Asking the wrong question

According to a report released last week by the House Administration Committee’s oversight subpanel, an unnamed driver disputed January 6 Committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the Committee. Hutchinson alleged that she had been told that Donald Trump attempted to wrest control of his limousine from the driver and force the car to change course to the Capitol immediately following his speech at “The Ellipse” near the White House on January 6, 2021. The driver told the committee that Trump “never grabbed the steering wheel,” saying further that he “didn’t see [Trump] … lunge to try to get into the front seat at all,” according to the report.

This point is being raised by both the media and Trump himself. In response to the report, Trump posted on “Truth” Social, “Our great Secret Service has totally CRUSHED Cassidy Hutchinson’s (who I barely knew) made up (FAKE!) stories about me roughing up Secret Service Agents from the back seat of the Beast (Limo). Has she now changed her testimony? Will she be prosecuted for what she did and said? What about the Unselect J6 Committee. They destroyed almost everything, including real evidence and findings. What’s going to happen with them – Serious crimes have been committed?”

But the media and Trump are now asking the wrong question. The real question is, thanks to the above quoted post, will Donald Trump now be charged with contempt of court for defying his gag order, have his bail revoked and be thrown in jail? The answer to that yet unasked question ought to be, “Yes!”

For reference, recall that the DC court of appeals, in upholding Trump’s gag order last December, declared that gag order still applies “to the extent it prohibits all parties and their counsel [i.e., Trump and his lawyers] from making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding.” In other words, with this recent “Truth” Social post, Donald Trump is clearly in violation of that gag order.

So far Jack Smith and the court of record for Trump’s federal insurrection criminal trial remain silent. They should not remain silent. They should immediately hold a hearing to decide Trump’s punishment for this flagrant violation of the gag order and his consequent contempt of court. That hearing should end with Donald Trump being thrown straight into jail for at least a week, preferably 30 days. Enough, as they say, is enough.

As to any putative perjury charge against Cassidy Hutchinson, that’s pure rubbish. Ms Hutchinson was merely reporting what she was told. If what she was told was a lie or a mistake or an exaggeration, that hardly rises to the level of criminal misconduct on her part. Besides, a copy of the transcript of the driver’s testimony, reviewed by The New York Times, indicated that the driver did back Hutchinson’s other details about Trump’s insistence to join supporters at the Capitol.

In a dispute between what the driver said and what Hutchinson alleges she was told, the default is not to assume Hutchinson made the whole thing up and should be criminally charged. That’s just silly on its face.

But the lack of outrage from the mainstream media about Trump’s gag order violation, and the (so far) inactivity on the part of the court, is not surprising. It’s a measure of how ubiquitous Trump’s mouth is, and how creepy and stupid he continues to be. It’s easy to see how someone could miss this particular angle in the endless barrage of Trump bullshit.

But that’s no excuse. The BINO (Billionaire In Name Only) needs to be held accountable. His irresponsible rant on “Truth” Social will almost certainly result in renewed attention from the slavering cretins in the MAGA claque. You can almost set your watch to the inevitable attacks and death threats Ms Hutchinson will now receive. Moreover, Trump’s post will further dilute and erode the jury pool in Washington DC.

Trump must not be allowed to get away with this latest instance of unbridled abuse of his stupid mouth. He needs to start paying a price for his hateful criminality and contempt of court, and that need should exert itself now, today, this instant, this second. I expect swift and punitive action, and so do all other rational Americans. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.