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A reminder that Trump spent the two months between Election Day and Jan. 6 repeatedly lying that the election was stolen and urging his supporters to do something about it. (1/) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/09/us/trump-voter-fraud-election.html
In a 38-minute video, we used Trump’s own words to show how his persistent repetition of lies created an alternate reality in which he won re-election. A second video shows evidence of rioters mimicking and amplifying Trump’s language during the assault on the Capitol. (2/)
Claims by Trump’s lawyers that his conduct is shielded by the First Amendment are “legally frivolous” and should not stop the Senate from convicting him, according to 144 constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum. (3/) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/us/trump-defense-first-amendment.html
Legal scholars, including prominent conservatives, have also dismissed the argument that it is unconstitutional to hold an impeachment trial for a former president. (4/) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/us/politics/charles-cooper-trump-impeachment.html
Trump’s lawyers claim the then-president did not “direct” his supporters to storm the Capitol. According to Timothy Snyder, a Yale professor, however, “you’re not usually going to find a leader telling you exactly what to do.” (5/)
Instead, there’s a “vague directive,” which followers sharpen and act on, said Snyder, who has written about similarities between Trump’s language and that of authoritarian rulers. “That is exactly what Trump did,” he said. (6) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/09/us/trump-voter-fraud-election.html
