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      From Liz Cheney to Donald Trump: winners and losers from the January 6 hearings

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      AnalysisFrom Liz Cheney to Donald Trump: winners and losers from the January 6 hearingsMartin PengellyAs the House January 6 committee is set to publish its report, here are some of the key standouts07:50The House January 6 committee is set to publish its report on the attack on the Capitol that shocked both America and the world . After a year of dramatic hearings and bombshell testimony, here are some of the key winners and losers to emerge from its work.Liz CheneyWho: Wyoming Republican congresswoman, with Adam Kinzinger of Illinois one of two GOP members of the committee.Winner or loser: Winner.Why: As vice-chair to Bennie Thompson, a Democrat who began his political career in Mississippi under Jim Crow, the Wyoming Republican and daughter of ex-vice-president and neocon’s neocon Dick Cheney helped bring genuine bipartisan spirit to the committee’s proceedings. Once the committee was in session, Cheney emerged as its star prosecutor. Witheringly focused, she rode losing her own seat in Congress to a Trump-backed challenger in August to keep her eyes on the prize: establishing Trump’s culpability for January 6 and stopping him ever returning to power.Jamie RaskinWho: Democratic Maryland congressman and professor of constitutional law who endured the attack on Congress shortly after losing his son.Winner or loser: Winner.Why: To vastly oversimplify (and not to discount the other committee members), if Cheney was the star prosecutor, Raskin was the best defense attorney the constitution, Congress and even the Capitol building could have, launching heartfelt appeals to the spirit of American democracy while making clear the enormity of the crime in hand. Never far from a reference to Abraham Lincoln or the founders, Raskin provided perhaps a softer public face than Cheney, but one no less determined.Cassidy HutchinsonWho: Former aide to Mark Meadows, Trump’s last chief of staff, and special assistant to the president.Winner or loser: Winner.01:42Why: In taped testimony and in person, Hutchinson described Trump’s approval of chants from Capitol rioters about hanging his vice-president, Mike Pence, and attempts by Republicans in Congress to have Trump issue pardons before leaving office. She added details of the behavior of Trump, Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and other key figures before January 6 and throughout that day. Among extraordinary scenes described by Hutchinson: Trump lunging for the wheel of his vehicle when told he could not go to the Capitol with his supporters; Trump throwing food at the White House walls; and Meadows refusing to do anything at all to rein in his boss.Mike PenceWho: Trump’s vice-president, who rejected the idea he could stop certification of election results.Winner or loser: Winner.Why: The panel seemed to make a political decision to portray Trump’s doggedly loyal vice-president as a hero, for not supporting the scheme to overturn Joe Biden’s win. Pence did seek counsel as to whether he could do what was asked but he did not do it and faced real danger at the Capitol as the mob shouted for him to be hanged and gallows went up outside. Since the hearings, Pence has continued to shape his likely challenge to Trump for the Republican nomination in 2024, conducting a fearsome balancing act: discussing his role in stopping Trump’s assault on democracy while evincing pride in what he says the Trump administration achieved before it.J Michael LuttigWho: Conservative judge who advised Pence he had no power to stop certification.Winner or loser: Winner.02:17Why: Luttig delivered devastating testimony with undoubted authority – and a chilling warning. “A stake was driven through the heart of American democracy on January 6, 2021,” he said, adding: “Almost two years after that fateful day … Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger.” That, he said, was “because to this very day the former president and his allies and supporters pledge that in the presidential election of 2024, if the former president or his anointed successor as the Republican party presidential candidate were to lose that election, they would attempt to overturn that 2024 election in the same way they attempted to overturn the 2020 election, but succeed in 2024 where they failed in 2020.”John EastmanWho: Conservative law professor who claimed certification could be stopped.Winner or loser: Loser More

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      Release of House January 6 report expected to pile more pressure on Trump – live

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      The final report of the House January 6 committee that’s been investigating Donald Trump’s insurrection for the last 18 months will drop today. And it’s unlikely to make very palatable reading for the former president.The document, running to more than 1,000 pages, will put flesh on the bones of Trump’s plotting and scheming to stay in power after his 2020 election defeat. Those efforts landed him a referral to the justice department for four criminal charges.And it comes on the heels of Tuesday night’s vote by the House ways and means committee to publicly release up to six years of his tax returns, documents Trump had fought for three years to keep secret.We already knew, including from a series of televised hearings on the January 6 panel this year, many of the details of the insurrection. Trump incited a mob that overran the US Capitol on January 6 2021 seeking to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory; tried to manipulate states’ election results in his favor; and attempted to install slates of “fake electors” to reverse Biden’s win in Congress.But what we’ll see today is the deepest of dives into his efforts: the panel interviewed countless witnesses and reviewed thousands of documents and hundreds of hours of video evidence to compile the report and make recommendations.They include referrals to the House ethics committee for four Trump allies in Congress who refused to submit to the panel’s subpoenas to give evidence.We’re expecting the report to feature eight main chapters, detailed below, plus appendices that capture more aspects of the investigation, and findings from all of the select committee’s five investigative teams.We’ll bring you details when it drops.
