Reviews | Trump’s subpoena will make headlines, but the real news from Washington was elsewhere

What strikes me most about the hearing is that it was not the big news that came out of Washington today; on the contrary, the most important news came across the street from the Capitol, and about a mile away on 14th Street.

First, the United States Supreme Court denied Trump’s request to allow a special counsel in the Mar-a-Lago case to review classified documents. The unsigned order involved a relatively narrow dispute, but the lack of dissent suggests the court may not grant Trump the protection he will seek from the Justice Department, if it ends up indicting him for violating the order. one or more federal laws. For all the legal landmines in Trump’s path — breaking Georgia’s election interference laws, a possible contempt citation if he refuses to comply with today’s subpoena — the Mar-a case -Lago remains the most damaging to Trump, especially since at different times he has more or less admitted to violating one or more of the federal records laws.

The other big news came from the Ministry of Labour. Inflation continues to rise unabated, with the consumer price index jumping at an annual rate of 8.2%, a 40-year high. Core inflation – excluding food and energy – increased by 6.6%. With less than a month to go until the midterm elections, Maalox sales are sure to pick up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. For some time now, midterm election prognoses have been clouded by crosscurrents — inflation, crime, and low presidential approval ratings favoring Republicans, and abortion, threats to democracy, and flawed Republican candidates favoring Democrats. For these GOP contenders, today’s inflation numbers are an answered prayer.

Such an argument, no doubt, will infuriate those who saw these hearings as a powerful case that the former president deliberately sought to sabotage the last election and retain power by any means necessary. The adoption of Trump’s fraudulent case by more than 100 GOP candidates for top-to-bottom polling stations, they will say, is powerful evidence that the Republican Party as a whole has embraced a clear and present danger.

But my observation in June when the hearings began remains sadly true: « In the case of Trump, the finding that he engaged in corrupt and most likely criminal behavior is breathtaking evidence at least since November 2020, if not before. And this certainty – along with the blatant refusal of millions to accept this reality – sets the limits of what the January 6 Committee can achieve.

These inflation figures today only underscore this point.