Time to get your popcorn ready
The House Select Committee will reveal additional evidence in live hearings that are set to begin Thursday, June 9, 2022. It appears that they will be laying out a case against former “president” Donald Trump and his attempts to subvert democracy. Political scientist Norman Ornstein weighed in via the Guardian: “They’re important for setting a record for posterity, but they’re also important for jolting the American public into realizing what a direct threat we had coming from the highest levels of government to illegitimately install a president who lost.” Trump and his allies give new meaning to the term “sore loser.” Hopefully, these hearings will contain enough evidence to rid us of Donald Trump and his divisive ways once and for all.
According to the Guardian, the committee plans to release previously unseen records, photos, and video, all of which are designed to give a very clear picture of Trump’s attempts to keep himself in an office that he lost. The Guardian opines that opening statements will be given by committee chair Bennie Thompson and vice-chair Liz Cheney, which will set the stage for the direction the hearings will take. The initial hearing process is expected to blow wide open once Adam Kinzinger and Elaine Luria go through a timeline of Trump’s actions and inactions on January 6. Witnesses are scheduled to testify, including Mike Pence’s top aides, aides to Mark Meadows, and people with direct knowledge of militia group activities on January 6. It is blatantly obvious that Trump and his people directly violated federal law in their attempts to overturn the 2020 election, but even with new information, it is unlikely that Trump’s followers will watch, let alone believe a word. The committee is only able to present this evidence; they cannot charge Trump or any of them with anything; however, the hope is that new evidence will prompt the DOJ to act.
The DOJ has a parallel investigation going. That agency is looking at the fake electors that Trump tried to install to overturn the election. It makes sense, then, that any additional evidence presented by the committee will push AG Merrick Garland and his staff to take the necessary steps to indict and try Trump, John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and many others who were involved in this plot to overturn democracy. As many have said before, Trump’s actions are treason, plain and simple, and the damage he has caused to our country may be difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. Charging Trump with his crimes, however, will go a long way toward breaking the spell his followers are under and begin the healing process for this nation.
Donald Trump not only set the proverbial wheels in motion for what happened on January 6, but once it began, he sat back and did absolutely nothing. Seeing all of this played out in the upcoming hearings promises to be intriguing. Slate magazine believes that these sessions “will likely have many viewers on the edge of their seats.” Perhaps we have finally reached the “get your popcorn” phase of the mess created by one self-absorbed, evil man.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years