Pre-Trial Brief Lies That Trump Himself Ran Jan. 6 ‘Insurrection,’ Seeks To Ban Him from Any Office

Feb. 2 , 2021 (EIRNS)— In the 85-page impeachment pre-trial brief presented today, nine House impeachment managers charged that Donald Trump’s responsibility for the violent events of Jan. 6 “is unmistakable,” and that he deserves to be impeached—even though he is no longer President—and banned from all future political office positions. This latter point gets to the heart of what the orchestrators of this charade seek.

The claim is that Trump’s efforts to “extend his grip on power by fomenting violence against Congress was a profound violation of the oath he swore. If provoking an insurrectionary riot against a Joint Session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine what would be,” the brief asserts. It also argues that Trump’s actions in the months leading up to Jan. 6, in which he claimed that the Nov. 3, 2020 election was stolen from him, created the conditions for a violent mob to be aimed “like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue” to attack the Capitol. “President Trump created a powder keg on January 6,” and, the brief absurdly notes, “hundreds were prepared for violence at his direction. They were prepared to do whatever it took to keep him in power. All they needed to hear was that their President needed them to ‘fight like hell.’ All they needed was for President Trump to strike a match.”

The document also claims that Trump was actually “delighted” to see how the riot was unfolding and didn’t tweet to his followers to leave the Capitol. And, the brief argues, there is even “bipartisan” condemnation of Trump, offered by such upstanding leaders as Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

The impeachment brief is insistent that, given his insurrectionary crimes, Donald Trump must never again be allowed to hold public office. It charges that

“while sworn to faithfully execute the laws—and to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution—President Trump incited insurrection against the United States government. His conduct endangered the life of every single Member of Congress, jeopardized the peaceful transition of power and line of succession, and compromised our national security. This is precisely the sort of constitutional offense that warrants disqualification from federal office.”

And, it adds that elections alone cannot offer a “sufficient safeguard against future abuse,” because President Trump attacked the electoral system itself. So, it must be protected from him “and anyone else who would seek to mimic his behavior. To protect our democracy and national security—and to deter any future President who would consider provoking violence in pursuit of power—the Senate should convict President Trump and disqualify him from future federal officeholding.”