Okay, under normal circumstances, not being a lawyer, I’d be on legal overload from all the various legal news out the last couple days. But the depth of it all has additionally put me on sensory overload, as well. And I am sure this is only the very tip of the tip of the iceberg.
From the Supreme Court ruling slamming down Trump’s request of Executive Privilege, to the Fulton County, Georgia D.A. requesting a special grand jury, to requests to Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump to testify before the New York Attorney General, to requests to Ivanka Trump to testify before the January 6 House Select Committee (in an incredibly-detailed, 8-page letter), to the release of the first batch of material coming into the House Select Committee as a result of the Supreme Court ruling, to stories of Rudy Giuliani being the leader of Trump’s efforts to get states to violate the law by putting together illegal slates of electors to help overthrow the government…and…well, there’s probably more, but that whole “sensory overload” thing is kicking in. Because of all that, including my lack of actual legal training, I’m not going to get into the details of it all. But there are some important perceptions that I think can be taken away from this activity. First, I think Trump must be very concerned that not only did the very heavily-conservative Supreme Court – with three members he himself nominated – rule against him 8-1, but it did so bluntly, in no uncertain terms. So much so that Trump can’t just look at this as a loss on this one issue (and it’s a huge issue, releasing presidential documents he wanted hidden), but also as something that puts all future decisions related to the insurrection at risk. To be clear, I’m not saying the Supreme Court will ever rule against Trump in the future – they may or may not – just that Trump now knows he can’t rely on them, can’t rely on their “Trump loyalty,” which is the sort of thing like likely drives him crazy. I also think that the minutiae of detail in the House Select Committee’s letter to Ivanka Trump was there to serve notice about how much information they already have – and this is only the hints they’re willing to give out. This lets people who have already refused to testify (or who plan to) know that their testimony is not necessarily needed, at least in part. That the Committee already knows a lot, in minute detail, so not testifying doesn’t keep that material hidden. But by testifying you have a chance to put that material in as good a light as possible and to defend yourself. It also, as lawyer Dan Goldman (who served on the impeachment teams) said, puts pressure on Ivanka Trump to testify. That’s because, by including so much information about her presence at the center of activity during the insurrection, if she refuses to testify then her absence stands out even more. And I also think all this legal news and release of known-information puts the Fear of God into all lower-level people involved in order to save their necks. And by “lower-level” I don’t just mean secretaries and assistants (who might know a lot), but also even more notably high-ranking people underneath the center of the inner circle. When anyone other than those who are instigators of the coup see the deep level of information that has overwhelmed their own lives and threatens to suck them in the whirlwind vortex of subpoenas, indictments, criminality and just simply legal costs, I think many if not most of them will start to think they don’t want to go to jail or have their financial lives destroyed on behalf of perhaps the most criminal, malignantly narcissistic, pathological lying con man they’ve ever come across who they know (from being on the inside) will never lift one finger of even concern for them. And even though the House Select Committee has already done over 400 interviews, that may be nothing compared to what could possibly be coming. The floodgates may now open wide as these insiders rush in to save themselves. And not just contacting the House Select Committee, but calls to the Department of Justice, along the lines of, “Hi, I don’t know if you’re actually investigating any of this, but on the likelihood that you are, who do I talk to about a deal to protect myself?...Yes, I’ll hold.” As for the specifics of what all this news the past two days – and all that’s to come – well, that brings up back to the whole “sensory overload” thing.
1 Comment
Douglass Abramson
1/21/2022 09:21:05 pm
To paraphrase the tabloids when President Ford told NY that a bailout wasn't coming: "Supreme Court to Trump: Drop Dead"
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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