{"id":22503,"date":"2022-06-16T17:55:13","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T21:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=22503"},"modified":"2022-06-16T17:55:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T21:55:13","slug":"donald-trump-and-his-allies-and-supporters-are-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-american-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/06\/16\/donald-trump-and-his-allies-and-supporters-are-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-american-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Michael Luttig, a former conservative judge and informal aide to Mr Pence, said that if the vice-president had followed Mr Trump&#8217;s orders &#8220;it would have plunged America into what I believe would have been tantamount to a revolution within a constitutional crisis in America&#8221;.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Luttig also stated that &#8220;today, almost 2 years after that fateful day in January 2021, that still Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><\/b>Ex-President Donald Trump put his Vice-President Mike Pence in danger during the Capitol riot as he illegally pressured him to quash the 2020 election, says a congressional panel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Lawmakers have heard from Pence aides who described White House efforts to reject President Joe Biden&#8217;s victory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">US democracy &#8220;withstood Trump&#8217;s scheme&#8221; because Mr Pence refused to bow to Mr Trump, said chairman Bennie Thompson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The committee has accused Mr Trump of an attempted coup to remain in power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Supporters of then-President Trump, a Republican, stormed Congress on 6 January 2021 in a bid to thwart certification of Joe Biden&#8217;s White House election victory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Mr Trump has slammed the panel as a &#8220;kangaroo court&#8221; conceived to distract Americans from the &#8220;disaster&#8221; of Democratic governance ahead of November&#8217;s mid-term elections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">On Thursday, the Democratic-led committee focused in their third public hearing on the constitutional process by which presidents are elected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Mr Trump had publicly made the claim &#8211; deemed bogus by legal scholars and Mr Pence&#8217;s aides &#8211; that vice-presidents have the power to halt the congressional certification of the election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Greg Jacob, then-counsel to Mr Pence, testified to the committee that &#8220;our review of text, history and frankly just common sense&#8221; confirmed that his boss did not have the authority to overturn the election results.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He added that there was no way America&#8217;s Founding Fathers back in the 18th Century &#8220;would ever have put one person &#8211; particularly not a person who had a direct interest in the outcome &#8211; in a role to have a decisive impact on the outcome of the election&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-kelrwg-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-61735605\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What are the 6 January hearings?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The hearing opened with footage of protesters at the Capitol chanting &#8220;hang Mike Pence&#8221; moments after Mr Trump called on his deputy in a speech outside the White House to do &#8220;the right thing&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">In earlier hearings, the panel said that aides who were with Mr Trump during the riot had heard Mr Trump reacting approvingly &#8211; saying &#8220;he deserves it&#8221; &#8211; after he saw TV footage of his supporters chanting threats directed at Mr Pence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Lawmakers on the panel argued that Mr Trump continued his pressure campaign &#8211; by tweeting that Mr Pence did not have the &#8220;courage&#8221; to intervene &#8211; even after he knew that rioters had broken into the Capitol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;Mike Pence said no. He resisted the pressure. He knew it was illegal. He knew it was wrong,&#8221; said Chairman Thompson, a Democratic congressman from Mississippi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;That courage put him in tremendous danger.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Mr Pence was inside the halls of Congress as the rioters stormed the building. On Wednesday, photos emerged of him and his family sheltering with Secret Service agents as the mob raided the complex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">At one point only about 40ft (12m) separated Mr Pence from the rioters, said Democrat Pete Aguilar during Thursday&#8217;s hearing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t think I was aware that they were as close as that,&#8221; responded Mr Jacob, who was in hiding with Mr Pence at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Multiple aides to Mr Trump were shown in video testimony saying they heard the president hold a heated call with Mr Pence on the morning of the riot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">One aide said he heard Mr Trump call him a &#8220;wimp&#8221;, while another said he heard Mr Trump tell Mr Pence that he had made the wrong choice picking him as his running mate in 2016.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Julie Radford, who served as chief of staff to Ivanka Trump, said the president&#8217;s daughter told her that she heard Mr Trump call Mr Pence &#8220;the p-word&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The committee also heard evidence that John Eastman, a conservative scholar central to Mr Trump&#8217;s claim about vice-presidential power, requested a pardon from Mr Trump before he left office.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dm4ypg-ComponentWrapper-HeadlineComponentWrapper e1xue1i89\" data-component=\"subheadline-block\">\n<h2 id=\"The-case-against-Mr-Trump-so-far\" class=\"ssrcss-y2fd7s-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span role=\"text\">The case against Mr Trump so far<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i810\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-wpgbih-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-13t93ir-Placeholder e16icw910\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-evoj7m-Image ee0ct7c0\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/87FF\/production\/_124351843_sarahsmith_tr-nc.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/87FF\/production\/_124351843_sarahsmith_tr-nc.png 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/87FF\/production\/_124351843_sarahsmith_tr-nc.png 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/87FF\/production\/_124351843_sarahsmith_tr-nc.png 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/87FF\/production\/_124351843_sarahsmith_tr-nc.png 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/87FF\/production\/_124351843_sarahsmith_tr-nc.png 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/87FF\/production\/_124351843_sarahsmith_tr-nc.png 976w\" alt=\"Analysis box by Sarah Smith, North America editor\" width=\"1536\" height=\"306.11957796014065\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">There is absolutely no way a vice-president can legally reject the result of the presidential election. That may not seem like news.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">So why are we listening to all this evidence about what legal advisers discussed and the pressure Mr Trump piled on Mr Pence to get him to change his mind?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">It is part of the wider case the committee plans to make against the ex-president.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">They want to demonstrate not just that Mr Trump inspired the violent attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, but that it was part of a wider conspiracy to illegally overturn the election result.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The select committee can&#8217;t try or convict Mr Trump. They can&#8217;t even bring criminal charges against him. But the attorney general can, and he has said he is watching these hearings closely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">It&#8217;s obvious that members of the committee think there is a case to answer.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-61834957\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i810\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-wpgbih-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">Michael Luttig, a former conservative judge and informal aide to Mr Pence, said that if the vice-president had followed Mr Trump&#8217;s orders &#8220;it would have plunged America into what I believe would have been tantamount <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/06\/16\/donald-trump-and-his-allies-and-supporters-are-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-american-democracy\/\" title=\"&#8220;Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy&#8221;\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3],"tags":[285,7539,7547,8164],"class_list":{"0":"post-22503","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-mike-pence","12":"tag-us-capitol-riots","13":"tag-us-election-2020","14":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22503"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22506,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22503\/revisions\/22506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}