This week, as the House Committee prepares for its next and final public hearing, other investigations begin to dive deeper into the facts of the cases – steps closer to holding the former president accountable for his many crimes. Holding the former president accountable is a key factor in stopping the ongoing threat posed by MAGA Republicans who deny the true outcomes of elections.
Here’s what you need to know for the weekend:
Main Points for the Weekend:
1. The House Select Committee investigating Trump and his allies’ involvement in the violence and criminality surrounding January 6th is returning next week. Chairman Bennie Thompson confirmed the final hearing from the committee will be held on September 28, at 1 pm ET.
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- Top point to make: The committee has already shown that Trump and MAGA Republicans planned a violent criminal conspiracy to stay in power.
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- If you read one thing: ABC News, 9/20/22: House Jan. 6 committee chairman confirms date for the likely final hearing. “He added that the committee hearing will feature ‘substantial footage’ of the riot and ‘significant witness testimony’ that hasn’t previously been released… Outstanding questions remain over what witnesses may be called and whether committee investigators will press Trump or former Vice President Mike Pence to testify. The committee has also sent a letter to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich seeking information and records over communications with Trump’s team before and after the attack on the Capitol. The committee has interviewed several people linked to Trump or who served in his administration, including several former Cabinet secretaries, whose testimonies have not yet been seen publicly.”
2. MAGA Republicans across the country continue to echo Trump’s false election claims and still refuse to accept the 2020 election results. The threat set in place by the former president is setting a dangerous precedent for the future of democracy.
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- Top point to make: The threat set by MAGA Republicans has not stopped, but grows – setting a dangerous example for elections in 2022, 2024, and beyond.
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- If you read one thing: New York Times, 9/18/22: Echoing Trump, These Republicans Won’t Promise to Accept 2022 Results. “But they do have loud megaphones in a highly polarized media environment, and any unwarranted challenges from the candidates and their allies could fuel anger, confusion, and misinformation. ‘The danger of a Trumpist coup is far from over,’ said Rosa Brooks, a law professor at Georgetown University who in early 2020 convened a group to brainstorm ways Mr. Trump could disrupt that year’s election. ‘As long as we have a significant number of Americans who don’t accept principles of democracy and the rule of law, our democracy remains in jeopardy.’”
3. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the Justice Department’s investigators can resume their review of the classified records seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
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- Top point to make: No one is above the law – not even former presidents, members of congress, other elected officials, or their allies.
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- If you read one thing: Wall Street Journal, 9/21/22: Government Wins Appeal on Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents. “Judge Cannon’s order drew criticism from many legal experts, who said she had overstepped her authority and improperly halted a criminal investigation… ‘An injunction delaying (or perhaps preventing) the United States’s criminal investigation from using classified materials risks imposing real and significant harm on the United States and the public,’ the panel said… Prosecutors have also said they believed efforts were likely taken to obstruct their probe, with documents being removed from a Mar-a-Lago storage room and concealed from investigators who sought them. Obstruction of justice was among the potential crimes under investigation as listed in the FBI’s warrant to search the premises. Prosecutors told the appeals court that their ‘need to proceed apace is heightened where, as here, it has reason to believe that obstructive acts may impede its investigation.’”
Expert voices
John Sides, professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, Chris Tausanovitch, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Lynn Vavreck, Marvin Hoffenberg chair of American politics and public policy at UCLA: “The aftermath of the 2020 election also revealed an especially pernicious consequence of this cycle: It increases the incentive for people to countenance their own party’s undemocratic behavior in order to win an election. After his loss, Trump and his allies endorsed baseless claims and even illegal means to overturn that election. If Republicans embrace or appease such measures in future elections, then a national transformation will really be upon us — and our democracy will hang in the balance.” Washington Post Op-Ed: A hard 2020 lesson for the midterms: Our politics are calcified
Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard University: “‘In the past, ‘the system was still antidemocratic, but it didn’t have a partisan effect,’ Mr. Levitsky said. ‘Now it’s undemocratic and has a partisan effect. It tilts the playing field toward the Republican Party. That’s new in the 21st century.’… ‘By any indication, the Republican Party — upper level, midlevel and grassroots — is a party that can only be described as not committed to democracy’[.]” The New York Times
Lilliana Mason, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University: “When we’re voting, we’re not just voting for a set of policies but for what we think makes us Americans and who we are as a people…If our party loses the election, then all of these parts of us feel like losers.” The New York Times
Yascha Mounk, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University: “There is the possibility, for the first time in American history, that a legitimately elected president will not be able to take office[.]” The New York Times
Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, if independent state legislature theory prevails in Moore v. Harper: “You could certainly at that point see legislators being allowed to restrict voting in any way they see fit without courts getting to weigh in on whether those infringe on people’s constitutional rights…I think this is incredibly dangerous to the continued viability of democracy.”The Charlotte Observer
