The US Congressional body investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol unanimously approved Monday the final report of its investigation and recommended that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) initiate criminal proceedings against former President Donald Trump.” central figure” in the action.
In what is expected to be its final public session before the dissolution of the current Congressional Legislature, the bipartisan select committee recommended indicting Trump for obstructing official congressional processes and conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to make a false statement, and inciting and supporting members of an insurgency.
If the DOJ accepts the recommendation and opens the cases, it would be the first time in the North American country’s history that a former president would be tried for criminal conduct.
“The evidence has led to an absolute and direct conclusion: the cause of January 6th was a single man, former President Donald Trump, followed by many others. None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him,” warns the summary of the final report, which will be published in the coming days.
The panel also said it is making recommendations to prosecute former Trump attorney John Eastman and others, but did not specify the names of the other potential defendants.
The details of the special committee are non-binding and purely symbolic – as it remains in the hands of the judiciary if they decide to start the trials of the ex-president – although they could pose an obstacle to Trump’s efforts to return to the White House in 2024.
“A man like that is not qualified for a position in government,” said Committee Vice President Republican Liz Cheney during the hearing.
A video summary was presented at the session of key evidence gathered by the congressional panel, which interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses and questioned some 1,400 documents in 17 months of investigations into the chaos unleashed when some 2,000 Trump supporters stormed the Capitol stormed trying to block congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Established in July 2021, the body has a Democratic majority, although it includes two Republicans — Cheney and Adam Kinzinger — who are very critical of Trump.
Witnesses and members of Capitol Law Enforcement who faced the crowd that day reacted with emotion Monday to the harsh images of the mob invading the Legislature Headquarters.
The panel also presented key excerpts from interviews with close Trump advisers, senior officials in the Trump administration, members of his staff and local government officials from states such as Arizona and Georgia, who testified how they were pressured into agreeing to the vote recount to stop.
The Oath Keepers founder was found guilty of sedition for the attack on the Capitol
Members of the former president’s team said they received no orders from Trump to stop the attack. A segment titled “187 minutes” showed evidence of the former president waiting for more than three hours to calm things down and urge attackers to go home.
More than 100 police officers were injured in the unprecedented attack on the US Capitol. More than five deaths have been officially recorded, including that of an attacker who was fatally shot trying to get past a door and that of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after suffering two strokes.
Hundreds of people were arrested in the US in connection with the attack and several were convicted of sedition.
So far, Trump has not responded directly to the Special Committee’s final report. However, he commented on social media on Sunday: “Republicans and Patriots across the country must stand strong and united against the thugs and villains of the Unselect Committee. It will be a dark time in American history, but with darkness comes darkness! Light! “.
In a statement released on Friday, December 16, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung dismissed the work of the congressional body, arguing it had conducted “sham trials” that are “an eyesore on the history of this country,” in a trial that ” insults American intelligence and makes a mockery of our democracy.”
(Voice of America note)