Marshall Cohen/CNN:
Greg Sargent/WaPo:
Amanda Carpenter/Bulwark:
Will Bunch/Philadelphia Inquirer:
Jonathan Chait/New York:
Steven Beschloss/Substack:
Katherine J Wu/Atlantic:
Yes, it’s intentional satire.
Howard Bryant/ESPN:
NY Times:
Don’t mourn, organize. Every local election matters. While you’re voting local, vote national.
Takeaways from the landmark sedition indictment against the Oath Keepers and why DOJ acted now
Federal prosecutors have been slammed -- by legal experts, Democratic lawmakers, Donald Trump critics, and media pundits -- for going easy on the rioters. That criticism has now been answered in a big way with the charges of "seditious conspiracy."..
Sedition is difficult to prove in court, and an indictment is only the very beginning of a legal case. There are many hoops that prosecutors will need to jump through before they win convictions. But this is a critical first step.
It destroys, once and for all, the talking point from those downplaying the events of January 6 that the attack on the Capitol wasn't an insurrection because nobody has been charged with sedition.
One thing is clear from the indictment: The Oath Keepers planned on and needed a crowd as cover. Even if Trump wasn’t directly involved in their “plan,” his expectation to his lunatic mob to head to the Capitol definitely helped them execute their operation
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) January 14, 2022
Greg Sargent/WaPo:
Trump’s top backer in Texas joined ‘Stop the Steal.’ It’s ending badly for him.
It’s become an ironclad law of this political moment: If you fall in with Donald Trump’s sordid schemes, it’s probably only a matter of time until his vortex of corruption claims you entirely.
The pull of that vortex is now being illustrated by a remarkable breaking story out of Texas. It concerns one Ken Paxton, the Republican Attorney General of Texas and one of the most devoted servants of Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election in the land.
Paxton is coming under fire at home for refusing to turn over texts and emails related to his trip to the Capitol to join the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally. His association with Trump’s schemes is now coming to a head: The Travis County district attorney has just announced that Paxton may be running afoul of the state’s open records law.
Nothing says “Britain is a democracy” quite like four Conservative Party Prime Ministers in, what, seven years, in a series of increasingly idiotic and inflammatory media campaigns, then summarily defenestrated when the Sun and the Mail decide they’re surplus to requirements. https://t.co/YIE3oF5YSO
— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) January 14, 2022
Amanda Carpenter/Bulwark:
Sedition Charges Demolish a Right-Wing Talking Point
Steve Bannon and other Trump defenders had bizarrely contended that Jan. 6th was no big deal because there were no indictments for sedition.
The impression here, dear readers, is that because no sedition charges had been brought, there was simply no reason anyone should be worked up about Jan. 6th.
Again, Bannon, the Wall Street Journal, and Fox News all promoted this notion just last week.
But those talking points expired yesterday, when the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that charged 11 members of the Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy and other crimes related to the breach of the Capitol. This is the first time seditious conspiracy has been charged in connection to Jan. 6th cases.
"The decision [to refer the matter to federal prosecutors] does not preclude possible state charges against the Republicans who falsely claimed that they cast Michigan’s Electoral College votes for Trump. Nessel said her office might still bring charges."https://t.co/seEfmhe1J0
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) January 14, 2022
Will Bunch/Philadelphia Inquirer:
What fake 2020 Electoral College certificates tell us about America’s fragile democracy
Voters in 7 states won by Biden in 2020 met and cast electoral votes for Donald Trump. Where does this fit into the January 6 conspiracy?
Now, a revelation that Republicans in five other states — Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia — took the Dec. 14 gambit a step further is placing the entire operation in a new light. By sending paperwork to Congress and the National Archives that falsely claims, without qualification, that they were the “duly elected” members of the Electoral College in states where Biden got the most votes, the entire operation looks more sinister. A recent report in Politico found the House Select Committee on January 6 — which is weighing whether the actions of Trump and his aides were part of a conspiracy to obstruct Congress — is looking at some of this paperwork.
Your office never had to comply, Congressional offices are exempt from municipal regulations. Way to take a a brave stand… https://t.co/DtuvYbiTbV
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) January 14, 2022
Jonathan Chait/New York:
RIP ‘No January 6 Sedition Charges,’ the Right’s Favorite Trump Defense
As the anniversary of the insurr — er, militia-led crowd attempting to forcibly effect regime change arrived, conservatives have leaned harder and harder on the “no insurrection charges” talking point.
