Donald Trump should not be allowed to hold public office again after his role in last year’s assault on the United States Capitol, concludes a report from the legislative commission that investigated the event.
The recommendation heads a list of proposals aimed at ensuring that the assault on the Capitol is not repeated. The Committee accuses the former president of orchestrating it in a failed bid to cling to power after losing the 2020 election.
“Our country has come too far to allow a defeated president to become a successful tyrant by subverting our democratic institutions (and) fomenting violence,” panel chairman Bennie Thompson said.
The document calls for legislation so that Trump and others who “participated in the insurrection” cannot hold “federal or state, civilian or military” positions.
The report was the culmination of 18 months of work by congressional investigators. They interviewed more than a thousand witnesses to establish the main cause of the attack, for which they held Trump directly responsible.
Composed of seven Democrats and two Republicans, the Committee also recommended election law reforms, a federal crackdown on extremist groups, and the designation of congressional certification of presidential elections as a “special national security event.”
Trump denounces a “witch hunt” both in this case and in other criminal and civil investigations into his business practices and his efforts to overturn his electoral defeat.
The panel recommended that the Justice Department bring criminal charges against Trump for four counts: obstruction of official proceeding, conspiring to defraud the United States, making false statements to the government and inciting insurrection.
