Category: January 6

Categories
Capitol Insurrection January 6 WTF?!

Jan. 6 Rioter Tells Judge He Only Showed Up At Capitol To Increase His Social Media Engagement

Ryan Zink is a resident of Arizona who showed up at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 and allegedly played a role in the events of that horrific day.

How do we know Zink was at the Capitol on Jan. 6? Because he was stupid enough to film himself charging towards the building and then post the videos on social media for others to see.

Including, of course, the FBI and other federal investigators.

During his testimony, Kyle Cheney of Politico reports, Zink attempted to defend his actions by claiming he was merely trying to boost is social media engagement.

However, such a defense is seriously undercut by statements Zink made that day, including:

  • “We’re storming the Capitol!”
  • “They can’t stop us!”

Here’s what else Cheney shared about Zink’s testimony.

Ryan Zink, a Jan. 6 defendant charged with obstruction, is on the stand in his ongoing trial. His dad ran against Ruben Gallego in the 2022 election and is running for the open seat in 2024.

The younger Zink testified that he was apolitical, disgusted by the violence he witnessed and tried to help cops that day. Videos of him charging toward the Capitol (and up the steps) while yelling “we’re storming the Capitol,” among other things, were just for clicks, he says.

In 5 videos Zink — who was with his father that day — yells “they can’t stop us” while surging with the crowd. “We’re in the doors,” he yells while the crowd breached (though he didn’t go in) His explanation today: “I’m embellishing my activity here to try to retain viewership”

NOTABLY Zink tried to subpoena Speaker McCarthy, Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Last week, House lawyers sharply (and successfully) rejected the effort, saying the subpoena was improper and sought irrelevant info.

Since he was merely trying to get more views on Facebook, maybe Zink can get Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to pay his legal bills or send him some money for his prison commissary account if and when he’s found guilty and incarcerated.

He might not want to hold his breath waiting for that to happen.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections GOP January 6

‘Second Wave’ Of Indictments Coming From Jack Smith In Washington, DC: Report

More criminal indictments are on the way from Special Counsel Jack Smith, according to a former federal prosecutor, and they’ll likely be filed in Washington, D.C., where former president Donald Trump and others are already facing charges for attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Glenn Kirschner, who worked as a federal prosecutor for several years, told MSNBC host Katie Phang Sunday that he believes many of the unindicted co-conspirators named in a grand jury report from Georgia released on Friday are likely to find themselves under indictment by the special counsel.

“Here’s the outlier, Katie. These people, who were named for indictment, but we haven’t seen them show up in an indictment yet, they could be indicted in the future”

Kirschner added:

“Think about the Jack Smith’s indictment that was handed down in Washington, D.C. There are six pretty important, unnamed, but pretty well-identified co-conspirators in that case. And I have every expectation that we will see a second wave of indictments in Washington, D.C. of those, thus far, unindicted co-conspirators.”

Among those named in the Georgia grand jury report were former Republican senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia and current Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, all of whom may wind up in federal court very soon if indeed Jack Smith decides they deserve to pay the price for their role in the 2020 election conspiracy.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump January 6

Former Prosecutor Mocks Trump After Judge In Jan. 6 Trial Treats Donnie Like A ‘Truant Child’

Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman said Friday on MSNBC that Tanya Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing the January 6 criminal trial of failed former president Donald Trump like a “truant child” and also making it clear with her remarks in court today that she doesn’t trust the disgraced ex-president as far as she can throw him.

After a hearing this morning, Chutkan issued a protective order that limits what Trump and federal prosecutors are allowed to disclose, including any personally identifying information, sealed orders, witness testimony, or recordings and transcripts from witness interviews.

MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez asked, “I want to underline a part of this. If they would be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses. Does Trump’s post about, ‘If you come after me, I’ll come after you’ — does that fly?”

