by Tom Maertens
It’s been two years since ex-President Donald Trump’s coup attempt of Jan. 6.
At least 978 people have been arrested for their role in the insurrection, more than 484 have pleaded guilty or had their cases adjudicated, and 40 more were convicted by juries, including several far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
The longest sentence so far is 10 years for an off-duty New York City police officer.
The committee found that rightwing anti-government extremism created the conditions that gave rise to the Jan. 6 attack and noted that “White supremacists and Confederate-sympathizers were among the first rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol.”
The committee concluded unanimously that there was only one person responsible: Donald Trump. The panel noted that he coordinated a conspiracy on multiple levels, pressuring states, federal officials and lawmakers to overturn his defeat, and inspired a violent mob of supporters to attack the Capitol and interrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s win.
“The Select Committee estimates that in the two months between the November election and the Jan. 6 insurrection, President Trump or his inner circle engaged in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private outreach, pressure, or condemnation, targeting either state legislators or state or local election administrators, to overturn state election results,” just as Trump did with Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The panel recommended that the justice department prosecute Trump on four charges: aiding an insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to make a false statement.
That referral places additional pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to indict Trump. Garland has already appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, who appears to be moving rapidly.
Separate from the Jan. 6 charges, Trump is also facing state charges in Georgia. A Fulton County grand jury has wrapped up its investigation; attorney Andrew Weissman has written that it is likely the Georgia grand jury has found probable cause to charge Trump in its report.
Trump is also facing three possible federal charges for retaining classified government documents at Mar A Lago: obstruction of justice, criminal handling of government records, and violation of the Espionage Act.
The evidence revealed a coordinated effort by Trump and his allies to seize a second term. Despite the insurrection, 139 Republican House members, including Kevin McCarthy, voted against certifying Joe Biden’s electoral win. Eight Republican Congressmen requested pardons from Trump for their actions on Jan. 6: Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Louie Gohmert, Paul Gosart, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, and Mo Brooks.
This is the sedition caucus and you can be sure that there is negative information about them in the Jan. 6 files they are now trying to take control of.
The committee interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses, collected more than 1 million documents and held 10 public hearings.
Despite that, more than two years after the election, Trump is still lying about the outcome. He lost 61 court cases, including at least 22 of them in front of judges he appointed, but is still claiming the election was “stolen.”
The committee recommended that Congress consider barring the former president from ever holding public office again as a result of his role inciting the insurrection.
We also know that Trump considered blanket pardons for all the insurrectionists — “patriots,” he calls them.
He now says that if he is re-elected to the White House, he will proceed with the blanket pardons.
That clearly contradicts claims by the Trump cult that the insurrection was caused by antifa; Trump would never pardon them.
There is strong evidence of witness tampering by lawyers that the Trump camp paid to represent White House employees, such as Cassidy Hutchinson; she testified under oath that her Trump-supplied lawyer urged her to pretend she did not remember some facts, and that Trump supporters tried to influence her testimony with job offers.
The committee found that John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani were instrumental in the planning and execution of Trump’s attempt to overthrow his reelection loss, and, along with Mark Meadows, had direct roles in organizing the scheme to replace the rightful delegates to the Electoral College with fake electors.
They now face criminal charges and disciplinary action by state bar committees.
One of the consequences of the event was to bring about changes to the Electoral Vote Count Act to make clear that the role of the vice president is purely ceremonial; that he has no ability to change any submissions by the various states, which was the reason for the insurrection.
Tom Maertens served in the White House under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
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