US Panel On Capitol Riots:
US Panel On Capitol Riots: "Trump Assembled Mob, Lit Flame Of Attack"
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A congressional panel probing last year’s mob attack on the US Capitol argued on Thursday that Donald Trump and his allegations of a rigged election were at the centre of what amounted to a “attempted coup” to keep power.

The special committee attempted to persuade a divided country of the existence of a deep-rooted and ongoing scheme engineered by the former president to alter the result of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win in a prime-time presentation of its findings from a year-long investigation.

Bennie Thompson, the Democratic National Committee’s chairman, had accused Trump of being “at the heart of this conspiracy” just minutes before.

“The attempted coup on January 6 culminated in a brazen attempt to topple the government, as one rioter described it immediately afterward. The violence was not a result of chance “he stated.

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He said that rioters marched on Congress “with the instigation of the president of the United States” to prevent MPs from formally transferring power to Biden.

The panel’s meticulously crafted presentation included testimony from some of Trump’s most senior and trusted advisers, including former Attorney General Bill Barr and Trump’s son-in-law and top assistant Jared Kushner, who spoke behind closed doors.

‘Witch hunt’

The panel hopes to show that the violence was part of a larger – and ongoing – effort by Trump and his close circle to illegitimately cling to or recover power, tearing up the Constitution and more than two centuries of orderly transitions from one administration to the next.

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Thursday’s hearing, as well as five more in the coming weeks, will focus on Trump’s role in the multi-pronged attempt to re-elect him by disenfranchising millions of people.

Trump has fiercely denounced the investigation as a “witch hunt,” but the public hearings were on his mind Thursday as he launched a largely bogus tirade on his social media platform, hailing the insurgency as “the greatest movement in the history of our Country to Make America Great Again.”

Following the hearing, he lashed out again on Truth Social, accusing the committee of prejudice and doubling down on his electoral fraud charges.

‘”The Unselect Committee of partisan HACKS refuses to play any of the many favourable witnesses and testimonies,” he added.

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The committee intends to argue that Trump lay the stage for the insurgency with months of lies about fraud in an election described by his own administration as the most secure ever.

His administration is suspected of involvement in numerous potentially criminal plans to aid the attempt, including one to confiscate voting machines and another to designate phoney “alternative electors” from swing states who would defy the will of their people and award Trump victory.

‘Slipping in people’s blood’

The hearing on Thursday featured live testimony from two people who engaged with members of the neofascist organisation the Proud Boys on January 6 and in the days leading up to the incident.

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Nick Quested, an Emmy-winning British documentary filmmaker, testified about his experiences monitoring members of the Proud Boys in the days preceding up to January 6 and his interactions with them on the day itself.

Quested reported being astonished by “the rage” he witnessed among the group’s members, and he described the broader demonstration throng as morphing “from protestors to rioters to insurrectionists.”

“I was astonished by the magnitude of the group, as well as the fury and vulgarity,” he stated.

Officer Caroline Edwards, who was present during the first barrier break, detailed sustaining head injuries in battles with the Proud Boys, whose leader, along with four lieutenants, has been charged with seditious conspiracy.

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“Because what I experienced was only a fighting scene, I recollect my breath becoming stuck in my throat. It seemed like something out of a movie “she stated

“My eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. There were officers on the ground, bleeding and vomiting… I saw people with blood on their faces. I was sneaking into people’s bloodstreams.”

The court of popular opinion

The series of hearings will differ from Trump’s two impeachments in that he will not be represented in the room because he is not on trial – except possibly in the court of public opinion.

Nonetheless, a few of his most devoted counter-punchers are anticipated to circle the waggons, fighting the inquiry at every point.

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“It is the most politicised and least legitimate committee in American history,” House Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters.

In fact, Congress has broad oversight powers, and a Trump-appointed federal judge last month flatly rejected Republicans’ claims that the committee is unconstitutional.

The group has not stated what it intends to do beyond the initial round of hearings, although at least one more presentation and a final report are likely in the fall.