Tag: Neal Katyal

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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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Crime Donald Trump

Former Solicitor General: New Lawsuit Filed By Capitol Police Proves ‘Trump Is In Serious Trouble’

A federal lawsuit was filed recently by two D.C. police officers — James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby — that accuses former President Donald Trump of inciting the pro-Trump rioters who inflicted physical and emotional injuries when they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Washington Post reports that the lawsuit clearly places blame on Trump:

“’The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffs and their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them inside and outside the United States Capitol, and causing the injuries,’ the suit states.”

“At least 81 Capitol Police officers were assaulted on Jan. 6, according to filings by federal prosecutors, The Post’s Tom Jackman reported. About 65 D.C. police officers also suffered injuries during the Capitol siege, including several concussions from head blows from various objects, including metal poles ripped from inauguration scaffolding, police officials said.”

This latest lawsuit, according to former Obama administration acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, is a big deal and it’s the worst possible news for Trump, who recently lied and said that his supporters were hugging and kissing the cops as they ransacked the Capitol.

Katyal appeared on MSNBC and noted:

“This is what the complaint said today: ‘The officer attacked relentlessly, bleeding from a cut less than an inch from the eye, cuts, and abrasions on the face and hands and his body was pinned against a large metal door fending off attacks.’ So when Donald Trump said they were kissing and hugging the guards, my God.”

Host Nicolle Wallace then read more of the suit, making it clear that the insurrectionists were out of control and that Trump did absolutely nothing to stop them once the rioting started:

“For several hours after the mob stormed the Capitol, Trump had the continuing ability to issue statements through traditional and social media but refused. Refused to communicate anything to the followers that might discourage the assault and battery. Trump thereby ratified the conduct of the followers and ensured that the assaults on the officers last much longer, worsening the injuries of the plaintiffs and other officers. Late in the afternoon, Trump ratified the conduct, and again said that the election had been stolen by fraud and by announcing support, praise and love for his followers.”

Wallace then asked Katyal if the Blassingame-Hemby lawsuit had put Trump in even greater legal jeopardy. Katyal said it most certainly did:

“Absolutely. If you could short Donald Trump right now it would be a good time to do so. Everything you’re saying, Nicolle, is absolutely right. This, in conjunction with new developments going on in New York, with respect to Weissberg and the like. Donald Trump is in serious trouble. The difference between now and the past is that the Republican Party and senior officials are inviting the trouble and saying there’s merit to it.”

In time, Donald Trump may wind up being charged as an accessory to murder. He could be charged criminally for that and other crimes in Washington, D.C.

Serious legal trouble? That’s putting it mildly.

Here’s Neal Katyal on MSNBC:

 

Categories
Donald Trump U.S. Senate

Former Solicitor General Has A Fascinating Theory For Why Lindsey Graham Continues To Kiss Trump’s A*s

Why does Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) remain so fervently loyal to Donald Trump? The failed, one-term president can’t do anything for Graham politically, and the South Carolina senator isn’t even up for reelection until 2026.

Could it be that Graham is trying to cover his ass legally, because he knows that his neck is on the line when it comes to a legal matter that Trump is also facing?

Neal Katyal, who served as acting Solicitor General in the Obama administration, had some thoughts on the matter that he shared Monday on MSNBC.

Pointing to the investigation being conducted by Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis into efforts Trump made to get election totals in the Peach State overturned by calling Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Katyal noted that Graham also tried to meddle in the Georgia election:

“Racketeering is often really about violent crimes like murder or kidnapping, but Georgia defines it more broadly to include false statements made to state officials.

“And here Trump does have a defense. “What he’s going to say is ‘I wasn’t falsifying information, I genuinely believed I had won the election.’ Now ordinarily, that kind of defense wouldn’t pass the smell test, but when you’re dealing with delusion of grandeur Donald, maybe he’s got a defense there.”

Katyal then theorized that Graham and others who are part of the larger conspiracy to meddle in the Georgia election may be looking for a way to flip on Trump, cooperate with prosecutors, and save their own skins:

“The investigation is not just about Trump. It’s also about Lindsey Graham, Rudy Giuliani, the former U.S. Attorney, Mr. Byung Pak and some others. And any of those folks can flip on Trump.

“Why is (Graham) still paling around with Donald Trump? Well, one shouldn’t rule out … the possibility that he might be paling around with Donald Trump because he’s hoping Trump will let something slip that Lindsey Graham can use in exchange for a deal.”

Think about it: Graham doesn’t want to be indicted and face a trial in Georgia. And he certainly doesn’t want to do 20 years in a Georgia prison for racketeering.

If indeed Graham does make a deal and agree to testify against Trump, the Donald could be in a world of hurt.

Here’s Neal Katyal on MSNBC: