Could Trump Really be Prosecuted?
Photo by BS d'Avalonia on Unsplash
After Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the Jan 6 committee on Tuesday, things are not looking good for former President Donald Trump. While there is a lot of focus on Hutchinson's anecdote that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel from a Secret Service agent while driving, David French's newsletter points out why that's the wrong part of the testimony to focus on. French admits that he has been skeptical for a while that the Jan 6 Committee would be able to prove anything of any legal significance. It is not hard to make a case that Donald Trump is morally or politically responsible for the mob's actions on Jan 6. Still, French points out that it is much harder to prove that a politician is responsible for the violence of a mob.
That is unless you can prove that 1) Trump summoned the mob to Washington, which he did with a tweet. 2) Trump knew the mob was armed and dangerous, which Hutchinson's testimony shows he did. 3) Trump encouraged the mob. And, 4) Trump further enraged the mob by tweeting that Vice President Pence did not dare do the "right thing." As French points out, the story about Trump trying to take command of his vehicle is not necessary to prove that he is culpable for the actions of the insurrectionist mob. At the same time, Trump did tell the mob to march "peacefully and patriotically." Is that enough cover to absolve Trump from the events of Jan 6? French argues that phrase “looks more like pro forma ass-covering than a genuine plea.”
The significance of French's analysis is bolstered by Liz Cheney, the Vice-Chair of the Jan 6 Committee, tweeting French's article last night. This may indicate that the legal analysis French offers aligns with the Jan 6 Committee’s thinking.
We should not have to hear the testimony of anyone, Hutchinson, Meadows, or otherwise, to recognize that what Donald Trump did was morally and ethically wrong — anyone who would be willing to cast doubt on a free and fair election is not worthy of holding the highest office in government. It should not have to come to this to convince anyone that our politics and our nation would be better off without Trump's caustic presence. Fortunately, Cassidy Hutchinson understood the moment's gravity and offered her testimony.
While the evidence for prosecuting President Trump is growing stronger, French also points out another component necessary to convict Trump: political will. We don’t know what the Justice Department will do. Even if they believe they have the evidence to convict, they must choose between prosecution, which will likely lead to great chaos, or not prosecuting, which, as French points out, could be “more grave and more dangerous” because that would mean “deciding that presidents are held to lower standards of criminal behavior than virtually any other American citizen.”
3 More Things
1) While we're still on the subject of Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony, Charlie Sykes at The Bulwark has a great roundup of all the moving pieces and other potentially devastating developments to come.
2) Writing for The Atlantic, Ronald Brownstein has a chilling look at the future of America. In short, America is looking more and more like two different nations: Red States and Blue States. The only deciding factor that holds the nation together is where the few Purple States fall on that spectrum. However, Brownstein's most intriguing analysis is that we got to this point because Red States have no political competition. While it may seem easy to blame Democrats for not trying in Red States, a valid claim, Republicans also should be held accountable for not examining how their policies have not served their communities.
3) Former worship pastor at Bethel and failed congressional candidate Sean Feucht continues to further his brand of Christian Nationalism in his new documentary Superspreader. During the height of the pandemic, Feucht capitalized on stay-at-home orders and some ridiculous guidelines for churches to conduct concerts that blended worship and far-right political propaganda. To quote Charlie Brown, "Good grief!"