Time to Indict Trump on National Security Documents and Inciting and Fomenting January 6 Insurrection

The Justice Department, unlike the House January 6 Committee, has been slow to develop their cases against Trump on the January 6 Insurrection and his taking national security documents from the White House, hiding the documents at Mar-a-Lago, refusing to turn over all the national security documents when served with a Grand Jury subpoena, and telling his attorneys to lie to the Justice Department and FBI about his retention of national security documents.

Then there is the January 6 Insurrection which the January 6 Committee investigated and developed clear evidence of Trump’s role in organization of the Insurrection, his promotion and incitement of the Insurrection through his in-person rally, and despite being advised by the Secret Service that some of the participants in Trump’s rally were armed with various weapons, Trump instructed the Insurrectionists to go to the Capitol and be tough and strong. The President of the United States instructed an armed mob to go to the Capitol and be strong to stop the counting of ballots for confirmation of the Biden election. That same President fought with the Secret Service as he wanted to personally lead the charge on the Capitol like Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. Then when the Secret Service declined to transport the President to lead a charge on the Capitol, he attacked the Secret Service agents in his presidential limousine and continued to demand that he be driven to the Capitol. One wonders what Trump would have done if the Secret Service did take him to the Capitol.

For a President to incite armed Insurrectionists to do whatever possible to stop the counting of votes is probably the most insidious action ever taken by any president. Then as the Insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, resulting in deaths and injuries, Trump watched it all on television for over three hours refusing to do anything to stop the rioters despite repeated urging by his family, his executive staff, and public commentators who he supposedly followed. Instead of calming the situation to maintain law and order as was his legal obligation, he then incited the Insurrectionists to attack Mike Pence, his Vice President because Pence would not do his bidding to stop the vote count, when Pence told Trump that he did not have the authority to do what Trump wanted. But when Trump finally told the Insurrectionists to go home, after four hours of their mayhem, injury to officers and deaths of participants, the mob followed their leader’s command and with belated assistance from the National Guard, the Capitol was cleared so that the confirmation vote of Biden as president could continue.

All of this was developed and presented in great detail by the January 6 Committee, and one must assume that the Justice Department followed those proceedings and independently developed evidence of Trump’s actions and inactions. The Justice Department did ask the January 6 Committee to share evidence, and they may have done so beyond that presented to the public.

Attorney General Garland says no one is above the law, but he hesitates to proceed with an indictment on either the national security case or the January 6 insurrection. He apparently even speculated appointing a Special Prosecutor to take over the investigation of Trump. But what would be the point in putting someone else in charge and further slowing down the investigation? Did Garland think he would be freed from political attack by appointing a Special Prosecutor? That would hardly be the case.

Is Garland afraid of reaction to a Trump indictment by MAGA adherents? How could an Attorney General not proceed with a valid and justifiable prosecution because some amorphous mob of Trump supporters might take hostile action. Surely, we are not allowing this nation to sink so low that we cannot prosecute someone because his adherents and cult supporters would loudly object. Law enforcement and the National Guard should be made ready to prevent any such armed hostile event by the MAGA adherents.

It is important to cross the t’s and dot the i’s in a presidential or any prosecution, but surely the Justice Department has had sufficient time to develop the needed evidence to present the Trump cases to a Grand Jury and seek indictments.

If Trump is not promptly prosecuted, despite the overwhelming evidence against him on both the national security cases and the January 6 Insurrection case, people will feel that Justice is not blind in the United States, but rather the deck is loaded to prevent prosecution of the wealthy, the well-connected and a former president who seeks to run again in 2024. Failure to prosecute Trump would be a debasement of American law and an erosion of justice.

Now is the time for the Attorney General to act in proceeding with Trump indictments for the good of the nation.