Litman replied:

“I think it falls totally flat. One more point. She treated Trump like a truant child. The most sort of galling thing of all. Obviously, he started at a level of mistrust. So he started with a record, as it were. Now, there will be exactly this debate. The reason there is something for him is not just what he got, but there will be a next level where they argue about terms and then she imposes something more strict.”

If Trump does defy the judge’s orders, Litman continued, Chutkan still has other ways of dealing with him.

“The big hammer she has, of course, but she doesn’t want to deploy it early or at all if they could help it, it is putting him in jail.”

“But they know that at the end of the day, it is her courtroom and her witnesses to worry about and it is her process to take account of,” Litman concluded. And she will, I think, she showed today, be unafraid — if he pushed her to the wall of responding with the most severe sanction.”

 

Categories
Congress GOP January 6 Justice Department

Will Jack Smith Indict Members Of Congress For January 6? Legal Experts Weigh In

Now that we know failed one-term, twice-impeached, and thrice-indicted former president Donald Trump had six alleged co-conspirators in his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, questions have begun as to whether or not we can expect more indictments related to January 6, 2021 and the election coup plot.

More specifically, can we expect to the names of members of Congress on pending indictments? Will Special Counsel Jack Smith go so far as to make certain he gets everyone who may have tried to subvert democracy and stage an illegal takeover the government?

Tom Norton of Newsweek recently reached out to legal experts for their opinions on whether or not we might soon learn of indictments featuring the names of Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Jim Jordan (R-OH). What about Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)? Could he soon be a criminal defendant?

David Weinstein, a partner at Jones Walker LLP, said the order appointing Smith as special counsel suggested “that if he has collected the appropriate evidence he could indict other individuals for their involvement in Trump’s alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election.

“Those other persons could include other Congressional members.

“But to do that he would have to collect reliable credible evidence showing criminal intent and their involvement in Trump’s alleged conspiracy or another conspiracy.

“At this time I am not sure that is something he has the bandwidth to undertake.”

Robert Fisher, a partner at the law firm of Nixon Peabody noted, “I think he [Jack Smith] would need significant and overwhelming evidence before adding sitting U.S. Senators to this indictment.”

And Scott Fredericksen, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, said that while Smith has the power to indict anyone he wants, he doesn’t think he’ll go after any members of Congress: “That just isn’t going to happen. I think it would be more likely the moon is made of blue cheese.”

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump January 6

Former Judge Predicts Trump Is About To Be Silenced With A Far-Reaching Gag Order

Having proven that he will not comply with the instructions given to him by a federal magistrate judge when he was arraigned in Washington, D.C. last week, former president Donald Trump is likely to be hit with a far-reaching gag order, according to retired California Superior Court Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

Cordell was a guest on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins,” and was asked for a prediction regarding what the presiding judge in the case, Tanya Chutkan, will do to control Trump from making posts such as the one in which he threatened “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”

“I don’t know necessarily that that quote impacts the protective order, but that certainly would get me thinking if I were the trial judge about a gag order in this case,” Cordell said.

“It’s clearly a threat, and a good trial judge doesn’t just look at the law, you use common sense,” she added.

That means a gag order is likely, Cordell continued, and “my guess is Trump would violate it in a heartbeat and then we’ll see what the judge does in terms of consequences for violating yet another court order.”

That led Collins to ask, “So you think there will be a gag order here? At least you think that there should be?”

Cordell: “I absolutely can see it coming because this man cannot shut up. He’s a ‘chatty Charlie’ and he’s going to just talk and talk and he really doesn’t care about rules that say you can speak or cannot speak.”

“So this is where the test of a good trial judge comes about. If you’re going to have a fair trial, it’s going to be by the rules set by that person in the black robe,” Cordell continued. And if the rules are you do not talk about this other than in the court, because it’s not punishment it’s to ensure fair trial. If that doesn’t happen, there have to be immediate consequences to violating a court order.”

“Only in that way can everyone have respect for the system.”