When an attempted coup d’état is undeway, defenders of democracy must act swiftly, without hesitation, and decisively.
The principal instigator of the attempted coup which included the insurrectionist invasion of the Capitol, on January 6, 2021, is the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Trump remains in office, holding all of the powers and emergency powers of the Presidency, including the secret, classified Emergency Powers invested in his office.
So long as the instigator of the attempted coup remains in office, we should all understand that a continuing, ongoing attempted coup d’état is underway.
Trump must be removed immediately in order to end this threat to American democracy.
From reports of the Democratic caucus conference call today, Friday, January 8, 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to wait until there is enough support in the country to move forward on the impeachment of Donald Trump.
To do so would be a grave mistake.
If the House does not adopt one or more articles of impeachment, if it falters, Trump will interpret that as weakness, and will be emboldened to take even more dramatic, unconstitutional actions.
It would be a huge mistake to embolden a rogue President who is orchestrating an ongoing coup d’état.
With only two days left in power, he could start a war, and would still have the power to destroy the world.
He is mad, and desperate to avoid prosecution and prison, the two fates that surely await him once he leaves office.
This is no time to replay the failure of Pelosi and the Democratic Caucus to move on impeachment in 2019. Had they begun a broad impeachment inquiry in April or the summer of 2019, and used that inquiry to educate the American people about the nature and extent of Trump’s crimes and abuses of power, it is possible that we would have never come to the EMERGENCY SITUATION in which we find ourselves today.
Instead, Pelosi led the Democratic caucus to a narrow impeachment inquiry focused solely on the Ukraine, leading to the wholly foreseeable acquittal of Trump in the Senate.
Predictably, Trump was emboldened by his aquittal, and proceeded to commit increasingly flagrant abuses of power and “high crimes and misdemeanors”, culminating in his attempted coup d’d’état since November 3, 2021, and his incitement of a mob on January 6, 2021 to march on the Capitol. The invasion of the Capitol was carried out in conjunction with efforts by Republicans in the Senate and the House to derail the ratification of the Electoral College vote.
Trump orchestrated the gathering of the mob (“Be there. It is going to be wild.”). Then, in a fiery speech, he incited the mob to march on the Capitol in order the thwart Congressional ratification of the December 14 Electoral College vote.
A policeman and a demonstrator were killed in the riot, and three other people died of natural causes.
Trump must be viewed as a criminal who is armed and dangerous.
He is armed with all of the powers of the Presidency, including his secret, classified Emergency Powers and his Powers as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and commander of federal authorities under the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
He has the authority to deliver critical classified information to Russia and Vladimir Putin, such as the identities of CIA personnel and other clandestine operatives, including Russian agents in Russia working for the United States. Such information could also include details for access to defense, intelligence, and communications systems.
‘Ralph Waldo Emerson is frequently quoted as saying, “When you strike at the king, you must kill him.”
This is ancient wisdom. The quote itself comes from an exchange with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who was publishing an article critical of Plato. Nonetheless, the idea behind the quote has stood as ancient wisdom for thousands of years.
See
1) Martin Pengelly, “Trump quootes Emerson: ‘When you strike at the king, you must kill him,’; President retweets quote from pre-impeachment Times article,” The Guardian, February 15, 2020 (20.51 GMT).
Pengelly writes,
Quoting Times White House correspondent Peter Baker, Trump wrote: “Ralph Waldo Emerson seemed to foresee the lesson of the Senate Impeachment Trial of President Trump. ‘When you strike at the King, Emerson famously said, ‘you must kill him.'”
2) “While Stained in History, Trump Will Emerge From Trial Triumphant and Unshackled; His acquittal in the Senate assured, the emboldened president will take his victory and grievance to the campaign trail, no longer worried about congressional constraint,” New York Times, February
The king in this case is mad, unconstrained by any moral or legal considerations, and fully aware of the Emerson quote, which he took to heart after his acquittal in the Senate in 2020.
To end the ongoing coup, the king must be removed from office.
This is no time for Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic Caucus to falter.
The Trenchant Observer