December 20, 2022 |
As expected, the January 6 Committee voted 9-0 Monday to recommend the Department of Justice to pursue criminal charges against Former President Donald Trump.
Obstructing an official proceeding of Congress, defrauding the federal government, making a false statement, and inciting, assisting, or aiding and comforting an insurrection were among the reasons the politically loaded committee recommended the referrals in the 154-page Executive Summary.
U.S. House Representative Liz Cheney is the co-chair of the committee. Cheney, whose obsession with Trump, led to her 35-point defeat in the Wyoming Republican primary this summer, used her opening remarks to say that Trump should be barred from holding any elected office in the future because he did not issue a statement telling protestors at the Capitol Building to stand down as the chaotic events of January 6 unfolded
The committee was an initiative of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). For the last 18 months, it has been probing the January 6 Capitol riot with a specific focus on Trump and his allies.
Trump’s response, which came from Brette Powell of Trump’s Campaign External Affairs Team, called the committee a “partisan vanity project” which is “gaslighting” the American public.
A fact sheet regarding the committee was attached with the official response. The data point Trump’s team disseminated included that officials at the House and Senate, including Pelosi and Senate leader Chuck Schumer, refused Trump’s request to have the National Guard present on January 6. The Trump team also wrote that FBI Director “Chris Wray Refuses to Investigate the Extensive Presence of FBI Informants During the Riot at the Capitol,” in reference to reports that the FBI had informants in the crowd on January 6 which were orchestrating events on the ground.
The GOP is set to take control of the House of Representatives in the next session beginning in January and has said they will dissolve the committee.
