Reckless but not criminal

Mike Pence tries to split the difference:

Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday that he hoped the Department of Justice would not bring charges against Donald J. Trump, calling the former president ’s conduct “reckless” but not criminal.

It’s not criminal to try to overturn an election in order to steal a second term? It’s not criminal to incite a mob to attack the legislature and then watch them do it on tv for hours before gently urging them to back off for now?

I kind of think Pence might be wrong about that.

Asked about facing potential criminal indictments that could stem from the House investigation into the Capitol riot, Donald J. Trump suggested he had little to fear because of a social media message he posted hours later urging the mob to stop the violence and return home.

His problem is that it’s well known via multiple witnesses what he was doing during those hours. He wasn’t doing his job, he wasn’t reading vital reports, he wasn’t packing his bags, he wasn’t even stealing more classified documents to take to Marlago – he was watching his fans smash up the Capitol on tv.

In a radio interview on Monday, Mr. Trump said that House investigators skimmed past his “fantastic” Twitter post, and also failed to consider why thousands had attended his speech just before the riot.

Ooh ooh I know this one – it’s because he told them to, and because they wanted to help him steal the election by doing an insurrection. I think the House investigators did consider that, quite intensely.

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