Congressional panel summons Trump to testify for the assault on Capitol Hill

Former President Donald Trump remains dangerous to democracy, particularly if he returns to the White House. And on January 6 it could be repeated.

This was the message emphasized by the House of Representatives committee investigating the events of January 6, 2021 in its final hearing, stating that Trump did everything to stay in power, including promoting violence.

Ben Thompson, Chairman of the January 6 Committee: “Donald Trump knew he had lost. However, Donald Trump continued to pull out all the stops in his attempt to stay in power.”

Although the committee did not present any eyewitnesses at the hearing, several testimonies collected in recent months suggest Trump’s state of mind, before, during and after January 6.

The panel pointed out that the Republican had a premeditated plan to declare his victory regardless of the consequences, as his advisers knew before the election.

Steve Bannon, former adviser to Donald Trump: “He’s going to declare victory, but that doesn’t mean he’s the winner. He’s just going to say he’s the winner.”

Although the courts had also ruled out the possibility of electoral fraud and the polling stations had confirmed Biden’s victory, the panel noted that Trump willfully ignored reality and was directly involved in nullifying the election.

William Barr, former US attorney general, was very clear in the panel’s investigation: “There was never an indication of interest in what the real facts were.”

Strong pressure against state officials, the justice department, and former President Mike Pence, knowing it was illegal, to reverse the election result.

In the face of resistance, the organization of violence began on January 6, encouraging violent and extremist supporters, several of whom were carrying weapons that day, as the secret service already knew.

Liz Cheney, Republican lawmaker from Wyoming said: “Our institutions only endure when men and women of good faith make them endure, no matter the political cost. We have no guarantee that these men and women will be in your place the next time.”

Trump knew about the violence on Capitol Hill, but did nothing to stop it. In fact, he tried to join the protests and waited ‘hours’ to arrest his supporters, even though the trapped lawmakers were risking their lives.

With less than a month to go before the congressional elections, the real goal this Thursday was to convince the Justice Department to start a criminal investigation against the former president. The hearing was not made to convince the voters. And the real news was one: the committee, in the end, voted to summon Trump and testify in front of the legislators, despite the fact that the former president would hardly agree to speak with them.

In fact, Trump responded to the committee’s subpoena, taking the lawmakers to task, even though the panel said he should be held accountable for his actions: “Why didn’t the unelected committee ask me to testify months ago? Why did they wait until the end, in the final moments of their last encounter? Because the Committee is a total “fiasco” that has only served to further divide our Country.”

Almost two years after the events, Trump continues to say that he did nothing wrong. If the Republicans regain their majority in Congress, any accounting before the legislature for the attack on Capitol Hill would be closed.