One Way for the January 6 Committee to Succeed

No one stops Republicans from criming, so I hope they all cawthorn each other

The U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack continues to work steadily. Six weeks ago, I gave a brief overview of the committee’s work, and I reviewed possible outcomes. The Republican elite, should the system be motivated to hold them accountable, could be charged with fraud, criminal conspiracy, seditious conspiracy, obstruction, or—in the case of Trump—dereliction of duty.

What Will the January 6 Committee Deliver?

Here’s What I’m Hoping For

I do not know if any masterminds of January 6 will ever go to jail. I do not know if they can. I do not believe the system is designed for that to happen.

What I see, so far, is that many people have been subpoenaed, but few have been held to account for defying their subpoena. An unenforceable subpoena isn’t super scary, and some Republicans just throw theirs in the trash can. The full House has voted to hold only four people in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to testify, of whom the Justice Department is so far handling only one, Steve Bannon, who was indicted in November 2021 and who, six months later, still isn’t on trial.

“Justice” can’t happen through the “Justice Department.” But you know what can happen?

They can all cawthorn each other.

First, Here’s What the Committee Has Done Over the Last Six Weeks

I will explain what cawthorning means, but first, here’s an update on the committee’s work since my last article.

By now, the total number of witnesses the committee has interviewed has surpassed 1,000. The Justice Department wants the committee’s interview transcripts, and the committee is negotiating for some of the Justice Department’s evidence in exchange. Exactly what the committee could do with this additional information, or how the legislative and executive branches of government believe they are related to each other at this point, is not obvious to me.