Expert sure: Trump will be charged - but for what?
Created: 2022-12-20Updated: 2022-12-20 10:11 am
By: Helena Gries, Daniel Dillmann, Nadja Austel
The congressional committee recommends several indictments against Donald Trump.
So far, however, the Ministry of Justice has not commented.
Last meeting:
Committee of Inquiry recommends indictment of Donald Trump on four counts
Further trouble for Trump:
US House of Representatives wants to publish tax documents from the former US President.
Truth week:
All the news about the committee of inquiry and Trump's tax documents in our newsticker.
+++ 9.35 a.m .:
A former FBI attorney general commented on the possible indictment against Donald Trump after the last meeting of the committee in the US Congress.
Andrew Weissmann sees "clear signs" for a lawsuit.
The legal expert, who was also part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, told news channel MSNBC.
It is unclear, however, on how many counts charges will be brought.
+++ 8.05 a.m .:
Former US President Donald Trump has accused the committee of inquiry into the storming of the US Capitol of wanting to prevent Trump’s candidacy for the presidential elections in 2024 by demanding criminal proceedings.
"This whole story of prosecuting me is the same as impeachment -- a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party," Trump said on his online platform Truth Social on Monday.
Donald Trump is the focus of attention at the Capitol Storming Committee.
© IMAGO/Michael Brochstein
Donald Trump rails against Congressional Committee
Update from Tuesday, December 20, 7 a.m.:
Donald Trump faces criminal consequences.
The allegations against the former US President for his role in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 weigh heavily: the panel accuses him, among other things, of inciting the crowd to riot.
Trump himself railed against the committee's work and dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.
After Monday's hearing, the ex-president again attacked the committee, repeating his lie about voter fraud.
"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger," he wrote on Truth Social, a platform he co-founded.
Donald Trump: The biggest scandals and missteps
View photo gallery
Donald Trump faces charges: Department of Justice wants to examine evidence
The Justice Department must now check whether it has enough evidence to take further steps against the Republican: Trump could ultimately be charged.
The rare offense of rioting is the most serious: it is committed under US law by instigating or participating in insurrection against the authority of the state or the law.
This is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to ten years or both.
If Trump is convicted of sedition, he would no longer be allowed to hold political office.
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“We interviewed over 1,000 witnesses.
We've interviewed just about everyone you can think of who wanted to comment, so we have a million pieces of evidence," committee chair Bennie Thompson said after Monday's hearing.
It is important that the Justice Department now looks at the information that has been gathered.
"We will present any evidence that we have uncovered to (the Justice Department) and it will ultimately be up to them," he said.
Four counts of charges against Trump – He reacts confused
+++ 10.45 p.m .:
The recommendation of the committee of inquiry to criminally indict Donald Trump in the four points mentioned (see update 8.55 p.m.) is initially not legally binding, but symbolically extremely important: It is the first time in the history of the USA that Congress recommends criminal prosecution against a former President.
The pressure on the Justice Department in its investigations against Trump is correspondingly high.
According to information from
Agence France-Presse (afp)
, MP Jamie Raskin said the evidence gathered by the committee of inquiry would show that the request for criminal proceedings against Trump was appropriate.
"We don't have a justice system where the foot soldiers go to jail and the leaders and ringleaders get away with it," the Democrat said.
Donald Trump is to be charged – on four counts
+++ 8:55 p.m .:
The committee of inquiry into the storming of the US Capitol unanimously passed its historic final report on the riots of January 6, 2021 and on the criminal consequences for former President Donald Trump at its last meeting on Monday.
The committee recommended that Donald Trump be prosecuted on four counts: obstructing an official process, aiding a riot, conspiring to defraud the United States, and making false statements.
This was announced by the committee at the end of its meeting.
The full final report will not be released to the public until Wednesday, but the committee published a summary of the findings after its meeting.
Committee of Inquiry: Trump called “a mob to Washington”
+++ 8:15 p.m .:
Chairman Thompson said in his opening speech at the last meeting of the committee of inquiry that the future of democracy is in the hands of the American people.
