Jan. 6 committee: Trump should never again hold office
The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol recommended that Congress consider barring Donald Trump from ever holding public office again as a result of his role inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
The committee issued its final report Thursday, along with a list of 11 recommendations to prevent such an event from occurring ever again.
Among the proposals: reform of the Electoral Count Act to clarify that a vice president has no authority to reject electoral slates submitted by the states; wholesale expansion of federal law-enforcement agencies’ scrutiny of extremist groups; and designation of the counting of electoral votes by Congress every four years as a “National Special Security Event,” like inaugurals and State of the Union Addresses.
The committee considered evidence drawn from thousands of documents and witness interviews to argue that Mr. Trump embarked on an orchestrated plan to remain in office despite his election loss. Ultimately, the committee argues, he inspired his supporters to commit violence.
“Our country has come too far to allow a defeated President to turn himself into a successful tyrant by upending our democratic institutions, fomenting violence, and, as I saw it, opening the door to those in our country whose hatred and bigotry threaten equality and justice for all Americans,” panel chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in the forward to the report.
The new GOP House majority, however, has signaled that it intends to scour the work for flaws and missteps. Although some recommendations may be implemented, Republicans are likely to block any congressional action required to implement many of the committee’s recommendations.
Mr. Trump issued a statement seeking to discredit the committee’s work, blaming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the violence.
“The highly partisan Unselect Committee Report purposely fails to mention the failure of Pelosi to heed my recommendation for troops to be used in D.C., show the “Peacefully and Patrioticly” words I used, or study the reason for the protest, Election Fraud,” the former president wrote. “WITCH HUNT!”
The committee recommendations largely deal with how best to hold Mr. Trump and his allies accountable, reflecting the report’s broader focus on the former president’s conduct. The report says the 14th Amendment allows barring people from office who “engaged in an insurrection” or gave “aid and comfort to the enemies of the Constitution.”
The recommendations touch only briefly on other issues, including improved oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police.