Tag: January 6 Select Committee

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Capitol Insurrection Crime Donald Trump January 6

‘Tantalizing Comment’ In Jan. 6 Report Suggests Two Key Witnesses Have Flipped On Trump

Now that legal experts have had a few weeks to comb over the executive summary of a report from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, they’re finding new information that suggests at least two “huge” witnesses from the Trump administration are cooperating with investigators.

MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann has read through the executive summary and found something that immediately caught his attention, as he explained.

“There is a very tantalizing comment in the executive summary. It’s hard to call it that because it’s 160 pages, but in that executive summary there’s a reference to why the Department of Justice may not have sought to charge (former White House Chief of Staff) Mark Meadows and (Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications) Dan Scavino with contempt.”

Weissmann continued:

“If you recall, they were both referred by the committee to the Department of Justice for contempt failing to comply with a subpoena, and one of the things the report says, is it sort of speculates, but odd that it says it may be that they’re already cooperating, and with Mark Meadows, that would be huge. I mean, he is in the place to know everything so, obviously, if not cooperating already, there is a ton of pressure that is going to be put on him.”

The former federal prosecutor, who worked on the staff of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, concluded:

“I think department prosecutors will look at this release of documents, not so much for the Trump information, but for underlings who may be able to be charged and flipped. So, you know, [Secret Service agent] Tony Ornato would be one of them, but they’re going to look very, very closely for any information that could help them charge people with either making a false statement or perjury or obstruction of justice to see if they can get them to be cooperating witnesses.”

If indeed Meadows and Scavino are cooperating in order to avoid being criminally charged, Donald Trump is absolutely screwed.

Here’s the video from MSNBC:

 

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Capitol Insurrection Congress Donald Trump January 6 Justice Department

MSNBC’s Ari Melber: The J6 Committee ‘Just Threw The Book At Trump’

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol took an unprecedented step Monday by referring former president Donald Trump to the Justice Department on four criminal charges.

According to The Hill, the referrals were for the following offenses:

  • Inciting an insurrection
  • Conspiracy to defraud the United States
  • Conspiracy to make a false statement
  • Obstruction of an official proceeding.

This is the first time a congressional committee has ever referred a president or former president for charges by the DOJ, and the evidence clearly supports the referrals, according to MSNBC legal expert Ari Melber, who noted:

“This is a huge deal. They just threw the book at Donald Trump. They just named him and his potential co-conspirators. Let’s put it according to the committee, which made the news, and we can also discuss the defenses and replies afforded to Donald Trump and others but according to the committee, Donald Trump is a felon, and an insurrectionist, someone who wanted to riot but physically couldn’t get there. According to the committee, he has co-conspirators, in [Jeffrey] Clark and [John] Eastman, people inside the government who were planning the coup.”

Melber added that the Jan. 6 committee clearly outlined Trump’s “purpose and goal in advance was to overthrow the election, through any means necessary, violent and otherwise. What is really key here about this satchel of charges that they recommend, and the DOJ will make up its own mind is the committee is basically saying ‘We got you. We have the receipts. We have the video, this all was planned.'”

The time has come for the Department of Justice to follow the committee and also throw the book at Donald Trump for his role in the Capitol insurrection.

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Capitol Insurrection Crime Donald Trump January 6

Former Prosecutor: This Criminal Charge Is The Most Likely To Lead To A Conviction Of Trump

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol will meet Monday and is expected to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice on three felony accounts against one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump, according to reports.

  • 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection
  • 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding
  • 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government.

Which of those charges is most likely to lead to a successful conviction of Trump? That was the question posed to former U.S. Attorneys Joyce Vance and Barbara McQuade Sunday morning on MSNBC.

Vance noted that while getting a conviction against an ex-president will be a challenge, one of the three charges is easiest to prove.

“Prosecutors have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and it is not a situation where the tie goes to the runner.”

