The Senate Select Committee’s Subpoena of the January 6, 2021, Attack on the US Capitol, and the Senate’s Sentiment
On the day the subpoena was announced, Trump’s attorney said in a statement that the committee was violating traditions and normal procedures by publicly releasing the subpoena and that he would respond as appropriate to this action.
The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, released a statement Friday giving former President Donald Trump more time to turn over documents it subpoenaed but offering little explanation as to why the extension was granted.
CNN’s John King said that the committee’s subpoena of Trump was to make the case that he is Oz. “He presents himself as all powerful, but when you look, it’s actually a little guy behind a curtain trying to pull a machine.”
Contempt. The full House, which is controlled by Democrats until at least January, could vote to hold him in contempt of Congress, something it’s done with several other uncooperative witnesses.
There is a prosecution. If found guilty, as Bannon was, Trump could theoretically face a minimum of 30 days in jail. The House subpoena will cause a sentence to be handed down later this month.
The Murder of a Mob: From George Conway to the Supreme Court, and back again on the case of the January 6 insurrection
George Conway, a Trump critic and conservative lawyer, predicted during an appearance on CNN that none of that would happen. This is about putting a marker. This is about triggering a response (from Trump).”
Conway did point out the Supreme Court has already made clear where it stands on Trump’s status as a former president when it ignored his attempt to block the National Archives from sharing information with the committee.
Trump is, for instance, now locked in a subpoena showdown with the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. More and more Trump aides are being brought before a grand jury as the Justice Department gets closer to a fateful decision over whether to charge the ex-President over the mob riot.
Cheney, who serves as vice chair of the House committee, singled out people who invoked the Fifth Amendment or refused to testify rather than elaborate on their communications with Trump on January 6, 2021, including:
In 1983 a Senate subcommittee heard from Ford as a former president. The last time a president answered lawmakers’ questions in an appropriations hearing was 39 years ago.
President Thomas Jefferson declined to appear at former Vice President Aaron Burr’s trial for treason even though he was subpoenaed by then-Chief Justice John Marshall. Some documents were provided by Jefferson. Burr was eventually acquitted.
Exclusive footage from the January 6 hearing of the Senate Intelligence Subcommission on Tax Evading Practices: Inside the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi
New York investigators were allowed access to the financial documents by the Supreme Court. Trump’s company will go on criminal trial this month on charges of violating tax laws.
The judge forced him to comply with the subpoena from the New York Attorney General. The Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination.
James wants a preliminary injunction to stop Trump and his children from engaging in similar fraudulent conduct if she wins her case.
That means the January 6 committee must plan to wrap up all of its work by January 3, 2023, when the next Congress begins and the January 6 committee may be no more.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was shown in never before-seen footage huddled in a secure location as the pro- Trump mob attacked the Capitol. It featured an account of the ex- President trying to hide that he was a loser in 2020 in order to make his subsequent actions even more heinous.
The committee played audio from Steve Bannon, Trump’s former Chief strategist, who is awaiting sentencing for contempt of Congress after refusing to testify. In the audio, Bannon describes a premediated plan to declare the election invalid.
The leaders of the committee argued that Trump was the leader of the campaign to overturn the 2020 election and as a result needed him to testify about it on January 6.
“We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion,” said Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panel’s top Republican. We can act now to protect our republic, because every American is entitled to the answers.
The chairman of the select committee argued that Trump is the one person who needs to be blamed for the January 6th incident. We would like to hear from him.
Additional footage that was not shown by the committee was obtained by CNN. The exclusive footage will air on CNN on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET, during a special edition of “Anderson Cooper 360°.” The footage shows the congressional leaders rushing to quell the insurrection at the Capitol after they evacuated from the building, working the phones for a while and begging for help.
Pelosi was shown talking to the Virginia governor about sending reinforcements to the Capitol. Pelosi and Schumer spoke to the acting Attorney General.
The footage also showed two phone calls between Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence, who took on an impromptu leadership role on January 6, coordinating the emergency response.
The new footage showed Schumer dressing down then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. During their heated phone call, Schumer implored Rosen to intervene directly with Trump, and tell Trump to call off the mob. Pelosi said the pro-Trump rioters were breaking the law at the instigation of the president.
