Belated impeachment roundup

The House impeached Trump for a second time. This time the trial was held after he already left office. However it was still reasonable to impeach him because the impeachable action took place so late in his term, and it was a highly provocation act that deserved an impeachment declaration and trial. 

The trial occurred in early February. This article lays out very simply why the trial was needed: 

The opening words of the House prosecutors’ brief underscore the gravity of the offense: "This trial arises from President Donald J. Trump’s incitement of insurrection against the Republic he swore to protect..."

This was a more somber proceeding than the last one. It as simple, straightforward, and it let the shock of the events fill the space. Representative Jamie Raskin led the impeachment managers and set the tone. I'm having some trouble describing it, perhaps because I was a witness too, and what I saw and how I felt when witnessing it are so much more powerful than mere words. The people in the House and Senate experienced that invasion and insurrection, and they don't need people to explain what it was, the gravity of it, the fears, the enormity. 

A major point is that actions leading to the riot didn't start on Jan. 6, but were brewing and encouraged well before then. So you can't just look at what happened that day, but also what led to the actions on the that day, and all that Trump did before then to foster it. 

The defense was a mishmash of justification and umbrage at the proceeding. They even spliced together snippets of Democratic leaders exhorting supporters to fight as though to say 'everybody did it.' Most politicians may use the word 'fight' but they also give signs of what they mean by that, and Trump did too. We got to see the outcome. 

Neither the prosecution nor the defense ran on too long, so the trial lasted only four days. 

The acquittal verdict wasn't in any doubt. However, 7 GOP senators voted to convict, which is a testament to the horror of what happened for those who have a remnant of their souls left. 

Mitch McConnell blasted Trump for his actions, but a few weeks later was telling the country that he'd support Trump in 2024 if he was the GOP nominee. So easily are principles shredded. 

Image: nytimes.com

Extras. All the evidence presented. 

Background of the Capitol HIll insurrection

This article is particularly good at laying out the violent rhetoric and actions that preceded the insurrection and set the tone for it. This includes invasions of statehouses in Michigan, Oregon, and Kentucky. Also the incident when Trump supporters boxed in a Biden campaign bus in Texas. 

There was some disarray in the Capitol police in the run-up. They didn't stay informed on the trends and missed the signs to be better prepared. Timeline and issues. Did some members of Congress help rioters in the run-up? 

Groups were saying that they'd storm the Capitol (a particularly good article, also here). Alt-right groups are taking advantage of the opportunity to radicalize Trump supporters. The groups are in the military and law enforcement, and disinformation is rife. The scope of planning within the groups and between the groups isn't clear yet. The Proud Boys appear to have spearheaded some actions (excellent video), but the Oathkeepers and 3-percenters are well-represented too. More will be emerging as investigations continue. Here's NYT covering Proud Boys' chat prior to the riot. 

Also, what roles did Roger Stone and Alex Jones play? Here's Roger Stone raising money in the run-up. Here's an article by Rod Dreher on the religious groups prior to Jan. 6.

It was perhaps sheer luck that more people weren't killed. Most of the rioters were pro-police and not in favor of injuring police just to get to the members of Congress. The more radical groups perhaps didn't see enough support for more violent action and therefore didn't go that route. 

Tucker Carlson says it was just good Americans yearning to be heard by a callous, uncaring, overbearing government. Wow, talk about propaganda. 

A huge article about the work done by non-partisan groups to prevent a huge mess in the election and the aftermath. Election systems were strengthened, sometimes with donated money. Business groups didn't want chaos, but they saw it coming if they did nothing. 

A transcript of the speech given by Trump on Jan. 6. Search for 'fight' and search for 'peace' to get a sense of how much peaceful protest wasn't emphasized. 

Two articles about the belated response of the military to requests for help. Shorter, possibly clearer. Longer with a detailed timeline. There appeared to be almost an hour delay in getting the OK from top military to send in national guard units. The guards weren't able to go directly to help--they had to stop at armories to get the proper gear first. But at least they had partially mustered, or it would have taken even longer. 

Image: brandeis.edu

And more aftermath. 

A Republican Congressman (and Nazi youth look-alike) Madison Cawthorn has a moment of regret, but did it last? Minority leader McCarthy says that everyone bears responsibility. That's a convenient smearing/spreading of the blame. A pundit trying to minimize the importance of the riot. Mostly, things weren't that bad and democracy wasn't overturned, so it's not that bad. 

A watchdog of Parler found a 'patriot' calling for much more violence next time. Lets hunt these cowards down like the Traitors that each of them are, he writes. 

In Michigan, the head of the state senate goes along with the line from the true believers, and then apologizes, somewhat. This is such a standard  problem of standard cowardice. 

In Pennsylvania, there's a civil war between Trump supporters and those who support Toomey and a level of independence. We'll see in 2022 who is nominated to the open Senate seat and who wins. 

The Capitol Hill police force deals with group (and individual) PTSD. 

The nutty pillow guy is making 'documentaries' about the election theft. Here is a review: Absolute  Proof is as bad as you'd expect. 

Facebook has its own 'supreme court' and they were called on to rule and/or advise on the permanent suspension of Trump's account. Here's the pithy version of what they decided, including the phrase 'replete with falsehoods' about Trump's statement. Here is a more detailed version. 

'Daddy told us to come to DC.'

Trump supporters aren't that different from the Proud Boys or other right-wing fight groups. 

The saga of Ashli Babbitt, the woman who was shot while crossing a barricade in the Capitol.  

More about OathKeepers, Three Percenters,  and other militias. 

Trump tried to get the DOJ to overturn the election.

The New York Times made a somewhat short video (40 minutes) about the Jan. 6 riot, using pieced-together video of the events.