January 6th Commission recommends setting up four criminal charges against former President Trump

Lawmakers have suggested that Mr. Trump be accused of plotting with the intention of obstructing the legitimate position of the American government, attempts to disrupt the official hearings of Congress, plotting false testimony and sedition.

Commission leader Bennie Thompson said the commission's “s could serve as a good guide for justice”.

According to him, Mr. Trump knew he lost his 2020 election, but he chose to stay in the office by making a series of attempts to block power transfer.

At this meeting, the Commission also released new evidence, including an interview with Mr. Trump's adviser for a long time, Hope Hicks. During her testimony Mrs. Hicks said that Mr. Trump had told her, that no one would be worried about his legitimacy if he lost his election and that the only thing that mattered was for him to win”.

In addition to the allegations against the former president, the commission, consisting of 7 Democrats and two republics, recommended the establishment of charges of violations of ethics laws for 5 republican House lawmakers.

The January 6th Commission has no legal powers, so the recommendation for prosecution marks only one symbolic act, as the Justice Department decides on the charges.

The commission will melt on 3 January, when the House of Representatives controls take over the republics.

Since its establishment in July 2021, the commission has interviewed more than 1,000 people, conducted 10 public hearings, and administered more than 1 million documents.

The collection of a large number of evidence has prompted commission members to declare that Mr. Trump must be blamed for the violent attack on the Capitol conducted by his supporters about two years ago.

The commission's final report is expected to be distributed in a few days and will include white interviews and legal recommendations.

Although they do not have legal powers, the commission's recommendations would add political pressure on Prosecutor Merrick Garland and Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who is conducting investigation into the way government documents are handled, by the former president, after leaving office in January 2021.

Mr. Smith was appointed in November as a special prosecutor with the responsibility of overseeing the investigation into the possession of documents classified by the former president at his residence in Mara-Lago in Florida, as well as some aspects of the investigation over efforts to overturn the 2020 election outcome won by Democrat Joe Biden. / VOA