Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues The Legal Forum Jack Smith, Special Counsel

There are polling aggregators which do that and they provide commentary as a bonus. I much rather believe you rationalize your insistence on non-partisanship by appealing to the polls as your guide. Don't get me wrong. I believe you really really believe you are trying to be non-partisan, but I also believe you have completely side stepped any substantive issue with your rationalization.

Since we are in a highly partisan polarized political bubble, all polling will result in diametrically divided data. You can conveniently claim everything is partisan therefore you don't care. But that is not the reality. Just because half of the country believes an insurrection was not an attempt to overthrow a duly elected government does not imply you can not have an opinion on the event.

While the event itself was perpetrated by partisans, the event was a non-partisan attack on Democracy. You can certainly have an opinion whether the organizers and participants should be prosecuted. This is how non-partisan I am. If Sec Clinton has organized an assault on the Capitol in an attempt to keep Trump from occupying the WH, I would have been first in line calling for her detainment, indictment, and conviction for even thinking of overturning an election.

Its not about partisanship. It is about America as a whole. And that is precisely what you have claimed ... keeping track of America as a whole. That any of the participants were politicians of any political party is beside the point. They broke the law. They broke the sacred trust the Citizens of the country have bestowed on them to uphold the law as outlined by the Constitution.

Don't claim partisanship when American Democracy is under assault .... The Constitution does not recognize your protests of non-partisanship.

Let me put it this way, I’m not a partisan when it comes to supporting or being a supporter of either major party. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t support the Democrats on somethings, oppose them on others. Same for the republicans, it all depends on what issue, legislation or event taking place. Mostly I vote candidates, not party. Part of my non-partisanship if you will was voting against both Trump and Clinton in 2016 by casting my vote for Libertarian Johnson. I disliked both candidates. I didn’t care who won, I just wanted to be officially registered as voting against both.

Now Trump turn out to be an egotistical bastard, obnoxious, rude, uncouth, the mentality of a 4 year old spoiled brat with his name calling and throwing of temper tantrums. 2018 followed my swing voting tenacities for Governor voting Republican but voting Democratic for congress. 2020 I liked Biden, disliked Trump so Biden was it. Voting democratic for congress also. A year of an anti-Trump vote all around. 2022, back to my old habits of swing voting or ticket splitting, Kemp for governor, Chase for senator, a vote against both Warnock and Walker. I never voted in the runoff as once again I didn’t care who won, I disliked both. But I voted democratic for congress. I always liked David Scott and he has always had my support.

Now independents fascinate me. I want to know where they stand on the issues and what they think. After all they make up 40% of the electorate, they decide elections most of the time. Although the major parties can decide elections by nominating bum candidates which the GOP did in 2022.

Now I’ve long ago placed Trump into the has been category, at least nationally as he could never win the independent vote. Independents dislike him too much and disliked his choices for the 2022 midterms as most of them lost. Trump is also losing his power within the Republican Party. His support is basically down to around 40% there. I know you don’t like polls, but that is exactly what the polls are showing. Sane Republicans are moving on away from him. Moving out of Trump’s MAGA republican column into the non-MAGA republican column. Republicans are tired of losing, getting rid of Trump is the only way to get back on winning grounds. Trump is on his way of becoming a has been within the GOP. I know Democrats want Trump in Jail; I’d say about half of Republicans are silently hoping the Democrats succeed in doing so. Although some are becoming a bit more outspoken about it as they want to win elections,as long as Trump is the face, leader of the Republican Party, they know they’re screwed.

I’ll end this saying the majority of independents really dislike Trump, but 1-6 is ancient history to them as much as the civil war is ancient history. Most independents just want Trump gone, how doesn’t matter. I want him gone and agree with most independents how doesn’t matter. The thing is I don’t have Trumpitis and neither does most independents. I and them dislike the heck out of him, but he took a whipping in 2020, shot himself in the foot in 2022 and is on the way out. If the Democrats find a way to stick Trump in jail, get him out of politics, great. Exile him to Timbuktu would also work. I want Trump out of politics, you want him out of politics, so what’s the problem?

My God man!!!!!

This is not a partisan issue. Every Democracy loving American should want justice for an attack on our country, but you drone on and on about partisanship. Politicians committing crimes does not make their prosecution a partisan witch hunt. No person is above the law, unless you believe that is a partisan statement.

I suspect the notion no one is above the law is a concept which eludes your comprehension. You have in essence become complicit in the Republican defense that the people involved in Jan 6 were simply tourists and are now political prisoners. In your pursuit of non-partisanship you have become a partisan.

