Decoding Liz Cheney's big hint about John Eastman -- and Donald Trump

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/15/liz-cheney-jan-6-hearing-trump-john-eastman/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/cQK51

“Get a great effing criminal defense lawyer. You’re gonna need it.”

So warned one of former president Donald Trump’s lawyers in a video released Tuesday by the Jan. 6 select committee. That lawyer was testifying about a message he sent to John Eastman, who developed the blueprint for Trump to pressure his vice president, Mike Pence, into subverting the 2020 election.

The suggestion, of course, is that Eastman’s activities were criminal. And the release of that video, which largely featured Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) previewing Thursday’s hearing as committee vice chair, had its desired effect: It built media anticipation for a new set of revelations.

But to really grasp the importance of this, focus on a different quote — one from Cheney. In the video, Cheney reminded us the committee has convincingly demonstrated that Trump was extensively informed he’d lost. Cheney then said Thursday’s hearing will focus on Trump’s relentless pressure on Pence to subvert the electoral count in Congress.

“President Trump had no factual basis for what he was doing, and he had been told it was illegal,” Cheney continued. Despite this, she added, Trump “plotted” with Eastman and others to overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021.

A crucial hint there is that Trump had been told this was illegal. This suggests the committee might furnish new evidence that Trump had been warned that such pressure — which constituted an effort to push Pence into violating his official duty — could violate the law.

*snip*

[uponit7771]

1. K&R,