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The congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection delivered a comprehensive and compelling case for the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump and his closest allies for their attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

But the committee zoomed in so tightly on the culpability of Trump and his inner circle that it largely cropped out the dozens of other state and federal Republican officials who supported or enabled the presidents multifaceted, months-long plot. The committee downplayed the involvement of the legion of local Republican officials who enlisted as fake electors and said almost nothing about the dozens of congressional Republicans who supported Trumps effortseven to the point, in one case, of urging him to declare Marshall Law to overturn the result.

With these choices, the committee likely increased the odds that Trump and his allies will face personal accountabilitybut diminished the prospect of a complete reckoning within the GOP.

David Frum: Justice is coming for Donald Trump

That reality points to the larger question lingering over the committees final report: Would convicting Trump defang the threat to democracy that culminated on January 6, or does that require a much broader confrontation with all of the forces in extremist movements, and even the mainstream Republican coalition, that rallied behind Trumps efforts?

If we imagine that preventing another assault on the democratic process is only about preventing the misconduct of a single person, Grant Tudor, a policy advocate at the nonpartisan group Protect Democracy, told me, we are probably not setting up ourselves for success.

Both the 154-page executive summary unveiled Monday and the 845-page final report released last night made clear that the committee is focused preponderantly on Trump. The summary in particular read more like a draft criminal indictment than a typical congressional report. It contained breathtaking detail on Trumps efforts to overturn the election and concluded with an extensive legal analysis recommending that the Justice Department indict Trump on four separate offenses, including obstruction of a government proceeding and providing aid and comfort to an insurrection.

Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the first Trump impeachment, told me the report showed that the committee members and staff were thinking like prosecutors. The reports structure, he said, made clear that for the committee, criminal referrals for Trump and his closest allies were the endpoint that all of the hearings were building toward. I think they believe that its important not to dilute the narrative, he said. The utmost imperative is to have some actual consequences and to tell a story to the American people. Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney who has closely followed the investigation, agreed that the report underscored the committees prioritization of a single goal: making the case that the Justice Department should prosecute Trump and some of the people around him.

If they wind up with Trump facing charges, I think they will see it as a victory, Litman told me. My sense is they are also a little suspicious about the [Justice] Department; they think its overly conservative or wussy and if they served up too big an agenda to them, it might have been rejected. The real focus was on Trump.

In one sense, the committees single-minded focus on Trump has already recorded a significant though largely unrecognized achievement. Although theres no exact parallel to what the Justice Department now faces, in scandals during previous decades, many people thought it would be too divisive and turbulent for one administration to look back with criminal proceedings against a former administrations officials. President Gerald Ford raised that argument when he pardoned his disgraced predecessor Richard Nixon, who had resigned while facing impeachment over the Watergate scandal, in 1974. Barack Obama made a similar case in 2009 when he opted against prosecuting officials from the George W. Bush administration for the torture of alleged terrorists. (Nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past, Obama said at the time.)

As Tudor pointed out, it is a measure of the committees impact that virtually no political or opinion leaders outside of hard-core Trump allies are making such arguments against looking back. If anything, the opposite argumentthat the real risk to U.S. society would come from not holding Trump accountableis much more common.

There are very few folks in elite opinion-making who are not advocating for accountability in some form, and that was not a given two years ago, Tudor told me.

Yet Tudor is one of several experts I spoke with who expressed ambivalence about the committees choice to focus so tightly on Trump while downplaying the role of other Republicans, either in the states or in Congress. I think its an important lost opportunity, he said, that could narrow the publics understanding as to the totality of what happened and, in some respects, to risk trivializing it.

Read: The January 6 committees most damning revelation yet

Bill Kristol, the longtime conservative strategist turned staunch Trump critic, similarly told me that although he believes the committee was mostly correct to focus its limited time and resources primarily on Trumps role, the report doesnt quite convey how much the antidemocratic, authoritarian sentiments have metastasized across the GOP.

