JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE GOES TO COURT TO ALLEGE TRUMP COMMITTED FRAUD
JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE GOES TO COURT TO ALLEGE TRUMP COMMITTED FRAUD
“I cannot remember the last time a Congressional Committee accused a President--in a court filing--of committing felonies," former Obama administration lawyer tweets
The bipartisan House select committee investigating the events surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, dropped a legal and political bombshell Wednesday night on the nation's capital.
The lawmakers — led by Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo) — are alleging that former president Donald Trump took part in a scheme to commit fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“I cannot remember the last time a Congressional Committee accused a President--in a court filing--of committing felonies. This isn't loose talk, it is a solemn court document, subject to all sorts of sanctions for misrepresentations, and backed by evidence they have uncovered,” tweeted attorney Neal Katyal, who served as acting solicitor general during the Obama administration.
The select committee's court filing is related to efforts by right-wing attorney John Eastman — who worked closely with Trump and other Republicans following Trump's loss in 2020 — to try to shield certain records under attorney/client privilege.
“The facts we’ve gathered strongly suggest that Dr. Eastman’s emails may show that he helped Donald Trump advance a corrupt scheme to obstruct the counting of electoral college ballots and a conspiracy to impede the transfer of power,” the committee tweeted late Wednesday.
Hugo Lowell, reporter for the Guardian, reported out: “LATEST: Jan. 6 committee says it believes Trump violated multiple federal laws as he sought to overturn the 2020 election — including obstruction of Congress and defrauding the United States”
Robert Costa — the Washington Post reporter who co-authored the recent book, Peril, with famed Watergate journalist Bob Woodward — said that their reporting for the book backs up fraud claims.
“Key thing tonight: @January6thCmte making clear it is probing how Trump might have *defrauded* the United States. Woodward and I have talked for months about how fraud might be the central legal vulnerability for Trump and his associates. *** 18 US Code Section 371 ***” Costa tweeted, adding: “It's 18 US Code Section 371. I'm sorry, this sounds technical, but it is a law that says it is a crime to defraud the government in any deceptive way. And that's exactly what they did here.”
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