      Donald Trump’s effort to sow distrust in the results of the election.
      The then-president’s pressure on state governments or legislatures to overturn victories by Joe Biden.
      Trump campaign efforts to send fake, pro-Trump electors to Washington from states won by Biden.
      Trump’s push to deploy the justice department in service of his election scheme.
      The pressure campaign by Trump and his lawyers against then-vice president Mike Pence.
      Trump’s effort to summon supporters to Washington who later fueled the 6 January mob.
      The 187 minutes of chaos during which Trump refused to tell rioters to leave the Capitol.
      An analysis of the attack on the Capitol.
      It’s a hugely significant day in Washington DC, where Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is visiting Joe Biden, and will address Congress this evening.I hope you’re having a good flight, Volodymyr. I’m thrilled to have you here. Much to discuss. https://t.co/SsRdsAnSDb— President Biden (@POTUS) December 21, 2022
      We’ll be following all the developments in the Guardian’s live Ukraine blog, which you can find here:Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskiy heads to US as Putin promises to improve nuclear combat readinessRead moreAmong the revelations to come from Tuesday’s House ways and means committee meeting, which voted to publicly release Donald Trump’s tax returns, was the bombshell that the IRS had failed to failed to conduct mandatory audits on the president during the first two years of his administration.The Associated Press has the details:The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) failed to pursue mandatory audits of Donald Trump on a timely basis during his presidency, a congressional committee found on Tuesday, raising questions about statements by the former president and members of his administration who claimed he could not release his tax filings because of such ongoing reviews.A report by the Democratic majority on the House ways and means committee indicated the Trump administration may have disregarded an IRS requirement dating to 1977 that mandates audits of a president’s tax filings. The IRS only began to audit Trump’s 2016 tax filings on 3 April 2019, more than two years into his presidency and months after Democrats took the House. That date coincides with Richard Neal, the panel chairman, asking the IRS for information related to Trump’s tax returns.Required IRS audits of former President Donald Trump were delayed, according to a report issued by a Democratic-controlled House committee.A separate report suggested Trump paid a relatively modest share of his income to the federal government. https://t.co/m8y4Z2bJkE— The Associated Press (@AP) December 21, 2022
      There was no suggestion Trump, who has announced a third presidential run, sought to directly influence the IRS or discourage it from reviewing his tax information. But the report found that the audit process was “dormant, at best”.The 29-page report was published hours after the committee voted on party lines to release Trump’s tax returns, raising the potential of additional revelations related to the finances of a businessman who broke political norms by refusing to voluntarily release his returns as he sought the presidency. The vote was the culmination of a years-long fight between Trump and Democrats, from the campaign trail to Congress and the supreme court.Democrats on the ways and means committee argued that transparency and the rule of law were at stake. Republicans said the release would set a dangerous precedent.“This is about the presidency, not the president,” Neal told reporters.Kevin Brady, the panel’s top Republican, said: “Over our objections in opposition, Democrats have unleashed a dangerous new political weapon that overturns decades of privacy protections. The era of political targeting, and of Congress’s enemies list, is back and every American, every American taxpayer, who may get on the wrong side of the majority in Congress is now at risk.”Trump spent much of Tuesday releasing statements unrelated to his tax returns. The IRS did not immediately comment. An accompanying report released by the nonpartisan joint committee on taxation also found repeated faults with the IRS approach to auditing Trump and his companies.IRS agents did not bring in specialists to assess the complicated structure of Trump’s holdings. They also determined limited examination was warranted because Trump hired an accounting firm they assumed would make sure Trump “properly reports all income and deduction items correctly”.Read more:IRS failed to conduct timely mandatory audits of Trump’s taxes while presidentRead moreThe final report of the House January 6 committee that’s been investigating Donald Trump’s insurrection for the last 18 months will drop today. And it’s unlikely to make very palatable reading for the former president.The document, running to more than 1,000 pages, will put flesh on the bones of Trump’s plotting and scheming to stay in power after his 2020 election defeat. Those efforts landed him a referral to the justice department for four criminal charges.And it comes on the heels of Tuesday night’s vote by the House ways and means committee to publicly release up to six years of his tax returns, documents Trump had fought for three years to keep secret.We already knew, including from a series of televised hearings on the January 6 panel this year, many of the details of the insurrection. Trump incited a mob that overran the US Capitol on January 6 2021 seeking to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory; tried to manipulate states’ election results in his favor; and attempted to install slates of “fake electors” to reverse Biden’s win in Congress.But what we’ll see today is the deepest of dives into his efforts: the panel interviewed countless witnesses and reviewed thousands of documents and hundreds of hours of video evidence to compile the report and make recommendations.They include referrals to the House ethics committee for four Trump allies in Congress who refused to submit to the panel’s subpoenas to give evidence.We’re expecting the report to feature eight main chapters, detailed below, plus appendices that capture more aspects of the investigation, and findings from all of the select committee’s five investigative teams.We’ll bring you details when it drops.
