After four riveting hearings, mercifully without the usual personal grandstanding, the House select committee on the January 6 insurrection has revealed stunning new information – including unexpectedly implicating a Supreme Court justice – and raised serious conundrums for the US political system.
The depth of villainy it has exposed has massively strengthened the potential of a case for criminal charges against former president Donald Trump and his worst confederates. Yet it appears the consequences of this shocking saga of malfeasance at the highest levels against the US constitutional system could prove negligible.
Mr Trump's conduct was far more viciously malevolent than previously understood. He knew the mob rampaging through Congress was searching for and vowing to "hang” his vice president, Mike Pence. That murderous horde came within a mere 12 metres of him as the vice president was whisked to safety.
Mr Trump’s reaction was a tweet plainly calculated to further inflame anger against Mr Pence. A confidential informant has assured the FBI the rioters would certainly have killed Mr Pence if they caught him. According to committee vice chair Liz Cheney, Mr Trump told his aides Mr Pence “deserves it,” although he denies it.
To date, the Department of Justice has investigated and prosecuted the rioters, but there is no apparent federal investigation or grand jury probing Mr Trump and his collaborators. They may be strategically leaving that to the committee, for now.
The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy because of ample evidence
The potential charges against the former president and an attorney, John Eastman, and possibly others including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and a former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, have become blindingly obvious.
Mr Trump and Mr Eastman, who later requested a presidential pardon, could be extremely vulnerable to prosecution for attempting to obstruct an official proceeding of the US, and/or conspiracy to defraud the US, both serious felonies, by seeking, in various ways, to block or subvert the legally-mandated confirmation of the election results by Congress on January 6.
In a committee-related civil case in March, a federal judge concluded that Mr Trump and Mr Eastman were probably guilty of both these crimes, declaring "The illegality of the plan was obvious." Such a finding virtually demands a federal criminal investigation.
Leaders of the white supremacist gangs the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have been charged with the exceptionally serious crime of seditious conspiracy because of ample evidence they co-ordinated plans to use force to stop the January 6 procedure.
But it would be extremely difficult to convict Mr Trump or Mr Eastman of seditious conspiracy unless evidence is discovered to specifically tie them to plans to use force. Given Mr Trump’s style of coded messaging – unsubtle yet indirect hints – to his supporters, that is unlikely to ever emerge.
But it is noteworthy that Mr Trump is suddenly promising presidential pardons for rioters if he’s re-elected, suggesting a potential quid pro quo for their silence. And his most recent 12-page response to the hearings, amid its ramblings and incessant fabrications, emphasises time and again how and why he was convinced the 2020 election was fraudulent.
That’s significant because both charges to which he’s vulnerable would require proving his corrupt intent. It should be easy enough, given the parade of his senior officials who testified they told him he really lost a clean election. One confirms he privately blurted out, "can you believe I lost to that guy?" while publicly insisting he won.
There’s no defence in US law for “wilful blindness” in the aid of a corrupt intent, which former attorney general William Barr strongly suggested Mr Trump was employing when refusing to accept facts and simply moving from one preposterous conspiracy theory to the next in search of some pretext to overthrow the election.
Mr Trump could also be potentially liable for wire fraud charges for raising hundreds of millions of dollars from his supporters to supposedly fight election fraud. It was yet another nonexistent Trump fund that went into his own coffers.
He’s clearly vulnerable to state-level criminal charges in Georgia, where he is being investigated regarding his audiotaped effort to convince officials to “find” exactly the number of votes to change the election results in his favour.
Yet any federal effort to prosecute a former president who may run again and remains wildly popular in much of the country is fraught with immense risks, including future unwarranted revenge prosecutions against other former presidents.
The most unexpected revelations involve the depth of involvement by Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in enthusiastically encouraging the corrupt and unconstitutional reversal of the election on the grounds that “there are no rules in war."
She corresponded with Mr Meadows, Mr Eastman, Republicans in Arizona and others demanding a coup d’etat with “no rules”.
Yet Justice Thomas did not recuse himself from a Supreme Court case in which he alone voted in favour of Mr Trump’s effort to withhold White House communications from the committee, including the "no rules" message from his own wife to Mr Meadows.
It is unprecedented that the wife of a Supreme Court justice is deeply implicated in a plot to overthrow the constitutional order, and even more that he may have acted corruptly to try to shield her.
The truth of his knowledge and involvement may never be definitively established, but the “no rules” stench will linger over the court for decades.
Yet despite all this mindboggling venality, it is not in the least clear that the committee’s superbly choreographed hearings and irrefutable narrative of unimagined corruption has significantly altered the US political equation, or that it ever will.
Most of the right seems impervious to discomforting facts, fed a constant diet of paranoid fantasies by Fox News and never encountering the committee's well-documented evidence. If they do, they're primed to dismiss it as just more spin.
Almost all Republican leaders are, at best, ignoring and refusing to engage with these realities. At worst, they’re actively promoting the stolen election nonsense.
The truth may eventually sink in, or Republican leaders could finally decide they have had enough. But there is no guarantee of either happening
Mr Trump is clearly nervous, and with good reason. But he may survive even this tsunami of unheard-of Ignominy.
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Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Super Saturday race card
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The Programme
Saturday, October 26: ‘The Time That Remains’ (2009) by Elia Suleiman
Saturday, November 2: ‘Beginners’ (2010) by Mike Mills
Saturday, November 16: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (2013) by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Tuesday, November 26: ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) by Alan J Pakula
Saturday, December 7: ‘Timbuktu’ (2014) by Abderrahmane Sissako
Saturday, December 21: ‘Rams’ (2015) by Grimur Hakonarson
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Continental champions
Best Asian Player: Massaki Todokoro (Japan)
Best European Player: Adam Wardzinski (Poland)
Best North & Central American Player: DJ Jackson (United States)
Best African Player: Walter Dos Santos (Angola)
Best Oceanian Player: Lee Ting (Australia)
Best South American Player: Gabriel De Sousa (Brazil)
Best Asian Federation: Saudi Jiu-Jitsu Federation
THE CARD
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
