The Stalinist Jan. 6 Committee rages on.

During former President Donald Trump’s first two impeachments, his supporters cross-examined witnesses and provided exculpatory evidence. But today’s proceedings do not try to be fair to Trump or even curious about his side of the story. Instead, they are designed to blame him for a supposed coup and kneecap him before 2024.

Now, the Washington Post reports, the Justice Department has launched a criminal probe regarding Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 chaos and, more broadly, his refusal to roll over and play dead amid widespread doubts about the integrity of the November 2020 general election.

Totally ignored in the thoroughly documented fact that Trump authorized up to 20,000 National Guard troops to keep Washington tranquil on Jan. 6.

Rep. Liz Cheney told Fox News’ Bret Baier that Trump “never issued any order to deploy the National Guard to protect the Capitol.” Cheney, Queen of the Never Trumpers, is playing word games.

Such an order would have violated 18 U.S. Code § 1385. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 bars the U.S. armed forces from civilian law enforcement. The president may authorize National Guard troops, but governors (or D.C.’s mayor) must request them before the GIs roll.

“DJT authorized the use of the military to support local and federal law enforcement on 6 Jan.,” then-Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller told me. “He directed that I provide whatever support was requested. Absolutely true statement.”

According to Miller, Trump added: “You’ll need ten to twenty thousand.” Miller continued, “He then reiterated that I should provide any military support requested.”

“10-20k troops were authorized for use around the country in the Oval Office prior to Jan. 6. Hard fact,” then-Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel told me. He added: “I was there with SECDEF, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and others.”

Patel added: “DoD spoke to Capitol Police (who report to Nancy Pelosi) before Jan. 6 multiple times, and they repeatedly rejected any National Guard assistance, as did D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.”

Official records back Miller and Patel.

• Referring to Miller and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Pentagon timelines state that on Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m.: “A/SD and CJCS meet with the President. President concurs in activation of the DCNG to support law enforcement.”
• “Later that afternoon Mr. Miller and General Milley met with President Trump, who concurred in the activation of DCNG to support law enforcement,” reads page 77 of the Senate Staff Report on Jan. 6.

“He was looking at the broad threats against the United States and he brought this up on his own,” Miller told the Epoch Times. “We did not bring it up.”

• Meanwhile, Pelosi rejected Trump’s troop offer. USCP’s official timeline says the Pentagon asked on January 2 if “USCP is considering a request for National Guard soldiers for Jan. 6, 2021, event.” The next day, USCP Deputy Chief Sean Gallagher replied that “a request for National Guard support is not forthcoming at this time after consultation with COP [Chief of Capitol Police Steven] Sund.”

For her part, Mayor Bowser fretted that National Guardsmen might stir “confusion among residents and visitors.” So, she blocked them from D.C. She wrote the Pentagon and DOJ on January 5: “To be clear, the District of Columbia is not requesting other federal law enforcement personnel and discourages any additional deployment without immediate notification to, and consultation with, MPD if such plans are underway.”

Democrats want desperately to keep Americans unaware of this fact:

The rioters would have been hindered or halted if the National Guard troops whom President Trump authorized were in position. Unfortunately, Pelosi’s head was elsewhere, and Bowser wanted the Guardsmen to stand down.

So, they did.

Manhattan-based political commentator Deroy Murdock is a Fox News Contributor.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.