US: 6 January 2021 riot at the Capitol and 2020 election probe - Latest: Supreme Court declines to fast-track Trump immunity case

Controversial: Politics & Govt Politics & Govt: In The News
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Former US President Donald Trump has said he expects to be arrested by a federal investigation into the 6 January 2021 riot at the Capitol and efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. Mr Trump posted that he was told to report to a grand jury, “which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment”.

In a social media post, he said he was informed by special counsel Jack Smith on Sunday night that he is a target of their inquiry. The special counsel did not immediately respond to media inquiries.

Such an indictment would be Mr Trump’s third for alleged criminal offences, including charges brought by Mr Smith’s team in June accusing the president of mishandling classified documents.

Mr Trump has also been charged in New York with falsifying business records related to 2016 hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He is due to stand trial in this case next March, while a date for the classified document’s case is still being contested by the president’s lawyers.

Mr Smith was appointed special counsel by US Attorney General Merrick Garland shortly after Mr Trump announced his presidential campaign last autumn. His team was tasked with investigating Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency and of managing a sprawling federal investigation into the 6 January Capitol attack and attempts by Mr Trump and his advisers to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Mr Smith’s investigation into 6 January has involved interviews with dozens of top Trump administration officials and advisers, including former Vice-President Mike Pence and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as well as state officials who have said that Mr Trump pressured them to discard the results of the 2020 election.

The special counsel’s office has not discussed what specific criminal violations they are considering, but Mr Garland tasked him with investigating efforts to “interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote”.

Of course, Trump may be exaggerating … :man_shrugging:

I hope not … :wink:

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It’s impossible for him to tell the truth.

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Donald Trump faced a deadline of midnight on Thursday to say if he would appear before a Washington grand jury convened by the special counsel Jack Smith to consider federal charges over his election subversion and incitement of the attack on Congress on 6 January 2021.

Late on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter, the Guardian reported that prosecutors had assembled evidence to charge Trump with three crimes.

They were:

  • obstruction of an official proceeding
  • conspiracy to defraud the United States
  • conspire to violate civil rights.

Obstruction of an official proceeding is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Conspiracy to defraud the United States carries a maximum 5-year sentence. The civil rights charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

By Thursday afternoon, all indications were that Trump would not agree to testify.

Former President Donald Trump shared a menacing new video on his Truth Social account on Thursday in which he promises to “do things that have never been done before” to people who “f*** around with us.”

The video, produced by MAGA.com, features audio of the former president’s appearance on the late Rush Limbaugh’s radio show three years ago. During that appearance, Mr Trump was discussing Iran. Now, with Mr Trump set to face another federal indictment over his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, the audio has been repurposed.

The nine-second video features a close-up, black and white image of Mr Trump’s face set to ominous music and Mr Trump saying, “If you f%^& around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before.”

Trump is obviously off his rocker … :man_shrugging:

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Breaking:

Trump charged with four counts over 2020 election

On Tuesday, special counsel Jack Smith’s office unsealed new charges brought against Donald Trump.

  • Trump has been charged with four counts after a grand jury examined his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result
  • Charges include three counts of conspiracy and an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding
  • The indictment alleges Trump “knowingly” told lies to subvert the 2020 election results against the advice of his own appointees
  • Trump has been summoned to appear in court on Thursday in Washington DC before a judge
  • Special counsel Jack Smith, whose office already has brought charges against Trump over alleged mishandling of classified documents in Florida, said he will seek a “speedy trial”
  • The indictment also lists six unnamed co-conspirators who allegedly helped Trump spread his false claims
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Here are the main legal cases the former US president is involved in.

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Former US President Donald Trump is accused of four counts including conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The indictment caps an inquiry into events surrounding the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

The election investigation has focused on Mr Trump’s actions in the two-month period between his loss to Joe Biden and the riot in Washington DC, where his supporters stormed Congress as lawmakers certified the Democrat’s victory.

The 45-page indictment lists six unnamed co-conspirators: four lawyers, a justice department official and a political consultant.

The court document accuses Mr Trump of a “conspiracy to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function through dishonesty, fraud and deceit”.

The indictment also lists the numerous US officials and senior Trump campaign workers who, it says, informed the outgoing president that he had lost and that there was no evidence of voter fraud.

No punches pulled in the accusation, then … :neutral_face:

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I can’t believe people fall for this stuff…Biden and his son Hunter, make Trump look like santa claus…Why aren’t they taken to task?

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Former US President Donald Trump will be formally charged at a court hearing on Thursday on charges of plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

On the eve of the arraignment he slammed the case as proof of the “corruption, scandal, & failure” of the US under Joe Biden’s presidency.

