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A US Congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol recommended Monday that former President Donald Trump face criminal charges for his alleged role in the incident.
The group of legislators, led mostly by Democrats, said that the former president incited his supporters to carry out the assault and that he provided “aid and comfort,” which may have violated various federal laws.
“None of the events of January 6 would have happened without him,” says the summary of the final report.
The head of the committee Jamie Raskin (Democrat), announced that the following charges against Trump have been recommended to the Department of Justice:
- Obstruction of an official proceeding.
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States.
- Conspiracy to make a false statement.
- Incite, assist or aid an insurrection.
These markings are not legally bindingbut Raskin said they have ample evidence to support their recommendations.
However, the Department of Justice is conducting its own separate investigation and, as a result, hundreds of people have already pleaded guilty.
For former federal prosecutor Joe Moreno, the fact that a congressional committee makes a criminal recommendation to the Department of Justice against a former president is unprecedented.
The vote on the report was the end of an 18-month investigation into the chaotic final days of Trump’s presidency, but the implications for him will be primarily political, not legal.
image source, EPA
For a long time, former President Trump has attempted to paint the entirety of the criminal and civil investigations against him as part of a “witch hunt” by Democratswhose ultimate goal is to block his return to power.
The report was voted on by seven Democrats and two openly anti-Trump Republicans, possibly doing little to counter, if not reinforce, the former president’s claims.
Analysis by Anthony Zuercher, BBC North America correspondent
If Trump were found guilty of the crimes the committee charged him with, he could face hefty fines, more than 10 years in prison, and be barred from running for future political office.
The committee vote, however, is largely symbolic.
Congress does not have the ability to charge Trump with any of the listed federal crimes. That power is solely in the hands of the US Department of Justice, which is part of the administration of President Joe Biden.
With their vote, the members of the congressional committee, in effect, recommended the law to the Department of Justice.
They have stated the case – the means, the motive and the opportunity – as they see it. And, perhaps most important, they have provided a wealth of supporting evidence gathered over nearly two years of interviews, subpoenas, document reviews, and legal battles.
However, what the Justice Department does with all of this is totally out of the committee’s control.
Trump addressed his supporters in Washington on January 6 to reiterate that he would not concede defeat.
While the January 6 committee’s recommendations may carry little legal weight, there are many signs that the Justice Department is already well into the kind of investigation of possible criminal misconduct by the former president that the committee noted.
A grand jury convened by federal attorneys has already issued subpoenas to dozens of Trump administration and campaign officials and requested many of the same Trump administration documents reviewed by the congressional committee.
What happened that January 6?
Here are some key takeaways from the events of January 6, 2021 in Washington DC:
It was an important day in Congress: US senators met at the Capitol, as the seat of Congress is known, to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Joe Biden had won
There was a rally nearby: Donald Trump, who was still president at the time, addressed a large crowd of supporters at a “Save America” rally near the White House. He urged them to march “peacefully” on Capitol Hill, but also made unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud and told them to “fight like hell.”
A crowd stormed the Capitol: between 2,000 and 2,500 people marched on Congress. There were members of far-right groups and many carried weapons. Hundreds of people forced their way into the building through the windows and doors, overwhelming the Capitol police.
Politicians were cornered: Vice President Mike Pence had to be rushed out of the compound and members of Congress hid as protesters swarmed through the building, chanting death threats and fighting their way into the Senate.
That afternoon, it took the police nearly four hours to restore order to the Capitol.
Already as president, Biden described the assault as “a dagger to the throat of the United States and American democracy.”
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