WASHINGTON | Donald Trump slammed the parliamentary committee investigating his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, calling it a “junk court” and repeating without evidence that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.”
• Also read: Trump must be held legally responsible for attack on Capitol, commission says
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On Thursday night, during a prime-time hearing, that commission accused him of “failing in his duty” during the attack and ruled he should be held legally accountable.
The former president showed he had been following the session closely and responded in the evening with a series of angry posts on the social network Truth Social, which he launched as an alternative to Twitter after being banned from the Blue Bird platform.
The Republican, who is flirting with the idea of running for president in 2024, denounced the “lies and misrepresentations” by this “corrupt and highly partisan” commission.
In particular, he wondered why the group of elected officials hadn’t asked the Secret Service to confirm what was reported by a former White House employee who claimed the president was trying to get the wheel of a car to an official to to try this Join the protesters on January 6th.
“Because they know the answer and they don’t like it. A junkyard!” he thundered.
The 2020 presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen from me and our country,” he reiterated, even as his multiple appeals aimed at proving fraud were dismissed by the courts.
“The United States is headed for disaster. Am I supposed to be happy?” he added.
He also attacked one of his favorite angers: Liz Cheney, the only Republican on the commission with Adam Kinzinger, whom he called a “failed teacher.”
Thursday evening’s hearing was dedicated to the day of January 6, 2021 as Donald Trump experienced it “minute by minute”.
The commission accused him of having followed the wave of violence from his supporters without reacting for three hours, “in violation of his duty as commander-in-chief”.
The protesters wanted to block the confirmation of Mr. Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.