And do they want to hear about what the secret service says happened on January 6?

Bet not. Bet that testimony won't be on prime time, or even open to the public nor will the transcripts be available, at least without heavy redacting.

 

The Secret Service and specific c agents would have to agree to testify under oath and so far they are refusing to do that.

 

There is a massive effort on the part of people who worked in Trump's administration to now go on tour condemning Trump and trying to salvage their own reputations, But no, they are still treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republicans. The are crawling out of the woodwork now but did not say a fucking thing when they watched Trump attempting the first attempted coup in American history. They had a chance to tell that to the American people while it was actually happening and instead cowered silence.


'He doesn't put country first': Trump's former Defense Secretary trashes his patriotism in CNN interview

Matthew Chapman
July 25, 2022



Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.


On CNN Monday, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, a longtime member of the Trump administration, made clear he does not support his former boss and does not believe he should hold the presidency again.

A key reason, said Esper, is that he does not "put country first."

"You served during a tumultuous time in the Trump administration, you were fired in November, November 9th of 2020," said anchor Brianna Keilar. "As you're watching these January 6th hearings, what are you thinking?"

"Well, I wish I was able to see more of them, but like many Americans, I found myself stuck on airplanes or airports," said Esper. "Each hearing, as I read in the paper, the facts are startling. I've been saying, shocking but not surprising. It's an important service they were providing to recount what happened on January 6th and the days and weeks leading up to it. It's important for us to understand our history, and that there be accountability."

READ MORE: Liz Cheney has proven she'll 'follow Donald Trump to the gates of hell': CNN's Ana Navarro

"You've said you won't vote for him again, you've urged others not to," said Keilar. "What's your biggest worry about what happens if President Trump is elected again?"

"Well, no, I won't support him," said Esper. "I've argued to my Republican colleagues that you can find the same type of conservative, traditional Republican policies but without — without all of the baggage, the coarseness and everything else because we need a Republican leader that cannot just unite the party but unite the country. My concern about Donald Trump trying to run for office again is he doesn't put country first and that's a problem for me, a major problem. I think he has to put country first, leaders need to lead and bring people together and he just doesn't have that capability."

Watch the video below or at this link.




https://www.rawstory.com/mark-esper-trump-2657723974/

 

Interesting. As of June 29 the Secret Service agreed to make it's agents available to testify about January 6, specifically about the Hutchinson testimony.
(1) Secret Service informs committee that agents are willing to testify and dispute the SUV incident (cnn.com)

Then the text "scandal" broke and a formal investigation was launched.
Then the Secret Service agents "lawyered up" as they say
National Archives asks Secret Service to probe Jan. 6 text matter (cnbc.com)
And nasty old Schiff wants to infer that the agents don't want to be under oath to testify about the texts cause they got something to hide.

Shooter is pretty sure, anyone contemplating going before Nancy Antoinettes star chamber to be asked about one thing but not about the "evidence" they can refute should probably "lawyer up". And maybe make sure someone knows exactly when they'll enter the chamber and when they can be expected to finish.

 

It appears that Shooters prediction about the likelihood of us ever seeing or hearing the testimony of secret service agents concerning the "SUV incident is pretty much a sure thing at this point.

 

All anyone has to do is look at the board. And I tried to post a screen shot of my alerts page where 80% of them are @shootersa hitting nearly every post I make.

 

Handwritten edits to Trump's January 7 speech show he crossed out parts about prosecuting rioters

Brad Reed
July 25, 2022



Donald Trump in the White House. (vasilis asvestas / Shutterstock.com)


Last week, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection presented new evidence that former President Donald Trump still did not want to concede that the 2020 election was over even after his supporters stormed the Capitol and sent lawmakers fleeing for their lives.

ABC News' Jonathan Karl on Monday flagged a particularly noteworthy committee exhibit: Handwritten edits that Trump made to the speech that he delivered on January 7, 2021, that was more forthright about condemning violence at the Capitol.

Of particular note is the fact that Trump crossed out parts of the speech that referenced holding rioters criminally liable for breaking into the building and physically assaulting Capitol police.

"I am directing the Department of Justice to ensure that all lawbreakers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," reads one passage that Trump completely crossed out. "We must send a clear message -- not with mercy but with justice. Legal consequences must be swift and firm."

