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Opinion: Will the House select committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol get Republican politicians to do what their counterparts in the UK did with the man called Britain Trump? Dump him.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned last week after nearly 60 ministers of his governmentleft their jobs in protest, unable tosupport a manLabour Party leader Keir Starmer said was always unfit for officeand has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale.

When Donald Trump was in office he spoke of Johnson as a kind of Mini-Me. He called Johnson a really good man who is tough and smart, adding, They call him Britain Trump.

Yes, he was.

And it did not endwell.

Johnson is a populist, like Trump. A loose cannon. And the Conservative Party in Great Britain finally decided it could no longer back him, not so much because they were disgusted by his behavior but because they thought he would cost them elections.

Labour leader Starmer said of those distancing themselves from Johnson, Isnt this the first recorded case of the sinking ships fleeing the rats?

If Starmer is correct, then the work of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol might be the second recorded case.

Although on a much smaller scale since Americas conservative Republican politicians unlike their British counterparts -- still quiver and cower at the thought of Trump turning against them should they condemn his atrocious, possibly criminal, behavior.

Even so, the committee is making the case as youve probably heard Republican Rep. Liz Cheney say several times that Trumps attempt to strongarm Vice President Mike Pence into rejecting the Electoral College votes, overturn a valid election and hand the presidency back to Trump was both illegal and unconstitutional.

In the real world, that means criminal.

Unfortunately, that isnt how it always works in politics.

Still, the committee is slowly and deliberately describing the events of that dark day, and what led up to it. On Tuesday they describe the role of extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the Jan. 6 attack.

"We are going to be connecting the dots during these hearings between these groups and those who were trying in government circles to overturn the election. So, we do think that this story is unfolding in a way that is very serious and quite credible," Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren said.

Rep. Jamie Raskin put it this way, Donald Trump solicited the mob; he summoned the mob to Washington. All of this was targeted on the joint session of Congress.

Just about all of the witnesses to offer damning testimony about Trump and his attempt to maintain power in spite of losing the election have been Republican.

Last week the committee interviewed Trumps White House counsel Pat Cipollone, one of the ultimate insiders.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy said Cipollone "made very clear that he took the side of many of the folks that youve already seen come before the committee, and was asserting that there wasnt enough evidence to prove that the election was not free and fair.

She added, I imagine that you will be hearing things from Mr. Cipollone, but also from others that were in the White House.

Theres more to come from those sinking ships, in other words, who are abandoning the rats.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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In Donald Trump's world, the sinking ships are abandoning the rats - The Arizona Republic