The Official Legal Brief By The Impeachment managers Has Been Released
This is part of the introduction to the brief.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Trump’s responsibility for the events of January 6 is unmistakable. After losing
the 2020 election, President Trump refused to accept the will of the American people. He spent
months asserting, without evidence, that he won in a “landslide” and that the election was “stolen.”
He amplified these lies at every turn, seeking to convince supporters that they were victims of a
massive electoral conspiracy that threatened the Nation’s continued existence. But every single
court to consider the President’s attacks on the outcome of the election rejected them. And state
and federal officials from both parties refused President Trump’s increasingly desperate demands
that they break the law to keep him in power. With his options running out, President Trump
announced a “Save America Rally” on January 6. He promised it would be “wild.”
.
By the day of the rally, President Trump had spent months using his bully pulpit to insist
that the Joint Session of Congress was the final act of a vast plot to destroy America. As a result—
and as had been widely reported—the crowd was armed, angry, and dangerous. Before President
Trump took the stage, his lawyer called for “trial by combat.” His son warned Republican legislators
against finalizing the election results: “We’re coming for you.” Finally, President Trump appeared
behind a podium bearing the presidential seal. Surveying the tense crowd before him, President
Trump whipped it into a frenzy, exhorting followers to “fight like hell [or] you’re not going to have a
country anymore.” Then he aimed them straight at the Capitol, declaring: “You’ll never take back
our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”
.
Incited by President Trump, his mob attacked the Capitol. This assault unfolded live on
television before a horrified nation. But President Trump did not take swift action to stop the
violence. Instead, while Vice President Pence and Congress fled, and while Capitol Police officers
battled insurrectionists, President Trump was reportedly “delighted” by the mayhem he had
unleashed, because it was preventing Congress from affirming his election loss. This dereliction of
duty—this failure to take charge of a decisive security response and to quell the riotous mob—
persisted late into the day. In fact, when Congressional leaders begged President Trump to send
help, or to urge his supporters to stand down, he instead renewed his attacks on the Vice President
and focused on lobbying Senators to challenge the election results. Only hours after his mob first
breached the Capitol did President Trump release a video statement calling for peace—and even
then, he told the insurrectionists (who were at that very moment rampaging through the Capitol)
“we love you” and “you’re very special.” President Trump then doubled down at 6:01pm, issuing a
tweet that blamed Congress for not surrendering to his demand that the election results be
overturned: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is
so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly
treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”
.
The Nation will indeed remember January 6, 2021—and President Trump’s singular
responsibility for that tragedy. It is impossible to imagine the events of January 6 occurring without
President Trump creating a powder keg, striking a match, and then seeking personal advantage from
the ensuing havoc. In the words of Representative Liz Cheney, the House Republican Conference
Chair: “The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the
flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened
without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the
violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of
his office and his oath to the Constitution.”*1 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently
affirmed that “[t]he mob was fed lies” and “provoked by the president.”*2
.
President Trump committed this high crime and misdemeanor amid his final days in office.
Given the clarity of the evidence and the egregiousness of his wrongdoing, the House approved an
article of impeachment for incitement of insurrection. Now, merely weeks later, President Trump
will argue that it serves no purpose to subject him to a trial and that the Senate lacks jurisdiction to
do so. He is mistaken. As we explain at length below—and as scholars from diverse viewpoints
have long recognized—the text and structure of the Constitution, as well as its original meaning and
prior interpretations by Congress, overwhelmingly demonstrate that a former official remains
subject to trial and conviction for abuses committed in office. Any other rule would make little
sense. The Constitution governs the first day of the President’s term, the last day, and every
moment in between. Presidents do not get a free pass to commit high crimes and misdemeanors
near the end of their term. The Framers of our Constitution feared more than anything a President
who would abuse power to remain in office against the will of the electorate. Allowing Presidents to
subvert elections without consequence would encourage the most dangerous of abuses.
.
For that reason, President Trump’s conduct must be declared unacceptable in the clearest
and most unequivocal terms. This is not a partisan matter. His actions directly threatened the very
foundation on which all other political debates and disagreements unfold. They also threatened the
constitutional system that protects the fundamental freedoms we cherish. It is one thing for an
official to pursue legal processes for contesting election results. It is something else entirely for that
official to incite violence against the government, and to obstruct the finalization of election results,
after judges and election officials conclude that his challenges lack proof and legal merit.
