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Former US President Donald Trump faces criminal sanctions for his role in storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. However, it is still unclear if and when this will happen. The most important questions in a row:

What is Trump accused of?

For 18 months, the specially created Capitol Committee dealt with the events of January 6, 2021. On that day, Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, where the Republican’s election defeat to Joe Biden was to be ratified. Five people died when the building was violently stormed.

The committee makes serious allegations: Trump followed the violent riots on television from the Oval Office and did not make a public statement for hours, even though his employees, his relatives and lawyers had asked him to.

This is how Trump supporters stormed the Capitol:

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Trump supporters storm the Capitol

source: keystone / manuel balce ceneta

The panel will now publish its final 160-page report on Monday. There isn’t much news in it. For the first time, however, it brings all the facts together in one place: step-by-step, it documents Trump’s attempt to stay in power after the lost presidential election.

“We have heard more than 1,000 witnesses. We’ve interviewed just about everyone you can think of who wanted to speak up, so we have a million pieces of evidence,” committee chair Bennie Thompson said after Monday’s hearing. It’s important that the Justice Department now look at the information that has been gathered. present (to the Justice Department) any evidence that we have uncovered and it will ultimately be up to them,” he said.

In all, the panel charges him with violating four federal laws: incitement to riot, obstruction of a public trial, conspiracy against the U.S. government and making false accusations against the state.

What’s new in the report?

There are some new details, but they are not particularly important. Rudy Giulani’s testimony is perhaps the most interesting. According to the report, Donald Trump’s lawyer allegedly said he did not believe the voting machines stole the election. He contradicts previous claims that machine manufacturer Dominion was responsible for the wrong result.

Also new is a list of all guns seized by the Capitol Stormers on January 6. According to Secret Service documents, these include…

But that was far from all: the Secret Service emphasized that these weapons only came from people who had passed through the metal detectors. Thousands of participants deliberately stayed away from the metal detectors.

Ashli ​​Babbitt’s death would not have had a major impact on Donald Trump: The Trump supporter was shot by a police officer in the Capitol when she tried to climb through a door. Trump was reported to have been notified of the incident shortly after 3:05 p.m. White House adviser William “Beau” Harrison learned of the incident at 3:05 p.m. and wrote it down in a note that was delivered to Trump. According to the report, this had little effect on his mood. Moreover, there was no evidence that Trump should have repented that day.

How does Trump respond?

One searches in vain for remorse from the former president. On his platform Truth Social, he is unconcerned about the commission’s recommendations on criminal justice:

The “false allegations by the partisan voting committee” on January 6 have already been filed, prosecuted and negotiated, he railed. He would have won this negotiation convincingly in the form of the second “impeachment joke”.

It is clear to him that the probes were an attempt to undermine his campaign – last month he announced that he would run for president again in 2024.

The FBI – which he calls the “Democratic Bureau of Investigation” (DBI) – naturally tries to stop him:

How does former Vice President Mike Pence feel about an indictment?

The former US vice president has denied impeachment proceedings against Trump. In an interview with conservative Fox News, Mike Pence sided with Trump:

Remarkably, Pence is now defending his former boss. The Investigative Committee’s investigation reveals how narrowly Pence escaped the attackers at the Capitol on January 6. According to witnesses, Pence was only a few feet from the mob that had forced its way into the convention building. “Hang Mike Pence,” several of the intruders chanted. The commission also presented evidence that Trump had responded positively to these threats from his supporters.

What’s next for the Capitol Committee?

Monday’s meeting was the commission’s last major appearance. However, the work of the committee is not yet complete. An even more extensive report with findings and recommendations will be published on Wednesday. Further transcripts and documents will follow before the end of the year.

They will provide Trump critics with more food, writes CNN. At the same time, these publications also benefit Trump supporters. They have been demanding for some time that all witness interviews taken be made fully accessible. So far only selected fragments have been shown during the public hearings.

The current Congress ends on January 3, 2023, which also dissolves the Capitol Committee. On the other hand, the work of the Justice Department is likely to continue.

What is the Justice Department doing now?

The Justice Department has been conducting its separate investigations for months. As of this week, it also has access to the evidence collected by the committee. These will ultimately be more important to the Ministry of Justice than the criminal law recommendations. That’s the view of ABC News senior legal analyst Dan Abrams:

In practice, criminal advice is mainly symbolic. Because: The Ministry of Justice is therefore not obliged to act. What ultimately matters is the evidence on which Trump could be indicted.

The rarely used crime of rioting is the most serious: it is committed under US law to incite or participate in rebellion against state authority or law. This is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to ten years or both. If Trump is convicted of sedition, he will no longer be allowed to hold political office.

With material from the sda ​​and dpa news agencies.