"It's up to the people of this country to decide who deserves the public's trust," Thompson said.
"If trust is broken, so is our democracy," he said.
Donald Trump broke that trust.
"He ended up calling a mob to Washington," Thompson added.
According to the investigation, Trump knew the crowd was "armed and angry."
Committee of Inquiry: Criminal charges against Trump will be filed after today's meeting
+++ 7.40 p.m .:
The chairman of the special committee of the House of Representatives, Bennie Thompson, told
CNN
that the committee will send the criminal propositions to the Department of Justice "soon after we do our job today".
The committee's findings would show that former President Donald Trump was responsible for the riot in the US Capitol.
Capitol Committee of Inquiry: Horror week begins for Trump
+++ 7.10 p.m .:
The House of Representatives special committee investigating the January 6, 2021 uprising has begun its last public session.
According to CNN
, members of the investigative committee are scheduled to
vote today on the final report summarizing the findings, which will be made public on Wednesday.
The meeting is also the last message from the committee to the public.
Donald Trump has to reckon with bad news this week
+++ 18.45:
According to expectations, today's meeting of the committee of inquiry should be simple and sober, as reported by
CNN
, citing an anonymous source.
The event (starting at 7:00 p.m. CET) is expected to be of relatively short duration and will include some multimedia presentations.
Unlike previous hearings, today's event is intended to highlight the key evidence and gravity of what happened on January 6, 2021.
+++ 18:08:
In view of the problems that Donald Trump is facing, the former US President needs good news.
An employee who accompanies Trump on his regular golf tours, among other things, provides these "encouraging" messages.
She is looking for positive reporting, which she shows the 76-year-old, as reported by the
Washington Post
.
During the rounds of golf, it is sometimes even said to be equipped with a printer so that Trump can print out the reports on the spot.
Committee of Inquiry meets – Donald Trump rages at the start of the week
Update from Monday, December 19, 3:30 p.m .:
Even before the congressional committee has even issued a statement, Donald Trump has already shot at it: “You say that the unelected committee of Democrats, losers and criminals, without any Republican participation in good standing preparing to recommend criminal charges to the highly partisan, political and corrupt 'Justice' department [...] for a speech I delivered on Jan. 6," Trump wrote on his short message service Truth Social.
Said speech was "gentle and loving".
Trump also asked, "Why didn't they investigate the massive voter fraud?
FRAUD [sic]!”
Donald Trump: Deadline for the committee of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol
First report from Monday, December 19:
Washington – It is getting serious for Donald Trump.
Weeks of bad news surrounding the former US President may now be reaching a climax.
The parliamentary committee of inquiry into the storming of the US Capitol in early 2021 is holding its final public meeting this Monday (7 p.m. CET).
Lawmakers will decide whether to call on the US Department of Justice to open criminal investigations into Trump and several of his associates.
There are serious allegations in the room.
Donald Trump and his confidants are said to have called for an uprising and obstructed the authorities before and during the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The committee of inquiry will present its final report on Wednesday.
In the run-up, Adam Schiff, a member of the committee of inquiry, had already hinted at the US broadcaster
CNN
what the committee would recommend.
"I think there is evidence that Donald Trump committed criminal acts in connection with his efforts to overturn the election," the Democrat said.
Donald Trump is threatened with further trouble – tax documents are to be published
But not only the committee of inquiry could have bad news for Donald Trump.
The US Congress is apparently planning something similar.
According to the US magazine
Politico
, the Democrats in the House of Representatives also want to publish Trump's tax documents this week.
As a candidate for the 2016 US election, Trump refused to release his tax records, breaking with a tradition that all candidates had followed since the 1970s.
A court ruled in November that Trump must make his tax records available to the US Chamber of Congress.
Trump had lodged an appeal with the US Supreme Court.
For Donald Trump, this threatens a week of horror that will probably surpass the previous reports.
The former president was even criticized by allies for his “big announcement” that he would now sell digital trading cards of himself.
Polls also see Trump well behind his closest competitor, Ron DeSantis, for the Republican nomination in the upcoming US primaries.
(Daniel Dillmann)