-Donald Trump is reportedly planning to run
for president again to as a way to protect himself
from a possible criminal indictment
related to the attempted coup on January 6th.
Meanwhile, the committee investigating the coup
is planning to reveal new details tomorrow
about what Trump was doing that day
as the mob he incited ransacked the Capitol
and tried to overturn the election.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪
At this point, the January 6th committee hearing
have provided us with ample evidence that Trump
and his gang of oddly shaped goons committed multiple crimes.
I mean, that seemed obvious on the day
the insurrection happened, but now
we have a lot more detail.
It's kind of like how if you see an employee at Dairy Queen
covered in ice cream with his pants around his ankles.
You might think, "Is Chad sticking his doink
in the soft serve machine?"
But then when you find a detailed memo on his laptop
titled "Chad's Six Point Plan for Dipping Doinks in the
Soft Serve Machine," you know for sure.
Even the Justice Department seems taken aback
by all the new evidence the committee has accumulated.
And as a result, the Feds are now talking more openly
about Trump's behavior and whether it constitutes a crime.
-According to "The New York Times,"
the shocking testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson
was so profound that it jolted top Justice Department
officials into discussing the topic
of Mr. Trump more directly, at times in the presence of
Attorney General Merrick Garland.
-Okay, I mean, I get that Cassidy Hutchinson's
testimony was shocking, but you're just now
getting around to discussing Trump?
You're six years late.
Did you also just start watching "Fleabag?"
Cheeky.
And Trump apparently is quite afraid
of the various criminal investigations
into his activities on January 6th,
which is reportedly one of the reasons why
he's likely to run again and wants to announce soon.
He thinks being a candidate, and specifically president again
will protect him from going to jail.
-And now as the Justice Department debates this,
he is telling people around him he's going to run
for reelection as the ultimate get-out-jail-free card.
-Many people around the president who I spoke to
were talking about his concerns about facing prosecution.
He's under investigations in all sorts of different jurisdictions
in New York, in New York City,
with Department of Justice in Georgia.
-He's under investigation in New York, Washington,
Georgia, Peoria, Mayberry, Twin Peaks,
Tatooine, Westeros, Xanadu.
He's even under investigation on the planet from "Avatar"
for disguising himself as Na'vi to steal some unobtanium.
[ Laughter ]
Incidentally, that's always what he looked like
After he took hydroxychloroquine.
"Rudy, I'm blue."
"Me too, boss.
I just find out I married my cousin."
And that was today's unnecessary Rudy reference.
-All the networks!
[ Laughter ]
-It's pretty amazing that when Trump ran in 2016
his slogan was "lock her up," and in 2024 it's going to be
"vote for me or I'm gonna go to jail."
I, for one, don't think Trump needs another
get-out-of-jail-free card.
His whole life has been a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Pretty sure Trump could park his golf cart
in the middle of the BQE during rush hour
and the cops would just set up orange cones around him.
Meanwhile, I park my car in the fire lane for a minute
just to run into a CVS to see if they have Clif Bar I like.
And when I get back, there are nine different tickets plastered
on my window for stuff like illegal parking,
blocking a fire lane, impending an emergency vehicle
and one that just says "having a big [bleep] mouth,
you smartass."
[ Laughter ]
So, Trump's plan, apparently, is to run for president again
because he thinks that will protect him from being indicated
by any of the various legal entities investigating him.
And Trump knows he's the one on the hot seat,
because to state the obvious, none of this
would have happened without him.
All the various crimes documented
by the committee flow from him.
He's the kingpin.
Even if one of his cronies broke the law
at his direction, that implicates him, too.
I mean, it's not like these random dudes just got together
and hatched a plan for a coup without him.
It wasn't a surprise birthday party.
There wasn't a magician there.
And if there was, Trump would have tried
to rope the magician in to the coup, too.
"Oh, and look, there's a quarter behind your ear."
"That's fantastic.
Now make Mike Pence disappear."
Trump got this gang of criminal goons
together himself, and for the express purpose
of formulating a plan to overturn the election
and stage a coup, a plan which, at this point,
has been documented in painstaking
detail by the committee.
