House committee investigating Capitol riots votes to recommend criminal charges against Donald Trump, report | US News

The U.S. House of Representatives select committee investigating the Capitol riot is preparing to vote on urging the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, according to U.S. media reports.

Citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter, Politico said on Friday that the charges against Trump included insurrection.

The committee has yet to make a final decision on the criminal transfer, but is actively considering recommending charges of insurrection, obstruction of a formal process of Congress and conspiracy, NBC News reported.

While all three recommendations are possible, three different sources actively involved in the committee’s deliberations told NBC News that no final decision has been made.

The committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, will vote on its report and criminal case on Monday.

It is investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol, where thousands of Trump supporters flooded into Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, but failed to reverse Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.

While the congressional panel cannot bring legal charges against Mr. Trump, it could decide to refer the criminal case to the Justice Department if lawmakers choose.

The handover does not necessarily mean the Justice Department, which is conducting its own investigation into the unrest, will decide to press charges.

Pro-Trump protesters storm U.S. Capitol during rally
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Pro-Trump protesters storm U.S. Capitol during rally

Five people, including one police officer, were killed and more than 140 police officers were injured during or shortly after the unrest.

The committee’s public hearings, which questioned former Republican aides and key White House staffers about the causes and consequences of the unrest, shed light on Trump’s role in provoking the unprecedented attack on the Capitol.

Mr Trump told his supporters he would never back down in the 2020 election and urged them to “fight like hell” before marching to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Committee subpoenas ex-president At the end of the last public hearing in October.

He initially said he would comply, but then sued to avoid testifying or providing any requested documents and refused to testify.

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January 6 Capitol Riot Video

The commission has amassed a vast amount of material related to the riots, including transcripts of more than 1,000 interviews and millions of other documents.

read more:
How four hours of chaos unfolded in Washington
Retired cop jailed for beating officer in US Capitol attack

In October, police officer Michael Fanone, who was on duty during the riots at the US Capitol, told Sky News that he Thought he was going to die after being tasered and punched at the base of his skull, causing him a heart attack and traumatic brain injury.

The attack on the Capitol saw politicians flee for their lives, windows smashed and people force their way into the building.

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