Office Hours: How should America hold Trump and his accomplices accountable?
We had an attempted coup. But what should we do about it?
The select committee investigating the January 6 riot is running into predictable roadblocks. The former guy has instructed his former staffers (including Stephen Bannon, who left the White House in 2017) not to respond to subpoenas, and is suing the Biden administration for its willingness to waive executive privilege.
Last night, the committee voted to hold Bannon in criminal contempt for not cooperating with its inquiry. The committee’s report will now be referred to the House for a vote expected Thursday. If the vote succeeds, it then goes to the Justice Department which will decide whether to pursue charges.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Merrick Garland has seemed unwilling to charge Trump or his cronies with any crimes in connection with Trump’s attempted coup. Some of Trump’s likely accomplices remain in Congress.
So my question for you today is this: How exactly should this nation hold Trump and his accomplices accountable? I’ll chime in with my own thoughts at 10 am PT, 1 pm ET, and respond to any questions you may have.
Please join me.
I pulled a few community norms from an old syllabus. Please keep them in mind:
— Practice civility. Civility is not about agreeing. It’s about how we disagree. Let’s avoid the nastiness that has come to dominate so many of our online conversations these days.
— Assume positive intent. Try to understand what others are getting at.
— Be open-minded about dissenting views. The best way of learning anything is to talk to somebody who disagrees with you.
— Reach out. I hope that Office Hours can be dialogue not only between you and me, but also among one another.
Let me add one encouraging note. Representative Liz Cheney (whom I've disagreed with on countless substantive issues) is doing the nation a great service now. A few minutes ago, she blasted Trump's ally Steve Bannon for refusing to cooperate with the House committee investigating the January 6 riot, saying Bannon's claim of executive privilege is not only invalid, but that it suggests Trump was "personally involved" in the planning and execution of the events that day. Let me quote her: "Mr. Bannon's and Mr. Trump's privilege arguments do appear to reveal one thing, however: they suggest that President Trump was personally involved in the planning and execution of January 6th," she said. "And we will get to the bottom of that."
Friends,
Let me jump in here. First of all, I agree with hw that Democrats must stop worrying about what the GOP will do to them once the GOP regains the majority and also stop fearing that by pursuing Trump the Democrats will fuel even more division. That is of course possible. But the dangers of not holding Trump accountable are far worse. It's important Democratic leaders -- including Biden -- clearly articulate the dangers of authoritarianism, talk openly about how close America came to losing our democracy because of Trump, and conduct public hearings into the most blatant transgressions of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Merrick Garland must prepare a criminal case before a specially-impaneled grand jury against Trump for his many crimes: obstruction of justice (doing whatever he could to prevent Mueller from investigating him), federal tax evasion, election fraud, campaign finance fraud, seeking the help of foreign governments in being reelected, and inciting a deadly coup against the US government. We’re talking treason. Garland should also indict every member of Congress who aided and abetted Trump in the insurrection. This indictment should lead to the application of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against Trump and any and all lawmakers who helped him.
The current charges in New York against Trump and his family business are not nearly enough because they don’t deal with Trump’s core criminal activities as president. This is the point: No president is above the law. To ignore or forget what Trump has done is to invite it to occur again. In November 1923, Hitler’s attempted coup failed – but no one was held accountable. Ten years later, Hitler took over Germany. Donald Trump attempted a coup against the United States. He must be held accountable.