Mr Trump, 77, is due to appear at a federal courthouse in Washington DC on Thursday at 16:00 EDT (20:00 GMT). He is expected to plead not guilty. Although he has the option of appearing remotely via video feed, it is understood he will attend in person.

In the indictment unsealed on Tuesday, he faces four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The deprivation of rights statute was enacted in the aftermath of the US Civil War to provide legal protections for freed slaves as they integrated into society.

The charge was key to a 1967 trial of Ku Klux Klan members that inspired the 1988 film Mississippi Burning. Legal analysts say it has been included in the case against Mr Trump because his alleged efforts to subvert the vote targeted urban areas with large populations of African-American voters.

Mr Trump’s lawyers have hinted at their defence strategy.

Attorney John Lauro appeared on NBC’s Today show on Wednesday and said he planned to argue that Mr Trump was protected by the right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Until this evening … :069:

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I’ve a feeling all this is only going to increase his support.

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Bill Barr says Donald Trump ‘knew well he lost the election’

Former US attorney general Bill Barr, who was appointed by the former president, said that Mr Trump “knew well he lost the election”.

Trump lawyer John Lauro has called the indictment an attack on free speech and said: “There’s nothing more protected under the First Amendment [the right to free speech] than political speech.”

But Mr Barr, who quit the top job in the US legal system shortly after Joe Biden won that election in November 2020, said this defence argument is not valid.

“They are not attacking his First Amendment right. He can say whatever he wants, he can even lie. He can even tell people that the election was stolen when he knew better,” Mr Barr told CNN. “But that does not protect you from entering into a conspiracy.”

He added that the former president’s alleged actions, as outlined in the indictment, are “nauseating” and “despicable”.

Quite … :+1:

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Donald Trump has left his home in Bedminster, New Jersey and is travelling inside a black SUV, which is part of a small motorcade making its way to the airport. He will then fly to Washington DC, where he has been summoned to appear in court at 16:00 ET (21:00 BST).

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Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election result, culminating in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol building.

Prosecutors said the 2021 attack on Congress by Trump supporters was “an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy” that was “fuelled by lies” from the former president.

The indictment alleged Trump and his Republican allies repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the November 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. It is also alleged Trump pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

Before entering his plea Trump answered basic questions from the judge and was informed of the charges against him and the potential penalties.

US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya set the next hearing for 28 August, just days after the first debate in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But she said Trump would not be required to attend.

Speaking after his court appearance and before bearing his plane back to New Jersey, he said: “This is a very sad day for America. When you look at what is happening this is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America. This is a persecution of a person that is leading by very very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden a lot. So if you can’t beat him you persecute him or you prosecute him, we can’t let this happen in America.”

Trump’s legal team is characterising his 45-page indictment in the special counsel’s 2020 election interference investigation as an attack on the former president’s right to free speech.

Special counsel Jack Smith and his team appear to have anticipated the First Amendment line of defence, conceding head-on in their indictment Mr Trump had the right to falsely claim that fraud had cost him the election and to legally challenge the results. But they also said his conduct and that of his “co-conspirators” he’s alleged to have plotted with - who have not been named as they have not been charged with any crimes - went far beyond speech.

Seemingly, Trump has no real defence against the charges - his sole contention is that he had the right to say anything, which is true. However, “conspiring” with others to propagate views which he knew to be lies in order to satisfy his own political ends is illegal.

Speaking outside the court earlier, Trump’s legal spokesperson Alina Habba said: “This is election interference at its finest, against the leading candidate for president, from either party. President Trump is under siege in a way that we have never seen before. Donald Trump and his legal team, and everyone on his team, will continue to fight - not for him, but for the American people.”

Again, no real legal defence just a dramatic accusation of political chicanery intended to impress the mugs of MAGA … :man_shrugging:

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Trying to distract and use political excuses (Biden’s investigation) is a totally different issue.
Trump has total disregard for our Constitution, rights set by our forefathers, and set an insurrection in play, hoping to destroy a peaceful transfer of power because he could not accept what the Legal voters decided. He only cares for himself and his laughable ego, not one morsel of a thought to the oath he took to abide by and uphold the laws of our land.
He isn’t fit to hold a secret recipe, let alone papers of national security.
Time in the near future will make us a nation to be proud of once again, when this idiot is in prison.

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And yet he is by far the most popular GOP candidate for the Presidency.

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But at a court hearing in the nation’s capital, the former US president found himself fidgeting in his seat while he waited 20 minutes for the judge to arrive.

