In 10 days, we will be able to read the @January6thCmte’s full report & learn the full extent of Donald Trump's crimes against American democracy. While the Committee’s work carries no legal weight, it has great institutional weight.
As I explained in my previous post, the report & referrals will strengthen the government’s hand as the DOJ moves forward with indicting Donald Trump & his coconspirators for crime against our republic.
So while we wait, let's recap:
At the first hearing, Officer Caroline Edwards testified & described her harrowing experience while she defended the U.S. Capitol against Donald Trump's shadow army. She remembered slipping in people's blood while defending the Capitol.
At the second hearing, we heard Bill Barr's recorded testimony where he told us that he repeatedly informed Donald that there was no election fraud & that he had lost the election. Donald didn't listen.
At the third hearing, we learned about John Eastman's fake-elector scheme. Also, judge Luttig issued a warning: Donald Trump is a clear & present danger to American democracy, operating in open & plain view.
At the fourth hearing, we first learned the depths of Donald's coercion campaigns. Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham & others coerced & threatened state & local officials & election workers. They upended the lives of Shaye Moss, Ruby Freeman & others.
At the fifth hearing, we learned how Donald nearly corrupted the DOJ by trying to install Jeffrey Clark as his puppet Attorney General after firing Bill Barr. Career DOJ officials threatened to resign en masse, scaring Donald into backing off.
At the sixth hearing, we heard from Cassidy Hutchinson. Donald Trump's road to prison is our country's road to salvation & that road was laid by Cassidy Hutchinson. If there was only one hearing you had to pick to review, please pick this one.
At the seventh hearing, we learned how Donald purposely added Mike Pence's name & belligerent rhetoric to his speech on Jan. 6th. He went off-script several times & incited an armed mob.
At the seventh hearing, we also learned how Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, told Katrina Pierson that it was Donald's rhetoric that incited the insurrection.
At the eighth hearing, the Committee walked us through the 187-minute insurrection Donald Trump incited against our government. When it failed & he was forced to order them to retreat, he called the insurrectionists special & said he loved them.
At the final January 6th hearing, the Committee showed us Donald Trump's criminal state of mind. Donald knew about every little thing that happened during his attack on the Capitol.
The Committee also voted unanimously to subpoena Donald Trump at this hearing. Donald has since defied the subpoena. As I have said many times, the Committee does not need Donald’s testimony to complete its final report or make their final referrals & recommendations. They subpoenaed Donald to preempt him from ever claiming that he was not given the opportunity to tell his side of the story to the Committee.
Even without the avalanche of information coming from trials & convictions of insurrectionist foot soldiers, just the anthology the Committee has thus far reported to the public proves beyond any shadow of doubt to any reasonable observer that Donald Trump committed seditious conspiracy to overthrow the American government by conspiring to defraud the electoral vote count & inciting an insurrection.
I expect the Committee to make criminal referrals on these principle charges:
Seditious Conspiracy (18 USC 2384)
Advocating Overthrow Of Government (18 USC 2385)
Conspiracy to Defraud (18 USC 371)
Rebellion/Insurrection (18 USC 2383).
We are nearing the endgame (relatively). Don’t expect these criminal referrals to turn into DOJ indictments overnight. Don’t expect the DOJ to acquiesce to all of the Committee’s findings. Our justice system’s evidentiary burden is far greater & more deliberative than what the public requires.
With that said, remember that the DOJ has already empaneled a grand jury to investigate January 6th. We know near nothing about that proceeding except the people who complied with that grand jury’s subpoenas. But logical conclusions based on what we know from the Committee’s hearings would indicate that the DOJ grand jury’s investigation is moving in lock-step with the Committee’s work.
Lastly, if you need a timeframe to bring you some measure of comfort, I’ll leave you with this: We should see major DOJ movement by Spring Equinox, unless Donald finds some other way to delay the investigations.