Summary
The Jan. 6 committee held its third public hearing on Jun. 16. The focus was on the role of former Vice President Mike Pence during the counting of the Electoral College votes, and public and private efforts led by former President Trump and his allies to pressure Pence to throw out the results. For a transcript, click here . For the sake of time, you can watch just the first 8m:00s of the video.Five Facts
- Who is Michael Luttig? Who did he advise?
- What did President Trump want Vice President Pence to do?
- How did John Eastman contribute to the plot to contest the election?
- When did the president launch a public pressure campaign to get Pence to reject the electors?
- Why is it noteworthy that Trump tweeted about Pence after he knew that rioters were assembled at the Capitol?
Focus Questions
The Jan. 6 committee presented evidence that the President and his lawyers knew that their plot to overturn the election was unconstitutional but went forward with it anyway. It is still not guaranteed that they will be prosecuted for their crimes.- What are some reasons as to why it should be harder to charge presidents and government officials for crimes (i.e. national unity, preventing politically-motivated prosecutions, etc.) while they are in office?
- If you still believe the president should be prosecuted despite these concerns, explain why.
For More
Leo Kamin, a student at Amherst College, wrote today’s Daily News Lesson with editing by Luke Gerwe.
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