“The central cause of Jan. 6 was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed… None of the events of Jan. 6 would have happened without him.”
December 19th release from the 1/6/21 committee.
“The entire nation knows who is responsible for that day.”
GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) about the December 19th January 6th Committee criminal referral to the DOJ
“These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me. It strengthens me. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger."
Donald Trump post after above referral.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the January 6th Committee’s referral was the relatively muted reaction from leaders of Trump’s own party. They all suspected the very high probability of that criminal referral, but their response to the fully warranted search of Mar-a-Lago was vastly louder and more vituperative. Even as Trump-appointed federal judges handed the ex-president one legal disappointment after another, Trump continued to be that one-note-johnny on a stolen election that was beginning to wear thin on all but his most rabid followers. Holdout and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate, Kari Lake, looked increasingly pathetic as she attempted to snatch a retroactive victory using Trumpian election denial as her “little engine that couldn’t.”
Ron DeSantis, whose policies are even more extreme Trump’s, continued his strategy of not reacting to Donald Trump at any level. He must have tried really hard to repress a broad grin… and secretly be cheering for a DOJ indictment of Trump and his closest allies. No matter Trump’s assumed control of that essential GOP base, the former President’s grip on the party was slip-sliding away. If anything, that muted GOP reaction may have signaled both an end to Trump’s candidacy but likely a strong suggestion to the ever-cautious AG Merrick Garland that indicting Trump was not going to provoke most elected Republicans into continued support for their flailing and failed leader.
As the December 20th The Morning from the New York Times pointed out: “The committee’s findings have already damaged Trump politically. But a pressing question remains: Will Trump face legal repercussions beyond a sternly worded congressional report?
“The answer lies with prosecutors. Justice Department prosecutors, in particular, have been investigating many of the same issues as the congressional committee. Their inquiry is now led by a special counsel, whose team recently issued subpoenas to officials in states where Trump tried to reverse electoral results.
“Criminal referrals, like the ones the Jan. 6 committee approved, are not legally binding. The Justice Department could simply drop the committee’s recommendation in the wastebasket and move on. But lawmakers on Capitol Hill are betting on a different outcome: that by publicly delineating evidence and legal arguments against Trump, they will increase public pressure on prosecutors to act.” The tsunami of evidence was overwhelming and exceptionally well-documented, even as key Trump associates refused to honor subpoenas for their testimony. The recorded statements from Trump himself and his most immediate advisors were in and of themselves stunning evidence. But there was so much more. Hardly the baseless “highly partisan” smear campaign Trump and his MAGA followers tried to sell to the rest of the nation. And definitely not what Trump described as “a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party.” He more than sidelined himself. And… but wait, there’s more.
“Already weakened, Trump is also bracing for the potential release of his tax returns, which he has worked for years to keep out of the public eye. The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday was scheduled to consider the release of six years of Trump’s taxes, as well as those related to his businesses, although it wasn’t immediately clear when any documents might be available to the public.
“Trump’s greatest liability heading into the next presidential election may have little to do with his legal challenges, however. Republicans are increasingly worried about his ability to win… The GOP's concerns about Trump's electability intensified after the November midterm elections, when Trump's hand-picked candidates in several high-profile contests were defeated. The setbacks followed deeper Republican losses in the two previous national elections under Trump's leadership.” Steve Peoples, writing for the December 20th Associated Press. Prepare for MAGA without Trump, until that message too wears thin.
Yet the decreasingly likelihood of Trump’s heretofore uncanny ability to survive stinging and scathing attack has massive ramifications for Joe Biden’s campaign assumptions – that age would not be an issue with two elders battling it out of the 2024 race and that Trump’s egregious behavior would make him the easiest presidential opponent to defeat. Biden would be in his 80s during his entire “next term” if elected, forced to debate a younger, more vigorous foe in front of unflattering television cameras. And exactly how do Trump die-hards keep their political chances alive, when increasingly supporting Trump is viewed as a losing effort?
While the majority of younger voters are drawn by issues near and dear to their hearts – dealing with unaffordable student loans, their future reality stuck with the increasing harshness from climate change, wanting to control their own bodies free from state mandates and restrictions, struggling to understand why school shootings with A-15-like military grade weapons continue to occur, believing that anti-CRT/culture wars are a personal slam to their values of diversity and tolerance, etc., etc. – they are increasingly alienated from the two limited political parties that are charged to represent them. A really old man running against a younger opposition candidate might bring them to create a Democratic groundswell… but that reality just might keep them from the polls altogether.
I’m Peter Dekom, and it seems that Joe Biden will have to face the same question that Dems have applied against the Republicans who placed their partisan desire to get elected above their sworn constitutional duties: my political ambitions or what’s best for my nation?
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