Trump is Guilty of Treason
Sheila Markin - The Markin Report - June 11, 2022
“Treason is the crime of betraying one’s country
by attempting to overthrow the government.”
The January 6th Committee is presenting the criminal case of Trump’s treason to
the American people in a series of public hearings that began on June 9th. The
focus is on Trump but the committee is also exposing the criminal responsibility of
allies close to Trump who helped him try to overthrow our government through the
testimony of Trump’s inner circle. The committee is also warning us that the threat
from Trump is ongoing and continuing. Trump really could return to power because
he and his allies are changing the laws in Republican led state houses across the
country to provide him with a Trump loyal slate of electors that could be appointed
by state legislatures, overturning the will of the voters. Trump and the Republicans
are ready to cheat to win and they won’t need a violent mob next time.
What the Committee Revealed
What we saw in the first two hour prime time hearing was a strong opening
statement and a preview of the coming evidence told to us by Bennie Thompson and
Liz Cheney. There was supportive video and live testimony from two witnesses who
were at the scene of the insurrection on January 6th who described what they saw
and experienced first hand that day. Video clips of statements made by former AG
Bill Barr, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, General Mike Milley and numerous others
from Trump’s administration were masterfully woven into the story narrated by
Cheney and Thompson.
This first hearing set up the overview of the case that Trump was determined to
stay in power as president by hook or by crook and foreshadowed what he did to
mastermind and pursue seven schemes to overturn our country’s free and fair
election with the help of allies, right wing extremists and Fox “news.” One scheme
after the other was tried, ran into roadblocks and failed. The planned attack on
Congress on January 6th became Trump’s last stand to stay on as president in
2020, but the danger to our democracy from Trump still exists.
The Big Lie as Motivator
Trump purposefully and intentionally used the Big Lie about nonexistent election
fraud to get his supporters to show up en masse at the Ellipse that day with the
goal of getting a mob to stop the electoral count that would force Trump to leave
office. Fox was his close ally deliberately disinforming Trump supporters about
the truth about the election which was hyped as rigged and unfair. Far right
extremists understood they were being enlisted by Trump’s tweets to show up on
January 6 it “will be wild.” These extremists had a plan. They led the crowd right
on cue and on time to disrupt the work of Congress. They came prepared with a
broadcast system to inform the crowd about what Trump was tweeting out,
inflaming the crowd and directing them to go after Mike Pence. There were chants
to hang Mike Pence. A noose was erected. They wore body armor. They brought
weapons with them.
We heard about how the mob engaged in hand to hand wartime combat from
Caroline Edwards, one of the injured police officers, an articulate young woman
who was no match for the thugs who shoved her down and assaulted her and the
other officers trying to protect congressional legislators from being viciously
attacked by this mob. Edwards recounted how she saw her fellow officers
bleeding, vomiting, turning white after being sprayed and how she was slipping in
their blood on the ground. These thugs were Trump’s goon squad, carrying out his
bidding to stop the Electoral Count. And Trump was delighted they were fighting
for him. He eventually told them to go home after many hours and after being told
over and over to make them stop, but he also told them they were “special” and “we
love you.” One of the best moments of the hearing was the juxtaposition of
Trump’s gaslighting tweet after the attack in which he falsely portrayed the mob
as a bunch of nice guys, saying there was a lot of “love” that day.
What was established in the first public hearing:
1) Trump was informed by his team in no uncertain
terms that he had lost the election. His staff told him. The
data guy told him. So Trump KNEW he had lost the election. He refused to
accept that truth and do what presidents do in a democracy, namely, concede.
Instead, he engaged in a massive con job. He used the Big Lie as part of his
scheme to stay in power.
2) Trump was informed in no uncertain terms that the
election was NOT stolen. His team told him that numerous times.
Trump’s Big Lie that the election was stolen was central to his scheme to stay
in power. He lied to his supporters to get them to come to Washington en
masse to bulk up and engage in the insurrection that would be spearheaded by
far right extremist groups that included the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
3) The insurrection at the Capitol was not
happenstance or a spontaneous act by Trump
supporters. It was preplanned and it was part of Trump’s last stand to stay
president. Trump’s misled supporters really believed the election was stolen
because Trump told them that. They came to DC to protest what they thought was
a stolen election. They were duped by Trump, Fox and conservative media into
being part of an invasive brute force to help the extremists enter the Capitol and
disrupt the proceedings. Once at the Capitol, Trump’s base supporters were riled
up by the extremist leaders to attack and enter the buildings, breaking doors,
fighting in hand to hand combat with Capitol police with the goal of disrupting
Congress and also capturing congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence
and others. This was Trump’s goal. He almost achieved it. And it was carried out
with the help of others we will certainly learn more about in future hearings.
