It’s highly likely, in fact it’s almost a certainty, that Republicans will obstruct justice if they gain control of the House. The fact they have openly declared their intent leaves little to the imagination. The complete and utter dominance of Donald Trump over the party leaves them with little alternative.
Listen to the article:
As the midterms approach, multiple members of the Republican Party are making promises, or more accurately threats, should they retake the House. They promised to impeach President Biden. They vowed to remove Democrats from key committee assignments and replace them with QAnon-backed representatives. And they’ve threatened to dissolve the committee investigating the January 6th insurrection.
What’s to stop them? Ethics have nothing to do with the current slate of Republicans, so there’s no fear they would refuse to do so on moral grounds. So, they can go full steam ahead with their plan to complete their delayed destruction of democracy.
Of these, getting rid of the January 6th committee seems the most likely target.
Republicans have multiple ways they could eliminate the pesky Bipartisan Committee Investigating the January 6th Insurrection. First, they could simply disband the committee, declaring it had outlived its purpose. A second option would be to replace members of the committee with their own toadies, and then make it about “investigating the investigators”. A third way they could eliminate the committee without actually disbanding it would be to cut off its funding. Without the financial means to continue the multiple investigations, the committee would be forced to dissolve, thereby giving Republicans the added benefit of claiming they allowed the committee to continue, and it came to nothing.
With so many Republicans under suspicion of being involved in the multiple attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, any attempt to prevent the committee from carrying out its appointed duties would be obstruction of justice. They cannot be allowed to take over or disband this committee if they themselves are targets of the investigation.
This would be the textbook definition of obstruction of justice.
Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
The next line in the Simon and Garfunkel classic is, “Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you”. Except, it’s not the famed Yankee Clipper that we are yearning for; it’s Attorney General Merrick Garland.
After announcing in January that he would go after anyone involved in the insurrection, no matter how high, he then announced the arrest of eleven members of the Oath Keepers on the charge of seditious conspiracy. Since then, there has been nary a peep about the insurrection.
What happened? Did Garland make this announcement simply to appease his detractors? It would certainly appear to be the case, since little has been heard from the Justice Department since.
Hopefully, he has been keeping an eye on the events currently unfolding.
There are the revelations unearthed in the series of texts between Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and various Republicans who promoted the stolen election lies, both before and after January 6th. These communications indicate there was a coordinated effort to attempt to unlawfully overturn the election results. Part of this effort included a media disinformation campaign orchestrated by Trump television’s Sean Hannity.
The texts also revealed exchanges between Meadows and multiple individuals, including Donald Trump Jr, who were begging him to get Trump to “do something” to quell the ongoing insurrection on January 6th. These frantic messages came from members of Congress who were currently the subject of the attack, and those at Fox News, who worried the violence would damage Trump’s “legacy”.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is embroiled in his own controversy, as communications between him and several others have him discussing his intention to ask Trump to resign, or invoking the 25th Amendment to force him from office following the January 6th insurrection. McCarthy has been alternately denying what he said, despite recordings to the contrary, or claiming they are part of a smear campaign to prevent him from becoming Speaker of the House, should Republicans gain control.
Whatever the reason, the release of these damning admissions has likely doomed any chance he had of wielding the leadership gavel. Whether McCarthy or some other Republican becomes speaker, if they disband the January 6th Committee, they should be charged with obstruction of justice.
And the Rest
With each passing day, there is more and more evidence that Republicans attempted to obstruct justice by pushing the Big Lie, seeking remedies, both legal an illegal, to overturn the election results and even assisting in the organization of the “Stop the Steal” rally that ultimately led to the January 6th insurrection.
Here are a few who need to be held accountable:
Lauren Boebert (R-CO): Just days prior to January 6th, Boebert was allegedly seen giving a tour of the Capitol to a large group of people. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) stated that he saw Boebert with a group of people on January 2nd. This could have been reconnaissance for the insurrection, which Boebert denies. Instead she has the alternative explanation that she was only showing the Capitol to her family, who had come to Washington to see her being sworn in. This didn’t stop her and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) from heckling President Biden during his State of the Union address.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA): Even before she was sworn in, Greene was suggesting ways that the election results could be overturned, including declaring Marshall (sic) Law. This led to her candidacy in the midterms being challenged under the 14th Amendment. Through denial and selective amnesia, Greene was able to avoid this fate, so it’s up to the voters of her heavily red district to decide if she deserves another term in Congress. So far, her constituents are willing to reward her loyalty to Trump and overlook her outrageous antics. Greene has proposed, on multiple occasions, that Congress should impeach President Biden for any perceived, distorted reason. This is obviously her attempt at avenging Trump’s two impeachments.
Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC): Like Greene, Cawthorn’s ability to seek re-election was also unsuccessfully challenged due to his participation in the January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally, just days after he was sworn in. In addition to supporting the Big Lie, he has also been involved in multiple scandals, including attempting to bring a loaded weapon onto an airplane, TWICE, suggesting members of Congress invited him to an orgy and regularly used cocaine, and despite his attacks on “toxic masculinity” has had images released of Cawthorn in awkward situations.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO): With his actions during and immediately following the January 6th insurrection, Hawley became a pariah in the Senate. His infamous fist pump to show support for the rioters and his pointless challenge of the election results earned him the ire of senators on both sides of the aisle. And yet Hawley is using the image of his fist pump in campaign merchandise. You read that right. Hawley is using his support of violent overthrow of the government to be re-elected.
Donald J. Trump: If anyone deserves to be charged with obstruction, it’s Trump. He removed classified materials from the White House. He alleged shredded, flushed and even ate official government documents. And he directly incited the January 6th insurrection in a desperate attempt to remain in office. Yet, he will likely be rewarded, rather than punished, for his efforts if the January 6th Committee is disbanded because he is the probable Republican candidate for president in 2024.
In addition, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Rep. Paul Gossar (R-AZ) and pretty much any Republican member of Congress who signed on to the Supreme Court petition to overturn the election results should be disqualified from ever holding public office again.
As more information from the January 6th committee unearths more details about who was involved, the push to disband the committee is growing.
Even the leaked draft of the decision to overturn abortion rights is being distorted as Republicans are being directed to claim that Democrats are out of touch with mainstream America on the issue of abortion. This goes contrary to surveys that indicate that 66 percent, including 63 percent of Fox viewers, support maintaining Roe.
This may our last, best chance at preserving democracy.
VOTE BLUE!