The Guardian
Peter Stone in Washington DC
Fri, December 24, 2021, 12:00 AM

Expectation is growing that Donald Trump might face charges for trying to obstruct Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s e******n this year as a House panel collects more evidence into the 6 January attack on the Capitol, former prosecutors and other experts say.

Speculation about possible charges against the former US president has been heightened by a recent rhetorical bombshell from Republican representative and 6 January panel vice-chair Liz Cheney suggesting the House panel is looking at whether Trump broke a law that bars obstruction of “official proceedings”.

Former prosecutors say if the panel finds new evidence about Trump’s role interfering with Congress’ job to certify Biden’s e******n, that could help buttress a potential case by the Department of Justice.

In varying ways, Cheney’s comments have been echoed by two other members of the House select committee, Republican Adam Kinzinger and Democrat Jamie Raskin, spurring talk of how an obstruction statute could apply to Trump, which would entail the panel making a criminal referral of evidence for the justice department to investigate, say DOJ veterans.

Cheney’s remarks raising the specter of criminal charges against Trump came twice earlier this month at hearings of the committee. Experts believe the charges could be well founded given Trump’s actions on 6 January, including incendiary remarks to a rally before the Capitol attack and failure to act for hours to stop the r**t, say former justice department officials.

“Based on what is already in the public domain, there is powerful evidence that numerous people, in and out of government, attempted to obstruct – and did obstruct, at least for a while – an official proceeding – i.e., the certification of the P**********l e******n,” said former DOJ inspector general and former prosecutor Michael Bromwich in a statement to the Guardian. “That is a crime.”

Although a House panel referral of obstruction by Trump would not force DOJ to open a criminal case against him, it could help provide more evidence for one, and build pressure on the justice department to move forward, say former prosecutors.

Attorneygeneral Merrick Garland has declined to say so far whether his department may be investigating Trump and his top allies already for their roles in the Capitol assault.

The panel has amassed significant evidence, including more than 30,000 records and interviews with more than 300 people, among whom were some key White House staff.

The evidence against Trump himself could include his actions at the “Stop the Steal” rally not far from the White House, where he urged backers to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell [or] you’re not going to have a country any more”. Trump then resisted multiple pleas for hours from Republicans and others to urge his violent supporters to stop the attack.

Recent rulings by Trump-appointed district court judges have supported using the obstruction statute, which federal prosecutors have cited in about 200 cases involving r****rs charged by DOJ for their roles in the Capitol assault that injured about 140 police officers and left five dead.

Still, experts note that the House panel’s mission has been to assemble a comprehensive report of what took place on 6 January and work on legislation to avoid such assaults on democracy. They caution that any criminal referral to DOJ documenting Trump’s obstruction of Congress will take time and more evidence to help bolster a DOJ investigation.

Some DOJ veterans say that any referral to DOJ by the House panel for a criminal case against Trump – and perhaps top allies such as ex chief of staff Mark Meadows, whom the House last week cited for criminal contempt for refusing to be deposed – might also include Trump’s aggressive pressuring of federal and state officials before 6 January to block Biden’s win with baseless charges of fraud.

Bromwich stressed that “the evidence is steadily accumulating that would prove obstruction beyond a reasonable doubt. The ultimate question is who the defendants would be in such an obstruction case. Evidence is growing that, as a matter of law and fact, that could include Trump, Meadows and other members of Trump’s inner circle.”

Cheney teed up the issue about Trump’s potential culpability first at a House panel hearing last week, when she urged that Meadows be held in contempt for refusing to be deposed, and then hit Trump with a rhetorical bombshell.

“We know hours passed with no action by the president to defend the Congress of the United States from an assault while we were counting e*******l v**es,” Cheney said.
Read much more at https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-could-face-charges-trying-070018305.html if you can take the t***h.

Generals Warn Of Divided Military And Possible Civil War In Next U.S. C**p Attempt
Huffpost
Mary Papenfuss
Sat, December 18, 2021, 7:28 AM

Three retired U.S. generals warned in a chilling column Friday that another c**p attempt in America in 2024 could divide the military and plunge an unprepared nation into civil war.

“With the country still as divided as ever, we must take steps to prepare for the worst,” wrote former Army Major Gen. Paul Eaton, former Brigadier Gen. Steven Anderson and former Army Major Gen. Antonio Taguba.

As the nation nears the first anniversary of the Capitol r**t, the generals are “increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 p**********l e******n and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military, which would put all Americans at severe risk,” they wrote in The Washington Post.

“In short: We are chilled to our bones at the thought of a c**p succeeding next time,” they added.

The next time could be far more cataclysmic if members of the military throw in with those who want to o*******w the government, the generals warned.

“Without constant maintenance, the potential for a military breakdown mirroring societal or political breakdown is very real,” the trio noted.

A “disturbing number” of veterans and even active-duty military members took part in the attack on the Capitol. The “potential for a total breakdown of the chain of command along partisan lines ... is significant should another i**********n occur,” they added.

In a “contested e******n, with loyalties split,” some might “follow orders from the rightful commander in chief,” while other “rogue units” might “follow the Trumpian loser ... it is not outlandish to say a military breakdown could lead to civil war,” the generals warned.

The “lack of military preparedness for the aftermath of the 2020 e******n was striking and worrying. Trump’s acting defense secretary, Christopher Miller, testified that he deliberately withheld military protection of the Capitol before J*** 6,” the generals noted.

That can’t happen again, they emphasized.

Military leaders can’t wait for elected officials to take adequate action to prepare for the next time. “Not a single leader who inspired” the last attempt has even been “held to account,” the generals noted.

The Pentagon must act now to reenforce “unity of command,” and order an immediate “civics review” for all members — uniformed and civilian — on the Constitution and e*******l integrity, the generals urged.

And in a particularly dark scenario, the generals recommended that the Defense Department “war-game the next potential post-e******n i**********n or c**p attempt to identify weak spots.”

Everyone, they urged, must “show more urgency.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/generals-warn-divided-military-possible-142837801.html