Tag: January 6 Commission

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Donald Trump GOP Justice Department The Trump Adminstration WTF?!

Evidence Suggests Some Congressional Republicans Could Still Be Charged For Jan. 6

While it’s been clear for some time now that former President Donald Trump was directly involved in fomenting the violence that took place on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol, reporting from The New York Times suggests that some Republicans in Congress also played a role in the efforts to subvert the 2020 election and keep power through a violent uprising.

Specifically, the Times reveals that notes taken by a top deputy to then-Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen point directly to a coordinated effort between Trump and members of Congress. Those notes, which were handwritten by deputy AG Richard Donoghue, report what Trump told Rosen:

“Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen.”

That, many legal experts said, is a literal smoking gun, and it means that several Republicans in Congress are facing indictment for their role in what transpired on that fateful day.

Philip Bump of The Washington Post focused in on the notation from Donoghue:

“What Donoghue’s notes suggest is that Trump had fully bought into the effort that would eventually become his Alamo: having Republican legislators block the electoral-vote counting due to take place at the Capitol on Jan. 6.”

Failing to certify counting of the electoral votes would have resulted in a Constitutional crisis. The added chaos of a riot at the Capitol would have provided the perfect opportunity for Trump to declare a national emergency and refuse to hand over the reins of power to Joe Biden. It also would have provided an “excuse” for a coup d’etat. And it would have even had the blessing of a faction in Congress.

Once again, quoting Philip Bump:

“Some congressional Republicans clearly did their best to aid Trump’s effort. On the morning of Jan. 6, (Rep Mo) Brooks spoke before Trump at a rally outside the White House. It was time, he said, to ‘start taking down names and kicking ass.’ It’s not clear if any of those in attendance did the former, but some clearly did the latter.”

Brooks, along with Reps. Jim Jordan, Jim Banks, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kevin McCarthy (and perhaps others) may well find themselves charged with crimes by the Justice Department.

 

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Congress Domestic Terrorism GOP GOP Whining Justice Department

Gaetz Says He’s Afraid The Jan. 6 Commission Will Make Criminal Referrals To DOJ

During an appearance on Newsmax, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sounded incredibly worried what the House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol insurrection will find that might result in criminal charges being brought against GOP members of Congress.

Gaetz said he believes the real purpose of the committee is to gather evidence for criminal referrals to the Justice Department:

“I think the entire purpose of the Jan. 6 committee is to create a series of criminal referrals to the Biden Justice Department. And I think [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy is the lead target, unfortunately.”

While he was at it, Gaetz also said he believes that McCarthy should remove Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) from the committees they serve on now that they’ve agreed to be members of the 1/6 panel.

However, Gaetz then circled back to the idea of criminal referrals to the DOJ, as if laying the groundwork for charges that may be forthcoming against him and others in the GOP:

“I really do believe that the end goal of the Jan. 6 committee is to create a series of criminal referrals. And remember during the Russia hoax, a lot of the criminal process occurred not as a result of any underlying federal criminal law but instead as a result of these process crimes.

“Kevin McCarthy better hope he never deleted an email or forwarded something to where it wasn’t saved,. Otherwise, there’s going to be an effort to use process crimes to try to jam up the Republican leadership.”

What Gaetz neglected to say is that so-called “process crimes” are still crimes and should be treated as such. Maybe they aren’t as serious as allegedly being involved in the sexual trafficking of a minor, but then again few things are as disgusting as what Gaetz is accused of doing with young girls over the years.

If none of the Republicans did anything wrong in connection with the Capitol riots, why do they sound so worried about getting to the truth? It’s almost as if they have something to hide.