      Donald Trump’s effort to sow distrust in the results of the election.
      The then-president’s pressure on state governments or legislatures to overturn victories by Joe Biden.
      Trump campaign efforts to send fake, pro-Trump electors to Washington from states won by Biden.
      Trump’s push to deploy the justice department in service of his election scheme.
      The pressure campaign by Trump and his lawyers against then-vice president Mike Pence.
      Trump’s effort to summon supporters to Washington who later fueled the 6 January mob.
      The 187 minutes of chaos during which Trump refused to tell rioters to leave the Capitol.
      An analysis of the attack on the Capitol.
      Good morning US politics blog readers, and welcome to what promises to be a hectic Wednesday. Donald Trump’s not-very-good week rolls into a third day with publication of the final report of the House January 6 committee that’s been investigating his insurrection for the last 18 months.We learned the essentials through a final public meeting and executive summary on Monday, when the bipartisan panel referred the former president for four criminal charges. But the final report, at more than 1,000 pages, will be a much deeper dive into Trump’s scheming to reverse his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.We’ll bring you the details when we receive it.Here’s what else we’re watching:
      There’s ongoing fallout from last night’s vote by the House ways and means committee to publicly release six years of Trump’s tax returns.
      Joe Biden and Washington lawmakers are preparing for Wednesday’s historic visit from Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, his first trip outside his country since it was invaded by Russia 10 months ago. Biden meets his counterpart at 2.30pm, followed by a joint press conference.
      Hakeem Jeffries, the incoming Democratic House minority leader, and congresswoman Suzan DelBene, nominee for head of the party’s congressional campaign committee, host a press briefing at 1pm on plans to retake the majority in 2024. More

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      The Guardian view on the January 6 committee: Trump’s terrible, no-good year | Editorial

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      The Guardian view on the January 6 committee: Trump’s terrible, no-good yearEditorialThe referral of the former president to the justice department on four criminal charges is largely symbolic, but increases his woes In its closing months, 2022 is looking like an annus horribilis for Donald Trump – or to put it in the former president’s terms, a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad year. The January 6 committee’s recommendation on Monday that criminal charges be brought against him over his attempt to subvert the 2020 election results and the deadly storming of the Capitol was unprecedented – the first time that Congress has referred a former president to the Department of Justice. Though largely symbolic, it has set down a marker. And it is the latest in a string of recent setbacks.His candidates triumphed in Republican primaries, but then tanked in the midterms. His announcement on his 2024 bid was lacklustre and bathetic. A New York jury found his business guilty of tax fraud. On Tuesday, a House committee was set to vote on whether to release six years of his tax returns to the public. And, of course, the list of civil actions and criminal investigations targeting him is growing.The congressional committee’s referral does not change the legal position, though some of the evidence it turned over to the justice department theoretically could. In its impact on public opinion, however, it may have an indirect effect on whether charges are brought. The evidence the committee amassed and its presentation of the facts are compelling. In televised hearings and presentations, in the executive summary published on Monday, and presumably in the full report to follow this week, it has shone an unflinching light on the brutality of that day and Mr Trump’s culpability.His own aides have testified that he was repeatedly told he had lost, and that they urged him to tell the crowd to be peaceful. Instead, he pressed Republican officials to overturn the results, then his vice-president to block Congress from approving Joe Biden’s victory. When those attempts failed, he summoned a crowd to Washington, urged it to the Capitol and for hours failed to call off supporters as they rampaged and hunted down elected politicians. Unlike Mr Trump himself, at least some participants have since admitted their responsibility. One described his involvement as “part of an attack on the rule of law”; another conceded that “I guess I was [acting] like a traitor”.The referral will, if anything, spur