READ MORE: Trump snaps at Fox & Friends for going to the 'dark side' to make his poll numbers look weak

Trump also edited a sentence that read, "If you broke the law, you belong in jail" to read, "If you broke the law, you will pay."

In fact, in the final version of the speech, Trump made no mention at all of prosecuting rioters.




https://www.rawstory.com/trump-january-7-speech/

 

Now this is interesting
Nearly one in three Americans say it may soon be necessary to take up arms against the government (yahoo.com)
So this poll shows that about 30% of Americans think it might be necessary at some point in the future to take up arms against our government.
And most people would just assume that most of those who hold that view would be deplorables, right?
Well, you'd be surprised. The spread isn't nearly as great as one would think.

Polarization-Poll.pdf (opalstacked.com)

"And 28 percent of voters, including 37 percent who have guns in their homes, agree that “it may be necessary at some point soon for citizens to take up arms against the government.” That view is held by one in three Republicans, including 45 percent of self-identified strong Republicans. Roughly one in three (35 percent) Independent voters and one in five Democrats agreed."
​

And this is a bit surprising, Shooter would have guessed more despicables than deplorables would feel like government is corrupt. But still, not a great split all things considered.

A majority of Americans agree that the government is “corrupt and rigged against everyday people like me,” including 73 percent of voters who describe themselves as a “strong Republican,” 71 percent who called themselves “very conservative” and 68 percent of rural voters. A bare majority (51 percent) of voters who call themselves “very liberal” also agreed. Overall, two-thirds of Republican and Independent voters agree that the government is “corrupt and rigged” against them, while Democrats are evenly split.
​

But there is one thing everyone, despicable and deplorable, can agree with; The opposing party is made up of power-hungry bullies who want to force everyone to follow their beliefs, like it or not. Oh, and the opposing party lies.

About three-quarters (73 percent) of voters who identify themselves as Republican agree that “Democrats are generally bullies who want to impose their political beliefs on those who disagree.” An almost identical percentage of Democrats (74 percent) express that view of Republicans. A similarly lopsided majority of each party holds that members of the other are “generally untruthful and are pushing disinformation.”​

 

This is a new escalation. And as former DOJ prosecutors point out its very significant that this was before a grand jury and not just an interview. Interviews can be kind of cordial and often result in different narratives of what was said. But in a grand jury people are under oath and are being asked very specific questions relating to crimes.

‘This is inner circle stuff’: Pence WH chief of staff testified before federal Jan. 6 grand jury – report

David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
July 25, 2022



Vice President Mike Pence addresses the crowd at Senator Joni Ernst's 3rd annual charity motorcycle ride to benefit military veterans at the Central Iowa Expo center in Boone Iowa, 3 June, 2017. (Shutterstock)


The former White House Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, Marc Short, testified before a federal grand jury investigating the January 6 insurrection last week.

“Marc Short was caught by an ABC News camera departing D.C. District Court on Friday alongside his attorney, Emmet Flood,” ABC News reports Monday afternoon. “Short appeared under subpoena, sources said.”

Short is now believed to be the highest-ranking Trump administration official to testify before the grand jury.

Former U.S Attorney Barb McQuade, now a law professor and well-known NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst, called it “inner circle stuff.”

Attorney George Conway, spouse to former Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway, offered up a one-word response: “Huge.”

Former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel Ryan Goodman, now the co-editor-in-chief of Just Security weighed in, saying: “Looks like a significant development.”

Short’s “appearance doesn’t fit neatly with prior known scope of probe,” he adds.

After the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack wrapped up its televised public hearings last week even more pressure has been put on Attorney General Merrick Garland to hold accountable not only the “foot soldiers” who attacked the U.S. Capitol and American democracy, but those responsible for inciting the insurrection and planning the events that led to it.

“There is a lot of speculation about what the Justice Department is doing, what’s it not doing, what our theories are and what our theories aren’t, and there will continue to be that speculation,” Attorney General Garland said at a press briefing last week., ABC News adds. “We have to hold accountable every person who is criminally responsible for trying to overturn a legitimate election, and we must do it in a way filled with integrity and professionalism.”'


https://www.rawstory.com/this-is-in...ified-before-federal-jan-6-grand-jury-report/

 

Gee if Mark Short is willing to say this on national TV I wonder what he had to say to the DOJ grand jury investigating the armed insurrection and attempted coup?




