Washington. EFE
Nothing that happened on Jan. 6, 2021 would have happened without Donald Trump, affirms the Legislative Committee, which is investigating those events and made it clear on the eve of the release of its final report this Wednesday that the former president should be prosecuted as a result of narrowing down the circuit court against him.
The former Republican president is found guilty of four counts: inciting insurrection, obstructing official processes in Congress, attempting to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to produce false electoral testimony before Congress and the national archives.
Its recommendations to the Justice Department are not binding. The committee has no power to prosecute, and the Justice Department is already conducting its own investigations, but its indictment carries an important symbolic charge, as it is the first time a parliamentary committee has proposed criminally indicting a former president.
“The recommendations also have relevance for public opinion. It’s a big deal for a Legislative Committee to officially charge a former president with committing crimes, especially when that committee includes members of his political party,” said Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). .
Formed in July 2021, the committee consists of seven Democratic congressmen and two other Republicans: Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
A video of former US President Donald Trump is shown on a screen during a House Select Committee hearing investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol Photo: AFP
The Justice Department is not compelled to respond, and since it is already investigating what happened, the primary benefit of the conclusions provided is that they provide evidence that could be useful for eventual prosecution.
The committee’s final report will be released on Wednesday, but its 154-page summary leaves no doubt: the ultimate cause on January 6, 2021 was Trump “whom many others have followed.”
That day, around 10,000 people, most of them supporters of the then-Republican president, demonstrated in front of the Capitol and nearly 800 stormed the building as Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in November’s presidential election was confirmed. There were 5 dead and about 140 injured agents.
Trump’s steps
Trump refused to recognize the election result and conspired to overturn it. In addition, he pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence, despite knowing it was illegal, to refuse to confirm the vote recount. Trump also attempted to corrupt the Justice Department by tricking its officials into deliberately making false election testimonies.