on Mr Trump’s fight for the Republican candidacy, further convincing him that power is the best form of protection. Charges, if laid, may reinforce rather than shift the minds of his diehard supporters. More than two-thirds of Republicans still believe that Mr Biden’s victory was illegitimate. Nonetheless, they are turning away from the former president in the polls. A large majority of Republican voters or independents who lean towards the party think someone else should be its candidate in 2024. Mr Trump wanted to clear the field, to run unchallenged. But those who trade on a strongman image cannot afford to look weak. Support for Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, has surged. Mr Trump’s media cheerleaders, every bit as cynical as the ex-president, have turned on him. Ivanka Trump wants nothing to do with her father’s 2024 bid.It would be immensely foolish to write off the 45th president. For years he has defied the laws of political gravity, surviving scandals and offences that individually would have sunk any other candidate or office-holder. The Republican elite remain notably silent or mealy-mouthed about him. Even if he cannot recover, others are already using his playbook. Yet the prospect that he will rebound, or another like him take his place, is all the more reason to establish the full record of his actions – whether or not they ultimately lead to legal consequences.TopicsDonald TrumpOpinionJanuary 6 hearingsUS Capitol attackRon DeSantisJoe BidenUS elections 2024US justice systemeditorialsReuse this content More

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      US House to decide whether to release details of Trump’s tax returns

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      US House to decide whether to release details of Trump’s tax returnsHouse committee to make decision after January 6 panel referred Donald Trump to the justice department to face criminal charges A Democratic-led US House of Representatives committee on Tuesday is due to decide whether to release details of Donald Trump’s tax returns, after a years-long court fight and just two weeks before their party surrenders power to Republicans.House committee to vote on releasing Trump’s tax returns – liveRead moreThe House ways and means committee is due to examine them behind closed doors at 3pm ET, the day after the House investigation of the January 6 assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters urged the justice department to prosecute the Republican for his role in sparking the riot.Trump, unlike previous presidential candidates, refused to make his tax returns public as he sought to keep secret the details of his wealth and the activities of his real estate company, the Trump Organization, and he fought Democrats’ efforts to get access to them.Candidates are not required by law to release their tax returns, but previous presidential hopefuls of both parties have voluntarily done so for several decades.Trump’s tax returns are still subject to confidentiality restrictions, but Democrats who control the committee could vote to make some details public.Democrats on the ways and means committee have said they need to see those records to assess whether the Internal Revenue Service is properly auditing presidential tax returns, and to gauge whether new legislation is needed. The committee’s chairman, Representative Richard Neal, has not said whether he supports making them public.They have little time to act, as Republicans are due to take control of the committee, along with the full House, in January.Another House committee on Monday asked federal prosecutors to charge Trump with obstruction and insurrection for sparking the deadly Capitol attack. Republicans are expected to dissolve or redirect that panel when they take control of the chamber.Release of any financial details could lead to more unwelcome scrutiny for Trump as he seeks the Republican nomination to run for the White House again in 2024.Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, reported heavy losses from his business enterprises over several years to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in income, according to news media reporting and trial testimony about his finances. That allowed him to pay very little in taxes.The Trump Organization was found guilty on 6 December in New York of carrying out a 15-year criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities. The company faces up to $1.6m in fines, though Trump himself is not personally liable. He has said the case was politically motivated and the company plans to appeal.He also faces a separate fraud suit in New York that accuses him of artificially inflating the value of his assets.During his presidency, he faced persistent questions about conflicts of interest, as foreign dignitaries and Republican Party officials spent money in his luxury hotels. TopicsDonald TrumpHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsJanuary 6 hearingsUS Capitol attacknewsReuse this content More

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      Democrats praise January 6 panel’s work as Republicans call it ‘witch hunt’