Ex-VP Chief Marc Short: ‘There Would Have Been A Massacre In The Capitol That Day’ If Rioters Had Gotten Closer to Pence
By Tommy ChristopherJul 26th, 2022, 7:49 am





Former VP Chief of Staff Marc Short said if rioters had gotten any closer to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6 “there would have been a massacre that day in the Capitol.”

Short — who served a brief stint as a CNN contributor between jobs in Trump’s White House — was interviewed Monday night by ABC News’ Linsey Davis just days after he testified to a grand jury in Attorney General Merrick Garland‘s investigation into the attack on the Capitol.


During the interview, Short refused to disclose any information about his grand jury testimony beyond confirming its existence.

But Short did make a point of pushing back on what he says is a “mischaracterization” by the committee of the danger Pence and his Secret Service detail were in during the riot.

Last week, a witness described hearing members of Pence’s detail calling their families to say goodbye. But Short told Davis it was the rioters who were in danger:



LINSEY DAVIS: Last week, we heard that dramatic audio from the Secret Service detailing protecting former Vice President Pence. You were with him that day. Just give us a sense of your view on how the committee has presented evidence of the potential danger that the former vice president faced on that day. Would you say that they’ve painted an accurate picture?

MARC SHORT: Well, I think that having the Capitol ransacked the way that it was, I think did present liability and danger. And I think the Secret Service did a phenomenal job that day. I think that the bigger risk, and despite the way perhaps it was characterized in the hearings last week, candidly, is that if the mob had gotten closer to the vice president, I do think there would have been a massacre in the Capitol that day. I’m not so sure the Secret Service lives were those in danger, though? I think that likely there would have been a lot of other lives lost that day. And I think that there are a lot of challenges that are posed by Secret Service, who obviously did not anticipate the Capitol being breached, and it’s been reported, wanted to evacuate the vice president off the property, but he refused. And so that created extra challenges. And, you know, candidly, they just did an amazing job that day in protecting not just him, his family, but the staff that was around him as well.

LINSEY DAVIS: At what point, or how close to a point, did you ever come to feeling like your life was in jeopardy?

MARC SHORT: You know, I don’t know that I did. I really felt that being surrounded by very large Secret Service agents with weapons was a very comforting position to be in. And I think that that they, they had us in in in in control and they, they told us where to go.

Watch above via ABC News.


https://www.mediaite.com/news/ex-vp...at-day-if-rioters-had-gotten-closer-to-pence/

 

Huh.
A massacre eh?
This;


Would massacre this?

Or this?

 

Lawyer Called Electors ‘Fake’ in Email to Trump Campaign Official: Report

In emails obtained by The New York Times, a lawyer for Donald Trump’s campaign acknowledged that a scheme to overturn the former president’s election defeat involved “fake” electors. “We would just be sending in ‘fake’ electoral votes to Pence so that ‘someone’ in Congress can make an objection when they start counting votes, and start arguing that the ‘fake’ votes should be counted,” Jack Wilenchik, who helped organize pro-Trump electors in Arizona, wrote in a December 8, 2020, email to Boris Epshteyn, a Trump campaign adviser. In a follow up email, Wilenchik clarifies, saying that “alternative” votes is a better term. Other emails obtained by the newspaper show that lawyers were aware that the scheme to have “alternate” electors claim Trump won in some key states might not be legal.

Read it at The New York Times


https://www.thedailybeast.com/lawye...-trump-campaign-official-report-says?ref=home

 

BREAKING: DOJ Investigating Trump’s Actions as Part of Jan. 6 Criminal Probes
By Michael LucianoJul 26th, 2022, 7:51 pm




Chet Strange/Getty Images

The Department of Justice is investigating the actions of former President Donald Trump in connection with criminal investigations relating to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, the Washington Post reported Tuesday evening.

Citing “four people familiar with the matter,” the Post said prosecutors questioning witnesses before grand juries have inquired about conversations they’ve had with Trump. The witnesses include two top aides to former Vice President Mike Pence.


