The Congressional investigation commission, which was formed regarding the raid on the Congress building on January 6, 2021 in the capital Washington, during the session in which Joe Biden’s presidential election victory was registered, why the then US President Donald Trump had three hours to prevent his supporters from occupying the building and clashing with the police. concentrates on doing nothing for a long time.
Bennie Thompson, chair of the House’s January 6 Committee, said on news channel CNN that the nine-member investigative commission wanted to know what Trump was doing during “187 minutes of inactivity” while watching what was happening on television at the White House.
“We came dangerously close to losing our democracy,” said Thompson, a Mississippi representative.
Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, one of the two Republican members of the commission investigating the congressional raid and known for her harsh criticisms of Trump, also pointed out that Trump could tell the rebels to withdraw, but did not do this in the program she attended on ABC television.
Thompson urged the January 6 Commission to keep records of phone calls, messages, and documents in which his daughter Ivanka Trump, Republican members of Congress, and administration officials pressured President Trump to issue a statement urging more than 800 of his supporters to leave the Capitol. He also reminded that Donald Trump applied to the court.
“What he’s doing is Donald Trump’s typical course of action. He’s suing, going to court, trying to delay it. But we believe we can get to those 187 minutes,” Thompson said.
A US appeals court in Washington had ruled that the commission of inquiry had “uniquely vital importance” in seeing any documents relating to the riot and its planning; however, Trump appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision, arguing that White House documents should be protected from public disclosure.
On January 6, 2021, President Donald Trump said at a rally near the White House that he would never concede defeat in the November 3, 2020 election, and called on the crowd of supporters who marched to the Capitol building to “fight with all their might” during the signing of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. More than 725 of the rioters were arrested and charged with a range of illegal acts, from minor offenses such as trespassing to property, to more serious ones, including assaulting the police.
While Trump ignored the initial pleas to withdraw the protesters, he eventually urged the rebels to leave Congress, but told them, “We love you; He released a short video in which he called “You are very special”.
In the video, Trump, referring to the conspiracy theory that he actually won the election, as he has continued until today, said, “I know your pain, I know you are hurt. We had an election stolen from us. We won by far and everybody knows it. Especially the other side. But now you have to go home. We need peace.” had used the words.
After the Capitol building and its surroundings were cleared of protesters, Congress confirmed Biden’s electoral victory in the early hours of January 7.
Bennie Thompson, seven Democratic representatives, Liz Cheney and another Republican Trump dissident, said the commission, which included Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger, closely examined the planning of the attack on Congress as some Republican Trump supporters tried to keep the President in office.
Arguing that Trump wanted people to come to Washington and encouraged them by saying “it’s going to be crazy”, Thompson said speeches involving White House and Trump officials at the nearby Willard Hotel were particularly noteworthy before the rally and during the riot at the Capitol. .
“This was not a comedy of errors, I assure you. We will achieve what we believe to be true,” Thompson said. “This appears to be a coordinated effort by a group of individuals to undermine the election. It is not a spontaneous protest that spiraled out of control as demonstrators broke through Congressional barriers, smashed windows and doors and clashed with police,” Thompson told ABC.
The Commission’s two Republicans supporting Trump; Explaining that he wanted to interview Congressman Scott Perry from Pennsylvania and Congressman Jim Jordan from Ohio, who was trying to prevent Biden’s victory, Thompson noted that they “hope voluntarily” to testify; however, he did not rule out the possibility of subpoenas.
Bennie Thompson declined to comment on the Commission’s illegal practice in planning the January 6 demonstration and whether he could refer evidence of Trump’s inaction to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. However, he also said that if such a direction is needed, they will not hesitate to do so.
Donald Trump did not attend Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021 and continued to claim that the election was stolen.
The former president is also beginning to show signs of a possible 2024 campaign to retake the White House and become more involved in the political arena. Trump also announced that he is planning a press conference at his home in Florida on the first anniversary of the January 6th Congressional raid.