Panel: Trump should face criminal charges over Capitol riot

It says ex-president should be charged with obstruction and insurrection for his role

WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol on Monday asked federal prosecutors to charge Mr Donald Trump with obstruction and insurrection for his role in sparking the deadly riot.

The Democratic-led select committee's request to the Justice Department is non-binding, but comes as a special counsel is overseeing two other federal probes of the Republican former president related to his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat, and the removal of classified files from the White House.

The panel asked the Justice Department to charge Mr Trump with obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States, making false statements and aiding or inciting an insurrection.

"An insurrection is a rebellion against the authority of the United States. It is a grave federal offence, anchored in the Constitution itself," said Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat on the select committee, as he announced the charges.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the committee's move. A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Monday's meeting was the last public gathering of a nine-member panel that spent 18 months probing the unprecedented attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power by thousands of Trump backers, inspired by his false claims that his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud.