Today’s Edition: Trump’s troubles.

December 15, 2021

[Audio version here]

          For Americans frustrated with the slow pace of efforts to hold Trump accountable for his high crimes and misdemeanors, the past few days have offered the promise of relief. Threats to Trump’s unbroken record of escaping civil and criminal liability are coming from many sides—and all at once. Whether any will bear fruit individually remains to be seen, but collectively they will keep Trump off balance and on the defensive. That is good for many reasons. A politically wounded and weakened Trump will lash out at perceived threats—including those coming from within his own party. That is no way to run a midterm election or a presidential campaign.

          Let’s take a look at Trump’s many predicaments. For those readers who object to discussing Trump, there is no escaping it. He is the leading contender of the 2024 GOP nomination, after all. His woes are good news for Democrats. While we can’t wait for Republicans to defeat themselves, it is healthy to recognize that Democrats aren’t the only party with challenges. Republicans have it worse. Way worse.

          First, Trump’s tax problems. The House Ways and Means Committee requested copies of Trump’s taxes from the Treasury Department. He filed suit to block the Treasury from complying with the request. On Tuesday, a Trump-appointed federal judge dismissed Trump’s suit, saying, “A long line of Supreme Court cases requires great deference to facially valid congressional inquiries. Even the special solicitude accorded former Presidents does not alter the outcome.” Trump will appeal, seeking further delay. But it is possible that his tax returns will be disclosed prior to his 2024 presidential bid. Good!

          Second, the NY Investigation into Trump’s potential insurance and tax fraud. Per the NYTimes, the Manhattan District Attorney is focusing on Trump’s inconsistent valuation of the same assets for tax and insurance purposes. If Trump did lie to regulators or insurers, there is a good chance he lied to his accountants who prepared tax returns and insurance claims. In bad news for Trump, his accountants have been testifying before a Manhattan grand jury. Although financial statements provided by Trump to his accountants included a disclaimer, if his accountants knew what they were doing they obtained a representation from Trump that the information provided to them was accurate. The jury is still open on this case, but it could prove damaging to Trump. Stay tuned.

          Third, a federal Judge says insurrectionists “corruptly” interfered with official proceeding in Congress.  Many of the January 6th insurrectionists have been charged with petty crimes such as parading without a permit. But defendants Ronald Sandlin and Nathaniel DeGrave were charged with “corruptly” interfering with an official proceeding in violation of Title 18 Section 1512(c)(2) of the U.S. Criminal Code. Section 1512 provides in relevant part,

          whoever corruptly . . . obstructs [or] impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

          The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, claiming that the count of electoral ballots was not an official proceeding and that the term “corruptly” was unconstitutionally vague. Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich denied their motion to dismiss and ordered the case to trial. Judge Friedrich wrote,

          Because the indictment alleges that the defendants used obvious criminal means with the intent to obstruct an official proceeding, their conduct falls squarely within the core coverage of ‘corruptly’ as used in § 1512(c)(2).

          The ruling by Judge Friedrich could spell trouble for Trump and other officials who acted corruptly to interfere with the count of the electoral ballots on January 6th. That point has not escaped the House Select Committee or GOP Rep. Liz Cheney (who is one of two Republicans on the Committee). To see what Cheney had to say about Trump’s exposure under Section 1512, read on!

Fourth, Rep. Liz Cheney points to potential crime by Trump for January 6th actions.

          During a statement on Tuesday before the House Select Committee, Rep. Liz Cheney reviewed the events leading up to the assault on the Capitol and the cessation of the electoral vote count. After reading from texts produced by Mark Meadows, Rep. Cheney asked,

          Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’s official proceeding to count electoral votes?

          Cheney’s pointed question pointedly follows the language of Section 1512(c)(2), which provides for a prison term of up to 20 years. See The Washington Post, “Liz Cheney points to potential Trump Jan. 6 crime.” If the House Select Committee concludes that the answer to that question is “Yes,” the House can make a referral to the Department of Justice for the criminal prosecution of Trump. That might be enough to stiffen the spine of the reluctant Attorney General Merrick Garland.      

Fifth, texts from Mark Meadows show members of the House were coordinating with Trump to stop the count of electoral ballots.

          At the hearing of the House Select Committee referred to above, members of the Committee read aloud from texts received by Mark Meadows from Fox News personalities, Trump family members, and from members of the House of Representatives. Those texts suggest that some members of Congress were conspiring with Trump to stop the electoral count. In one of the most chilling texts, Meadows said that the National Guard would be on standby “to protect pro Trump people”—indicating a willingness to use the military as accomplices in the insurrection.

          Regardless of the outcome, the Committee’s hearings will serve as the judgment of history on Trump, Meadows, Bannon, Gosar, Greene, Boebert, Hawley, Cruz, and others who “corruptly obstructed” the electoral vote count. Mitch McConnell is taking pains to note that he was not in communication with Meadows on January 6th and that [i]t will be interesting to reveal all participants who were involved” in the events of January 6th. Yes, it will be interesting, Mitch. On that point, we agree.

Sixth, House votes to refer Meadows for criminal contempt charges.

          Late Tuesday evening, the House voted to refer Meadows to the DOJ for criminal contempt. The DOJ is likely to comply with the request. Meadows has an even weaker claim of executive privilege than does Steve Bannon—who has already been indicted for refusing to appear before the Committee. Meadows has written about many of the events on January 6th and produced thousands of emails and texts to the Committee. And Trump has not asserted executive privilege over Meadows’s testimony or documents. See The Guardian, “Mark Meadows: House votes to recommend criminal contempt charges against Trump ex-chief of staff.”

          The referral of Meadows for contempt is another positive development. The indictment of Bannon reportedly caused many reluctant Trump staffers to change their attitude about cooperating with the Committee. Meadows’s referral for criminal contempt charges should help maintain a healthy flow of information and testimony to the Committee.

Finally, Trump attacks Mike Pence (again).

          As noted late last week, Mike Pence is making public appearances in New Hampshire as a prelude to a possible presidential run in 2024. The only conceivable reasons Pence could be doing so is because (a) he believes Trump is vulnerable, (b) God told him to, (c) “Mother” told him to, or (d) all of the above. But I digress. As soon as Pence put his toe in the presidential pool, Trump attacked Pence for performing the ministerial and mandatory duty of counting the electoral ballots. See CNN, “Trump says Pence is 'mortally wounded' inside the GOP for his role in certifying 2020 election results.” Pence is currently polling third in a hypothetical GOP primary, behind Trump and DeSantis.

          There are a half-dozen other potential nominees waiting in the wings. As the January 6th Committee hearings continue to make damaging revelations, the pretenders to Trump’s throne will become emboldened. Let’s hope they engage in whispering campaign that will weaken Trump and the GOP. They deserve one another.

Concluding Thoughts.

          A reader posted a note in the Comments section of yesterday’s newsletter on the subject of exhaustion caused by the incessant stream of seemingly bad news. The reader said that one cause of exhaustion is being subjected to “moral injury.” She said,

          It is a moral injury to see wrong being done, legally, in an ongoing way. And to not see enough being done to stop it. Moral injuries unbalance our sense that the world we live in is basically good. They bruise our trust that we will continue as a “good enough” nation.

          The concept of becoming “unbalanced” by the continuing assault on democracy describes what many readers have expressed to me. The world seems ‘out of joint’ for reasons that escape us or for reasons that defy all understanding.

          The description by the reader is insightful and the feelings of readers who feel a loss of equilibrium are real and understandable. But the reader has put her finger on the answer: We do live in a world that is basically good—a truth that is difficult to see at times. Our perception of reality is skewed to the extent that it is informed by the relative proportion of good news versus bad reported by the news media.

          True, there is much bad news to report, but it is overwhelmed by orders of magnitude by good news that goes unreported. Good news is not reported precisely because it is ubiquitous. It is all around us. We need only look for it—which requires effort and discipline on our part. The single best way to see the good that goes overlooked is to join in community with like-minded people who are working for the common good. Such organizations abound and are waiting for you with open arms. What are you waiting for?

          Talk to you tomorrow!