Having made that point clear, Vance added:

“This sort of charge that you’re talking about, which is the midpoint here interference with an official proceeding, seems like the sort of charge that prosecutors might be far more likely to believe they could convict beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Vance also explained her reasoning:

“Because so much of Trump’s conduct was public, so much of it is on videotape. There are so many conversations leading up to January sixth, including the entirety of his perpetuation of the big lie. There is an entire trajectory of evidence here that could be used.”

Prosecutors can expect a relatively predictable defense from Trump, Vance concluded:

“That doesn’t mean it is important to say that Trump would be without defenses, and again we’ve all talked exhaustively about the fact that Trump would point to his sincere and legitimate belief that he had won the election and that there was fraud and prosecutors would still have to overcome that. But it seems to be less heavy of a lift on the insurrection charge on the evidence here.”

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Capitol Insurrection Congress Donald Trump January 6

Jan. 6 Panel Will Vote To Refer Trump For Criminal Prosecution On Three Charges

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol is preparing to vote as soon as Monday on urging the U.S. Department of Justice to charge former president Donald Trump on three criminal charges, including insurrection against the United States government.

According to Politico, the vote is expected to happen at the panel’s last public meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, December 19.

The report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon, described to POLITICO by two people familiar with its contents, reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential criminal referrals. Among the charges that subcommittee proposes for Trump: 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection; 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding; and 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government.

Even though the DOJ is not required to follow such a recommendation from a congressional committee, a referral would carry a great deal of weight with the agency and would also show that both the executive and legislative branches of government were united on the matter of punishing such behavior to deter it from ever happening again.

On the insurrection charge, the panel is expected to cite a prior judicial ruling.

To justify incitement of insurrection, the report references U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta’s February ruling saying Trump’s language plausibly incited violence on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters besieged the Capitol in a bid to disrupt congressional certification of his loss to Joe Biden. The report also cites the Senate’s 57 votes in last year’s impeachment trial, Trump’s second, to convict him on an “incitement of insurrection” charge passed by the House.

The select panel’s report also notes that, in order to violate the insurrection statute, Trump did not need an express agreement with rioters — but rather, simply needed to provide “aid or comfort” to them.

The penalty for insurrection is 10 years in prison and also carries a lifetime ban from holding public office.

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Capitol Insurrection January 6

Here’s What To Expect From The January 6 Select Committee’s Upcoming Report

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol is about to send off its report for printing, and details of what’s contained in the document suggest that failed former president Donald Trump will be blamed for what took place on that day.

According to Politico, the report will “begin with a voluminous executive summary describing former President Donald Trump’s culpability for his extensive and baseless effort to subvert the 2020 election, according to people briefed on its contents.”

The report is expected to be approved by the full committee at a Dec. 21 public meeting. Members will then have a chance to add any final edits before it is sent to the Government Publishing Office.

What will be in the report? It will reportedly be composed of eight chapters that closely match what the panel presented at their public hearings in June and July:

  1. Trump’s effort to sow distrust in the results of the election
  2. Trump’s pressure on state governments or legislatures to overturn victories by Joe Biden
  3. Trump campaign efforts to send pro-Trump electors to Washington from states won by Biden
  4. Trump’s push to deploy the Justice Department in service of his election scheme
  5. The pressure campaign by Trump and his lawyers against then-Vice President Mike Pence
  6. Trump’s effort to summon supporters to Washington who later fueled the Jan. 6 mob
  7. The 187 minutes during which Trump refused to tell rioters to leave the Capitol
  8. An analysis of the attack on the Capitol

The report will also include investigative findings from the committee’s five teams which have looked into “Trump’s actions, the mob, the role of extremism in the attack, the money trail behind Trump’s Jan. 6 rally and law enforcement failures on Jan. 6.”

Recent reports also suggest the committee will make criminal referrals to the Justice Department and recommend prosecution of Trump, Rudy Giuliani, attorney John Eastman, and former DOJ official John Eastman.