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      Democrats praise January 6 panel’s work as Republicans call it ‘witch hunt’House panel concluded investigation and referred Trump to the justice department for criminal prosecution on four counts Democrats in Congress on Monday praised the House January 6 select committee for referring former president Donald Trump to the justice department for violating at least four criminal statutes, while Republicans called the committee’s work a “political stunt”.In its last public meeting, the committee chose to refer Trump for charges on obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and assisting, aiding or comforting an insurrection. Though the unprecedented criminal referrals are largely symbolic as the justice department will decide whether to prosecute Trump, they will give the justice department a road map should it choose to proceed.The committee also referred four House Republicans – understood to be Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry and Andy Biggs – to the House ethics committee for failure to comply with subpoenas. And John Eastman, Trump’s attorney, was also referred for prosecution.Republicans called the investigation a “witch hunt” and played down the criminal allegations concerning the riots that led to at least five deaths.Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Representative Jim Jordan, a Trump ally from Ohio, called the referrals “just another partisan and political stunt”, in a statement to the Guardian, adding that the committee “failed to respond to Mr Jordan’s numerous letters and concerns surrounding the politicization and legitimacy of the committee’s work”.Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and far-right conspiracy theorist, shared screenshots of polling of Republican primary voters, claiming the “real reason” for the criminal referrals is because committee members think Trump will be unbeatable in his run for president in 2024. She likened the United States to a communist country where people steal elections and then “weaponize the government against their political enemies and the people who support them”.Here is the real reason the J6 communist committee is making criminal referrals to the DOJ on Trump.They can’t beat President Trump and they know it. January is coming. pic.twitter.com/80SUYvEA8h— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 19, 2022
      Representative Troy Nehls, a Republican from Texas, retweeted a Fox News contributor who said that the committee is illegitimate. He also called it a “partisan witch hunt”, and said that “the American people are sick of it”.Others said it was a way to deflect from President Joe Biden’s problems. Illinois congresswoman Mary Miller shared a video of migrants crossing the border, saying the committee distracted from “the fentanyl & crime crisis Joe Biden created by opening our southern border to an INVASION of 5 MILLION foreign nationals led by drug cartels and human traffickers.”Outside Congress, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, shared a tweet saying that the January 6 committee is making “bogus criminal accusations while the #TwitterFiles are producing real evidence of an effort to interfere with a democratic election,” referring to Elon Musk’s series of Twitter threads attempting to show that the social network favored Democrats.On the left, Democrats Cori Bush, a congresswoman from Missouri, and Rashida Tlaib, of Michigan, shared screenshots of the committee’s presentation. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that “Trump’s actions are crimes against the American people and against our very democracy.”Many Democrats responded to the referrals by saying that “no one is above the law”, making the case that a former or current president can face criminal charges.“The evidence is overwhelming,” said Representative Dianna DeGette of Colorado. “Trump incited a deadly insurrection to overturn the election. He must be held accountable. No one is above the law.”Representative Troy Carter, a Democrat from Louisiana, kept his reaction simple. “No one is above the law,” he said. “Especially, and importantly, the President.”A large number of Democrats also said that Trump “must be held accountable”.“Donald Trump’s actions were a direct attack against our democracy & he must be held accountable,” said Representative Brian Higgins of New York.Representative Lori Trahan of Massachusetts tweeted a thread outlining the findings of the committee and saying that “we must act on their recommendations to ensure nothing like January 6th ever happens again”.Others just thanked the committee for its 18 month investigation and all of the work it did to get to its final report, including over 1,000 witness interviews and nine public hearings.“I applaud the committee for its work to protect our democracy and hold those who encouraged or participated in undemocratic violence accountable,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.TopicsJanuary 6 hearingsUS Capitol attackDonald TrumpUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Trump should face criminal charges, January 6 panel concludes: Politics Weekly America – podcast

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      On Monday, the House January 6 select committee held its final meeting, voting to formally adopt the report it had been working on for the last 18 months, referring the former president and some of his top advisers to the justice department for efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
      Jonathan Freedland speaks to Hugo Lowell about what the committee found and what is likely to happen next

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      Jan 6 committee refers Donald Trump for criminal prosecution on four counts – live

