Senate Democrats Not Seeking Trump Prosecution After Jan 6 Committee Recommendation

Now that the January 6 kangaroo court has wrapped up its “work” and sent it to the Justice Department, many Democrats in the House are already trying to apply pressure on Merrick Garland to bring charges and prosecute Donald Trump on the four vague counts they concocted. But their Democratic colleagues in the Senate are mostly remaining silent on the issue. Those who are commenting for the press are urging “caution” and describing that there would be a very high bar to reach in taking such an unprecedented action. That may sound like a more sensible attitude, but they are likely weighing some other risks that could arise if their party chooses to pursue such a course of action. (The Hill)

Senate Democrats are not calling on the Department of Justice to bring charges against former President Trump for his actions in the lead-up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, despite a recommendation from the House panel investigating the unprecedented event.

While members of the House Jan. 6 select committee are ramping up pressure on federal prosecutors to indict Trump, Senate Democrats are taking a more cautious approach, with some arguing there’s a “high bar” for prosecuting a former president.

“I think you should be careful about prosecuting former presidents. I think it’s ok to have a high bar when it comes to bringing charges against former chief executives. If there’s clear and convincing evidence then the Justice Department should proceed but they should be pretty careful about doing so,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

There are two obvious reasons why some of the smarter Democrats in the Senate are biting their tongues, and both of them are valid. The first is that any attempt to prosecute Trump could wind up blowing up in their faces. If the DoJ brings charges and fails to obtain a conviction, it would make this entire circus look like a waste of time. And given the fact that the committee never proved that Trump did anything beyond talking to people, it could be a heavy lift indeed.

There’s no question that Donald Trump very much believed the election was stolen from him and he would clearly have liked to see the results of the election reversed. He even talked to people about it, including Mike Pence and elected officials and party leaders in several swing states. But talking isn’t a crime and he ultimately failed to convince anyone to take action. Also, a failed attempt to convict Trump of something would correctly be widely viewed as even more politicization of the Justice Department under the Biden administration.

But there’s a second and potentially more compelling reason for Democrats to back away from the ledge on this issue. Bringing charges against Trump would set a new precedent. And as we always remind people here, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. The House is about to begin hearings into the affairs of Hunter Biden and his business partners, including the potential involvement of “the Big Guy” and his cut of the action. They will also be looking into the affairs of the FBI at Twitter and what seems like obvious government censorship in violation of the First Amendment.

After all of that information comes to light, just imagine if the Republicans take back the White House and someone new is in charge at the Justice Department. There might be any number of charges that could be brought against Joe Biden after he leaves office. And going after Trump in such a fashion would be all the precedent they would need to drag Uncle Joe in front of a judge and a jury.

That’s probably not the sort of headline that Chuck Schumer and his colleagues want to be dealing with right after an electoral loss. But if they hold off on attempting to prosecute Trump, they would at least maintain the high ground in claiming that such an action would be a bridge too far.

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