The Post stated:

The prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021; his pressure campaign on Pence to overturn the election; and what instructions Trump gave his lawyers and advisers about fake electors and sending electors back to the states, the people said. Some of the questions focused directly on the extent of Trump’s involvement in the fake-elector effort led by his outside lawyers, including John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani, these people said.

The report does not say Trump is the target of a criminal probe, but notes investigators are certainly interested in his behavior ahead of the storming of the Capitol. On that day, a mob of Trump supporters violently breached the Capitol and sought to stop Congress from certification Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.


“The Washington Post and other news organizations have previously written that the Justice Department is examining the conduct of [John] Eastman, [Rudy] Giuliani and others in Trump’s orbit,” said the report. “But the degree of prosecutors’ interest in Trump’s actions has not been previously reported, nor has the review of senior Trump aides’ phone records.”


The Post said a Trump spokesman did not immediately oblige a request for comment.

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/brea...ions-as-part-of-jan-6-criminal-investigation/

 

Make that 31.

 

Something I have said here an also on left win sites where some were more like fuck hanging Mike Pence let's hang Merrick Garland he isn't going to do shit is we don't really know what Garland and the DOJ is doing but we will as soon as he makes a move on Trump's inner circle because there is no way they can keep that secret and when the do all hell is going to break loose.

I just saw Carol Leonnig on Lawrence O'Donnell just now. Leonnig is one of the best reporters I've seen since Watergate. And maybe better in some ways because she is just extremely cautious and never speculates about things she can't prove. She and her cohorts at the Washington Post just broke the story that the DOJ is actively investigating Trump for his seven point plan to try and overthrow the election, stage an armed insurrection and violent attempted coup. And now people are talking to them. They are being told by witnesses that most the questions they are being asked in front of the grand jury revolve around Trump himself. That is what they were questioning Mark Short and Pence's attorney Greg Jacob the most about. Leonnig also revealed they are actually much further along than any of them had any idea of because the DOJ actually got the phone records for people in Trump's inner circle clear back in April. Long before the J6 hearings started.

And then pointed out there is a world of difference between prosecutors just interviewing peple in the investigation of a crime when the don't really know all the answers yet and questioning people in front of a grand jury where they do already know the answers and are preparing for indictments and trials,

Which is also why I think Merrick Garland sat down for a one on one interview with NBC's Lester Holt today where he once again said they are investigating without fear or favor and will hold everyone accountable for trying to overthrow the election the armed insurrection and attempted coup. And he added that whether or not Trump announces he is running for president will have no bearing on their investigation.

Garland was at the point where he knew the lid was about to blow off and so was willing to talk more than he has up until now.

DOJ's new steps against Trump prove they 'want to be seen' taking action: Chris Wallace

Matthew Chapman
July 26, 2022



Fox News/screen grab


On CNN Tuesday, analyst Chris Wallace broke down the significance of the new report showing the Justice Department is investigating former President Donald Trump's actions directly in the probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

One of the most important takeaways, Wallace said, is that Attorney General Merrick Garland — or someone under him — is feeling the pressure from legal commentators and the public to bring charges against the former president, and wants people to know they aren't ignoring the situation.

"The prosecutors in this case focusing on the former president's pressure campaign — Garland sort of made a nod to that as well today," said anchor Anderson Cooper.

"It seems to me, Anderson, that one, and most importantly, that the Justice Department seems to be on the case, but secondly, they want to be seen as being on the case," said Wallace. "They seem to to be lagging behind the January 6th committee and the case with Georgia and interference in the election there. On Monday, we found out they had a grand jury and we heard testimony from two top aides to Mike Pence, you had the attorney general agreeing to do the interview today and twice in the interview he said 'we're moving urgently.'"

The new report, argued Wallace, is full of further clues that the DOJ wants its work investigating Trump to be known more prominently.

"One other thing in the story in The Washington Post that is breaking tonight, is that it specifically says that they seized the records of Mark Meadows and other people and specifically said they did it in April, months before the January 6th Committee," said Wallace. "So clearly somebody in Justice, from Merrick Garland on down, is trying to say, we are hot on this case, don't think that we're lagging behind."

Watch below:



https://www.rawstory.com/doj-trump-2657739036/

 

Anyone who actually watched the hearing where Cassidy Hutchinson testified knows two thing. One, Hutchinson testified to a massive attempt to overthrow a free and fair election and when those failed
Trump recruited far right extremists to stage an armed insurrection and the first attempted coup in
American history. And two, the more Hutchinson was attacked by treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republicans the more her testimony was confirmed by other sources.

