Senate Democrats believe there is a good chance the Department of Justice will prosecute former President Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election results and inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the Hill reports. Given the weight of public evidence, Democratic lawmakers think Trump committed federal crimes. Senate Democrats warn that Attorney General Merrick Garland needs to proceed cautiously. Any prosecution that fails to convict Trump risks becoming a disaster and could vindicate Trump, just as the inconclusive report by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team was seized on by Trump and his allies to declare his exoneration on a separate series of allegations.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said “clearly what [Trump] did” in the days leading up and the day of the Jan. 6 attack on Congress “falls in the ambit of what’s being investigated and perhaps is criminal.” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) believes that the former president’s actions on and before Jan. 6 likely violate federal law. Kaine believes federal prosecutors are looking seriously at charges against Trump. “My sense is they’re looking [at] everything in a diligent way and they haven’t made a decision,” Kaine said. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said, “I think anybody who it’s proven had a role in the planning of [the Jan. 6 attack] should be prosecuted, not just the people who broke in and smashed the window in my office and others.” Still DOJ does not appear to be building a difficult case against Trump, the Washington Post reports.
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