Treason of Jan. 6 part of coup attempt

by Tom Maertens

Tom Maertens served as White House NSC Director under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Carlton F. W. Larson, a treason scholar and law professor at the University of California, Davis, has said that it is clear the actions of former President Donald Trump’s followers on Jan. 6 meet the Constitution’s definition of treason.

It is one of the highest offenses in our legal system, punishable with the death penalty.

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the January 6 commission, believes Trump and Steve Bannon planned the insurrection; Bannon virtually bragged about it on his podcast prior to the event.

Former federal prosecutors Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance, and legal scholar Lawrence Tribe, argue in a joint op-ed in The Washington Post, that Trump potentially directed a conspiracy to obstruct an official congressional proceeding, incite an insurrection, foment a seditious conspiracy and commit other crimes.

“Seditious conspiracy” is any conspiracy “to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States.”

There are multiple sources alleging that Republican members of Congress facilitated the mob’s actions by opening doors, or by providing advance tours or information to the criminals. That would make the Republican Party the Treason Party.

The FBI, the GAO and the Capitol Police are all investigating. The government has indicted at least 674 people for crimes related to the insurrection, including on charges of seditious conspiracy, assault on police, and two dozen other offenses.

Bob Woodward listed seven conspiratorial actions by Trump, and places Steve Bannon in the Trump “War Room” at the Willard Hotel starting Jan. 5 that directed what he called a “criminal conspiracy.”

Trump’s efforts to overturn the election were assisted by John Eastman, a White House legal advisor, who drafted a roadmap for overturning the election that was discussed in the Oval Office; it asserted that Vice President Mike Pence could disregard election results from seven states, allowing Trump to “win” the 2020 election.

The coup memo falsely claimed that the vice president has unilateral power as President of the Senate to decline to count electors sent to Congress by states.

The coup attempt resulted in Trump being impeached for a second time when the House charged him with inciting an insurrection.

The House Select Committee on January 6 is investigating the origins of the riot, but polls show that the vast majority of Americans hold Trump responsible for the Capitol siege. Even Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed at one point.

He acknowledged that the mob was “provoked by the president and other powerful people,” although he later backed down. Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy proposed a bipartisan commission but later denied he had done so.

Most Republicans refused to participate in the January 6 commission, even though many of them were threatened by the mob, which shouted “hang Mike Pence” as it rampaged through the Capitol.

The Senate Judiciary Committee reported that Trump tried to use the Department of Justice to subvert the election results. He made at least nine calls to encourage acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen to investigate discredited claims of election fraud.

Rosen reportedly testified that Jeffrey Clark, an environmental lawyer appointed by Trump, and the acting number two at Justice, had engaged in several unauthorized conversations with Trump, who reportedly considered ousting Rosen and installing Clark as acting attorney general in order to overturn the election results.

At Trump’s urging, Clark tried to persuade Rosen to send a letter to Georgia legislators asking them to void the election results.

Clark actually drafted letters to six states outlining for them how to void the results; the drafting information suggested he expected to be named acting attorney general, but Rosen would not send them

It was Clark who told colleagues that China used thermostats to change ballots in 2020. He claimed hackers had evidence a Dominion machine accessed the Internet thru a “smart thermostat” with a trail leading back to China.

That sounds like something that might have come from the guy who claimed windmills cause cancer.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee released notes taken by Richard Donoghue, Rosen’s deputy, from a Dec. 27 meeting during which Trump allegedly said, “Just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and Republican congressmen.” This has reportedly prompted DOJ to consider felony charges against both Clark and Trump.