A US congressional inquiry into last year’s Capitol riot says ex-President Donald Trump should face criminal charges, including insurrection. The Democratic-led committee voted unanimously for the justice department to prosecute Mr Trump. The panel also aired a new clip of former Trump aide Hope Hicks on his refusal to admit election defeat.
Mr Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, released a statement slamming the panel as a “kangaroo court”.
After spending around 18 months investigating the riot, the House of Representatives select committee recommended at their final meeting on Monday that Mr Trump face four charges:
- Inciting, assisting, aiding or comforting an insurrection
- Obstruction of an official proceeding
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States
- Conspiracy to make a false statement
The justice department - whose prosecutors are already considering whether to charge Mr Trump - does not have to follow a congressional committee’s referral.
While the panel’s actions are mostly symbolic, the chairman described the proposed charges as a “roadmap to justice”.
“An insurrection is a rebellion against the authority of the United States,” said congressman Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who serves on the committee. “It is a grave federal offence, anchored in the Constitution itself.”
The panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans released their preliminary 161-page executive summary on Monday. It accused Mr Trump of a “multi-part conspiracy” to thwart the will of voters in the run-up to the Capitol riot and during the riot itself.
Nothing ever seems to come of charges against Trump … the charges and proceedings just seem to drag on … and on … and on … 