Posted on Jun 18, 2022
Three new questions for the 6 January committee
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"The select committee investigating the Capitol riot on January 6 spent its first prime time hearing last week trying to convey the stakes to the American public, mostly by illustrating just how dangerous and deadly the riot was. But the second week of committee hearings has mostly focused on how the Trump administration pushed the “Big Lie” – first the effort to sell it to the American public, and then the campaign by Donald Trump and certain of his lieutenants to force then-vice president Mike Pence into overturning the 2020 election results in Congress on 6 January.
Yesterday’s session showed how Mr Trump’s legal team, led by attorney John Eastman, tried to force the vice president to subvert the election results on 6 January and remarked that “there’s been violence in the history of our country to protect the democracy or protect the republic”.
It was a seismic and harrowing hearing, and spelled out Mr Eastman’s machinations in stunning detail. But the committee is now entering new territory: the Department of Justice has criticized the committee for not delivering witness transcripts, and the panel has said it wants Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to testify".
Yesterday’s session showed how Mr Trump’s legal team, led by attorney John Eastman, tried to force the vice president to subvert the election results on 6 January and remarked that “there’s been violence in the history of our country to protect the democracy or protect the republic”.
It was a seismic and harrowing hearing, and spelled out Mr Eastman’s machinations in stunning detail. But the committee is now entering new territory: the Department of Justice has criticized the committee for not delivering witness transcripts, and the panel has said it wants Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to testify".
Three new questions for the 6 January committee
Posted from independent.co.uk
Election 2020
Donald Trump
Riots
Washington
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 1
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Why did Eastman think he needed a pardon? During last week’s hearing, Vice Chair Liz Cheney revealed that Republican members of Congress (including Representative Scott Perry) had sought pardons for their actions on 6 January. On Thursday, it was revealed that Mr Eastman, who argued that Mr Pence had the authority to overturn the election results and authored the memo laying out the roadmap, had emailed Mr Giuliani and said he “should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works”.
The request came after Greg Jacob, Mr Pence’s chief counsel and one of yesterday’s key witnesses, sent an email to him declaring that “thanks to your bulls**t, we are now under siege” – and after White House lawyer Eric Herschmann told Mr Eastman to “get a great f**king criminal defense lawyer, you’re going to need it”.
Mr Eastman’s request raises three questions: Why did he think he needed a pardon? When did he realize he might need one? What crimes did he worry he might have committed? And does the Justice Department also think he might have broken the law?
Representative Jamie Raskin, a member of the committee and a constitutional lawyer, responded to a question from your dispatcher about this in the scrum after the hearing.
“That’s not a criminal act in itself,” Mr Raskin said about Mr Eastman seeking a pardon. “The question is whether that is indicative of his consciousness of guilt or his fear of prosecution based on all of the actions he had taken in conjunction with Donald Trump. And I think those are all legitimate questions and they certainly bear more factual inquiry.”
..."Why did Eastman think he needed a pardon? During last week’s hearing, Vice Chair Liz Cheney revealed that Republican members of Congress (including Representative Scott Perry) had sought pardons for their actions on 6 January. On Thursday, it was revealed that Mr Eastman, who argued that Mr Pence had the authority to overturn the election results and authored the memo laying out the roadmap, had emailed Mr Giuliani and said he “should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works”.
The request came after Greg Jacob, Mr Pence’s chief counsel and one of yesterday’s key witnesses, sent an email to him declaring that “thanks to your bulls**t, we are now under siege” – and after White House lawyer Eric Herschmann told Mr Eastman to “get a great f**king criminal defense lawyer, you’re going to need it”.
Mr Eastman’s request raises three questions: Why did he think he needed a pardon? When did he realize he might need one? What crimes did he worry he might have committed? And does the Justice Department also think he might have broken the law?
Representative Jamie Raskin, a member of the committee and a constitutional lawyer, responded to a question from your dispatcher about this in the scrum after the hearing.
“That’s not a criminal act in itself,” Mr Raskin said about Mr Eastman seeking a pardon. “The question is whether that is indicative of his consciousness of guilt or his fear of prosecution based on all of the actions he had taken in conjunction with Donald Trump. And I think those are all legitimate questions and they certainly bear more factual inquiry.”
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