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      The House panel investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat has referred the former president for four criminal charges, including engaging in an insurrection, in what the committee’s chair says is a “roadmap to justice”.01:51The stunning, unprecedented referral of an ex-president came at the final meeting of the bipartisan panel on Monday afternoon. The nine members also voted unanimously to approve the final report of the 18-month investigation, which will be released on Wednesday.The committee alleged violations of four criminal statutes by Trump, in both the run-up to the January riot and during his efforts to remain in power after his defeat by Joe Biden.The panel is also referring four Republican members of Congress to the House ethics committee for refusing to comply with subpoenas.The Trump referrals are for “influencing or impeding a an official proceeding of the US government”, “conspiring to defraud the US”, “unlawfully, knowingly or willingly making false statements to the federal government”, and “assisting or engaging in insurrection against the United States”.Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, the panel chair, said the referrals will be transmitted to the justice department in very short order.They are largely symbolic, as attorney general Merrick Garland will make his own decision on charges at the conclusion of the justice department’s own investigations, headed by special prosecutor Jack Smith.But, speaking to CNN after the session, Thompson said:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I’m convinced the justice department will charge former president Trump. No-one, including the former president, is above the law.In his opening remarks to the meeting, Thompson said: “We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to justice.”John Eastman, Trump’s attorney, whom the panel said had helped Trump in his conspiracy to stay in power, was also referred. Unnamed others are also likely to face referrals, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, and former department of justice official Jeffrey Clark.Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin announced the referrals. “Ours is not a system where foot soldiers go to jail, and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass,” Raskin said:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The president has an affirmative and primary constitutional duty to act to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Nothing could be a greater betrayal of this duty than to assist in insurrection against the constitutional order.Unanswered questions, ‘unsolved crimes’: the 6 January pipe bombs After more than a year of work, there are still key questions about 6 January that remain unanswered, including: who was responsible for placing the “viable” pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committee headquarters that were discovered that day? Amazed that there’s not a single mention of the pipe bombs in all 161 pages of the J6 Select Committee’s exec summary of their findings, or in their final hearing. Have we all forgotten about the bombs found on J6 – or the fact that the bomb-maker remains at large?— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) December 19, 2022
      Asked about that issue, congressman Jamie Raskin said “I don’t believe there have been any updates since we first looked int to. Those are unsolved crimes,” CNN reported. #FBIWFO continues to work with @ATFWashington, @CapitolPolice, @DCPoliceDept to identify the person responsible for placing pipe bombs near the Democratic National Committee Headquarters & Republican National Committee Headquarters on 1/5, the night before the Capitol riots. 1/3— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) January 6, 2022
      January 6 committee Democrat who lost her House seat: ‘It’s all been worth it.’This is Lois Beckett, picking up our live politics coverage from Los Angeles.Democratic congresswoman Elaine Luria of Virginia, a member of the January 6 House committee, lost her reelection bid to her Republican opponent.As Luria recapped the January 6 committee’s recommendations this afternoon, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked her if she thought the committee’s work had played a role in her loss.Luria said she believed it had, but that she felt preventing another event like January 6 was more important than her individual political career.“It’s all been worth it,” she said.Luria also emphasized that the 2022 midterms more broadly had not produced a wave of victories for the most pro-Trump candidates, as the former president had hoped. “The most emphatic election deniers — they did not win,” she said.Donald Trump lit the flame, poured gasoline on the fire, and sat in the White House dining room for hours watching the fire burn as rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol. Today, he continues to fan those flames. This was his dereliction of duty. pic.twitter.com/2bj4zZfmC8— Rep. Elaine Luria (@RepElaineLuria) December 19, 2022
      Luria and other Democrats told the New York Times they believed the January 6 committee’s work had more importance for midterm voters than polls had indicated.Four law enforcement officers who came under attack during the January 6 Capitol riot have just been on CNN, sharing their thoughts about the criminal referrals for Donald Trump handed down this afternoon by the January 6 House committee.Daniel Hodges, DC Metropolitan Police:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It’s entirely appropriate. I don’t think anything is really surprising about the charges. The chatter was whether it would be meaningful at all for the committee to make these referrals and I think it is, even if it’s just symbolic.
