With the anniversary of the January 6 Capitol insurrection now less than 24 hours away, failed, one-term, twice-impeached former President Donald Trump issued a statement urging his supporters to “rise up” against the government yet again.
In a statement issued via his spokesperson, Liz Harrington, on Twitter, where Trump remains permanently banned, the disgraced ex-president railed against any efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, suggesting such measures are a burden on the people:
NEW!
President Trump:
"…Our administration did what they said could not be done—vaccines in record time. But we never issued mandates, and I never would! People should be able to choose how they want to govern their own health. The federal government must be reined in…" pic.twitter.com/fP8nsjy1TX
Be sure and note the line, “This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach.” Rise up? Sounds more than a little like the language Trump used at his speech prior to the Capitol riots that left five people dead.
The worst president in American history had planned to hold a news conference tomorrow, but was talked out of that by people close to him. Also, since no major networks were planning to carry the presser, Donnie wouldn’t have had a captive audience to share his lies and conspiracy theories with.
Reaction to the Trump statement was swift and featured reminders that he’s facing jail time for his role in the crimes committed on Jan. 6.
Trump’s call for his supporters to “rise up” one year after he incited an attack on our Capitol is a reminder that he is not deterred. He will try to do it again if given the opportunity. https://t.co/XaNH0y4nZS
Trump: "This is an outrage, and MAGA nation should rise up and oppose this egregious federal government overreach."
Taste check: Very poor taste by the former president to urge his supporters to "rise up" on the day before the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a MAGA mob
You said it would “disappear like a miracle” by Easter 2020. Hundreds of thousands of loved ones of dead Americans would like to know how that worked out.
The House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riots and insurrection which left five people dead is leaving no stone unturned, and is even requesting that Fox News host Sean Hannity voluntarily submit to cooperating with the panel, according to Axios.
The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to ask Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity forhis voluntary cooperation with its investigation of the assault on the U.S. Capitol, a source with direct knowledge of the plan tells Axios.
Why it matters: Hannity is one of the most prominent media figures in America and was a close adviser to Donald Trump throughout his presidency. The committee revealed last month that Hannity texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the riot to urge him to get Trump to stop his supporters.
A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment on the possibility of Hannity being called, but Jay Sekulow, an attorney for the Fox News host, raised the predictable red herring of the First Amendment:
“If true, any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press.”
It would? How would asking Hannity to answer questions intrude on his First Amendment protections, especially since he’s not really a journalist and mainly works as a paid propagandist and peddler of conspiracy theories?
While Hannity has condemned the storming of the Capitol, he’s been silent when it comes to criticizing failed, one-term former President Donald Trump for his role in what transpired on Jan. 6. Hannity has also been critical of the House Select Committee.
We already know that Hannity was in contact with then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as the rioting was taking place:
Committee officials have said Hannity was among several Fox News hosts who were texting Meadows during the riot.
“Can he [Trump] make a statement?” Hannity said in the texts, made public in mid-December. “Ask people to leave the Capitol.”
Hannity was also actively involved in the inner workings of the Trump administration, according to reports, Axios notes:
One former Trump aide sarcastically referred to Hannity as the “real chief of staff.” That was a gross overstatement, but it spoke to Hannity’s special access to Trump.
Such was Hannity’s influence with Trump that officials who wanted to persuade him often turned to the Fox News host to help get their ideas or action items across the line.
A phone call from Hannity to Trump carried more sway than a conversation between the president and many members of his own Cabinet.
Will Hannity agree to talk with the committee? What if he’s subpoenaed? If he chooses not to, he could be held in criminal contempt and jailed for up to two years.
Considering what we already know about what transpired on January 6 and the revelations we’ve had from the House Select Committee on the Capitol insurrection, some have suggested that the Justice Department should have begun arresting top Trump administration officials and associates for their role in riots.
Recently, Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe noted that he believes Attorney General Merrick Garland is moving far too slowly:
I had a good conversation with @chrislhayes about the urgent need for DOJ to conduct a thorough criminal investigation of ALL the leaders of the coup plot and the insurrection, including Trump, and NOT wait for the Jan 6 committee to finish its work. That’d be too late: https://t.co/fi9v3bY4ae
But what if people have already been arrested and charged without any announcement? Could that have taken place in secret?
