Trump’s whole “case” relies on 3 “defenses”:
1. He really believed he had won the election and it was “stolen from him”
2. He exercised what he thought were his legal options in response to that; and the mob he incited was just an unplanned protest that got out of hand
3. He didn’t know how bad it was getting at the Capitol, otherwise he would have called off his supporters
Trump’s whole defense relies on plausible deniability.
The January 6th committee has systematically and unequivocally destroyed each line of his defense one by one.
The first round of hearings demonstrated that Trump was repeatedly told by his own advisers, staff, family and cabinet members that he’d lost the election. This destroyed any potential effort for him to sustain an air of innocence around his alleged “belief” to the contrary.
The second round illustrated Trump’s relentless corrupt pressure campaign on Pence to abuse his power as VP to delay the electoral count in Congress. This would buy time for states to “revisit the voting,” “find” fraud/votes and certify electors for Trump, tipping the election.
During this second round, the committee also demonstrated that Trump was repeatedly informed that he was pressuring Pence to do something illegal. And it showed that Trump pressured top Justice Department officials to manufacture the impression that the election was fraudulent.
These corrupt acts interlocked as part of a carefully premeditated, coordinated and executed plan: That manufactured impression of fraud would create the pretext for Pence to either illegally overturn or delay the electoral count and buy time for the coup’s completion.
Hutchinson’s testimony DESTROYED the last line of defense; as she confirmed that Trump was told his rally attendants were armed and he didn’t care. He was only mad there weren’t more of them. He called for metal detectors to be removed. Then he sent this armed mob to the Capitol.
Her testimony showed that Trump saw the mob as a weapon to complete the procedural coup, making it clear that the assault on the Capitol was not merely “a protest gone wrong.” She also provided a firsthand account of how Trump was told that Pence was in danger and he didn’t care.
She described Trump’s utter reluctance to call off the mob no matter how bad the violence at the Capitol became. No matter how many people were in danger, no matter how many people including Capitol police officers were brutalized, injured, or killed. Trump wouldn’t call it off.
These cases tend to focus on what the person knew and when they knew it because those are the most important factors to convince a jury that the defendant engaged in corrupt, malicious, and therefore criminal intent. Well Trump knew from the very beginning what was happening.
By proving Trump’s corrupt intent even after he knew that his mob was decimating the Capitol and endangering countless lives, Ms. Hutchinson effectively obliterated the last line of defense standing between Trump and an almost certain conviction. And there are still more hearings
Overall, I’ve been incredibly impressed with the work of the January 6th committee. These members of the House have spent countless hours over the last 7 months combing through evidence, interviewing witnesses, and piecing it all together comprehensively for the American people.
And judging from the maniacal rage “truthing” by Trump over on ‘Truth Social,’ it’s very clear that he is totally melting down in real time as these hearings continue. Because he can’t stand how effective the hearings are or how clear they’re making it that he’s going to prison.
Other bombshells:
—Giuliani and Meadows asked for pardons
—Trump was adamant about ‘joining his mob at the Capitol.’
—When secret service told him this wasn’t possible, he threw his lunch at the wall and at one point tried to grab the steering wheel and choke his secret service
I live-tweeted the hearing featuring Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony for anyone who missed it or needs a more thorough summary. I would also encourage you to watch it for yourself on the
@January6thCmte’s website because it was absolutely astounding.
#January6thCommitteeHearings
https://t.co/1E2ZAKroKG
