Trump: I am being persecuted

his presidency into his alleged links to Moscow .

‘‘It’s the same people that perpetrated the lies that I was an agent of Russia,’’ he said in the city of Prescott Valley. ‘‘Everything this corrupt establishment is doing to me is about preserving their power and control over the American people. They want to damage me in whatever form so I can no longer represent you. I watched this hoax last night (Saturday) . . . They are coming after me because I’m standing up for you. It’s very simple.’’

The evidence put forward by the January 6 committee has eroded his standing among more moderate Republicans and boosted potential rivals.

‘‘Donald Trump made a purposeful choice to violate his oath of office, to ignore the ongoing violence against law enforcement, to threaten our constitutional order,’’ said Liz Cheney, a

Republican and the committee’s vicechair said on Thursday. ‘‘There is no way to excuse that behaviour. It was indefensible.

‘‘Can a president who is willing to make the choices Donald Trump made during the violence of January 6 ever be trusted with any position of authority in our great nation again?’’

Mike Pence, the then vice-president who had defied Trump by agreeing to certify the election result, was at the heart of the drama. Viewers learned that Secret Service agents protecting Pence called family members to say goodbye because they feared being killed by the rioters. At around the same time Trump, watching on television tweeted a potentially incendiary message to his supporters: ‘‘Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what was necessary.’’ Pence is now one of several Republicans eying the party’s presidential nomination. – Sunday Times