Just a quick note tonight. I wanted to share something I’ve been thinking about a lot, ahead of the January 6 committee business meeting on Monday. That meeting is expected to produce criminal referrals for Trump and perhaps others. We’ll discuss expectations for the committee’s work tomorrow in The Week Ahead edition of the newsletter.
Excellent. The fact that he called Zelensky with a bribe is horrible enough, but to do it the day after he escaped what should have been a crisis shows his lack of conscience and dictatorial mindset. When he told Lev Parmas: ‘Take her out’ in reference to Maria Yovanovitch, I think he had more in mind than removing her from her job. Trump is evil. President John F Kennedy and his brother Robert, an AG and Senator who was running for POTUS, were both brutally murdered. That was unprecedented too, and horrific. It was not ignored! Trump is venal and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. We the people and our government must respond in kind of we want to preserve our Democracy. Pursue the lawless. Who cares what title he may have once held.
If DOJ doesn't indict trump and others, this turmoil will become commonplace, not unprecedented. Nip it in the bud now to show everyone there are REAL consequences to bad actions. If not, we may as well move.
If Ford hadn’t pardoned Nixon, also an unprecedented act, I don’t believe we’d be here today. Nixon would have been prosecuted and jailed, and subsequent presidents would know this could happen to them as well. The possibility of jail time would have made trump think twice about committing obvious crimes while in office. That stupid DOJ legal memo that says a sitting president can’t be prosecuted needs to be rescinded too.
Thank you, Joyce Vance, for this excellent reminder. It is also unprecedented to prosecute many members of congress who collaborated with Trump's coup attempt. They could turn their prosecution by the DOJ into a claim that the Biden Administration is going after its enemies. Yesterday Laurie Caplan's top comment in Robert Hubbell's Substack blogged named them. Here is her post:
"Laurie Caplan
Dec 16
Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Trump might want to flee to Saudi Arabia, but will the kingdom want him? They probably wouldn't want these 34 traitors: the Republican members of Congress who exchanged text messages with Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, about assorted schemes to overturn the 2020 election. If we can't get Trump and these scumbags in jail, let's at least get them out of Congress. A Mid East desert sounds about right to me. Without sunscreen.
Rep. Rick Allen (Georgia)
Rep. Brian Babin (Texas)
Rep. Andy Biggs (Arizona)
Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina)
Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas)
Rep. Mo Brooks (Alabama)
Rep. Ted Budd (North Carolina)
Rep. Andrew Clyde (Georgia)
Sen. Kevin Cramer (North Dakota)
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas)
Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio)
Rep. Tom Emmer (Minnesota)
Rep. Bob Gibbs (Ohio)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (Texas)
Rep. Paul Gosar (Arizona)
Rep. Mark Green (Tennessee)
Rep. Jody Hice (Georgia)
Rep. Richard Hudson (North Carolina)
Rep. Mike Johnson (Louisiana)
Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin)
Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio)
Rep. Fred Keller (Pennsylvania)
Rep. Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania)
Sen. Mike Lee (Utah)
Rep. Billy Long (Missouri)
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (Georgia)
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming)
Rep. Barry Moore (Alabama)
Rep. Greg Murphy (North Carolina)
Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina)
Sen. David Perdue (Georgia)
Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania)
Rep. Chip Roy (Texas)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (Georgia)"
And while we are all fixated on the Trump circus, let's remember that the coup is ongoing on several fronts, including one that gets occasional coverage but is largely flying under the radar. The authoritarian strategy is to flood the zone, a metaphor for sending many football receivers into a zone with few defenders so the ball can go to one who is unguarded.
Common Cause is raising an alarm that the usual well-funded reactionaries are pushing states to call a constitutional convention. That seems straightforward, right? It’s hard to pass a constitutional amendment, at least the way that's usually done. You start with two-thirds of the House and Senate voting for it and then three quarters of states need to ratify. Successfully passing a constitutional amendment is usually done by targeting an overwhelmingly popular cause. But there’s another way that throws the process into chaos, and reactionaries are trying to game the system. The threat resembles their successful strategy of capturing state governments to drive gerrymandering and establish minority rule -- and their strategy to stack the courts with originalist judges.
If you don’t have the U.S. Congress proposing a constitutional amendment in a united drive to achieve an identified goal like the 19th Amendment that guaranteed woman’s suffrage, you can revise the Constitution another way.
Under Article V of the Constitution, two-thirds of states can call for a constitutional convention. They may be disunited on the goal, some state legislatures may unite on require a balanced federal budget, others may want to establish term limits for national politicians, yet others may want to reverse the Citizens v. United SCOTUS decision, etc. But this type of convention can be hijacked because there are few established rules for how it is done. The effort to call for a constitutional amendment this way is active in enough states that only six more are needed to call a convention. This effort is being funded by Koch Industries, the Mercer family and conservative politicians like Marco Rubio and many others. States can rescind their application for an Article V Constitutional convention.
