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| A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images |
A Sense of Doubt blog post #2185 - If Inciting Insurrection and trying to get your own VEEP killed is not impeachable, what is?
“If that’s not an impeachable offense,” Raskin told them, when the video was done, “then there is no such thing.”
It seems like we have a lot of people not using their brains in our country.
This case against Trump is not really debatable.
He lied over and over again about election fraud. He started lying about "rigged" elections long before the election took place.
But he really got his lies going when he lost. In fact, this narcissist, this damaged and mentally-ill human that so many inexplicably adore is so deranged that he seems to actually believe the lies he spews that not only did he really win the election but he won by a landslide.
What is mind-blowing is that anyone with half a brain who is not equally delusional actually believes these lies, actually believes that there was a plot to STEAL the election from the Putin-wannabe.
And now, the denial goes even deeper. Some representative or senator, and I am too lazy to look up who right now, actually claimed that the whole insurrection was a hoax and a staged event by people dressed up as Trump supporters (Antifa and BLM supporters who hate him).
That's a new level of stupid that we had not yet reached.
And though this next thing had not yet happened on Thursday the date on this entry, I am writing from Saturday morning, and Trump's inept lawyers were actually claiming that there was no insurrection because an insurrection can only be called insurrection if it is actually successful. If it's not successful, then it's not an insurrection.
It's all idiocy.
The incident on January Sixth is one of the worst events in our nations history, and all those responsible should be held accountable, including those who CONTINUED to perpetuate the election fraud lie after the senate resumed its work once the insurrectionists retreated on the orders of the one who brought them there: then President Trump.
The gallows that they erected should be in every news account of that day. The cries of "hang Mike Pence" and those wanting to execute Nancy Pelosi, AOC, Chuck Schumer, and others still ring in my ears and may ring in yours as well.
We must not forget.
And even if the senate acquits Trump in this impeachment, he will pay for his crimes.
HE
WILL
PAY.
(But DO NOT take my words as a veiled threat of assassination. No. That's not my rhetoric. I mean, I hope he is brought to criminal prosecution and sentenced for treason.)
Democrats Show Trump Knew Pence Was in Danger and Incited Rioters Targeting the Veep
During the impeachment trial on Wednesday, Democrats demonstrated a powerful point: President Donald Trump knew Vice President Mike Pence was in danger during the January 6 assault on the Capitol and, rather than call off the murderous mob, Trump chose to attack Pence in a tweet and further incite the marauders against his own veep.
During his speech before the riot, Trump let it be known that he was counting on Pence to stop the electoral vote count scheduled for that day. But Pence released a statement that he would not do so, and the rioters at the Capitol cast Pence as an enemy. Pence and his family were rushed to a hiding place, as rioters inside the building searched for him. “Hang Pence,” some yelled.
In his presentation, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case, outlined a damning chronology. He noted the insurrectionists had turned on Pence by 2:15 p.m. that day and that their attempt to find Pence in the Capitol was being reported on television—which Trump was undoubtedly watching. But instead of urging his supporters to end the assault and protecting his vice president, Trump at 2:24 p.m. tweeted an attack on Pence. “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” While his veep was fearing for his life, Trump put him in even greater jeopardy.
The message was received. Castro showed a video of one rioter reading Trump’s tweet to the crowd using a bullhorn.
“They were paying attention,” Castro said. “And they also followed instructions.”
That Trump tweet stoked the rage of the rampagers. Castro played video in which rioters denounced Pence as a traitor and called for his assassination. A gallows was erected on the Capitol grounds. The rioters were listening to Trump. He was their leader, and he was fueling the violence and pursuing his main goal: stopping the vote certification. Pence’s safety was of no concern for Trump.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/watch-brutal-trump-impeachment-trial-video.html
“If That’s Not an Impeachable Offense, Then There Is No Such Thing”
The trial opens with nearly unwatchably brutal video of the mob attacking the Capitol at Trump’s urging.
FEB 09, 20213:19 PM
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| Rep. Jamie Raskin, lead manager for the impeachment, speaks on the first day of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Handout/Getty Images |
Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial was supposed to get underway on Tuesday with dry historical and constitutional arguments about the Senate’s jurisdiction, as the trial addressed Trump’s opening legal argument that the Framers hadn’t intended for impeachment to apply to former officials.
