It is the culmination of 18 months of investigations and some explosive revelations: The parliamentary inquiry into the attack on the Capitol will deliver its results on Monday and must vote on whether criminal proceedings against Donald Trump and some of his relatives are recommended or not.
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The elected officials that make it up — seven Democrats and two Republicans — are holding a public hearing at 1 p.m. to present the eight chapters of their long Jan. 6, 2021 investigation.
On that day, supporters of former President Donald Trump, who – falsely – claimed, as he did, that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him by Joe Biden, violently attacked the headquarters of Congress in Washington, unleashing a wave of shock across the United States out and shake American democracy.
At least five people died in connection with the attack.
Committee members are also scheduled to decide Monday whether to recommend the Justice Department indict Donald Trump on charges of inciting insurrection, obstructing the official process (confirming the presidential election) and conspiring against the American state, according to multiple media outlets.
Three cases that could lead to prison terms and a ban from public office as the former president announced he would rejoin the White House race for 2024.
Other people in Donald Trump’s entourage may be concerned.
“We are focusing on key actors where there is sufficient or ample evidence that they have committed crimes,” Commissioner Jamie Raskin said last week.
The final investigation report will be released on December 21st.
The commission’s vote is largely symbolic, as its members cannot impeach the ex-real estate magnate themselves. It wouldn’t be any less historical as it would target a former president.
It will be up to the Justice Department, which has appointed a special prosecutor to independently investigate Donald Trump, whether or not to indict him.
“I think there is evidence that Donald Trump committed criminal offenses in his efforts to overturn the election,” Democrat-elect Adam Schiff, a commissioner, told CNN on Sunday.
Mr Schiff declined to give further details.
“But I can say that I believe the President broke several criminal statutes. And I think you should be treated like any other American who breaks the law, which means you should be prosecuted,” he said.
In the run-up to the hearing, Donald Trump stormed against the Commission’s possible recommendation on his Truth Social platform – and in his usual style referred to his members as “social cases and thugs”.
Mr. Trump notably defended the speech he gave on January 6, 2021 and his other actions that day as “moderate and full of love.”
At the time, he had called on his followers to “fight like the devils”.
The elected officials responsible for investigating the former president’s actions and gestures before and during January 6, 2021 spent a year and a half collecting thousands of testimonies to show that Donald Trump was trying to stay in power at the time knew he was being beaten.
Donald Trump was “at the center” of a “coup attempt,” said commission chief Bennie Thompson.
In a series of high-profile hearings, the commission said there was no way the Republican could not know he lost the election to Joe Biden.
His Attorney General, a number of advisers, and even his own daughter Ivanka… Testifying on camera, several members of Donald Trump’s close guard said they didn’t believe his theories about “election fraud.”
To try to void the presidential election, Donald Trump pressured his Vice President Mike Pence and election officials, particularly in Georgia and Arizona. The commission revealed the extent of this intimidation and invited several of them to testify in person.
And according to a former White House staffer, Cassidy Hutchinson, the president knew that in the crowd that had gathered not far from the White House, some protesters were armed and potentially dangerous.
According to this young woman’s explosive testimony, the leader nevertheless attempted to join the crowd on the way to Congress, and even attempted to take the wheel of the presidential car from an agent of his security service.