This week, the investigations into Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election continue by the Department of Justice, in Georgia, and across the country. While Trump Republicans continue their attack on Americans who disagree with them and echo his baseless conspiracy theories and try to suppress votes, the law is on the side of the American people.
Here’s what you need to know for the weekend:
Main Points for the Weekend:
1. The Department of Justice has subpoenaed former Vice-President Mike Pence and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for the information they know about Trump’s 2020 attempt to overturn the election. The men and others in the former president’s closest circle and closest to the team were responsible for the spreading of election conspiracy theories and the violence that ensued on that day.
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- Top point to make: Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and all those involved in the violent conspiracy must comply with the Justice Department to ensure all involved are held accountable.
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- If you read one thing: CNN, 2/15/23: Exclusive: Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows subpoenaed by special counsel in Jan. 6 investigation. “The move to subpoena one of Trump’s most senior aides – in addition to the recent subpoena of former Vice President Mike Pence, as CNN reported last week – marks the latest significant step in the special counsel’s investigation into Trump’s role in seeking to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. Smith also is simultaneously investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office. While the subpoena is related to January 6, Meadows also may be of interest in the documents investigation. He was one of Trump’s designees to the National Archives and played a role in discussions around returning government records in his possession.”
2. The first section of the Georgia Grand Jury report has been released. The report revealed that the panel “unanimously agreed that Georgia’s 2020 presidential vote had not been marred by ‘widespread fraud’ as has been claimed by Trump and his allies.”
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- Top point to make: Donald Trump and his allies engaged in a conspiracy to overturn an election, even though they knew he lost and there was no voter fraud. They must be held accountable.
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- If you read one thing: Washington Post, 2/16/23: Ga. grand jury says ‘perjury may have been committed’ in Trump election probe. “‘A majority of the grand jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,’ the report reads. ‘The grand jury recommends that the district attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.’ The unsealed document offered no major clues about the grand jury’s other findings — though the panel pointedly noted that it unanimously agreed that Georgia’s 2020 presidential vote had not been marred by ‘widespread fraud’ as has been claimed by Trump and his allies… While the grand jury report remains mostly sealed, McBurney’s ruling was the latest indication that the panel has recommended charges in the case. Last month, Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis pressed to keep the report fully sealed, telling the judge that charging decisions were ‘imminent.’”
3. A new bill in Florida will make it easier to prosecute voters. This new bill just adds to the growing slate of voter suppression tactics Ron DeSantis and other MAGA Republican legislators are adding to the docket.
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- Top point to make: The threat posed to our right to vote continues to grow at the hands of MAGA Republicans.
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- If you read one thing: Talking Points Memo, 2/13/23: State GOP Bill That’ll Make It Easier To Prosecute Voters Lands On DeSantis’s Desk. “On Friday, the Florida Senate approved Senate Bill 4B which, among other things, authorizes the Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP) to “investigate and prosecute crimes involving voting in an election for a federal or state office” across multiple counties. The bill was proposed after three cases against formerly incarcerated citizens arrested by the task force and accused of voting illegally were dismissed on the grounds that the OSP didn’t have the jurisdiction to prosecute them. While the sponsor of the Florida House version of the bill outright admitted that it was being proposed to help DeSantis act on his political stunt, the sponsor of the Senate proposal, state Sen. Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers), argued last week that allowing the OSP to step into cases in multiple jurisdictions would encourage local state prosecutors to make apolitical decisions.”