Here is the Common Cause summary of this effort and its dangers. As the year starts, we need to sound the alarm and mobilize on this danger.
Amen, Joyce! Writers like you do a great service by dismantling this canard. Everything that has happened in this world, in our lifetime and others, was ONCE unprecedented. And then it wasn't. And let me add, Trump's unprecedented assault on democracy requires an equally unprecedented defense for it. So, as a nation, we need to summon the backbone to save ourselves.
Thank you for expressing my sentiments so succinctly. When the tape of a conversation he had with Billy Bush was released, I knew there was no way in ykw that I would give that man my vote. (Actually i was shell shocked when he was the nominee and i am not a Republican). (1) When he made the call to President Zelensky that was leaked and/or released, i knew he had committed treason . (2) when he made the call to Brad Rathensberger, i knew he had committed treason. (3). When Maralago was searched, documents found and the news reported one was classified information that could affect our nation’s security, i started bawling and knew beyond any doubt that this man had betrayed our country. Why were his passports returned although i doubt secret service now would allow him to leave now. I could go on and on. I do have faith in the DOJ, Atty General Garland and Special Prosecutor Smith. But let’s get going, folks.....the conventions are a little over eighteen months away.
Thank you, Mrs Vance for all you do....this is a labor of love! Education is so important.....Merry Christmas❤️🎄
Absolutely brilliant essay tonight; thank you, Joyce, for saying to millions what I have been saying to friends for months. It needs to be said loud and clear for EVERYONE to hear and understand.
I find it heartbreaking that the incoming House majority claims they will investigate the Jan-6 committee after they have worked so tirelessly to get the facts.
Spot on Joyce. I know your plate is full however I think you should compile your musings/commentaries into a book volume. I am a Series Editor for Crimes of the Powerful published by Rutledge (Taylor and Francis). I am quite confident that we would like to publish such a book.
Thank you for clarifying that a unprecedented crime by an American president — until Trump — not only should not be an obstacle to his prosecution, but further, is good reason to prosecute.
By the way, that photograph at the top of your column is eerily and frighteningly Orwellian.
Excellent. The fact that he called Zelensky with a bribe is horrible enough, but to do it the day after he escaped what should have been a crisis shows his lack of conscience and dictatorial mindset. When he told Lev Parmas: ‘Take her out’ in reference to Maria Yovanovitch, I think he had more in mind than removing her from her job. Trump is evil. President John F Kennedy and his brother Robert, an AG and Senator who was running for POTUS, were both brutally murdered. That was unprecedented too, and horrific. It was not ignored! Trump is venal and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. We the people and our government must respond in kind of we want to preserve our Democracy. Pursue the lawless. Who cares what title he may have once held.
If DOJ doesn't indict trump and others, this turmoil will become commonplace, not unprecedented. Nip it in the bud now to show everyone there are REAL consequences to bad actions. If not, we may as well move.
Thank you, for putting “unprecedented” in its proper context. It’s not the prosecutions of Trump, but his actions that are unprecedented.
If Ford hadn’t pardoned Nixon, also an unprecedented act, I don’t believe we’d be here today. Nixon would have been prosecuted and jailed, and subsequent presidents would know this could happen to them as well. The possibility of jail time would have made trump think twice about committing obvious crimes while in office. That stupid DOJ legal memo that says a sitting president can’t be prosecuted needs to be rescinded too.
Thank you, Joyce Vance, for this excellent reminder. It is also unprecedented to prosecute many members of congress who collaborated with Trump's coup attempt. They could turn their prosecution by the DOJ into a claim that the Biden Administration is going after its enemies. Yesterday Laurie Caplan's top comment in Robert Hubbell's Substack blogged named them. Here is her post:
"Laurie Caplan
Dec 16
Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Trump might want to flee to Saudi Arabia, but will the kingdom want him? They probably wouldn't want these 34 traitors: the Republican members of Congress who exchanged text messages with Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, about assorted schemes to overturn the 2020 election. If we can't get Trump and these scumbags in jail, let's at least get them out of Congress. A Mid East desert sounds about right to me. Without sunscreen.
Rep. Rick Allen (Georgia)
Rep. Brian Babin (Texas)
Rep. Andy Biggs (Arizona)
Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina)
Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas)
Rep. Mo Brooks (Alabama)
Rep. Ted Budd (North Carolina)
Rep. Andrew Clyde (Georgia)
Sen. Kevin Cramer (North Dakota)
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas)
Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio)
Rep. Tom Emmer (Minnesota)
Rep. Bob Gibbs (Ohio)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (Texas)
Rep. Paul Gosar (Arizona)
Rep. Mark Green (Tennessee)
Rep. Jody Hice (Georgia)
Rep. Richard Hudson (North Carolina)
Rep. Mike Johnson (Louisiana)
Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin)
Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio)
Rep. Fred Keller (Pennsylvania)
Rep. Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania)
Sen. Mike Lee (Utah)
Rep. Billy Long (Missouri)
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (Georgia)
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming)
Rep. Barry Moore (Alabama)
Rep. Greg Murphy (North Carolina)
Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina)
Sen. David Perdue (Georgia)
Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania)
Rep. Chip Roy (Texas)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (Georgia)"
And while we are all fixated on the Trump circus, let's remember that the coup is ongoing on several fronts, including one that gets occasional coverage but is largely flying under the radar. The authoritarian strategy is to flood the zone, a metaphor for sending many football receivers into a zone with few defenders so the ball can go to one who is unguarded.
