Trump 'more likely than not' obstructed Congress: US judge
WASHINGTON, United States — A federal judge ruled Monday that former US president Donald Trump "more likely than not" engaged in criminal conduct with his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Judge David Carter leveled the explosive accusation in a ruling dealing with subpoenas issued by the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.
The ruling comes amid US media reports that Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner is expected to appear voluntarily for a virtual deposition before the committee this week.
"Based on the evidence, the court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress," Carter said in a blistering 44-page ruling.
The committee had sought documents from John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who provided legal advice to Trump in the wake of his November 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Carter, a Clinton appointee who serves on a US District Court in California, rejected Eastman's attempt to block handing over emails to the committee from his account at Chapman University, the California school where he was a law professor.
Eastman notably authored memos providing dubious legal arguments for how then-vice president Mike Pence could swing the election to Trump when Congress met on January 6 to certify the results of the vote.
Pressure on Garland
In his ruling, Carter noted that Trump had repeatedly urged Pence to throw out Electoral College votes from contested states and had done so in a fiery speech to his supporters shortly before the storming of Congress.
Pence resisted the pressure, and Biden was certified the winner by Congress after the Capitol was cleared of rampaging Trump supporters.
"Because President Trump likely knew that the plan to disrupt the electoral count was wrongful, his mindset exceeds the threshold for acting 'corruptly,'" the judge said.
He added that Trump likely knew his allegations of election fraud were baseless, and therefore that the plot was unlawful.
The judge's ruling may increase pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to bring charges against the 75-year-old Trump over the Capitol riot, which left at least five people dead and 140 police officers injured.
Garland has declined to reveal whether Trump is the target of any Justice Department investigation but has said the probe will continue "until we hold everyone accountable who committed criminal acts with respect to January 6."
More than 775 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol attack. Some 280 have been charged with obstructing an official proceeding.
Trump was impeached for a historic second time by the House after the riot — he was charged with inciting an insurrection — but was acquitted by the Senate.
'Coup in search of a legal theory'
"Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history," Carter said in his ruling.
"Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory."
The judge ordered Eastman to disclose 101 documents to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack while keeping 10 documents privileged.
The panel, which is nearing the end of its investigation ahead of public hearings expected in May, was due later Monday to launch criminal proceedings against Trump's trade director Peter Navarro and deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
It is expected to vote unanimously to ask the full Democratic-controlled House to cite the pair for criminal contempt of Congress after they refused to testify to the probe, in defiance of subpoenas.
Scavino was the ex-president's social media manager, and they were together at the White House as the mob began its attack, according to investigators.
Navarro has bragged on cable news about his role in organizing the plot to overturn the election with the help of around 100 Republican lawmakers.
The panel has previously recommended prosecution for senior Trump aides Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon, as well as ex-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark.
Only Bannon is being prosecuted so far, however, and the Clark citation didn't even make it to the floor of the House.
The panel meets at 7:30 pm (2330 GMT), and some members are expected to seek agreement to call Ginni Thomas, the right-wing activist wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to testify.
Her text messages in late 2020 and early 2021, turned over to the committee by Meadows, show she pushed repeatedly for Trump aides to work to overturn the election.
US President-elect Joe Biden unveiled plans Thursday for fighting COVID and injecting $1.9 trillion into a battered US economy, but already his ambitious first 100 days agenda is overshadowed by the looming Senate trial of his soon-to-be predecessor Donald Trump.
Biden promised "a new chapter" for the nation on the day after Trump became the first US president to ever be impeached twice, as the incoming Democrat sought to seize the narrative in a primetime address and get Americans looking forward again. — AFP
Photo: Angela Weiss/ AFP
Former US president Donald Trump says he expected to be charged over the January 6 attack on the US Capitol -- an indictment that would ramp up his legal woes as he makes another White House run.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is already facing criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith for mishandling top secret government documents after leaving office.
Trump said he received a letter from Smith on Sunday stating that he's a target of the probe into January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed Congress in a bid to prevent certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.
"Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden's DOJ, sent a letter... stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6 Grand Jury investigation," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The 77-year-old Trump said he was given four days to report to a grand jury, "which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment." — AFP
New York police tightened security Monday ahead of a possible historic indictment of Donald Trump over hush money paid to a porn actress, with the ex-president calling for mass demonstrations if he is charged.
Only a couple of dozen Trump supporters attended a protest in America's financial capital on Monday evening though, as a grand jury weighs an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the 2016 payment to Stormy Daniels.
Trump would become the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime if an indictment is filed -- a move that would send shockwaves through the 2024 White House race, in which the 76-year-old is running to regain office. -- AFP
Senior Republicans Sunday echoed Donald Trump's claim that a looming indictment in a hush-money case would amount to political "persecution," while Democrats warned his call for protests could trigger a repeat of chaos his supporters unleashed at the US Capitol.
In an explosive announcement Saturday, the former president said he expected to be arrested Tuesday in connection with a grand jury inquiry into a 2016 payment to a porn star, allegedly to keep her from revealing a past affair with Trump.
On Sunday, he blasted the possible move as a "witch hunt" on his Truth Social platform, lashing out at the Manhattan prosecutor for "using the power of his office to persecute, indict, and prosecute a former president of the United States of America -- for no crime!" -- AFP
Former US vice president Mike Pence on Saturday said history would hold former president Donald Trump "accountable" for his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, US media report.
The remarks are likely to widen the rift between the former running mates, who have been at loggerheads ever since Pence refused to go along with Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in power.
"President Trump was wrong," Pence says in a speech at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington, a white-tie gala put on by journalists that draws top politicians.
"I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable," Pence was quoted as saying by multiple media. — AFP
Former US president Donald Trump can be sued by police and others injured in the January 6, 2021 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol, the Justice Department says in a court filing.
In an official legal opinion submitted to federal court in Washington, the department says although a president has absolute immunity for his official acts in office, he can be sued for acts judged clearly outside of his official duties.
The opinion was submitted at the request of the court, which is hearing a suit by two police officers and 11 lawmakers claiming injury during the January 6 attack. — AFP
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