Let me know if I am a partisan .... I don't care if they are left wing, right wing or chicken wing .... if a politician breaks the law, they should be prosecuted just as any other citizen would be.

I dunno know .... it befuddles me that anyone would look the other way when someone tries to overthrow the government.

I don’t care if Trump ends up in jail or not. It’s like OJ Simpson, most had hard views on him, opinions varied. You probably had the majority of the country thinking Simpson guilty, you don’t have that with Trump. You have a third of America who want Trump in jail, a third who don’t and a third who just plain don’t care. I think the DOJ, FBI are doing a great job of bringing the rascals who participated in 1-6 to justice. Good for them. I just want Trump gone from politics. Now if not caring what happens to Trump makes me unamerican and or not a lover of this country in your eyes, so be it. I’ve been called worse.

I haven’t followed the 1-6 hearings outside of checking now and then what 100% of all America thinks about them, not just a third. Congress, the 1-6 committee, there’re political with no power to mete out justice. I don’t trust politicians. Probably another sign of my unamericanism and lack of love for the country. Now I do trust the FBI a whole lot more. I always said the whole 1-6 thing should have been left in the legal arena, not the political arena. But that’s me. From what I seen with the number being charged and the number of convictions, the FBI and DOJ, they’re doing a bang-up job. The legal arena is where the power lies with 1-6, not in congress. 1-6 committee was there to convince public opinion of Trump’s involvement and his guilt. Which they failed to do. In the end, those who believed Trump was involved and guilty are basically the same ones who believed that to start with, prior to the first hearing.

I also think the Atlanta DA has a solid case against Trump for election interference. A case where Trump was directly involved. His involvement in 1-6 is purely circumstantial. There was more solid evidence again OJ Simpson who walked than Trump being directly involved in 1-6. What happens happens. Time will tell. I don’t get all worried, upset or bothered by things I can’t help or control or do something about.

simply amazing

This is a kin to you being the videographer of a crime being asked what happened and you saying I can't make a statement as it would tend to make me a partisan either against the perpetrator or the victim.

Ask yourself the question with all the evidence presented by J6C, what would be the rebuttal which would mitigate or exonerate the conspirators of a plot to overthrow the government??? Their "justification" or "rationale" was and remains the election was stolen. I suppose somewhere in the law there is a corollary which states when someone believes an election was stolen it is justifiable to overthrow the government. It's not partisan to want to examine the "evidence" of a "stolen" election. So when all evidence is carefully put under a microscope what was found is the only explanation for their belief is space aliens not only doctored ballots but used space alien mind tricks on the examiners to convince them Pres Biden won the election. The evidence of the fraud is still there only no one but space aliens can see it. Everyone else just has to believe it as an act of faith Trump, being the savior of America, actually won.

So how is that partisan??? It would be the same as saying mathematics is a liberal partisan science.

I don't know if there is enough evidence which would implicate Trump in the plot to overthrow the government, but there appears to be a significant amount of evidence which does implicate a number of Trump's closest allies in a conspiracy to overthrow the government i.e. emails, the public statements from Navarro and Epshteyn, and of course the blanket use of the 5th by all the rest when asked their name. I as a non-partisan in pursuit of the perpetrators of the J6 coup attempt, have to ask the question was Trump involved, as he was surrounded by a conspiracy. Trump as a narcissist is of course delusional. In his delusion he may not have known or understood what these people were doing. Clearly from his own statements he takes no responsibility for anything except for his pursuit of eliciting praise from his supporters.

So what is amazing is a non-partisan whom I suppose believes that Democracy is worth preserving (maybe I'm wrong, it may partisan to want to preserve Democracy) witnessed the only assault on Democracy since it's inception and your position is, it would partisan to have an opinion. I would have a similar amazement if my 13 Revolutionary War ancestors took that position and if any one had said It would be partisan of me to side with either the British or the upstart Americans.

Thanks for your participation in the great experiment of American Democracy, and remember it is only partisans of the Constitution who have preserved this dream.

Akin to being the videographer and saying that you kept the lens cap on 99 percent of the time.

There is. Trump himself called up Republican officials in several states to urge them to participate in the fake elector scheme. He told the security people at the Ellipse to turn off the magnetometers that were not allowing armed attendees in to hear his riot incitement, because he wanted them armed. He told them directly to march down to the Capital and fight. I don't think anyone honestly can say that meant he wanted them to go down there and hold a peaceful protest. And then he watched it on TV for hours without doing his duty to stop it. The evidence is overwhelming.

