Trump is in legal peril due to this key detail in conspiracy law: analysis

Donald Trump should be freaked out after a January 6th defendant was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the attack, according to a new analysis published in The Washington Post.

"That punishment could have serious repercussions on various fronts, including for leadership at the Justice Department," Jennifer Rubin wrote. "The prosecutor at the sentencing hearing warned, 'It is just critical that the court's sentence convey to future rioters that there will be very, very serious consequences for those who intend to obstruct the rule of law and obstruct democracy, particularly through assaults on law enforcement.'"

"For that reason, it is inconceivable that the Justice Department would not follow the money and organizational muscle upward, and hold those at the top of the traitorous scheme accountable. Certainly, Attorney General Merrick Garland cannot deny that it is 'critical' for the planners, instigators and funders of future riots that they face 'very serious consequences' too," she explained. "As more criminal defendants on the lowest rung of the insurrection are sentenced, the harder it will be to exempt those who were not physically present but whose actions may have helped instigate the violent uprising."

Rubin, who spent decades as an attorney in Hollywood prior to her career as a political pundit, drew upon her legal background to explain the significance of the situation.

"By definition, every member of a conspiracy is responsible for the crimes of others that were reasonably foreseeable. Former president Donald Trump and his White House cronies need not have had contact with, or even know the identities of, specific defendants to face legal risks; so long as they took action to further the violent uprising as a last resort to halting Congress from carrying out its certification of electoral college votes, they could be in jeopardy. Trump's refusal to take action during the hours-long Capitol siege lends credence to the argument that he had expected, or even welcomed, the riot after his 'Stop the Steal' rally and months of fomenting the 'big lie' of a stolen election," she explained.

She also urged patience for those frustrated by the slow pace of the Department of Justice investigations, suggesting that prosecutions will follow the investigation by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"As the Justice Department goes after the small fry, it can wait for the evidentiary nuggets uncovered by the House. That takes time — and makes it increasingly hard not to follow the facts all the way to the ex-commander in chief," she wrote.