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Indivisibles,
Today, the January 6th committee held its final hearing and voted
unanimously to issue four criminal referrals against former President
Trump -- among them, inciting an insurrection.
Based on the evidence meticulously laid out by the committee over the past
six months, these recommendations are a justified and necessary call for
accountability. But it’s important to recognize that they are only that --
a recommendation. Whether or not the Justice Department decides to act is
up to Merrick Garland’s appointed special counsel, Jack Smith.
So the inevitable question: Why did any of this matter?
Why televise these hearings? Why have them at all? What was the point of
this entire process if the committee did not have the authority to bring
charges against Trump and his insurrectionist allies?
For one thing, because truth-telling matters.
In the age of social media and 24-hour punditry, as a nation, we’ve
occasionally lost the thread of how important investigating and uncovering
objective truth is for the greater good of our nation.
The media cycle jumps so quickly from one subject to the next that any one
story -- even a story as important as the president and his followers
trying to violently disrupt the transfer of power for the first time in
our country’s history -- can easily be overtaken by the latest
manufactured controversy or piece of political intrigue.
And in the haze of a few intervening news cycles, collective memory can be
warped by spin and misinformation.
The effort to rewrite the history of January 6th began just weeks after
the armed mob laid siege to our Capitol. MAGA insurrectionists in Congress
began describing the rioters as “peaceful patriots” and compared the
attack to a “tourist visit.” GOP leader Kevin McCarthy went from blaming
Trump to praising his actions on the day. Some elected leaders spread
conspiracy theories that the rioters were antifa, while others, like
incoming senator JD Vance, dubbed them “political prisoners” and raised
money for those awaiting trial.
There are people so lost inside this alternate reality that no amount of
evidence could shake them loose from the grip of the Big Lie. But there
are others who were convinced by the methodical presentation of the facts
by the committee. A few from within the former president’s base [ [link removed] ]decided
they’d had enough. And many more from the center of the electorate came to
better understand the threat MAGA extremism poses to our democracy and
cast their votes accordingly this November.
Seeing the truth so clearly laid out is healing. And here’s the truth:
* [ [link removed] ]Donald Trump privately admitted he lost the election even while
pushing the Big Lie.
* [ [link removed] ]In a recorded call, Trump pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to declare him the winner.
* [ [link removed] ]When those efforts failed, Trump summoned a violent mob to overturn
the election.
* [ [link removed] ]MAGA Republicans requested blanket pardons for their roles in these
crimes.
It’s all right there: lie, cheat, and steal.
Trump lied to the American people, telling them he believed he had won,
while privately admitting he hadn’t. He attempted to pressure officials to
find a way to cheat his way back into the Oval Office. MAGA Republicans
were fully on board with this effort to steal an election, understood it
was criminal, and therefore sought pardons for their part in the charade.
147 members of Congress voted to overturn the 2020 election. 43 Republican
Senators voted to acquit Trump following the second impeachment trial
after January 6th. And a lot of these same MAGA extremists are laying the
groundwork for another coup in two years time.
And that gets to another major reason these hearings were so important.
They helped reveal the inner-workings of a highly coordinated GOP effort
to overturn the election in 2020, so that we can help prevent a repeat in
2024.
Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice will decide what they want
to do with the referrals from the January 6 committee. We may not be able
to influence the choices they make next, but what we can do is continue
what we accomplished during the midterms: defend our democracy against the
Republican Party’s attempts at election subversion, ensure that those
responsible for promoting the Big Lie are exposed, and fight like hell to
prevent them from holding office ever again.
That starts with Trump.
Donald Trump announced his presidential campaign on November 15, and he
has continued to spread his lies about the 2020 election while his cronies
do everything they can to install him right back in the White House in
2024.
We cannot allow that to happen.
We are already building our movement and gearing up to fight back with
every tactic Indivisibles know to be effective -- canvassing,
phonebanking, textbanking, postcarding, birddogging, etc. -- all while
continuing to look for ways to innovate new strategies to defeat MAGA
extremism.
We need your help to hold them accountable at the ballot box:
* [ [link removed] ]Donate
$21 today
to ensure we can fully fund our fight to combat Trump and his
insurrectionist toadies. The work of expanding our network and
strengthening our coalition begins today. We know that defeating Trump
is going to mean mobilizing historic numbers of voters. Help us lay
the groundwork now to ensure we have the capacity to fight moving
forward.
* [ [link removed] ]Commit to re-engage in the new year! Make a commitment today to
connect with your local Indivisible group (or start one if you don’t
have one!) All of those tactics -- canvassing, phonebanking,
textbanking, postcarding, birddogging, etc. -- involve people power.
Our movement is driven by grassroots activists standing up and
fighting back against MAGA extremism. Take some time over the holidays
to rest and recuperate -- you’ve earned it. But, make sure you’re
prepared to fight anew come 2023. Pledge today to help fight for a
better tomorrow.
No matter what happens next, we need to ensure that, come 2024, Trump and
the rest of his insurrectionist friends are never in the position to
attack our democracy again. With your help, we’ll make that happen.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
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