- c. Harm to Our Nation’s National Security
President Trump’s conduct directly harmed the national security of the United States. In the most immediate sense, the President’s incitement of the mob assault on the Capitol may have exposed sensitive materials and locations to the public creating immediate national security risks. In the long term, the insurrection caused lasting damage to the nation’s international reputation as a bastion of democratic order, undermining American “soft power” and emboldening our adversaries abroad.
Although there is not yet a complete account of the immediate consequences of the insurrection to our national security, the insurrectionists had access to, and stole, sensitive materials and electronics. As Michael Sherwin, acting United States attorney for the District of Columbia explained, “electronic items, were stolen from senators’ offices. Documents, materials, were stolen, and we have to identify what was done, mitigate that, and it could have potential national security equities. If there was damage, we don’t know the extent of that yet.”[1] Further, insurrectionists posted photos of areas in the Capitol generally off limits to the public, and some even livestreamed the attack on the internet. Both the Senate and the House, in coordination with federal law enforcement officials, will have to conduct an arduous top-to-bottom review to determine what devices have been stolen, whether documents have been taken or copied, and even if listening devices have been left behind by rioters.[2]
In addition to this immediate damage, the insurrection incited by President Trump has likely done incalculable damage to the United States’ reputation abroad as an exemplar of democratic self-governance. This event was broadcast live, in real time. Accordingly, it threatens to undermine the U.S.’s moral authority and hamper our ability to persuade other countries to take actions beneficial to U.S. national interests in the future. It will take substantial public diplomacy work by future Presidents to overcome the international damage done to the prestige of the United States. As reported in the news, for America’s adversaries, “there was no greater proof of the fallibility of Western democracy than the sight of the U.S. Capitol shrouded in smoke and besieged by a mob whipped up by their unwillingly outgoing president.”[3]
Already the insurrection incited by President Trump has been a propaganda boon to many authoritarian regimes. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran said in a live televised speech that “[y]ou are now seeing the situation in the U.S. … This is their democracy and human rights, this is their election scandal, these are their values. These values are being mocked by the whole world. Even their friends are laughing at them.”[4] The foreign ministry of the People’s Republic of China made public statements justifying that government’s violent crackdown on
- ↑ Brian Fung, Capitol riots raise urgent concerns about Congress's information security, CNN (Jan. 8, 2021).
- ↑ Natasha Bertrand, Justice Department warns of national security fallout from Capitol Hill insurrection, POLITICO (Jan. 7, 2021).
- ↑ Alexander Smith & Saphora Smith, U.S. foes like China and Iran see opportunity in the chaos of Trump-stoked riot at Capitol, NBC News, (Jan. 8, 2021).
- ↑ Id.
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