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Tanya Chutkan
Tanya Chutkan
Here’s where the most important trial in American history stands. Former Vice President Mike Pence and other Republican witnesses will testify about Donald Trump’s organized plot to steal the election with the help of his most extreme supporters by throwing out millions of certified votes in seven states.
Like many Republicans who fear the wrath of Trump and his supporters, Pence tried to avoid testifying against his former boss. Pence had more reason than most to fear for his life.
Pence and his family were chased through the Capitol by Trump’s violent insurrectionists on Jan. 6, 2021, shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” Trump sicced the mob on Pence by tweeting Pence had let them down by refusing to throw out the election results in seven states Biden won.
But when special prosecutor Jack Smith subpoenaed Pence’s testimony about Trump’s repeated attempts to convince his own vice president to throw out Biden’s legitimate votes, Pence no longer had any choice. It’s against law for witnesses to crimes to refuse to testify truthfully in criminal investigations.
Criminal Charges
Smith distilled two months of complicated machinations by Trump and his craziest co-conspirators into four clear, factually provable criminal charges—fraudulently filing government documents from state Republicans falsely claiming to be “the duly elected” Trump electors in seven states including Wisconsin Biden won, Trump’s pressure on Pence to violate the Constitution by throwing out electoral votes for Biden, disenfranchising millions of voters, violently shutting down congressional certification of the election results and threatening the civil rights of the majority of American voters to have their votes counted.
By indicting Trump alone and delaying the indictment of six unnamed Republican co-conspirators until later, Smith has streamlined the case for a speedy trial before another presidential election. That’s more important than ever because Republicans have done absolutely nothing to rid themselves of the violent, armed insurrectionists Trump attracted to their party.
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Through their own political cowardice to take a principled stand against their criminal ex-president, Republican leaders are unable to prevent the hard-core Trump extremists controlling their party from nominating him again even though Trump will be juggling court appearances in multiple federal and state criminal indictments during the campaign.
The first legal action before Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan presiding over Trump’s trial in the January 6 indictment will be a protective order for witnesses and others involved in the case requested by Smith’s prosecutors Friday night hours after Trump posted a threatening message on social media in all caps: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”
On Saturday, Judge Chutkan immediately ordered Trump’s lawyers to respond to her with any objections to the government’s request by 5 p.m. today. She quickly reaffirmed that deadline when his attorneys tried to delay their response until Thursday.
Trump’s Attack on Law and Order
Chutkan’s actions this week will say a lot about how much she will tolerate Trump’s public attacks pushing the boundaries of the law to try to intimidate witnesses and prosecutors. Republicans are stuck with Trump. Chutkan appears ready to move the trial forward quickly and firmly under her control.
Most Americans have already waited 2½ years for some legal action from federal prosecutors against Trump for the terrible crimes leading to the most shocking violent attack on our American democracy in our lifetimes. We’re ready to get on with it.
Wait. Does that mean I’m not giving Trump the presumption of innocence? You bet I’m not. The presumption of innocence under the law is the legal standard Jack Smith’s prosecutors must meet to convict Trump for his crimes beyond a reasonable doubt by presenting evidence before a jury of his peers, as they say, although Trump doesn’t believe he has any.
In the real world, we’re all free to decide for ourselves whether defendants prosecuted in our criminal justice system are guilty or innocent, especially in high-profile cases. In this one, we were all witnesses.
It’s the most important trial in American history. That’s why there’s growing political pressure that it be televised. We already learned many of the details about the crimes by the gang that couldn’t vote straight by the televised hearings of the bipartisan House investigation. Partisans for and against Trump should want to see the prosecution’s evidence and Trump’s defense for themselves.
