Bolton doesn't think Trump was engaging in a coup. He says Trump was trying to buy time to have enough state legislatures overturn the election for him. What John Bolton gets wrong about coup attempts -- and Donald Trump - CNNPolitics
Not many remain for a potential second term after Meadows who is currently Trump's chief of staff at his mansions. Trump could scrape up the ones he pardoned, such as Bannon, Stone, Manafort, and Flynn. Giuliani, Lindell, and Powell might still be around but heavily damaged due to litigation by Dominion.. It's difficult to imagine the state of mind of Giuliani (and the rest of them) 2.5 to 6.5 years from now as members of a second Trump term. All of this assumes Trump isn't indicted, health-damaged, or deceased. The televised Jan. 6 hearings and his inner orbit turning on him appear to be stressing Trump to the extreme.
Even that wouldn't stop it. The WI GOP would award the 2020 election to Trump posthumously if it took that long. Gableman could be 103 years old and still probing the 2020 election at taxpayer expense.
Bolton says that it wasn't a coup and that Trump was pursuing a proper legal path that would have state legislatures overturn the election. A 'legal' path that involved presenting Pence with fake electors to use as an excuse for him to send the election back to legislatures of battleground states Trump lost to overturn the election. Or have Pence accept the fake elector slates outright and make Trump the 'winner' without even bothering with state legislatures. It was supposedly so legal that GOP members who were involved in the scheme asked Trump for preemptive pardons to protect themselves later from 'unfair' prosecution.
Graham claims 'absolute immunity' for himself. Lindsey Graham argues Constitution grants him 'absolute immunity' in Georgia election interference probe, a response one former prosecutor calls 'disturbing'
Graham wants a very liberal interpretation of legislative purpose as a member of Congress to protect himself for his personal activities of calling Raffensperger to promote Trump in his quest to overthrow the 2020 election. But Graham and the Trump-supporting GOP want an extremely narrow interpretation of legislative purpose for the members of Congress (who were attacked by Trump at the Capitol) and legislative entities at the state level who are investigating Trump. They supposedly don't have any legislative purpose.
Graham should be promoting legislative purpose to investigate Trump. He had to hide in the basement of the Capitol while Trump's rioters marauded it and delayed the legislative procedure of certifying the election. It's difficult to formulate a more pressing example for members of Congress to investigate Trump based on legislative purpose. Shortly after the riot, Graham publicly said 'count me out' of Trump's schemes. Leaked calls show that Graham was considering invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. A few weeks after the insurrection, he changed his mind and visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago to be friends with Trump again. He said the GOP can't move forward without Trump.
Before all of Trump's 'concerns' arose, would you be surprised if he had assured Meadows: "You're one of my people and if the ax ever drops, you can be sure that I'll take care of my people." Then, of course, he turns on all of 'his people' in order to protect himself and folks wonder how Meadows (& the others) could have been so stupid. Ugh.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/13/politics/trump-contact-white-house-support-staffer-january-6-committee/index.html