own grasp on power against the expressed will of the people, prompts an armed attack against a coequal branch that prevents it from performing its core constitutional responsibilities.
President Trump’s conduct will have other lasting effects on Congress. Before January 6, the Capitol was a place that the people of the United States could freely visit to see their democratic system at work. Since January 6, the Capitol complex has more closely resembled a fortress, ringed by fences with barbed wire and heavily guarded by the Capitol Police and the National Guard. The American people cannot now get anywhere near their Capitol. That is a sorry state of affairs for our Nation, one that no President should have played a role in bringing about.
D. President Trump Undermined National Security
A final consideration requiring President Trump’s conviction is the harm he inflicted on the national security of the United States. Most immediately, the insurrectionist mob had access to, and stole, sensitive materials and electronics—including a laptop from the office of the Speaker of the House.[1] The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has stated that “electronic items” and other “[d]ocuments [and] materials” were “stolen from [S]enators’ offices.”[2] These devices could be used to infiltrate federal networks.[3] It has therefore been necessary to undertake a thorough review to determine the extent of the security breach and implement appropriate remedial measures.
The attack that President Trump provoked has also emboldened other violent extremists.[4] As government officials and outside experts have warned, it may come to be seen as a rallying point for further insurrection—and as a “significant driver of violence” that inspires extremists “to engage
- ↑ Raphael Satter, Laptop Stolen from Pelosi’s Office during Storming of U.S. Capitol, Says Aide, Reuters (Jan. 8, 2021).
- ↑ Brian Fung, Capitol Riots Raise Urgent Concerns about Congress’s Information Security, CNN (Jan. 8, 2021).
- ↑ Samantha Masunaga, The Attack on the Capitol May Pose a Cybersecurity Risk. Here’s How, L.A. Times (Jan. 8, 2021).
- ↑ Molly Hennessy-Fiske, ‘Second Revolution Begins’: Armed Right-Wing Groups Celebrate Capitol Attack, L.A. Times (Jan. 6, 2021).