CNN reported in August that Chao, who is also the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, had met with the committee. But after condemning the attack in her resignation letter in early 2021, Chao has largely stayed out of the national spotlight, with her recent comments to the committee providing fresh insight into her thinking on the deadly attack.
I was at a point where it was impossible for me to continue, due to my values and philosophy. I arrived in this country as an immigrant. I believe in this country. I believe that there is a peaceful transfer of power. I believe in democracy. She said that it was a decision she made on her own.
Hutchinson and Meadows Revealed that Trump had “Never” Sentered the Electoral Corrigendum
Cassidy Hutchinson, the former top aide to Trump White House chief of staff MarkMeadows, gave new testimony about how Trump admitted that he had lost the election.
I said to Mark, “He can’t possibly think that we’re going to pull this off.” Like, that call was crazy.’ And he shook his head when he looked at me. He knows it’s over, you know. He knows that he lost. Hutchinson told the committee that they are going to keep trying.
She witnessed a conversation between Trump and Meadows in which he was angry at the Supreme Court for rejecting a lawsuit seeking to overturn the election result.
“The President said … something to the effect of, ‘I don’t want people to know we lost, Mark. This is embarrassing. You have to figure it out. We need to figure it out. Hutchinson said that he didn’t want people to know we lost.
The committee claims that on January 6, a Secret Service agent sent a text saying, “With so many weapons found so far, you wonder how many are unknown.” Could be sporty after dark.”
In the days leading up to January, Trump’s communication adviser, called Miller, boasted that he had gotten the base ready for war and shared a link to a pro-trump website with hundreds of threatening comments about killing lawmakers.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said in Thursday’s hearing that that the Secret Service received alerts of online threats made against Vice President Mike Pence ahead of the Capitol insurrection, including that Pence would be “‘a dead man walking if he doesn’t do the right thing.’”
When Did Trump Plan to Declare Victory? The Committee on the High Investigations of Trump’s Ex-President, Zoe Lofgren
Trump had long planned to declare victory, no matter the results. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said Brad Parscale, Trump’s former campaign manager, told the panel he understood that Trump planned as early as July to insist he won the November election, no matter the results.
After their conversation on November 3, 2020, Jacob drafted a memo to Short, which the committee said it obtained from the National Archives and presented for the first time on Thursday.
“It is essential that the Vice President not be perceived by the public as having decided questions concerning disputed electoral votes prior to the full development of all relevant facts,” the memo reads.
The committee disclosed new emails from conservative activist Tom Fitton to two Trump advisers. One email contains a draft statement for Trump to declare victory on Election Night.
Despite saying for months that they wanted to hear from Thomas, members of the panel downplayed the significance of her testimony following her interview, and it was clear ahead of Thursday that she was not expected to be a central part of the hearing that was instead solely focused on Trump.
But her absence was notable considering the panel did use testimony from several other high-profile witnesses who had been interviewed since the committee’s most recent hearing earlier this summer.
The House January 6 committee voted to subpoena him after laying bare his depraved efforts to overthrow the 2020 election and his dereliction of duty as his mob invaded the US Capitol.
But the developments that could hurt Trump the most happened off stage. They reflect the extraordinary legal thicket surrounding the ex-President, who has not been charged with a crime, and the distance still left to run for efforts to account for his riotous exit from power and a presidency that constantly tested the rule of law.
Since everything about Trumps political career has been unprecedented it is unsurprising that his reemergence is posing new questions with the potential to further challenge and damage the country’s political institutions.
The Supreme Court told Congress that it didn’t want to be sucked into Trump’s attempt to derail the Justice Department probe into classified material he kept at Mar-a-Lago.
Without explanation, the court turned down his request to intervene, which would have delayed the case. Trump elevated a few conservative justices to the bench and seems to believe that they owe him a debt of loyalty.
The Mueller investigation into a possible obstruction of justice charge on Trump and his allies over the January 6 storm: Garland, Schoen, and Georgia
For all the political drama that surrounds the continuing revelations over one of the darkest days in modern American history on January 6, it’s the showdown over classified documents that appears to represent the ex-President’s most clear cut and immediate threat of true criminal exposure.
The panel is debating whether to make criminal referrals of Trump and those around him to the Department of Justice over their actions around January 6. But the most significant potential areas of criminal liability for the ex-President are in the hands of Attorney General Merrick Garland – over the January 6 case and the classified documents storm – and prosecutors in Georgia, who are investigating attempts by Trump and his allies to overthrow the 2020 election in the key swing state.
