HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF “What Did The President Know, And When Did He Know It?” Senator Howard Baker Jr. “Let’s Stick With The Facts” Judge Amit Mehta 1

The attack on Capitol Hill should be called for what it was: A planned and instigated political coup d’Etat by President Trump and the encouragement he had received through his enablers over the course of his presidency that has accumulated into a snowball effect resulting in a cult of personality.

18 JANUARY 2021

PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE BANANA REPUBLIC OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST  

BY: HASSAN FARAZIAN

SUMMARY: The above-quoted assertion made – immediately – after January the 6^th insurgency that The Capitol Hill riot was an attempted Political coup d’Etat has now been validated through the numerous accumulating and irrefutable evidence implicating Former President Trump as the leader and the culprit instigating it. As discovered so far by the ongoing January the 6^th Committee, various statements, and other surfaced factual evidence. A brief review of similarities and the differences surrounding the Watergate and January the 6^th insurgency episodes would be a lantern shedding light on the current state of American Democracy, institutions, and the domestic political direction.

The famous line of “What Did The President Know, And When Did He Know It?” became the most memorable legacy of GOP Senator Howard Baker Jr. from Tennessee that has been by and large attributed to the future Senator Fred Thompson, also from Tennessee who was Senator Baker’s Chief Counsel at the time of the Watergate scandal and investigation. Thus, the Capitol Hill investigation has clearly started to shape around the same question i.e. what President Trump knew, when, and what had consequently been his role in that episode. Because of the various collaborations, testimony, and documented paper trail ( other than the ones he had flushed down the toilet), there is no doubt as to his role in encouraging the insurgents to attack Capitol Hill in order to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results.

Republican Senator Howard Baker Jr from Tennessee (right) and Fred Thompson, Chief Minority Counsel (Later also Senator from Tennessee) – 17 May 1973, during The Watergate Committee investigation. Photo Credit AP / File

During the Watergate investigation, the GOP was able to maintain its unity and move forward in the pursuit and application of factual legal criteria within the Constitutional framework of governance. This was deemed, rightfully, necessary as a serious question of legitimacy – the backbone of any Democracy in order to avoid a conflict of grassroots uproar. But now, due to Former President Trump as a serious divisive factor not only in the country but also in the GOP, the Capitol Hill insurgency has become a serious and perhaps defining moment with the visible rift and open fight for the control of the Party that has never been more evident. The Republican National Committee – RNC and Ronna McDaniel the GOP Chairwoman who is also Senator Mitt Romney’s niece have officially labeled the insurgency as “legitimate political discourse” and sanctioned GOP Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for participating on the Committee.

But apart from President Trump and hardcore Trumpism’s version of the January the 6^th insurgency that has been a complete farce and masquerades, the first-hand – Factual – description of the events clearly paints a different disturbing picture. As Judge Amit Mehta had said during a hearing in Washington on three civil lawsuits filed by House Democrats and Capitol police officers that allege Mr. Trump’s violent rhetoric incited the insurrection – “Let’s Stick with the facts.”  As such, Judge Mehta had emphatically stated not being interested in “whataboutism,” adding that during the “two-hour period” of the insurgency the former President didn’t “take to Twitter or to any other type of communication and say, ‘Stop. Get out of the Capitol. What you are doing is not what I wanted you to do’. In fact to the contrary, as Judge Mehta had pointed out, the former President Trump had openly incited the insurgents and his supporters — Right before — the start of the insurgency at a rally by saying “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore”. All these are damming and undeniable evidence of the former President’s role in the insurgency. The highest-ranking minority leader Senator Mitch McConnell has also clearly rebuked the RNC’s version of the events as well as the sanctions imposed on the two Reps. Cheney and Kinzinger by stating:

“Well, let me give you my view of what happened on January the 6th. We all were here. We saw what happened. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent a peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next. That’s what it was,”

It is futile to repeat over again the numerous other Republican’s views and testimonies that have been made public including the former Vice-President’s speech in front of the Federalist gathering calling the President by name saying he was wrong in assuming that the Vice-President had the authority to overturn the election; or the Vice-President’s  Chief of staff Marc Short’s revealing testimony in front of the January the 6^th Committee. Suffice to note that the former President has become both directly and through the enormous number of circumstantial evidence the instigator and miscreant for the insurgency. Therefore, according to the 14th Amendment, Section 3 of the Constitution he could be barred forever from holding any public office – once officially found guilty ( unless Congress by a two-thirds vote specifically permitted it) perhaps with other accomplices in that capacity. As Section 3 stipulates :

“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

The mounting troubles for him regarding his personal business dealings in New York is only adding to his long-term dimming Star where he will be faced, along with his children to answer – What they knew and when — about their dubious business dealings and the prospect of prison because of it. But his undisputed grip on the GOP will be lingering, to the demise of the Republican Party at least up to the Mid-Term elections.

There’s a man goin’ ’round, takin’ names.
And he decides who to free and who to blame Everybody won’t be treated all the same There will be a golden ladder reachin’ down When the man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and in each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter’s ground

THE MAN COMES AROUND, JOHNNY CASH[1]

IT WOULD BE SO NICE IF YOU WEREN’T HERE

Charles S. Grodin

FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP –THE NOT SO– GRAND OLD PARTY’S (GOP) FUTURE AND

THE MIDTERM

Kevin McCarthy has just endorsed Representative Liz Cheney’s opponent Harriet Hageman in Wyoming which is a rare gesture from the House Leadership. But then nothing surprises anymore from the Republican Party’s divisive rank and file. Trump’s shadow continues to scare and dominate the Party and the very sad clip of Rep. McCarthy running away from the CNN reporter and questioning is a graphic and vivid picture of the scared and cowardly Republican operatives at every level. Deep down and in their Heart of Hearts though many probably feel about President Trump just like Charles Grodin’s autobiography’s title cited above: “It would be so nice if you weren’t here”, moving into the Mid-Term. The reality is that the not-so-grand GOP anymore is heading into the Mid-Term bloodied and bruised beyond conciliation forfeiting their chance of winning the majority in either House or most likely even losing in a substantial way.

But then in the aftermath of an eye-opening and somber election result and former President Trump facing a harsh reality of accumulating legal challenges being forced to abstain from political agitations, the Republican Party will get a new chance to build itself up again from a Nightmare called Donald J Trump. That’s if it is still not too late and new blood with True political wisdom and Conservative ideology rather than Hooliganism and opportunistic values emerges.

[1] A Studio Album was released by American Recordings And Universal during Johnny Cash’s lifetime on 5, November 2002 as the Fourth in a series called “American”. The Album was “American IV” and the Song itself was used in the movie: Killing Them Softly 2012, played by Brad Pitt (Jackie Cogan) as a Mob hitman.

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