The committee may uncover enough evidence to indict Trump, but they have not done so yet. She inserted four words that reveal the scope of the committee's investigation but also suggest that the committee knows it might not be able to get a conviction. Did Donald Trump corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress' official proceeding to count electoral votes? As she urged her colleagues to hold Meadows in contempt, Cheney asked if he had refused to be deposed.
The word used by Cheney is action. The evidence made public by the committee indicates that in the face of a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, Trump did nothing. Cheney and others argue that Trump violated his oath of office by taking care that the laws be faithfully executed. There can be no disagreement that Trump failed to do so. A president violating his oath of office is not a federal crime.
Our criminal laws rarely punish people for not taking action. Our criminal laws were designed to punish people who are involved in wrongdoing, not people who are indifferent or in error. If a public official does nothing to stop a heinous crime, they are incompetent or evil, but we don't hold them criminally responsible for deaths or riots that they fail to prevent. The charges against Trump would be unprecedented.
That doesn't mean that Trump isn't guilty of a crime. Cheney wants to show that Trump is responsible for the crimes committed by the insurrectionists who invaded the Capitol. If Trump knew about the attack and helped make it succeed, he could be charged. aiding and abetting the insurrection is what it is called.
Evidence could show that Trump was involved in the attack on the Capitol. Proof of an agreement to commit a crime is required for a conspiracy to work. The agreement doesn't need to be written down or said out loud, but it must be obvious based on the actions of the defendants.
For example, he could testify that Trump was involved in a scheme to stop the certification of the electoral votes. If he testifies, he might be able to recount what the former president told him. He might have heard that Trump would pardon the rally organizers if they ordered his supporters to storm Congress. We know that the national security adviser to the Vice President gave testimony in the Oval Office that day.
The committee has yet to reveal what that is. The actions that Trump took in January do not match the actions that were suggested in the PowerPoints and texts. Trump did not do many of the most outrageous things proposed by the PowerPoint, even though he was pressured to lie about electoral votes being invalid. He didn't seize ballot boxes or declare a state of emergency.
What Trump did was reprehensible. He entertained conspiracy theorists, rogue Justice Department lawyers, and anyone else who was willing to hatch schemes to steal the election and undermine our democracy. It's not enough to repeat what he was told by dishonest lawyers. He did not put into action entertaining wild ideas.
Trump spoke at the "Stop the Steal" rally shortly before the attack. Some have argued that his words were inciting. This is a crime that is rarely charged because the First Amendment protects speech. The language he used was vague and at times suggested that the audience act peacefully. The Justice Department is unlikely to take on a First Amendment legal challenge for an insinuation prosecution.
More is needed to establish what Cheney and others want to prove. It doesn't look like they're as close as some commentators would like to think.
