Is Donald Trump allowed to defend himself during the "J** 6th hearings", or is his access to the hearings denied or restricted?
There are two things that need to be underscored here.
Firstly, Donald Trump and the Republicans have been repeatedly asked if they wished to participate in bipartisan investigations to look into the events of J****** 6th, and they have repeatedly refused to do so. Senate Republicans outright declined to form a committee, so the House was forced to do so without their participation. If any of them wished to testify or offer a rebuttal, they would certainly be invited to do so, but the obvious danger is that the House Select Committee was impaneled with Congressional authority, so lying to them is a federal offense.
Secondly, recognize that this is not a criminal trial, but rather a series of hearings that are allowing the committee to present testimony and evidence to the public, all with a view to maintaining the t***sparency of the process, and showing the nation what they have managed to pull together over the past year. We’ve heard testimony from witnesses, seen documents presented to us – and that they all make it clear that Donald Trump was responsible for the actions that took place on J****** 6th. There’s been no evidence exonerating Trump, but if the committee had found any, that would have been presented – we’re simply not going to see any because it doesn’t exist. Every new piece of evidence or testimony makes it clear that neither Trump nor the Republican Party that supported him were innocent in their actions.
That observed, should the Justice Department ultimately pursue charges against Trump et al on the back of the House Select Committee’s findings, he will of course have a chance to present his defense to the evidence gathered against him – but, in reality, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to do so effectively. As with Congress, it’s a felony to lie to a court once sworn in under oath – and that will be the natural first step for any testimony that Trump or his colleagues would wish to provide. There’s a reason that the Republicans have refused to cooperate, after all: if they lie (which they’d have to, to justify their actions), they’ll end up being caught out in a lie, and consequently end up in serious legal trouble, above and beyond what they’re already facing.
The Committee has done an excellent job laying out the fact that Donald Trump knew that the 2020 P**********l e******n hadn’t been stolen from him, and that his actions afterwards were entirely malicious, and engaged in with a view to try and overturn a l********e e******n in his favor. J****** 6th was simply the finally roll of the dice: a pre-meditated incident intended to gather his supporters, stoke their rage and frustration, and then direct them at the US Capitol Building with a view to directly interfering with a significant act of Government (indeed, one dictated by the Constitution itself!), and potentially even harming elected officials. All with the goal of reversing the e******n and keeping Donald Trump in power. Not only is that an attempted c**p d’etat, but it qualifies as an act of S*******s Conspiracy, under 18 U.S. Code § 2384*.
If Trump wishes to offer a rebuttal to the J****** 6th Committee on these things, all he needs to do is agree to testify before them. You can guarantee that such a thing will be televised, if he wanted it that way, but Donald Trump would never take that risk: to be put in front of the cameras, and elected members of Congress, and required to swear an oath before Congress, and held accountable under law if he lies…which he would. That would just result in him being in even more significant trouble than he already is, which is why Trump and the Republicans prefer to attempt to discredit the Committee itself, rather than actively attempting to rebut the evidence gathered. They can’t defend the indefensible, so they prefer to attack the institution attempting to hold them accountable.
Still, it’s not the first time that Trump and his supporters have attacked Congress, is it?
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*§2384. S*******s conspiracy. If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to o*******w, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United ...
Is Donald Trump allowed to defend himself during t... (
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