.
To reaffirm our core constitutional principles—and to deter future Presidents from
attempting to subvert our Nation’s elections—the Senate should convict President Trump and
disqualify him from holding or enjoying “any Office or honor, Trust, or Profit under the United
States.”*3 That outcome is not only supported by the facts and the law; it is also the right thing to do.
President Trump has demonstrated beyond doubt that he will resort to any method to maintain or
reassert his grip on power. A President who violently attacks the democratic process has no right to
participate in it. Only after President Trump is held to account for his actions can the Nation move
forward with unity of purpose and commitment to the Constitution. And only then will future
Presidents know that Congress stands vigilant in its defense of our democracy.
Tags
Who is online
65 visitors
I had no luck trying to get this to format properly, so it is what it is.
Are you going to watch this clown show?
[Deleted] What channel?
Oh, great.
Now you have to explain WTF a clown show is.
SMH
For some Trump supporters "clown show" is SELF explanatory.
And some Democrats wouldn't recognize themselves if they stared into a mirror for hours on end.
[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
Is the format better now?
I think this is true, but does it mean incitement to insurrection? The problem with this is that you could say the above about lots of other politicians.
Adam Schiff spent months asserting, without evidence, that Hillary Clinton won in a “landslide” and that the election was “stolen” because Trump and Russia worked together to steal the election. He amplified these lies at every turn, seeking to convince supporters that they were victims of a massive electoral conspiracy that threatened the Nation’s continued existence.
It might be only dumb luck that this didn’t result in violence.
Several politicians have spent years asserting, without evidence, that cops get up in the morning with an agenda to hunt down and harm black people. They amplifiy these lies at every turn, seeking to convince supporters that they are victims of a massive conspiracy that threatens their continued existence.
This has resulted in violence. Quite a bit of it.
This kind of talk happens with all sorts of people and on all sorts of topics. Democrats hate America and want to destroy your jobs. Republicans hate the environment and want to burn the planet. Republicans want to bring back slavery (our current president said that a few years ago!). Then, lunatics get bent out of shape and commit violence. It has been happening for a very long time.
Granted, I think Trump has been a unique case and he certainly bears responsibility for something. But he was also clear that people should be peaceful and orderly. The stated intent was to be heard - specifically by the Vice President and other Republicans so that they would take action in Congress. It was not to scare Democrats or overthrow the government. Getting incitement from those words is kind of hard.
I would love to see all politicians be less inflammatory and engage in less fear-mongering. But you can’t really make them be responsible leaders if it’s not in them to begin with. You have to vote the good people in. Unfortunately, the decent, calm people rarely get elected.
Unfortunately this might not matter although it should matter greatly.
As with all things Trumpian the rig is on. And half of the jury are in on the fix.
Most of the Republican Senators are more concerned about preserving the re-election votes of their base (and Trump's base) than they are with personal principles and integrity, so the result of the trial is already a forgone conclusion. What makes me shake my head is that Trump's/Republican Senators' supporters will accept the fact that they will have sidestepped the actual issue by buying the fiction of lack of Constitutional authority and ignoring the precedent that the POTUS, whomsoever it may be now and in the future, is BEYOND being accountable for inciting insurrection or other such high crimes and misdemeanors, is above the law, and for whom the Rule of Law is nothing but a joke notwithstanding professing otherwise. A great example for the rest of the world to see, and IMO an impediment to dictating to other nations how they must operate.
Perhaps. Except much of that 'base' is unstable, unreliable and harbors dangerous tendencies. I would be very hesitant about placing my future at their whims.
There is something about Trump I can't put my finger on. Unable to comprehend why his deceit is so attractive to some.
The advent of Trump has turned the GOP into an oxymoron. Can't understand why. Unless.....................there is more dirty money than even I have imagined. Hence the GOP's protection of Trump at all cost.
Doowhadna?
