The bipartisan Congressional committee looking into the deadly January 6, 2021, attack by a mob on the very seat of the Houses of the U.S. Congress has painted a clear picture of the attempt by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, even if that meant he might damage the U.S. government and purposefully instigate violence to cling on to power, creating “a moment of maximum danger” for the foundations of American democracy. At the first public hearing by the House of Representatives committee, its chairman and vice chairwoman played multiple videos of Mr. Trump’s Attorney General, William Barr; and his daughter Ivanka Trump, among others, making statements on camera that pointed towards Mr. Trump’s role in fuelling the violence that day. The hearings made clear that Mr. Trump was responsible for several such critical acts of commission and omission, including ignoring intelligence reports that had been passed on to the White House beforehand that the protests could turn violent. Critically, Mr. Trump refused to intervene, for example by deploying the National Guard, as the rioting got out of control and far-right groups such as the Proud Boys, unleashed organised violence after a rally near the Capitol, resulting in some deaths, defacement of public property and an unprecedented security threat to members of Congress in the building.
The January 6 assault came directly on the heels of one of the most vicious election campaigns, waged by Mr. Trump and his Republican acolytes. It not only saw them denigrating minorities, women and the U.S.’s involvement in multilateral and regional organisations but also led to a targeted misinformation campaign against the poll results over the fact that ballot votes and runoff elections in some U.S. States impacted the final outcome of a win for President Joe Biden. The work of the House committee looking into the Capitol attack might be politically consequential, for it is a reminder of the extreme lengths to which Mr. Trump and his supporters will go to undermine the rule of law to stay in power. Yet it is ultimately toothless, because it has no constitutional path that leads to debarring him from standing for election again in 2024, an outcome that is looking increasingly likely given his persisting popularity and the absence of any other strong potential Republican presidential nominee. Having survived two impeachment attempts, and with a legal question mark hanging over the prospect of using the 14th Amendment to ban him from public office for his role in an insurrection against the U.S. government, Mr. Trump looks well-placed to run for the White House and resume his antagonistic politics, should he choose to.