Security expert and journalist Marcy Wheeler notes on Twitter that arrests may have been made and the DOJ is now using those people to work their way up the food chain for even bigger fish.
Wheeler, who publishes on her own highly-acclaimed web site, Emptywheel.net, laid out a fascinating premise:
A lot of people like to claim WE'D know if DOJ had taken actions to investigate Trump and say that DOJ is moving too slowly as compared the lightning fast Mueller investigation.
In September, a judge ordered Special Master to conduct a privilege review of Rudy's phones from 1/1/18 (which is when Rudy first started helping Trump obstruct justice) thru seizure, so 4/28/21 (meaning it would include anything Rudy did to help the coup)https://t.co/FtlwTb9EQQ
Think about it: Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s so-called “attorney,” Rudy Giuliani, could already have been arrested, booked, and charged with all sorts of crimes related to Jan. 6. Now DOJ prosecutors are getting them to cooperate in exchange for sentencing consideration.
That’s the way the FBI and Justice Department has worked when going after the mafia: They get lower level soldiers in the organization to tell what they know about the capos and bosses. It’s a bottom-up way of dealing with criminal acts that’s been used for decades by law enforcement.
Now that the House Select Committee is about to hold public hearings, it’s not a stretch to suggest we may start seeing who has been charged and some of the court filings that could still be under seal.
The House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol insurrection is preparing to decide what criminal referrals it will forward to the Justice Department regarding former President Donald Trump’s actions on the day of the horrific attack on the seat of government.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) toldThe Washington Post that the most likely referral would be for dereliction of duty as Trump dithered for over three hours before finally releasing a video instructing his supporters to clear the Capitol grounds:
Of particular interest is why it took so long for (Trump) to call on his supporters to stand down, an area of inquiry that includes obtaining several versions of a video Trump reportedly recorded before finally releasing a message 187 minutes after he told his supporters to march on the Capitol during the rally that preceded the attack.
“It appears that he tried to do a taping several times, but he wouldn’t say the right thing,” Thompson said, basing his statement on information the panel has gleaned from interviews with witnesses as well as media reports about that day.
Thompson made a specific reference to dereliction of duty, but other charges could also be referred to the DOJ once the committee has completed its investigation:
“That dereliction of duty causes us real concern,” Thompson said. “And one of those concerns is that whether or not it was intentional, and whether or not that lack of attention for that longer period of time, would warrant a referral.”
Another possible charge that may be referred to the Justice Department is criminally obstructing Congress in performing its official duties. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who serves as vice chair of the Jan. 6 panel, has suggested Trump did indeed try to obstruct the certification of electoral votes on that fateful day as both houses were meeting in joint session to declare the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
“Mr. Meadows’s testimony will bear on another key question before this committee: Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’s official proceeding to count electoral votes?”
A criminal referral isn’t necessary for the DOJ to take up the matter, and most legal experts suggest the agency is already weighing whether or not Trump and others should be charged for their actions prior to and on the day of the Capitol riots. But a criminal referral from the committee — along with evidence and testimony the panel has gathered — would certainly provide a strong impetus for indictments.
Now that we know Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) forwarded a text message to then-White House Chief of Staff urging Mike Pence to reject some of the Electoral College votes when Congress was in joint session in January 6, 2021, it would appear that Jordan could be facing serious legal consequences for the role he played in the Capitol insurrection.
When news of Jordan’s text message to Meadows was revealed on Tuesday, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called Jordan a “traitor to the Constitution.” And he stood by that comment during an appearance on MSNBC Friday, remarking:
“As a matter of fact, he’s more dangerous than the yahoos, because he actually has access to power, access to information, and actually knows the process of how to stall democracy.”
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner agreed with Gallego, saying that Jordan is indeed a traitor:
“What Jim Jordan did by forwarding that text was to obstruct an official proceeding, and that statute, which is a 20-year felony, says if you actually obstruct, or you attempt to obstruct, or you endeavor to impede an official congressional proceeding like the electoral vote count, you’ve committed the federal felony of obstructing an official proceeding. That is what Jim Jordan did.”
Jordan needs to be indicted, prosecuted and put in prison if he’s found guilty. That’s what needs to happen to all of the traitors who tried to overthrow the elected government of the United States on Jan. 6.