Committee recommends charges against Trump
It is a step that is unique in US history: the Congressional investigative committee has recommended that ex-President Trump be indicted for the storming of the Capitol.
However, it is by no means clear whether this will happen.
When committee chairman Bennie Thompson ended the meeting with the usual hammer blow, it was clear that a step unprecedented in US history had been taken. Never before has a congressional investigative committee recommended indicting a past president. The nine committee members – seven Democrats, two Republicans – unanimously recommended impeachment against ex-President Donald Trump.
“Trust in our electoral system is the foundation of American democracy,” said Democrat Thompson at the beginning of the meeting. “Donald Trump destroyed that trust.”
Trump knew he’d lost the 2020 presidential election, Thompson said. Nevertheless, Trump tried to overturn the result by spreading the lie about voter fraud, pressurizing the Justice Department, election officials and his own vice president – and in the end incited an armed mob to march to the Capitol and “Hell come out”. battle.
“President Trump lit the flame”
Democratic Representative Elaine Luria summarized the events around January 6, 2021: “President Trump lit the flame, poured fuel on the fire, and then spent hours watching the fire burn on the television in the White House dining room.” Today, according to Luria, Trump continues to fan the flames by continuing to spread the myth of voter fraud.
Republican Liz Cheney, deputy committee chair and a vehement opponent of Trump since the storming of the Capitol, said: No one who behaves like this should ever hold public office again.
Four-count indictment recommended
The committee recommended indictments on four counts. The most serious allegation: “Insurrection”, riot. This carries a penalty of up to ten years imprisonment. The future holding of public office would actually be ruled out for Trump in the event of a conviction.
But the investigative committee can only recommend an indictment, and it is up to Attorney General Merrick Garland to decide. In the USA, the Attorney General also exercises the function of Attorney General.
indictment by no means certain
Jamil Jaffer, law professor at George Mason University, was by no means sure whether charges will be brought: “We will see. There is a lot of evidence, but the question is whether it will stand up in court from the point of view of the Justice Department are sufficient for a conviction.”
Donald Trump himself responded to the committee’s recommendations on his online platform with the sentence, among other things, what doesn’t kill him makes him stronger.
Trump will apply again in 2024
Republican campaign adviser Ron Bonjean, on the other hand, was convinced on radio station NPR that the recommendation to impeach Trump was a political shame: “It hurts the ex-president among the swing voters. They will also be decisive in the future. It is not helpful for Trump with a view to his Presidential candidacy 2024.”
This time, no Trump supporters chanted in front of the Congress building, where the committee of inquiry met in public for the last time. A lone protester stood there with a sign that read, ‘Bring Trump to Jail’. He said, “You can’t let people get away with it. You can’t let a president get away with overturning an election result or trying to.”
