Month: January 2025

Special Counsel Report: Trump ‘Resorted to a Series of Criminal Efforts to Retain Power’

On Jan. 6, 2021, he 'direct[ed] an angry mob to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification of the presidential election and then leverage rioters' violence to further delay it'

Pensito Editors
Terrorist supporters of President Donald Trump occupy the U.S. Capitol in Washington
Trump-inspired terrorist Kevin Seefried of Delaware carries a Confederate flag during their storming of the U.S. Capitol, January 6, 2021. (REUTERS/Mike Theiler)

Excerpt from the report: As set forth in the original and superseding indictments, when it became clear that Mr. Trump had lost the election and that lawful means of challenging the election results had failed, he resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power. This included attempts:

  • to induce state officials to ignore true vote counts; to manufacture fraudulent slates of presidential electors in seven states that he had lost;
  • to force Justice Department officials and his own Vice President, Michael R. Pence, to act in contravention of their oaths and to instead advance Mr. Trump’s personal interests; and,
  • on January 6, 2021, to direct an angry mob to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification of the presidential election and then leverage rioters’ violence to further delay it.

In service of these efforts, Mr. Trump worked with other people to achieve a common plan: to overturn the election results and perpetuate himself in office.

Read the rest of the report, which is widely available online, including at this link [PDF].

Justice Department Releases Smith Report Detailing Trump’s Jan. 6 Crimes

Buck Banks

“The department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind,” Mr. Smith wrote in his report. “Indeed, but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”

— The New York Times: The Justice Department delivered the 137-page volume — representing half of Mr. Smith’s overall final report, with the volume about Mr. Trump’s other federal case, accusing him of mishandling classified documents, still confidential — to Congress just after midnight on Tuesday.

Many Democrats Do Not Expect to See a Woman President in Their Lifetime

Buck Banks

~40%

A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that about 4 in 10 Democrats said it’s “not very likely” or “not at all likely” that a woman will be elected to the nation’s highest office in their lifetime. That’s compared with about one-quarter of Republicans who feel the same.

Border Crossings Hit New Low

Buck Banks

46,000+

“Illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border have slowed significantly as President Biden prepares to leave office and as President-elect Donald Trump, who promised to crack down on immigration, is days away from retaking power,” the New York Times reports. “More than 46,000 people crossed the border illegally in November, the lowest number during the Biden administration.”

A ‘Dubious Distinction’ Indeed

Buck Banks

“After months of delay, President-elect Donald J. Trump on Friday became the first American president to be criminally sentenced. … He avoided jail or any other substantive punishment, but the proceeding carried symbolic importance: It formalized Mr. Trump’s status as a felon, making him the first to carry that dubious designation into the presidency.”

— The New York Times