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Conservative Judge: Trump And Allies Are

Conservative Judge: Trump Is ‘Clear And Present Danger’ To Democracy

Retired Judge J. Michael Luttig testified under oath before the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on Thursday that the former president, Donald Trump, and his MAGA supporters are a “clear and present danger to American democracy.”

Luttig, a highly-respected conservative attorney and a former federal judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, advised then-Vice President Mike Pence that the John Eastman scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election was illegal.

“I have written, as you said, Chairman Thompson, that today – almost two years after that fateful day in January of 2021 – that still, Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy.”

“That’s not because of what happened on January 6. Is because to this very day, the former president, his allies and supporters, pledge that in the presidential election of 2024 if the former president or his anointed successor as the Republican Party presidential candidate were to lose that election that they would attempt to overturn that 2024 election in the same way that they attempted to overturn the 2020 election, but succeed in 2024 where they failed in 2020.”

Luttig goes on to say, “I would have never have spoken those words ever in my life except that that’s what the former president and his allies are telling us.”

“The former president and his allies are executing that blueprint for 2024 and open and plain view of the American public.”

Watch:

Luttig closes with this: "I have written that today, almost two years after that fateful day in January of 2021, that still, Donald Trump and his law allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy." pic.twitter.com/tBxqRrCvlO
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 16, 2022

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

#EndorseThis: Plaskett Proves Trump Was 'Directly Involved' In Instigating Capitol Riot

We know the truth. You know the truth. Though most of them will deny it, Senate Republicans know it too. Donald Trump caused the deadly Capitol riots that put our precious and fragile democracy in danger. And he knew what he was doing all along.

Impeachment Manager Stacey Plaskett (D-USVI) methodically proved that Trump was "directly involved" in the planning and "deliberate encouraged" the deadly and violent actions of his base, in a powerful display of abundantly clear evidence on the Senate floor Wednesday. It is all the Senate should need to convict the 45th President of the United States and make sure he can never hold again.

What Delegate Plaskett showed the world today is undeniable. Click the link and see for yourself.

WATCH: Trump was 'directly involved' in organizing Capitol attack, says Del. Plaskettwww.youtube.com

Would The Framers Have Viewed The Capitol Riot As An Act Of Treason?

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial is set to begin next week, and senators will be asked to decide whether or not he committed "incitement to insurrection." While Trump has previously been accused by various commenters of "treason" on multiple fronts, in uses of the term usually dismissed by experts, the charge of treason has been largely absent from the debate around the Capitol attack. But in a recent piece of The New Yorker, Harvard University law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen, discussing Trump's impeachment and the events of Jan. 6, argued that the term may be more apt than ever.

Gerson cited the work of Carlton F. W. Larson, a law professor at the University of California at Davis, who has argued that there are many unethical acts and impeachable offenses that don't qualify as treason. Certain corners have frequently accused Trump of "treason" in the Russia investigation, the Ukraine impeachment, and other matters, but Larson has been reticent to apply that label as a technical, legal, and historical matter.

Gersen wrote: "But the insurrection of Jan. 6 changed his answer, at least with regard to Trump's followers who attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress' certification of the election."

She explained:

... to the Framers, such an insurrection was a paradigmatic case of treason. The founding-era Chief Justice John Marshall held in the treason trial of Aaron Burr that levying war entails "the employment of actual force" by "a warlike assemblage, carrying the appearance of force, and in a situation to practice hostility." If some of those who attacked the Capitol assembled in order to incapacitate Congress—perhaps even by kidnapping or killing lawmakers—then their actions could be construed as an attempt to overthrow the government, and federal prosecutors could plausibly consider treason charges. As Larson put it, "At some point, you have to say, if that's not levying war against the United States, then what on earth is?"

The United States' Founding Fathers, Gersen noted, "gave treason a narrow definition" and "made it extremely difficult to prove" because it is such a serious offense. And Gersen wemt on to explain that "since the Capitol insurrection, there has been little talk of treason charges — adding that according to Larson, that is because "everybody now tends to think of treason as mostly aiding foreign enemies."

Gersen wrote, "A treason case against Trump himself might conceivably be built, if prosecutors could establish that he knew in advance that his supporters planned to violently assault the Capitol, rather than peacefully protest; that he intended his speech urging them to 'fight harder' to spur them to attack Congress imminently; and that he purposely didn't do anything to stop the insurrection while it was unfolding — or, worse, intentionally contributed to a security failure that led to the breach. Then, Trump would have engaged in treason along with supporters who attempted, in his name, to overthrow the U.S. government."

Countless Trump critics have described the Jan. 6 attack asn an "insurrection," but Gersen stresses that insurrection doesn't necessarily fit the Constitution's narrow definition of treason.

