The next few days should be interesting ones in the development of the January 6 Committee investigation. One of the big kahunas of Trump world, to wit Rudy Giuliani, has been asked to testify and he may go along and do so voluntarily, rather than risk a criminal referral and indictment like others in Trump world. This could be a decisive moment, Mr. Trial By Combat himself deciding to not fight city hall, as it were. And make no mistake, Giuliani was not only at the heart of the madness, he was one of its chief architects. New York Times:
As a key figure in some of Mr. Trump’s attempts to stave off electoral defeat, Mr. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, would be in a position to tell investigators how much the former president knew about a series of extraordinary measures that were proposed to him last fall and winter in a bid to maintain his grip on power.
Among those efforts was a scheme to disrupt the normal workings of the Electoral College by persuading lawmakers in contested swing states to draw up alternate slates of electors showing Mr. Trump was victorious in states that were actually won by Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Mr. Giuliani was also instrumental in vetting a plan to use the Department of Homeland Security to seize voting machines in order to examine the data housed inside them for supposed evidence of fraud. At Mr. Trump’s direction, Mr. Giuliani asked a top homeland security official if the department could legally take control of the machines — a notion that the official shot down. Mr. Giuliani later opposed an even more explosive proposal to have the military seize the machines.
Mr. Giuliani was subpoenaed with other members of a legal team that billed itself as “an elite strike force” and pursued a set of conspiracy-filled lawsuits on behalf of Mr. Trump in which they made unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the election. They were initially scheduled to testify this week, but were granted delays through discussions with their lawyers.
Meanwhile, it’s still stonewalling time for others.
Faced with at least 18 Trump allies who have signaled they will not fully cooperate, investigators for the committee have adopted techniques more typically used in organized crime prosecutions than in congressional inquiries and quietly turned at least six lower-level Trump staff members into witnesses who have provided information about their bosses’ activities.
The committee is also considering granting immunity to crucial members of Mr. Trump’s inner circle who have invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination as a way of pressuring them to testify.
As Trump himself has noted on many occasions, why would you plead the 5th if you’re innocent? Good question.
Rudy can’t hire good counsel. Yes, he’s been disbarred but he could probably win a petition to represent himself Pro Per but he probably has enough functioning brain cells to remember the old maxim about a person representing themself having a fool for a client. He’s facing enough years in a federal pen and knowing from his days as the head honcho back at SDNY to know his best bet it to try and cut some sort of deal for minimal if any actual jail time. But he’s going to HAVE to have a lot to offer and do so quickly or it’s prison. And yes it’s crass but keep in mind cousins don’t count for those wanting conjugal visits! Lordy let’s hope there are tapes! He’s made them before but perhaps some survival instinct kicked in when it mattered and instead of accidental butt dialing he intentionally recorded some of his chats with other plotters just in case.
Not to worry delliott There will be a paper trail as wide as the old Chisolm Trail with all the E-mails that some people forget is just about as good as a finger print. There’ll be tons of those, verification for that 5000 pages Meadows turned over to the committee. My biggest fear is that poor Liz will strain her eyes reading them all. And finally it has to be remembered that Rudi is possibly the epitome of the expression “rats leaving a sinking ship”. Remember the happy days of yore when the tune was “Lock her up Lock her up”! And Rudi led the quire. I can’t wait to see America’s Mayor becoming America’s Jailbird. “Lock him up Lock him up!!!!”
If Rudy isn’t already talking to the Feds and trying to cut a deal, he’s a bigger fool than I thought. His word alone isn’t worth much, I doubt his testimony would carry much weight if not corroborated by others. I think the DOJ and the J6C have been coordinating more than they have let on. There is no one on the J6C that wants another Oliver North scenario. If Rudy is willing to appear before the committee, he’s either planning a John Eastman “I take the 5th” play or he’s already talked to DOJ and worked something out.
Rudy’s slippery (slimy?). He might just want to keep his ass out of the pokey but he’s probably still on board with trying to get former guy back in office so he can reap the benefits thereof.
The real thrill here spike will be in the collateral damage that the GOP will be blessed with. And with Trump going after any candidate within the GOP that is too Luke warm to suit the commander in slime. And as well the other conspirators like Jim Jordan will sing like birds if I don’t miss my guess? tweet tweet!