Perhaps the most surprising element of the executive summary was its treatment of the dozens of state Republicans who signed on as fake electors, who Trump hoped could supplant the actual electors pledged to Joe Biden in the decisive states. The committee suggested that the fake electorssome of whom face federal and state investigations for their actionswere largely duped by Trump and his allies. Multiple Republicans who were persuaded to sign the fake certificates also testified that they felt misled or betrayed, and would not have done so had they known that the fake votes would be used on January 6th without an intervening court ruling, the committee wrote. Likewise, the report portrays Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel, who agreed to help organize the fake electors, as more of a victim than an ally in the effort. The full report does note that some officials eagerly assisted President Trump with his plans, but it identifies only one by name: Doug Mastriano, the GOP state senator and losing Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate this year. Even more than the executive summary, the full report emphasizes testimony from the fake electors in which they claimed to harbor doubts and concerns about the scheme.

Eisen, a co-author of a recent Brookings Institution report on the fake electors, told me that the committee seemed to go out of their way to give the fake electors the benefit of the doubt. Some of them may have been misled, he said, and in other cases, its not clear whether their actions cross the standard for criminal liability. But, Eisen said, if you ask me do I think these fake electors knew exactly what was going on, I believe a bunch of them did. When the fake electors met in Georgia, for instance, Eisen said that they already knew Trump had not won the state, it was clear he had not won in court and had no prospect of winning in court, they were invited to the gathering of the fake electors in secrecy, and they knew that the governor had not and would not sign these fake electoral certificates. Its hard to view the participants in such a process as innocent dupes.

The executive summary and final report both said very little about the role of other members of Congress in Trumps drive to overturn the election. The committee did recommend Ethics Committee investigations of four House Republicans who had defied its subpoenas (including GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the presumptive incoming speaker). And it identifie GOP Representative Jim Jordan, the incoming chair of the House Judiciary Committee, as a significant player in President Trumps efforts while also citing the sustained involvement of Representatives Scott Perry and Andy Biggs.

But neither the executive summary nor the full report chose quoted exchanges involving House and Senate Republicans in the trove of texts the committee obtained from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The website Talking Points Memo, quoting from those texts, recently reported that 34 congressional Republicans exchanged ideas with Meadows on how to overturn the election, including the suggestion from Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina that Trump simply declare Marshall Law to remain in power. Even Representative Adam Schiff of California, a member of the committee, acknowledged in an op-ed published today that the report devoted scant attention …[to] the willingness of so many members of Congress to vote to overturn it.

Nor did the committee recommend disciplinary action against the House members who strategized with Meadows or Trump about overturning the resultalthough it did say that such members should be questioned in a public forum about their advance knowledge of and role in President Trumps plan to prevent the peaceful transition of power. (While one of the committees concluding recommendations was that lawyers who participated in the efforts to overturn the election face disciplinary action, the report is silent on whether that same standard should apply to members of Congress.) In that, the committee stopped short of the call from a bipartisan group of former House members for discipline (potentially to the point of expulsion) against any participants in Trumps plot. Surely, taking part in an effort to overturn an election warrants an institutional response; previous colleagues have been investigated and disciplined for far less, the group wrote.

By any measure, experts agree, the January 6 committee has provided a model of tenacity in investigation and creativity in presentation. The record it has compiled offers both a powerful testament for history and a spur to immediate action by the Justice Department. It has buried, under a mountain of evidence, the Trump apologists who tried to whitewash the riot as a normal tourist visit or minimize the former presidents responsibility for it. In all of these ways, the committee has made it more difficult for Trump to obscure how gravely he abused the power of the presidency as he begins his campaign to re-obtain it. As Tudor said, Its pretty hard to imagine January 6 would still be headline news day in and day out absent the committees work.

But Trump could not have mounted such a threat to American democracy alone. Thousands of far-right extremists responded to his call to assemble in Washington. Seventeen Republican state attorneys general signed on to a lawsuit to invalidate the election results in key states; 139 Republican House members and eight GOP senators voted to reject the outcome even after the riot on January 6. Nearly three dozen congressional Republicans exchanged ideas with Meadows on how to overturn the result, or exhorted him to do so. Dozens of prominent Republicans across the key battleground states signed on as fake electors. Nearly 300 Republicans who echoed Trumps lies about the 2020 election were nominated in Novembermore than half of all GOP candidates, according to The Washington Post. And although many of the highest-profile election deniers were defeated, about 170 deniers won their campaign and now hold office, where they could be in position to threaten the integrity of future elections.

From the November 2022 issue: Bad losers

The January 6 committees dogged investigation has stripped Trumps defenses and revealed the full magnitude of his assault on democracy. But whatever happens next to Trump, it would be naive to assume that the committee has extinguished, or even fully mapped, a threat that has now spread far beyond him.

