US CAPITOL RIOT PROBE: WHAT’S NEXT? USAGM
Metadata
- US CAPITOL RIOT PROBE: WHAT’S NEXT? USAGM
- July 21, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV – US CAPITOL RIOT PROBE: WHAT’S NEXT? HEADLINE: Trump Could be First US President to Face Criminal Charges TEASER: Unprecedented charges could be politically risky and divisive PUBLISHED AT: 07/20/2022 BYLINE: Katherine Gypson PRODUCERS: Katherine Gypson, DATELINE: Washington VIDEOGRAPHER: SCRIPT EDITORS: AP, MAS, VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, Pool, Skype PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: TYPE: TVPKG UPDATE: EDITOR NOTES: This TV piece can run again after Thursday's primetime hearing with a slight tweak to the intro ((PRODUCTION: Broll is in In-Progress-Katherine Gypson-What’s Next?)) ((INTRO)) [[The January 6th Committee will wrap up its first round of public hearings this week with a minute-by-minute examination of former U.S. President Donald Trump's actions during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. VOA's Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson looks at what happens next.]] ((NARRATOR)) ((Broll of Trump at Jan 6 Stop the Steal Rally then over to cutaways of Jan 6 Cmte and end on broll of Capitol Attack)) A sitting or former American president has never been charged with a crime … but for the first time in U.S. history, lawmakers are holding public hearings that could lead to a recommendation that Donald Trump be legally held responsible for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. ((Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democrat)) ((MRT Clip from 6/9/22-20;10;50;12 MRT JAN 6 thompson trump was at center of this conspiracy)) “Donald Trump, the president of the United States, spurred a mob of domestic enemies of the Constitution to march down to the Capitol and subvert American democracy.” ((NARRATOR)) ((Cutaways of individual members of Jan 6th committee then Capitol Attack Broll and end on DOJ exterior)) The January 6th Committee – composed of five Democrats and two Republicans – does not have the power to try former President Donald Trump on crimes relating to the attack on the U.S. Capitol – but it is presenting evidence that the U.S. Department of Justice could use to bring charges against him. ((Rep. Liz Cheney, Republican)) ((Reuters Cheney Speech-SOT 2)) "As the full picture is coming into view with the January 6th committee, it has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and more threatening than we could have imagined." ((NARRATOR)) ((Trump and Capitol Attack Broll)) In a 12-page document repeating many of his discredited claims of election fraud, Trump objected that the televised hearings have allowed for no exculpatory evidence or cross examination of witnesses. But many legal experts say the committee is building a solid case suggesting Trump is personally responsible for multiple crimes. ((Paul Schiff Berman, George Washington University School of Law)) ((Berman at 6:19)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: Skype)) “Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding is certainly one of the things that could be charged. Potentially conspiracy to defraud the United States that has to do with all of the completely baseless assertions of election fraud [[WHITE FLASH TO COVER JOIN IN BITE]] Trump had no evidence whatsoever and knew that there was no evidence that's also come out during these hearings. Inciting insurrection would be another one, if you could tie Trump's actions to the insurrection in a direct way, that's a little bit harder to prove.” ((NARRATOR)) Several legal experts have also pointed out that any attempt to prosecute Trump could hinge on whether the former president actually believed his own claims of fraud, a difficult point to prove. ((Screenshot of Trump Tweet from Gypson Day 7 TV pkg and then over to Capitol Attack broll)) Lawmakers say a tweet by Trump on December 19, 2020, was a rallying cry for extremist groups to attack the Capitol – an action that could lead to a charge of seditious conspiracy. ((Jon Lewis, Center for Extremism at George Washington University)) ((Lewis at 00:53)) ((MANDATORY COURTESY: SKYPE)) “Based on what we've seen from court filings from the Department of Justice, which has released private chat messages from the Oathkeepers, and the Proud Boys, we saw that tweet really crystallized the date of January 6, as the final chance for these groups to engage in what they thought was their moment in history, their chance to prevent what they thought was a stolen election.” ((NARRATOR)) ((Broll of Capitol Dome and cutaways of hearings)) The January 6th Committee is now expected to conduct hearings into the fall, holding its ultimate findings until after the midterm elections. That could delay the historically unprecedented move of a Department of Justice under the administration of one president charging a former president – and political rival. ((Paul Schiff Berman, George Washington University School of Law)) ((Berman at 11:59)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: Skype)) “It means you're always in a state of political chaos and the potential for a kind of civil war. And it's not the way the United States rule of law system has operated for 200 years. But Trump is a sui generis [[unique]] president, there has never been a presidency even remotely like his. And there certainly has never been an incident anything like this attack on the Congress and this attempt to overthrow a legitimate election, at least since the Civil War. So, we're really in uncharted territory.” ((NARRATOR)) ((AP US Capitol Poll-Graphic showing poll after SOT 5 and end on Capitol Attack broll)) An Associated Press-NORC poll conducted at the end of June found that half of American adults say Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the attack on the US Capitol. ((Katherine Gypson, VOA News, Washington))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date July 20, 2022 22:03 EDT
- Byline Katherine Gypson
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English