A person wearing a hat was seen leaving a building in Washington, DC. A person familiar with the matter said that Short had to testify for the second time. Another Trump adviser, former national security aide Kash Patel, was also seen walking into an area where the grand jury meets. He wouldn’t tell reporters what he was doing.
CNN reported late Wednesday that an employee of the Trump Organisation told the FBI that they were told to remove boxes from a basement storage room at the club after they were served with a subpoena. The FBI has cameras that show a staffer moving boxes.
On the face of it, this development is troubling since it could suggest a pattern of deception that plays into a possible obstruction of justice charge. On the initial search warrant before the FBI showed up at Trump’s home in August, the bureau told a judge there could be “evidence of obstruction” at the resort.
Still, David Schoen, who was Trump’s defense lawyer in his second impeachment, told CNN’s “New Day” that though the details of what happened at Mar-a-Lago raised troubling questions, they did not necessarily amount to a case of obstructing justice.
Those aren’t even the only probes connected to Trump. There is also the matter of yet another investigation in Georgia over attempts by the former President and his allies to overturn the election in a crucial 2020 swing state.
Trump vs Cheney: Rep. Cheney, the Select Committee on Jan. 6, 2021, is Chipping away at the Foundation of Our Republic
One of the days when the seriousness of a crisis can often be gauged by the venom of the rhetoric that is used, is Thursday, when Trump came out fighting.
The unanimous vote in the committee to subpoena the former President for documents was mocked by the first Trump spokesman.
“Pres Trump will not be intimidate(d) by their meritless rhetoric or un-American actions. America First leadership and solutions will be restored, and the Midterms will be swept by Trump-endorsed candidates.
Then the former President weighed in on his Truth Social network with another post that failed to answer the accusations against him, but that was clearly designed to stir a political reaction from his supporters.
Trump called the committee a “total bust” and criticized it for waiting until he was ready to testify.
Trump’s attorney, David Warrington, said in a statement in part that “long-held precedent and practice maintain that separation of powers prohibits Congress from compelling a President to testify before it.”
Controversies that are coming to a head underscore that the nation and its political and legal systems are still far from dealing with and moving on from the shock and awe fallout of Trump’s turbulent single White House term. GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice chair of the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, alluded to that reality when she said on Sunday that the panel wants to avoid Trump turning his potential testimony into a “circus.”
“We chip away at the foundation of our Republic,” said the Wyoming lawmaker, who wouldn’t be returning to Congress after losing her primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack closed its hearing on Thursday by taking a vote on whether to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify before them.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., noted in his opening remarks that the panel was convening as a “formal committee business meeting,” which meant that in addition to presenting evidence, it could also hold a committee vote on further investigative actions.
A Senate Minority Judge’s Perspective on the Clinton-House Debate: How the President Recognized His Loss After the House Apportionment
The same day the House committee ordered Trump to turn over the documents, a federal judge sentenced a man who worked for the president to four months in prison.
Stone said that he believed it will still be up in the air. It’s important to claim victory when that happens. A tenth of the law is possession. No, we did not win.
At times, President Trump acknowledged the reality of his loss after the election. He admitted that Joe Biden would take over as President even though he publicly claimed he had won. This is a pic.
Trump publicly declared he won but later admitted he lost the election. The president was publicly acknowledging his loss, but privately he was acknowledging his loss, according to testimony from former White House officials.
Communications Director Alyssa Farah recalled this comment from Trump: “I popped into the Oval just to give the president the headlines and see how he was doing. And he was looking at the TV and he said, ‘Can you believe I lost to this f***ing guy?’ “
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/13/1125333531/jan-6-hearing-recap-takeaways-trump-subpoena
The Story of What Happened on Jan. 6: Kevin Pence Calls the FBI, Senator Jaime Beutler, and the Secret Service
“I vaguely remember him mentioning that he was a professor, and then essentially he turned the call over to Mr. Eastman, who then proceeded to talk about the importance of the RNC helping the campaign gather these contingent electors in case any of the legal challenges that were ongoing changed the result of any of the states,” McDaniel said.
