(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Read the Damn Indictment [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-06 The lying is no surprise. That’s what liars do. Birds fly, fish swim, liars lie. It’s the nature of things. But what we’re seeing now in the wake of the long-awaited indictment of Donald Trump for his actions leading up to and on Jan. 6 is lying of an intensity and diversity designed to leave our nation numb, confused, and beaten down. Its intent is that we’ll eventually surrender, stop caring, walk away from our responsibilities, and retreat into our own little worlds to shut out the endless din coming from the Right. That we’ll develop a distrust of the justice system, our government in general, and Democrats in particular that can open the door for an existential threat to our democracy and rule of law. It plays to the cult segment of the party of Trump and those who have rallied to his support. Who’ve sold their souls and their reputations to a devil in a blue suit. But it’s also designed to give cover for so-called “good” Republicans to cast their ballot for Trump or whoever’s on the ticket for a GOP that continues its slide into even greater corruption. It's insidious and so perfectly Republican, and so far-reaching that we have to worry whether those who know and tell the truth are up to the herculean effort needed to combat it. Nothing is spared. They lie about what’s in Trump’s indictment, even though its readily available for anyone with access to the Internet to read. They lie about the prosecutors, the Democrats, the current administration, the Department of Justice, and the judge – who hasn’t even convened a single hearing or made a single ruling yet. They even work Hunter Biden into the conversation. Their effort is simple: Undermine the judicial branch of our government. Make as many people as possible believe that the real criminals are the law enforcement personnel and prosecutors trying to bring a criminal president to justice. Convince the masses that the system is rigged, that if Trump is convicted it’ll be the result of a corrupt miscarriage of justice. Then sit back, safely above the fray, and watch the carnage such dishonesty can bring. Never mind the damage these lies are doing to our country. Never mind the violence they might spawn, that they’re a pack of matches eyeing the powder keg of a divided nation, ready to blow it to bits if it helps their cause. All this to win elections. All this to attain and hold on to power. All these lies – not just from the radical Right but from the so-called mainstream Republicans in the media and government. Yes, seemingly intelligence and rational Republican pundits have climbed into the same sewer as the insane wing of their party. This is the challenge to you: When you’re in a setting or conversation where someone is lying about the case against Trump, step up and say “Read the damn indictment.” (Or just “Read the indictment” if you find the other version offensive). Don’t just shake your head. Don’t walk away. Don’t worry about the consequences. Don’t think you won’t make a difference. Say it. “Read the damn indictment.” Because if they read the indictment, they’ll see that some of the Right’s major talking points are damn lies. They’ll see that someone is trying to convince them to believe something based on damn lies. Will it change their attitude? Maybe not. But we’ve got to try. This is NOT a free speech/First Amendment issue. Trump IS NOT being charged for what he said, even thought it was all a pack of lies. He IS NOT in trouble because he ignored the truth and lied over and over and over again. This isn’t about what Trump said. This is about what he and those around him did. That’s what he’s charged for. Nothing else. What did he and his six unindicted co-conspirators do? The indictment tells you they did this: *Pressured officials in several swing states that Biden won -- using false claims of election fraud -- to throw out the results and declare Trump the winner. *Organized fraudulent slates of electors in seven swing states that would support Trump and sent them to Washington to set up a fake controversy to try to derail Biden’s election. *Pressured the Justice Department to send letters to these swing states falsely claiming rampant voter fraud and endorsing the fake elector scheme. *Tried to enlist Vice President Mike Pence to misuse his ceremonial role during the election’s certification to get the election results thrown out. *Tried to exploit the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 by calling members of Congress to try to get them to delay certification. That’s it. There’s not one legal action against the First Amendment in those accusations. They’re his actions, not his words. Don’t let them sell the lie. Another lie the Right is floating is that Trump can’t be guilty because he really believed the election had been stolen. They talk about his state of mind. Really? Do you think a jury will excuse this clandestine criminal operation to topple our democracy by believing that line of bullshit. Still, let’s look at it. The indictment says that Trump “was notified repeatedly that his claims were untrue – often by people on whom he relied for candid advise on important matters, and were best positioned to know the facts – and he deliberately disregarded the truth.” The indictment lists the following – mostly Republicans -- as among those who told Trump the election was legitimate: *The vice president *Senior leaders of the Justice Department *The Director of National Intelligence *The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency *Senior White House attorneys *Senior campaign staffers *State legislators and officials *State and federal courts So how does he get off by claiming he thought the election was stolen? How in any real world, with these facts, does that happen? Hopefully it won’t. Look, Trump is entitled to his day in court. Of course, his lawyers will try to stall for as long as possible with the hope of pushing a trial past the 2024 election. If Trump or the “right” Republican candidate wins the White House, he’ll be pardoned and the proceeding will never be held. One advantage of being able to get a pardon in before a trial is that the American people won’t get to hear the case against him laid out in a court of law, where all the facts, not just those in the indictment, will become public. Trump is an historically criminal president. He’s facing three indictments already and may be looking at a fourth pretty soon. If we fail to hold him accountable the rule of law will mean nothing in this country. If the Right’s campaign of lies is successful it’ll wipe out a good part of the foundation our nation was built on, and it will open the door to more corruption and destruction of our democracy. It's that simple. Read the damn indictment. It’s right here. *** Thank you for reading my post. You can see more of my writing on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Also, please check out my video blog: The 3:13 on Politics. 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