A whole lot of US citizens in office, law enforcement, and the armed forces took oaths to defend the constitution. Not one of them took oaths to defend Donald Trump. So when those folks still support Trump after he proposes suspending the constitution, I think that fits the definition of treason. This is clearly well beyond partisanship. If defending the constitution is Democratic and suspending the constitution is Republican, then the Republican Party is no longer a legitimate political party.

I don't think made the calls to which you refer. It was his closest "allies" who made the calls regarding alternate elector slates. Those characters are probably facing close scrutiny for possible violation of state laws and of course on the flip side when they presented the electors to Congress and NA they were attempting to defraud the US government a federal crime. Unfortunately I haven't seen any evidence Trump was directly involved. He is certainly implicated only because he is the principle.

First, that is hearsay evidence, not corroborated by anyone. While Hutchinson appears to be a credible witness, she is only one witness who offered that testimony. Don't draw the conclusion, "he wanted them armed". He may have been miffed not allowing them in decreased his "crowd size". Can't be savior of America with a "small crowd size".

That is more indicative of dereliction of duty, which may or may not be a crime.

I believe they need direct evidence of his participation in the plot to overthrow the government. I think it is hard to believe Trump, who would be the only benefactor of the plot, did not know what was going on, so one of the co-conspirators needs to testify Trump was ringleader or willing participant. Because he is a narcissist, he is very easily led by those who know how to lead these people with personality disorders. Putin, Kim, Xi, and Netanyahu all knew how to do it. People like "Kraken Lady", Guiliani, Navarro all knew how to appeal to Trump's narcissism. Al they had to do is sow the seeds of a stolen election, fabricate evidence in the guise of depositions of voter fraud, changing voter regulations which led to votes against Trump, allegations of machine flipping votes to Biden, allegations of bizarre schemes of lasers, watermarks, paper size, foreign servers, software written for dictators, Bayesian analysis of voting patterns, crowd size of rallies, etc. I vehemently wish the J6 Committee had taken each of these claims, and had all the claimants present when they debunked each claim. It would have exposed the claims as incredulous to even the purveyors of the claims.

Without someone from his inner circle testifying, I think it would be hard to convict regarding J6.

We have Trump's recorded call to Georgia's Raffensperger. No doubt Trump called other officials as well - the calls just weren't recorded.

That call was not about alternate slate of electors. It was about throwing out Biden votes or "finding" boxes of Trump votes. I believe both Meadows and Sen Graham were looking for ways to throw votes out i.e. voter fraud.

Here's the strange thing, while it sounds as if it is a crime to suggest the SoS "find" votes, it may not be a crime in GA to make that suggestion (or extortion).

I like the hour long phone call as it outlines in detail all the false, debunked claims Trump's big lie conspirators used in all states. I believe the J6 Committee should have used it as the context for debunking all the claims. Taken one by one, 5k dead people voting ... response no, only 3 voted .... Biden ballots under table .... no, secured voter ballot containers .... etc. Trump went through a long list and for every item GBI had already investigated and found no fraud of the type Trump et al claimed.

Back to the calls regarding alternate slates of electors, every Trump ally (or co-conspirator) should find a really good atty. Based on what I know form public records, it appears to be the crimes of committing fraud against states and federal governments.

One of the planners of the alternate elector scheme, Navarro, Eastman, Clark, Epshteyn, etc has to flip on Trump for a prosecution. For the most part I suspect they are all true believers and are all willing to fall on their sword for Trump. These folks are so delusional I believe they believe the election was stolen. Listen to the way Navarro,Epshteyn or Ginni Thomas talk about the "stolen election". They talk about it as if it is real AND it justifies overthrowing the government, which in their eyes is not overthrowing the government but installing the rightful government. Their delusions are not defenses when they will be in court.

Also note these people have different allegations of the "stolen election". They are not a part of the fevered delusions of the Kraken Lady, Guiliani, Jenna Ellis, The Pillow Guy, Q-anon claims, or the purveyors of mathematical anomalies. These conspirators in the alternate elector scheme (as Navarro called it, the Green Bay Sweep), believed all regulations not enacted by state legislatures made all votes which were affected by local non-legislative entities invalid and therefore should be thrown out, which in their mind would change the vote count in favor of Trump. Of course they were betting that Trump votes did not come in by mail or local drop boxes or early voting etc.

You can only win this argument by exposing it, which is why I believe Jan6 Committee failed in debunking the rationale, the justification these people used to overthrow the government. Once it is shown there was no rationale or justification in their mind their plot becomes a house of cards.