14 January 2022 The Guardian Weekly13
before the midterms and use the
election calendar to characterise the
interim report, which the bipartisan
select committee hopes to issue by
mid-year, as being a political exercise
to damage the Republican party.
The select committee, sources close
to the investigation say, is therefore
hoping for a breakthrough with the
supreme court, which experts believe
will ensure the panel can access the
Trump White House records in spite
of the former president’s objections
about executive privilege.
The US district court and the US
appeals court have already ruled that
Biden has the fi nal say over which
White House documents are subject
to executive privilege, and that the
panel has a legislative purpose.
A victory for the select committee
at the supreme court is important,
members believe, not only because
it would give them access to Trump’s
records , but because it would super-
charge the inquiry.
The select committee got its fi rst
break when House investigators
obtained thousands of communica-
tions involving the White House, from
Meadows, including a powerpoint
detailing ways to stage a coup.
The select committee says, more
generally, it is unconcerned by
attempts by Trump aides and polit-
ical operatives to stymie the inquiry,
as Democrats control Washington and
the panel has an unprecedented carte
blanche to upturn every inch of the
Trump administration.
“The legislative and executive
branches are completely in agreement
with each other that this material is
not privileged and needs to be turned
over to Congress,” said congressman
Jamie Raskin, a committee member.
But the investigation faces a diffi cult
slog with Trump aides and political
operatives, who are mounting legal
challenges to everything.
The trouble for the select commit-
tee, regardless of Democrats’ control-
ling the White House, Congress and
the justice department, is it is count-
ing on the courts to deliver account-
ability for Trump offi cials unwilling
to co operate with the inquiry.
Bennie Thompson, the chairman of
the select committee, originally aimed
to have the report completed before
the midterm elections, but he may
need until the end of the year.
HUGO LOWELL IS A WASHINGTON-BASED
REPORTERA breakthrough with
the supreme court
would superchargethe inquiry
OPINIONRepublicans are
changing voting
laws to ensure
victory in 2024’s
presidential fight▲Rioters storm the Capitol on 6 January last year MOSTAFA BASSIM/ANADOLU
The Trump
menace is darker
than ever – and
snapping at
Biden’s heels
Jonathan
Freedland
ls
T
he problem with
coverage of this
month’s anniversary
of the events of
6 January 2021 is
that too much of it
was written in the past tense. True,
the attempted insurrection when
a violent mob stormed Capitol Hill to
try to overturn a democratic election
was a year ago, but the danger it
poses is clear and present – and
looms over the future. For the grim
truth is that, while Donald Trump is
the last US president, he may also be
the next. What’s more, the menace
of Trumpism is darker than ever.
At the time, Republican
politicians were clear that the
outgoing president had crossed a
line , that he was “practically and
morally responsible” for the rioters
who had marched on Congress and
built gallows for those politicians
who stood in their way. Many of
those Republicans had pleaded
with Trump, sending text messages
begging him to call off the mob. Now,
they either say nothing – refusing
even to show up for a moment’s
silence in memory of those killed