The House's Jan. 6 committee is focusing on former President Donald Trump's actions on the day of the attack on the Capitol, particularly after reports from witnesses that he'd made several versions of a video to supporters urging them to "go home" before he released the message more than three hours after his speech that day, according to committee Chairman Bennie Thompson.
"It appears that he tried to do a taping several times, but he wouldn’t say the right thing," the Mississippi Democrat said, reports The Washington Post. He based his statement on information the panel has gotten from witness interviews, along with media reports.
The focus comes as the panel is discussing whether it will recommend that the Justice Department open a criminal probe into Trump.
Trump's message on Jan. 6, telling supporters that they "have to go home now," was released 187 minutes after his speech to them before the events of the day unfolded at the Capitol.
Thompson said Trump's delayed response may be a factor in the committee's decision about making a criminal referral against him.
"That dereliction of duty causes us real concern," said Thompson. "One of those concerns is that whether or not it was intentional, and whether or not that lack of attention for that longer period of time, would warrant a referral."
He also said the committee's probe is not being hindered by critics including Trump and congressional Republicans, and that if a criminal referral is warranted, "there would be no reluctance on the part of this committee to do that."
The committee is also weighing criminal referrals that could stem from the pressure that was put on state and local officials to overturn the election of President Joe Biden, as well as if people raised money from the rallies surrounding the Jan. 6 attack even while they knew Trump's claims of election fraud were not true, reports The Post.
According to a Post investigation, the then-president resisted calls to intervene while watching the events play out on TV for 187 minutes.
"He wasn’t telling the people to go home," Thompson said. "He wouldn’t tell them that this is not the way to do it. So I think, since the taping was recorded at the White House, we’ll have access to it."
According to a person familiar with the committee's work, the possibility of multiple recordings of Trump's message has come under discussion with several witnesses.
The committee is asking the National Archives to turn over videos from Trump's last days in office, but the former president has filed a lawsuit to block the release of the materials.
Trump on Thursday filed an appeal to the Supreme Court after a federal appellate panel ruled against him earlier this month.
Congress has already voted to hold former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in contempt after they defied the committee's subpoenas. The Justice Department has charged Bannon criminally as well.
Former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade told The Post that Congress is the "complaining witness," and they must ask the DOJ to conduct the criminal investigation, rather than charging anyone directly.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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