Donald Trump must be prosecuted as a criminal, for acts of exceptional gravity. This is the conclusion – both symbolic and historic – reached by the House Committee of Inquiry into the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. During its final public hearing, Monday, December 19, the commission retained four possible grounds for an indictment: obstruction of an official procedure (the certification of the results in Congress after the victory of Joe Biden), conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to produce false declarations (the alternative lists of electors), and finally inciting or aiding an insurrection.
The nine elected members of the House of Representatives believe that they have enough evidence, at the end of their monumental work of eighteen months, to make these recommendations to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The latter is in no way obliged to adopt them. This is where the nuance between parliamentary work, as rigorous and ample as it is, and the construction of an indictment that must hold up against a grand jury which will decide on possible prosecutions, comes into play.
For the commission, the responsibilities of Donald Trump are indisputable, as detailed a 160-page summary published on Monday, ahead of the full report on Dec. 21. This captivating text is based above all on the testimony of close advisers. He manages to assemble all the pieces of the dark enterprise which aimed to prevent the peaceful transition of power. A coup was attempted and failed. At the helm was Donald Trump, intoxicated by his own lies, ready to burn it all down rather than lose it all.
Well ahead of the presidential election on November 3, 2020, Trump had planned to challenge an unfavorable result, regardless of the advice of his advisers. He then initiated a campaign of lies about imaginary frauds, while raising considerable funds (nearly $250 million) from his supporters. He tried to promote alternative lists of electors in certain key states, put pressure on local polling officials like in Georgia, pushed the Department of Justice to endorse his lies, asked his Vice President Mike Pence to prevent certification of the results in Congress. Then Donald Trump multiplied calls for mobilization in view of January 6, activating armed extremist groups like the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers, so that his supporters march towards Congress.
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