From THE HILL:
Last-chance hearing: Jan. 6 committee has yet to establish a criminal case against Trump
The eighth and final scheduled hearing of the House Jan. 6 select committee is scheduled for Thursday, and its members reportedly will present a time line of events on that day, particularly the 187 minutes between the end of then-President Trump’s speech on the Ellipse and his call for supporters to leave the Capitol.
It will again replay moments from the horrific to the heroic. What it has not shown thus far, however, is what was promised at the outset: a clear criminal case against Trump.
At the start of the hearings, committee members promised they had the long-sought smoking-gun evidence — new material that would close the circle on Trump. Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) indicated he thought there was now “credible evidence” to support a variety of criminal charges. His colleague, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), said the committee would show that Trump organized a “coup” on Jan. 6, 2021.
No sooner had the hearings begun when many in the media declared that the criminal case had been conclusively proven — even though most of what was being presented was already generally known.
It often sounded more like a prayer than proof...
It is difficult to make a criminal case over what an official failed to do. Yet the last hearing seemed to focus on a number of things that did not occur, from a draft tweet that was not sent to an executive order that was never signed. There were discussions of appointing Trump attorney Sidney Powell as a special counsel, seizing voting machines or replacing the Justice Department’s leadership. As unnerving as these proposals were, they also were not carried out.
...again, it is a difficult criminal case to make, based on a layperson believing one set of lawyers over another. Former prosecutor and former senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said of the hearings that “as a former prosecutor myself, everything that I’ve heard, I think it would be a very tough indictment to get.”
It is not even clear, after seven hearings, what crime we are discussing.
The Jan. 6 committee has made a case against Trump personally and politically. It has not done so criminally. This final scheduled hearing would be an excellent time for that promised case to be finally made.
No offense, gang, and not to rub it in, but this is pret'near what pb's been saying all along.
In pb-speak: The Committee has proved that Trump's an SOB, but, as far as a crimes concerned, WHERE'S THE BEEF!?
Anyway, because of scheduling issues, pb, almost certainly, won't be able to watch the hearing live. He'll probably even watch MORNING JOE's slobbering, groveling worshipful coverage of it before he watches a replay.
So, for now, here's to wishing all of us who think Trump is despicable well, whether or not we have TDS.