Expert voices
Debra Perlin, policy director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW): “January 6th was an attack on the very foundations of our democracy. Individuals who engaged in insurrection should not be permitted to hold positions of public trust in the government that they tried to overthrow,” said Debra Perlin, Policy Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “Delegate [Dan] Helmer’s legislation barring insurrectionists from positions of public trust is a necessary step towards protecting our democracy.” ABC 13 News
Lilliana Mason, political science at Johns Hopkins’ SNF Agora Institute: “[M]ost Americans do not have an accurate view of the beliefs held by members of the opposing political party, Mason said. Research has shown, for example, that Republicans far overestimate the portion of the Democratic Party that is Black. Meanwhile, Democrats far overestimate the portion of the Republican Party that earns more than $250,000 a year. ‘We’re also overestimating the degree to which we think they disagree with us on policy,’ Mason said, pointing to polling data that suggest the American public could compromise on many issues. ‘That makes us hate each other more.’…Eliminating that stress will be difficult, because Mason points out that any effort now to collaborate, or acknowledge the correctness of a political belief different than our own, feels like an attack on our identity. That’s painful, and something Americans – particularly those in positions of power – don’t want, Mason said. ‘The closer we come to being a fully egalitarian, pluralistic, multiethnic democracy, the worse all of this gets,’ Mason said. ‘Yet, that’s what we need to do. That’s what, literally, the Constitution – the 14th Amendment – we haven’t lived up to it yet. Our Constitution requires that we become a pluralistic, multiethnic democracy.’” The Spokesman-Review
Joyce Vance, former US attorney: “Pence has given interviews and written a book about the end of the Trump administration. But so far, he’s only revealed the information that he wanted to. Prosecutors will want to know about everything else, including the details of all of his interactions with Trump that connect to the outcome of the election and what followed. And why wouldn’t Pence testify, unless he believes there are details that would taint Trump and, by implication, his political future if he revealed them? Pence ducked testimony before the January 6 committee with the ridiculous assertion that it was enough to “let” his advisors testify. If a CEO tried to send over his assistant to testify before a grand jury after the CEO observed a bank robbery in progress, there’s no way the assistant would be accepted as a substitute witness. That would be true even if they saw part of the crime, but not the entire course of conduct the CEO observed. And if the criminals had tried to enlist the CEO to join their conspiracy to rob the bank beforehand, but the CEO declined, there would be no question they were an essential witness. That’s Mike Pence. Trump tried to convince him to join his conspiracy to obstruct certification of the 2020 election. Pence needs to answer the questions prosecutors want answered, not just the ones that helped him sell his book. Prosecutors can’t make a decision about indictments until they speak to Pence.” Civil Discourse
Heather Cox Richardson, American historian: “Over all the torrent of news these days is a fundamental struggle about the nature of human government. Is democracy still a viable form of government, or is it better for a country to have a strongman in charge? Democracy stands on the principle of equality for all people, and those who are turning away from democracy, including the right wing in the United States, object to that equality. They worry that equal rights for women and minorities—especially LGBTQ people—will undermine traditional religion and traditional power structures. They believe democracy saps the morals of a country and are eager for a strong leader who will use the power of the government to reinforce their worldview. But empowering a strongman ends oversight and enables those in power to think of themselves as above the law. In the short term, it permits those in power to use the apparatus of their government to enrich themselves at the expense of the people of their country. Their supporters don’t care: they are willing to accept the cost of corruption so long as the government persecutes those they see as their enemies. But that deal is vulnerable when it becomes clear the government cannot respond to an immediate public crisis. That equation is painfully clear right now in Turkey and Syria[.]” Letters from An American
Noah Bookbinder, President for Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington (CREW): “.@CREWcrew has been tracking the number of crimes which Donald Trump has been credible alleged to have committed since he began running for president in 2015. We’re now up to 56. Still no indictments, but that should and likely will change soon.” Tweet | CREW: President Trump’s staggering record of uncharged crimes
Barbara McQuade, former US attorney (MSNBC Video): “‘It allows you to go after the boss, the person who doesn’t get his hands dirty and allows his underlings to do all the dirty work.’ – @BarbMcQuade offers a clear, helpful explanation of what a RICO case is and why Fani Willis might use it in the Georgia election case.” MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight Tweet
Anthony Michael Kreis, Assistant Professor of Law at Georgia State University: “The law of democracy is foundational. This and the rule of law are being tested in Fulton County, Georgia. It isn’t a spectator sport though it is worth our attention. Justice is not meted out by gleefully hoping someone gets their just deserts. The search of truth isn’t grift. Patience is better than eager anticipation. Facts are better than wishful thinking. Speculation is inevitable, but we have to be measured and honest when we’re trying to read tea leaves and acknowledge the limitations and dangers of that. -fin-” Tweet | Tweet
Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University: “Democracy involves informed decision-making about policy. These laws [like Florida’s Stop Woke Act] are intended to render such deliberation impossible when it comes to minority groups. The United States suffers from immense racial disparities, which result in periodic outbreaks of political protest. Without an understanding of the structural factors that keep schools and cities segregated, and certain populations impoverished, Americans will not be able to react to these outbreaks with understanding – they will find them befuddling. These laws eliminate the knowledge and understanding required to react democratically to Black political protest to structural injustice…It is clear that the chief agenda of the GOP is to advance a set of speech laws that criminalize discussion in schools of anything but the white heterosexual majority’s perspective. The media’s portrayal of these laws as moves in the “culture wars” is an unconscionable misrepresentation of fascism.” The Guardian Op-Ed: Banning ideas and authors is not a ‘culture war’ – it’s fascism