Laurence Tribe, professor emeritus at Harvard Law: “Trump’s overt embrace of Qanon, a delusional and armed terrorist movement, is a terrifying sign that he is desperate and, realizing he will be indicted, is preparing to wage open war on the United States of America. It’s a testament to our tolerance that he isn’t under arrest.” Tweet
Kenny Fountain, associate professor focused on rhetoric and conspiracy thinking at the University of Virginia: “Trump’s tactics need not be exclusively Q-related to be disturbing. Very short [thread] on that video from Trump’s Ohio rally yesterday & the growing QAnon & spirituality intersection.” Twitter
Lila Hassan, New York-based investigative journalist who focuses on extremism, human rights, and immigration: “The Trace reviewed their campaign platforms, public appearances, posts on fringe websites and social media, analyzed engagement with their supporters, followed their newsletters, and closely tracked right-wing events and media. We found that their rhetoric mixes Christian nationalism with armed rebellion — presenting a threat that extremism experts do not take lightly. The groups that participate most in these spaces, which include The Proud Boys, Stop the Steal, and Christian nationalists, draw attention to a stew of political issues including supposed election fraud, abortion, school curricula, and COVID-19 restrictions.” The Trace: As Midterms Loom, Right Wingers Are Revving Up the Faithful with Talk of Religion and Guns
Democracy Docket: “New analysis by Democracy Docket reveals a steep jump in voting and election lawsuits filed by Republican-affiliated groups so far this year when compared to 2021. Democracy Docket is the leading platform dedicated to covering and tracking democracy-related activity in the courts and has a comprehensive database of nearly 400 democracy-related lawsuits filed since 2020.” Democracy Docket: GOP Anti-Voting Lawsuits Increase Nearly Five-Fold in 2022
David Becker, elections expert, and Major Garrett, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News: “We must confront and extinguish election-denying cynicism. We must commit ourselves to casting and counting votes without fear or favor. We must do as generations did before—believe in democracy as we believe in ourselves. The great cleaving could be closer than we think. Our next civil war is stalking us. We can stop it. We must stop it. Or we, as an ideal and as a spirit will, in Abraham Lincoln’s words, surely perish from this earth.” The Bulwark: How the Second Civil War Could Start
Barbara McQuade, former US Attorney: “Judge Dearie asks ‘What business is it of the court’ to decide whether a document is classified. At last, someone is applying the law! Classification is a core function of the executive branch, not the judiciary. If gov says it is classified, it is classified.” Tweet
More than 200 political scientists in an open letter to Congress: “As the 2020 redistricting process comes to a close, it is clear that our winner-take-all system — where each U.S. House district is represented by a single person — is fundamentally broken. We call on Congress to adopt inclusive, multi-member districts with competitive and responsive proportional representation.” Copy of letter | New York Times overview
Danya Perry, former deputy chief of the criminal division SDNY, former NY deputy AG, and chief of NYS Moreland commission; Joshua Stanton, former public defender in Memphis, Tennessee; Norman L. Eisen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution: “So far, Donald Trump has withstood years of legal pressures that would have felled a less shameless person. He has a genius for impunity the likes of which we have never seen. Still, we have never seen him, or any individual, come under this many fronts of sustained legal pressure. Today’s announcement may well serve as a tipping point signaling the beginning of the end.” Just Security: Has a Trump Tipping Point Been Reached? Analyzing The NY Attorney General’s Case Against Trump
Greg Ehrie, a former FBI special agent who now works with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL): “Mindless or not, some experts say what Trump is doing is dangerous. ‘What we have is a former President, a potential candidate for the presidency of the United States, legitimizing what is in essence a cult,’ Greg Ehrie, a former FBI special agent who now works with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), told CNN Tuesday.” CNN
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket: “This year, Republicans are changing their playbook, proactively filing more anti-voting lawsuits than recent years. A recent report by Democracy Docket demonstrates that Republicans and their allies initiated more than half — nearly 54% — of non-redistricting voting cases filed so far in 2022. This is a stark increase from 2021, when the comparable figure was 13%…The increase and brazenness of Republican-initiated litigation is tied to the larger trend of GOP election subversion and the nomination of election denier candidates. Republicans are not asking judges to ensure that lawful votes are counted. Instead, they see the courts as another way to discount the votes of their political opponents and undermine the will of the electorate.” Democracy Docket: Republican Anti-Voting Lawsuits Pile Up in 2022
Barbara F. Walter, political scientist at UC San Diego: “Political systems matter and some types are more prone to violence than others. All of the democracies that experienced civil war between 1960 and 1995 had majoritarian or presidential systems. None of them were based on proportional representation.” Tweet
Joyce Vance, former US attorney: “The 11th Circuit..treated Trump just like any other person..The court..has in the past included judges with a civil rights era-legacy of being willing to stand up for what was right, even when it was not easy. On Wednesday, the court honored that legacy.” Tweet | CAFE Audio
Harry Litman, former US attorney: “Cannon reinstates her order with an amendment based on the 11th circuit reversal. DOJ indicated they could live with that before, but it’s far from ideal. They can still bring an appeal on the merits now that they have the most important part taken care of.” Tweet
Norm Eisen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution: “NEW: Judge Dearie has issued his first order, and it’s a doozy[.] It pushes the ball up the court fast & forces Trump to articulate the basis for his ridiculous claims for the return of each doc under Rule 41(g)[.] He’s gonna be hopping mad” Tweet
