I drove my daughter to her evening class because the weather was sketchy with freezing rain already coming down. I took my just-delivered J6 Report, a pen, and a notepad, and went to a Tim's near the university and enjoyed surveying the contents of the report for a few hours, with a coffee in hand.
What caught my eye as I skimmed through the opening pages written by Rep. Thompson and Rep. Cheney, was a text message from Don jr. to Mark Meadows before J6 indicating that they (Trump team) knew they lost, but that they had developed multiple pathways to retaining power, and they (the inner circle of advisors and family) controlled all of them. The book went on to document the EIGHT different plans...EIGHT! Some were the legal challenges to throw at the courts, from state courts to the US Supreme Court, challenges that would eventually work their way through the system and end up tossed from lack of standing or evidence (so this was really was a delay strategy to buy more time to get the other paths set up and rolling). And then there were the "criminal-liability" ones, such as the call to Georgia, the spreading of the Big Lie, fund-raising using the Big Lie, pressuring DOJ and appointing interim supporters in various departments throughout the judiciary and military.
The bottom line, after my 2 hours of surfing the contents, was the overwhelming detailed evidence of Trump's intention, from well before the 2020 election, to NEVER LEAVE OFFICE. And that is where the criminality begins: with his provable "intention" to continue his presidency. He was asked, before the election if he lost 2020, would he follow the normal precedence of a peaceful transition. He replied that he wouldn't lose and that there would be No Transition, but a "maintaining". WHAT?? (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/us/politics/trump-power-transfer-2020-election.html)
It was nice to see everything we watched on TV, now presented and preserved in the black and white of ink on paper, and to be able to read, think, re-read, jot some notes, think some more, and wonder how this was ever allowed to play out in the US. People around Trump knew what he was doing, but so few really stood up to him and stopped him. That is worrisome (especially as Bolsonaro tries the same tactic in Brazil, apparently invoking the Bannon strategy - https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/supporters-brazils-bolsonaro-engage-post-election-unrest-2023-01-09 )
One of the other stories in black and white is how many of Trump's inner circle pleaded the 5th! A stunning "adverse inference" (see Note 1 below) all around Trump. As well, so many replied, "I don't recall" when asked, so they could escape the accusation that they took the 5th. A whole series of questions with, "I don't recall" - hundreds of them.
Although I'm just surfing the book at this point, I will post my impressions of the material as I wade into this vast repository of the material the January 6th Committee gathered over the past nearly 2 years.
Note 1: "When an individual takes the Fifth, her silence or refusal to answer questions cannot be used against her in a criminal case. A prosecutor cannot argue to the jury that the defendant’s silence implies guilt. And prosecutors typically cannot even call a witness before the grand jury if the prosecutor knows the witness will invoke the Fifth Amendment.
But taking the Fifth can have severe consequences nonetheless. In a civil case or a civil enforcement action, the judge or jury can draw an adverse inference to support liability when the defendant invokes the Fifth Amendment. " - from https://www.mololamken.com/knowledge-What-Does-It-Really-Mean-To-Take-the-Fifth
Note 2: A pdf version of the report is available online here :https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report?path=/gpo/January%206th%20Committee%20Final%20Report%20and%20Supporting%20Materials%20Collection/Final%20Report
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