NEW YORK, June 13 (IPS) – The writer, a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), has taught courses on negotiation international judgment and Middle East studies for more than 20 years. I was speechless as I watched the first segment of the congressional commission’s public hearing on the January 6 uprising. As long as Republicans deny what happened on that infamous day and Trump remains free, the country faces unprecedented danger.
Mishandling
The congressional committee investigating the January 6 uprising began its first hearing last week. Each is of paramount importance to the country, even if many Americans are unlikely to be swayed by them.
Last Thursday’s hearing revealed unprecedented footage of the outbreak of violence in the nation’s capital, and testimony from officials and advisers close to Trump (including Attorney General Barr and Ivanka Trump) made it clear that they didn’t believe Trump’s fabrication of a stolen election and told him so.
These hearings are vital to our Republic, to upholding the integrity of our democratic norms and institutions, and to preventing more than just another outbreak of violence. but also to prevent another attack on our democracy by the highest office in the land, as this happened.
Indeed, what happened on January 6, 2021, is unprecedented in our history. It was the culmination of a months-long effort by the President of the United States to halt the transfer of power and stage a coup that would mean the end of this country as we know it, if he succeeds. labour.
That day, the rule of law hung in the balance. Trump knowingly lied and continued to lie about the results of the 2020 election, and he summoned a crowd to the capital promising that January 6 would be “Wild” – a last-ditch effort. to block Biden’s election victory certification.
Every president in our nation’s history has honored the constitutional obligation to relinquish power and authorize a peaceful transfer of executive power – every president, down to Donald Trump.
Here’s what many Americans still don’t grasp or acknowledge: Trump hit the very heart of our democracy, he took a solemn oath, and in so doing, he made it easy. more likely to happen.
If presidents do not want to respect the results of free and fair elections, the future of this Republic is in greatest danger. That’s right, Trump has permanently stained the office of president: in breach of his constitutional oath, he irretrievably broke the sacred trust between the American people and their chief executive. .
Nothing will change the fact that a sitting president attempted an illegal, unconstitutional and immoral coup to stay in power; it is a cause not only for the greatest concern but also for the deepest sadness.
These hearings were then among the most important ever conducted in the 246 years since this nation was born, as they were beneficial to the very existence of this country as a nation. is a constitutional democracy.
The existential danger that erupted into deadly violence on January 6th has not yet subsided, it is still ongoing. It is still poisoning our country and casting a shadow over the next presidential election.
Trump continues to lie to the public; Republican lawmakers continue to defend those lies and downplay what happened on January 6 or make excuses and even justify it as “legitimate political discourse.” .
If a mob attack on the Capitol is “legitimate political discourse” our fate is sealed – that is, it is only a matter of time until the next violent uprising. follow; and the next event could make January 6 feel like a mere rehearsal.
If Trump gets his way, then Vice President Pence will also break his oath to the constitution and derail his certification of the electoral college votes. Our continued existence as a Republic may very well have depended on Pence’s actions that day.
The crowd’s reaction was to call for Pence to be hanged, and a noose and scaffolding were set up apparently for that purpose. What was Trump’s reaction when he was told that the crowd was calling for Pence’s brief? His words were: “Perhaps our supporters have the right idea.” Mike Pence “deserve” it.
Trump didn’t want the attack to stop, furiously responding to advisers begging him to call him out of the crowd and in support of their goal of seeing Mike Pence, one of Trump’s most loyal followers. he was hanged. The country as a whole must consider and acknowledge what a sitting president has done and the existential harm he has brought to this country with his reckless, heinous and illegal actions. .
To be sure, Trump is personally and directly responsible for the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814, and as long as he remains at the helm of the Republican Party, he remains a threat. very serious for the United States.
The Republican Party has been unusually stolen by Trump’s autocratic ambitions. According to him, they are bringing the country closer to another existential cliff. Congressman Liz Cheney of Wyoming – excommunicated from the Republican Party simply for performing his sworn duty as a member of Congress – said what every Republican legislator “defends for those who don’t.” submissive” must hear and remember:
“There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your discontent will remain.”
Indeed, if these hearings assure us of anything, history will neither forget nor deny the danger this nation has been posed by a mob of violence deployed by the President of the United States. to overturn the results of a legitimate election.
It is now clear, even before we hear more testimony, that Trump and his accomplices staged a coup to prevent the peaceful transfer of power even though he lost the battle. vote.
Trump knowingly violated the constitution he swore to uphold and protect. So no one can doubt in anyone’s mind that he committed treason against the United States, for which he must be charged and face a court date.
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