The next Jan. 6 committee hearing — a prime-time finale after seven previous hearings —
is expected to focus even more intently on what was happening inside the White House
during the insurrection. I will be listening:
for evidence of a crime that has gone largely undiscussed: manslaughter.
Five people died in the Jan. 6 attack. Officer Brian Sicknick sustained a fatal stroke a day after rioters
sprayed him with a chemical irritant. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt was shot by police when
she tried to climb through a window and enter the House chamber. A Georgia woman,
Rosanne Boyland, was crushed by fellow rioters as they pushed their way against the police
outside a Capitol door.
Kevin Greeson, an Alabama man, died of a heart attack in a sea of Trump supporters
on the sidewalk west of the building. Benjamin Philips of Pennsylvania died of a stroke
during the assault on the Capitol.
The loss of life was predictable in light of the size of the mob, their emotional state
and their use of force.
The loss of life was predictable in light of the size of the mob, their emotional state
and their use of force.
We recently learned from Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony another key fact —
then-Donald Trump knew that the crowd was armed, adding to the risk
that someone would be killed. According to Hutchinson, this risk was also foreseeable
to White House counsel Pat Cipollone,
who urged White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to persuade Trump to take action
to stop it.
According to Hutchinson, Cipollone told Meadows: “Something needs to be done or people
are going to die and the blood’s going to be on your f---ing hands. This is getting out of control.”
Under federal law, involuntary manslaughter occurs when a person commits an act
on federal property without due care that it might produce death. To establish a criminal case
of manslaughter against Trump,
prosecutors would need to prove each of the elements of that offense beyond a reasonable doubt:
an act, committed without due care, that caused death.
Newsweek
Trump 'Heading Towards an Indictment'
as Allies Receive Warnings: Expert
Jason Lemon - 9h ago
Attorney Norman Eisen predicted Friday that Donald Trump is
"heading towards an indictment" in Georgia after some of his allies there received so-called
"target letters" from the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.
The Georgia county District Attorney Fani Willis launched the investigation into Trump early last
year after he pressured officials in the state to help overturn President Joe Biden's election win.
That effort drew national attention after audio of a call between Trump and Georgia's Secretary
of State Brad Raffensperger leaked, in which the then-president urged the Republican official
to "find" enough votes to change the election's outcome. --Abridged--