By Kenneth Tiven in Washington
The most compelling political thriller in the United States is not on television or a streaming video service. It stars a lawyer, actually a bunch of lawyers, and a former president who is not a happy man. Eyes are on the investigation into the mystery of “who planned” the ransacking of the nation’s Capitol Building on January 6 by a huge mob, many dressed for military confrontation. That morning they had listened to Trump’s angry stolen election rhetoric at a rally outside the White House.
Their 2.5-kilometre march to Capitol Hill at the time seemed unplanned —more like improv political theatre than a coup against the United States. But a different picture has evolved from information gathered from among the 700-plus who invaded and were arrested. Republicans insist this was a spontaneous “tourist”affirmation of President Donald Trump. However, the House of Representatives’ Select Committee gathering evidence is connecting a large number of electronic dots—phones, messages, emails with surveillance and social videos, which like fingerprints and DNA link acts to people.
A Washington Post investigation found that law enforcement officials failed to heed mounting red flags that there would be violence when Congress formalised the electoral college vote. This was based on interviews with 230 people and thousands of pages of court documents and internal law enforcement reports, along with hundreds of videos, photographs and audio recordings. Donell Harvin, head of intelligence at Homeland Security’s DC office, was increasingly frantic as law enforcement basically ignored him and other intelligence sources. Other finding include:
- Pentagon leaders had acute fears about widespread violence, and some feared Trump could misuse the National Guard to remain in power.
- The Capitol Police was disorganised and unprepared.
- Trump’s election lies radicalised his supporters in real time.
Trump telegraphed the plan for disrupting the electoral count in advance framing former Vice-President Mike Pence as either a would-be hero or villain. “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us,” he told a rally in Georgia two days before the joint session, adding: “If he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him as much.” The House committee will be able to synchronise White House events with real time events elsewhere from subpoened National Archives records of what was happening at the White House. Trump opposes this in court based on his claim to have executive privilege after leaving office.
Trump has always been able to find lawyers who see things his way and in this January 6 case it was John Eastman, a supposed constitutional expert with deep respect among conservative lawyers and jurists. Eastman’s legal memorandum proposed that Pence refuse to accept the electors from certain states so that Trump would have winning totals. Pence was reluctant and did not do this. We now know that Eastman and Trump were both in the Oval Office cheering on the demonstrators. From this command post, Eastman sent Pence an email chastising him for not doing the president’s bidding.
Document quotes have leaked that could have come only from Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarty’s expletive filled argument with Trump over what was happening. Trump ignored him. A day after the events, McCarthy was suddenly all for Trump realising perhaps that under oath his opposition to Trump’s demand would be revealed and kill his career. Eastman now denies that the memo was a coup plan. He says he only suggested that if no candidate had the necessary votes, then the House on the basis of one vote per state would have the votes to keep Trump in office for four more years; a distinction without a difference. Eastman’s by now notorious memo, and the Oval Office meetings would be a Hollywood or Bollywood blockbuster, but this is real life. Trump wanted to hang on to the perks and protections offered by the job, and Plan B was a coup if necessary. Presidential behaviour was a minor consideration, if at all.
The Washington Post has emails—presumably emerging out of the committee investigation—of what happened during the insurrection. As the MAGA warriors were storming the Capitol, Pence was staying in a secure location. Eastman emailed Pence and his top aide saying that the insurrection was Pence’s fault for not going through with the coup plot. As the President’s supporters ransacked the Capitol, shouting: “hang Pence,” Eastman demanded Pence shift course and do Trump’s thing. This helps explain why Pence avoided going to the White House later that day.
Trump quite obviously does not want January 6 investigators accessing daily presidential diaries, drafts of election-related speeches, logs of his phone calls, handwritten notes and files of top aides. According to the National Archives, the former US president has sought to block about 750 pages out of nearly 1,600 identified by officials as relevant. Trump’s lawsuit is the best indication yet of what he is trying to withhold from congressional investigators.
The National Archives indicated that many files were drawn from the systems of key Trump aides, including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, adviser Stephen Miller and deputy counsel Patrick Philbin. Other documents include associated e-mails from the Office of the Executive Clerk, which relate to the Select Committee’s interest in the White House’s response to the Capitol attack.
The Justice Department, representing the Archive, responded to Trump’s lawsuit this way: “These records all relate to the events on or about January 6, and may assist the Select Committee’s investigation into that day, including what was occurring at the White House immediately before, during and after the January 6 attack.” The Biden administration’s position is simple—Trump has no executive privilege after leaving office.
The other thriller is like an old cowboy movie, watching President Biden attempt to corral two difficult conservative Democratic Senators to vote for his now scaled back social plans spending $175 trillion dollars focused on the 80% of Americans who do not have a net worth of $500 thousand dollars. It is hardly small but not nearly what Biden wanted, yet is dwarfed by military spending.
The obstinate ones are Senator Joseph Manchin of West Virginia. That he is in the pocket of energy interests is not a surprise because his state used be a giant coal producer. The other oppositional senator is Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona appears to have a warm and prosperous relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, which means the government’s health plan called Medicare still cannot negotiate drug prices the way Walmart can. Her desire for the limelight and her ego are immense.
If political emails seeking money are an indicator of anxiety, it is at a high level in the Trump campaign which hints he will run 2024. This journalist gets at least four a day, all asking for large donations while suggesting America is going to be the next Communist country if Biden isn’t opposed and then defeated in 2024. Right-wing media, such as Fox News is trying to help. It did a “trend “story citing $7 a gallon for gas in one Virginia station as the wave that will sweep America. More “pretend” than reality since the average price is less than half of that. On another occasion, the right-wing TV featured old and out-of-context images of empty store shelves—from places like Japan, Nebraska, Australia and Berlin—misrepresented as current shelves depleted by widespread supply chain failures.
As with the emails, the constant repetition helps to misshape the national political debate.
—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels