Daily Times

Earlier this year, right before President Biden was to be sworn in office, Capitol Hill was attacked by rioters, incited by the former President, and his team, to prevent the results of the 2020 election to be certified.

10 months later, over 700 people have been charged with assault, because of their role in the harassment of 138 Capitol Police Officers, and many others on site. Disturbing videos of Senators and Congresspersons running and hiding from violence, circulated social media, in what was the year’s most outrageous event. It was unthought of, that this Cathedral of Democracy would have been raided by non-external forces!

Speaker Pelosi eventually led the charge in organizing a select committee, one of its kind. Select committees are organized by the parliamentary body to investigate a matter of national interest. In this case, a former president’s role in promoting violence, while accusing the opposite party of election fraud. This all, the cherry on top of his already infamous deed of claiming victory pre-maturely.

Over the last few months, the panel subpoenaed five Trump allies directly involved in planning the “Stop the Steal” rallies, as they were known. Notably, two of them, were Roger Stone and Steve Bannon, two allies who were always there for President Trump’s Supreme Court cases, as well as advising the campaign for future prospects.

Disturbing videos of Senators and Congresspersons running and hiding from violence, circulated social media, in what was the year’s most outrageous event.

Roger Stone, for the next hearing, is expected to invoke his fifth. According to Cornell’s Law School website, the Fifth Amendment, “guarantees the right to a grand jury, forbids “double jeopardy,” and protects against self-incrimination.” In no way, would this somehow save him from any further questioning, but would provide a safeguard from being compelled to testify in front of the committee. Of course, the committee has other ways of calling him to testify. Continuous subpoena power will eventually lead to his presence in front of the select committee.

Another one of his “buddies”, is former White House Chief of staff, Mark Meadows. The former congressman from North Carolina abandoned both his seat and his constituency to serve as Trump’s Chief of Staff. During his installation at the White House, he did everything in his power to defend the President, and all his actions, whether it was the unemployment, created well before the Pandemic, or the unfortunate response to it.

For now, a Judge is holding arguments to hold Trump accountable for his role in the January 6th insurrection, but it seems all but likely that this time, he’ll be caught for his deeds on the 6th of January.

For a hearing scheduled this week, Meadows has failed to appear for a deposition, in his name, prompting lawmakers on Capitol hill to charge him with Criminal Contempt and refer him to the Justice Department for further action on the matter. This Contempt of Congress charge was agreed to by a 222-208 majority, with a few republicans siding with Democrats to hold him accountable for his inability to present the facts in front of the Committee. As for Steve Bannon, he already faces indictment for the charges in his failures to stand with the committee in terms of prosecution.

As for the Senate, there is nothing to debate from its side, as till now. No members of the US Senate, especially Senate Republicans, have been called to detail their accounts. The minority leader has already dismissed the idea of its importance, by inferring that he has not yet watched the proceedings. This signals his shift back to the right, a stark contrast to his words of guilt, for the Republican Caucus.

So basically, the former President dragged all of his partners in advisories, whether for the Presidency, or his personal business and got them all into courts of law, for things planned by him. Honestly, the witness protection program would have been better for these folks than siding with the Former President, only to get snubbed at the end. But of course, they are also to blame for the oceans of lies and deceit they helped flood into America. A scar left on a forehead, never to recover, with inconsistent Truths, let alone more deceit.

The writer is a freelance columnist.