Trump a clear and present danger to the great republic

The risk for the US is that Donald Trump or his surrogate runs for president in 2024 and we see a more sophisticated attempt to over­turn democracy that succeeds. Picture: AFP

The US House of Representatives select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol and Don­ald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election should serve as a sobering reminder of the fragility of demo­c­racy everywhere and the threat posed by populist demagogues.

The extraordinary evidence revealed by the January 6th committee demonstrates that Trump was at the centre of the attempt to subvert the democratic process, encouraged and incited the deadly riot at the Capitol, and remains a clear and present danger to the great republic.

The committee, with Democrat and Republican members, is undertaking the most important congressional investiga­tion since the Watergate hearings that probed Richard Nixon’s cover-up of the “third-rate burglary” at Democratic National Committee headquarters 50 years ago.

Nixon had many domestic and foreign policy achievements but was a criminal president. He differs from Trump in two critical respects. Nixon resigned and expressed regret over what he did, whereas Trump has no shame and no remorse. And Nixon’s crimes are dwarfed by Trump’s attempted coup d’etat.

Before votes were cast in the 2020 election, Trump warned it would be rigged and the voters’ verdict could not be trusted if he lost. If he had won the election, however, it would have been legitimate. The January 6th committee documented how Trump was told by his campaign to expect defeat but listened to others such as disgraced former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and declared victory anyway.

Ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden as the legitimately elected president, Trump examined ways to remain in power. The certification of the electoral college vote by vice-president Mike Pence on January 6 – a routine rubberstamping exercise – was seized on as the opportunity to overturn the election.

Former US attorney-general Bill Barr told Trump his claims of vote fraud and a stolen election were “bullshit”. Trump looked to those who reassured him that his unproven and erroneous claims were true. But even his daughter, Ivanka Trump, said she accepted Barr’s judgment.

Undeterred, Trump encouraged supporters to come to Washington for the certification. His incendiary speech that day incited the storming of the Capitol. There is no doubt the rioters wanted to sabotage the election. They did so in Trump’s name, with his authorisation and encouragement. The Capitol insurrection resulted in five people losing their lives, hundreds injured and 140 police officers assaulted. As the rioters rampaged through the Capitol building, it is a miracle Pence, Democrat leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, and others were not captured or killed.

It is chilling and frightening to hear the testimony of those who witnessed the insurgency. Yet Trump ignored pleas to initiate a defence of the Capitol. It was Pence, with his life threatened, who urged Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mark Milley to send the National Guard to restore order.

More than 800 pro-Trump protesters have been charged. The most troubling is Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, and dozens of their supporters, who have been indicted for their role in the attack, including conspiracy to commit sedition. During the election, Trump told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”.

The January 6th committee has interviewed 1000 witnesses and collected 140,000 documents as part of its investigation. The most damning evidence that shows Trump committed crimes against the US constitution comes from Republicans, including those once in his inner circle, not partisan Democrats.

The house committee’s task is not just to probe the events at the Capitol, which were organised rather than spontaneous, but to demonstrate how it was the culmination of a systematic attempt to sabotage a democratic election led by Trump. The evidence presented so far has been compelling.

House committee Republican vice-chair Liz Cheney has been relentless in seeking to hold those accountable for the attack on the Capitol and the attempted coup. She has lashed fellow Republicans for defending the indefensible. “There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonour will remain,” she said.

Some house committee members believe they have already made a case for the Justice Department to consider a criminal indictment of Trump. Trump has likely violated at least two federal criminal statutes: obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the US.

A federal judge in California found in a civil case in March it was “more likely than not” that Trump committed federal crimes. A prosecution of Trump, following his second impeachment by the house last year, would be fitting but would unleash even more divisions in the US.

However, Trump’s attempt to replace democracy with dictatorship by seeking to remain in office despite the will of the voters is not a threat that has passed. It is ongoing because Trump has refused to accept he lost the election, take responsibility for the riot and the attempted coup, and has millions of Americans who believe his lies.

Trump maintains the 2020 election was “rigged and stolen”. He has attacked those who testified, including his daughter. “January 6th was not simply a protest, it represented the greatest movement in the history of our Country to Make America Great Again,” he wrote on his social media site last week. This is utterly delusional and dangerous.

The risk for the US is that Trump or his surrogate runs for president in 2024 and we see a more sophisticated attempt to over­turn democracy that succeeds. The Republican Party, like the US, is best served by moving on from Trump. Those who defend him share his dishonour.