Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Friday, the nation learned that former President Donald Trump had sent a 14-page letter to all members of the Jan. 6 Committee officially articulating his response to the now monthslong series of hearings and investigations.
It should surprise no one that Trump rejects the premise of the committee and all of its assertions – he has long claimed innocence in relation to the riot that occurred in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 – but his letter, dated Oct. 13 and addressed to committee chair Rep. Benny Thompson (D-Miss.) serves as Trump’s first official correspondence with a committee whose primary goal is to have him either charged with crimes or prevented from seeking reelection.
Trump was in typical form and used his letter to restate his complaints against Democrats, mainstream media outlets, the 2020 election, and his belief that he has been unfairly targeted for prosecution.
Under the all-caps heading “Peacefully and Patriotically,” Trump lit into the committee with a barrage of criticisms, including, ‘This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election, and have targeted only those who were, as concerned American Citizens, protesting the Fraud itself.”
Thompson did not respond directly to Trump’s letter, but stood by the work of the committee.
“We have left no doubt, none, that Donald Trump led an effort to upend American democracy that directly resulted in the violence of January 6th,” Thompson tweeted Friday. “Trump is not above the law!”
Trump questioned why the committee, which was founded ostensibly to investigate all of the failures that led to the Jan. 6 riot, had fixated exclusively on Trump and omitted evidence that painted the former president in a more positive light.
“[The] Unselect Committee has willfully ignored the fact that days before January 6, 2021, I recommended and authorized thousands of troops to be deployed to ensure that there was peace, safety, and security at the Capitol and throughout Washington, D.C. on January 6th,” Trump wrote, “because I knew, just based on instinct and what I was hearing, that the crowd coming to listen to my speech … would be a very big one, far bigger than anyone thought possible … The massive size of this crowd, and its meaning, has never been a subject of your Committee, nor has it been discussed by the Fake News Media that absolutely refuses to acknowledge, in any way, shape or form, the magnitude of what was taking place.”
In an evident effort to show that the number of people who rioted on Jan. 6 was fractional in comparison to how many people rallied in D.C., Trump included a photo that showed throngs of people peaceably assembled.
Trump has often criticized Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for not having increased security around the Capitol. He’s also frequently argued that Congress, and the Jan. 6 committee, should have more thoroughly investigated his claims of election fraud.
“A large percentage of American Citizens, including almost the entire Republican Party, feel that the Election was Rigged and Stolen,” Trump wrote. “No work was done by the Committee on Election Fraud. We, and a huge portion of the American people, simply asked that it be a part of your Committee’s work. It wasn’t.”
Trump also attached bullet points of evidence he says points to election irregularities in states like Georgia and Arizona.
The former president saved his most scathing commentary for the committee, which enlisted the help of a former television producer to create what Democrats (and two Republicans) meant as a ratings-grabbing series of public hearings meant to damage Trump.
Critics have long asserted the hearings amounted to little more than a one-sided affair in which only anti-Trump voices were heard, video evidence was selectively shared, and no one faced questioning from pro-Trump representatives.
“Despite very poor television ratings, the Unselect Committee has perpetuated a Show Trial the likes of which this Country has never seen before,” Trump wrote. “There is no Due Process, no Cross-Examination, no ‘real’ Republican members, and no legitimacy since you do not talk about Election Fraud or not calling up the troops.”
Trump concludes, “You have not gone after the people that created the Fraud, but rather great American Patriots who questioned it, as is their Constitutional right. These people have had their lives ruined as your Committee sits back and basks in the glow.
“The people of this Country will not stand for unequal justice under the law, or Liberty and Justice for some. Election Day is coming. We demand answers on the Crime of the Century.”
In its most recent public hearing, committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) announced that the committee would be subpoenaing Trump.
This move will likely turn out to be ceremonial as, even if the committee could prevail in court – there is no guarantee of this as Trump could argue such a subpoena violates the separation of powers clause in the Constitution, among other things – the amount of time it would take for the committee to force Trump before it will exceed the time Democrats likely have left in control of the House.
In all likelihood, once the Republicans regain control of the lower chamber, among their first acts will be shutting down the committee.
This won’t necessarily spare Trump of further headaches, as the Biden Department of Justice could still opt to pursue charges against Trump in relation to Jan. 6. Given the DOJ’s interest in Mar-a-Lago documents, additional charges are a distinct possibility.