Rant 699: Takeaways from the January 6 Committee Hearings

Now that round one of the hearings probing the attempted coup d’état at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 has concluded, here is what we have learned…and some impressions:

1. It is striking that the witnesses that testified before the committee were almost all Republicans. That alone should depoliticize the enterprise.
2. Sadly, the MAGA-verse is not watching or listening, so it is unlikely that any hard-core minds will change.
3. Donald Trump’s criminality makes Richard Nixon’s depredations seem like minor infractions. Trump abused his office to an unprecedented extent. Thanks to him, people died. He is without question the arch-criminal of all of American history.
4. The hearings have thus far exceeded expectations and established a prima facie case for indicting and convicting the criminal ex-president. The vision of him shackled in an orange jumpsuit became much sharper.
5. Trump merits having the full force of the law brought down on his head. However, there is a caveat. While there is little question that he is guilty beyond any doubt of high treason, indicting him for his many crimes carries with it a very high risk. All it would take is for one juror to deny the government a conviction. In that case, Trump would undoubtedly claim vindication, just as he did after the damning Mueller Report and two impeachment trials, and exploit this latest escape from justice to rile up his base and return to the White House, a horror beyond imagining. Once there, a second Trump term would be the end of America as we know it.
6. The best outcome might be something less than a full-blown criminal procedure. Applying Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits those who had “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same [United States], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from serving in the government. This humiliation might satisfy the demand for accountability without running the risk of a less than guilty trial verdict.
7. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Trump criminal investigation being conducte4 by Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, is far ahead of whatever investigation the Justice Department is doing. Moreover, Georgia law regarding Trump’s criminal conduct is far more flexible than federal law. In addition, the Georgia case appears to be a slam-dunk since its core evidence is the recording of Trump’s coercive phone call to the Georgia Secretary of State in which he intimidates, threatens and pleads with his listeners to “find” him just enough votes to reverse the election result. If anything, the evidence uncovered by the Jan. 6 Committee makes Georgia’s case even stronger.
8. The so-called “heroes” of the hearings–former White House staffers who testified as to Trump’s efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power that for 200-plus years stood as the hallmark of American democracy–are not heroes at all. Instead of keeping quiet about Trump’s criminality for 18 months, true heroes would have come forward at the time of Trump’s criminal conspiracy and gone public, warning us of the threat.
9. Liz Cheney deserves our admiration for her willingness to sacrifice a promising political career in the interests of preserving democracy and the rule of law. She is a true profile in courage, alas one of the only Republican counterweights offsetting the craven cowards who lead her party.
10. Speaking of craven cowards, perhaps the most sublime moment of the hearings was the slow-motion video of Sen. Josh Hawley, he of the raised fist pump intended to rile up the rioters, running for his life, tail between his legs, when the insurrectionists got too close for comfort. Amazing that someone without a spine could run that fast.
11. It is difficult for normal people to understand how sick Trump is psychologically. Even more bizarre is that his pathology is so attractive to his devotees. His behavior shows that he is a sociopath and a malignant narcissist immune to any moral high ground.

 
The January 6 Committee is far from done with its investigation. Stay tuned for additional revelations that further our demand for justice and accountability.
 
Dick Hermann
July 30, 2022

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