In the meantime, he also stole furtive glances at Special Counsel Jack Smith, the prosecutor who has now indicted him in two separate federal cases.

In recent days, Mr Trump has raged on social media against what he calls a continuing “witch hunt” led by a “deranged” and “wild” Mr Smith.

But in the courtroom, he had to stay silent.

More here:

For four years, Trump would enter rooms to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and everyone would rise to their feet. Now the power dynamics were reversed: at the cry of “All rise!”, it was he who was forced to stand.

Long accused of sexism, racism and xenophobia, he had to defer to magistrate judge Moxila Upadhyaya, a woman born in Gujarat, India. His future trial will be overseen by Judge Tanya Chutkan, a woman born in Kingston, Jamaica, and appointed to the bench by Barack Obama. Upadhyaya made Trump stew by arriving about 15min late.

The days when he could push a red button in the Oval Office to order a Diet Coke on a silver platter were long gone. The mouth that summoned armies of supporters to the nearby Capitol on January 6, or that delivers bellicose speeches at campaign rallies, was silenced. When Upadhyaya, firm but courteous, took her seat, she called him “Mr Trump” rather than “President Trump” – a citizen, no more and no less.

In court, the judge rules … :face_with_monocle:

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This is going to be interesting. To any normally informed person Trump is clearly a charlatan and was intent on overturning a legal vote for his opponent. He tried so many ways to do this, culminating in trying to force Pence to not process the confirmation of the election. Which itself resulted in the rioting on 6 January and the trashing of the Capitol by these rioters. And given half a chance these violent insurrectionists would have gone further if they’d got hold of Pence or Pelosi. All because they were stoked up the inflammatory rhetoric of Trump and his cronies.
Whilst this is obviously a damning of Trump it is even more damning of the Republican party who have, largely, endorsed Trump and failed to dump him as they should.

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Yes and ALL for the WRONG reasons.

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oh the irony of it all - sweet sweet Jesus calls in the name of democracy no matter how beaten up at times - rule by the people [all the people] ; for the people ; with the people. This has gotta be one of the most perfect examples of democracy rules and wins [ all fingers crossed] and autocracy and thugism doesn’t - It is not just a message to America but to the entire world - free thinking or not!

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Extracts:

Frederick Trump raised his children, one in particular, to believe that the world was divided into winners and losers and that there was no greater crime than to fall into the latter category. In 2020, Donald Trump was ready to bring down the American republic rather than admit before the shade of his dead father that he had lost a presidential election.

Trump never hid who he was or what he intended. In 2016, he refused to say whether he would accept the outcome of the election he fought against Hillary Clinton: “I’ll keep you in suspense,” he said, and he was similarly coy four years later.

Nor did he conceal his belief that his seat in the Oval Office put him above the law. Referring to the second article of the US constitution, he told an audience of teenagers in 2019, “I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.”

As for the impunity granted to him by his supporters, who give him more cash every time another felony charge lands, that too was foretold – by Trump himself. Back in January 2016, he predicted that he could stand on Fifth Avenue and “shoot somebody” and he would not lose any voters.

While Trump claims to be the victim of political persecution, the truth is that it would have been an intensely political decision not to pursue him, especially when more than 1,000 of his devotees have been charged for storming the Capitol on 6 January 2021. If they can be prosecuted for seeking to overturn the 2020 election, why can’t he?

Perhaps the central principle at stake here is that there is such a thing as the truth. Trump has challenged that notion from the very start. The former president spread specific lies claiming decisive electoral fraud in key states – as the indictment memorably puts it, “These claims were false, and the defendant knew that they were false” – in order to construct the big lie of a stolen election. He built an alternative reality on that lie that persists to this day – a reality made up, incidentally, of the kind of “alternative facts” to which we were introduced within hours of his taking office. That episode related to the seemingly trivial matter of the size of his inauguration crowd. But it established Trump’s post-truth position: that there are no commonly accepted facts – not even those you can see with your own eyes – only claim and counter-claim. In a blizzard of competing claims, the blinded citizen can either retreat, confused, or else be guided by the leader who kindly tells them what is true and what is not.

Up until now, Trump has succeeded in persuading half the country that they cannot trust awkward, discomforting facts, including those uncovered by federal investigators, because all such people – FBI agents, judges – are tools of the deep state. Every morsel of evidence can be dismissed as the handiwork of the “globalists and communists” who constitute America’s “corrupt ruling class”.

I am uncomfortably reminded of the strategy and tactics of former and existing fascist dictators … :scream:

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if they can’t bring him down this time they never will and i wash my hands of the good old U of SA!!