Sawt Falasteen - US lawmakers mull charges against 'unfit' Trump

The decision -- expected to cap the House of Representatives select committee's final public meeting -- will be the culmination of an 18-month probe that interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses and held explosive public hearings on the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021.

At least five people died after a mob whipped up by Trump's false claims of a stolen election, and directed to march on Congress by the defeated president, ransacked the seat of US democracy in a thwarted bid to prevent the transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

The committee is expected to urge the Justice Department to pursue Trump on at least three charges related to the violence -- inciting an insurrection, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to defraud the United States.

In her opening remarks, vice-chair Liz Cheney accused Trump of "a clear dereliction of duty" in failing to immediately attempt to stop the riot and called him "unfit for any office."

"No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again," she said.

The referrals would be largely symbolic, as the panel has no control over charging decisions, which rest with the Justice Department.

Jack Smith, a largely independent special prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, is leading his own investigation into Trump related to the 2020 election.

But the lawmakers' move would nevertheless be historic, as Congress has never made a criminal referral against a sitting or former president.

It would also be a major blow to Trump amid a series of missteps in the weeks since he announced a comeback bid for the White House.

Charges could result in a ban from public office for the 76-year-old tycoon, who still wields considerable power in the Republican Party, and even prison time.

"To cast a vote in the United States is an act of faith and hope," committee chairman Bennie Thompson said.

"That faith in our system is the foundation of American democracy. If the faith is broken, so is our democracy. Donald Trump broke that faith."

- 'Congress cannot remain silent' -

The seven Democratic and two Republican panel members are winding down their work before the end of the year, and have compiled their findings into an eight-chapter report set to be released on Wednesday.

The executive summary is expected to be issued Monday.

The committee maintains that Trump "oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the presidential election and prevent the transfer of presidential power."

Investigators say the plot began with Trump's campaign to spread allegations he knew were false that the election was marred by widespread fraud.

He is accused of trying to corrupt the Justice Department and of pressuring his vice president Mike Pence, as well as state election officials and legislators, to overturn the vote by violating the Constitution and the law.

Trump is also accused of summoning and assembling the mob in Washington, and directing it toward the Capitol despite knowing it was armed with assault rifles, handguns and numerous other weapons.

And he ignored pleas from his team to take action to stop the violence, lawmakers say.

The committee showed a reel of video and audio highlights from its 10 public hearings, including footage of the riot and extracts of interviews with former attorney general Bill Barr, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and ex-White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

The clips were shown under headings such as "Trump knew he lost," and "Trump summoned the mob."

Democratic panel member Zoe Lofgren said Trump's false fraud claims -- far from being spontaneous -- were part of a deliberate attempt to sow distrust in democracy that began long before the insurrection.

The committee's case was bolstered by a federal judge in California who found it "more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6."

Lawmakers are also mulling criminal referrals of other figures in Trump's inner circle, including lawyer John Eastman, one of the architects of the defeated president's bid to cling to power.

Trump has repeatedly disparaged the House panel on his own Truth Social platform, calling the members "Democrats, misfits and thugs."

N.Awad--SF-PST