Happy Wednesday,
We begin with news from Mar-a-Lago, where Donald Trump will now not hold a press conference Thursday (the first anniversary of the Capitol insurrection). He said: âIn light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am canceling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday.â Donald Trump showing restraint? You have to wonder what the real reason is. Â
Maybe he senses the wagons circling. Attorney General Merrick Garland is holding a press conference Wednesday to update America on the progress, if thatâs the word, of the Justice Departmentâs investigation into the insurrection. The remarks are slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. The big question here: Will DOJ bring criminal charges against the high-up plotters, including Trump himself?
There is ample basis on which to do so. Washington attorney and former State Department official Jonathan Winer makes a lengthy case in The Washington Spectator, citing two federal civil rights criminal statutes Trump could be charged with violating:
âBoth of these civil rights federal criminal statutes have extensive histories; violations of the former statute are punishable with a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and of the latter statute just one year but increased to 10 years when someone has been injured. The sentences can extend to life imprisonment or even capital punishment when someone has been killed in connection with such crimes. To that point, five people died during or as a consequence of the January 6 insurrection, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, while more than 140 police suffered concussions, rib fractures, burns, and bodily mutilation.â
What will Garland do? Most people think not much. Neal Katyal, a lawyer who served as acting solicitor general in the DOJ under Obama, said on MSNBC Tuesday that if there were a full-throttle investigation of Trump and his confederates, weâd probably have some sense of that. Itâs true that most experts think proving a criminal case against Trump would be hard. But inaction implies that Garland is content to do nothing as our democracy is destroyed.
Keep an eye on Chicago, where a major showdown looms between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the cityâs school district and teachersâ union. School officials have canceled in-person instruction, defying Lightfootâs demand that the schools remain open. Coronavirus cases in Chicago are at their highest since the pandemic began. Lightfoot, according to The New York Times, countered by calling off school altogether.Â
And needless to say, there is Joe Manchin news. Or maybe Joe Manchin non-news. He reiterated Tuesday that heâs not budging for now on Build Back Better, and heâs not in favor of doing much of anything about the filibuster with respect to voting rights. Chuck Schumer insists heâs pressing ahead with votes on both matters. Which are presumably going to fail. Then what? Joe Manchin is exposed to ridicule? In West Virginia, heâll be a hero. Cal Cunningham, you idiot, why did you lose that Senate race?
At NewRepublic.com today, read the riveting excerpt from Jamie Raskinâs new book, Unthinkable, describing the events of last January 6 (and of course you should read my profile of Raskin if you havenât). Weâve also posted Daniel Straussâs feature from the new issue looking at whether the Democrats can beat the man who is probably Senate target number one, Wisconsinâs Ron Johnson. Can suicide be linked to climate change? Eleanor Cummins considers the evidence. And finally, weâve revamped what we call the front of the book in the print magazine, giving it a new name (State of the Nation) and adding (gasp!) a little humor. Check out Who Said It: Rand Paul or Dr. Leo Spaceman?
Hang in there, âMichael Tomasky, editor
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