Donald Trump Cannot Escape Responsibility by Being Willfully Blind
Donald Trump presided over a lengthy meeting on December 18, 2020, that moved from the Oval Office, then to the residence. According to video testimony, an “unhinged” group of West Wing outsiders descended on the president to push their plans to fight Biden’s win. Details of the meeting, described at various times by witnesses as “crazy,” “contentious,” and “hot-blooded” set the stage for the committee’s central theory that Trump knew the truth, but purposely and intentionally disregarded it in favor of lawlessness.
The marathon battle for then-President Trump’s favor lasted for hours, with one side that included retired General Mike Flynn, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and the CEO from Overstock. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and then-White House Advisor and lawyer Eric Hershmann, and other advisors ran to intervene in the meeting as soon as they were alerted that the president was alone with this group.
Flynn and Powell came to the meeting with conspiracy theories and had prepared a draft executive order that would have effectively annulled the results of the presidential election, According to testimony from Powell, the president was receptive to their suggestions, especially the plans to challenge the results of the election.
The acrimonious argument, with the president at the center, lasted more than six hours, according to testimony. Trump’s White House advisors knew that Trump had lost the election and had explained this to him several times. The legal outsiders, led by Powell and Giuliani expressed fury over how little they felt was being done to pursue their outlandish theories of voter fraud and a stolen election, as they played to Trump’s refusal to concede.
Flynn, Powell, and Giuliani came armed with a plan: Trump could take back the election by issuing an executive order that demanded that the US military seize the voting machines in the states that had cost Trump the election.
Powell and Giuliani had already drafted the executive order before they arrived and then presented it to Trump. Testimony from former Attorney General William Barr confirmed that Trump was on board with the plan. In addition to that, Trump offered to give Sidney Powell a job as a special counsel for the Department of Justice to investigate non-existent voter fraud and she was given security clearance.
This meeting got dirty as Trump’s growing impatience over losing the election grew and fewer remedies appeared to be available to him. Giuliani testified that the president told his White House attorneys that they were "not tough enough" and used crass language, specifically calling Cipollone and Herschmann "pussies."
Pat Cipollone testified that he did not think that anyone in Powell’s group was providing the president with “good advice” and he told investigators that he didn’t understand how they had even gotten into the Oval Office. Cipollone also described Powell’s new job as special counsel by calling her “unqualified” and explained that he “vehemently opposed” the hiring of Ms. Powell as special counsel, adding: "I didn’t think she should’ve been appointed to anything."
This chaotic meeting ultimately descended into screaming and even threats of physical violence between the two groups vying for Trump’s attention. Herschman testified that “the screaming was completely out there” and he added, “What they were proposing I thought was nuts.” Cipollone explained his reaction to the outlandish plan being proposed by Powell and others. “To have the federal government seize voting machines? That’s a terrible idea for the country. That’s not how we do things in the United States,” Mr. Cipollone testified.
Cipollone explained that he continued to ask the outside legal team to provide evidence for their claims, but never received any. "There was a real question in my mind and a real concern, particularly after the attorney general had reached the conclusion that there wasn’t sufficient election fraud to change the outcome of the election, when other people kept suggesting there was, the answer is ‘what is it,’ and at some point, you have to put up or shut up," said Cipollone.
The meeting went on past midnight, and spread across several rooms in the White House, before arriving back where it began in the Oval Office. When the meeting concluded, Rudy Giuliani was escorted off of White House grounds to make sure he did not wander back. Cassidy Hutchinson documented Giuliani's departure in a series of texts that included the following statement: “The West Wing is UNHINGED.”
Just before the Committee dove into the details of this salacious Oval Office meeting on the 18th, they played a video montage of various Trump advisors testifying that they had most definitely instructed then-President Trump that Biden had legally won the election. What was shown was a series of White House officials confirming that Donald Trump knew very well that he had lost. Pat Cipollone had also explained to Trump that there was no evidence of election fraud and that it was time to concede.
"President Trump is a 76-year-old man; he is not an impressionable child," said committee Vice-Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, in response to those who claim that Trump was unknowingly influenced by the wrong people. "Just like everyone else in our country, he is responsible for his own actions and his own choices."
Following this pivotal meeting in the Oval, Trump and his outlier allies turned their efforts toward summoning a mob of his supporters to Washington to protest the certification of the election. On Dec. 19, Donald Trump issued a tweet to ignite his base in a call to action saying: “Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”
Relying on testimony from Trump aides, right-wing media commentators, and militia members, the committee next demonstrated how Trump’s series of public statements, and this specific tweet led his supporters to believe the election had actually been stolen. Right-wing advocates, shock-jocks, and para-military leaders made alarming references to a second Civil War and explained that Trump’s followers would be prepared to use violence to overthrow the election result.
The Jan. 6 Committee also linked Trump allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn to the prominent leaders of the Oath Keepers para-military group and revealed encrypted messages and chats. A text was shown from Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander that showed there was a plan in place for Trump to call his supporters to descend on the Capitol. Additionally, documents preserved by the National Archives, that showed the various versions of Trump’s speech during his rally at The Ellipse, proved that the last-minute addition was made to the speech where Trump called on his followers to march to the US Capitol.
The Special Committee also played audio testimony of a former employee at Twitter, who had been monitoring the calls for violence on Jan. 6 and who had warned the social media platform about what was to come. Despite all of these numerous warnings, nothing was done to give heightened alert to law enforcement agencies, who were also monitoring the posts.
The bottom line of yesterday’s hearing was made from the start. Liz Cheney emphasized the culpability of Donald Trump and dismissed the major defense being presented on his behalf. “Donald Trump cannot escape responsibility by being willfully blind,” is the perfect summation that will perhaps be made to a jury one day. This Jan. 6 Committee has certainly provided more than enough proof of intent and conspiracy for Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice to proceed with charging Trump and his co-conspirators. The focus now seems to be on driving home the point that some action must be taken and that the majority of America demands it.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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I for one will be quite surprised if Trump is ever held accountable for his crimes. The Biden White House is scared of its own shadow and is more worried about upsetting republicans than in displeasing democrats. Just look at Biden's plan to nominate a Mitch-approved judge in KY, or the many Biden campaign promises in the trash heap. Biden is republican-lite and Garland doesn't want to upset the social order of presidents doing whatever they want with impunity. Good luck America.
Sometimes the right decision is the hardest one to make, yeah some Rs will retaliate and cause chaos on the hill (nothing new) and some of T's cult will raise h*ll but if T is not held accountable, the next insurrection will succeed!