The Secret Service received advice about violence on January 6. On December 26, a Secret Service field office shared a tip that had been received by the FBI. The source said the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group, planned to march into D.C. with weapons.
The crowd that showed up on Jan. 6 was heavily armed and many wouldn’t enter the Ellipse because they would have to go through a metal detector, according to previous hearings.
Do you think this is true? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., can be seen saying to House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn, after being informed that members on the House floor were donning tear gas masks in anticipation of a breach.
Secret Service feared for Pence’s safety. An agent warned that it was “probably not going to be good for him” when Trump expressed disappointment with his no. 2. Another agent noted there were 24,000 likes on Trump’s tweet within two minutes.
Mick Mulvaney agrees with the account of McCarthy’s call to Trump. GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington had previously shared details of a conversation between Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump on Jan. 6, in which McCarthy asked Trump to call off his supporters as his staff was “running for their lives.”
“The president told them something along the lines of, ‘Kevin, maybe these people are just more angry about this than you are. Maybe they’re more upset.’ “
Trump was the central player. After Trump lost the election, there was more information given on his state of mind.
Thompson said that Trump tried to take away the voice of the American people in choosing their president and replaced it with his will to remain in power. “He is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on Jan. 6.”
“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” Judge Carter wrote. He included a note that stated the suit said Mr. Trump was relying on information from others.
The Corrupt Campaign of the Ex-President Donald Trump and the Democratic Causality of the House Committee on the Capitol Analysing the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
“Our nation cannot only punish the foot soldiers who stormed our Capitol,” she said. “With every effort to excuse or justify the conduct of the former president, we chip away at the foundation of our Republic.”
The document signed by the former President was true despite the fact that his own lawyers had told him it wasn’t, a federal judge wrote on Wednesday.
The accusation came in a ruling by the judge, David O. Carter, ordering John Eastman, the conservative lawyer who strategized with the former president about overturning the election, to hand over 33 more emails to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. According to Judge Carter who was stationed in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California, there was evidence of criminal behavior in the emails.
The rule of law, free elections and accountability are all in danger because of former President Donald Trump and his movement.
At a time when he is on a collision course with the courts and facts, Trump dropped his clearest hint yet about running for president.
Trump never really went away after losing reelection in 2020, but a dizzying catalog of confrontations is vaulting him back into the center of US politics. It’s likely to deepen polarization in an already deeply divided nation. The early stages of the presidential race and the upcoming elections for congress may be impacted by Trump’s unpredictable behavior.
The former President’s claim that he was the victim of a political persecution while in office could cause more upheaval than his four years in office.
And while fierce differences are emerging between Democrats and Republicans over policy on the economy, abortion, foreign policy and crime in the 2022 midterms – while concerns about democracy often rank lower for voters – there is every chance the coming political period revolves mostly around the ex-President’s past and future.
Trump’s men and women are also stepping up their activity. His political guru Steve Bannon, whose own grassroots movement is seeking to infiltrate school boards and local election machinery, is vowing to expose the Biden “regime” in an appeal against a prison sentence handed down last week for defying a congressional subpoena. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is calling on the Supreme Court to block an attempt to force him to testify in an investigation in Georgia over Trump’s election stealing effort.
Kaluza Lake and AZTV7: Where are we coming from? What are we waiting for? What will we learn when we’re going to hear from Kaluza?
In Arizona, one of the ex-President’s favorite candidates, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake – a serial spreader of voter fraud falsehoods – is again raising doubts about the election system. Lake told AZTV7 that it is likely to be not completely fair.
The New York Post reported that Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the third most Powerful Republican in the House, said that impeachment of Biden was on the table. South Carolina GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, however, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday she did not want to see tit-for-tat impeachment proceedings after Trump was twice impeached. She said she was against the process being “weaponized.” She said that there would need to be an investigation regarding whether Biden had committed impeachable offenses.
An already pro-Trump Republican presence in Washington is likely to expand after the midterms. Some of the candidates running for president are running on a platform of election fraud in 2020 which raises questions as to whether they will accept the results should they lose their races.
Trump and James are due in New York court on Thursday for the first hearing since the lawsuit alleging fraud by the Trumps and their business was filed.
Democrats have made their own attempts to return Trump to the political spotlight. President Joe Biden equated MAGA followers with “semi-fascism” and some campaigns have tried to scare critical suburban voters by warning pro-Trump candidates are a danger to democracy.
