The frying of former President Donald Trump during the public hearings that bring to light the results of investigations into the invasion of the Capitol still does not show signs of weakening the Republican.
The sessions, for now, do not guarantee the creation of mechanisms that strengthen US democracy and prevent new episodes such as the one recorded on January 6th. The result of almost a year of investigation has been exposed in sessions conducted by a bipartisan committee of the Chamber. Five of them have been made so far to try to clarify the role of public figures and protesters in the episode considered one of the biggest attacks on American democracy in history. Trump is at the center of the narrative.
In one of the most compromising accusations against the Republican, witnesses detailed pressure that he would have made on the Justice Department to change the result of the vote that elected Joe Biden. On Thursday (23), the commission showed a note attributed to deputy attorney Richard Donoghue that would confirm requests by the former president to say that the election was rigged.
In addition to testimonies from former Justice Department officials, the commission gave voice to people close to Trump, state officials and election officials, who also reported pressure to change the outcome in favor of the Republican. Committee members said the former White House chief ignored warnings, including pressuring then-Deputy Mike Pence not to certify Biden’s victory.
All this broadcast by the main TV channels in the country, with the exception of the conservative Fox News. The first session reached at least 20 million viewers, without taking into account those who followed the process by computer or cell phone – but in subsequent sessions, the audience dropped by half.
Experts estimate that it is still too early to measure the impacts of the accusations against Trump on the performance of Republicans in the midterms, the election in November that will renew part of Congress and the command of 36 states. The results will help measure the former president’s power over his party.
Americans are divided when asked whether Trump committed a crime in trying to change the outcome of the election, according to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, after four sessions of the committee investigating the attack. According to the survey, 46% of Americans say that he did commit a crime, and 47%, that he did not. The poll was conducted with 1,524 people from June 17 to 20 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Even with the research papers displayed comprehensively, the results remain the same compared to a survey done in April by the same university. “Public opinion has not turned so much [contra Trump]. There is an understanding that it is necessary to investigate, but people are saturated with the constant polarization, especially when they are faced with inflation and the possibility of recession in the US”, says Denilde Holzhacker, coordinator of the Center for American Studies at ESPM.
In addition to the economic setbacks that wear on the Biden administration, the impacts of the investigations in the midterms will still be diluted by social issues that have gained even more prominence this year, such as the approval of the package that is considered the biggest advance in arms control in the country since the 1990s. 1990, says Holzhacker. In this way, he repeats, it is too early to try to predict any outcome.
The picture may change, according to her, when the final opinion of the investigation is presented. It is not yet known, however, what the path will be. The commission is divided: part says that the process must go ahead in Justice, and the other says that the group must limit itself to revealing the facts. “There is a lot of evidence, but proof of a direct connection by Trump or someone close to him to the Capitol attack is still lacking.”
The former president says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” and complains about the composition of the commission, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans – Liz Cheney, representative of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, who voted in favor of the impeachment of the former president last year.
The New York Times reported that the two lawmakers were intimidated. Kinzinger’s wife and five-month-old daughter reportedly received death threats. Liz has suspended participation in public events.
Coup attempts, attacks and institutional violence are consequences of the weakening of democracies in the last 15 years and should make hearings such as those investigating the Capitol invasion increasingly common, says Uria Fancelli, author of the book “Populism and Denialism”. Seen by the academic as protections of democracy, the hearings have been criticized for, at least now, limiting themselves to rescuing the events, without proposing solutions and alternatives for the strengthening of institutions.
On Friday (24), Congress entered a two-week recess — hearings are expected to resume in July. Until then, the commission will continue to receive new material, including videos by British documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, who accompanied Trump during the campaign and after the 2020 election.
If the republican resisted the frying until now, to see how it will be in the second part.
See highlights of what was revealed at each of the hearings:
1) June 9 Trump was accused of “conspiracy against democracy”. After the airing of testimonies from several people close to the former president, Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney said the evidence proves that he convened and rallied the crowd and “lit the flame” for the attack.
2) 13.jun Trump’s top advisers warned the Republican that his fraud allegations were baseless and would not reverse his defeat, but the then White House chief refused to listen. For William Barr, who served as attorney general in the Republican administration and was considered loyal to him, Trump “has lost touch with reality”.
3) June 16 Trump was accused of pressuring his deputy, Mike Pence, to contest Biden’s victory. According to relatives of the former president, the two fought over the phone on the day of the invasion. A former Trump aide said he heard the word “coward” in the discussion.
4) 21.jun Testimonies were presented from witnesses who said they had been pressured by the former president to reverse the outcome of the polls in states where he had been defeated. “These public servants didn’t follow his plan, and Trump did everything he could to make sure they suffered,” said Bennie Thompson.
5) 23.jun The commission showed that Trump used the Justice Department to try to keep himself in power.
