WASHINGTON — The details from former President Donald Trump’s third indictment on charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election may ring a bell − they parallel those unearthed by a special congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
The final report from House lawmakers who served on the select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol uncovered details that were included in the federal grand jury’s indictment of the former president on Tuesday. Trump faces four felony counts accusing him of organizing a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election from President Joe Biden, which led to the insurrection at the Capitol building.
Trump, now facing his third criminal indictment this year, denied wrongdoing and denounced the charges as an attempt to derail his 2024 presidential candidacy.
The House committee, which was comprised of nine members before it disbanded at the end of last year, issued countless subpoenas to close allies of the former president and held a series of hearings over the course of an 18-month investigation. Their inquiry documented Trump at the center of an effort to overturn the 2020 election and assemble a mob he’s accused of sending to Congress to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.
The committee’s final report made 17 findings about the Capitol attack.
“Today’s charges are consistent with those the select committee referred to the special counsel last year,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chaired the committee, said of the indictment in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. “Successful prosecutions will not only bring accountability but also help prevent something like January 6th from ever happening again.”
Here’s how the indictment compares to the findings from the Jan. 6 committee:
Jan. 6 report, indictment target Trump’s plan to overturn election
Both the committee’s final report and federal grand jury’s indictment detail how Trump intentionally disseminated false allegations of election fraud to the public. Specifically on Jan. 6, 2021, the former president provoked his supporters who attended his speech on the National Mall to march to the Capitol, according to the indictment and the committee’s report.
Findings also centered around how Trump pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the election results by accepting fraudulent electors, rejecting legitimate electoral votes or sending electoral votes to state legislatures for review.
When Pence repeatedly refused to block the certification, Trump threatened to publicly criticize him and told him: “You’re too honest,” according to the indictment. One exchange alerted Pence’s chief of staff, who was concerned for his safety and alerted his secret service detail.
The Jan. 6 final report and the indictment describe how the former president also pressured members of Congress to reject electors from several states where he claimed there was election fraud including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Other similarities from both documents include:
- Trump’s close circle knew election fraud claims were false. Campaign officials and advisors were aware Trump’s claims of election fraud were false. One senior campaign advisor wrote in an email that false claims of voter fraud in Georgia were conspiracies “beamed down from the mothership,” according to the indictment.
- Trump pressured state officials. Trump pressured state officials and legislators to change the results of the election in their states.
- Trump pressured Justice Department. Trump attempted to enlist department officials to make false statements about election fraud. After officials said they would not change the outcome of the election, Trump told the acting attorney general: “Just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen,” according to the indictment.
- Trump had co-conspirators. The indictment lists six co-conspirators who assisted Trump in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Jan. 6 committee interviewed dozens of Trump’s close contacts and also identified co-conspirators who helped him.
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Differences emerge: Soliciting contributions, Capitol Police assets
The Jan. 6 report includes additional details about Trump’s attempts to overturn election results that were not included in the federal grand jury’s indictment.
While both note that Trump purposefully spread false allegations of election fraud, the Jan. 6 final report adds that this was done in part to solicit contributions. A fundraising committee affiliated with Donald Trump sent out an urgent message to supporters on election night 2020 saying the president had activated an “Official Election Defense Fund” to protect the integrity of the election.
The Jan. 6 final report also delves into how law enforcement agencies detected potential violence on Jan. 6 and shared these threats with the Trump administration. Additionally, the report details how the former president had authority and responsibility to direct deployment of the National Guard in the District of Columbia during the Capitol riot, but never gave the order.
The House committee investigated how Capitol Police leadership did not have sufficient assets in place to address the violent crowd.
The indictment, unlike the Jan. 6 report, does note that Trump has a right to speak publicly about the election and even to claim fraud, as well as challenge the results through lawful means. But the indictment describes that his efforts to change the outcome in states through recounts, audits or legal challenges failed.
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Lawmakers call indictment ‘quite parallel’
House lawmakers who served on the Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol marked − for the third time − a grand jury indictment of Trump.
Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans who served on the Jan. 6 committee, has long predicted that prosecutors would follow up on the panel’s work.
“(T)his investigation is just a beginning; it is only an initial step in addressing President Trump’s effort to remain in office illegally,” she wrote in the committee’s final report. “Prosecutors are considering the implications of the conduct we describe in this report.”
Her work on the committee, where she served as vice chair, helped cost her her political career. She lost a GOP primary in 2022 to Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told CBS News the grand jury indictment is “quite parallel” to the Jan. 6 special committee.
“I feel very pleased that this is such a vindication of the rule of law in America and that this grand jury saw what the Jan. 6 committee saw,” he said.
California Rep. Adam Schiff, who has been a vocal opponent of Trump, said Tuesday’s charges related to the Jan. 6 attack are the most serious to date for the former president.
“This will put our democracy to a new test: Can the rule of law be enforced against a former president and current candidate? For the sake of our democracy, that answer must be yes,” he posted on X.
Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who served as the other Republican on the committee, called Trump a “cancer on our democracy,” adding that “today is the beginning of justice” in a post on X.
“Today is the beginning of justice. Nobody is above the law; least of all a president who swore an oath to defend it,” the now CNN political commentator wrote.
