Last updated on January 13th, 2021 at 10:26 am
Trump‘s tone suddenly changed on Thursday after he was warned that he could be facing criminal charges for inciting the Capitol riot.
The New York Times reported, “As aides urged Mr. Trump to issue a strong condemnation on Wednesday and he rejected that advice, the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, warned Mr. Trump that he could face legal exposure for the riot given that he had urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight†beforehand, according to people briefed on the discussion. The president had appeared to White House aides to be enjoying watching the scenes play out on television.”
Trump went from appearing to enjoy watching the riot to being handcuffed to his teleprompter and reading from a prepared script condemning the violence on Thursday.
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The answer to the question of what changed is that Trump found out that in less than two weeks, he could be charged as a private citizen for his role in inciting the riot.
Trump is considering pardoning himself, but that potential abuse of pardon power is unlikely to hold up in court.
The US attorney for the District of Columbia hinted that he will be investigating Trump’s role in the riot. There is a consensus that Trump could be facing criminal liability for his behavior, as being impeached again could be the least of Trump’s problems.
Donald Trump could be criminally charged for riling up the mob that caused death and destruction on the US Capitol.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
