The aggressive approach of the House January 6 committee to demand accountability from former President Donald Trump, on full display this week, could set up an alternative for Attorney General Merrick Garland that would trigger a legal and political storm.
In a stream of legal filings, subpoenas, contempt referrals and hundreds of interviews, the panel has built an investigation that is wide-ranging and seems certain to expose the behind-the-scenes tricks that have led to the worst impact on American democracy. Bad attack. generations.
In a new stake this week, the committee argued with a judge in a case related to the investigation that Trump and a conservative lawyer were part of a "criminal conspiracy" to try to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. The court filing sparked political intrigue over whether the former president could eventually face a jury on the rebellion. Then, in a fresh sign of its hard work, the committee on Thursday targeted Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancee, Kimberly Gilfoy with a subpoena. A public hearing set to expose Trump's conspiracy against the Constitution is expected to begin next month. And given what is known about the evidence already collected by the committee, a scathing final report slamming Trump's attempt to stay in power in defiance of the will of the people seems reassuring.
Yet the committee faces fundamental challenges. First, it has no power to criminally charge itself. Second, it is almost certainly living on borrowed time. Pro-Trump Republicans have vowed to shut it down if the GOP wins back the House in November's elections. And American public opinion is so polarized about Trump that a shocking report detailing authoritarian authoritarianism by the former president - and potential 2024 Republican nominee - is unlikely to move the political needle much. And any attempt to trigger a change in law to prevent a repeat of the rebellion would come against the ticking political clock in which Senate Republicans would be able to replay the filibuster to stop the measures they oppose. But if the panel were to successfully convince the Justice Department that it was appropriate to prosecute Trump or his acolytes, it could do its job and force Trump to face elusive accountability, even if a new Republican House majority holds its own. terminate the mandate.
Still, the committee has limited ability to enforce the accountability that Trump has long abandoned in politics, business and life.
Indeed, Trump secured at least temporary relief on a different front in New York on Thursday. Lawyers for the former president reached an agreement with the Attorney General of New York to adjudicate statements in a civil trial at the Trump Organization. Trump, Trump Jr. and their daughter Ivanka will no longer be deposed until they learn the results of their appeals against a lower court's decision that they must sit for interviews. The deal can push any deposit for at least several months.
Next steps
A more formal move against Trump by the committee — possibly including a criminal referral to the Justice Department at the end of the investigation — could be a way to remove obstacles standing in its way. That's why this week's court filing — in which the panel accused Trump and right-wing attorney John Eastman, who allegedly "criminal conspiracy" in the former president's attempt to steal the election in Congress — is so interesting. .
The move came as the committee tried to force Eastman to hand over the emails, arguing they are protected by attorney-client privilege. Trump and Eastman have not been charged, and the court filing does not mean they are in immediate legal trouble. The conspiracy argument is an attempt to sabotage Eastman's attorney-client privilege defense. But it is being interpreted by legal observers as a clear indication of the final intent of the January 6 panel and, potentially, as a way to increase pressure on Garland to make the charges.
The aggressive approach of the House January 6 committee to demand accountability from former President Donald Trump, on full display this week, could set up an alternative for Attorney General Merrick Garland that would trigger a legal and political storm.
In a torrent of legal filings, subpoenas, contempt referrals and hundreds of interviews, the panel has built an investigation that is wide-ranging and seems certain to uncover the behind-the-scenes tricks that have led to the worst impact on American democracy. Bad attack. generations.
In a new stake this week, the committee argued with a judge in a case related to the investigation that Trump and a conservative lawyer were part of a "criminal conspiracy" to try to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. The court filing sparked political intrigue over whether the former president could eventually face a jury on the rebellion. Then, in a fresh sign of its hard work, the committee on Thursday targeted Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancee, Kimberly Gilfoy with a subpoena. A public hearing set to expose Trump's conspiracy against the Constitution is expected to begin next month. And given what is known about the evidence already collected by the committee, a scathing final report slamming Trump's attempt to stay in power in defiance of the will of the people seems reassuring.
Yet the committee faces fundamental challenges. First, it has no power to criminally charge itself. Second, it is almost certainly living on borrowed time. Pro-Trump Republicans have vowed to shut it down if the GOP wins back the House in November's elections. And American public opinion is so polarized about Trump that a shocking report detailing authoritarian authoritarianism by the former president - and potential 2024 Republican nominee - is unlikely to move the political needle much. And any attempt to trigger a change in the law to prevent a repeat of the rebellion would come against the ticking political clock in which Senate Republicans would be able to replay filibuster to stop the measures they oppose. But if the panel were to successfully convince the Justice Department that it was appropriate to prosecute Trump or his acolytes, its work could continue and force Trump to face elusive accountability, even if a new Republican House Let the majority void its mandate.
