US: Donald Trump and allies accused of criminal conspiracy by panel probing Capitol riots

The US House Select Committee has announced that there is enough evidence to determine that former President Donald Trump and some of his allies plotted to deceive the public about the election results in 2020. The committee has been looking into whether the former president and his associates were involved in the enormous protests in and around Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021, which resulted in the deaths of five people.

The panel wrote in a motion filed in the District Court for the Central District of California that the evidence they gathered shows that the businessman-turned-politician, conservative lawyer John Eastman, and other Trump allies could face criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the public and obstruction of a congressional hearing.

The panel's motion read, "A review of the materials may reveal that the president and members of his campaign engaged in common law fraud in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results."

The committee said it based its potential criminal charges on the voluminous and detailed testimony of the Trump administration officials that had been made public, as well as evidence from over 550 federal personnel interviewed, including Justice Department employees, top Trump advisors, and others. The court filing by the panel is in response to a lawsuit filed by John Eastman. After the committee subpoenaed Eastman's documents, including one in which Eastman wrote to Donald Trump on how to change the election results.

Because the US House Select Committee is a legislative body, it lacks the ability to indict Donald Trump, his associates, or anybody else. It can, however, submit the case to the US Justice Department, which could pursue a case against the 45th president and his administration. The panel has been looking into whether Donald Trump and his associates were involved in the January 6 Capitol riots.

January 6 Capitol riots 

The incident occurred following Donald Trump's loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential elections. The Republican, on the other hand, refused to accept loss, claiming that the Democrats had rigged the election and that he had won. On the same day that Congress met to certify the election results, Donald Trump staged a "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, DC, which drew thousands of his fans.

Hundreds of supporters marched to the Capitol during the demonstration, with a large group storming the building. As Trump supporters stormed the building, five protestors and a police officer were killed, and over a hundred law enforcement personnel were injured. Following the incident, Democrats accused Trump of promoting "insurgency" and introduced an article of impeachment against him. President Donald Trump, a Republican, became the first US president to be impeached twice.

(With inputs from agencies, Image: AP)