Donald Trump is not guilty of anything
Greetings,
The crimes of Jan 6 are undisputed but the who, what, and why behind the crimes need to be answered, wherever those answers may lead. That’s what the Jan 6 Committee is wrapping up right now. Their investigation isn’t some partisan witch hunt but a fundamental job of Congress. Under its duty of Oversight, Congress has wide discretion about what and how to oversee but there’s no option to just close their eyes. Congress is NOT leading a prosecution, they’re investigating and reporting the results, as has been their duty since 1789. It is the very definition of Constitutional Rule of Law.
If we all ‘know’ what went on, if we ‘know’ Trump’s to blame, then why even bother with a trial? Because, in a direct refutation of Republican slurs, the Democrats (and Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kitzinger, to their unending credit) value the Rule of Law so much that they know it must also apply to Trump or it means nothing. Trump and his allies are receiving the full benefit of the Rule of Law solely because the people they revile as traitors, liars, thieves, child molesters, and even worse are offering it to them. The fact that every witness (all under oath, by the way), every fact, every scintilla of evidence is pointing at Trump… well, that’s his fault. The investigation is uncovering reality, not a spun version of it.
But Donald Trump is right, he isn’t guilty of anything. Yet. His allies are right, there’s been no opportunity for cross-examination or opposing witnesses. Yet. That’s because they’re perfectly aware these things happen in trials, not investigations. No matter how convinced Congress (or America) is about Trump’s guilt, it falls to the DOJ to decide if any charges are appropriate for trial because they, not Congress, have the power to indict. According to countless lawyers, judges, politicians, and about 60% of the American people, indictment isn’t even a choice. Crimes were committed, they’ve been investigated, and now charges MUST be levied and PROVEN against those responsible. The benefit to our country is obvious, but I suggest there’s another beneficiary… Trump himself.
A stunning pile of accusations have been levied against Donald Trump, everything from petty fraud to election tampering to manslaughter to treason. Under American law he DESERVES the chance to clear his name! His team has had the chance to respond, losing 61 of the 62 cases filed over his Rigged Election Lies, but that was about the election. The Jan 6 accusations are against Trump himself and the Rule of Law requires specific charges be made and proven, and that he be given a chance to respond. That concern about fairness works both ways… the right to vigorous defense doesn’t include blathering lies, half-sentences, and whole irrelevancies in hopes of snowing a jury. He deserves the chance to speak, but under oath. With rules. And with penalties for breaking them.
Trump isn’t Hitler, but he doesn’t need to be. He just needs to be a criminal, and we know how to deal with criminals. Investigate. Indict. Prosecute. PROVE. Punish. The Rule of Law has worked pretty well for us all for over 230 years and I think we should stick with it.
Make a great day,
A Pivotal Resource…
We have our usual collection of relevant links below, but there’s one we’d like to especially draw your attention to. Tidbits this month was inspired by a speech included in Our Book Spotlight, “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury”. In 1945, Hitler himself was dead but Bormann, Goring, Hess, and 21 other infamous names lived to face Allied justice. What would that justice be? With the world living in the aftermath of obvious Nazi crimes and obvious Nazi responsibility, the whole idea of court trials for the leaders was controversial. Many Allies including Britain favored summary executions. But the US made the case that the if the Rule of Law was important enough to fight a World War over, if the lack of it led to the Nazi rise, then it was important enough that EVEN THE NAZIS HAD TO HAVE ACCESS TO IT and even their twisted defenses must be heard.
Judge Jackson’s speech opens the book but the rest offer insights that are just as powerful. We highly recommend it, but if you aren’t interested in the whole book then here’s a link to a transcript of Judge Jackson’s Nuremberg closing argument by itself. Here are just three quotes from his powerhouse closing argument…
“Of one thing we may be sure. The future will never have to ask, with misgiving, what could the Nazis have said in their favor. History will know that whatever could be said, they were allowed to say. They have been given the kind of a trial which they, in the days of their pomp and power, never gave to any man.”
“But fairness is not weakness. The extraordinary fairness of these hearings is an attribute of our strength. The fact is that the testimony of the defendants has removed any doubts of guilt which, because of the extraordinary nature and magnitude of these crimes, may have existed before they spoke. They have helped write their own judgement of condemnation.”
”In summation we now have before us the tested evidence of criminality and have heard the flimsy excuses and paltry evasions of the defendants. The suspended judgement with which we opened this case is no longer appropriate. The time has come for final judgement and if the case I present seems hard and uncompromising, it is because the evidence makes it so.”
Trump’s Legal Quagmire
When we mentioned a “stunning pile of accusations against Donald Trump”, we didn’t mean impolite things said about him on MSNBC. According to The Guardian, as of Feb 2022 he faces 19 legal actions. The total is almost certainly higher now and does not include any possible charges based on the Jan 6 investigation. “Most of the cases fall under three themes: financial wrongdoings that made him more money; his role in the January 6 2021 insurrection; and his alleged interference in the 2020 election. Trump has denied wrongdoing in most of these cases. He has filed motions to dismiss several of them and has filed countersuits in some cases.” Here’s a look at some of them… Donald is getting his day in court on all of them.
The long list of legal cases against Donald Trump, The Guardian, Feb 2022
Jan. 6 Committee Lays Out Potential Criminal Charges Against Trump, Broadwater and Feuer in NY Times, Jun 2022
Where Trump’s long list of legal challenges stand, Brad Dress in The Hill, Jun 2022
Digging Deeper…
Closing Argument for Conviction of Nazi War Criminals, Judge Robert H. Jackson, Nuremberg,
Identifying far-right symbols that appeared at the U.S. Capitol riot, Washington Post, Jan 2022
ArtI.S8.C18.4.1.2 Implied Power of Congress to Conduct Investigations and Oversight: Doctrine and Practice, US Constitution Annotated, Cornell Law Legal Information Institute
Investigations & Oversight, US House of Representatives History, Art, & Archives
Prominent conservatives issue report rebutting Trump election claims, Rokus and Stracqualursi, CNN, Jul 2022
By the numbers: President Donald Trump’s failed efforts to overturn the election, Cummings, Garrison, and Sergent in USA Today, Jan 2021
Trump’s judicial campaign to upend the 2020 election: A failure, but not a wipe-out, Russell Wheeler, Brookings Institute, Nov 2021
Poll: Nearly 60% of Americans say Trump should be charged for Jan. 6, Anna Betts on Spectrum News, Jul 2022
Americans think of Jan 6 Committee as fair, but are not following it, Chris Jackson and Jocelyn Duran, Ipsos, Jun 2022
