Throughout the first eight hearings from the January 6th Select Committee’s investigation, the committee said its goal was to collect and provide enough evidence to hold Donald Trump and his allies accountable for their actions in their criminal conspiracy to change the results of the 2020 election. Thus far, the committee has succeeded in providing this evidence. Now, we must hold all of these perpetrators accountable for their actions, and stop the ongoing threat to overturn the will of the people and our right to choose our own leaders.
Here’s what you need to know for the weekend:
Main Points for the Weekend:
1. The Justice Department is investigating Trump’s actions in the events leading up to January 6th. Evidence collected by the committee is being shared with the DOJ. Top members of Trump’s staff are being interviewed. And phone and email records from top Trump administration allies are being reviewed, all leading to possible criminal charges for Trump and MAGA allies’ efforts to subvert the will of the people.
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- Top point to make: Trump must be held accountable for his criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of an election he knew he lost.
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- If you read one thing: Washington Post, 7/26/22: Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions in Jan. 6 criminal probe. “There are two principal tracks of the investigation that could ultimately lead to additional scrutiny of Trump, two people familiar with the situation said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The first centers on seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct a government proceeding, the type of charges already filed against individuals who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 and on two leaders of far-right groups, Stewart Rhodes and Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, who did not breach the Capitol but were allegedly involved in planning the day’s events. The second involves potential fraud associated with the false-electors scheme or with pressure Trump and his allies allegedly put on the Justice Department and others to falsely claim that the election was rigged and votes were fraudulently cast.”
2. False claims of election fraud still cloud the states, including in Georgia, where the RNC continues to train poll workers and act as the “eyes and ears” of the election process. Adding to the pressure on Election Day and encouraging volunteers to scrutinize more activity only deters individuals from taking advantage of their right to vote and choose who leads us.
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- Top point to make: The effort by MAGA Republicans to make it harder for people to vote didn’t end on January 6th. Across the country, election deniers are running for office, legislatures are passing laws making it harder for people to vote and giving them the final say in who wins elections, and MAGA Republicans are engaged in nefarious schemes to undermine the will of the people.
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- If you read one thing: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/25/22: Inside the RNC’s effort to train thousands of poll watchers in Georgia. “Democrats and voting rights activists have voiced fears that Republicans were training an army of partisans intent on disrupting elections. Their concerns are not unfounded. After the 2020 election, Trump supporters used reports from some observers to amplify false claims. Now Republicans seem intent on reframing efforts to recruit volunteers to monitor the polls…”
3. Subpoenas have been issued in Arizona to review the fake elector scheme. We know Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers was pressured not to certify the election results without being provided evidence. Now, that illegal pressure by Trump and allies like Rudy Guliani is under investigation.
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- Top point to make: Each day, more and more efforts to undermine the will of the people are being investigated. The conspirators must be held accountable.
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- If you read one thing: Washington Post, 7/25/22: Arizona fake-electors subpoenas show breadth of DOJ Jan. 6 probe. “The documents released Monday cast a wide net for any communications that Fann and Townsend may have had with any member of the executive or legislative branch of the federal government; any representative or agent of Trump or his campaign; or Trump boosters Jenna Ellis, Bernard Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, Boris Epshteyn, James Troupis, Joe DiGenova, John Eastman, Joshua Findlay, Justin Clark, Kenneth Chesebro, Mike Roman or Victoria Toensing… Some within Trump’s orbit, particularly Eastman, a law professor, had advocated offering new slates of “Trump electors” to challenge the electors in key states, such as Arizona, that Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020. The scheme failed in part because even GOP-controlled state legislatures did not endorse the effort.”
Expert voices
Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University: “But to paraphrase a quote often attributed to Mark Twain, the reports of Trump’s political death might be greatly exaggerated. 2024 is not 1974. Trump’s hold on the party seems much stronger than Nixon’s standing after Watergate. And with so many Republicans parroting Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, the former President could easily rush back onto the scene and win the Republican nomination…Regardless of what happens, we live in a historic moment when a president’s attempt to overturn an election is not an automatic disqualifier. That basic fact might say more than anything about the fragile state of American democracy.” CNN Op-Ed
Sarah Longwell, long-time Republican strategist and pollster: “It is so strange that after all that was put forward in the Jan 6 hearings, there isn’t a deluge of elected Republicans condemning Trump today and making active attempts to separate him from the party. Like, how hard is it to say the guy who tried the coup is a bad guy?” Tweet
Norman Eisen, special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment and trial of Donald Trump, and Amy Lee Copeland, a criminal defense and appellate attorney in Savannah, GA: “Now that the House Jan. 6 committee’s initial hearings have concluded, this is a useful time to evaluate their actual impact. For that, we should look not to Washington but well south of the Capitol, to Atlanta. That’s because the hearings have turbocharged the investigation by the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, into potential election interference and offenses by Donald Trump and his allies.” NYT Op-Ed: The Jan. 6 Hearings Have Turbocharged the Georgia Investigation of Trump
