The committee on Wednesday and Thursday also released more than 40 witness testimony transcripts, which showed nearly two dozen witnesses invoking their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. More of them, as well as attachments, will be released before the end of the year.
Understand the Events on Jan. 6
The report was largely an expanded version of the panel’s widely watched set of hearings this summer, with its chapter topics mirroring the themes of those sessions. Those included Mr. Trump’s spreading lies about the election, the creation of fake slates of pro-Trump electors in states won by President Biden, and the former president’s pressure campaign against state officials, the Justice Department and former Vice President Mike Pence. The committee’s report documents how Mr. Trump summoned a mob of his supporters to Washington and then did nothing to stop them as they attacked the Capitol for more than three hours.
The report also contains the committee’s legislative recommendations, which are designed to prevent future presidents from attempting a similar plot. The panel has already endorsed overhauling the Electoral Count Actthe law that Mr. Trump and his allies tried to exploit on Jan. 6 in an attempt to cling to power. The House is scheduled to give final approval to that overhaul on Friday.
Among committee recommendations include a possible overhaul of the Insurrection Act and strengthening the enforcement of the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding office. The panel also said Congress should consider passing legislation to bolster its subpoena power and increase penalties against those who threaten election workers.
The committee’s report is the result of an 18-month investigation, which included more than 1,000 witness interviews and a review of more than one million pages of documents, obtained after the panel issued more than 100 subpoenas.