The final report of the Capitol riots committee lays out the case for impeachment against Trump

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) – A congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol released its final report late on Thursday, making a case that former U.S. President Donald Trump should face criminal charges of inciting a deadly riot.

The House Select Committee made public transcripts of many of its interviews and witness testimony. Thursday And On Wednesday.

The report, which runs to more than 800 pages, is based on nearly 1,200 interviews and hundreds of thousands of documents over 18 months and more than 60 federal and state court rulings.

The report lists 17 specific findings, discusses the legal implications of the actions of Trump and some of his associates, and includes criminal recommendations for the Justice Department against Trump and other individuals, according to an executive summary released earlier this week. The report also lists legal recommendations to help prevent another such attack.

Monday, group Central government lawyers asked The former Republican president was charged with four counts, including obstruction and sedition, for what they said were attempts to overturn the results of the November 2020 election and instigated an attack on the seat of government.

“Far from honoring his constitutional duty to ‘see to it that the laws are faithfully executed,’ President Trump instead conspired to change the outcome of the election,” the House committee said earlier. 160 page summary Its statement.

In comments posted on his Truth social network after the final report was released, Trump called it “extremely discriminatory” and a “witch hunt.” “The reason for the (Jan. 6) protest and election fraud could not be investigated,” he said.

The Democratic-led committee’s request to the Justice Department did not compel federal prosecutors to act, but it marked the first time in history that Congress recommended a former president for criminal prosecution. Trump announced in November that he would run for president again.

One of the transcripts released on Wednesday and Thursday showed A former lawyer for former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told her to “downplay” her knowledge of the events leading up to the Capitol riots, saying “the less you remember, the better.”

Attorney Stephen Passantino advised Hutchinson to file in February to say she could not recall certain events.

Trump gave an impassioned speech to supporters near the White House on the morning of January 6 and publicly berated his Vice President, Mike Pence, for not going along with his plan to throw out votes for Democrat Joe Biden.

The former president then waited hours to make a public statement, as thousands of his supporters marched through the Capitol, attacking police and threatening to hang Pence.

The 2020 election results were certified by Pence and lawmakers, who stormed the Capitol after Trump falsely claimed he had won the election.

Kanishka Singh reports in Washington; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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