CASE ABOUT CLOSED — The Weekly Opine

Holding fast to the Constitution will keep you out of trouble. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

How long? Too long.

After watching the January 6 House Select Committee conduct its 4th hearing on Tuesday, the only remaining mystery is when – not if – but when will Attorney General Merrick Garland and his Department of Justice finally do the right thing? Based on what we’ve learned so far, indicting and convicting Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and John Eastman is a no brainer. They are the leaders of the criminal enterprise that attempted to overthrow America’s government.

Mr. Garland, go on ahead and bring criminal charges. Waiting until a criminal referral is submitted by the committee will make you look like the most out of touch person on Earth. If somehow he does not prosecute Trump, Americans should demand the impeachment of Garland, on grounds of dereliction of duty.

The House Select Committee revealed punishing evidence outlining crimes committed by Trump and his co-conspirators. No matter how many legal experts on CNN and MSNBC try working the edge (offering nonsense, like maybe there wasn’t an actual crime; or if Trump can prove he truly believed he won he may not be guilty of a crime) the factual reality is Trump, Giuliani, Eastman, and many others, are guilty of crimes.

The Trump cabal committed crimes against the United States government and crimes against individual states including Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Michigan. And they committed crimes against ordinary individuals who were honorably doing their job.

For those keeping track, it’s been nearly 18 months since a mob of thugs, primed and unleashed by Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol in the final act of a multi-act play. Why no one of significance is behind bars is a question only the DOJ can answer. Because rest assured, if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama carried out an unsuccessful conspiracy to overrun American democracy, such as what Trump is obviously guilty of, they would long ago have been charged, convicted and put away.

But alas, even losers like Trump, Giuliani and Eastman are protected by white man’s privilege. There is no other explanation why these criminals still walk free.

This rhinoceros has more brains than Rudy Giuliani. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Shining truth

There were three star witnesses during Tuesday’s hearing, in what was the most emotionally moving, compelling day of testimony so far.

Russell “Rusty” Bowers, House Speaker for Arizona’s state legislature, is by his own admission a Trump guy. Even with all that Trump has put him through Bowers, appearing to be a devout Christian, says he would vote for Trump again. But Bowers has a line he will not cross. Bowers is impressively sincere in his faith and steadfast in his commitment to his sworn oath. Bowers’ testimony, more than any so far, irreversibly harmed Trump. (Bowers said Giuliani admitted the voter fraud argument was a theory not backed up by evidence, which demonstrates how looney Trump and his clowns are.)

As was the case just before former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch testified during his first impeachment trial, Trump took to social media to disparage and discredit Bowers with lies, moments before Bowers testified. Why? Because Trump knew Bowers’ testimony would be akin to a devastating uppercut, and it was. (My big issue with man-of-faith Bowers is, like a lot of GOP “Christians,” he would again vote for the immoral, corrupt Trump. This means Bowers is a fake Christian, just like Mike Pence.)

Near the end of his testimony, Bowers brilliantly stated the U.S. Constitution was divinely inspired. And then Bowers closed saying if winning requires cheating he wants no part of it, because the sanctity of his oath will not allow him to break the law. Timber!

Courthouses across the land should fill up with guilty defendants who carried out The Big Lie conspiracy. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Voices of desperation

Listening to phone calls of Trump badger and bully Georgia Secretary of State Bill Raffensperger and Chief Investigator Frances Watson was pathetic. With each call Trump become more animated, and more desperate, finally resorting to threatening Raffensperger and Watson. As his 67-minute call with Raffensperger trudged on, Trump unraveled, becoming batty as he begged for 11,780 votes and repeated already proven lies about election fraud.

Two more star witnesses, and voices of desperation, were Shaye Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman. Moss and Freeman were honorable election workers falsely accused, by Trump and Giuliani, of cheating to push Biden over the top in Georgia. Their lives have been ruined by Trump and his violence-inclined mob of fascist thugs. Unlike state and federal government officials, who have access to protective services, Moss and Freeman are on their own, now afraid to venture out for fear of getting killed by Trump MAGAs.

Sadly, Moss and Freeman are just two of the many loyal, public servants across America whose lives have been upended by Trump and his straightjacket-worthy, mentally unstable followers.

A missing voice of desperation is that of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Initially, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) wanted Jordan, and other disruptive Republicans, to be on the January 6 Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused, knowing Jordan would be a cartoonish, sideshow distraction.

Instead, we get facts and truth, without listening to nonsensical subterfuge orchestrated by blowhards like Jordan. It is refreshing the American people can absorb the hearings without enduring farcical tactics, like those employed by Republicans during Trump’s impeachment hearings.

Complaints from the GOP and Fox Lies, that there is no cross-examination of witnesses, are baseless. Republicans had a chance to include more than two reps on the committee. But offering up misfits like Jim Jordan was foolish. Even Trump admits McCarthy made a grave misjudgment.

By this time next year, prisons should begin stocking up with conspirators who intended to overthrow American democracy. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

No way out

Trump has been in legal trouble for a long time. He’s been able to wiggle out of accountability due to timid prosecutors, wayward judges and threats of violence.

However, on Tuesday, testimony from Rusty Bowers, Bill Raffensperger, Gabriel Sterling, Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, coupled with video evidence shown by the committee, was overwhelming. It amounts to the death knell for Trump, and the white-collar criminals who knowingly, and gladly, participated in the failed conspiracy to overthrow American democracy on January 6, 2021.

(Today, we do not address Trump’s complicated, failed fake-elector scheme. Ultimately, the conspiracy to replace legal Biden state electors with a slate of fake Trump electors should result in prison sentences for white-collar Republicans; some prominent, some lackeys. Just yesterday, the DOJ issued subpoenas to fake electors in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan.)

It shouldn’t take long for Merrick Garland to pull the plug on Trump’s criminal activity. The DOJ should double-quick proceedings to hold Trump (a much more dangerous crook than Richard Nixon) and his co-conspirators accountable. Put them in prison where they belong.

Anything less will be an American travesty.