US District Judge David O. Carter wrote:
The illegality of the plan was obvious. Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections.239 Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election. As Vice President Pence stated, “no Vice President in American history has ever asserted such authority.”240 Every American—and certainly the President of the United States—knows that in a democracy, leaders are elected, not installed. With a plan this “BOLD,”241 President Trump knowingly tried to subvert this fundamental principle.
Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.
The NYTimes has some context:
A federal judge ruled on Monday that former President Donald J. Trump and a lawyer who had advised him on how to overturn the 2020 election most likely had committed felonies, including obstructing the work of Congress and conspiring to defraud the United States.
The judge’s comments in the civil case of the lawyer, John Eastman, marked a significant breakthrough for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The committee, which is weighing making a criminal referral to the Justice Department, had used a filing in the case to lay out the crimes it believed Mr. Trump might have committed.
Mr. Trump has not been charged with any crime, and the judge’s ruling had no immediate, practical legal effect on him. But it essentially ratified the committee’s argument that Mr. Trump’s efforts to block Congress from certifying Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s Electoral College victory could well rise to the level of a criminal conspiracy.
And:
Judge Carter’s decision came in an order for Mr. Eastman, a conservative lawyer who had written a memo that members of both parties have likened to a blueprint for a coup, to turn over more than 100 emails to the committee.
We've already covered that memo and, one hopes, wondered how deeply Pennsylvania State Senator (and possible GOP candidate for Pennsylvania Governor) Doug Mastriano's was involved with it.
Some quick points:
- The plan hinged on generating doubt on the election outcome in a number of swing states.
- Pennsylvania was one of those states.
- Stopping Congress from certifying the 2020 election based on that doubt.
- Making sure there were "alternative electors" in those states to vote for Trump in that event.
- Real electors in the swing states invalidated/alternative electors' votes counted.
- Trump wins.
We also pointed out that:
- Trump was counting on Mastriano's help in overturning the 2020 election.
- Mastriano called for the legislature to establish alternative electors to vote for Trump.
- Proposed legislation to that effect.
More or less exactly what the Eastman memo laid out.
We also know he lied about his wanderings around The Capitol on January 6.
Now that a Federal Judge (in a decision in a civil matter) has gone on record saying that Trump more than likely broke the law in a corruptly attempt to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021, and given all that we know about PA State Senator Doug Mastriano's interactions (parallel or otherwise) with that plan, can someone please ask Doug Mastriano:
Senator, what did you know about this plan and when did you know it?
