Former President Donald Trump has finally broken his silence after the Democrat-controlled January 6 Committee announced this week that it would send three criminal referrals to the Justice Department following hearings and an alleged investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Reminder: Trump called for a smooth transition of power in this video…
Trump said that the move makes him “stronger,” after the Jan. 6 committee made a decision to urge the Justice Department to prosecute him and some of his associates over their involvement in the Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to The Hill.
This is what Trump said on his Truth Social social media platform: “These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me. It strengthens me. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
The Jan. 6 panel unveiled criminal referrals in its final public meeting hours, recommending that the DOJ prosecute Trump on charges of inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Just hours after the panel’s recommendations were formally made, Trump wrote: “The Fake charges made by the highly partisan Unselect Committee of January 6th have already been submitted, prosecuted, and tried in the form of Impeachment Hoax # 2. I WON convincingly. Double Jeopardy anyone!”
Trump painted the probes as an effort to undercut his campaign. Trump did announce another run for the White House in 2024, but the insurrection charge could bar Trump from running for elected office again.
“The people understand that the Democratic Bureau of Investigation, the DBI, are out to keep me from running for president because they know I’ll win and that this whole business of prosecuting me is just like impeachment was — a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party,” said the former president.
There were also comments at the meeting that Trump is “unfit for any office,” as Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who is leaving Congress after she lost her primary election to a Trump-backed candidate, said.
The panel’s determination of his 187 minutes of inaction between the start of the riot and Trump’s video message urging the rioters to “go home,” was also rebuffed by Trump.
An “extreme dereliction of duty,” is what Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) called it, with other lawmakers calling Trump’s inaction one of the panel’s most shameful findings. A much-anticipated report on its findings will be released soon by the Jan. 6 panel before it is likely dissolved by majority Republicans in the next Congress.