"While federal prosecutors could charge some of the leaders of the riot with treason, seditious conspiracy would be far easier to prove," Gersen explains. "It is clear that the rioters' goal was, at a minimum, to delay Congress' legally mandated counting of electoral votes. Prosecutors would need to prove that two or more people had agreed to undertake the seditious conduct, but, with respect to the rioters who were explicit about their aims and coordinated their actions, the evidence may well be sufficient, particularly given the violent result."

The National Guard arriving in Washington, DC ahead of Biden inauguration.

‘High Alert’: State Capitols Preparing For Armed Trumpist Assault

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

State officials are acting quickly to protect their capitol buildings after a cryptic FBI bulletin warned that armed protests are being planned across the country in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

The bulletin, obtained Monday by ABC News, stated that "armed protests" were "being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January."

It continued, "The FBI received information about an identified armed group intending to travel to Washington, DC on 16 January. They have warned that if Congress attempts to remove POTUS via the 25th Amendment, a huge uprising will occur."

The news comes days after pro-Donald Trump extremists attacked the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, leaving five people dead.

The riots were incited hours earlier by Trump himself, who called on his supporters to march on the Capitol where lawmakers were assembled to certify Biden's Electoral College victory, suggesting he would be with them and telling them they would never take back the country with "weakness."

Across the nation, state capitols rush to amplify security measures in light of the looming violence.

Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he plans to deploy the National Guard to protect the capitol building in the days ahead of Biden's inauguration.

He told the media that he would announce his full plans on Wednesday.

New York

On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there would be "increased security during that period of time" that the FBI's bulletin warned about.

In Albany, state and local law enforcement authorities prepared for the possibility of unrest at the capitol, closing it to the public and closing a portion of State Street in the capital's downtown area to traffic.

State troopers are also patrolling the halls inside the New York Capitol.

Beau Duffy, State Police spokesperson, said, "Given recent events in Washington and across the country, the New York State Police has, out of an abundance of caution, taken steps to harden security in and around the State Capitol in Albany. These restrictions are in place until further notice."

California

At the California State Capitol in Sacramento, law enforcement officials are implementing "additional safety measures."

"In light of recent armed protests at the U.S. Capitol, additional security measures are being implemented in the Assembly, though we will not be disclosing the nature of those security measures publicly," Alisa Buckley, chief sergeant at arms of the California Assembly, told the Los Angeles Times.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday, "Everybody is on high alert in terms of just making sure that everybody is safe and protected. ... I can assure you, we have a heightened, heightened level of security."

Connecticut

In Hartford, Capitol Police are working with the state's agencies to ramp up security to protect the state capitol building.

"We're increasing our patrols with our K-9 officer who's a bomb-detecting dog, we're checking those areas and we're also working very closely with a lot of other agencies — Hartford police, state police and FBI for additional possible manpower," said Capitol Police's Officer First Class Scott Driscoll.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has authorized the state National Guard to aid capitol law enforcement's security efforts in Madison.

"Members of the Wisconsin National Guard will mobilize to state active duty to support safety and security efforts at the State Capitol in Madison. The Wisconsin National Guard will serve in a support role to local authorities and conduct a site security mission," Evers said in a release. "The mobilized troops will serve in a State Active Duty status in support of the Capitol Police."

Michigan

In Lansing, the state's Capitol Commission on Monday voted unanimously to ban the open carrying of firearms and weapons inside the capitol building.

State police are also amping up security, with Michigan State Police public affairs director Shanon Banner saying Monday, "I can confirm that out of an abundance of caution, we are increasing our visible presence at the Capitol for the next couple of weeks starting today."

Washington

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has activated as many as 750 National Guard troops to help state police to secure the capitol building in Olympia.

The governor said on Friday, "The actions we saw in both Washington, D.C. and Olympia earlier this week were completely unacceptable and will not be repeated in our state capital again."

A "large number of Washington State Patrol troopers" will join the National Guard, Inslee added.

Idaho

On Monday, Idaho not only locked the doors to its House and Senate chambers in Boise, but also sent state troopers to guard the entrances.

National

At the federal level, in Washington D.C, law enforcement officials are set to deploy up to 20,000 National Guard troops to the U.S. Capitol, where lawmakers voted Wednesday to impeach Trump for incitement of insurrection, related to last week's attack. Trump is now the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

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The National Memo is a political newsletter and website that combines the spirit of investigative journalism with new technology and ideas. We cover campaigns, elections, the White House, Congress, and the world with a fresh outlook. Our own journalism — as well as our selections of the smartest stories available every day — reflects a clear and strong perspective, without the kind of propaganda, ultra-partisanship and overwrought ideology that burden so much of our political discourse.
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