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The ‘scary spotlight’ on music stars amid Kneecap terror charge

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The 'scary spotlight' on music stars amid Kneecap terror charge

Before the amps are even switched on in Brockwell Park, there’s been a lot of noise about who should or shouldn’t be performing.

It’s where Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are set to play their first major show since band member Mo Chara was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the terrorist group Hezbollah at one of their gigs.

Before that, there had been calls for festivals to reconsider booking the band over their political stances, and several have done, which prompted artists like Brian Eno, the Mystery Jets and CMAT to sign an open letter accusing Westminster and the British media of a campaign to “remove Kneecap from the public eye”.

They put their names to wording that said “in a democracy, no political figures… have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals.”

The band have since claimed they’re the victims of “political policing” designed to silence their views on Gaza.

So what’s the reality like for artists who are outspoken at a time when the world is so divided?

As some of the biggest names in music gathered in London for the Ivors, an annual celebration of songwriting, Self-Esteem – aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor – said the level of scrutiny can be “terrifying”.

‘The problem with the internet’

She told Sky News: “The problem with the internet is you say one thing, which gets scrutinised, and then you shit yourself, you really do… then you’re advised not to. And then you’re like ‘don’t advise me not to!’

“You second-guess anything you want to say any more… but any time I do that, I think ‘well that’s why you’ve got to say it then’.”

She said it can be frustrating that focus turns on to pop stars’ opinions instead of “the people doing the bad things”.

Read more:
Why are Kneecap controversial?

Self-Esteem - aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor - spoke to Sky News about the topic.
Image:
Self-Esteem, aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor

‘Being a pop artist isn’t just about the music’

Former Little Mix singer Jade said: “To be a pop artist these days, it’s not just about music, it’s: ‘What’s your political stance?’

“I’ve always been quite vocal about those things, but in doing so you have even more of a scary spotlight on you, constantly assessing what your thoughts are as a human…it is scary.”

Trinidad-born London artist Berwyn, whose songs depict his struggles with UK immigration, says: “Silencing freedom of speech… is a road we don’t want to walk down.

“I’m not a politician, this is a very complicated issue, but I do absolutely believe in a human’s right to express themselves freely.”

But is that freedom of speech dependent on what side you’re coming from?

Berwyn speaking to Sky News
Image:
Berwyn speaking to Sky News

‘Unethical investments’

Soon, an event called Mighty Hoopla will take place at Brockwell Park as part of its programme of six festivals this summer.

Artists performing at that are coming under increased pressure from pro-Palestine groups to quit because it’s owned by a company called Superstruct, which has links to an American investment firm called KKR.

Critics argue that any KKR-affiliated events should be a red flag to artists as campaigners claim it “invests billions of pounds in companies” that do things like “develop Israeli underground data centres”, and they say it has shares in companies that “advertise property on illegally occupied land in the West Bank”.

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Mighty Hoopla itself has said while it “cannot control investments made in our parent companies”, it wants to “state its clear opposition to KKR’s unethical investments”.

And Superstruct – which puts on over 80 festivals around the world – says while horrified by the crisis in Gaza: “We are aware that there is a significant amount of debate… around our festivals.

“Our owners, made up of our promoters and several investment firms, support us to achieve the highest standards… fans and artists rightly expect.”

They insist that operationally, Superstruct is independently run and all its “revenue and profits… remains entirely within our business… towards the ongoing development… of our festivals.”

Read more from Sky News:
Kid Cudi says Diddy ‘messed with his dog’
Bono calls for Israel to be ‘released from Netanyahu’
Chris Brown posts message as singer is bailed

Even deciding where to perform can have political connotations for musicians these days.

As Tom Gray, a founding member of the rock band Gomez, now chair of the Ivors, explains: “The amount of commercial interest required to get a young artist into the public eye means they have to keep their head down a lot and that’s a terrible shame.

“It’s not just artistic expression, but personal human expression is one of the fundamental things that allows people to feel they have agency.”

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Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

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Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida’s three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk also scored in another tone-setting opening 20 minutes for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, while Carter Verhaeghe had three assists.

Bennett scored a second time by skating in to clean up an attempt at the right post in the final minute of the second period to make it 4-0, ending a long shift in Carolina’s end prolonged by Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns being stuck on the ice after breaking his stick. Aleksander Barkov added a goal midway through the third as punctuation.

