US Lawmakers investigating last year's assault on the US Capitol on Monday called for criminal charges against Donald Trump for multiple offenses including insurrection as well as raised the stakes in a parallel criminal investigation that could put the former president behind the bar, reports AFP.
The House of Representatives select committee called for the indictment after an 18-month probe into the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021 and recommended charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
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 bipartisan committee voted unanimously to refer the charges to the Justice Department after opening remarks by vice-chair Liz Cheney in which she 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 are seen as 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.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
