History is made in Trump world once again. Truth Social is silent right now. Either Donald Trump is not reacting, or he’s counting on his previously posted “defense” which is a recapitulation of the Twitter files conspiracy theory, to carry him through. That may be where things stay for a while. Trump has been telegraphing his weak tea bromides for days now on his social media platform and they all boil down to the FBI colluding with Twitter and other such nonsense.
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol voted Monday to send to Justice Department prosecutors “a recommendation that the former president be charged with four crimes: inciting or assisting an insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to make a false statement,” reports the Washington Post.
The Post also reports that the move has no legal weight, “but marks the first time Congress has made such a referral for a former president.”
Also bear in mind that Jack Smith is working closely with the evidence that the January 6 Committee has unearthed.
Here is a 12-minute summary of evidence which was presented and which encapsulates, as well as anything this short can, the horror of the day and how the then-president chose to ignore the reality of it all. He sat, Diet Coke in hand, in his dining room, watching the show on TV. He was both director and spectator, instigator and beneficiary, of the ugliest episode to take place on domestic soil since the founding of the Republic.
Jamie Raskin also called for four House Republicans to be referred to the House Ethics Committee for sanctions after ignoring congressional subpoenas, to wit, Kevin McCarthy, Scott Perry, Andy Biggs and Jim Jordan. Nice gesture, don’t expect it to go very far.
And so it ends. At least this chapter and at least for the moment.
And don’t forget about this: Tuesday, the Ways and Means Committee is meeting to discuss Trump’s tax returns and what they will release.
And on Wednesday, the January 6th Committee will release its formal report.
The beginning of the end.
I don’t think so. For Trump and other elected types (Congress Critters who will be there in the next Congress I might add) it’s nowhere near that. We don’t know how far along DOJ is, and what evidence they’ve gotten on their own (with grand jury subpoena power) and what the J6 Committee has already forwarded BUT we also know (if you’ve been paying attention) that while we will get most of everything later this week, not all of what’s been uncovered will be made public. Some of it does in fact involve bona fide national security matters but some, and this has long been the source of tension between the J6 Committee and DOJ involves protecting ongoing investigations and potential prosecutions.
For example, there are serious issues about just WTF went on in certain quarters at Homeland Security, DOD and even the FBI about intelligence that from accounts was either credible or required immediate follow-up that got gundecked. Also, I for one haven’t forgotten the matter of certain Capitol Police who appeared to aid the rioters on January 6, or were simply too chickenshit to confront them and like fucking cowards played along. Or those who allowed those pre January 6 “tours” that everyone from they to Congress Critters and staff including the incoming newbies had been formally notified the Capitol was OFF-LIMITS to visitors! When their are members of Congress with actual military or CIA line officer experience who personally witnesses a bit of that saying their were indications of “recon” I for one pay attention.
No, it’s not the beginning of the end. I believe it was Churchill who once said something along the lines of it not being the end, or even the beginning of the end. It might however be the end of the beginning.
There is evidence the J6 Committee took that can’t be used in a court proceeding. There are rules of evidence and one issue will be hearsay testimony. We the public, like members of a jury can see people testify under oath in a public Congressional hearing and make reasonable determinations about their credibility, and that of a given witness(s) vs. another witness(s). However, while juries in a trial can and do do the same, in court a stricter set of rules apply when it comes to evidence. Epic fights take place in high profile trials about what the jury will be allowed to hear and consider and what will be excluded. That’s the kind of thing that will weigh heavily on prosecutors when building a case for the boss (now Jack Smith) to make the really big decision about – file charges or not.
DOJ now will have official access to EVERYTHING the J6 Committee has gotten, including official transcripts of interviews which in so many instances are required to be able to ask a grand jury for a “True Bill” (indictment) on a given charge or case. So from where I sit, I think we’ve reached the end of the beginning. DOJ will take it from here, and since all the evidence will be in their hands before the new, GOP controlled House can try to hold it back I look for things to start moving on the criminal front. But other than the documents case with Trump it’s going to take a lot longer than any of us would like.
Jack! Sic em!!! Leave the nice Jewish man, who has forgotten what a prosecutor actually does with a mountain of evidence, NO CHOICE BUT TO PROSECUTE!!!!
Gods, will you EVER fucking get it through your head that “evidence” is NOT what you seem to think it is, especially when you actually expect a successful prosecution.
And, you’re venturing VERY close to expressing anti-Semitism in your “nice Jewish man” comment. What the fuck does Jewishness have to do with anything?
It’s a comment on how highly Jews value education & success, especially law degrees. Subcultures have unwritten mores. The fact he was a judge over a quarter of a century doesn’t make him a good prosecutor. He does seem like a nice man. I was married into a Jewish family in massachusetts & have officially been a Jew since 1979. What’s your experience? I’ve read & followed this shit for six years…and there are former federal prosecutors who agree the evidence is overwhelming & who remained perplexed over the lack of charges to date. Why do you keep making excuses? You want a certainty in the outcome before you charge someone? That’s not how it works for the rest of us. I’ve been a political prisoner in America since 1978. You don’t even have a clue. Ever been charged with serious charges?Sent to prison by a corrupt prosecutor and judge? Told by a parole board you should have never been arrested after four months of death threats? You are privileged and don’t even know it. Your comfort with a corrupt system you’ve never been involved with makes you blind as it does with most of white middle class America. 240 years of hypocrisy backed by guns. The truth hurts but not your cushy group. You’re safe behind the walls.