The former Republican who became a thorn in the side of Donald Trump by sponsoring an anti-QAnon resolution and joining the staff of the January 6 investigation committee has a book signing in Charlottesville this weekend.
Denver Riggleman, the former 5th District Congressman who returned to his family’s Diamondback Distillery in Nelson County after being defeated by Bob Good in the Republican primary two years ago, will sign copies of his new book at Barnes and Noble on Saturday.
The book, “Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th,” tells the story through facts and data.
“This book is not some chatty cathy throw-manure-against-the-wall Trump gossip book,” Riggleman said in a Friday afternoon telephone interview. “This is almost like a military command brief that was made exciting based on my background.”
“You gotta remember,” Riggleman continued, “that ‘Congressman’ and ‘distiller’ is just my cover. For 20 years I was in Air Force intelligence, the National Security Agency, and the office of the Secretary of Defense.”
The book conveys information Riggleman learned as a hired staffer on the Congressional committee investigating the events of January 6, 2021, the day the U.S. Capitol was invaded while the Senate was trying to certify the presidential election won by Joe Biden and lost by incumbent Donald Trump.
“There were calls coming into and out of the White House to key players,” said Riggleman. “We had Oath Keepers talking directly to White House staff.”
Riggleman said that he found himself absorbed by the roles of the people around Trump, including Republican lobbyist Roger Stone, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Ginni Thomas.
Riggleman says that Thomas gets an entire book chapter because she engaged in “digital insanity” before January 6. He notes that Thomas talked of “watermarked” ballots, urged Wisconsin and Arizona lawmakers to tinker with their electoral slates, and infamously escaped a cult-like self-improvement program in the 1980s.
“Past behavior can be indicative of future behavior,” Riggleman said dryly.
“Riggleman is one of the more interesting characters to have come on the political scene,” University of Virginia Center for Politics’ Larry Sabato wrote in an email. “He voted a very conservative line in Congress, but he was also willing to do some unconventional things when the circumstances called for it.”
Among these things were officiating at the wedding of a gay couple, an action that may have been costly in his unsuccessful 2020 Republican primary against challenger Bob Good, who recently won a second term in the 5th District. More recently, in the 7th District, the now-independent Riggleman endorsed Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat.
Riggleman denounces the leaders of January 6 as “prophets” earning “profits” by pushing bogus claims, such as that widespread voter fraud resulted in Trump’s 2020 loss.
“It’s based on apocalyptic conspiracy theories and fantasy,” said Riggleman. “There’s a huge follow-the-money issue.”
While “follow the money” was popularized by the Watergate scandal, which forced Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974, Riggleman contends that January 6 may be more worrisome.
“I think this is much larger than Watergate because it’s continuing today,” said Riggleman.
He says he’s glad that the University of Virginia has a growing data science school, invoking the name of a fictional character created by late author Robert Ludlum.
“Data is the Jason Bourne of the new information warfare battle space,” said Riggleman. “Data can identify the command and control infrastructure.”
Riggleman is signing copies of “Breach” on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in the Barracks Road Shopping Center.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
Be First to Comment