Talking Points For Jan. 6 Indictments
No one is above the law—not even a former President of the United States.
That’s why a grand jury of everyday Americans issued a four count criminal indictment against Donald Trump for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election he knew he’d lost.
There can be no more serious alleged crime than a conspiracy to overturn the foundation of our democracy itself: the vote of the American people.
It’s of the utmost importance that this matter be brought to trial promptly.
According to the indictment, here’s what we know:
Trump knew that he had lost the 2020 presidential election, but did not want to give up power.
- So he worked with his lawyers and political advisors like Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman on a wide variety of schemes to change the outcome of the election.
- One of those schemes included manufacturing fake electoral certificates declaring Trump the winner of the election.
Trump and his team pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to use the false certificates to stop Congress from certifying the election results.
When Pence refused to comply, Trump and allies resorted to instigating a violent insurrection on January 6 in order to subvert the will of the American people and install himself as president.
In dereliction of his constitutional duties, Trump knowingly failed to act for 187 minutes while his armed supporters stormed the Capitol. Instead, he watched the action unfold on cable news, and even sent messages of encouragement by social media.
Pushback
No, Trump does NOT have immunity from criminal prosecution for these actions.
- Immunity does not apply to criminal acts taken well outside the scope of the presidency like trying to overthrow an election.
No, Trump cannot claim an “advice of counsel” defense.
- For as many attorneys like Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman who told him “yes,” many told him “no.”
- Such a defense requires the reliance on advice of counsel to be reasonable, which it was clearly not here. It is also not available if that counsel is a co-conspirator like RudyGiuliani and John Eastman are.
The Charges:
- 18 USC § 371: A conspiracy to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government.
- 18 USC § 1512: A conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified.
- 18 USC § 241: A conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted.
Stop No Labels
From Our Friends at Move On
No Labels is Shrouded in Secrecy and Right-Wing Extremist Ties
No Labels’ Third Party Bid Will Swing the 2024 Election to Trump and MAGA Extremists and Block Progressive Victories
If No Labels has their way, MAGA Republicans win in 2024 and they will stand in the way of the progressive victories experienced under the Biden/Harris agenda like:
- historic investments to combat climate change,
- expanding the child care tax credit,
- historic action on gun safety,
- confirming the first black woman to the Supreme Court,
- and forcing the wealthy to pay more of their fair share in federal taxes.
- No Labels is a direct threat to the priorities and constituencies of progressives.
No Labels’ Troubling Ties to Right-Wing MAGA Interests and Secrecy Around Their Funding Raise Questions About Their Purpose
- The questions raised about No Labels funding and the corporate support they receive are troubling and suggest a clear right-wing leaning for the group.
- Public reporting has revealed that they have been financed with more than six figures in support by conservative super funder Harlan Crow, the MAGA mega donor who lavished improper gifts on right-wing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
- No Labels has also been financially supported by an individual with close ties to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump son-in-law and former White House aide.
- No Labels has been boosted by support from right-wing GOP consultants that are closely aligned with Ron DeSantis.
- In 2016, No Labels even named Trump a “Problem Solver.”
- And we know that there is more than $70 million in support for No Labels, much of which has been shrouded in secrecy because of the group’s 501c4 status.
No Labels’ Policy Agenda is a Fantasy Wishlist With No Chance to Be Realized and Omits Abortion
- Their policy agenda that they recently released shows the lack of seriousness of their effort because there is no theory to get anything done.
- Their agenda is also meaningless because it is unattached to whatever candidates they may choose to run.
- Their ideas conflict with one another and have no chance for success given their promise to put a Republican at the top of the ticket with a Democratic running mate.
- And they neglected the key animating issue in the 2024 election: abortion rights. Any political group running in 2024 that does not have clarity on their position on abortion rights is not a serious operation.
- No Labels is dishonestly arguing that our opposition is anti-democratic. But our groups have a long history of fighting to safeguard, preserve, and expand democracy for millions of Americans across this country. In fact, we’ve all been fighting against MAGA extremists – the very same people that No Labels is trying to elect with this dishonest third-party bid.
- No Labels doesn’t even have a platform or agenda on voting rights and voting suppression. And for the record, No Labels has never admonished Trump for his role in the insurrection trying to overthrow the government.
No Labels has No Path to Win in 2024
- MAGA Republicans stand the most to gain from a No Labels third-party presidential ticket. A third-party will hurt Joe Biden’s vote share, especially in key battleground states where No Labels is targeting.
- They have no theory to win and no infrastructure or plausible case to get to 270 electoral votes. All they serve to do is siphon support away from Joe Biden and hand the White House to Donald Trump.
- Public polling shows that No Labels would harm Biden and help Trump in a number of background states like Arizona, Georgia and Michigan.
The Democratic Coalition Must Stand United Against No Labels
- Because of the unique and urgent threat to democracy in 2024, Democratic leaders must stand together and reject a No Labels third-party ticket.
- If any Democrat wants to carry water for No Labels, their voters — and history — will hold them accountable for swinging control back to Trump and MAGA Republicans and rewarding right-wing extremists for their anti-democracy, anti-progress agenda.
- We will be speaking out as one united voice to call out No Labels for their irresponsible plans to launch a third party bid and inviting elected leaders in the Democratic coalition to leverage their voices in unison.
