Capitol committee sees deliberate Trump escalation: "Lied, bullied, oath betrayed"

Created: 07/22/2022, 10:13 am

By: Andreas Schmid

The Storming of the Capitol: What Did Ex-President Donald Trump Know?

© IMAGO/Pacific Press Agency/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP

New details about the storming of the Capitol: According to the U-Committee, Trump pushed the riots on January 6th.

"He chose not to act."

Washington, DC - On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump apparently wanted to secure his power at all costs.

In any case, the committee of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol puts the ex-president in an ever worse light.

The latest allegations: intentional inaction and deliberate escalation.

Committee accuses Trump of intentional escalation: "Lied, bullied, oath betrayed"

Committee chair Bennie Thompson said at Thursday night's meeting (local time) that Trump "did everything in his power to overturn an election" after losing the 2020 presidential election.

Specifically: “He lied, he bullied, he betrayed his oath.

He tried to destroy our democratic institutions.” The Democratic MP also spoke of a “path to lawlessness and corruption”.

The U-Committee also released footage of statements by former White House staffers.

Then-White House Counsel Pat Cipollone testified that he and others urged Trump to call on his supporters to leave the Capitol.

"I think I made it pretty clear that an immediate and strong public statement was needed that people need to leave the Capitol." However, Trump is said to have ignored the advice of his closest confidants.

Storm on the Capitol

The storming of the Capitol with five dead and around 140 injured police officers caused horror worldwide and is considered "one of the darkest days in the history of our nation" (Joe Biden).

The committee of inquiry has been holding a series of public hearings for weeks to uncover what happened at the time.

It is still unclear whether Trump himself will be charged.

Storming the Capitol: "Trump has chosen not to act"

The U-Committee considered the immediate events of the day the capital was taken: how could an angry mob form?

Why didn't Trump intervene?

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Trump refused for three hours on Jan. 6 to recall attackers on the Congress building -- in violation of his oath of office.

"He watched TV from the comfort of his dining room while the attack escalated." Not intervening was not an accident on the part of the then president, said the insider Trump critic.

"He chose not to act."

By storming the Capitol, the "mob" interrupted the certification of Biden's election victory - and thus fulfilled the goal of the president who was voted out.

"Of course he didn't intervene because of that." Trump only decided to ask his supporters to leave the Capitol after it became clear that their attempts to disrupt congressional confirmation of the election would be unsuccessful.

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Trump's possible candidacy for the US election: "He disqualified himself"

The new allegations come amid mounting speculation that Trump will run for the 2024 election. Officially, the Republican has not yet confirmed a renewed attempt at the White House, but has fueled the rumors several times in the past.

Trump still has support within the Republican camp, especially in conservative circles.

However, the critics in their own ranks are increasing.

There may soon be a decisive duel with his former vice Mike Pence.

Liz Cheney, the Republican vice chair of the committee, spoke out on Thursday against a renewed Trump candidacy.

The storming of the Capitol was intended to "disqualify" him from office.

Rhetorically, Cheney asked, "Every American has to think: Can a President who is willing to make the decisions that Donald Trump made during the January 6 violence ever again be trusted with a position of authority in our great nation?