politics

I think you are missing some of the important subtext within the indictment itself. I would highly encourage you to read it, as it covers the timeline of events in question in significant detail. Here is an abridged response to the concerns you raised though:

• Mark Meadows (Trump Chief of Staff) has certainly been a cooperating witness since March, or potentially even earlier. He has made no public statements in almost a year, and was notably not insinuated to be a co-conspirator in this indictment. We can infer from this information that there is a strong likelihood that he struck a deal to avoid some or all prosecution in exchange for his testimony. Mark Meadows is where all the bodies are buried pertaining to January 6th. There's too much information to get into in one comment on this subject, but there is plenty of quality information regarding his involvement from the Congressional Committee as well as from other sources close to the Trump Whitehouse.

• It is extremely likely that some or all of the co-conspirators in this indictment that have not yet been charged will be falling all over themselves to strike their own deals based on the information contained in the public indictment alone. This will give the special prosecutors office additional first hand testimony that speaks to Trumps involvement and awareness both relating to the insurrection as well as the fake electors scheme.

• Mike Pence has already testified before the grand jury, and will certainly be used as a material witness in this case. That is extremely bad for Trump because Pence will likewise be asked to testify regarding Trump's personal involvement in the fake electors scheme.

• The judge presiding over this case already sentenced multiple different defendants pertaining to January 6th, some of whom received prison time well above the charging guidelines. She will also cut through the attempts by Trump's attorneys to obstruct the timely procession of this case, and is backed up by an appellate court that is also well versed in striking down frivolous fillings made by previous and existing members of Trump's legal team.

• This case is being tried in Washington DC, and it is much less likely that there will be jurors who attempt to game the jury selection process in order to hang the jury during deliberations. It will also be next to impossible for Trump to tamper with said jury or witnesses without being swiftly met with additional charges or sanctions up to and including incarceration for the duration of the proceeding as well as a gag order. Any attempts at exerting undue influence in this case would be the final nail in the coffin of his defense.

Lastly, it is true that Trump may publicly claim that he was simply given bad legal advice. However, that argument breaks down the second that there is first party testimony that implicates Trump in directing the decision making of his staff, and co-conspirators against the explicit advice of Chief Whitehouse Counsel Pat Cipollone and others who will also be called to testify. No matter how jaded all of us are (and rightly so) regarding the legal system in this country, I firmly believe that Trump is up against the kind of asymmetrical information warfare the likes of which he has never seen. When it gets down to brass tacks there are a lot of people here who could conceivably die in prison if they do not do the smart thing and flip to save themselves. We are FIRMLY in the find out stages of the game, and I don't believe for one second that anybody is going to risk their freedom for the rest of their natural life to save Trump's ass on this one.