A new watergate
Shortly after President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address, the precautionary fence around the Capitol was removed. With the end of the national consultation to wear masks, it is a sign that previous crises are finally leading to new ones. DC no longer has daily infection statistics. The headlines are about Ukraine, not about Govt.
Yet recent times have not left the United States. Last week, the Commission of Inquiry presented its results on January 6, the day the election results were decided. The committee was set up by the House of Representatives, under opposition from Republicans. The Commission may not take any action or pronounce any sentence, but may inform the judge of the results. That is what has happened now. Trump has been charged with violating the law in an attempt to reverse his election defeat.
Party political harassment
This case is interesting because it shows the special features of the American system. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Republicans claiming that this is a discriminatory persecution. In fact, politics and law have been mixed up because of the use of the findings of a panel of elected representatives in a case against a former president.
This case is appropriate because it parallels Trump’s path of almost inevitable announcement of running for president again. A candidate begins to take the form of being in court in the morning, at a rally in the afternoon, and in a televised debate in the evening. Interesting detail: The US Constitution allows a criminal to run for president. In theory, you could run for office while in prison or run the country from there. To the extent that this is an attempt to oust Trump from the White House by 2024, it can only be done physically.
Dual key
The Trump indictment is divided into two parts. First, we need to make sure that the president was really aware of his defeat in the election. It must then be shown that Trump acted to eliminate that loss. If that double test succeeds, prosecutors accuse him of trying to deceive the American people. After all, Americans will lose the president they elected.
The first test seems to have passed. One of Trump’s campaign advisers said under oath that he had told his boss “uncertainly” that he had failed after election day. Numbers were added to underline that message. Trump’s defense (“I do not believe in numbers”) seems weak here.
Point two is more complicated. The case revolves around John Eastman, one of Trump’s lawyers who plotted to keep Trump in power. Mike Pence, as vice president, oversaw the decision to eventually appoint Trump as the winner, replacing Biden. Eastman’s coup plan failed because Benz refused to participate. On the morning of January 6, Eastman attempted a meeting with the former vice president that Trump attended at the Willard Hotel in Washington DC, which turned out to be the new Watergate.
Thousands of emails
The question is exactly what was talked about during that meeting and what information exchange took place before that. Eastman has thousands of emails the commission wants to see on Jan. 6, saying it should not be blocked by a judge. An initial list shows that Eastman was persuaded by his lawyer, Pence, to ignore this decision. As soon as the attack on Capitol began, Pence received an angry message from Eastman, saying he could have prevented all this.
At some point, prosecutors will also want to hear from Trump. He is also accused of obstructing an official ceremony by inviting his supporters to go to the Capitol. Then Trump has to choose whether to remain silent or speak in court. The way he expected was previously blocked by the judge. Trump’s lawyers say the former president cannot be prosecuted for the January 6 incident. This was rejected by the judge. The question now is whether any news of ‘Trump announcing 2024 candidacy’ or ‘Trump will be sabotaged’ is going to be ‘breaking’ any time soon.
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