So I would say this is pretty huge and Hutchinson will give the DOJ a very clear roadmap of the seven point plan to overthrow the election, the staging of the armed insurrection, and the attempted coup by Trump and his inner circle all planned in advance of the J6 rally.


DOJ secures Cassidy Hutchinson's cooperation in January 6 probe: report

Matthew Chapman
July 27, 2022



Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top White House aide with unique access to president Donald Trump and the inner workings of the West Wing, testifies on Capitol Hill on June 28, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN AFP)


On Wednesday, ABC News reported that former Donald Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson is cooperating with Justice Department investigators as part of their probe into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the former president's effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

"The Justice Department reached out to her following her testimony a month ago before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the sources said," reported Katherine Faulders, Mike Levine, and John Santucci. "The extent of her cooperation was not immediately clear."

"Hutchinson becomes the latest known figure with knowledge of the actions of top Trump administration officials on Jan. 6 to cooperate with the Justice Department's inquiry," said the report. "A lawyer for Hutchinson did not respond to ABC News' request for comment. Officials with the DOJ also declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the Jan. 6 committee."

IN OTHER NEWS: 'Extremely awful' Trump children revealed their dark origin stories at their mother's funeral: columnist

Hutchinson, who served as an adviser to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, gave bombshell public testimony before the committee last month. Among other things, she revealed that Trump demanded rioters he knew were armed be allowed to enter the Capitol because "they're not here to hurt me," and that Trump attacked his own security detail in his car when they wouldn't take him to join the rioters.

A report earlier this month indicated that she is in hiding amid death threats from Trump supporters.

The Washington Post revealed this week that the DOJ has shifted its investigation to focus directly on Trump's actions during the riot and the plot to reverse the election, a possible sign that prosecutors are considering charges against him.

https://www.rawstory.com/cassidy-hutchinson-doj-probe/

 

'They’re all getting indicted': Legal experts respond to new emails exposing Trump's lawyers

Sarah K. Burris
July 26, 2022



Photo: a katz/Shutterstock


The New York Times reported on Tuesday that previously unknown communications between staff on Donald Trump's campaign revealed the work outside advisers were doing to try and overturn the election.

What's being called a "gift to prosecutors" proves both federal and state crimes, according to former impeachment lawyer Norm Eisen on Twitter.


Norm Eisen

@NormEisen
·
Follow
Proof of federal crimes and state ones Right now DOJ and one state DA are digging in After this, more will









Maggie Haberman

@maggieNYT
SCOOP: @lukebroadwater and I reviewed dozens of emails between Trump campaign officials and lawyers, including one in which a lawyer described the slates of electors they were putting together as “fake” https://nytimes.com/2022/07/26/us/politics/trump-fake-electors-emails.html
12:31 PM · Jul 26, 2022

In one email, internal advisers admitted that the "alternate slate of electors" were actually "fake electors." Many of the fake electors were subpoenaed by the Justice Department. The details that it was known that the electors were "fake" is "manna from heaven," said former New York Counsel Maya Wiley.


Maya Wiley

@mayawiley
·
Follow
So “fake” definitely falls into “manna from heaven” for prosecutors.









Maggie Haberman

@maggieNYT
SCOOP: @lukebroadwater and I reviewed dozens of emails between Trump campaign officials and lawyers, including one in which a lawyer described the slates of electors they were putting together as “fake” https://nytimes.com/2022/07/26/us/politics/trump-fake-electors-emails.html
1:30 PM · Jul 26, 2022


It was a sentiment shared by NYU Law School Professor Ryan Goodman. He highlighted the piece of the report that said they'd simply send the "'fake' electoral votes to Pence so that 'someone' in Congress can make an objection when they start counting vote, and start arguing that the 'fake' votes should be counted."

IN OTHER NEWS: Racist man laughed after nearly running over Black teens – now he’s facing multiple charges

That almost happened with Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-WI) staffer reaching out to Mike Pence's aides to see if he could hand the fake electors to the vice president. Johnson has been asked about the details.



