Donald Trump’s children are not known for their crises of conscience. However, on January 6, 2021, they are terrified. As are dozens of elected Republicans. Or the biggest stars of the conservative Fox News channel. Their partisan commitment is reaching its limits on this day when American democracy is faltering. On all screens, the same images. Thousands of people are storming the Capitol, to prevent the certification of the presidential election. Two months earlier, Joe Biden won at the polls. But the outgoing president refuses to acknowledge the result, reclusive in the tower of his own lies about imaginary frauds.
The afternoon begins. Donald Trump is seated in his private dining room at the White House. Nero watches Rome burn on television. At least twice, the president’s daughter, Ivanka, tries to bring him to his senses, according to Liz Cheney, elected Republican (Wyoming) and flagship member of the commission of inquiry on Jan.6, 2021, in the House of representatives. Meanwhile, Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows’s cell phone is overloading. “He must condemn this shit ASAP [aussi vite que possible] “, wrote to him one of the son of the president, Donald Jr. Three stars of the chain Fox News also go there of their alert. “Mark, the president has to tell these people on Capitol Hill to go home, asks Laura Ingraham, the evening presenter. It hurts us all. He destroys his heritage. “ Panicked elected officials in Congress are sending desperate messages. “We are under siege”, for one. “We are defenseless”, for another.
” No violence “, ends up recommending Donald Trump on Twitter, before posting a video late in the afternoon. Despite the incredible images of the assault, the president does not outline any condemnation. ” Go home. We love you. You are truly exceptional. “ It was therefore necessary to wait 187 minutes for Donald Trump to react. A period of time during which the President of the United States passively left the seat of legislative power to the mercy of rioters. One “Supreme abandonment of duty”, in the words of Liz Cheney. But this indisputable passivity says nothing, in itself, of what came before: premeditation. This notion, fundamental in criminal law, is at the heart of the current investigations.
Made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, the House Committee of Inquiry is in a race against time. The mid-term elections, in November, could compromise the discovery of the facts, in the event of reversal of majority. The Republicans want to seal forever this pot of January 6, 2021 where resentment, denial, cowardice, the most base impulses are still cooking. ” Do not mistake yourself, wrote Liz Cheney on December 9, 2021, on Twitter. President Trump is trying to cover up what happened on January 6, delay and filibuster. We won’t let that happen. The truth will emerge. “
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