Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and a former Federal corruption prosecutor, writes in a new article for Salon.com that the indictment of the Malignant Loser is inevitable, in connection with his manifold and open fraudulent attempts to overthrow the duly elected President in 2020. After he rips the argument that indictment(s) will "exacerbate political divisions" and cites the Ford pardoning of Nixon as a false equivalent, Bookbinder gives three reasons why indictments should proceed, summarized below:
"First, Trump has yet to face any consequences for his criminal efforts to retain power against the will of the American people. After the Watergate investigations exposed Nixon's crimes, he resigned the presidency in disgrace and never sought public office again. Trump by contrast, is not in exile — he is emboldened. [snip]
Second, Trump is going to continue breaking the law until he is held accountable. Since he first ran for president in 2016, Trump has been credibly accused of at least 55 crimes. [snip]
Finally, prosecuting Trump represents a critical opportunity to reaffirm that it is unacceptable to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power–a defining feature of American constitutional democracy."
Meanwhile there are reports that the Justice Department is moving aggressively to penetrate the false legal barrier that the Malignant Loser is counting on to keep his White House lawyers from sharing information about his actions and words leading up to and during the January 6 Trumpist insurrection. Specifically, Pat Cippolone and Patrick Philbin, the White House counsel and deputy counsel respectively, may offer vital testimony that nails down serious charges of fraud against the U.S., obstruction of justice, and (hopefully) seditious conspiracy against the Malignant Loser:
"The litigation around Cipollone and Philbin’s testimony may be important for investigators in the long run, given how close the pair was to the Trump leading up to and during the Capitol riot. Prosecutors are likely to aim for the grand jury to hear about their direct conversations with the then-President.
The disputes – conducted under seal in court because they involve grand jury activity – may also spawn several more court fights that will be crucial for prosecutors as they work to bring criminal charges related to Trump’s post-election efforts."
The Justice Department has a lot to work with on the January 6 conspiracy, from fake electors to the organization and direction of the riotous coup itself, but the testimony of "people in the room" with the Malignant Loser would help seal his fate.