      Symbols have meanings, symbols of power, and, you know, future generations [will] look back and say that this branch of Congress, this branch of government, did the best they could to make accountability happen.Michael Fanone, DC Metropolitan police:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I think it was appropriate having sat through each and every one of the committee’s hearings. This was the inevitable outcome. Again, you know, it is symbolic and it’s up to the Department of Justice, ultimately, to seek criminal accountability for those responsible for the January 6 insurrection.Aquilino Gonell, US Capitol Police:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It’s been very meaningful to have that coming from Congress, given the amount of evidence that they uncovered, and it’s appropriate.Harry Dunn, US Capitol Police:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I’m glad that they did it. But respectfully to the January 6 committee, it’s been two years. We knew what they announced today on January 7, 2021.
      I really appreciate all the work that they’ve done and they’re continuing to do, and the justice department is doing. But I don’t even want to get into the what ifs if they don’t [charge Trump].Here’s our full story about this afternoon’s House January 6 committee meeting that approved criminal referrals for Donald Trump. Chris Stein reports:The January 6 committee has referred Donald Trump to the justice department to face criminal charges, accusing the former president of fomenting an insurrection and conspiring against the government over his attempt to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election, and the bloody attack on the US Capitol.The committee’s referrals approved by its members Monday are the first time in American history that Congress has recommended charges against a former president. It comes after more than a year of investigation by the bipartisan House of Representatives panel tasked with understanding Trump’s plot to stop Joe Biden from taking office.“The committee believes that more than sufficient evidence exists for a criminal referral of former President Trump for assisting or aiding and comforting those at the Capitol who engaged in a violent attack on the United States,” congressman Jamie Raskin said as the committee held its final public meeting.“The committee has developed significant evidence that President Trump intended to disrupt the peaceful transition of power under our Constitution. The president has an affirmative and primary constitutional duty to act to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Nothing could be a greater betrayal of this duty than to assist in insurrection against the constitutional order.”The committee accused Trump of breaching four federal criminal statutes, including those relating to obstructing an official proceeding of Congress, assisting an insurrection and conspiring to defraud the United States. It also believed Trump committed seditious conspiracy — the same charge for which two members of the rightwing Oath Keepers militia group were found guilty of by a jury last month.The lawmakers also referred four Republican House representatives to the chamber’s ethics committee. The group includes Kevin McCarthy, the GOP leader who is expected to run for speaker of the House when the party takes control of the chamber next year.Read the full story:House January 6 panel recommends criminal charges against Donald TrumpRead moreDonald Trump could face up to 25 years in prison if he is convicted of the four criminal charges for which a House panel this afternoon referred him to the justice department.The US code on assisting with or engaging in an insurrection allows for a sentence of up to 10 years, and disqualification from holding or running for “any office under the United States” for anyone convicted.The former president announced his third run for the White House as a Republican last month.As for the other three charges Trump could face, all carry prison terms of up to five years, “conspiracy to defraud the US”, “unlawfully, knowingly or willingly making false statements to the federal government”; and “influencing or impeding a an official proceeding of the US government”.There is, of course, uncertainty over whether the justice department will charge Trump with these crimes, far more whether he would be convicted. But this is the first time we know of the potential penalties Trump faces for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.We’ll see the full report (hopefully) on Wednesday, but here’s the executive summary of the January 6 House panel’s findings, published this afternoon at the conclusion of its final meeting.It gives an outline of the 18-month investigation and key findings that resulted in a criminal referral for Donald Trump on four federal charges today, including assisting in or engaging in an insurrection.You can read the panel’s summary here.The House panel investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat has referred the former president for four criminal charges, including engaging in an insurrection, in what the committee’s chair says is a “roadmap to justice”.01:51The stunning, unprecedented referral of an ex-president came at the final meeting of the bipartisan panel on Monday afternoon. The nine members also voted unanimously to approve the final report of the 18-month investigation, which will be released on Wednesday.The committee alleged violations of four criminal statutes by Trump, in both the run-up to the January riot and during his efforts to remain in power after his defeat by Joe Biden.The panel is also referring four Republican members of Congress to the House ethics committee for refusing to comply with subpoenas.The Trump referrals are for “influencing or impeding a an official proceeding of the US government”, “conspiring to defraud the US”, “unlawfully, knowingly or willingly making false statements to the federal government”, and “assisting or engaging in insurrection against the United States”.Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, the panel chair, said the referrals will be transmitted to the justice department in very short order.They are largely symbolic, as attorney general Merrick Garland will make his own decision on charges at the conclusion of the justice department’s own investigations, headed by special prosecutor Jack Smith.But, speaking to CNN after the session, Thompson said:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I’m convinced the justice department will charge former president Trump. No-one, including the former president, is above the law.In his opening remarks to the meeting, Thompson said: “We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to justice.”John Eastman, Trump’s attorney, whom the panel said had helped Trump in his conspiracy to stay in power, was also referred. Unnamed others are also likely to face referrals, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, and former department of justice official Jeffrey Clark.Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin announced the referrals. “Ours is not a system where foot soldiers go to jail, and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass,” Raskin said:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The president has an affirmative and primary constitutional duty to act to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Nothing could be a greater betrayal of this duty than to assist in insurrection against the constitutional order.Here are some more tweets from the House January 6 committee session today:Congresswoman Elaine Luria: “President Trump lit the flame, he poured gasoline on the fire and sat back in the White House dining room for hours watching the fire burn.”— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) December 19, 2022
      “Our Committee had the opportunity last Spring to present much of our evidence to a federal judge… The judge concluded that both former President Donald Trump and John Eastman likely violated two federal criminal statutes.”-@RepRaskin— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 19, 2022
      Liz Cheney: “Every president in our history has defended this orderly transfer of authority except one.” pic.twitter.com/HmGcnjLbBq— Republicans against Trumpism (@RpsAgainstTrump) December 19, 2022
      The January 6 Committee has just referred Donald John Trump to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.There is sufficient evidence that he committed multiple crimes. And it’s past time for him to face justice.— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 19, 2022
      The four Republican congressmen who have been referred to the House ethics committee for refusing to comply with the January 6 panel’s subpoenas are Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader and would-be speaker from California; Jim Jordan of Ohio; Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Andy Biggs of Arizona.New: Jan. 6 referrals subcommittee chair Jamie Raskin recommends referring House Republicans — understood to be Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry and Andy Biggs — to the House Ethics Committee for failure to comply with lawful subpoenas— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) December 19, 2022
      Illinois Republican and penal member Adam Kinzinger appears to have hit his tweet button within seconds of the hearing ending:Our work on the @January6thCmte has led us to criminally refer Donald Trump to DOJ. We now turn to the criminal justice system to ensure Justice under the law. The American people can ensure he’s never elected again.— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) December 19, 2022
      The final act of the members of the January 6 House panel was to vote unanimously to approve its final report, which will be released on Wednesday.But the “wow” moment of the hearing, which lasted a little more than one hour, was undoubtedly the historic, unprecedented criminal referral to the justice department of former president Donald Trump, including for assisting with or engaging in an insurrection against the United States.We’ll have plenty more reaction and analysis coming up. Please stick with us. The January 6 House panel is recommending criminal referrals for Donald Trump, his lawyer John Eastman and others for violating four federal criminal statutes, Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin says.They are “influencing or impeding a an official proceeding of the US government”, “conspiring to defraud the US”, “unlawfully, knowingly or willingly making false statements to the federal government”, and “assisting or engaging in insurrection against the United States”.Four members of Congress will also be referred to the House ethics committee for refusing to comply with subpoenas, he says.“Ours is not a system where foot soldiers go to jail, and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass,” Raskin said.The referrals will be sent to the justice department in short order, panel chair Bennie Thompson says.More details to come… More

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      The January 6 committee has referred the former US president to the justice department for criminal charges, accusing Trump of fomenting an insurrection and conspiring against the government over his attempt to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election, and the bloody attack on the US Capitol. The committee’s referrals approved by its members on Monday are the first time in American history that Congress has recommended charges against a former president. It comes after more than a year of investigation by the bipartisan House of Representatives panel tasked with understanding Trump’s plot to stop Joe Biden from taking office

      House January 6 panel recommends criminal charges against Donald Trump More