Nick Quested was a videographer embedded with the Proud Boys who established
that the Proud Boys were not even interested in hearing Trump’s speech at the
Ellipse. To his surprise, these people were engaged in casing the joint (Congress),
looking for the less protected areas where they could penetrate the Capitol more
easily. They went to eat tacos before the attack began. When you are about to
engage in hand to hand combat for hours you need nourishment.
4) The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys plotted together
the day before the attack on Congress in a garage. They came prepared on January
6th wearing flak jackets and protective gear,
carrying bear spray, pepper spray and other weapons. They also brought guns
and ammunition which they stashed in their hotel rooms. The plan was to use
these weapons if Trump declared a state of emergency and used his
presidential power to order the military to take over of Washington, DC. Trump
was not able to do in part because of the actions of Mike Pence.
5) Pence realized before January 6th that Trump had
turned on him because he refused to go along with
Trump’s plan. Mike Pence refused to do Trump’s bidding. He had been
totally loyal to Trump throughout the presidency, but like Bill Barr, Trump’s
plot to stay in power after losing a fair election went beyond Pence’s willingness
to be a toady anymore. He not only refused to pretend that slates of fairly
elected state electors should be challenged, he refused to leave the Capitol
with FBI agents he rightly feared might have been sent by Trump to whisk him
away so that chaos would ensue at the Capitol allowing Trump to use his
presidential power to call for martial law. At the White House while the attack
was ongoing, Trump told allies in his inner circle that maybe the mob had it
right about wanting to hang Mike Pence, saying he “deserved” that.
6) Trump did nothing to stop the violence despite calls
to do so from every quarter including his closest
allies. General Milley recounted hearing only from Mike Pence who asked him
in no uncertain terms to get help to stop the mob attack. Trump did not try to
stop his supporters. This is evidence of Trump’s state of mind. He wanted his
supporters to stop the electoral count. They were doing exactly what Trump
wanted them to do. He was not at all interested in stopping them.
More Evidence is Coming
There was no evidence so far of direct communication between the Trump team
and violent extremists led by the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the first
presentation. But Bennie Thompson is suggesting in interviews with journalists that
they will be presenting evidence of these extremists communicating directly with
people in Trump’s orbit. The Justice Department has more tools including subpoena
power that they could use to find out more than the House committee could about
this connection between Trump’s inner circle and the violent extremists. I think
the House is indirectly asking the Justice Department to take it from here and
work the case.
We Are the Grand Jury. DOJ Could Indict
Whether or not Trump is indicted and tried for the crime of seditious conspiracy,
the January 6th Committee is presenting the evidence to our country as if we are a
grand jury. The Committee is not done with its investigation. But it does not have
the power to indict Trump. The Justice Department does. Based on what we
learned yesterday, Merrick Garland may well eventually face the difficult decision
about whether to indict Donald Trump and what that might do to our already
divisive country if he does.
Not all of the connections have been made just yet that would mark Trump as an
indictable co-conspirator for sedition. Trump could still wiggle out. The Proud Boys
and Oath Keepers who are said to be cooperating with the DOJ will be key in this
regard. DOJ could find out how far up the chain of command the criminal
conspiracy went. We know from journalists that the Proud Boys had a close
relationship with Trump ally Roger Stone and these same plotters met with Stone
For the Ages
What we saw yesterday is the beginning of the presentation to all Americans who
are watching these hearings. And 20 million Americans did watch last night! Far
more than the numbers who watch Fox “news” hosts like Tucker Carlson. These Fox
hosts have an audience size of 3.6 million.
Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson, the face of the Committee, said some things that
will be remembered for the ages. But I thought nothing was more telling than this
quote from Liz Cheney:
“Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who
are defending the indefensible: There will come a day
when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will
remain.”
Whether or not Liz Cheney survives her re-election bid to be a Senator from
Wyoming (she is currently down 26 points), her legacy as a defender of our country
and our democracy will forever be part of our American history.
What we are witnessing is remarkable. This is a huge moment in our history. Trump
tried to overthrow our democracy and stay in power against the will of the
voters. Ultimately and it will be up to us to show up to vote in 2022 and 2024
to save our country from Trump