Oath Keeper's Trial: His Approach is Having Trump at the Center of His Defense

 

Rhodes is looking for Zebras in the Forest

(Hint: Zebras don't live in Forests)

Rhodes’ co-conspirators

(BTW: Some have ratted on him already)

Seen more & more these days

(SCOTUS: How can you allow this, honestly)

Catchy headline from the AP and published by the Washington Examiner (formatted to fit the blog):

“Trump at center of Oath Keepers novel defense in January 6 case trial”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The defense team in the January 6 Capitol riot trial of the Oath Keepers leader, Stewart Rhodes, is relying on an unusual strategy with Trump at the center.

Lawyers for Rhodes, founder of that extremist group, are poised to argue that jurors cannot find Rhodes guilty of “seditious conspiracy because all the actions he took before the siege that day were in preparation for orders he anticipated from then president Trump — orders that never came.”

Rhodes intends to take the stand to argue he believed Trump was going to invoke the “Insurrection Act” and call up a militia to support him, his lawyers have said. Trump didn't do that, but Rhodes' team says that what prosecutors allege was an illegal conspiracy was “actually lobbying and preparation for the President to utilize the law.”

Rhodes' lawyers argue: “Trump could have called up a militia in response to what he perceived as a conspiracy to deprive a class of persons in several states of their voting rights.”

However, Rhodes published an open letter on the Oath Keepers' website in December 2020 urging Trump: “To use the Insurrection Act to stop the steal and defeat the coup.” In short, Rhodes will face intense questioning from prosecutors, who say his own words show the Oath Keepers would act no matter what Trump did.

For Example: Court records show the Oath Keepers repeatedly warning of the prospect of violence if Biden were to become president as they amassed weapons and stationed an armed “QRF: Quick Reaction Force just across the Potomac river in VA in case they were needed.”

One the three of Rhodes followers has already testified that Rhodes instructed them to be ready to use lethal force if necessary to keep Trump in the White House.

Prosecutors also pointed to a message from December 2020 that Rhodes wrote, saying in part: “Trump needs to know that if he fails to act, then we will.”

Rhodes then warned: “The final nail would be put in the coffin of this Republic, unless they fight their way out with Trump (preferably) or without him, we have no choice. Be prepared for a major let down on the 6-8th. And get ready to do it OURSELVES.”

Even if Trump had acted, prosecutors still have a strong case that the Oath Keepers tried to keep Congress from carrying out its responsibilities as part of the peaceful transfer of presidential power.

My 2 cents: As harsh as it sounds, I hope the jury jails Rhodes and any of his co-conspirators, and that they get 20 plus years for their plot that they proposed that was a direct threat that still lingers in many part of our divided nation even today as Trump still peddles his “Big Lie” about the 2020 election being stolen from him. 

Trump and groups like the Oath Keepers, et al all still pose a “Clear and Present” danger to our country and all the good we stand for.

Rhodes’ weak-ass defense excuse reminds me of the many Nazis who stood trial in Nuremberg after WWII for their horrible crimes and their excuse: “We were just following orders.”

Most of the Nazi defendants acknowledged that the crimes they were accused of occurred, but denied that they were responsible, saying they were just following orders from a higher authority. 

Rhodes and all others must be punished as severely as the law allows and then later all of them can serve right alongside Trump in prison as cell mates remembering this simple premise: “No one is above the law.”

Thanks for stopping by.