The parliamentary committee investigating the assault on the U.S. Capitol has released its final report Thursday, urging prosecution of former President Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, as well as recommending a ban on his return to office.
The 845-page, eight-chapter report is based on more than 1,000 interviews and documents collected from emails, text messages and phone records during a year and a half of investigation, including accusations against Trump for allegedly encouraging a halt to the democratic transition process.
Specifically, the committee has made 11 recommendations as a result of its investigation, including a recommendation to create a formal mechanism to evaluate whether to bar certain individuals from running for the office of president of the United States.
To this end, it has brought to the table an amendment to the U.S. Magna Carta which states that those persons who have given «aid or comfort to enemies of the Constitution» may be disqualified from holding federal or state office in the future.
«The Select Committee has referred Donald Trump and others for possible prosecution (…) for aiding and abetting and providing aid and comfort to an insurrection. The committee also notes that Donald J. Trump was impeached by a majority of the House of Representatives for Incitement to an insurrection, with 57 votes in the Senate for conviction,» reads the said referral.
Among other recommendations, the committee believes that certain existing provisions of law may apply to attempts to obstruct, influence, or impede the joint session in which election votes are certified, including planned efforts to nullify «lawful election results.»
In addition, it has urged Congress to amend those laws in light of the possibility that any court or other prosecutorial authorities might reach «a different conclusion» in the interest of «covering such conduct.»
The committee also noted the absence of adequate security on the day Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election was to be certified, and encouraged equal police presence at special sessions that bring together the two chambers, such as the inauguration of the head of state or the State of the Union debates.
The final report also includes a recommendation to Congress to pass a revision to the Election Recount Act of 1887 to make it more difficult to overturn a certified presidential election.
All in all, the committee investigating the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol has asked the Department of Justice to prosecute Trump for multiple crimes, including obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make false statements, as well as aiding and abetting an insurrection.
The executive summary of the commission’s report read Monday describes in detail how Trump attempted to bend, pressure or cajole anyone who would not bend to his attempt to prevent his defeat in the presidential election, despite knowing that many of those maneuvers were illegal, so they believe he is ultimately responsible for the «insurrection» with his lies to the public.
The former president tried to change the outcome through the intervention of public officials in key states, Justice Department officials, state legislators and other officials.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
