Trump Plotted To Declare Victory Before Votes Were In, Congressional Panel Says

Donald Trump plotted in advance to declare victory in the 2020 presidential election whatever the outcome and was the central cause” of the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6, a congressional panel alleged yesterday.

- David Smith

A House of Representatives select committee investigating last year’s riot reconvened in Washington, after a two-and-a-half month hiatus, for its ninth and possibly final televised hearing. It presented witness testimony that put Trump at the heart of a premeditated coup attempt and violent assault on American democracy.

“The vast weight of evidence presented so far has shown us that the central cause of 6 January was one man, Donald Trump, who many others followed,” Liz Cheney, the vice-chair of the committee, said in an opening statement. None of this would have happened without him. He was personally and substantially involved in all of it.

“Exactly how did one man cause all of this? Today we will focus on President Trump’s state of mind, his intent, his motivations and how he spurred others to do his bidding, and how another 6 January could happen again if we do not take necessary action to prevent it.”

The argument echoed earlier hearings that had maintained a tight focus on Trump as the singular architect of the insurrection, albeit with the help of aides and enablers, white nationalist extremists and a mob of supporters ready to do his bidding.

Cheney nearing the end of her tenure in Congress after losing a Republican primary race in Wyoming noted that the committee could ultimately decide to make criminal referrals to the justice department.