President Trump
Donald Trump: McConnell Spreads Procedures For Second Senate Trial Over Trump Impeachment Trump Proposes Building Own Platform Following Twitter Ban Poll: 18 Percent of Republicans Support Capitol Riots MORE faces new legal danger over his comments at a Wednesday rally that led to a mob attack on the Capitol, killing five, including a law enforcement official.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) this week announced charges against 55 people for their alleged involvement in the deadly violation of the Capitol.
And while law enforcement said it is unlikely that Trump would be charged for his comments at the rally immediately preceding the uprising, new leadership will take over at the DOJ on Jan. 20, and some legal experts say there must be a legitimate case. are argued that Trump’s behavior rises to the level of criminal incitement Wednesday.
“The president needs to be investigated and has real potential criminal liability for inciting people to essentially incite, motivate people to go in there and commit these crimes,” said CNN legal analyst and former prosecutor Elie Honig.
“It’s not an easy thing,” he added. “But if you look at his words, if you look at the language he used, the way he not only urged people to do it, but also applauded after they did, while they did, that suggests to me that he knew exactly where it was leading them. “
An early test for the Biden administration will be whether the DOJ chooses to follow one of the several threads of investigation leading to Trump, or whether it chooses to turn the page on the Trump era and take the political baggage. circumvent that might come with prosecuting a former president. .
Some Democrats, for their part, are unlikely to forgive Trump for his role in the first major break in the US Capitol since the War of 1812. Nor will they forget that former special counsel. Robert Mueller
Robert (Bob) Mueller Why special counsel is guaranteed if Biden chooses Yates, Cuomo or Jones while AG Barr hires a lawyer investigating the origins of Russia, while CNN’s special counsel Toobin warns that McCabe is in “ dangerous state ‘is in with Trump encouraged MOREThe seemingly only reason not to charge Trump with criminally obstructing his Russia investigation was that the DOJ policy prohibits charges against a sitting president, but does not impose such restrictions on indicting former presidents.
Elected president Joe Biden
Joe Biden US judge blocks Trump administration restrictions on eligibility for asylum said several times during the 2020 presidential campaign that it would be up to his attorney general to decide whether to prosecute Trump, but has not answered the question since the mob’s attack on the Capitol on Wednesday.
Biden announced this on Thursday Merrick Garland
Merrick Brian Garland The Hill’s Morning Report – Trump Finally Admits; 25th Amendment Push Boosts Garland Vows To Fight ‘Violent Extremism’ As Attorney General Biden Says There Was Double Standard In Treatment Of Capitol Mob, BLM Protesters MORE would be his attorney general. Garland, a federal appeals court judge whose Supreme Court nomination under former President Obama was blocked by Senate Republicans, made a name for himself while overseeing the prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Garland has provided no indication whatsoever of the likelihood of Trump being prosecuted if he takes over at the DOJ, but some legal experts say the odds are slim.
One variable in playing out Trump’s potential legal exposure is the possibility that he will try to pardon himself before leaving office. That scenario has long been a subject of speculation, but questions about the unprecedented move have intensified following this week’s violence in the Capitol.
Presidential self-forgiveness has never been attempted and its legality remains an open question. However, the general consensus among most experts is that such a maneuver would be illegal.
A clearer legal rule pertaining to the scope of a president’s pardon power is that immunity applies only to federal crimes, not violations of state criminal statutes.
A District of Columbia lawmaker, Councilman Robert White, appealed to DC Attorney General Karl Racine this week to assess whether the filing of criminal charges against Trump in DC would be warranted. DC law makes it a crime to “intentionally incite or incite other persons to riot,” and offenses are punishable by imprisonment for up to six months.
A spokesperson for Racine told the DCist news channel that his office was reviewing White’s investigation, and Racine in a televised interview kept open the opportunity to press charges.
Trump also faces the prospect of both criminal and civil liability in New York.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (D) has been pursuing eight years of Trump’s tax returns for over a year. Vance’s office is investigating payments made to silence two women who allege they have had affairs with Trump, including adult movie star Stormy Daniels. Trump’s former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen
Michael Dean Cohen The silver lining of the Trump presidency? Federal judge: ‘Unsurprisingly a criminal like Trump pardons other criminals’ Michael Cohen predicts people who pardoned Trump will testify against him MORE, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign law violations, said the payments were made to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Vance’s office has hinted that his subpoena for Trump’s financial records is part of an investigation into “potentially extensive and long-term criminal behavior at the Trump Organization,” including possible allegations of fraud that have been described in media reports in recent years.
In addition, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is investigating whether the Trump organization, where Trump is an executive vice president, has illegally inflated its assets to gain tax breaks and attract investors.
At the federal level, calls are growing for Trump’s removal under the 25th amendment to the constitution. Democrats are also poised to submit articles of impeachment next week.
While some of his critics may be content with pursuing those political remedies, others are unlikely to give up their pursuit of his persecution.
“Impeach him again,” national security attorney Brad Moss wrote on Twitter, “and charge him with conspiracy to provoke uproar and sedition.”