Newshub18 :Will Trump be convicted this time?Questions are being raised in the informed quarters

It is now clear after the fourth open hearing of the special committee formed by the Congress on Tuesday on the violent attack on the US Congress on January 8, 2021, that former President Donald Trump was the mastermind behind the attack. He is its planner, instigator and director. The question is, after so much evidence, will he finally be convicted and punished for what he did?
In the fourth hearing, the committee was able to prove, mainly by Republican MPs and political officials, that despite knowing of its defeat in the 2020 election, Trump continued to press election officials in several states to change the vote count. On the advice of his two personal lawyers, Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, he pushed for the creation of a “false selector” list instead of the officially recognized “selectors” of at least five states.

In the last election, Joe Biden received a total of 61 million (61 million) votes and Trump 64 million (84 million). Based on this vote, Biden got 306 votes and Trump got 232 votes. Under the US Constitution, a minimum of 260 electoral votes is required to be elected President. A joint session of Congress was convened on January 8 to announce Biden as the next president, based on the electoral votes received. As chairman of the session, Vice President (then) Mike Pence was tasked with announcing only the final count results on the basis of the officially certified electoral rolls.

The two masterminds of the conspiracy are Trump and Juliani

The goal of Trump and his lawyer, Juliani, was to reject the “electorate” of one or two states, alleging fraud and inconsistency in the vote count, and to present an alternative “electorate.”
Trump first put pressure on Mike Pence to do this “brave” thing in the January 6 session. At the same time, he pressured multiple members of the Republican-controlled legislature to approve a list of false alternative constituencies. Trump and his lawyers were of the opinion that if Pence rejected the electoral rolls of one or two states on the grounds that the vote was inconsistent, the January 8 election certification would be delayed.

As a result, Trump will be able to stay in power even if the deadline expires. He will even get a chance to announce the so-called ‘People’s Rebellion Act’ on the pretext of political unrest. The law, passed by Congress in 1806, gave the president the right to deploy troops to quell internal disturbances or rebellions. Many compare this law to the declaration of martial law.
The most important testimony at Tuesday’s hearing was given by Arizona State House of Representatives Republican Speaker Russell Rusty Bowers. Trump personally phoned him and pressured him to approve an alternative list instead of the approved selector list.But neither Trump nor Juliani has been able to provide evidence in support of his claim that the Bowers vote was rigged. Mentioning his allegiance to the regime at the hearing, Bowers said he could not participate in the conspiracy to win falsely in an illegal way. ‘You are telling me to do something that is contrary to the oath I have taken in the name of the Constitution. I can’t do this, “he said.

Trump also telephoned Georgia’s chief election official, Secretary of State Brad Rafensberger, to request an additional 11,080 votes in his favor. ‘Finding out’ means arranging a false vote. The number of votes Biden received is one more than that. There was no fraud ‍ the argument was rejected by Raffensberger. Trump also made baseless allegations against a female subordinate, a female voter, and her mother, in support of allegations of vote rigging in Georgia.
At his instigation, a large number of Trump supporters stormed the homes of the two women. At the hearing, the woman activist described her experience in detail, saying that it was beyond her nightmares to be attacked by the country’s president and her supporters in order to carry out her responsibilities. “Our lives have been turned upside down by this incident,” he said.
In another open hearing, the committee of inquiry found that Trump had lost the election, despite being persuaded by most of his legal advisers and close associates that he had collected nearly শ 250 million from his supporters, alleging vote rigging. .
Although it is said that this money will be spent in the legal battle against fraud, no legal fund has been formed at all or this money has not been spent in the legal battle. In the words of one member of the committee, “the whole thing was a deliberate deception of ordinary Americans by telling lies.”

Trump’s trial

Although Trump’s allegations at the center of the January 8 incident have been substantiated with overwhelming evidence, there are doubts as to whether he will actually be formally charged. Legal experts say the evidence so far provides evidence that Trump has been accused of obstructing government activities and defrauding the United States. But there is uncertainty as to whether it will be done or not. The committee has no authority to initiate proceedings against Trump.
However, the committee may refer the matter to the Attorney General for approval. In addition to this approval, the US Department of Justice has the sole authority to initiate proceedings on the basis of ongoing hearings. There is no evidence that Attorney General Merrick Garland will exercise that authority. He just said that he and his colleagues are following the hearing with interest. However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat President Conte’s government.

In order for Trump to prove his guilt, the judiciary has to prove conclusively that he knowingly took part in the conspiracy. In other words, he has to prove his intent behind the false allegations of vote-stealing. With that in mind, the committee is busy proving Trump’s central role in the January 8 riots and uprising.
But so far no ‘silver tota’ (irrefutable evidence) has been found that suggests that Trump personally ordered the attack on the Capitol building. In this context, he called on the supporters present in his January 8 speech to protest “peacefully” on Capitol Hill, as he can claim. Similarly, even if it is proven that he pressured state officials to collect false selectors, Trump may counter-claim that he truly believes he has won the election. Not pressure, that’s all he said to those officials.

Democracy under threat

More important than the legal battle right now is rebuilding the American people’s confidence in democracy. The incident of January 7 was a direct attack on democracy. That threat has not yet disappeared, Donald Trump is still an ongoing threat to US democracy. He has not yet acknowledged his defeat or accepted Biden as legitimate president. A large number of his supporters believe that and are prepared to engage in violent attacks at Trump’s behest. No matter how much he is accused of breaking the law, most Trump supporters are still loyal to him.
Like supporters, Trump’s control over the Republican Party is almost absolute. Most of the Republican candidates in the midterm elections in November this year are running with Trump’s approval. Trump is endorsing Republican candidates as long as he supports the false allegations he has made. Many of them are vying for the post of Secretary of State. In other words, they will be responsible for conducting the 2024 presidential election.

Most observers believe that Trump will run for president in the next election. If the results of that election are not acceptable, these election officials may refuse to certify it (results) or ignore all the rules and declare Trump the winner. If that happened then we would all be in for a rude awakening.
In the end, Trump may not face a formal trial. The judiciary may make that decision to avoid allegations of political bias and potential violence. That would be a great tragedy for American democracy. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the committee has fulfilled its responsibility, if the January 7 hearing has led to mistrust of Trump’s lies among some Republican supporters