Ryan Goodman

@rgoodlaw
·
Follow

A gift to prosecutors AZ fake elector organizer to Trump Campaign adviser: “We would just be sending in ‘fake’ electoral votes to Pence so that ‘someone’ in Congress can make an objection when they start counting votes, and start arguing that the ‘fake’ votes should be counted”









Maggie Haberman

@maggieNYT
SCOOP: @lukebroadwater and I reviewed dozens of emails between Trump campaign officials and lawyers, including one in which a lawyer described the slates of electors they were putting together as “fake” https://nytimes.com/2022/07/26/us/politics/trump-fake-electors-emails.html
11:52 AM · Jul 26, 2022



Ryan Goodman

@rgoodlaw
·
Jul 26, 2022
Replying to @rgoodlaw
2. This email also evidence for the prosecution. AZ fake electors propose “keep it under wraps until Congress counts the vote Jan. 6th (so we can try to ‘surprise’ the Dems and media with it)." Not how alternate electors ever work. Their intent is to gum up/obstruct the process










Ryan Goodman

@rgoodlaw
·
Follow
3. Consciousness of guilt: "The emails were apparently not shared with lawyers in the White House Counsel’s Office, who advised that the 'fake electors' plan was not legally sound, or other lawyers on the campaign."
12:06 PM · Jul 26, 2022

Civil Rights Attorney Andrew Laufer said that he believes they're all going to be indicted.



Mueller, She Wrote

@MuellerSheWrote
·
Jul 26, 2022
Replying to @MuellerSheWrote
Here’s the story about the emails



nytimes.com
‘Kind of Wild/Creative’: Emails Shed Light on Trump Fake Electors Plan
Previously undisclosed communications among Trump campaign aides and outside advisers provide new insight into their efforts to overturn the election in the weeks leading to Jan. 6.







Andrew C Laufer, Esq

@lauferlaw
·
Follow
They’re all getting indicted.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-fake-electors-emails-exposed/

 

'Could be devastating': Here's why the new subpoena for Trump lawyer's phone could put him at serious risk

Matthew Chapman
July 27, 2022



CBS Denver/screen grab


On Wednesday, the Justice Department obtained a new search warrant for Donald Trump attorney John Eastman's phone, as part of their ongoing investigation into the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

On CNN's "OutFront," anchor Erin Burnett laid out why this could spell legal danger for the former president himself.

"More people cooperating, and it comes as the Justice Department has obtained a second warrant to search the contents of John Eastman's cell phone," said Burnett. "What's on that cell phone is crucial, and it could be devastating to the former president. Eastman presented trump with a guide for overturning the election and played a major role in the fake elector scheme."

The plan Eastman laid out in his infamous memo involved using the fake Trump electors declared in several states President Joe Biden narrowly carried, to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence to use those fake electors as a pretext for throwing out the real electors and tipping the overall electoral count to Trump — or else to the House, where the GOP would have had control of enough delegations to pick Trump themselves. Experts have broadly considered this plan illegal, and even Eastman himself privately admitted as such.

Eastman has been fighting furious legal battles to keep his records away from investigators, but his push to stop another subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating January 6 ended in failure.

Another recent report indicated that the Claremont Institute — the hard-right California think tank that had employed Eastman — has been upended by the investigations against him, with his former colleagues bemoaning how he has associated their organization with efforts to overthrow democracy.

Watch below or at this link.

 

Can't blame him even though the courts have already rejected Trump's immunity defense before.
But he is even more desperate now because as soon as Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Trump was told people trying to get into his rally were armed, including with guns, and said to take the fucking metal detectors down because they were not there to hurt him. And then even knowing they were armed sicced his insurrectionists on the Capitol legal experts said charges nor no charges Trump opened himself up to billions in damages from the lawsuits that are already filed. And that would be a slam dunk.


Trump is asking an appeals court to give him immunity from civil lawsuits linked to the January 6 Capitol riot
Cheryl Teh
Wed, July 27, 2022 at 11:37 PM·2 min read

• 
  Donald Trump is trying again to get immunity from civil lawsuits related to the Capitol riot.
  
• His team filed an application Wednesday to appeal an earlier court decision.
  
• The February judgment ruled that Trump could be held liable in civil suits for any wrongdoing.
  