…
At 10:30 this morning, Brit Hume became probably the last major conservative pundit to get this opinion in under the wire, writing, “Here’s a thought. Let’s base our view on whether 1/6 was an ‘insurrection’ on whether those arrested are charged with insurrection. So far, none has been.”
A few hours later, the Justice Department charged 11 members of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing paramilitary group, with seditious conspiracy under, yes, 18 U.S. Code §2384.
Have cared for several elderly patients hospitalized with COVID who weren't boosted When I ask why not They all say they didn't realize they needed it or were eligible The cost of the muddled messaging on boosters is being borne by high risk people getting hospitalized now
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) January 14, 2022
Steven Beschloss/Substack:
Voting Rights, Seditious Conspiracy & the Big Lie
While Congress takes a step backwards in securing elections and democracy, Justice takes a step forward with new indictments against the crimes of January 6
And what is the criminal violation contained within this charge, employed yesterday for the first time in the case of January 6 and I hope far from the last time as the DOJ confronts the culpability of the plotters, funders and organizers? Seditious conspiracy involves two or more persons who:
“conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof….”
This—along with the tandem announcement of the January 6 committee to subpoena records of social media giants Meta (Facebook), Alphabet (Google and YouTube), Reddit and Twitter—represents real progress, an effort to not just focus on those who breached the Capitol on that horrific day, but on the efforts that preceded it and that happened subsequently.
? ? NEW WHITEBOARD (most important yet, so please watch/share) The two sides of today’s battle view/approach the battle very differently. A major reason that those supporting democracy keep losing Until the pro-democracy side sees this, the results won’t change WATCH: pic.twitter.com/obMfziT4nF
— David Pepper (@DavidPepper) January 14, 2022
Katherine J Wu/Atlantic:
Calling Omicron ‘Mild’ Is Wishful Thinking
We are far past the point of hoping that this variant will spare us.
It’s fair, then, to say that the average Omicron case is indeed “less severe.” And there are plenty of people for whom the math will work out well. They’re hosts who are young, healthy, and up to date on their vaccines, squaring off with a pathogen that packs an oh-so-slightly weaker punch, at least compared with Delta. Keep in mind, though, that Delta is probably nastier than its already-awful ancestors, so to simply call the virus “mild” massively undersells the danger it still poses, especially when it finds its way into unvaccinated or vaccinated-but-still-vulnerable hosts. Even people who are thrice-vaccinated can’t exempt themselves from Omicron’s risk, especially not while cases are rising at such high rates, and exposures are so frequent and heavy.
Satire worthy of @petridishes https://t.co/tMZySSLMip
— Scott Krugman, MD (@Dr_ScottK) January 14, 2022
Yes, it’s intentional satire.
Howard Bryant/ESPN:
Novak Djokovic is a profile in selfishness, and sports leaders are failing us all
While the past 10 years will be remembered for the return of the political athlete, the COVID-19 era has produced a less heroic professional citizen-athlete. Athletes lauded for using their voices to benefit the conditions of others have been replaced by the pandemic-era player beholden completely unto himself -- unburdened by community or responsibility to others, using vaunted platforms to disseminate pseudoscience, to elevate and separate themselves.
These superathlete voices now send a different message -- that they owe nothing because they create so much: revenue and legacy for the suits; pleasure for the watchers; security for their families. They are the value. They are why we watch. In turn, they carry themselves as though they are exempt from our common struggle. While Australians and citizens around the world sacrifice to resume their lifestyles by suffering through the difficult steps of vaccine mandates ostensibly for the long-term greater good, several high-profile athletes have decided the only name that matters is the one on the back of their jerseys.
The Atlases have shrugged. Everyone is on their own.
this is more reasonable than prior public statements https://t.co/KwyejDf7Sw
— Greg Dworkin (@DemFromCT) January 14, 2022
NY Times:
With Voting Bills Dead, Democrats Face Costly Fight to Overcome G.O.P. Curbs
Party officials now say they are resigned to spending and organizing their way around the new voting restrictions passed in Republican-controlled states.
Now, Democrats’ best chance for counteracting the new state laws is gone after Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, declared her opposition on Thursday to President Biden’s push to lift the filibuster to pass the party’s two voting access bills.
That failure infuriated Democrats and left them contemplating a long and arduous year of organizing for the midterm elections, where they already face headwinds from Mr. Biden’s low approval ratings, inflation, congressional redistricting and the persistent pandemic.
Don’t mourn, organize. Every local election matters. While you’re voting local, vote national.