Tag: January 6 Select Committee

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Capitol Insurrection January 6

Jan. 6 Committee Likely To Refer Meadows, Giuliani And Two Others For Criminal Charges

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol is expected to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and ex-president Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to the Justice Department for criminal charges, according to CNN.

The panel is weighing criminal referrals for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, right wing lawyer John Eastman, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the sources said.

The committee has not officially decided whom to refer to the Justice Department for prosecution and for what offenses, sources said. The four individuals who are among those under consideration, and whose names have not been previously reported, provide a window into the panel’s deliberations.

On Thursday, committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) confirmed that the panel will make a final decision on who to refer to the DOJ on Sunday.

“I think the more we looked at the body of evidence that we had collected, we just felt that while we’re not in the business of investigating people for criminal activities, we just couldn’t overlook some of them.”

Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) echoed Thompson’s comments, noting:

“I think anyone who engages in criminal actions needs to be held accountable for them. And we are going to spell that out.

“The gravest offense in constitutional terms is the attempt to overthrow a presidential election and bypass the constitutional order. Subsidiary to all of that are a whole host of statutory offenses, which support the gravity and magnitude of that violent assault on America.”

Additionally, the House Select Committee is also debating whether or not to refer former president Trump for criminal charges, with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) telling NPR:

“I think the facts support a potential charge against the former president.”

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Capitol Insurrection January 6 Mike Pence

Former Prosecutor: These 7 Words Should Disqualify Pence From Holding Public Office Again

Former Vice President Mike Pence recently made it clear that he will not agree to testify before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol that left 5 people dead.

Appearing on “Face the Nation” recently, Pence was asked by Margaret Brennan about cooperating with the committee, to which he replied:

“I never stood in the way of senior members of my team cooperating with the committee and testifying. But Congress has no right to my testimony. We have a separation of powers under the Constitution of the United States. And I believe it would establish a terrible precedent for the Congress to summon a vice president of the United States to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House.”

Those seven words, according to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner, should disqualify Pence from ever holding public office again.

“Let’s be clear: By extension, Mike Pence is saying, ‘The American people have no right to my relevant testimony as Congress goes about trying to craft laws to keep this from ever happening again.'”

Kirschner added that Pence has “some of the most directly relevant evidence [as] to what happened.”

Now that Republicans have retaken control of the House of Representatives, it’s safe to predict that they will shut down the Jan. 6 committee. But their work can be transferred to the Senate, which will remain under Democratic control.

 

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Capitol Insurrection January 6

Former Solicitor General Has A Way To Keep The Jan. 6 Investigation Going After GOP Takes House

The latest election returns from the still undecided Congressional races across the country suggest that Republicans will retake the House, though their margin of victory will likely be one of the smallest in history.

If indeed the House is under control of the GOP when the new Congress convenes in January, one of the first moves by the new leadership will probably be to pull the plug on the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

But former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal has a way to make sure the investigation continues, and he shared his idea on the Open Arguments podcast.

In the lame-duck session of Congress, Katyal explained, the committee can transfer their investigation to the Senate, which would then take over the investigation and preserve all of the evidence and records accumulated so far.

Today was the day that disgraced former president Donald Trump was supposed to appear before the Jan. 6 committee. He refused to do so, no doubt worried that if he testified under oath he would commit perjury and be charged with that crime.

Trump’s refusal to appear may trigger a House vote to hold the ex-president in contempt of Congress and make a referral to the Justice Department for that crime.

Trump is also facing criminal charges from the DOJ for his role in the Capitol insurrection. It remains unclear when Attorney General Merrick Garland will choose to make any announcement on a possible indictment of the former president.

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Congress Donald Trump January 6

Nancy Pelosi Emasculates Trump About Appearing Before Jan. 6 Committee: ‘He’s Not Man Enough’

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) cut failed, one-term former president Donald Trump to the bone on Sunday, saying he’s “not man enough” to actually appear before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection in response to a subpoena from the committee.

During an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, Pelosi was first asked about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) remarks this week that she will be given more “power” if House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) becomes Speaker after the midterm elections.

Pelosi said she remains confident that Democrats will keep control of both houses of Congress, and gave Greene the back of her hand by referring to her as “What’s-her-name.”

When asked about Trump showing up and being sworn to tell the truth before the 1/6 committee, Pelosi laughed and responded:

“I don’t think he is man enough to show up. I don’t think that his lawyers will want him to show up, because he has to testify under oath. But I don’t think he is man enough, –we will see if he is man enough to show up and the public can make their judgment.

“No one is above the law! If we believe that, then they should make a judgment about how he responds to that request.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEdBTA0-6Tk&feature=emb_logo

Reportedly, Trump has discussed testifying before the committee with his aides, but only if he’s allowed to do so on live television, according to Business Insider:

Former President Donald Trump has told aides he might comply with a subpoena to testify before the Jan. 6 committee, as long as he can do so live, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reported.

According to Haberman, Trump has told aides he’s not opposed to the idea of testifying before the committee, as long as it’s on his terms.

The information was a contribution by Haberman to The Times’s live coverage of Thursday’s committee hearing.

Some of his aides appear not to be enthusiastic about the idea. 

What are the chances that Trump goes against advice and testifies? There’s a better chance the Easter Bunny will be delivering gifts in place of Santa Claus this Christmas.

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Congress Donald Trump

Jamie Raskin Masterfully Mocks ‘Mr. Snowflake’ Donald Trump – And It’s Perfect

Not long after the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection subpoenaed failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump, the disgraced ex-president responded with a rambling, conspiracy-theory letter which reiterated his many lies about the 2020 election.

Trump’s letter reads in part:

“This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election, and have targeted only those who were, as concerned American Citizens, protesting the Fraud itself.”

The missive ends with this angry flourish:

“The people of this Country will not stand for unequal justice under the law, or Liberty and Justice for some. Election Day is coming. We demand answers on the Crime of the Century.”

Same bullshit, different day.

For a rebuttal, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the Jan.6 committee, appeared on MSNBC and expertly mocked Trump, HuffPost reports:

“I mean, that letter, including the use of the royal ‘we,’ which was pretty jarring, is just an outrageous distraction from the reality to the extent that there’s anything substance or substantive there.”

However, Raskin was just getting warmed up, adding:

“They can’t say. They just have a feeling. And in fact, Trump uses that too in this enormously revealing letter, where he says lots of people ‘feel’ that there was fraud.

“I’m sorry. Your feelings, Mr. Snowflake, cannot dictate the course of the future of the republic. No, your feelings cannot dictate our elections.”

Game, set, and match Jamie Raskin.