That day, supporters of former President Donald Trump, who, like him, claimed that the 2020 presidential election had been “stolen” from him by Joe Biden, violently attacked the congressional headquarters in Washington, sending shockwaves across the country and abroad. Committee members will also decide on Monday whether to recommend that the Justice Department indict Donald Trump on charges of inciting sedition, obstruction of official process (certifying the presidential ballot) and conspiracy against the US state.

“The evidence is there”

Three charges that could result in prison terms and a ban from holding any public office in the United States as the former president announced he is resuming the race for the White House in 2024. D Others in Donald Trump’s entourage should be worried. The final investigation report will be released on December 21. Non-binding, the commission’s vote is largely symbolic, as its members cannot themselves indict the former real estate magnate.

It will be up to the Justice Department, which has appointed a special prosecutor to independently investigate Donald Trump, to decide whether or not to prosecute the former president. “I think the evidence is there that Donald Trump committed criminal acts in his efforts to overturn the election,” Democrat Adam Schiff, a member of the commission, told CNN on Sunday. Adam Schiff would not elaborate on which counts he would vote on or say how he himself would vote.

“But I can say that I believe the president violated several criminal laws. And I think you should be treated like any other American who breaks the law, which means you should be prosecuted,” he said. Already, Donald Trump has repeatedly challenged his platform, Truth Social, against the possible recommendation that the commission is preparing to issue – described in the billionaire’s usual style as a group of “Democrats, social causes and thugs”. In particular, Donald Trump defended the speech he gave on January 6, 2021, and his other actions that day as being “moderate and full of love”. At the time, he urged his followers to “fight like the devil”.

Pressure

Responsible for shedding light on the former president’s actions and gestures before and during January 6, 2021, the elected officials have collected for a year and a half a thousand testimonies to show that Donald Trump had tried to retain power then. knew he was beaten. Donald Trump was “at the center” of an “attempted coup”, said the head of the so-called “January 6” commission, Bennie Thompson. In a series of high-profile hearings, the commission said there was no way the Republican would not know he lost the election to Joe Biden.

His attorney general, a number of advisers and even his own daughter, Ivanka… In testimony on camera, several members of Donald Trump’s close guard say they did not believe his “election fraud” theories. To try to invalidate the presidential election, Donald Trump put pressure on his Vice President Mike Pence and on election officials, especially in Georgia and Arizona. The commission revealed the extent of this intimidation and invited several of them to testify in person.