A US federal judge has ruled in a civil case that former US President Donald Trump likely committed a criminal offense for attempting to cancel the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress to assert obstruction of the US presidential election. This would be a criminal offense under US law. This was reported by many US media unanimously.
“It was clear that this plan was illegal,” Judge David Carter wrote of Trump’s attempts to persuade Vice President Mike Pence not to recognize the election result and thus not declare Trump’s opponent, Joe Biden, the winner.
Judge Carter’s testimony in the case relates to a decision he is required to make in a civil lawsuit. He had to decide whether emails from Trump’s lawyer, John Eastman, could be turned over to the investigative committee investigating the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters.
The judge ordered the release of most of the emails — and wrote: “Every American — and certainly the President of the United States — knows that leaders in a democracy are elected, not championed. With this brazen plan, President Trump knowingly tried to” undermine this basic principle. Based on the evidence, the court found that President Trump was likely to have corruptly attempted to disrupt the January 6 joint session of Congress.”
In his ruling, the judge personally accused attorney Eastman and Trump of campaigning to eliminate the results of the election, a “unique event in American history.” Carter directly links the riots that erupted when the Capitol was stormed on January 6 to Trump’s plan. According to NBC announcer weighs In the United States, the burden of proof to be presented in civil cases is less severe than in criminal law.
Only ten documents remain classified
According to Carter, had Trump’s plan succeeded, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power in the United States and undermined American democracy and the American Constitution. The state must hold those responsible to account, otherwise the court believes there is a risk of a recurrence of an incident like the one on January 6. The attack killed five people and injured dozens.
So far, neither Trump nor Eastman has faced criminal charges of storming Congress. Carter made it clear that his case concerned only a dispute over the release of the emails. “It’s not a criminal trial.” Attorney Eastman wanted to keep 111 documents from her release to Congress. The judge agreed to this for only ten. Trump himself was not a party to the civil lawsuit.
The events of January 6, 2021 led to a second impeachment trial under Trump. Ten votes are missing to convict him in the Senate. This means that the Republican can still run for office again in the next presidential election in 2024 and run for a second term.