Former President Donald Trump is trying once again to get a court to grant him immunity against any civil lawsuits related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Filing in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, Trump's team appealed for the reversal of US District Judge Amit Mehta's February decision.

Mehta's ruling said Trump could be held civilly liable in lawsuits related to the Capitol riot.


Former President Donald Trump is trying to secure immunity from any civil suits related to the Capitol riot.Seth Herald/Getty Images
Noting the repeated use of the word "we" in Trump's statements, Mehta said this implied Trump and rally attendees would have been "acting together toward a common goal" on January 6, 2021.

"That is the essence of a civil conspiracy," the judge wrote.

The filing by Trump's team was first shared by the Politico reporter Josh Gerstein in a tweet Wednesday night.

In the filing, Trump's lawyers argued that there were existing means of punishing a president for bad behavior that didn't involve civil suits.

Citing impeachment as an example, they wrote that a "Democratic-controlled House" had already taken Trump to task over the riot, claiming that any further lawsuits would amount to harassment. The Senate acquitted Trump in a 57-43 vote.

Trump's team also said "hyperbole about the violence of January 6" shouldn't undermine Trump's protection from legal action as a former president.

"President Trump is shielded by absolute presidential immunity because his statements were on matters of public concern and therefore well within the scope of the robust absolute immunity afforded all presidents," Trump's team said in the filing.

The former president's lawyers also said Trump wanted oral arguments in the case to answer the "important constitutional question" of whether he had absolute immunity.

The application comes amid a Rolling Stone report that Trump believes running for president in 2024 will grant him legal immunity. The former president is facing legal trouble from several directions.

He could also face a Department of Justice investigation into his role in the Capitol riot. This notion was raised again last week when Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ was looking to hold to account all who are "criminally responsible" for the riot.

Read the original article on Business Insider

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-asking-appeals-court-him-053711929.html

 

'Stop the Steal' organizer gave FBI info on 'more than a dozen' rally figures to secure plea deal: report

Matthew Chapman
July 28, 2022



Brandon Straka speaks at the "Stop the Steal" rally just before a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. (Screen grab via YouTube.com)


On Thursday, WUSA9 reported that new court documents reveal Brandon Straka, an organizer of the January 6 "Stop the Steal" rally and the founder of the pro-Trump "Walk Away" movement urging Democrats to become Republicans, gave far more information to federal investigators about his fellow organizers than previously known — including testimony on "more than a dozen" figures linked to the events that day.

"In charging documents, prosecutors said Straka headed to the U.S. Capitol after receiving texts that the building had already been breached," noted the report. "Once there, videos show him encouraging other members of the mob and discussing his desire to enter the building. Afterward, he posted messages encouraging rioters to 'hold the line' and comparing January 6 to 1776."

All of this would have merited him a harsher sentence than what he originally received — 90 days home confinement — except for the information he provided as part of the deal, given to WUSA9 by Stuart Dornan, the attorney for Straka.

"In the memo, Dornan said Straka provided 'significant information' to federal investigators over three interviews with the FBI following his arrest," reported Jordan Fischer. "In one interview on March 5, 2021, Straka, according to Dornan, provided information about 'individuals who were inside of Nancy Pelosi's office; individuals who were inciters at the Capitol; and organizers of the Stop the Steal movement.' He also listed the names of individuals Straka spoke to the FBI about. Those names include rally organizers Amy and Kylie Kremer, Cindy Chafian and Ali Alexander — who Dornan described as the 'preeminent leader of the Stop the Steal movement.'"

"The majority of people on Dornan's list have not been accused of any crimes related to Jan. 6, but several, including the Kremers, Chafian and Alexander, have been named in the ongoing January 6th Committee investigation into the attack on the Capitol," said the report. "The Kremers – the mother-daughter duo who founded Women for Trump and Women for America First – helped organize the Jan. 6 'Stop the Steal' rally and their names appear on the National Parks Service permit for the day."

Additionally, said the report, "Dornan wrote Straka also provided FBI investigators with information about a fellow Nebraska resident who had not previously been identified," and Straka's evidence is enough to charge this person with crimes — although so far they have not been.

So far, almost 900 people have been charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol, with charges ranging from trespass and unlawful picketing to assault of police officers and seditious conspiracy.

https://www.rawstory.com/brandon-straka-2657766287/