Capitol riot 'does not happen' without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
Jack Smith’s testimony is being framed as a neat moral syllogism: Trump equals Jan. 6. That may satisfy editors who want a single villain, but it blurs the line between political responsibility and legal culpability, which is where a free country should be most careful.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without President Donald Trump. That's according to a transcript released Wednesday of Smith's closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee.
Original source:
Read at Record EagleHow We See It
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Jack Smith’s testimony is being framed as a neat moral syllogism: Trump equals Jan. 6. That may satisfy editors who want a single villain, but it blurs the line between political responsibility and legal culpability, which is where a free country should be most careful.
Saying an event “does not happen” without one man is not evidence, it’s narrative. It also sidesteps uncomfortable facts: thousands of individuals made choices that day, security failed in plain view, and federal agencies were hardly models of foresight. Public trust collapses when accountability is selectively assigned.
Conservatives aren’t asking for special rules. We’re asking for rule of law, fairness, and institutional stability. Prosecutors and Congress should deal in provable acts, not counterfactuals and headlines. The principle at stake is simple: equal justice requires more than a tidy story.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.