The dam is now opening. There will be more hearings in September. Search warrants have been executed and more and more people are coming forward to talk. But what we know already makes it clear that Donald Trump must be prosecuted for his role in the January 6th attack on our democracy.
That’s the unmistakable conclusion from this summer’s stunning public hearings. The January 6th Committee has meticulously laid out evidence proving that Trump knew he lost the 2020 election – but pressed forward anyway with a multi-pronged, illegal plot to overturn the results.
What We’ve Learned
The Committee has laid out Trump’s seven-point plan to overthrow our government in riveting detail:
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- First, Trump laid the groundwork for a massive disinformation campaign to spread the lie that the 2020 election was fraudulent and stolen from him.
- Second, he corruptly pushed to replace key Justice Department personnel – including the Acting Attorney General – and use them as cover to spread his fake claims.
- Third, he pressured Vice President Pence to refuse to count certified electoral votes, in violation of the Constitution and the law.
- Fourth, he turned his pressure campaign against state election officials, state legislators, and election workers. He pushed them to change election results – including his infamous call to Georgia’s Secretary of State, whom he told to “find” enough votes to overturn President Biden’s victory.
- Fifth, Trump’s team pushed a scheme to create fake electoral slates and transmit them to Congress and the National Archives.
- Sixth, the former president summoned the violent mob to Washington and directed them to march to the Capitol. He directly incited the mob.
- And finally, as the deadly insurrection was underway at the Capitol, Trump refused to stop it. Even with desperate pleas from his family and staff, he took no immediate action to put an end to the violence.
Dangerous Then, Dangerous Now
Donald Trump brazenly violated his oath of office, incited a coup against our nation, and deliberately refused to tell the violent January 6th insurrectionists to stand down for 187 minutes. He must be held accountable.
Trump continues to lay the groundwork for future attempts to overturn elections. He continues to push his “Big Lie” about 2020 and is egging on vote suppressors and election sabotagers in this year’s midterms. We must reject his efforts to spread baseless lies about the election, January 6th, and his involvement in the insurrection.
Nobody is Above the Law
We must uphold the principle that nobody is above the law. If Trump gets away with this – and the threat he poses to our democracy goes unaddressed – he and his cronies will take it as an invitation to attempt to seize power by any means necessary.
Everyone involved in Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election must be held to account, including Trump himself. Trump could declare that he’s running in 2024 any day now. Once he does, his defenders will surely use it as an excuse to further evade accountability for his attempts to overthrow our government.
Now that we know the Department of Justice has begun investigations into Trump and has executed warrants, they must act swiftly to take the next step and pursue a Trump indictment using the evidence that the January 6th committee has diligently uncovered. Our democracy is at stake.