The panel of the U.S. House of Representatives that was looking into the uprising that took place on Capitol Hill on January 6 called for the filing of four criminal charges against former President Donald Trump on Monday.
This included obstruction and incitement to rebellion – due to his role in fomenting a deadly revolt that resulted in death.
In a historic move, the Democratic-led select committee has asked America’s top attorney general to investigate Trump. More than 1,000 witness statements and hundreds of thousands of documents were collected to support this landmark prosecution claim.
As the special counsel oversees two separate federal investigations into Donald Trump and his administration, a new request has been made to U.S. prosecutors that could lead to new lawsuits against those involved in President-elect Joe Biden’s victory the year last.
This includes the improper handling of classified information in the White House itself.
Last week, the committee called on the Justice Department to take unprecedented action against Trump.
They believed he may have committed four crimes: obstructing official proceedings of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the U.S., as well as making false statements or aiding an insurrectionist movement.
“An insurrection is a rebellion against the authority of the United States. It is a grave federal offense, anchored in the Constitution itself,” Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democratic select committee member, stated during his announcement of the charges.
Trump Attack
On the morning of January 6, Trump addressed his fans near the White House with a fiery speech berating Vice President Mike Pence for failing to support his plan to cancel the vote for Joe Biden.
This intensifying tension between president and vice president came at an already critical moment as Congress met hours later to certify election results.
As the chaos unfolded in the Capitol, President Trump waited a significant amount of time before giving his public address.
During this period, thousands of pro-Trump supporters ravaged congressional buildings and violently clashed with law enforcement officers while attempting to enact their own agenda by threatening Pence’s life.
On Monday, the nine-person commission that studied last year’s shocking attack on democracy drew close. The group dedicated eighteen months to assessing how President Trump influenced his supporters’ attempt to overthrow an election certified by all fifty states.
As a result of these unprecedented efforts, the Biden administration became our nation’s 46th president—despite attempts at disruption from within.
Representative Bennie Thompson condemned Trump for inciting a mob to the Capitol and expressed disappointment in his attempts to destabilize our democracy by spreading untruths about election fraud.
“If the faith is broken, so is our democracy. Donald Trump broke that faith,” Thompson stated.
Read also: Trump’s Under Scrutiny and DOJ Nears Breakthrough
Committee on Ethics
The committee made a shocking move, referring four Republican House members to the chamber’s ethics committee due to their lack of cooperation during an investigation into the Capitol attack – including Kevin McCarthy, who is likely slated as speaker.
Three congressional representatives were recently summoned to testify in a Congressional deposition, Scott Perry, Jim Jordan and Andy Biggs.
While spokespeople for the trio labeled the request as mere political theatrics, McCarthy’s office declined any comment on the matter.
As the new Republican-led House takes power in January, it is unlikely to challenge any of its own members when faced with internal strife.
Donald Trump has set his sights on the 2024 Presidential race with a full-blown campaign to win the Republican nomination.
Five lives were tragically taken and 140 officers injured in the Capitol siege – a heartbreaking reminder of its immense destruction. Moreover, the incident cost millions to repair, leaving behind deep physical and emotional scars.
“Among the most shameful of this committee’s findings was that President Trump sat in the dining room off the Oval Office, watching the violent riot at the Capitol on television,” Representative Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the committee and its vice chairperson, stated.
Read also: Biden Chooses Griner to Release in a Diplomatic Approach
Investigation on Trump
The committee’s report concluded that sufficient evidence existed to suggest potential criminal activity on the part of those close to Trump, including his attorney John Eastman.
Trump’s inner circle was revealed to be a hotbed of activity in recent investigations.
Among those named were Jeffrey Clark, former Department of Justice official; Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief Of Staff and House member; Kenneth Chesebro & Rudy Giuliani – both lawyers linked by the panel to Donald himself.
In response to criticism from a congressional committee, an Eastman attorney expressed their discontent. Representatives of the others declined or did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
After a jury’s conviction, Oath Keepers militia members have been found guilty of the heinous crime of sedition due to their involvement in the attack.
Since departing from the White House in January 2021, Trump has been battling numerous legal issues. His real estate firm was found guilty this past December of participating in extensive fraud against tax authorities for more than a decade and a half.
On Monday, Trump decried the ongoing investigations into his administration as politically influenced.
He reasoned that any findings leading to further action would amount to being charged twice on the same issue – after already having been impeached and acquitted in a historic Senate trial last year.
“The Fake charges made by the highly partisan Unselect Committee of Jan. 6 have already been submitted, prosecuted, and tried in the form of Impeachment Hoax # 2,” Trump stated on his Truth Social platform.
