“The intentional effort to influence the outcome of a juror’s opinion, vote or decision by unlawfully communicating with the juror in either a direct or indirect manner, outside the scope of legally permitted courtroom procedure.”
Definition of Jury Tampering
Once the results of the 2020 election became clear, Donald Trump became consumed, not with the COVID crisis, the Russian hacking of government agencies and U.S. corporations or the duties of his office but a defeat his ego would not let him accept.
His unfounded and discredited claims of election fraud culminated with his January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally where his incendiary remarks admonished supporters, “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore,“ and instructed them to march to the Capitol, declaring, “I’ll be there with you.” Instead, Donald Trump, the coward he is, returned to the White House to watch television and revel in the ensuing insurrection riot he had agitated.
The timing of Trump’s Impeachment was unwise, unlikely to result in a conviction and a potential waste of political bipartisanship. Without such a conviction, any subsequent effort to bar Trump from holding any future public office, including the presidency, for having “engaged in insurrection or rebellion,” would become more difficult, even pursuant to the 14th Amendment.
On January 26th, House Managers delivered the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. As Constitutionally-required, the Senate trial began with the swearing in of the its 100 members (the trial’s jurors) each declaring, “I solemnly swear (or affirm) that in all things appertaining to the trial of Donald John Trump, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God.”
Moments later Senator Rand Paul forced a procedural vote on the constitutionality of an Impeachment trial for a former president; 45 Republican Senators, who moments before took an oath of impartial justice, supported Paul’s motion. There is no constitutional prohibition to an impeachment trial after the person has left office and, in fact, it has happened in the past.
Most if not all of these 45 Republican Senators have clearly signaled, they have no intention of voting to convict the former president whatever the evidence; an ominous warning a fair and impartial Senate trial will not occur.
This predictable side show came on the heels of former Trump political director Brian Jack cautioning GOP Senators Donald Trump will go after those who vote to convict him of “incitement of insurrection” in future primaries.
This was not an isolated case. Donald Trump personally warned Senator Tom Cotton Republican voters would "never forget" GOP lawmakers who fail to embrace Trump's baseless effort to overturn Joe Biden's Electoral College victory; Donald, Jr. warned Republicans not supporting the president, “We’re coming for you,” and Rudy Giuliani urged the insurrection mob to engage in, “trial by combat”. Not to be overlooked are the growing number of credible death threats against both Democratic and Republican Senators who vote to convict Trump.
These unprecedented threats amount to nothing less than jury tampering.
In any other legal forum, “jurors” who had openly expressed such biased positions would be summarily disqualified for cause and those making such threats criminally indicted. Unfortunately, it appears the standards for impartial trials do not apply to members of the U.S. Senate.
When will Americans finally demand their elected representatives pledge their unswerving loyalty to the Constitution rather than any political party, their own reelections or even allegiance to any individual?
