This past Thursday was the first in a series of primetime hearings investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol. As the select committee began telling the story of January 6th to the American people, we were met with gruesome, never-before-seen footage of the insurrection, videoed interviews with members of former President Trump’s inner circle, and witness testimony from both a U.S. Capitol Police Officer who was injured during the riot as well as from a filmmaker who spent January 6th following the Proud Boys.
As the New York Times reports, given that Democrats are preparing for big losses in the upcoming midterm election, these hearings, commencing only five months beforehand, are politically critical. This is THE opportunity to convince voters to hold Republicans responsible for their role in Trump’s destructive effort to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election.
Republicans, on the contrary, intend to defend Trump during the hearings, but are nearly incapable of coming to a consensus as to how best to do so. As NBC News reports, one faction is insistent on ignoring the hearings and trying to redirect focus to blaming President Biden and Democrats for inflation and high gas prices. Another faction plans to use conservative media to publicly refute anything discovered during the hearings. For example, according to NBC News, “House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York and two leaders of the far-right Freedom Caucus… scheduled a conference call with conservative media outlets on what they called ‘Democrats’ prime-time political witch hunt hearing’ and ‘[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi’s sham committee’.”
So, a 10-month investigation, producing thousands of interviews and documents, essentially amounts to a Democratic campaign strategy? I highly doubt it.
Rather, as former federal prosecutor Danya Perry told VOA News, “[Liz] Cheney’s remarks actually read very much like a prosecutorial opening argument.” Perry, along with multiple other former federal prosecutors, believe this to be a road map for the criminal prosecution of the former president— trying not only to reach the American people, but U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland too.
Some, such as Neal K. Katyal, former acting solicitor general under President Obama, actually believe criminal prosecution could be possible. Katyal told the New York Times, “A crime requires two things — a bad act and criminal intent.” Considering testimony that Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, assured Trump there was no voter fraud and given Trump’s refusal to act while his supporters attacked the Capitol, Katyal says the committee has addressed both requirements.
However, prosecuting a former president would prove to be anything but that simple.
Click here to see the January 6th Hearings scheduled dates and livestream link.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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