[guest post by Dana]

Just quickly putting up a fresh thread here. You can continue to talk about The Slap in the Weekend Open Thread if you want.

A federal judge has ruled that Trump “likely” committed a crime in an attempt to overturn the election:

A federal judge ruled Monday that former President Donald Trump likely “corruptly attempted to obstruct” Congress from certifying the 2020 election, in a case over whether a House committee will receive a lawyer’s emails while investigating the attack on the Capitol.

“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” U.S. District Judge David Carter in California wrote in approving the transfer of John Eastman’s emails to the committee. “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.”

More:

“If Dr. Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution,” Carter wrote. “If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”

Note: The remarkable ruling may be the first in history in which a federal judge determined a president, while in office, appeared to commit a crime.

After the judge’s ruling, Dr. Eastman’s lawyer said that while his client disagrees with the ruling, he would comply with the court’s order.

Trump’s team reacted to Judge Carter’s ruling as you would expect:

Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich called the decision “absurd” and “baseless” from a judge appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

“The January 6 Committee, and related proceedings, is a circus of partisanship that is exposing public officials at every level of government for their willingness to put politics ahead of the law and the Constitution,” Budowich said.

This is a massive ruling. Judge has determined that Donald TRUMP likely committed felony obstruction of Congress.https://t.co/6VjYbzlIN0 pic.twitter.com/pYkSNnA0oH

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) March 28, 2022

And for those who may be suspicious of Judge Carter because Trump, you might want to take a gander at his biography here.

As far as I can see, Trump himself has not responded to the ruling. In fact, he seems to be more interested in debating his rally attendance numbers:

We had a massive crowd last night in Georgia, but as usual, the Fake News Media absolutely refuses to show it. People are estimating 25,000 to 35,000 people, but our record so far is Texas with 87,000 people with 50,000 being turned away. This is really fun!

–Dana