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Two years after Jan. 6: from holding Trump accountable to withdrawing request to testify

Today marks the second anniversary of the storming of the Capitol by a crowd rejecting the 2020 election results.

Asalto al Capitolio

(Captura de video)

Published by
Alejandro Baños

On Jan. 6, 2021, Americans witnessed a chapter unimaginable some time ago: the storming of the Capitol. A crowd turned out on the Capitol grounds as a symbol of protest against the 2020 elections. That same day, lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden's victory so that, fourteen days later, he would take office as President of the United States. Those demonstrators, who rejected the election results, managed to breach security measures and enter the chambers of Congress. Some time later, a report by several Republican members of Congress revealed that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi played a role in the Capitol Police’s lack of preparedness for the raid.

At least five people died that day as a result of the altercations that took place at the gates of the Capitol. The Democratic Party was determined from the very beginning to hold Donald Trump accountable, creating of a specific investigation committee for the case.

Trying to pin responsibility on the former president led to the FBI to search his Mar-a-Lago residence in order to find any evidence that would incriminate him.

Possibility of testifying in Congress

Two months later, it was rumored that Trump would have to testify before the investigative committee in the House of Representatives. A person close to him stated that the former president "loves the idea of testifying" and giving his version of events. On Truth Social, Trump was highly critical of the committee that investigated the Capitol assault:

Why didn't the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago? Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting? Because the Committee is a total BUST that has only served to further divide our country which, by the way, is doing very badly.

The Democrats’ obsession reached the point that one of their congressmen, John Fetterman, went so far as to compare the assault on the Capitol to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "The last thing I would actually kind of think it was similar, that feeling of 9/11, you know, when you see the planes hit," the Pennsylvania senator said.

Accused of insurrection and conspiracy

The House committee investigating the assault on the Capitol finally blamed Trump. "The January 6 Committee has just referred Donald John Trump to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. There is sufficient evidence that he committed multiple crimes. And it’s past time for him to face justice," posted Adam Schiff, a member of the committee.

The former president was charged with insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to make false statements to investigators and conspiracy to defraud the government, meaning he would have to testify in Congress.

Withdrawal of accusations

The defeat in the House midterms was a major setback for the Democrats. With its new majority, the Republican Party has in its power the ability to dissolve any committee, including the one investigating the assault on the Capitol. Faced with such a possibility, the Democratic Party decided to withdraw its accusations against Trump and its request for him to testify in Congress.

Homeland Security Committee Chairman and Democratic Party Representative Bennie Thompson announced the resolution through a letter sent to Trump's attorney David Warrington:

In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena. Therefore, through this letter, I hereby formally withdraw the subpoena issued to former President Trump, and notify you that he is no longer obligated to comply or produce records in response to said subpoena.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that this decision arose because Congress knows that he had no responsibility in the Jan. 6 raid:

Was just advised that the Unselect Committee of political Thugs has withdrawn the Subpoena against me concerning the January 6 Protest of the CROOKED 2020 Presidential Election. They probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court. Perhaps the FBI's involvement in RIGGING the Election played into their decision. In any event, the Subpoena is DEAD!
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