks like it, more violent, will certainly happen again.” ([25:28])

Mary McCord ([26:38]–[30:16])

• Misinformation’s role: “To learn from January 6th, we must understand both that mis and disinformation are the primary drivers of political violence…” ([26:39])
• Scope of harm: Violence is not only physical but includes threats and intimidation that “squelch civic participation and undermine the functioning of our democratic republic.” ([26:48])
• Chilling effects: Executive actions and new policies have fostered “a culture of fear and intimidation” in law and media, even as violent threats suppress voting and public engagement ([28:40]).

Pamela Hemphill ("MAGA Granny") ([30:22]–[34:45])

• Rejecting the narrative: “Once I got away from the MAGA cult and started educating myself about January 6th, I knew what I did was wrong... accepting that pardon would be lying about what happened.” ([30:27])
• Personal apology: Addresses Capitol Police: “I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart for being part of the mob that put you...in danger.” ([34:01])
• Braving backlash: “Speaking about January 6th has caused a great risk to my personal safety... But I am here and I don’t care.” ([34:45])

5. Defending the Truth: Responding to Denialism ([37:30]–[41:33])

• “Not a tourist visit”: All panelists bluntly rebuke claims that January 6th was peaceful or ordinary.
  • Pynjon: “That statement...is completely false. I spent over five years at the Capitol dealing with actual normal tourist days, and this was not one at all.” ([38:27])
  • Ballou: “If you talk to most officers, they're pretty stoic folks. The number...who broke down crying...the horror of that day is something...hard to forget.” ([39:25])
  • Hemphill: “You can’t gaslight me. I was there.” ([41:36])

6. Accountability and Systemic Harm

The Impact of Pardons on Justice ([47:07]–[49:15])

• Raskin to Hemphill: “On those standards, you may be the only one of the J6 insurrectionists who actually deserves a pardon.”
  • Hemphill: “I do not deserve a pardon...To me, taking a pardon would be a slap in the Capitol Police’s face.” ([47:54])
• On the Pardon Attorney’s process: “Pardon attorney was completely sidelined. There was no individualized assessment...It was just en masse.” (McCord, [49:15])

Chilling Justice and Democratic Institutions ([51:28]–[59:53])

• Empowering future violence: “The clear message here...was to empower a group...willing to enact violence...but beyond the reach of the law.” (Ballou, [51:28])
• Damage to DOJ: Ballou notes loss of experienced prosecutors and erosion of credibility: “The department is hemorrhaging credibility...the only tool DOJ has is...its credibility.” ([58:35])
• Restitution erased: Only 15% of $3 million owed to victims was paid before pardons ([62:44]–[65:39])

The Role of Social Media & Disinformation ([69:41]–[72:57])

• McCord: “Social media and technology companies bear no responsibility...their algorithms amplify extreme content.” ([72:00])
• Ballou: “One of the best antidotes...is the people who were at the Capitol that day speaking out.” ([72:41])

7. Courage, Contrition, and the Importance of Memory

• Recognizing courage: Lawmakers applaud panelists, especially Hemphill, for rejecting lies and accepting responsibility. “Sophocles emphasized that to make a mistake is human, but real wisdom comes when you recognize your mistake and correct it.” (Rep. Dean, [74:51])
• On memorialization: Preserving physical artifacts and symbols (such as the plaque to honor Capitol defenders) is vital to resist whitewashing and ensure history is not forgotten ([76:32]–[76:46]).
• Individual acts of courage: Hemphill credits her faith and duty to honor Capitol Police for finding courage to speak: “There’s something in me that I can’t allow them to not be recognized and to be lied about...How dare you?” ([80:09]–[80:52])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with attribution)

• Rep. Jamie Raskin:
  “As Voltaire said, anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” ([11:17])
• Officer Winston Pynjon:
  “Pardoning criminals who severely beat me and my fellow officers that day is completely unacceptable...Violence is never acceptable. It must be unequivocally condemned by the President and our fellow Americans.” ([21:52])
• Pamela Hemphill:
  “Accepting that pardon would be lying about what happened on January 6th. I am guilty and I own that guilt.” ([30:36])
  “You can’t gaslight me. I was there. I saw what you did. ...Don’t come to me with that ever again.” ([41:36])
• Brennan Ballou:
  “If January 6th is forgotten, or worse yet, excused as legitimate political discourse, then...attacks like it, more violent, will certainly happen again.” ([25:28])
• Mary McCord:
  “Political violence does not have to be physical to cause great damage. Threats against election officials have resulted in the highest recorded rate of turnover in the past quarter century.” ([27:40])
• Rep. Eric Swalwell:
  “If we don’t acknowledge a past wound, it stays poisoned. ... The moment we forget is the moment we as a country also fall.” ([46:07])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Quote | |-----------|---------------| | 01:01 | Andrew Weissmann’s intro; episode setup and context | | 02:44 | Rep. Bennie Thompson: Importance of remembering January 6 | | 07:46 | Rep. Jamie Raskin: “Three rings of sedition” explanation | | 19:28 | Officer Winston Pynjon’s testimony | | 22:50 | Former DOJ prosecutor Brennan Ballou’s testimony | | 26:38 | Mary McCord’s testimony | | 30:22 | Pam Hemphill’s testimony | | 38:27 | First panelists answer: Was January 6 a “normal tourist day”? | | 47:07 | Raskin to Hemphill: reasoning for refusing Trump’s pardon | | 51:28 | Effect of pardons on danger to democracy | | 62:44 | Impact of restitution erased by pardons | | 72:00 | Social media and the fight for truth | | 74:51 | Rep. Dean’s praise for Hemphill’s courage | | 76:46 | Importance of memorialization and preserving history |

Themes & Takeaways

• Resisting denialism and whitewashing is a civic and moral duty.
• Mass pardons for insurrectionists signal “the law does not apply” to some, endangering democracy.
• Disinformation and state-sanctioned retaliation are chilling democratic participation and threatening civil society.
• Remembrance, from artifacts to personal testimony, is an “act of resistance” and necessary for national healing.
• Courage and honesty—especially by those who once believed the lies—are vital for confronting ongoing abuse of power and ensuring accountability.

This episode provides a detailed, unflinching look at the immense stakes for American democracy five years after January 6. Through firsthand testimony and probing questions, it exposes the dangers of collective amnesia, the erosive effect of mass pardons and revisionism, and the ongoing work required to defend the rule of law in a time of deep national division.