House Republicans plan to release their own report to counter the committee’s Jan. 6 official findings, which are expected to contain criminal references to Donald Trump.
The GOP set up its “shadow group” after California Chairman Kevin McCarthy made his pick for the Jan. 6 panel, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California refused to seat Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio .
Now, this shadow group will release a more than 100-page report focusing on security flaws at the Capitol on the day of the uprising, and denounce the panel as trying to punish the former president for “political payback,” Axios reported.
“We’re ready to release it when they release theirs,” a senior Republican source told the news outlet of their findings.
House Republicans plan to release their own report to counter the committee’s official Jan. 6 findings — above (left to right) key GOP Reps Jim Banks of Indiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Kevin McCarthy of California .
The House Officials Committee will hold its last hearing of the year on Monday, at which it will release a summary of its report. The full report is expected to be released on Wednesday.
Republicans are expected to dissolve the committee when they take control of the House of Representatives on January 3 next year.
At its hearing on Monday, the Democrat-led panel is expected to recommend that the Justice Department indict Trump for rioting; obstruction of an official procedure; and conspiracy to defraud the United States government.
In contrast, the GOP “shadow group” has turned its attention to the “negligence” of the Capitol police and attempted to provide an alternate narrative for the 2021 Capitol attack.
Banks, the leader of the shadow group, said her report would “focus on safety flaws,” arguing the select committee “never addressed the serious issues.”
He accused the committee of focusing on Trump as “all about political payback.”
The shadow group is made up of potential members of the House of Representatives to investigate the origins of the January 6 riot.
Pelosi refused to seat Banks and Jordan when the panel was formed in July 2021, citing her objection to President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
In response, McCarthy withdrew his list of five picks, and those five formed their own “shadow group.”
Pelosi, meanwhile, nominated Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Ilinois, two longtime Trump critics, to the committee.
In addition to the charges against Trump, the panel will also charge attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro with conspiring to overthrow the 2020 election, NPR reported.
There could be recommendations for fewer than a dozen people, including Trump, with the panel’s Democratic chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, suggesting the final report could be 1,000 pages long.
The Jan. 6 committee will ask the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against Donald Trump
The panel, which consists of seven Democrats and two Republicans, will meet for the last time on Monday. Pictured: Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (left) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (right)
The Democrats formed the committee to investigate the origins of the January 6 uprising
The panel’s recommendation to impeach Trump is likely to spark a political firestorm. Trump has already announced that he will seek another term in the White House in the 2024 election and has long complained that he faces political retaliation from rivals.
Even some Republicans say he shouldn’t be a target while running for office.
Trump has criticized the committee’s work, calling its members “political thugs.”
The Justice Department is already investigating documents discovered at his home in Mar-a-Lago, many of which have been classified as classified. He brought them from the White House in violation of the Presidential Records Act.
An October report said DoJ prosecutors believe “there is sufficient evidence” to indict Trump in this area, but the group has “made no formal recommendation” to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has final approval.
Garland would have to authorize an additional investigation or indictment.
The Committee’s recommendations have no legal force, and Garland is under no obligation to consider them in making decisions.
The Jan. 6 committee, set up by Democrats to investigate the origins of the insurgency that disrupted confirmation of the 2020 presidential election, is completing its work before Congress adjourns.
Officials collected more than 140,000 documents over the 17 months of the investigation and conducted more than 1,000 interviews with Trump aides, rioters and officials they claim were directly or indirectly involved in the riots.
The last hearing on Monday is the 10th.