Still, the committee has limited ability to enforce the accountability that Trump has long abandoned in politics, business and life.
Indeed, Trump secured at least temporary relief on a different front in New York on Thursday. Lawyers for the former president reached an agreement with the Attorney General of New York to adjudicate statements in a civil trial at the Trump Organization. Trump, Trump Jr. and their daughter Ivanka will no longer be deposed until they learn the results of their appeals against a lower court's decision that they must sit for interviews. The deal can push any deposit for at least several months.
Increasing pressure on the garland
A House referral would freeze a boiling political hot potato in Garland's lap. On Biden's instructions, the attorney general sought to restore the wall between the Justice Department and partisan politics, which Trump had broken down as he sought to use the agency more like an individual law firm.
Claims in the new court filing have only added to the heat on him.
“From my perspective as a former Justice Department prosecutor, the department should not wait for our committee to make any referrals,” Schiff said. "If the Justice Department believes there is evidence of a crime involving anyone, including the former president, they should investigate."
"The Justice Department has no need to wait for Congress, historically doesn't wait for Congress, and I don't think it should wait for Congress here," he said. The California lawmaker had previously expressed concern that the department was not taking the January 6 investigation seriously, and he said on Thursday that concern remained.
Garland will have to consider whether the case outlined by the House committee will have a good chance of success in court. Ultimately, given the far-reaching implications of such a case, the question of whether it is in the national interest to prosecute a former president with future political ambitions will be raised. But if the president can get away with trying to reverse the election, as evidenced by publicly available evidence of Trump's statements and actions, it will have implications for American democracy in the long term.
The Justice Department has already received two criminal contempt referrals from the committee and the entire House — targeting Trump's former political mentor, Steve Bannon, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, both of whom testified to the panel. refused. The department launched the prosecution against Bannon, who faces trial this summer. So far, it has not acted on the case of Meadows, who as a serving officer at the time of the rebellion might better claim that his talks with Trump are protected by executive privilege.
CNN legal analyst Eli Honig suggested Thursday that the committee's move was a gamble specifically designed to turn up the heat on Garland as the most crucial months of the investigation began to unfold.
"The DOJ has prosecuted more than 700 people, but not all people who were physically present at the Capitol," Honig said on CNN's "Newsroom."
"I think what the committee is trying to do here is put pressure on Merrick Garland, (saying) we want you to start looking at the bosses, we want you to start looking at those guys." Give it to those who plotted it in advance."
Extending the legacy of the committee
While it is one thing for the committee to argue conspiracy in a case relating to attorney-client privilege, it is quite another to present compelling evidence that will stand directly in the prosecution. And given the stakes, reputation, and identities of the potential accusers – a former President of the United States – the burden of proof would seem even greater.
A committee decision to give the former president a criminal reference to the Justice Department would be sure to trigger an extraordinary political uproar. It will come to the fore right in the middle of the midterm campaign, ensuring that for the second consecutive election, Trump's lies about voter fraud will take center stage. The former president would be sure to claim that the referral was the latest attempt by the political establishment to persecute him and his followers - an accusation right-wing campaigners would embrace after their attempts to whitewash the history of the Capitol insurgency on conservative media. ,
Such a referral could propel Trump supporters to an election in 2022 in pursuit of a GOP-controlled Congress. It could also prompt Democrats worried by the latest evidence of the former president's chaos as he contemplates another presidential campaign in 2024. And a reminder of the former president's extreme efforts to cling to power may be renewing his toxic influence on suburban voters. , who parted ways with his radicalism in the 2018 and 2020 elections.
But a criminal referral against Trump would be a way for the committee to extend an active legacy, even if it was wiped out in a Republican landslide in mid-November. A final report from the day of infamy, when a Trump-inciting crowd stormed the Capitol to try to prevent Congress from ratifying Joe Biden's victory, which made big headlines and the final few months of the 2022 campaign. Droplets are found, which can sway public opinion, adding to the pressure. For Congress to implement reforms and become a milestone in history.
Democratic Representative Ellen Luria of Virginia, a panel member, teased Thursday that the information revealed in the filing is only a fraction of what the committee has.
"The information that was shared in that filing is only a small amount of information that the committee has been able to gather over months of work," she said.
Still, it is likely that the results of the investigation will fade over time.
A potential criminal trial, however, could represent a significant comeback for two GOP members of the panel, Reps Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kizinger of Illinois, who have put their political careers on the line to oppose Trump. . Cheney faces a Trump-backed primary challenger and has lost his House leadership position for telling the truth about the former president's lies. Kinzinger, who was ostracized by his allies, is not running for re-election in November.
This week's court filing isn't the first time the committee has hinted at a possible criminal referral to Trump. Cheney told CNN in January that his attempt to obstruct the certification of a fair election was certainly a dereliction of duty and that the committee was looking into whether it was a crime.