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A NOTE FROM FRED
As we head into the 2022 congressional elections, the implications of Trump’s Big Lie, the January 6 violent insurrection at the Capitol, and the voter suppression and election sabotage laws that followed, are coming into major play.
In early June, the House Jan. 6 Committee is expected to begin critically important public hearings to build the historical record of the circumstances and events surrounding the efforts to overturn the presidential election, and the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
There are three key roles that the House Jan. 6 Committee should play in carrying out its mission.
First, the Committee should present to the public the evidence it has found that former President Trump and others engaged in criminal conduct.
Federal District Court Judge David Carter recently issued an opinion stating, “[T]he Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”
In other words: More likely than not, Trump engaged in criminal activity.
The Committee, according to CNN, has already collected nearly 10,000 documents and conducted more than 860 depositions and interviews, including with Trump family members and his close associates.
The upcoming public hearings present the venue to provide the public, Members of Congress, and the Justice Department with any evidence it has gathered that shows former President Trump engaged in criminal conduct in connection with the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The Justice Department will determine whether to indict and prosecute Trump for committing crimes. The most important role for the Committee to play is to gather evidence and help build a case to the extent that the evidence shows criminal conduct occurred.
Second, the events leading up to and including January 6 represent an attempted political coup – the first in the 233-year history of our government – and the Committee must document the effort and the roles played by Trump and his associates in the attempt to overthrow a duly elected President.
The fact that no one to this day has produced even a shred of evidence that fraud impacted the election results is irrelevant to Trump as he continues to tell lie after lie that the election was stolen from him.
Third, the Committee should make legislative and policy recommendations that Congress can implement to help protect the integrity of our elections and to close legal loopholes that open the door to the presidential choice of the voters being negated. Congress must act to help ensure that an attempted coup in the future cannot succeed.
If past is prologue, as Shakespeare tells us, we must be ready to fight against efforts to steal the fall’s Senate and House elections.
The Trump-inspired election sabotage laws passed by GOP-controlled state legislatures provide various opportunities for Trump supporters to attempt to rig congressional election results. The 2022 congressional elections, furthermore, could serve as proving grounds for attempting to steal the 2024 presidential election.
There are many groups today organizing to protect the integrity of the 2022 congressional elections. The battles will take place in the states and local jurisdictions and will present a classic case where, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
This year’s elections are not just going to be a battle between Republicans and Democrats. The battle will also be between Trump acolytes and fair election supporters over protecting the integrity of our elections and our democracy.
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"WATCH" OF THE WEEK
D21 President Fred Wertheimer Talks Trump, Jan. 6, Ginni Thomas, & More
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JAN. 6 INVESTIGATION
Trump’s New Admission About Jan. 6 Should Boost Pressure On Garland, opinion via The Washington Post.
January 6 Panel Has Conducted More Than 860 Interviews, With Dozens More Planned, via CNN.
Rep. Raskin Expects “Crimes That Have Not Yet Been Alleged” In Committee’s Jan. 6 Report
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): “We have not been shy about criminal evidence we encounter, and our report will be profuse in setting forth crimes that have not yet been alleged,” via The Washington Post.
Two Trump White House Lawyers Meet With Jan. 6 Investigators, via The New York Times.
Former Trump Lawyer, Amid Clash With Jan. 6 Committee, Pushing To Decertify 2020 Election, via ABC News.
TRUMPWATCH
Surprise: Trump And His Cronies Are Still Actively Trying To Overturn The 2020 Election, via Vanity Fair.
DOJ Plans To Investigate Boxes Of Records Taken To Trump’s Mar-A-Lago, via The Washington Post.
“This Was Trump Pulling A Putin”
“Amid the current crisis, Fiona Hill and other former advisers are connecting President Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine to Jan. 6,” via The New York Times Magazine.
Trump Machine Spends To Take Down Georgia Governor, via Politico.
Trump Poses A Test Democracy Is Failing, opinion from Thomas Edsall via The New York Times.
Trump COS Mark Meadows Removed From NC Voter Rolls Amid Fraud Investigation, via The Washington Post.
Why Do So Many Still Believe The 2020 Election Was Stolen?
“Since the 2020 election, we have painfully experienced how democracy can be undermined when there is no shared understanding of basic facts and empirical reality,” opinion via The Hill.
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"MUST READ" OF THE WEEK
How Joe Manchin Knifed The Democrats — And Bailed On Saving Democracy
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VOTING RIGHTS & ELECTIONS UNDER FIRE
“A Plot To Destroy Democracy”: Civil Rights Group Raises Alarm At Threats To US Elections, via The Guardian.
A Campaign Is Underway To Suppress The Right To Vote. It Must Be Defeated.
“We cannot afford to get complacent about our own democracy,” via The Chicago Tribune editorial board.
Finding The Same Misinformation In Anti-Voter Lawsuits And Anti-Voter Legislation
A new study finds “that the spurious litigation surrounding the 2020 election and the wave of new restrictive voting bills in 2021 both draw on the same body of misinformation about voter fraud and election integrity,” via The Brennan Center.
Voters With Disabilities Face New Ballot Restrictions Ahead Of Midterms, via Stateline.
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DR. STRANGELOVE HOMAGE OF THE WEEK, PART 1
How The GOP Learned To Stop Worrying And Love “Stolen Election” Claims
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DR. STRANGELOVE HOMAGE OF THE WEEK, PART 2
How Democrats Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Gerrymander
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MONEY, MIDTERMS, & MORE …
2024 Hopefuls Are Already In A Dark Money Arms Race
“At least a dozen potential candidates for president have nonprofit groups that can raise undisclosed money aligned with them,” via Politico.
After Appealing To Con Men, The GOP Now Complains About The Hucksters
“Surely, McConnell cannot be surprised that the party of defeated former president Donald Trump attracts so many disreputable characters that they might impair McConnell’s dream of reclaiming his title of majority leader,” opinion via The Washington Post.
After 2020, A Candidate Conceding An Election Is No Longer A Sure Thing, via National Public Radio.
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