“Healing Cannot Occur Until There is Justice”—Guest MINDSETTER™ Geoff Schoos
Saturday, January 16, 2021
The violence and chaos at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 requires careful reflection.
In his Two Treatises of Government, the English philosopher John Locke wrote the following:
Where-ever law ends, tyranny begins, if the law be transgressed to another’s harm; and whosoever in authority exceeds the power given him by the law, and makes use of the force he has under his command, to compass that upon the subject, which the law allows not, ceases in that to be a magistrate; and, acting without authority, may be opposed, as any other man, who by force invades the right of another.
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In other words, the President of the United States is not the sovereign. The law is. In a democratic republic, that’s as it should be. The rule of law is what protects us from the dystopian world that Hobbes described.
On January 6, we witnessed the most serious domestic assault on our democratic processes and the rule of law in our lifetimes. Indeed, I don’t think it hyperbolic to say this was the most serious assault on our democracy since the firing on Fort Sumpter in 1861.
Make no mistake, had the assault on our Capitol succeeded, the rule of law would have been overcome by a petty, narcissistic, unstable tyrant. The rule of law would have been replaced by mob rule. In a democracy, this can never happen. Never.
Some who read this might say, “there goes another lefty anti-Trumpe.r” and disregard what I write. To those readers I can only say that I don’t give a toss about politics, yours or mine. This is not a time for partisan talking points. Instead, it’s a time when the law must be equally applied to all.
We were lucky this time. The mob was not comprised by “patriots” as some would like us to believe. They were fueled with rage by four years of distorted and false information and encouraged on by a hateful “leader.” Some members of the mob were on a mission to do more than protest the government. They were on a mission to capture the top leadership in our government – the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the Vice President elect. They constructed gallows and chanted “hang Mike Pence.”
We were lucky that they were as incompetent as their “leader.” While members of the mob searched for the three government officials already named, or any public officer for that matter, they bumbled and fumbled their way until reinforcements arrived. Great credit goes to those Capitol police who cast aside concerns for their own safety and stood up to this mob.
We were lucky this time. Some of these “patriots” were armed, some brandishing what appeared to be semi-automatic weapons. A strong spray similar to mace was used to disable the Capitol police. Live explosives were left in front of the offices of the Democratic and Republican National Committees.
It is now clear that some government agencies monitored the internet, where they discovered the true intent of some of the groups traveling to the president’s rally. These law enforcement agencies sent warnings to the appropriate authorities. And rather than using that information to protect the Capitol and the work of those inside, “crickets.” It wasn’t until hours after the assault on the Capitol commenced that permission was granted for the Virginia and Maryland National Guards to enter the District. The District’s police department was not permitted on federal grounds to assist until hours after the assault began. The FBI’s tactical unit was delayed to the scene for the same reasons. The question is why the delay?
We will learn more as time goes on, but this is certain - we were lucky this time. That said, five people died (the sixth of a suicide over the weekend that is linked to the events of January 6), many were injured, and decent people were traumatized.
And for what? What set this horrible event in motion? The answer is simple: the November 3 election of president. The incumbent lost to his challenger. The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy and served, until almost three months ago, as an example to the rest of the world. Not so this time. The incumbent in the early morning hours of November 4 declared that he had won the election and any other result would be invalid.
In well-ordered established democracies, we accept that someone might win who isn’t our personal preference for president. We accept that the president hasn’t plenary power, but is instead held in check by the other governmental branches and by the verdict of the people who cast votes for or against him. We also accept that citizens have an opportunity, through discussion and advocacy, to exhort our fellow citizens to vote their interests in the next election. This is what democracy demands, the law protects, and anything less is a descent into tyranny.
That’s how it was in 2016, and that’s how it should have been in 2020. It wasn’t.
There is insufficient space to recount the means by which the incumbent president sought to discredit the election, and thus the cornerstone of our democracy. I’ll merely ask you to recall the president’s Twitter post of last December 20: "Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" And again, on January 1: “The BIG Protest Rally in Washington, D.C., will take place at 11.00 A.M. on January 6th. Locational details to follow. StopTheSteal!” [sic]
January 6 was the date the Congress would certify the election.
At a rally in Georgia on January 4, the president stated: "If the liberal Democrats take the Senate and the White House — and they’re not taking this White House — we’re going to fight like hell, I’ll tell you right now…"
By themselves I do not believe these posts and comments constitute incitement to insurrection. However, they laid the groundwork for what was to come.
On January 6, after warmup speakers Don Jr. (“This isn’t the Republican party, this is Trump’s party!”) and Rudy Giuliani (“Let’s have trial by combat”). the president gave a blistering speech about how the election was stolen by corrupt officials and ignored by the courts. But the election wasn’t just stolen from him, it was stolen from them! Pretty much what he had said for two months.
In conclusion he made comments like, “"Our country has had enough…We will not take it anymore and that’s what this is all about. To use a favorite term that all of you people really came up with, we will stop the steal." The crowd responded, “Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!"
Toward the end of his remarks he said, "And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to walk down…” and “you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong." [Note: he didn’t go with the crowd.] Concluding he said, “Today we will see whether Republicans stand strong for integrity of our elections, but whether or not they stand strong for our country, our country. Our country has been under siege for a long time, far longer than this four-year period.” (Emphasis mine)
And off they went. These are not words of a president upholding democratic principles. They are words of a petty tyrant seeking to continue his grip on power. The constant use of belligerent language was tempered only by his use of the word “peaceful” one time.
18 U.S.C. § 2383 states: Whoever 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, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
The president incited and set on foot a crowd in order to disrupt the legal authority of Congress to certify the election. He knew what he had started and reportedly spent the afternoon “excited” watching the work of the mob he had unleashed. He is responsible for the death, injuries and destruction caused by his words and actions.
The law must be vindicated by an impeachment trial. Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist No. 65, wrote regarding a Senate impeachment trial: “The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or in other words from the abuse or violation of some public trust. “
There can be no serious question that Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States, in a craven attempt to circumvent the orderly transfer of power, was engaged in misconduct and abused the public trust. Whether he is held to account under the statute remains to be seen.
The calls by Republicans for “unity” and “moving on” are misplaced. Healing cannot occur unless and until justice is done. Donald Trump should be held accountable, removed from his office of public trust and stripped of any benefit he would otherwise receive. And he must be barred from holding any office of public trust in the future.
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