We will be taking a break as we celebrate the holidays. We will be back in 3 weeks. Happy holidays!
“If we are to survive as a nation of laws and democracy, this can never happen again. How do we stop it? This Committee will lay out a number of recommendations in its Final Report.”
—Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the January 6th Committee, at the Committee’s final business meeting on Monday, December 19, 2022
Today, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol is releasing its Final Report laying out its full findings on the conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 election and keep Trump in office against the will of the people.
The Select Committee has found that:
- Trump knew before the 2020 election that he was losing, and after the election that he had lost, and tried to stay in power anyway.
- The conspirators sent fake slates of Republican electors to Congress and the National Archives, to sow confusion and discord as well as to create a pretext to either throw out the real votes in favor of the fraudulent ones or give state legislatures an excuse to falsely name Trump the winner.
- The conspirators repeatedly told lie after lie about the 2020 election, lies that even Republican elections officials and Trump’s own Department of Justice had shown to be false, in order to whip up the angry mob on January 6 that Trump instructed to go to the Capitol to “fight like hell” to disrupt the counting of the electoral votes.
- Trump knew that the mob was armed, and told the Secret Service to let his armed supporters in to attend his speech anyhow, because “they’re not here to hurt me.”
- Trump wanted to accompany the mob to the Capitol, against custom that the President does not go to Congress unless invited, to look like he was leading them.
- Trump watched the insurrection play out on TV from his dining room at the White House and refused to go out and make a statement through more than three hours of violence and terror.
- Even as he (eventually, begrudgingly) told the crowd to “go home,” Trump continued to lie about the 2020 election.
This is but a narrow slice of the broader conspiracy that the Committee has documented and presented in its public hearings, which we encourage you to #WatchForYourself. We thank the Committee for its diligent work in gathering all of this evidence and testimony and presenting a coherent story of Trump’s desperate attempt to cling to power against the will of the people and the rule of law.
On the basis of its findings, the Committee has made four referrals to the Department of Justice for possible criminal charges:
- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding (i.e. the counting of the electoral votes in the Capitol on January 6, 2021)
- Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
- Conspiracy to Make a False Statement (to the federal government)
- “Incite,” “Assist,” or “Aid or Comfort” an Insurrection
The Committee has also made referrals to the House Ethics Committee on four Members of Congress for refusing to comply with the Committee’s Congressional subpoenas. The Members in question are reported to be Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
We hope Attorney General Garland will pursue these investigations and any ensuing charges and trials with all possible speed. There’s only a year left before 2024, and that fourth charge opens the possibility under the Constitution of disqualifying Trump from running for office.
CNN has a summary of the Committee’s findings, based on the Committee’s “introductory material.”
Actions for the end of the year
- Register by December 31 to vote in the 2023 ADEM election: Every other January, the California Democratic Party holds an election in every Assembly District for people in that district to choose 14 delegates who will represent their district in certain party decisions. This election is called the Assembly District Election Meetings, or ADEMs. The CADem website has more information. Read more about the 2023 ADEMs on our blog.
- Apply by December 31 for COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave: If you get COVID-19, California has a program that will provide you up to 80 hours of paid sick leave. But you must claim it no later than December 31, as the program expires at the end of the year. KQED has more details.
- Get your free COVID-19 tests from the USPS: Free COVID-19 tests from the USPS are back! Last week, the Biden Administration reopened the site for new orders. Even if you’ve ordered before, you can order a fresh pack of 4 rapid antigen tests.
- Check your existing tests’ expiration dates: If you have older tests you haven’t used yet, don’t throw them out yet! Many tests’ expiration dates have been extended, so your tests might still be good. The FDA has a website where you can look up the brands you have and search their lot numbers to see updated expiration dates.
- Get your flu shot and your bivalent COVID-19 booster, if you haven’t already. Everyone 6 months and older is eligible. You’re eligible! Get every layer of protection you can. You can find both COVID-19 and flu vaccines on Vaccines.gov.
If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens. We’re spending the rest of the year celebrating the holidays, but we look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2023.
Indivisible SF Federal Working Group: Thursday, January 12, 7:30–9 PM Planning meeting where we discuss strategy to influence our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to enact a progressive agenda. Meeting starts promptly at 7:30 PM. All are welcome. Register here!
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today’s image is a frame-grab of the final business meeting of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol.
Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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