The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller’s, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON – “Let’s not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6th – [Trump] did,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi in her speech at the Democratic National Convention.
New Pelosi footage released
But as part of their ongoing effort to shift blame for the Capitol riot away from Donald Trump, a Republican-headed oversight committee has released previously unaired video footage of the then-House Speaker, which was turned over to Congress by HBO and obtained by CBS News. It shows a livid Pelosi citing her “responsibility” to protect the House and bemoaning the absence of National Guard troops who might have kept the Capitol Police from being overwhelmed by the mob.
The Republicans claim that proves is was Pelosi who was negligent, not Trump. But former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a member of the bipartisan commission that investigated the events of that day, said that’s false: “The DC National Guard is controlled by one person – the President of the United States.”
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Will Jan. 6 work for GOP in New Hampshire?
Is Jan. 6 a topic that can work for Republicans this fall?
At their convention, Democrats featured multiple speeches about the riot, including Capitol police officers who tried to hold off the rioters. And in the days and weeks that followed, the top Republicans in Congress took turns blaming and denouncing Trump for sparking the siege.
But instead of changing the subject, Trump has made support for the rioters a part of his campaign, promising to pardon them if elected.
And an expert on New Hampshire politics said keeping Jan. 6 front and center won’t help Trump win wavering swing voters there.
“That’s not their politics, the politics of grievance,” said UNH professor Dante Scala. “Their politics, I think, is a lot more about the politics of normalcy. People who normally vote Republican, they don’t necessarily want to rehash January 6, they’d rather put January 6 down the memory hole. The thing is, the best way to do that is to vote for Harris. The best way to do that is to turn the page.”
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Going after Pelosi will surely excite the core Trump base for whom she is a satanic figure.
But Trump already has those voters locked up.
The Harris campaign features the word “forward,” asking voters to move past the Trump era (and maybe the Biden era as well). But even as Trump urges voters to recall the “good old days” when he was president, Harris also wants swing voters in swing states like New Hampshire to remember days like January 6th, when Trump lived up to the nickname Niki Haley gave him during the primaries – “chaos agent.”
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Jon Keller
Jon Keller is Political Analyst for WBZ-TV News, and his “Keller @ Large” reports on a wide range of topics are regularly featured during WBZ-TV News at 5 and 6 p.m. Keller’s commentaries are also seen weekday mornings at 5:30 a.m. on WBZ This Morning.
CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire lawmakers have moved to reject a Republican-backed proposal to launch an impeachment inquiry into the lone Democrat on the state’s five-member Executive Council.
On Friday, a key committee of lawmakers delivered a unanimous 17-0 vote against an impeachment inquiry into Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill of Lebanon, N.H.
The vote on House Resolution 41 followed an abbreviated public hearing, after the bill’s sponsor withdrew his support for the proposal and instead asked lawmakers on the committee to recommend killing it.
The push for Liot Hill’s impeachment was led by Representative Joe Sweeney, a Salem Republican and the deputy majority leader in the New Hampshire House.
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At issue were several emails Liot Hill had sent from her official account to help a partisan law firm identify voters impacted by a new state law. The law tightened voter ID requirements for absentee ballots.
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Sweeney had previously called Liot Hill’s correspondence “political lawfare run out of a taxpayer-funded inbox.” In December, a review by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office found that Liot Hill’s conduct was not illegal and did not constitute a misuse of office, clearing the complaint against her.
Reached by the Globe on Friday, Sweeney, who was not present at the public hearing, said in a statement he preferred to let voters decide whether Liot Hill should continue to serve in the upcoming November election.
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“After reviewing the matter and hearing the discussion, I believe the appropriate course is to move forward and allow the voters and the political process to do their work,” he said.
“The purpose of filing the resolution was to ensure that the constitutional questions raised were addressed seriously and transparently,” he said, noting that he stands by the process and the decision to recommend killing the resolution.
In an interview, Liot Hill said she was pleased with the unanimous vote from the House Judiciary Committee.
“The committee vote, I think, sends the message that there was no merit to this,” she said.
The proposal now heads to the full House of Representatives, which has the power to approve the committee’s recommendation to reject it.
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Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
A woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her baby whose body was found in a pond in Manchester, New Hampshire last year. Hepay Juma, 26, of Manchester, is now charged with reckless second-degree murder.
The New Hampshire Attorney General said Juma was arrested for “causing the death of Baby Jane “Grace” Doe, her child, under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
On March 27, 2025, the baby’s body was found floating in the water at Pine Island Park in Manchester. The baby’s death was treated as suspicious following an autopsy.
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Investigators have not released any information about how they made the arrest or how the baby died.
Hepay Juma, 26, of Manchester, NH, is charged in connection with the death of her baby.
Manchester, NH police
At the time, Manchester Police Chief Peter Marr said the baby’s death was “extremely tragic.”
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Police asked the public for help after the baby’s body was discovered. They wanted to know if anyone saw someone discarding anything in the water in the previous 14 days, or if anyone knew a pregnant woman who gave birth during that time who needed medical help.
A funeral was held for baby Grace Doe last May, and the public was invited to pay their respects. “The way she was discarded is heartbreaking, and it is important that we give her a proper farewell,” Chief Marr said last year.
The baby was named Grace by police “to celebrate the kindness extended to her by those who refuse to let her life go unrecognized.”
Juma is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in Manchester District Court.
