January 6th legal proceedings and investigations megathread

[emailking]

One reason is they investigate from the ground up and are only now getting to the higher ups. The committee went top down. Yeah maybe they should have gone faster but that's how they do it.

Another reason is that they are prosecuting Oath Keepers and Proud Boys for conspiracy and they are obligated to turn over any exculpatory evidence, even if it was gathered by Congress. They don't know what's there until they receive it.

[emailking]

From everything I've heard, you couldn't get a witness tampering conviction on this single missed call. But it could play into a bigger picture if there are other examples of him doing this that they could uncover.

[emailking]

Re: secret service, they were transferring people to new phones and not everyone backed up their texts but SS says it was before they got the request from the Inspector General.

[emailking]

The fact that he tried to call a witness shows he's getting desperate, and also that no one else will do it for him anymore. The hammer's coming and he knows it.

[emailking]

Andy McCarthy is pretty persuasive that the evidence is lacking to convict Trump of the crime of seditious conspiracy, but more than adequate to support an impeachment and conviction which would have given Congress to impose the penalty of banning Trump from further office.
The piece of evidence that is missing so far is that Trump was involved in planning the breaking and entering into the Capitol building, or was even aware of such plans, much less endorse such plans in advance.


https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/07/january-6-committees-bid-to-prove-trump-criminally-liable-for-violence-falls-short/

There's a lot of evidence that he was happy about it once it was happening, and a lot of circumstantial evidence that he wanted it to happen in advance. He put all the pieces in place for this to happen, and I don't think that's negated because he didn't explicitly call for a violent break in, or by his throwaway statement that he knew it would be peaceful.

McCarthy does think Trump can be prosecuted for aiding and abetting the intimidation of federal officials and for obstruction of congressional proceedings.

https://www.mediaite.com/podcasts/fox-news-legal-analyst-andrew-mccarthy-believes-trump-will-be-prosecuted/

[emailking]

I know of no evidence that Trump was aware in advance of a plan to break and enter into the Capitol to disrupt proceedings much less assist in developing it or approving it. His inaction or approval after the fact while certainly grounds for impeachment, conviction  and removal from office if still in office, is not a crime.

Not that knew it would happen but that he hoped it would.

[emailking]

Even if that hope before the fact is conclusively proven, the act of hope is not a crime.

If he put all the pieces in place for it to happen (the armed crowd, national guard AWOL, initimidation of Pence, etc), and then hope it would elapse as it did, then yeah it is a crime, even if he didn't know it would happen or tell the Oath Keepers to do it.

But anyway, even if seditious conspiracy isn't charged, I'll take the other crimes he thinks Trump will be charged with.

[emailking]

If you want me to acknowledge he might not be charged with seditious conspiracy and that McCarthy makes a good point regarding that in the link you provided, OK I acknowledge that. But I think you should also acknowledge he might be charged with aiding and abetting the intimidation of federal officials and obstruction of congressional proceedings, and in the link I provided McCarthy makes a good point regarding that!

[emailking]

Rep Jody Hice has also been subpoenaed by the DA.

[emailking]

See the article I linked re: Andrew McCarthy. He thinks he can be charged. Just not for seditious conspiracy.

[emailking]

Here's the take of people with more expertise than any of us:

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-must-be-charged-january-6-former-doj-officials-2022-7

Yeah there's a ton of circumstantial evidence, which is never proof of anything but you can still convict on circumstantial evidence. There's probably not going to be the kind of direct evidence some are looking for because he's careful.

[emailking]

Lindsey Graham has changed course and will cooperate with the Georgia grand jury subpoena.

[emailking]

AG Garland reiterates 'no person' -- not even Trump -- is above the law over Jan. 6

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday reiterated that "no person," not even a former president, was above the law amid calls from some congressional Democrats to charge Donald Trump after last year's Capitol riot.

During a press conference, a visibly animated Garland twice said that "no person" was above the law when pressed specifically about Trump, whom Democrats say incited the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection over his unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020. Democrats also cite Trump's larger, months-long campaign to try and reverse his election loss. (Trump insists he did nothing wrong.)

...

"We have to hold accountable every person who is criminally responsible for trying to overturn a legitimate election, and we must do it in a way filled with integrity and professionalism," Garland added.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ag-garland-reiterates-person-trump-law-jan/story?id=87140695

[emailking]

SS & the committee are in negotiations about the agents testifying.

[emailking]

There will be 3 more hearings in September.

[emailking]

Fox is not broadcasting the hearing at least so far.

[emailking]

Some pretty dramatic Secret Service radio traffic as the rioters were in the Capitol.

[emailking]

Trump did want to Tweet anything with the word "peace" in it and it took hard convincing to get him to tweet stay peaceful.

[emailking]

Footage of the Rose Garden message Trump recorded, speaking off the cuff. Said it was a stolen election and everyone knows it, but they have to go home now. Says "they" took it away from all of us. Said he loves them [rioters] and they're very special and he knows how they feel.

[emailking]

Unaired footage of him practicing his address the next day. He said the election was over and Congress has certified the results, but then he said he didn't want to say the election was over and had it taken out.

[emailking]

Fox is not broadcasting the hearing at least so far.

Fox ended up not airing any part of the hearing tonight, sticking to their normal nightly lineup. Same as the first hearing which was also in prime time. They've aired the daytime hearings but have sometimes cut out early before the closing statements.

[emailking]

Jury deliberations have begun in Bannon's case. So we could potentially get a verdict at any time. FYI: The defense did not put on a case (but did give closing arguments).

[emailking]

I know we're supposed to ignore you but Garland hasn't said he's not indicting Trump until after the midterms. He hasn't said anything abut Trump at all other than they don't do investigations in public and emphatically stating that no one is above the law when pressed about Trump.

But no he won't be indicted before the midterms.

[emailking]

Marc Short, COS to Pence, recently appeared before a DC grand jury. That's big.

[emailking]

Do we have any word when DoJ will make a final decision about Trump? When will we know whether he'll be indicted or not? Really growing impatient with Garland.

It would probably happen next year. It's not going to happen until after the mid terms. If it's 2024 and it hasn't happened, it's probably not going to.  There likely won't be any advanced notice, even leaks. We'll just find out he's been indicted. However, we may get a clue something is afoot by grand jury appearances. Pence's COS testifying is big and I think is an indication they've clearly moved beyond just the rioters and the far right groups. They're looking at the higher ups now.