No Labels Is Using Deceptive Tactics To Gain Ballot Access
- Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has sent a cease-and-desist letter to No Labels and official letters to every voter registered with the group recently after what she said were numerous complaints from local clerks and voters who said No Labels organizers misled voters.
Fitch Issues Trump Downgrade
Topline: This Trump downgrade is a direct result of an extreme MAGA Republican agenda defined by chaos, callousness, and recklessness that Americans continue to reject.
Additional points:
- The ratings model used by Fitch declined under President Trump, and then improved under President Biden.
- It’s no surprise why: Donald Trump oversaw the loss of millions of American jobs, and ballooned the deficit with disastrous tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations.
As Fitch noted, the downgrade is a consequence of Republicans’ repeated pushes toward a default as well as the January 6 insurrection:
- In the heat of negotiations, Trump told Republicans “to do a default,”
- Marjorie Taylor Greene said “no one is concerned” in the GOP caucus about default,
- Matt Gaetz said Republicans “don’t feel like we should negotiate with our hostage,”
- Ken Buck said on default “I don’t think it’s the end of the world.”
Republicans’ lavish tax giveaways, in 2017, to the wealthy and big corporations, are also a key contributor to the high deficits cited by Fitch. President Trump increased the deficit every single year he was in office.
- In contrast, President Biden has reversed or addressed Trump and MAGA Republicans’ actions, presiding over the strongest economic recovery of any G7 nation.
- Biden brought both parties together around a bipartisan budget agreement that protected our country’s ability to pay its bills and reduces deficits by nearly $1 trillion,
- Morgan Stanley is crediting Biden’s economic policies with driving an unexpected surge in the U.S. economy so significant they made a “sizable upward revision” to its estimates for GDP,
- The CEO of US Steel said Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is spurring manufacturers to return to the US in droves, calling these policies “the most amazing thing we’ve seen in the United States for a very long time.”
- Failed leadership has consequences. This Trump downgrade is just the latest one, and voters know we cannot afford to go back to MAGA control.
Vice President Harris on the Front Lines of Fighting GOP Attacks on Freedom
Vice President Harris is a fearless and effective messenger who is calling out the extremism that has become symptomatic of today’s Republican Party and fighting to protect the interests of everyday Americans.
This week in Florida, the vice president once again condemned MAGA Republicans’ attempts to rewrite history to promote the “benefits” of slavery as Ron DeSantis continued to double down.
The vice president has traveled across the country – and is currently on a month-long swing – where she has addressed key voting groups and forcefully spoken out against MAGA Republicans’ attacks on Americans’ freedoms:
- In Tennessee, the vice president defended democracy with the Tennessee Three,
- In Iowa, she criticized the state’s extreme abortion ban and discussed the impacts of extreme abortion bans in the wake of Dobbs as MAGA Republicans double down on support for a national ban,
- In Massachusetts, she attended the NAACP national convention where she called out extremist Republicans’ attacks on fundamental freedoms like the right to vote,
- In Florida, she continued to speak out against newly approved curriculum that suggests enslaved people benefited from slavery,
- In Chicago later this month, she’s slated to talk about the administration’s commitment to advancing gun safety reform.
As Republican presidential hopefuls continue their race for the MAGA base, expect the vice president to continue to call out their attacks on Americans’ fundamental rights including the right to vote, reproductive freedom, and the freedom to learn and teach America’s full history.
Bonus! Help Ohio Defeat Issue 1
August Special Election
- Ohio Republicans have snuck through a $20 million, taxpayer-funded election in August– when turnout is typically lowest – to try to prevent Ohioans from protecting abortion rights in November.
- They’ve secured the financial backing of an out-of-state billionaire who has spent millions on out-of-touch political causes that don’t belong anywhere near Ohio, despite their lies about wanting to protect the Constitution from ‘outside special interest’s
- Frank LaRose has made himself the face of State Issue 1 – which is designed to benefit special interests and silence the Ohioans he’s supposed to be working for. He’s made significant missteps in the process that have hurt himself and the Yes on 1 campaign while suffocating his Senate campaign launch – including saying the quiet part out that this election is “100 percent” about abortion. If State Issue 1 fails, LaRose will be crowned Ohio’s biggest loser.
Looking Ahead
- Today, with an August and November election ahead of us, we’re here to tell those same out-of-touch Republican politicians, we won’t go back.
- We won’t go back to the days when politicians could insert themselves into personal medical decisions that should be made between a woman and her doctor. And we won’t go back to a state or a country where we don’t have the right to safe, quality reproductive care.
- We’re in for the fight of our lives, and Ohio Democrats aren’t backing down.
- We’re organizing in communities across the state and we’re standing in solidarity with the millions of Ohioans who are ready to tell these radical Republicans: we won’t go back.
Taking Action
- The easiest way to send that message is to vote. There’s too much at stake to sit this one out.
- So I’m encouraging Ohioans to make a plan now to vote on or before August 8. And then go knock on doors in your communities to make sure your friends, family and loved ones
have a plan in place, too. - If you vote early in-person or in-person on Election Day, you’ll need a photo ID. You can find a list of acceptable IDs on the ODP’s website.
- Ohioans have the chance to send these politicians a message and stop the war on women right in its tracks: vote no on Issue 1 and tell the out-of-touch legislators in Columbus who are hell-bent on taking away our rights, we won’t go back.
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