Bobrovsky had his third shutout of the playoffs this year and the sixth of his career, with Florida’s defense smothering a Hurricanes team that typically peppers the net with shots but found little daylight.

Florida had already ripped home-ice advantage away Tuesday night with a 5-2 win, the opener in a rematch of the 2023 conference final swept by the Panthers with four one-goal wins. Florida only tightened its grip on the series with this one and now heads back south to host Game 3 on Saturday night.

On the other bench, the Hurricanes found themselves on the receiving end of a crushing loss by a jarringly lopsided margin. And it marked their 14th straight loss in a conference final, going back to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the ’23 tilt with Florida.

The Hurricanes managed just three first-period shots and just seven through two periods, prompting a typically rowdy home crowd to vent its frustrations with two chants of “Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!” Carolina had a brief boost when Sebastian Aho scored on a turnover in the first minute of the second period to cut the deficit to 3-1.

But Florida successfully challenged that the play was offsides. It turned out Burns’ stick-check on Tkachuk near the blue line forced the puck back into the zone and right to Aho in the slot for the finish.

By the third period, Carolina had pulled veteran Frederik Andersen from net and went with backup Pyotr Kochetkov for the final period.

It wasn’t all great news for Florida. Veteran forward Sam Reinhart was knocked from the game in the first period after taking a hit from Aho in the left leg, causing Reinhart’s knee to bend awkwardly.

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Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

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Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

HERNING, Denmark — Nick Olesen scored with 49 seconds left as Denmark stunned Canada 2-1 at the ice hockey world championship Thursday to advance to the semifinals.

“I have no words, it’s unbelievable,” Olesen said after Denmark reached the last four for the first time. “The fans here were cheering for us the whole game and they helped us get the win. It’s crazy.”

Denmark, in the sold-out arena in Herning, had tied it with 2:17 remaining when Nikolaj Ehlers scored through traffic in only his second game at the tournament following his Winnipeg Jets being eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

The Danes had pulled goaltender Frederik Dichow for the extra attacker before Ehlers struck.

Canada outshot Denmark 30-11 in the first two periods but couldn’t solve Dichow, who made 39 saves in all, until 5:17 into the third when captain Sidney Crosby fed Travis Sanheim to score into the roof of the net. Canada was outshot 22-10 in the final period, though.

Denmark has only two NHL players at the worlds, while Canada has only two who don’t play at the NHL level.

“I’m disappointed,” Crosby said. “We got better as the tournament went on. I don’t think tonight was necessarily our best, but we still found a way to give ourselves a lead … but it turned pretty quick.”

Crosby returned to the worlds for the first time since 2015, when he captained Canada to gold. He was expected to do it again with teammates like Nathan MacKinnon.

Canada is the most successful nation at the tournament with 28 titles but has finished empty-handed in the past two editions after it was beaten by Sweden in the bronze medal game last year.

It was only the second win for Denmark over Canada at the worlds.

The semifinals are set for Saturday: Denmark will play Switzerland; and the United States will face Sweden.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. advanced by beating Finland 5-2 backed by Conor Garland‘s two power-play goals

Trailing 2-1 in the middle period, the Americans needed 71 seconds to turn things around when defenseman Zeev Buium put home a rebound at 23:53 before Garland’s second goal restored the U.S. lead.

“I really liked how we stayed with it and built as the game wore on,” U.S. head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We got off to a bit of a slow start but really found our game as time wore on. I give our guys a lot of credit as they beat an excellent hockey team today.”

Garland had given the U.S. a 1-0 lead 4:50 into the game when he received a cross-ice pass from Logan Cooley to beat goalie Juuse Saros from the right circle.

Finland tied it at 1-1 on Eeli Tolvanen‘s power-play goal. Patrik Puistola scored from the slot on another power play 7:46 into the second period for Finland to take a 2-1 lead.

The Americans added two more goals in the third. Shane Pinto scored the fourth 5:52 into the final period and captain Clayton Keller finished the scoring into an empty net.

The U.S. team hasn’t won a medal since taking bronze in 2021. The Finns have been waiting for a medal since they won gold in 2022.

Sweden delighted the home crowd in the Avicii Arena in Stockholm by eliminating defending champion Czechia with a 5-2 victory.

Lucas Raymond and Leo Carlsson led the co-host with two goals each.

Earlier in Herning, last year’s runner-up Switzerland advanced by blanking Austria 6-0.

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