PBS “Frontline” is out with a new documentary last week offering the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 the kind of graphic, vivid depiction of their work that the nine-member panel so desperately craved.
Last Tuesday, PBS published “Democracy on Trial,” a nearly two-and-a-half-hour documentary chronicling the inner operations of the since-disbanded Jan. 6 Committee.
“‘Democracy on Trial’ traces the road to this unprecedented moment,” the video’s description reads, “and examines the implications of the historic criminal case unfolding in the midst of a presidential election year.” That last part is key. Two years ago, committee staff worked with corporate media to gin up enthusiasm about the J6 show trial to get out voters for the midterms.
“They hope their recommendations to prevent another insurrection will be adopted, but also that their work will repel voters from Republicans who they say helped propel the attack,” the Post reported at the time. Now that former President Donald Trump appears to be on the cusp of another presidential triumph in November, the Jan. 6 documentary — which is at least partially funded by taxpayer dollars — came just in time to set the narrative again before the 2024 election. The documentary also came one month before Trump was set to stand trial in a D.C. federal courtroom, but Judge Tanya Chutkan vacated the March 4 start date days after the PBS debut.
Chris Bray, an ex-soldier and independent journalist on Substack, asked how “honest and careful” the documentary
