The chairman of the committee investigating the January 6th attacks made no bones about what he believed had happened following the 2020 presidential election as he opened its final hearing before the summer break.
Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, maintained there was no doubt there had been a co-ordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the election overseen and directed by Donald Trump.
He contended that Trump had “commanded a mob — a mob he knew was heavy-armed, violent and angry — to march on the Capitol to try to stop the peaceful transfer of power”.
Thompson said Trump had “made targets” of his vice-president, Mike Pence; and other politicians.
Over its eight public hearings the committee has argued the January 6th attack on the US Capitol, as politicians met to certify Joe Biden’s victory as president, was not just a protest that got out of hand. Rather it believes it marked the culmination of a much broader effort aimed at keeping Trump in the White House even though he lost the election.
Thompson now called for “accountability at every level ... all the way up to the Oval Office, where Donald Trump embraced the illegal advice of insurrectionists that a federal court judge has said was ‘a coup in search of a legal theory’.”
The committee contended there had been pressure placed on state legislatures and department of justice officials to declare the election fraudulent.
[ Kathy Sheridan: Trump lickspittles are being lionised by January 6th hearingsOpens in new window ]
It said there was evidence of attempts to manipulate the US electoral college system to try to swing victory for Trump against the popular vote in certain states.
And finally on Thursday night the committee sought to portray Trump as sitting watching television in the White House dining room as the crowd he urged to march on the Capitol attacked the building, fought with police and threatened the life of his own vice-president.
All the while, the committee contended, the then president did nothing to halt the violence. He did not call his law enforcement chiefs or the military or any other authorities, and rebuffed, for some hours, the urging of aides and allies that he publicly call on the protesters to go home.
The country’s top military officer, Gen Mark Milley, in his interview with the committee, expressed his frustration about the president’s response: “You’re the commander in chief — you’ve got an assault going on the Capitol of the United States and there’s nothing? No call? Nothing? Zero?”
Former aides testified that Trump actually “poured fuel” on the fire by tweeting attacks on Pence at a time when his supporters were hanging on his every word.
Committee member and Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger said: “The mob was accomplishing president Trump’s purpose, so of course he didn’t intervene [to try halt the attack on the Capitol].”
He alleged that Trump had been derelict in his duty and had completely violated his oath of office.
However, what this all means in the future is unclear.
It is obvious the committee is seeking to shape a narrative for the American people.
Committee vice-chairwoman Liz Cheney asked pointedly: “Can a president who is willing to make the choices Donald Trump made during the violence of January 6th ever be trusted with any position of authority in our great nation again?”
However, the committee also seems to have been sending a message to the department of justice and attorney general Merrick Garland, who are carrying out their own investigation.
Garland stressed this week that no one was above the law. However, finding sufficient evidence to be confident about achieving a successful prosecution, in what would be arguably the highest-profile trial in American history, is another matter.
Dereliction of duty, as alleged by the committee, may be an offence in the military. But is it a civil crime?
Some who attacked the Capitol are facing charges of seditious conspiracy. Whether the department of justice can put together sufficient evidence to warrant such charges against senior politicians remains an open question.
Trump is still hugely popular in many parts of the US and has the strong backing of right-wing media. He is favourite to be the Republican Party nominee for president in 2024 if, as seems likely, he opts to run.
It had been anticipated the January 6th committee would have wrapped up by now. However, like any TV production with good ratings, it will now have a second season.
It emerged this week that text messages sent and received by members of the US secret service on January 6th had disappeared during a technology upgrade.
On Thursday, there was a curious comment by the committee about secret service figures now retaining their own outside counsel.
It may have been a hint as to where the focus of its attention may move in autumn.
Kinzinger said the committee would ultimately recommend reforms to guard against another January 6th ever happening.
He concluded by warning: “The forces Donald Trump ignited that day have not gone away.”
“The militant intolerant ideologies, the militias, the alienation and disaffection, the weird fantasies and disinformation are all still out there ready to go. That is the elephant in the room.”
