Ever since I got my first Nancy Drew book as a kidlet, I have been a fan of mysteries and drama. While the original series was full of maps and chests, hidden figures and missing people, it was surprisingly bereft of murder. A further 30+ years of true crime books, shows, podcasts and documentaries have filled those gaps.
At this point, in addition to learning more about forensics, psychology, motivation and police methodology, I’ve also studied how various media keeps our attention – especially in a world with 30 second TikTok videos and “Skip Commercial” options only after 5 agonizing seconds.
It feels like 2022 is the year when the justice department has, innocently or purposefully, manufactured a season of entertainment designed for the masses.
Let me explain.
On April 11th a trial began in Virginia between an ex-couple you may have heard about: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. This defamation and spousal abuse trial was broadcasted live. Oh, how this could have been watched during COVID lockdowns! While some tuned in for every second or stood outside the courthouse with signs of support, millions more watched daily recaps, YouTube channels committed to picking apart testimony and armchair experts telling us what the jury was thinking and how the case would play out.
This case concluded on June 1st, leaving a gap in our programming schedule.
Enter the Jan 6th committee. On June 3rd they announce the first public hearing after months of work would begin June 9th. Just enough time for the media to consider what’s going to happen and make their predictions.
As we all know, the bombshells from that hearing, and the ones that followed, were sensational. News anchors covered the facts and speculated about what it would all mean, experts gave context to the witness testimony and there was even a surprise hearing.
The pace mattered too, if you spread them out too much people lose interest. If they’re too packed in, no one can consume that much information.
So hearings were held June 9th, 13th, 16th, 21st, 23rd, 28th and July 12th and 21st. Never more than 2 weeks without a hearing. Just as the final July hearing is wrapping up we get another surprise! Season 2 of the Jan 6 committee will return in the Fall.
But just as the American public were in need of a justice story to entertain we got jury selection in the trial of Alex Jones in Texas on July 25th. Now, we missed the whole trial (again about defamation) because Jones lost due to a failure to cooperate with court proceedings but a trial on damages is juicy enough. The trial goes for 2 weeks and on Friday, August 5th damages are determined.
We also have the chance for a crossover episode with the Jan 6th committee hearings which now have Alex Jones’ text messages!
Whew, what a busy couple of months – wait a second, is the FBI raiding Mar a Largo on August 8th? Why, yes they are! The jury selection for the second Alex Jones trial has already begun in Connecticut and it’s possible that will lead us into the final season of January 6th committee.
I do want to make it clear that I don’t believe this is some justice department conspiracy. Aside from the fact that the Jan 6 committee hired a former news producer to help organize and present content (very successfully, I would argue), there is no master manipulator of these judicial proceedings. This is just my odd observation of how courts and congressional hearings have played out these last few months.