Lock Him Up?!? CNN’s Asha Rangappa Says Trump Can Be Charged with ‘Incitement to Rebellion’ Based on Jan. 6 Hearings
Former FBI specialist and current CNN analyst Asha Rangappa says ex-President Donald Trump can be charged with “incitement to rebellion” based on the evidence produced by the Jan. 6 hearings so far.
Ms. Rangappa, who is also an attorney, posted a detailed argument in which she gave chapter and verse for how the evidence so far proves a charge under 18 U.S.C. 2383 of the U.S. criminal code, which states:
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Rangappa noted that the statute is “the criminal analog” to the offense for which Trump was impeached (for the second time).
“Indeed, the hearings have actually presented enough evidence, IMO, charge Trump with (incitement to) rebellion, 18 U.S.C. 2383, the criminal analog of what he was impeached for. The impeachment committee presented a circumstantial case, but now we have a causal link,” she wrote.
Rangappa then proceeded to lay out the case for charging Trump criminally, citing evidence that has come to light in hearings that began last Thursday, and continued this week into Thursday:
Indeed, the hearings have actually presented enough evidence, IMO, charge Trump with (incitement to) rebellion, 18 U.S.C. 2383, the criminal analog of what he was impeached for. The impeachment committee presented a circumstantial case, but now we have a causal link, to wit: 1/ https://t.co/gbJ33HOY8w
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) June 17, 2022
We learned yesterday that Trump KNEW, by January 5, that Pence was *not* going to go along with the Eastman plan. But he released a statement to his supporters telling them that Pence was "on the same page" and ready to reject the slates of electors from several states 2/
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) June 17, 2022
He reinforced this expectation in his speech at the ellipse, telling the audience *repeatedly* that Pence just had to “do the right thing” and that they would all be “happy.” Remember — Pence couldn’t hear that speech, that was intended for his followers. To get them riled up 4/
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) June 17, 2022
The critical piece of evidence we heard yesterday is that AFTER Trump knew that the Capitol had been breached, he tweeted out to his followers that Pence had failed them because he didn’t have the “courage to do what needed to be done.” He knew this would light the fire 6/
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) June 17, 2022
What’s important about 18 U.S.C. 2383, rebellion and insurrection, is that it carries as its penalty a prohibition from holding any office (including as president). The other crimes which have been floated, e.g. conspiracy to obstruct/defraud, don’t. So it’s worth considering END
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) June 17, 2022
Earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland didn’t say he was going to indict Trump, but he also didn’t say he’s not going to indict him.
Asked about the hearings on Monday, Garland said — perhaps ominously, perhaps not — “So I am watching, and I will be watching all the hearings, although I may not be able to watch all of it live,… And I can assure you that the January 6 prosecutors are watching all the hearings as well.”
Garland told another reporter “We are proceeding with full urgency with respect, as I’ve said many times before, to hold all perpetrators who are criminally responsible for January 6 accountable, regardless of their level or their position and regardless of whether they were present at the events of January 6. We’re just going to follow the facts wherever they lead.”
