Not long after the Capitol riot in early 2021, I suggested four possible measures that among others would be practical, effective ways to respond to the incident and help prevent something like it from happening again: a comprehensive inquiry into the baffling law enforcement failure on the day; a nationwide investigation into police around the country and the extremists among them; steps to curb the power of corporate media monopolies, particularly on cable; and taking on the system of legalized bribery that had financed the right-wing figures behind the event and extremist movements more generally. A year later, I noted that nothing had been done about any of this, and in fact, in several cases, what had been done was to make all of these issues worse.

Now, six months after that, as Congress holds yet another series of hearings meant to be the absolute last, damning word on the episode, I’m tempted to write the same piece again.

It would be wrong to say that this latest set of hearings is a waste of time. The parade of Donald Trump lackeys and various Republican officials calling bullshit on the former president’s election fraud claims helps make the lie ever more untenable, though as always, anyone who bought into it in the first place will find a way to keep believing. And behind-the-scenes details about Trump’s behavior while the riot raged — including the alleged statement that protesters chanting “hang Mike Pence” might “have the right idea” — speak to the man’s extraordinary callousness and irresponsibility, not that we needed more evidence of that.