He urged a march to Capitol Hill, but he also discouraged violence. But there are two insurmountable problems. In theory, Trump’s encouragement of the Capitol rioters on January 6 could be a basis for this charge against him. The leading precedent on the statute comes from a case from 1863! This law prohibits anyone who “incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto.” In the first place, this law has almost never been invoked. The rule of law is pushing back against Trump's big lieįederal criminal prosecutions can take place only pursuant to specific statutes, so it’s worth analyzing some of the laws that critics say Trump may have violated. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Brandon Bell/Getty Images CPAC began in 1974, and is a conference that brings together and hosts conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders in discussing current events and future political agendas. President Donald Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC held at the Hilton Anatole on Jin Dallas, Texas. Based on the available evidence, there is no basis to prosecute Trump and little reason even to open a criminal investigation.ĭALLAS, TEXAS - JULY 11: Former U.S.

It’s one thing to describe the former president’s behavior as disgraceful and wrong – and I’d share that view – but quite another to argue that Trump should be criminally prosecuted. For some distinguished lawyers, this evidence provides a roadmap for Merrick Garland, the attorney general, to direct a criminal investigation of the former president In addition, Trump’s statements at a rally in Washington, DC, on January 6 are said to have led his supporters to storm the Capitol later that day. Trump also allegedly engineered the departure of the United States attorney in Georgia when he refused to pursue Trump’s false claims. In one call, Trump apparently directed Rosen to “just say the election was corrupt, leave the rest to me.”

He pressured his acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, to open an investigation of purported fraud in the vote count in Georgia, even though there was no evidence of such wrongdoing. The latest revelations about Trump’s final days in office demonstrate that his behavior was, at a minimum, outrageous. Did Donald Trump commit federal crimes in his final, desperate attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election?

The nine by jeffrey toobin