Donald Trump.Photo: James Devaney/GC Images
A federal judge saysDonald Trumplikely broke the law with his actions leading up to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021, saying in a court filing Monday that “it is more likely than not” that the former president “attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress” that day.
In the filing,Judge David Carter wrotethat Trump, 75, and his attorney John Eastman enacted a plan to overturn the election, and justified that plan with allegations of election fraud.
“But President Trump likely knew the justification was baseless, and therefore that the entire plan was unlawful,” Carter wrote.
Elsewhere in the ruling, Carter wrote that Eastman and Trump “launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history. Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower—it was a coup in search of a legal theory. The plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation’s government, led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, and deepened public distrust in our political process.”
Pence did not, insteadreleasing a statementhours before Congress met to certify the election for Joe Biden, informing both the president and the public that he didn’t have the constitutional power — or any intention — to intervene with the country’s vote.
The rest is history, with Trump denouncing Pence’s decision at a rally held near the Capitol that same day, in which he urged his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol building.
Once there, the mob became violent and ransacked the Capitol building, forcing Pence and other lawmakers to bequickly evacuated and placed under lockdown. Some in the pro-Trump mob were heard chanting that they wanted to “hang” Pence. Five people died due to the events of that day.
The news about the federal judge’s ruling comes amid new reports that White House phone logs turned over to thebipartisan congressional committeeinvestigating the riots show aseven-hour gapin the former president’s communications that day.
Woodward and Costa report that the records the committee has accessed show that Trumphad phone conversations throughout the remainder of the day— with at least eight people in the morning and 11 people that night.
In a statement issued in early March, Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said he believes “Eastman’s emails may show that he helped Donald Trump advance a corrupt scheme to obstruct the counting of electoral college ballots and a conspiracy to impede the transfer of power.”
Thompson noted, however, that the select committee “is not conducting a criminal investigation.”
Trump has long maintained the investigation into his conduct around Jan. 6 is politically motivated and he did nothing wrong. The members of the committee, however, aren’t convinced.
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper in December, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger — an anti-Trump Republican serving on the committee — said he wasn’t prepared to say whether he believes the former president committed a crime, but that the House committee should have “a pretty good idea” once its probe is over.
The congressman continued then: “Nobody is above the law. And if the president knowingly allowed what happened on Jan. 6 to happen and, in fact, was giddy about it, and that violates a criminal statute, he needs to be held accountable for that.”
source: people.com
