Newspapers

From around the nation on January 7, 2021:

I checked the Wheeling Intelligencer’s archive for that day. It posted this message:

PAGE NOT AVAILABLE

The page was available a couple of years ago. (My memory says that the Intelligencer carried an edited AP story.)

The evolution of West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito

From her Senate web page, here was Senator Capito’s reaction on January 7, 2021 (emphasis mine):

U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat, agree that the riot at the U.S. Capitol was a disgrace and that President Trump encouraged everything that led up to it.

“I think the president does own this,” Capito said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“I did support the president, and I did support the policies and I think the policies were good for West Virginia. But this is inexcusable.”

Later that month, however, Capito would vote not to convict on impeachment which would have kept Trump from running again:

“President Trump was removed from office in the manner most befitting our democracy, by a vote of the people. Impeachment is incredibly divisive and is not what Congress should be focused on right now. Our nation is hurting. Americans across our country continue to struggle from a pandemic that has wreaked havoc on our economy and communities. Our attention needs to be focused on delivering real solutions that help these individuals, families, and businesses recover fully. The fact is that the Trump presidency is now over. . . .

With Donald Trump, it’s never over and the transition for Capito began in 2022 as her official statement on the January 6 anniversary was that it was “a terrible day in our nation’s history, and it was a dark day for our democracy.” However, the statement did not mention Donald Trump.

By early 2024, however, Capito's transformation was now complete as she endorsed Trump while “allowing history to decide” on January 6. As CBS News reported:

Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told MetroNews the day after the attack that Trump had been convincing people the election was stolen even though the facts did not show that to be true.

"I think the president does own this," she said then.

Now, Capito is supporting Trump's 2024 White House run, describing the decision as being about policy. Her stance on whether the president owns what happened on Jan. 6 is far less clear. "History will make that judgment," she said.

Not if Trump gets his way, Senator.

Note, as of 2 PM today, Senator Capito has made no statement about January 6. Nor do I think there will be one when Trump pardons the January 6 "tourists" later this month.