Joyce Vance, former US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, re: WaPo piece: On the campaign trail, many Republicans see a civil war: “This is an utterly insane place for our country to be & yet, if you live in a part of the country like mine, it doesn’t seem wrong. Every next election is the most important one of our lives, but for these next two, that’s excruciatingly true.” Tweet
Noah Bookbinder, president of CREW, re: Steve Bannon guilty verdict: “This verdict is not a surprise because it was an open and shut case, but it is an important win for congressional oversight and another step on the march toward real accountability for those who tried to overturn an election and attacked our democracy.” Twitter
Barbara McQuade, former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan: “As I described here in @USATODAY, Jan 6 Committee has told a compelling story, but only one side. DOJ must turn over every stone before filing charges. Can’t imagine a federal indictment before 2023 for a case of this scope and complexity.” USA Today Article | Tweet
Dennis Aftergut, former federal prosecutor, and Eugene R. Fidell, an adjunct professor of law at New York University and a senior research scholar at Yale Law School: “There’s an aspect of Donald Trump’s post-election actions — thus far not mentioned publicly by the Jan. 6 Select Committee — that should not be overlooked as the country absorbs the wealth of evidence the committee has released thus far. That aspect of Trump’s post-election conduct suggests that his intent from the beginning was to overturn the results of the election.” The Hill Op-Ed: Transition obstruction and recent pressure to overturn Wisconsin results should be part of the record
Neal Katyal, former US acting solicitor general (MSNBC Video): “‘I think one of the things the committee has done very well in these eight hearings is to demonstrate how Donald Trump’s choices…enabled Jan. 6th to happen.’ @neal_katyal on revelations from the hearings of what Trump was doing during the Jan. 6 insurrection #SundayShow” MSNBC’s The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart Tweet
Joyce Vance, former US attorney, re: outtakes in Donald Trump’s January 7 speech: “This doesn’t sound like someone who truly believes he won the election. Trump is calmly making deliberate, strategic choices about what to say & what not to say. And prosecutors can ask jurors to draw that inference.” Tweet
Ryan Goodman, former special counsel to the general counsel of the Department of Defense: “Looks like a significant development. Justice Dept January 6th investigation reaches into White House witnesses. Former VP Pence chief of staff Marc Short highest official known to appear before grand jury. His appearance doesn’t fit neatly with prior known scope of probe.” Tweet
Dr. Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH, the Baker-Teret Chair in Violence Prevention and Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, Davis: “You’re not going to like what you see. Our research group just completed a nationwide survey measuring support for — and willingness to engage in — violence to advance political objectives…More than 40 percent of Americans agree (19 percent strongly or very strongly) that ‘having a strong leader for America is more important than having a democracy.’…Perhaps the most concerning findings pertain to political violence (defined in the survey as ‘physical force strong enough that it could cause pain or injury to a person’ in order to ‘advance an important political objective that you support’). One in five (22 percent) thought that political violence was at least sometimes justified ‘in general.’” The Hill Op-Ed: Political violence and the future of democracy: Take a look in the mirror, America
Joyce Vance, former US attorney: “The speech Trump came to D.C. to give only reinforced the need for him to be held accountable. He had the audacity to say, ‘There is no longer respect for the law and there is no order.’ That might have been accurate if he was pointing at himself, but of course, he wasn’t. His insistence on perpetuating the big lie demonstrates that unless he’s held accountable, he’ll continue to present a danger to the republic.” Civil Discourse
Julian Zelizer, American historian at Princeton University: “The committee investigation has been successful at undercutting the perception that the post election period—culminating with the violence of 1/6–was a product of ad-hoc chaos rather than an orchestrated plan.” Tweet
Frank Figliuzzi, former federal law enforcement agent: “Trump can’t skirt accountability by announcing his candidacy:” Tweet
Barbara McQuade, former US attorney, re: news in fake electors investigation: “This is why prosecutors start with the communications records” Tweet
Dennis Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor, and Norman Eisen, senior fellow at Brookings: “Attorney General Merrick Garland has recently redoubled the resources devoted to the Jan. 6 investigation. That—plus the rest of the day’s breaking news—signals that Garland meant exactly what he said on Tuesday when NBC’s Lester Holt asked him about prosecuting the former president: ‘We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding January sixth, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable. That’s what we do.’” Slate Op-Ed: Yes, Donald Trump Is at Significant Risk of Federal Prosecution
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, historian at New York University: “Should former president Donald Trump be prosecuted for criminal behavior in connection with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in inciting violence on Jan. 6? What are the risks of taking such an action –and what are the possible consequences of not acting? For a century, ‘getting away with it’ has been the bedrock of authoritarianism. Prosecuting bad actors, no matter who they are, is essential to safeguarding our democracy now and in the future.” Lucid
Joyce Vance, law professor at the University of Alabama School of Law: “[T]here is one thread Garland and team should prioritize: bad lawyers. First off, these lawyers need to be held accountable for any criminal behavior. But beyond that, these inept and unscrupulous advisers may help lead investigators to those most culpable for the big lie and Jan. 6 insurrection.” MSNBC Column
Preet Bharara, former US attorney for the Southern District of New York: No Paywall: Interview With WaPo’s Carol Leonnig: What Does it Mean That DOJ is Investigating Trump? CAFE
Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University and expert on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán: “The Trumpist side of the Republican Party is coming for the rhetoric, but staying for the autocracy…I’m worried the attraction to Orban is only superficially the culture war stuff and more deeply about how to prevent power from ever rotating out of their hands.” Los Angeles Times
Jeffrey C. Isaac, James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington: “The entire Republican party, up and down the ballot, with perhaps a handful of exceptions, is now a threat to democracy. And the party as a whole must [be] defeated in November and in 2024 if liberal democracy is to be preserved.” Common Dreams
