{"id":5709,"date":"2022-07-13T08:48:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T12:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=5709"},"modified":"2023-07-13T11:24:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T15:24:06","slug":"choosing-insurrection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2022\/07\/13\/choosing-insurrection\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing Insurrection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trial<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the rhythm of a criminal trial.  The Prosecution begins the case with it\u2019s \u201copening\u201d.  They describe the \u201cwho, what, when, where and why\u201d, and they tell the jury what the evidence will show.  Then the evidence itself is presented; building, piece by piece, the structure of the criminal acts.  And finally, after the Defense has had their chance, the Prosecution sums up what all the evidence \u201cadds up to\u201d.  If they did their job, it adds up to a finding of guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The January 6th<\/sup> Committee is not holding a criminal trial.  They are presenting the \u201cintelligence\u201d, the information, about the actions of former President Donald Trump and his cohorts leading to the Insurrection for which the committee is named.   Some of that \u201cintelligence\u201d rises to the level of evidence, some does not.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not the January 6th<\/sup> Committee\u2019s problem.  All they can do is show what they\u2019ve found.  They can \u201cwrite the story\u201d of the Insurrection, and they will ultimately propose legislation to try to \u201cfix what\u2019s broke\u201d.  Oh, and they can lay out a case to the Department of Justice for indicting the former President of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of the January 6th<\/sup> Committee as presenting a cross between a criminal trial and a mini-series.  They\u2019ve been masterful in carefully building a story.  The Congressmen narrate, backed by video clips of witness statements, footage of the what the protagonists did or said, and those awful battle scenes on the steps of the Capitol.  And then they carefully present \u201clive\u201d witnesses to buttress each point of the day, the \u201cepisode\u201d.  Tuesday\u2019s presentation was no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hearsay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Remember, in our \u201clast episode\u201d we heard from Cassidy Hutchinson, the aide to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.\u00a0\u00a0Her position, both administratively and literally, was in the center of the action.\u00a0\u00a0Meadows was the gateway to Trump, Hutchinson was the gateway to Meadows.\u00a0\u00a0And she took us \u201cinside\u201d in the final days leading up to the Insurrection.\u00a0\u00a0Her testimony was so damning of Trump and Meadows, that all that the unheard \u201cdefendants\u201d could say was that much of her testimony was \u201chearsay\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0She was telling what someone said someone said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So this week, the Committee brought in the \u201csomeone\u201d who said much of it, former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone.  He \u201chad no problem\u201d with her testimony, verifying most of it.  Her hearsay was verified by his direct testimony, admissible in any Court.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nexus of the Crime<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And in this episode, the Committee also took us to the \u201cnexus\u201d of the crime, the moment when the Insurrection was put in motion.\u00a0\u00a0It was after an hours long meeting with the President on December 18th<\/sup>, 2020, four days after the electoral votes were confirmed by the States.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in this meeting, filled with shouting and near physical violence, that President Trump was presented with two choices.  His White House staff, represented by Cipollone and Meadows, offered him reality.  They said the election was over, and that Trump should concede and rest on his successes in office.  But the outside \u201ccounsel\u201d, Giuliani, Powell and Flynn; offered him an alternative, one that was tantamount to overthrowing the government.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We knew about this meeting within hours of it happening.  I wrote an essay about it two days later (Seven Days in December<\/a>).  But at the end of the hours of  screaming and shouting, Cipollone and Meadows walked out thinking that they had avoided the worst.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what we didn\u2019t realize then, was that Trump\u2019s next move was to call out the mob, the famous come to Washington for a \u201cwild time\u201d tweet.\u00a0\u00a0That moment, that tweet, set in motion a chain of events from all of those groups that were following Trump\u2019s earlier instructions of \u201cstand back and stand by\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0They immediately began to organize. The President chose to launch an Insurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preserve, Protect and Defend<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The committee still has not clearly tied Trump (or Meadows) directly to those groups.\u00a0\u00a0What they have done is shown that the President knew there was an armed mob in front of him on January 6th<\/sup>, the mob he summoned; and despite that knowledge, sent them to march on the Capitol to \u201cfight\u201d for him.\u00a0\u00a0And as they headed down the Mall, Trump himself wanted to be \u201cwith them\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0We know that the Secret Service had to disobey the order of the President of the United States in the black SUV after the speech, and take him back to the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did Donald Trump do as the Capitol was breeched for the first time since 1814?  Why didn\u2019t he call out the National Guard, or at least call the mob off?  Direct testimony from one man who actually broke into the building said that as soon as the President told him to, he left the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our final episode:\u00a0\u00a0what did Donald Trump do in the three hours that the Capitol was under siege?\u00a0\u00a0How did Trump react to direct threats on the Vice President and the leadership of Congress?\u00a0\u00a0What is the duty of the President to protect Congress and the Constitution, and what is the reality of Donald Trump\u2019s inaction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tune in again, next week, to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The January 6th<\/sup> Essays<\/h5>\n\n\n\n