January 6 panel focuses on Trump’s guilt as hearings begin

Commission investigating insurrection to present unpublished material 2:21 (CNN) — With public hearings beginning this week, the House select committee investigating January 6 is focusing on former President Donald Trump, and is he is preparing to use his platform to argue that he was responsible for gross abuses of power that nearly endangered American democracy. The commission’s central mission has been to uncover the full extent of Trump’s unprecedented attempt to stop the transfer of power to President Joe Biden. This includes Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 loss by lobbying state and federal officials, and what commission members say was his “departure” on January 6 as his supporters looted the United States Capitol. Lawmakers will try to convict Trump in the court of public opinion, which is all they can do, because it is not within their purview to actually impeach Trump. But they have an emerging legal basis for claiming that Trump broke the law, thanks to a landmark court ruling by a federal judge who said Trump was “most likely” to have committed crimes in connection with Jan. 6. These highly choreographed hearings will be the panel’s first opportunity to show the public what they have learned from more than 1,000 witness interviews and 135,000 documents. A flood of new information about January 6 has come to light since Trump’s impeachment trial in February 2021, where he was acquitted on one charge of “inciting insurrection.” “We are going to tell the story of a conspiracy to nullify the 2020 presidential election and block the transfer of power,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who sits on the commission, told The Washington Post earlier this week. and added that he “has found evidence of concerted planning and premeditated activity” related to the events of January 6. Here’s a breakdown of what the panel — and the press — unearthed about Trump’s leading role in the anti-democratic scheme, and how it all fits into the ongoing criminal investigations. Proud Boys leader will remain in jail 2:58 Trump’s election subversion ahead of January 6 The commission has interviewed officials in Michigan and Georgia, among other states, where Trump unsuccessfully tried to cajole local officials into overturning Biden’s votes and name him the winner. Trump also tried to enlist top Justice Department officials to help him in these efforts. Lawmakers have also dug into the “false voter” scheme led by Trump campaign officials in an attempt to undermine the Electoral College process in December 2020. Congressional investigators have obtained hundreds of emails from right-wing attorney John Eastman, who directly advised Trump to pursue legally dubious methods to stay in office. This included a plan for then-Vice President Mike Pence to throw the election at Trump on January 6 while presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify Biden’s victory in the Electoral College. In another victory for the commission, the judge in Eastman’s civil case said Tuesday that the potentially criminal scheme between Trump and Eastman to obstruct Electoral College proceedings was formed in December 2020, weeks earlier than previously established. The ruling paves the way for the panel to obtain additional emails that Eastman tried to keep secret. Trump and his allies went ahead with these efforts, promoting the “Big Lie,” even after being told by top officials, including then-Attorney General Bill Barr, that the election results were legitimate and that he had lost. . Even Eastman acknowledged in emails at the time that his plans were not legally sound. Lawmakers have said this suggests Trump had a corrupt state of mind. “The data is going to be compelling from the commission,” former Rep. Denver Riggleman, who was a Republican adviser to the commission, said on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360°” last week. “I think it’s up to the American people, after that comes out, to come up — using facts, not fantasy or opinion — at what the culpability of the president and the people around him is.” Trump, Eastman and the other GOP figures involved have denied any wrongdoing. Trump spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Trump’s resignation during the Capitol riots Once Trump failed to prevent states from certifying his results, he began to focus on January 6 as his last chance to cling to power. The events of that tragic day are well known, but the panel is going to try to drive home a clear narrative of the chaos: Trump knew his supporters could turn violent, but he goaded them on anyway, and he was remiss when he didn’t try to stop the violence. “They were warned that January 6 could and probably would turn violent,” Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the panel’s Republican vice chair, said at a commission hearing in March. Pence’s staff was so concerned before Jan. 6 that they warned the US Secret Service that Trump could stoke violence against him, because he was unwilling to overturn the election, according to The New York Times. (The Secret Service has since claimed that it is “unaware” that such a conversation took place.) Some of Pence’s top aides, who have cooperated with the commission’s investigation, could be called as witnesses during the public hearings. Leading Republican officials and right-wing media figures knew in real time that only Trump could stop the mob and end the deadly carnage on Capitol Hill, according to text messages these Trump allies sent to the chief of staff. Trump’s cabinet, Mark Meadows, on January 6. CNN obtained the texts from him after he partially complied with a subpoena to deliver the messages. Despite those pleas, according to committee members, Trump spent 187 minutes during the riot watching television and working on phones, apparently pleased with how his supporters were fighting for him on Capitol Hill. He reacted approvingly when he learned that some of the rioters were chanting “hang Mike Pence,” according to testimony the panel obtained from a Meadows adviser. To focus on those crucial hours inside the White House, the panel interviewed people who were there with Trump that day, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Video clips of his remarks are likely to be played at public hearings for the first time, which are just some of the never-before-seen details lawmakers have teased. Former Trump adviser held in contempt before January 6 Commission 5:34 Trump under criminal investigation in Georgia Georgia election, in which Trump falsely claimed the election was rigged and begged him to “find” enough votes to let him win. The explosive call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was serious enough to trigger a criminal investigation by Atlanta state prosecutors. That city’s district attorney has convened a special grand jury and begun issuing subpoenas, and has expanded the investigation to also look into the “false voters” plot to subvert the results in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, has said she is not following a political timetable with her investigation and that she will follow events wherever they lead. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. The investigation is considered one of the most serious legal threats to Trump. Will the Justice Department investigation reach Trump? Federal investigators have feverishly rounded up more than 800 suspected rioters, making arrests in nearly every state. But the question remains (especially among Democrats): Will the Justice Department go for Trump? There are some signs that prosecutors are moving up the food chain. FBI agents interviewed Republicans from Michigan and Georgia who were involved in the “false voters” plot, bringing the investigation a step closer to Trump’s orbit. The Justice Department is questioning witnesses about the role of Eastman and former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, according to The New York Times. Federal grand jury subpoenas have been issued for at least one figure who planned the pro-Trump rallies in Washington on January 6. The organizer, Ali Alexander, says that he is complying. The investigators’ interest in Alexander shows that they are not just looking for the troublemakers themselves. Separately, the Justice Department has charged former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying the commission’s subpoenas. (They maintain their innocence.) Prosecutors declined to charge Meadows and another top Trump White House aide, Dan Scavino, who argued executive privilege protected them from having to testify. It’s unclear how far the Justice Department will go to investigate Trump. Attorney General Merrick Garland said he is “committed to holding all perpetrators of January 6, at any level, accountable under the law,” but many legal analysts have expressed skepticism that he will go after Trump, based on the slow pace of the investigation and the challenges of impeaching a former president.