Original title: The final report on the riots on Capitol Hill exposes the truth of American partisanship
Xinhua News Agency, Washington, December 24th
Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Ding
The U.S. House of Representatives Capitol Hill Riot Investigation Committee recently released its final investigation report explaining the allegations against former President Trump.
American experts and the media believe that although the committee has concluded its own investigation, the political disputes between the Democratic and Republican parties surrounding the riots on Capitol Hill are far from over, and the party disputes may intensify in the future.
investigation closure
The Capitol Hill Riot Investigation Committee of the House of Representatives released an 845-page final investigation report on the evening of the 22nd, presenting the investigation work since the establishment of the committee and 17 specific findings, saying that it has obtained “an overwhelming and straightforward conclusion” from the evidence. That is to say, the core reason for the riots on Capitol Hill is Trump. The chairman of the committee, Democrat Benny Thompson, believes that Trump has designed and promoted a “multi-step effort” to overturn the results of the 2020 US presidential election and prevent the transfer of power.
In addition to explaining the allegations against Trump and others and listing the arguments in detail, the final investigation report also made 11 recommendations, including reforming the U.S. federal Election Counting Act, strengthening the response to violent extremism in the United States, and citing the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting Trump held office and more.
The committee announced and approved four criminal referrals against Trump earlier this week, accusing him of obstruction of official process, conspiracy to defraud the federal government, conspiracy to make false statements, and incitement or assistance in insurrection.
Ronald Weich, dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law, emphasized that whether to file criminal charges against Trump depends on the US Department of Justice and will not be affected by criminal referrals. The Justice Department is conducting two criminal investigations involving Trump, one surrounding the Capitol riots and the other related to Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Trump officially announced in November that he would run for president of the United States again. On the 23rd of this month, he posted a video of his speech on social media, bombarding the House of Representatives Capitol Hill Riot Investigation Committee and its final investigation report, saying that the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021 were not a rebellion, but a Unfortunately out of control protest. Moreover, Trump said the allegations against him were flimsy and politically motivated. He also went on to argue that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was rigged.
“National disgrace”
In 2020, the United States will usher in the quadrennial presidential election amid political polarization, the new crown epidemic, the wave of anti-racism, and economic contraction. On November 7 of that year, a number of mainstream American media reported based on calculations and statistics that the then Democratic presidential candidate Biden would win, and Biden subsequently declared victory. Trump refused to admit defeat and repeatedly claimed that there was massive fraud in the election.
On January 6, 2021, a large number of Trump supporters held a rally in Washington, the capital of the United States. Some of them went to Capitol Hill collectively that afternoon, violently broke through the security system, and broke into the Capitol, a symbol of American political power. The process of certifying the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election was interrupted. The then U.S. Vice President Pence and hundreds of lawmakers who presided over the meeting evacuated in panic. The incident shocked the entire United States and the international community.
The riot was the worst attack on the U.S. Congress in more than 200 years. It directly caused 5 deaths, injured about 140 police officers, and property damage in the Capitol. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal this year described the incident as a “national shame” for the United States.
On June 30, 2021, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted to establish a Capitol Hill Riot Investigative Committee. The members of the committee are appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including seven Democrats and two Republicans. Over 18 months, the committee has spoken to thousands of witnesses, collected millions of pages of material, and held 10 public hearings over the past several months.
In the eyes of Trump’s political colleagues and supporters, the investigation of the riots on Capitol Hill led by Democrats is just another “political persecution” against him. Several Republicans in the House of Representatives released a “hedging” report a few days ago, accusing the Democrats of playing politics and ignoring the security failure behind the riots on Capitol Hill, saying that Pelosi can hardly be blamed.
Party disputes
In this year’s mid-term elections, the Democrats lost the majority in the House of Representatives, and control of the House of Representatives will be transferred to the Republicans. Republican Kevin McCarthy, who is seeking to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives in the next Congress, said earlier this month that the work of the Capitol Hill riot investigation committee will be reviewed after Republicans take control of the chamber. This means that partisan disputes surrounding the investigation of the riots on Capitol Hill and political infighting in Washington will continue.
Two Justice Department criminal investigations involving Trump are being led by a special counsel. Attorney General Merrick Garland previously stated that it was in the public interest to appoint a special prosecutor to take charge of the investigation given that Trump had announced his re-election for the presidency of the United States. Garland also said the special counsel will have the resources to work quickly and fully, and the investigation will not be delayed because of the special counsel’s presence.
Never before in American history has a former president been criminally prosecuted. Former U.S. Attorney Renato Mariotti believes that Trump may be criminally prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, but according to the U.S. Constitution, being prosecuted or even convicted will not prevent him from running for president of the United States. Bloomberg’s analysis article believes that Trump is likely to use these legal issues to promote his image of being “unfairly treated” by the Biden administration and incite supporters’ dissatisfaction and anger.
With the coming of a “split” Congress in which the Democratic and Republican parties control the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the 2024 general election approaching, the debate on Capitol Hill riots in the United States may become more polarized and divided. Biden said frankly in his Christmas speech this year that American politics has become so angry, so vitriolic, and so partisan, “Too often, we see each other as enemies rather than neighbors, as Democrats or Republicans rather than fellow citizens. , we became too divided.”