Forget Impeachment--Donald Trump Should Be Under Arrest [View all]

[babylonsister]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/forget-impeachment-donald-trump-should-be-under-arrest?ref=home


Forget Impeachment—Donald Trump Should Be Under Arrest
WHAT’S TAKING SO LONG?
The Senate needs to go about its obviously constitutional business. But I sure hope prosecutors in New York and Washington are going about theirs, too.
Dean Obeidallah
Updated Feb. 08, 2021 9:31AM ET / Published Feb. 07, 2021 8:40PM ET

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I encourage people to read the “Statement of Facts” portion of the House impeachment managers’ brief filed Tuesday that lays out more than just the grounds to convict Trump in the impeachment trial—it makes a compelling case to charge Trump with at least insurrection. While the House managers, headed by Rep. Jamie Raskin, do not cite the federal statute for this felony given that the impeachment trial is not criminal, they lay out the roadmap for prosecutors to build a case.

One of the most important points they make is that Trump’s misconduct is not solely about the words of his January 6 speech before the attack. Instead, they argue in powerful detail that Trump laid the groundwork for the insurrection over a period of months beginning with his repeated comments during the campaign that “the only way we’re going to lose this election is if this election is rigged.” Trump was priming his supporters to be on board with this concept if he lost the election.

From there, the House managers highlight Trump’s post-election lies about the election being “stolen” through his call for his most rabid supporters to gather in Washington, D.C.—not on any random day, but on the very day federal law mandated Congress meet to certify the election results.

The House managers’ brief leaves you with the sense that Trump radicalized some in his base —like ISIS does--with a non-stop drumbeat of lies and fiery rhetoric intended to incite them to the doorstep of violence. And finally, on Jan. 6, Trump pushed them through that door, activating them to use force to stop the certification.

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The impeachment trial this week is step one—but even if Trump is convicted, accountability for Trump’s crimes cannot simply be disqualifying him from running from office again. Accountability can only come if Trump is criminally charged and fully prosecuted. That’s the best hope we have at preventing Trump or any future president from engaging in the same dangerous and illegal conduct. In fact, today would be a great day to arrest Trump.