This is the next of a new series of missives on our unfinished work to restore the promise of our country and its government. Each will focus on a single element of the many opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Each will provide three steps we can all take to build upon our huge victories winning back the House in 2018 and the Presidency in 2020.
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And then one day, the worst was over. The chances that Donald Trump would again become President vanished in a round of Congressional hearing revelations.
The narrative that no evidence or action could diminish his support had never been the case, at least not since the 2018 Congressional elections, in which millions of independent voters deserted him. From that point on the very tactics that he used to maintain his core support have been anathema to the other voters he would need to win. The House Select Committee investigating the attempted coup on January 6 is delivering in a manner not accomplished by the two previous impeachment trials. They are setting things up for felony indictments.
Mitch McConnell, Bill Barr, Kevin McCarthy, Mick Mulvaney, and countless other Republican leaders have known for some time that Trump was unable or unwilling to fulfill his oath. They kept supporting him for two reasons only. First his presence made them more able to advance their agendas. Second, he was able to execute politically many of those who challenged him. For a time, there seemed to be no insult to the Constitution that his own party would challenge.
The hearings on the January 6 coup attempt have provided cover to Republicans who have longed to move away from Trump, a few since 2016. Whether or not he is convicted of a felony, Trump is a distance from his last tweet or his final lie-laden rally since those are his oxygen. But Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Asa Hutchison, Glenn Youngkin and a pride of others don’t need any further signal to fire up their campaign consultants. The Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner have washed their hands. Bill Barr, Betsy Devos, and Mark Esper will say more about how their service as Cabinet secretaries was marked by determined challenges to the President, not obeisance. Almost everyone who has a story will tell it to the media.
Cassidy Hutchison is the Republican truth telling hero for now. The witness tampering charges related to her testimony will not go away. Offended by the clumsy witness tampering attempt, former White House Counsel Cipollone has agreed to testify under oath. And there are other shoes out there wanting to drop. There will be additional disclosures about fraudulent electors. Trump will insist on having the stage back to his detriment, saying that he doesn’t know any of these people, since at this point, he barely knows Ivanka. His endorsement of gun-toting Proud Boys and Oath Keepers charging the Capitol will offend Republican members of Congress.
There is some thought that Trump will announce his candidacy for the Presidency as soon as this summer to turn people away from the present criticisms of his soullessness. Of course, that won’t work, but announcing his candidacy will temporarily back off DeSantis and Haley. It will also set up a claim once he is indicted that Democrats are using the courts to try to keep him from running.
The truth is he will be indicted because he has engaged in flagrant felonious actions that sought to overthrow the government of the United States. Absolutely, it would be unprecedented and even a little scary to indict a former President for actions he took while he was in office. In the face of the evidence, it would be worse not to indict. If you can’t or won’t indict someone for trying to block the peaceful transition of power, where does that leave you as a country?
Trump will not be criminally charged with grifting his donors out of $250 million in his appeals after the election, wherein he said such funds would be used for election cases. Instead, in order of their likelihood of emerging, the country will focus on these three charges:
- Fulton County, Georgia Prosecutor will charge Donald Trump with criminal solicitation to commit election fraud. Trump is on tape asking Brad Raffensberger for 11,780 votes and threatening criminal sanctions if he does not respond.
- The U.S. Department of Justice is extremely likely to charge Donald Trump with criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States. This charge stems from the scheme to select fake electors and to use the Justice Department to falsely establish their legitimacy.
- The U.S. Department of Justice might well charge Donald Trump with obstructing an illegal proceeding of Congress. This charge relates to working with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to assault the Capitol, including Trump rejecting the concern that some were armed, and his subsequent rejection of Republican pleas for him to send help to the Capitol.
While these actions unfold, it’s important to address the place where the Trump-led damage to our constitutional rights has been greatest, the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade after almost fifty years. Let’s do these three things.
| 1) Take the Signal that Brett Kavanagh Provided | |
 | On his way to providing the critical vote to overturn Roe, Brett Kavanagh filed a concurring opinion with huge implications for protecting the right to choose. He said that states may not ban their residents from traveling to another state to obtain an abortion because there is a constitutional right to interstate travel. He said this constitutional question “is not especially difficult.” Neither Kavanagh nor Chief Justice Roberts will provide the fifth vote to permit states to block the travel of their citizens to other states where abortions will remain legal. This is a very important signal to Planned Parenthood and other providers. It is up to us to find a Planned Parenthood or other clinic that needs our financial assistance to increase their service to women from out of state. Clinics in Virginia, New Mexico, Southern Illinois, Eastern Washington, and Eastern Oregon are all a good bet. In terms of service provision, this is a more effective way to contribute than sending money to Planned Parenthood’s national fund, where these service needs are not the only target. |
2) Pick One of These Six States | |
 | The fall elections will determine the extent to which the right to choose will be protected in at least six states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Kansas. Following up on your current activity in any of those states would be excellent. One great option for your support is recognizing how great it is to have a Democratic governor who will protect abortion rights in Kansas. Laura Kelly won four years ago when Republicans nominated a Trump flunky, and her race this year is very tight. |
3) Connect With NARAL Pro-Choice America | |
 | Pro-Choice America now has four million members. They are the place to go if you are looking for the nation’s exceedingly focused choice advocate. You can go there whether you have money to give or not. You can sign up to receive texts on late breaking news, volunteer, find out what is happening in legal and legislative actions in each of the fifty states, and make even a small contribution to become a member. |
Constant turmoil is where we are right now, and it isn’t going to change anytime soon. But something profound has changed, nonetheless. Watching Donald Trump’s influence continue to fade will be one of the great joys of our time.
David Harrison
Bainbridge Island, Washington
