The report from WaPo on Jan 6 is a tour de force of reporting, a confirmation of what we already knew, and a remarkably depressing story of America’s slide towards darkness, helmed by a madman and abetted by cowards who put personal power ahead of the public good. It’s such a well-reported and critical piece that I’m separating it into three sections, as WaPo does. All of the sections are Gift Articles for NextDraft readers. This was the before: “Trump was the driving force at every turn as he orchestrated what would become an attempted political coup in the months leading up to Jan. 6, calling his supporters to Washington, encouraging the mob to march on the Capitol and freezing in place key federal agencies whose job it was to investigate and stop threats to national security.” RED FLAGS. “As Trump propelled his supporters to Washington, law enforcement agencies failed to heed mounting warnings about violence on Jan. 6.”