What Will Happen If the Secretary of State of the United States Tells Joe Biden About His Retired Vice Presidential Term, or Does the Ex-President Have to Do It Again?
But raging inflation and spikes in gasoline prices appear to be a far more potent concern before voters head to the polls, which could spell bad news for the party in power in Washington.
The ex-President told supporters at a rally in Texas on Saturday regarding the possibility of a new White House bid, “I will probably have to do it again.”
“It may take multiple days, and it will be done with a level of rigor and discipline and seriousness that it deserves,” Cheney told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
This will not be the first debate against Joe Biden, that is, if it is at all. This is a very serious set of issues.
Most depositions and testimony have been done behind closed doors and on video by the committee. The most sympathetic witnesses have appeared in person. The narrative created by this has helped create a powerful picture of shocking disregard for duty by the President, but it has deprived the viewers of seeing witnesses be cross examined. It’s difficult to assess if the committee’s case will fit in with the requirements of a court of law.
It would be difficult for the former President to dictate the terms of the exchanges and control how his testimony would be used, and the prospect of video testifying over an intense period of days or hours is likely to be unattractive to him.
If there is evidence a crime was committed, Garland would face a dilemma over whether the national interest lay in implementing the law to its full extent or whether the consequences of prosecuting a former commander in chief in a fractious political atmosphere could tear the country apart.
A decision to charge an ex-president running for a non-consecutive second White House term would undoubtedly cause a firestorm. If he was spared from accountability, it would send a damaging signal to future presidents with strongman instincts.
Commitment to the Commission on ‘Financial Fraud’ by Donald P. Trump and a High-profile New York State Attorney General
The civil lawsuit was filed hours after a New York judge denied an effort to move New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his eldest children and others into another division of New York State court.
Trump previously tried to block James’ investigation by taking action in federal court in New York, but the judge denied the effort. His lawyers have appealed.
Donald Trump committed financial fraud that we sued him for. The fact that no one is above the law has not changed, and our resolve to ensure that no one is above the law will not change.
“This is not an instance where the committee is going to put itself at the mercy of Donald Trump in terms of his efforts to create a circus,” Cheney said.
The committee stated that the former President needs to start producing records by the end of the week or else he will be deposed in a few weeks.
Roger Stone is one of the high-profile people found in the committee’s order.
She said the committee had been working in a very collaborative way and would not have disagreements about that. We will have to make those decisions at the right time.
Associated Correspondence with the Select Committee on the Subpoena of the Ex-President’s Personal Communication Communication Communication (Part II): Trump’s Campaign
The committee also said it “received correspondence from the former President and his counsel in connection with the Select Committee’s subpoena” but did not provide additional information.
“Given the timing and nature of your letter – without any acknowledgment that Mr. Trump will ultimately comply with the subpoena – your approach on his behalf appears to be a delay tactic,” wrote Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chairs the committee.
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the vice chairwoman of the committee, previously said the committee was “in discussions” with Trump’s attorneys about testifying under oath in the probe. But it remains unclear whether those discussions will lead to him sitting for a deposition.
Trump provided to the court his team’s recent letters with the committee, which show that the House panel tried to zero in last week on obtaining records of his electronic communication on personal phones, via text or on other apps from January 6, 2021. The letters said that the House wanted to know every phone and communication device Trump used until he left the presidency.
The broad document request even asked for all documents and communications relating or referring “in any way” to members of the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, or other extremist groups from September 1, 2020, to the present. The document request spans 19 different categories.
A lawsuit was filed by the former president to challenge the House Select Committee’s subpoena for his testimony and documents.
Multiple courts have upheld the legitimacy of the committee, as well as Donald Trump’s assertion that he should not have to testify about his time as president.
The lawsuit also raises some protections around the presidency that have never fully been tested by appeals courts, and Trump brought the lawsuit in a court that, unlike DC, hasn’t weighed in on his standoffs with House Democrats over the past several years.
Since Trump’s team replied on November 9 that he wouldn’t testify and found no records to turn over related to personal communications, the House hasn’t respond substantively, the court papers said.
Trump instructed a search for documents in his possession that could fit those two criteria, according to his legal team. His lawyers said that the search didn’t find anything.