Prosecutors target Trump’s legacy
Dems hope images of Capitol riot stick to former president
Dems hope images of Capitol riot stick to former president.
As a day of violence and mayhem at the Capitol slid into evening last month, with bloodshed, glass shattered and democracy besieged, President Donald Trump posted a message on Twitter that seemed to celebrate the moment. “Remember this day forever!” he urged.
The House Democrats prosecuting him at his Senate impeachment trial barely a month later hope to make sure everyone does.
With conviction in a polarized Senate seemingly out of reach, the House managers, as the prosecutors are known, are aiming their arguments at two other audiences beyond the chamber: the American people whose decision to deny Trump a second term was put at risk and the historians who will one day render their own judgments about the former president and his time in power.
Through the expansive use of unsettling video footage showing both Trump’s words and the brutal rampage that followed, the managers are using their moment in the national spotlight to make the searing images of havoc the inexpungible legacy of the Trump presidency. Rather than let the outrage subside, the managers are seeking to ensure that Trump is held accountable even if he is acquitted in the Senate.
“The Democrats and House managers are playing to a different jury in this case than in any previous impeachment trial of an American president,” said Ken Gormley, president of Duquesne University and author of books on impeachment, presidents and the Constitution. “Regardless of the outcome of the trial, the first paragraph of historical accounts of the Trump presidency is likely” to say that he incited a mob attack on Congress after refusing to accept the results of an election.
If Trump is not convicted, the managers want to ensure that he remains so politically radioactive that he cannot be the same force he once was — if not the pariah they think he ought to be, then at least a figure that many mainstream Republicans and their corporate donors keep at arm’s length. In effect, if the Senate will not vote to formally disqualify him from future office, they want the public to do so.
Karl Rove, the Republican strategist and former adviser to President George W. Bush, said the managers had made a “very persuasive” presentation.
Trump’s camp acknowledges that the prosecution has been effective but portrays it as an illegitimate smear borne of partisan animus.
Jason Miller, a longtime adviser and campaign spokesperson for Trump, called the impeachment drive a “vindictive way to try to beat him for future elections” but one that he said would not work given Trump’s enduring support with the Republican base.
“I think the president is going to be involved in making sure we win back the House and Senate in 2022,” Miller told Fox Business.
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Trump’s legal team, which will begin its own arguments Friday, dismissed the use of the video in the Senate trial as an inflammatory tactic to blame Trump for the actions of others.
“It is something that President Trump has condemned in no uncertain terms, the terrible violence that went on there, so there’s not an issue about that,” David Schoen, one of his lawyers, said on Fox News.
The decision to impeach Trump a second time and put him on trial even after he left office was always a dicey one for Democrats, some of whom were wary of once again mounting a largely partisan effort that last year resulted in an acquittal that only emboldened the president who declared himself vindicated.
Some Democrats, like Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, argued that a bipartisan censure resolution with Republican support would be a better outcome this time around.
But after drafting a measure declaring that the former president aided an insurrection in a way that might disqualify him from running for office again under the 14th Amendment, the senator found few takers on either side of the aisle; Republicans balked at breaking with Trump, and his fellow Democrats demanded “impeachment or nothing,” as Kaine put it.
So now the Democrats who insisted on impeachment or nothing face the prospect of again failing to convict Trump, making it more imperative for them to use the trial to establish a different kind of verdict that will go beyond the vote itself.
“Quite honestly, as a presidential historian, it was clear to me watching these events unfold on Jan. 6 that the insurrection would be the defining moment of his presidency,” said Kathryn Cramer Brownell, a history professor at Purdue University. “It clearly seemed a culmination of the ways in which Trump actively worked to advance misinformation, undermine the democratic process and institutions, and endorse violence during his presidency.”
Americans who lost their job or some of their income in 2020 should pay attention to a new, one-time provision that ensures they don’t lose access to valuable tax credits as well.
The “lookback” rule allows taxpayers to use either their 2019 or 2020 income, whichever is most beneficial, in order to get the most out of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. These are considered the two most valuable tax credits for low- and moderate-income working families.
Together, they lift more working-age people out of poverty than any other government program, said Elaine Maag, a principal research associate at the Tax Policy Center.
Taxpayers qualify and receive credits based on their income and number of dependents. In general, the less you earn, the larger the credit. And they are refundable tax credits, which are particularly beneficial because they can reduce the amount of tax someone owes to zero or potentially yield a refund.
However, some people were potentially facing a smaller credit or no credit because of job loss or reduced income in 2020. That can mean the difference between a refund, which is a financial lifeline in many households, or even owing taxes.
That is because people need some earned income to claim the credits and money from unemployment benefits is not considered earned income in the eyes of the IRS.
So lawmakers, as part of a relief package passed in December, decided taxpayers could “lookback” to their 2019 income to claim these credits.
While it is unclear how many people stand to gain from this new rule, the bulk of the job losses were among lower income workers, who benefit the most from these credits.
The Earned Income Tax Credit is worth $538 to $6,660 depending on income and number of children. People without children can claim the EITC, although its value is much lower. The Child Tax Credit offers up to $2,000 per qualifying dependent child.
“It is certainly true that as the economy is struggling, it is undesirable for a person to be hit with not just an earnings loss but also an EITC or CTC loss,” Maag said. “Efforts to offset this are commendable and will hopefully not end up creating additional complexities for people who already have complex tax returns.”
It is important for taxpayers to be careful when preparing their taxes. There are different calculations for the EITC and the CTC. And the IRS keeps a close watch on those who claim these credits in an effort to avoid fraud.
“Unfortunately ... it is a high audit area,” said Arnold van Dyk, director of Tax Service for Tax Audit. “Make sure you can substantiate it even if you do qualify and it is your own children.”
Tax software should walk you through all the steps to determine if you qualify, as should a qualified tax professional.
There is information on both credits on the IRS website.