-Throughout all these hearings, they have been incredibly
consistent and rigorous about how the ultimate culpability
for that dark day and what led up to it
rests with Donald Trump.
And about how it was he that plucked out these seemingly
random people, from a former Federal Prosecutor
turned conspiracy theory promoter, Sydney Powell,
to, well, the right-wing pillow-selling dude,
to a random underling in environmental law
at the Department of Justice, Jeffrey Clark,
to another random right-wing law professor who became
the author of the infamous coup memo, John Eastman.
And he put this crew together to try to end American democracy.
They didn't all know each other beforehand.
It was Trump that got them together.
It all flows from one man, Donald Trump.
-This is the kind of crew you'd put together
for "Ocean's Eleven" if the goal was to get caught.
"We couldn't find an explosives expert, but this guy
says he knows pillows."
"Hey, good news, every so often one of my pillows does
spontaneously combust!"
Although I will say, contrary to that clip,
I do feel like there is a chance these four had
already met each other in advance.
I mean, weirdos find other weirdos.
Once normal people don't want to spend time with you,
your friend options are pretty limited.
I mean, remember, Sydney Powell from her January 6th deposition
last week, repeating insane conspiracy theories
And chugging diet Dr. Pepper?
-In the short period of time you had with the president,
did he seem receptive to the presentation
that you were making?
[ Laughter ]
-Regular people aren't going to hang out with that lady.
Can you imagine Sydney Powell just, like, going to a barbecue
at her neighbor's house, talking about something
boring like re-seeding your lawn?
"The reason your lawn is dead is because Hugo Chavez
and the CIA teamed up to turn off your sprinklers
using Dominion software and Chinese satellites.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to unhinge my jaw
and chug this entire can of Diet Dr. Pepper
in one large gulp."
[ Laughter ]
That's when the couple hosting the party goes inside,
gets into a fight about whose fault it is
that she got invited in the first place.
"I told you not to invite your work friends!"
"I thought I could set her up with Rudy!"
"Excuse me, Ms. Powell, that's a lovely
soft drink you have there.
Any chance I'm related to you?
Don't answer, it's spicier if I'm never sure."
[ Laughter ]
Sorry, guys, we did another one.
-America!
-And by the way, that gang of weirdos Trump
brought together is still trying to root out
nonexistent voter fraud, even amid all the investigations
that are currently happening.
Like Mypillow CEO Mike Lindell
who said last week he's flying
in a plane full of "cyber guys" to Arizona,
whatever the hell that means.
-I'm going to look at the evidence.
On July 21st, I've got a planeload of lawyers,
cyber guys, experts, flying into Arizona.
We're flying a planeload of lawyers down there, Brandon,
experts, cyber guys to testify.
-"Cyber guys" sounds like what your dad calls "Transformers."
"You know, if you ever get tired Of watching your cyber guys,
the grass out back ain't getting any shorter."
That's right, Mike Lindell, ol' Mike Lindell claims
he's flying a plane of cyber guys down to Arizona
to prove voter fraud or something.
Although, there's a good chance Mike Lindell thinks
any commercial airline is a plane full of cyber guys,
because all the passengers are sitting in front of screens.
"It's a plane full of tech wizards and cyber guys
who've got their own computers built into the seats
in front of them, and these computers are so advanced
you can pull up any movie you want,
including "Gone Girl" or the "Austin Powers" one
Or that one where Leonardo DiCaprio
almost gets eaten by the bear!"
The straightforward, fundamental question at the heart of these
Hearings and at the heart of our politics at the moment
is whether we're a nation of laws.
If Trump can simply escape accountability
for a criminal plan to overthrow the government
by running for president and declaring himself untouchable,
then we no longer have a functioning justice system.
As the January 6th committee has documented in painstaking
detail, Trump and his cronies have committed many crimes,
from inciting a riot to doing this on camera.
This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪
God's Love We Deliver cooks and brings
over two million meals a year to men, women and children
living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illness',
and they need your help now more than ever.
If you're watching this online, you can hit the donate button.
Stay safe, get vaccinated, we love you.