The House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, eventually laid out the case that history, precedent, and the text of the Constitution all clearly disagreed with the ex-president’s jurisdictional claim—and with the vast majority of Senate Republicans who had previously signaled their openness to it—and held that it was legal to impeach a former official for their conduct while in office. But first, Raskin did something tactically brilliant to show the true stakes of that conduct.
Raskin opened by describing how Trump’s jurisdictional claim would open impeachment to a “secret January exception” never intended by the Founders, which would “be an invitation to our Founders’ worst nightmare.”
“If we buy this radical argument that President Trump’s lawyers advance, we risk allowing Jan. 6 to become our future. And what will that mean for America?” Raskin asked. “Think about it. What will the January exception mean to future generations if you grant it? I’ll show you.”
Raskin then played this brutal 13-minute video juxtaposing Trump’s words that day with images of the deadly mob attack on the Capitol, including the rioters shouting their agreement with Trump’s message and goals as they attacked:
House managers had made it clear that the trial would feature documentary-style video showing how Trump’s words led directly to the actions at the Capitol, but the video segments weren’t necessarily expected for a number of days.
But playing it right up front as the Senate debates and votes on whether or not to dismiss the trial altogether over lack of jurisdiction—which will require a majority vote and will certainly fail—forces reluctant Republican senators to confront what they would be letting Trump get away with if they duck the merits of this impeachment trial on a jurisdictional basis.
It also showed the absurdity of the president’s argument, which is essentially that the president gets a free pass on all impeachable offenses if he does them late enough in his term or if he resigns before he can be tried. And it demonstrated the dangers of voting to allow future presidents to commit future high crimes or even to again try to steal the election and incite insurrection.
The video is worth watching in full, but key highlights framed the message:
• The video begins with Trump issuing what can be viewed as an exhortation and instruction to his supporters based on his lie that the election was being stolen from him: “We will stop the steal.”
At that the crowd erupts. It can be viewed—and was viewed by his supporters—as a call to action. Trump then immediately claims he won in a landslide election.
• The clip then cuts to Trump telling his supporters a more explicit instruction: “After this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you. … We’re going walk down to the Capitol.”
• A member of the crowd is shown shouting, “We are going to the Capitol where our problems are, it’s that direction,” and the crowd begins to descend on the Capitol.
• The mob then begins its assault on the police guarding the Capitol, knocking back barricades and overwhelming officers. At this point, Congress attempts to begin its certification of the Electoral College count that would seal Joe Biden’s victory.
A cop is confronted and told, “We outnumber you a million to one out here.” Other members of the mob shout “Take the building!”
• Trump’s speech continues, seeming to lend permission to his supporters to do whatever is necessary to stop the election theft. “You can’t vote on fraud and fraud breaks up everything, doesn’t it?” Trump said. “When you catch somebody in fraud, you’re allowed to go by very different rules.” He then urges Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally declare that the election had been fraudulent and so Trump should be the victor. “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Trump adds. He again tells the crowd that “we’re going to the Capitol” to give “weak Republicans … the pride and boldness they need to take back our country.”
• As the mob moves on the Capitol, they explicitly call out Pence. They then violently attack police officers with blunt objects and with some sort of gas agents. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell inside the chamber dismisses Trump’s “sweeping conspiracy theories” of election theft, rioters reach the doors of the Capitol. They chant “fight for Trump” as they begin to breach the building.
The congressional chambers are evacuated, beginning with Pence. Officer Eugene Goodman diverts the mob that is moments away from reaching Pence and congressional officials.
From there, the video tells a story we all know by now: The noose being erected. The desperate screams of crushed Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges. The mob roaming the halls searching for lawmakers and smashing doors. The invasion of the House and Senate chambers.
Most of the individual pieces of footage had been seen before, some of them widely. But it had never been stitched together in quite this way. After more than a month of Republicans on Capitol Hill slowly sliding toward downplaying and evading the viciousness and seriousness of the attack, Raskin’s video directly confronted the Republican senators who are looking for a way to acquit with exactly what it is they want to exonerate.
“If that’s not an impeachable offense,” Raskin told them, when the video was done, “then there is no such thing.”
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2102.11 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2050 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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