January 6th legal proceedings and investigations megathread

[Frodo]

If you were worried about the criminal justice system going easy on the January 6th insurrectionists, fear not my friends:

Capitol rioters hit with severe sentences and sharp reprimands from judges

[emailking]

Trump asks Supreme Court to block release of his White House records to January 6 committee

Former President Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court on Thursday to block the release of documents from his White House to the House committee investigating the January 6 riot at the Capitol, escalating his effort to keep about 700 pages of records secret.

The House committee, which is charged with investigating the US Capitol attack to provide recommendations for preventing such assaults in the future, seeks the documents as it explores Trump's role in trying to overturn the election. That includes his appearance at a January 6 rally when he directed followers to go to the Capitol where lawmakers were set to certify the election results and "fight" for their county. The documents are currently held by the National Archives.

In filings submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday, Trump asked the justices to take up a full review of the case and he requested that while they consider his position, they put a hold on the lower court decision permitting the disclosure of his records while they consider taking up the case.

"The limited interest the Committee may have in immediately obtaining the requested records pales in comparison to President Trump's interest in securing judicial review before he suffers irreparable harm," Trump's lawyers wrote in the court filings.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/politics/donald-trump-supreme-court-records-january-6/index.html

[Joe Republic]

Literally a grammar nazi:

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1474446020692123650?s=20

[emailking]

I was taught that an adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

[Badger]

Trump asks Supreme Court to block release of his White House records to January 6 committee

Former President Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court on Thursday to block the release of documents from his White House to the House committee investigating the January 6 riot at the Capitol, escalating his effort to keep about 700 pages of records secret.

The House committee, which is charged with investigating the US Capitol attack to provide recommendations for preventing such assaults in the future, seeks the documents as it explores Trump's role in trying to overturn the election. That includes his appearance at a January 6 rally when he directed followers to go to the Capitol where lawmakers were set to certify the election results and "fight" for their county. The documents are currently held by the National Archives.

In filings submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday, Trump asked the justices to take up a full review of the case and he requested that while they consider his position, they put a hold on the lower court decision permitting the disclosure of his records while they consider taking up the case.

"The limited interest the Committee may have in immediately obtaining the requested records pales in comparison to President Trump's interest in securing judicial review before he suffers irreparable harm," Trump's lawyers wrote in the court filings.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/politics/donald-trump-supreme-court-records-january-6/index.html

 Insert sweating like a dog gif.

[emailking]

Schiff said on air the committee will ask for the voluntary cooperation of Sean Hannity.

[President Johnson]

Schiff said on air the committee will ask for the voluntary cooperation of Sean Hannity.

lmaolmaolmao...

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Capitol Rioter Asks Court to Appoint U.S. Marshals to Subpoena Trump and His Allies

His attorney, Samuel H. Shamansky, listed names of witnesses to be subpoenaed, including Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Lin Wood and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, according to a court memo.

Shamansky alleged that those witnesses are "involved in the planning and execution of the attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election."

"Considering the significant roles these witnesses play in the legal and political communities, and the evasiveness that some have historically shown in the face of court orders, Defendant submits that appointment of the U.S. Marshals Service is necessary in order to effectuate his right to compulsory process and ensure that the same is accomplished expeditiously," the court filing reads.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

"Nate Silver says Jan. 6 strengthened Trump's hold on the GOP"

https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1480228950269997070

[NewYorkExpress]

Trump is arguing in court that the speech that may have triggered the coup attempt on 1/6 was within the scope of his official duties as President.

Donald Trump's lawyer argued in court on Monday that the former president cannot be sued over his fiery speech before the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol because he was acting within the scope of his official presidential duties.

Trump's lawyer, Jesse Binnall, said during a court hearing that Trump was "immune," or shielded, from three lawsuits by Democratic members of Congress and two police officers.

"Executive immunity must be broad," Binnall said.

The lawsuits, filed by plaintiffs including Democratic U.S. representatives Eric Swalwell and Jerry Nadler, argue that Trump is liable for injuries to police and lawmakers.

Looming large in the case is a Supreme Court case from 1982 holding that presidents are immune from lawsuits over their official acts.

During a five-hour court hearing, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in the District of Columbia pressed lawyers for both sides about the limits of this presidential immunity.

Plaintiffs lawyer Joseph Sellers countered that Trump's speech was a campaign event, not an official act and said it was "inconceivable" that the Supreme Court intended to shield presidents from lawsuits over this sort of conduct.

"There is no legitimate role for fomenting an insurrection aimed at Congress," Sellers said.

The Democratic lawmakers have invoked an 1871 law passed to fight the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan that prohibits political intimidation.

The lawsuits charge that the Capitol attack was a direct consequence of Trump's actions, including the speech to thousands of supporters who then stormed the building to try to overturn President Joe Biden's election.

Mehta did not issue a ruling on Monday, saying during the hearing that the litigation raises difficult legal questions.

[NewYorkExpress]

Four more plead guilty, one more sentenced.