And that is the ever present reality of politics Buzz, and that knows no party definition or alliegence it is true in all cases.
ignoring the precedent that the POTUS, whomsoever it may be now and in the future, is BEYOND being accountable
A bit late for that , i would say about 150 years too late Starting with the very first POTUS to be impeached and was along party lines aquitted.
Of course subsequent impeachments that followed didnt help matters . i mean Clintons impeachment for lying didnt go anywhere , it actually seemed to help his re election . Trumps first impeachment was purely politically partisan and done for political gain , just as this one is shaping up to be . and as in the past its all falling to party line deciding on conviction by a simple matter of votes of those present needed.
Impeachment has since the 1860s , and re enforced in the 1990s and now , been relegated to nothing more than a political partisan tool and a mockery of what it was initially conceived to be .
IF i could get rid of one and only one part of the US Constitution , it would be the part about impeachment , and I would make the POTUS subject to arrest for criminal actions even in office , of course the parameters would be that it would take the leaders of both houses of congress , the sec of state and the chief justice to all agree that the arrest and trial is nessisary for the good and security of the country. and the trial should be held by the USSC sitting en banc, to render the verdict.
Trump was removed from office by the electorate. So, in this sense, the impeachment is not being used as intended. On the other hand, this is a case where the PotUS used his vast power of influence (and this power should not be underestimated ...) to convince many of his supporters that their votes were stolen from them and that their president was illegally removed from office. This was done even after the full scrutiny of the US system of elections was exercised: recounts, litigation, etc.
Trump's claims were found to be bullshit. Yet he persisted with his election fraud lies even after his supporters stormed the Capitol.
The facts are clear and the evidence seems very strong to me. A PotUS should not get away with such abuse of power and punishment for same should not be obviated simply because he is out of office.
While I do not see impeachment as the best way to deal with this (using the criminal justice system seems to be the proper approach), I would support a conviction by the Senate based on the facts of which I am currently aware.
Unfortunately this impeachment process proper is a waste of time. The Rs are beholding to the electorate and too many in the electorate are not interested in pursuing this. Maybe if Trump was still in office they would see more support. But as it stands, the R senators are following their constituents (seems to me) and are against this second impeachment. It is the electorate who is mostly in control here ... not the R senators.
Hopefully the Senate (or Congress in general) will, after the predictable failure to convict, vote to make it impossible for Trump to hold office under the 14th and that such an action holds up to constitutional scrutiny (they have the power to enforce but do they have the power to ascertain guilt of insurrection / rebellion?).
After that, I would be in favor of legal action taken against Trump in a court of law. It is incredibly dangerous for this country to allow one person (the PotUS) to have so much unchecked influence over the people in this nation. The PotUS must carefully choose his/her words and must always have the 'unimpeachable' optics (and facts) of absolutely upholding the oath of office.
Trump set yet another horrible precedent and it must be dealt with.
Some good news. The Georgia Secretary of State has opened an investigation into Trump's attempt to overturn the Georgia election results, which could lead to a criminal investigation. We can only hope that justice will be served.
That would still leave open a question , the question of if a conviction is needed to invoke the said parts of the 14th, I guess we shall see what precedent is set and where it goes after .
One sure thing about politics , there are always skeletons in closets no one wants to see the light of day .
Yeah that is what I referred to with "(they have the power to enforce but do they have the power to ascertain guilt of insurrection / rebellion?)". I can see constitutional objections being raised ... not cut & dried like going through the legal system.
Im remembering that the 14th is a reconstruction era amendment, and those it was intended to be used against at that time , actually formented in public cut and dried declarations to commit treason and rebel against the standing union , I think this situation is going to be a lot harder to prove in a court of law .
One also has to remember that this amendment didnt stop the former VP of the Confederacy from serving as a member of the house of reps after the war .
Thing is, this situation is replete with nuances and new ground. Seems to me this will not be resolved without a lot of constitutional gnashing of teeth.
I'mmmmm going to tend to agree wholeheartedly , no one is going to be happy whatever the outcome in my estimation.
I see it as political kubuki theater where a bunch of monkeys are all chasing their tails around . fixiated on the tail alone , not seeing that the object is about to pass gas in their face.
or as i tell my grandkids , dont pull grampas finger.....