[Politics] Democracy rattled: Two years later, the Jan. 6 panel votes a criminal referral for Trump

[-Sethu]

 

Instead, Pelosi herself named the Republicans, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are leaving Congress next month.

But in other ways, the Jan. 6 panel ranks among the most exhaustive and effective congressional investigations in a generation and more.

During its 18-month inquiry, the committee collected more than 1 million documents, conducted more than a thousand interviews, issued more than 100 subpoenas and held 10 public hearings. They explored not only the attack on the Capitol but also Trump's efforts in the weeks leading up to it as the president tried to overturn the vote that had defeated him and elected Democrat Joe Biden.

Monday's hearing was held on the same date that Trump had posted a crucial tweet two years ago. "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th," he wrote on Dec. 19, 2020. "Be there, will be wild!" Members of the far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, defending themselves in trials for their roles in the assault, have cited that tweet as a call to action.

The committee's final session covered little new ground. Instead, it spotlighted the road map for prosecution drawn by the most compelling testimony behind their conclusions: that Trump knew he had lost the election but continued to pressure Pence, the Justice Department, state officials and others to prevent Biden from taking power. And that when the violence erupted, he did nothing for 187 minutes to quell it.

The panel approved criminal referrals against Trump on charges of inciting an insurrection, obstruction of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to make a false statement.

“Faith in our system is the foundation of American democracy," chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in the hearing's opening remarks. "Donald Trump broke that faith. He lost the 2020 election and knew it, but he chose to try to stay in office through a multi-part scheme.

"This can never happen again."

Not every question was answered, including concern about the performance of intelligence and law enforcement agencies. It doesn't firmly resolve disputed testimony that Trump had lunged for the steering wheel of his presidential limousine when his lead Secret Service agent told him he couldn't go to the Capitol himself that day.

There's little time left for this panel, poised to disband in two weeks, to settle them. McCarthy has said that when Republicans take control of the new Congress in January, they will launch their own investigation, one that might discredit the panel's work.

The peaceful transfer of power in peril 
We have never been here before.

Never before have U.S. citizens assaulted the Capitol; the last time the building was besieged was by British troops during the War of 1812. Never before has the peaceful transfer of power to a new president been so seriously challenged. Never before has a former president faced such a serious threat of criminal prosecution.

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