[Frodo]

The lengths to which Trumpsters will go to overturn a legitimate, and free and fair, election:

Forged election documents in Michigan and Arizona

As Trump's team pushed its discredited voter fraud narrative, the National Archives received forged certificates of ascertainment declaring him and then-Vice President Mike Pence the winners of both Michigan and Arizona and their electors after the 2020 election. Public records requests show the secretaries of state for those states sent those certificates to the Jan. 6 panel, along with correspondence between the National Archives and state officials about the documents.

Spokespeople for the Michigan and Arizona secretaries of state declined to comment on the documents. The offices confirmed that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, both Democrats, and their staff met with the panel in November.

The National Archives sent emails to the Arizona secretary of state on Dec. 11, 2020, passing along the forged certificates “for your awareness” and informing the state officials the Archives would not accept them.

Arizona then took legal action against at least one of the groups who sent in the fake documents, sending a cease and desist letter to a pro-Trump "sovereign citizen" group telling them to stop using the state seal and referring the matter to the state attorney general.

“By affixing the state seal to documents containing false and misleading information about the results of Arizona’s November 3, 2020 General Election, you undermine the confidence in our democratic institutions,” Hobbs wrote to one of the pro-Trump groups.

That group’s leader, Lori Osiecki, had told the Arizona Republic in December 2020 that she decided to send in the certificates after taking part in post-election rallies and after attending a daylong meeting in Phoenix that had included Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

The group that forged the Michigan certification had not used the state seal, and it appears state officials there took no further action after the Archives rejected it.

source

[Crumpets]

Just goes to show how important random unelected government positions can be, like whoever that's referencing at the National Archives. Sure it would have taken more than one person on the inside to make it work, but for the first one they reached outside the state helped put a stop to it early. Call it the Deep State or whatever, it's one of the strongest buffers we have against both quick and decisive change for good and well-organized, methodical attempts to tear things apart.

[emailking]

January 6 committee asks McCarthy to voluntarily provide information to probe

The House select committee investigating the January 6 riot is asking Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, to voluntarily provide information to the panel, a major development in the sweeping investigation, according to a new letter released Wednesday.

The request marks a significant moment in the ongoing investigation as the committee is now seeking cooperation from the top Republican in the House.

"We also must learn about how the President's plans for January 6th came together, and all the other ways he attempted to alter the results of the election," wrote committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi. "For example, in advance of January 6th, you reportedly explained to Mark Meadows and the former President that objections to the certification of the electoral votes on January 6th 'was doomed to fail.' "

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/12/politics/kevin-mccarthy-january-6/index.html

There's a thread but I wanted to get it recorded it here too.

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/alivitali/status/1481386128817152012?s=20

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1481696634769715205?s=20

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/justinjm1/status/1481704494564007940?s=20

[Ferguson97]

https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1481696634769715205?s=20

So there goes the "no one has been charged with sedition" talking point...

[Crumpets]

So much for keeping that oath, I suppose.

But one big thing this should show us is that we do not need new anti-domestic terrorism legislation to be able to seriously prosecute groups like this. We just need to properly investigate and charge them under the existing laws. And something tells me if Republicans tried to charge "the leader of Antifa" under this same statute as a reprisal, they'll find that a bit tough to pull off.

[SteveRogers]

https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1481696634769715205?s=20

So there goes the "no one has been charged with sedition" talking point...

In before someone calls this guy a “political prisoner.”

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/madrid_mike/status/1482119052545855491

[Torie]

The Hill has an interesting piece on Kevin "the coward" McCarthy and his Faustian bargain. Another classic example about how the quest for power over all else can destroy your soul.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/589839-gops-mccarthy-has-little-incentive-to-work-with-jan-6-panel

[GeorgiaModerate]

The House select committee investigating the January 6 riot issued a subpoena Tuesday for Rudy Giuliani, a central figure in former President Donald Trump's failed bid to overturn the 2020 election on the basis of unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud.

In addition to Giuliani, the committee issued subpoenas to two other attorneys who pushed various election fraud conspiracies on Trump's behalf: Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell.

Former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, who was among those working with Giuliani at the post-election Willard Hotel "command center," was also subpoenaed Tuesday.

"The four individuals we've subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with the former President about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes," Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chairs the committee, said in a statement Tuesday.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/politics/rudy-giuliani-january-6-subpoena/index.html

 

[Roll Roons]

I hope to God they do this hearing publicly.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The House select committee investigating the January 6 riot issued a subpoena Tuesday for Rudy Giuliani, a central figure in former President Donald Trump's failed bid to overturn the 2020 election on the basis of unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud.

In addition to Giuliani, the committee issued subpoenas to two other attorneys who pushed various election fraud conspiracies on Trump's behalf: Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell.

Former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, who was among those working with Giuliani at the post-election Willard Hotel "command center," was also subpoenaed Tuesday.

"The four individuals we've subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with the former President about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes," Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chairs the committee, said in a statement Tuesday.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/politics/rudy-giuliani-january-6-subpoena/index.html

 

All the subpoena's are virtually worthless when the response is to ignore the House, drag things out in court until the GOP takes it back. Pelosi and Committee need to authorize the Sergeant at Arms to borrow some jail space from the DC police and lock these outlaws up until they agree to testify.