This week, there are encouraging signs of progress for accountability of Donald Trump and his allies involved in the attempt to overturn votes in the 2020 election in Georgia, as charging decisions are ‘imminent.’ However, this does not end the threat that is posed to our right to vote. MAGA-controlled states across the country are continuing to try to make it harder to vote.
Here’s what you need to know for the weekend:
Main Points for the Weekend:
1. A decision on charges for Donald Trump and others in Georgia is ‘imminent.’ At a hearing on Tuesday, Fulton County District Attorney said that a decision on whether to seek indictments is “imminent” for his and his allies’ attempt to subvert the 2020 election.
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- Top point to make: No one is above the law, including former presidents.
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- If you read one thing: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/24/23: Fulton DA: Decision on indictments in Trump probe may be ‘imminent. “Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis suggested Tuesday that a decision on whether to seek indictments is “imminent” following an eight-month special grand jury investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and his allies criminally meddled in Georgia’s 2020 elections… The panel was convened in May to help Willis subpoena hostile witnesses and compile evidence. Its 23 members heard from scores of people behind closed doors — Willis clarified that a total of 75 people had testified — and the jury was dissolved on Jan. 9 by a majority vote of the county’s 19 Superior Court judges. Among the topics jurors probed were phone calls Trump and his colleagues placed to Georgia officials, the appointment of a slate of ‘alternate’ Republican electors and efforts to pressure a Fulton poll worker to falsely claim she committed election fraud. Donald Wakeford, chief senior district attorney, said Tuesday that the DA’s office is not opposed to the report being released at some point, but that to do so now would be ‘premature.’ Unsealing the report should come only after Willis has made a decision on whether to indict anyone — and potentially once she secures a bill of indictment from a regular grand jury.”
2. New voter suppression laws in states across the country continue to be introduced for 2024. Spearheaded by conspiracy campaigns of MAGA Republicans, states are continuing their efforts to change voter ID rules, make it harder to cast mail-in ballots, and more.
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- Top point to make: The threat to our right to vote is ongoing. MAGA Republicans are creating a new game plan to interfere with elections in 2024, and beyond.
- If you read one thing: New York Times, 1/20/23: States Push for New Voting Laws With an Eye Toward 2024. “Republicans have pushed to tighten voting laws with renewed vigor since former President Donald J. Trump made baseless claims of fraud after losing the 2020 election, while Democrats coming off midterm successes are trying to channel their momentum to expand voting access and thwart efforts to undermine elections. States like Florida, Texas and Georgia, where Republicans control the levers of state government, have already passed sweeping voting restrictions that include criminal oversight initiatives, limits on drop boxes, new identification requirements and more.”
3. More members of the far-right Oath Keepers group have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy. The group’s members all lent a hand in the January 6th attack on our Capitol and the attempt to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.
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- Top point to make: MAGA Republicans engaged in a violent, illegal, and unconstitutional conspiracy to change the results of an election that they knew Donald Trump lost. They all must be held accountable.
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- If you read one thing: POLITICO, 1/23/23: 4 more Oath Keepers found guilty of seditious conspiracy tied to Jan. 6 attack. “Prosecutors say the Oath Keepers began planning to derail the transfer of power shortly after Biden was projected to be the winner of the 2020 election. Though Rhodes and other members of the group said they merely came to Washington to act as security details for speakers at Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, members of the group later joined the mob breaching the Capitol building… The Oath Keepers also organized a large stockpile of firearms and other weaponry at a hotel in Arlington, Va., which they intended for use if the violence escalated even further.”
Expert voices
Harry Litman, former US attorney: “Hearing in Fulton County [today] to decide if special grand jury report should be published. If it is, almost certain it will be chock-a-block with detailed evidence of crimes by Trump AND others, eg Giuliani. State law dictates publication unless judge finds the report is a “presentment” under Georgia law, essentially that is it tantamount to a proposed indictment, not just a report for DA Fani Willis’s consumption. If it is published, expect things to move very fast b/c DA won’t want moss to grow under doc outlining whole case.” Tweet | Tweet
Heather Cox Richardson, historian at Boston College: “[Yesterday] a jury found three members of the Oath Keepers gang, along with a fourth defendant associated with them, guilty of seditious conspiracy for their actions surrounding the January 6th insurrection in 2021…Such indictments are rare and indicate a careful plot against our democracy. They are hard to prove. These six convictions—so far—are a big win for Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Justice Department.” Letters from an American
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, historian at New York University: “The institutionalization of election denial as GOP dogma and practice is another sign it is now an autocratic party. Election denial is not just propaganda but a form of corruption. Its ultimate purpose is to discredit the idea of choosing leaders through elections.” Tweet
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket: “The story of a Wisconsin Republican bragging about suppressing minority voters is a familiar one…Yet, even by Republican standards, [WI election official Robert (R)] Spindell stands out for his brazen celebration of minority voter suppression, not just because of his overt discrimination, but because of his government position administering elections. Spindell isn’t just a Republican Wisconsonite who wants to suppress votes. He isn’t even just an election official. No, Spindell serves as the vice chair of the powerful Wisconsin Elections Commission, the very agency that oversees and sets rules for elections in the Badger State. According to the commission’s website, among its responsibilities is to ‘ensure compliance with federal and state election laws.’” Democracy Docket: Meet Wisconsin’s Proudest Vote Suppressor
Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: “Well, extremists are still willing. Peña was one of more than 30 candidates (as well as at least 21 state legislators) who took part in the Jan. 6 riots in Washington D.C. They keep getting reelected: At least seven candidates gained state and local seats in 2021, and another nine took office in 2022. Multiple state politicians are purported members of the Oath Keepers militia, whose leader has been convicted of sedition — from David Eastman of Alaska’s state House to Wyoming’s GOP state chairman. The Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights found that 10 percent of all state lawmakers and 21 percent of Republicans were part of extremist groups on social media.” The Hill Op-Ed: American democracy is dodging bullets
Gwen Keyes Fleming, former DeKalb County, Georgia district attorney, and Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney (VIDEO): [T]alk with Alex Wagner about why Fulton County, Georgia D.A. Fani Willis asked a judge to keep the report by the special grand jury investigating Donald Trump sealed while “decisions are imminent” in the case. MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight: Why a Georgia D.A. investigating Trump wants to keep grand jury’s report sealed
Norm Eisen, legal scholar and counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump: “DA Willis wants to delay the release of the SGJ report[.] She’s right & for good reason[.] Releasing the report before indictments could lead to identifying witnesses—& to possible witness tampering[.]” Tweet | Business Insider
Dennis Aftergut, former federal prosecutor: “The crime of seditious conspiracy is one that no republic can tolerate. Those committed to overturning constitutional order must be held to account.” The Hill Op-Ed: 5 reasons why the new Oath Keeper convictions matter