Common Cause is raising an alarm that the usual well-funded reactionaries are pushing states to call a constitutional convention. That seems straightforward, right? It’s hard to pass a constitutional amendment, at least the way that's usually done. You start with two-thirds of the House and Senate voting for it and then three quarters of states need to ratify. Successfully passing a constitutional amendment is usually done by targeting an overwhelmingly popular cause. But there’s another way that throws the process into chaos, and reactionaries are trying to game the system. The threat resembles their successful strategy of capturing state governments to drive gerrymandering and establish minority rule -- and their strategy to stack the courts with originalist judges.
If you don’t have the U.S. Congress proposing a constitutional amendment in a united drive to achieve an identified goal like the 19th Amendment that guaranteed woman’s suffrage, you can revise the Constitution another way.
Under Article V of the Constitution, two-thirds of states can call for a constitutional convention. They may be disunited on the goal, some state legislatures may unite on require a balanced federal budget, others may want to establish term limits for national politicians, yet others may want to reverse the Citizens v. United SCOTUS decision, etc. But this type of convention can be hijacked because there are few established rules for how it is done. The effort to call for a constitutional amendment this way is active in enough states that only six more are needed to call a convention. This effort is being funded by Koch Industries, the Mercer family and conservative politicians like Marco Rubio and many others. States can rescind their application for an Article V Constitutional convention.
Here is the Common Cause summary of this effort and its dangers. As the year starts, we need to sound the alarm and mobilize on this danger.
https://www.commoncause.org/media/wisconsin-legislatures-vote-leaves-naiton-only-six-states-shy-of-article-v-constitutional-convention/
Fasten your seatbelts and happy holidays ...
You expressed exactly and clearly what I could not articulate in words. Thank you!
Joyce, you laid that out so brilliantly clear..I agree with everything you’ve said here..
Unprecedented that the crimes were committed by the man, however, straightforward the decision to prosecute by DOJ..
There is no other correct path to be taken..
Amen, Joyce! Writers like you do a great service by dismantling this canard. Everything that has happened in this world, in our lifetime and others, was ONCE unprecedented. And then it wasn't. And let me add, Trump's unprecedented assault on democracy requires an equally unprecedented defense for it. So, as a nation, we need to summon the backbone to save ourselves.
The unprecedented is just a fantasy word..
It’s so much easier to wrap one’s mind around its meaning in the simplest terms..
”For the first time”.
Thank you for expressing my sentiments so succinctly. When the tape of a conversation he had with Billy Bush was released, I knew there was no way in ykw that I would give that man my vote. (Actually i was shell shocked when he was the nominee and i am not a Republican). (1) When he made the call to President Zelensky that was leaked and/or released, i knew he had committed treason . (2) when he made the call to Brad Rathensberger, i knew he had committed treason. (3). When Maralago was searched, documents found and the news reported one was classified information that could affect our nation’s security, i started bawling and knew beyond any doubt that this man had betrayed our country. Why were his passports returned although i doubt secret service now would allow him to leave now. I could go on and on. I do have faith in the DOJ, Atty General Garland and Special Prosecutor Smith. But let’s get going, folks.....the conventions are a little over eighteen months away.
Thank you, Mrs Vance for all you do....this is a labor of love! Education is so important.....Merry Christmas❤️🎄
Thank you. Clear and correct.
Absolutely brilliant essay tonight; thank you, Joyce, for saying to millions what I have been saying to friends for months. It needs to be said loud and clear for EVERYONE to hear and understand.
I find it heartbreaking that the incoming House majority claims they will investigate the Jan-6 committee after they have worked so tirelessly to get the facts.
Spot on Joyce. I know your plate is full however I think you should compile your musings/commentaries into a book volume. I am a Series Editor for Crimes of the Powerful published by Rutledge (Taylor and Francis). I am quite confident that we would like to publish such a book.
Very well said Joyce. Thank you for articulating what so many of us are thinking.
Joyce,
Thank you for clarifying that a unprecedented crime by an American president — until Trump — not only should not be an obstacle to his prosecution, but further, is good reason to prosecute.
By the way, that photograph at the top of your column is eerily and frighteningly Orwellian.
Thank you! You said it all, Joyce! I'm with you 100%!!!