In Depth: The aftermath of the US Capitol riot
LOS ANGELES - Segment One
Political consultant and Political Science Professor Bob Shrum and co-founder of the Lincoln Project Mike Madrid joins Hal to talk about the violent demonstration in Washington D.C on Wednesday.
Shrum talked about Mitch McConnell’s statement speaking out against election deniers. He said that McConnell was just living up to his oath, as was Vice President Pence, who realized that attempts to overturn an election were a disastrous idea.
Madrid says that it was too little, too late, and that McConnell and Pence should have stepped up a lot sooner before violence erupted, and shouldn’t be surprised that the monster they were feeding turned on them.
Shrum says the Trump era began with bigotry and ended with infamy. He says Trump sparked this event by telling lies about votes being stolen, attacking state leaders and stirring the pot. He should not be surprised if the pot boiled over.
Madrid says he wasn’t shocked but he is heartbroken. He says the incidents are emblematic of the sad state our democracy is in.
Segment Two
Shrum and Madrid are back to discuss the ban on the President’s social media accounts. Shrum says that Trump can’t resist throwing fuel on the fire with his tweets and posts.
Madrid says that Trump now has to be acknowledged as a seditious traitor. He says America has never come so close to losing democracy.
He says the GOP was complicit, with Senators and Representatives committing acts of sedition. Madrid says he is a classic conservative, but he says he the GOP is no longer what it was, but he won’t leave it, because staying is the best way to speak out against what the Republican Party has become.
Segment Three
Constitutional Law Attorney Jessica Levinson and USC Law Professor Jody Armour talk to Hal about the penalties that could be faced by the rioters. Armour says there is a clear discrepancy in how they were treated versus, for example Black Lives Matter protesters. He says there is a lot of room for bias in policing and this shines a spotlight on it.
Levinson says the participants could be charged with federal crimes for vandalizing and breaking into the Capitol building. She says that at this point in time, it doesn’t feel like justice is being equitably applied.
Segment Four
Armour and Levinson rejoin Hal for a discussion of the 25th amendment. As officials in Washington D.C. discuss what to do about the president’s inciting violence, one of the their options is to use a provision of the 25th amendment to remove the president by saying he is incapable of fulfilling his duties But to do that is a lengthy and complicated process, which would require a supermajority vote of both houses, and take more than 21 days.
Armour says that it might not be the best plan in any case, because it would potentially make Trump a martyr and further inflame the dangerous members of his base. Armour and Levinson instead suggest bringing political pressure to bear on Trump to keep him from doing anything destructive during the rest of his term.
We end with a montage of scenes of the insurrection in D.C.