Members of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have spent three years warning America against taking former President Donald Trump at his word.

Now that Trump is ready to win

Republican presidential GOP

nomination, his criminal trials are facing delays that could hold them back after Election Day, and his rhetoric is becoming increasingly authoritarian, some of which

representatives of legislators

notice that you are following your own advice.

In mid-March, Trump said on social media that the committee members should receive prison time. In December he promised that he would be dictator on ‘day one’. In August, he said he would have “no choice” but to jail his political opponents.

“If he plans to eliminate our constitutional system and arrest his political enemies

,

“I think I would be on that list,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose). One thing I learned in committee is to pay attention and listen to what Trump says

,

because he means it.

Lofgren added that she does not yet have a plan to thwart possible retaliation by Trump. But Rep. Adam

b.

Schiff (D-Burbank), who has long been a burr in Trump’s side, said he was real

–

time talks with his staff about how to ensure he stays safe if Trump makes good on his threats.

We take this seriously

,

because we have to, Schiff said. “We’ve seen this movie before and how dangerous it is to ignore what someone says when they say they want to be a dictator.

The bipartisan Jan. 6 commission, which also included Schiff and Lofgren, has spent months investigating the attack that killed five people and injured more than 150 police officers when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s victory confirmed in the 2020 presidential elections. The committee’s blockbuster broadcast hearings and an 845-page final report painted a narrative that Trump knew he had lost the election by a fair margin but was pursuing a plan to keep himself in power anyway.

A Justice Department investigation by special counsel Jack Smith was expected to provide legal confirmation of what the committee found, raising the possibility of a criminal conviction against Trump for attempting to undermine the election.

But the process has suffered numerous delays. The Justice Department has not charged Trump

until August 2023, when he was charged

with four felonies. The Supreme Court then dealt a major blow to Smith’s plans for a spring trial by agreeing to hear a presidential immunity issue in late April. The court’s ruling is not expected to be announced until mid-summer, after which Trump’s team will likely have another 90 days to prepare for the trial.

I’m afraid the Supreme Court is being deliberately slow

–

running this,” Schiff said in an interview, adding that the court should never have addressed the issue of immunity after Judge Tanya Chutkan and the appeals courts ruled that presidential immunity did not apply in the case.

‘The claim is borderline frivolous… they push it just enough to make it almost unfeasible

cq

to attempt [the cases] before the elections

. ‘, Schiff said.

“It’s still possible to make it happen

. ,” he added.

“And I think voters deserve to have that information.

Schiff and other committee members say the Justice Department was too slow to focus on Trump’s role, while the committee quickly focused its investigation on Trump and the operation of Vice President Mike To have Pence thrown out. to deny Biden the Oval Office.

“This was the first time Congress was this far ahead of the department, and given how slowly we’re getting here, there was no reason for that,” Schiff said.

He said

while

it appears that the Justice Department wanted to restore its independent reputation and not get involved in controversy

,

i

t. However

,

has postponed accountability for a year, a year and a half. And so the matter could have been settled by now.

shaper

G.O.P

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), vice chairwoman of the select committee, called Trump’s legal action “a delaying tactic.”

“It cannot be that a president of the United States can try to overturn an election and seize power and our justice system is unable to hold a trial, hold him accountable before the next election,” he said. them against a crowd. last week at Drake University in Iowa.

3/27

Lofgren said it would be best if the federal process were completed before the election, “so that American voters would know whether they were voting for a convicted felon or not.”

Trump also faces election racketeering charges in Fulton County, Georgia, along with a group of co-defendants. That trial has not yet been scheduled, and the size of the case and the number of co-defendants could mean it won’t take place before November.

Committee member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) was still optimistic that one of the election interference cases could be resolved before the election.

“I have faith in the American people and

…I have confidence

in American democracy. So it’s far from over, Raskin said.

Meanwhile, a Republican investigation in the House of Representatives into the causes of the January 6 insurrection is underway to move away from the narrative that Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol. The House Board

From the Commission

supervision

panel

is expected to hold several hearings before the election, and recently released a report opposing the Democrat

ic

-led select committee focus on Trump.

Lots of new things

research

has focused on whether the select committee had hidden information that could have exonerated Trump. Republicans in the House of Representatives have repeatedly claimed that information, such as some transcripts,

is

missing.

Cheney has

claimed

that Trump’s legal team had all of the select committee’s transcripts, including those the committee has been forced to return to the White House and Secret Service since August 2023.

Cheney

must go to jail with the rest of the Unselect Committee! Trump posted this on social media on March 17.

Cheney replied the same day: “

L

Writing in all caps doesn’t make it true, Donald. You know that you and your lawyers have had the evidence for a long time.”

Trump has previously referred to luring his political enemies in increasingly authoritarian rhetoric. In August, conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck asked Trump on his BlazeTV show: Do you regret not locking down? [Clinton] upwards? And when you are president again, are you going to lock people up?

Trump said: The answer is you have no choice, because they’re doing it to us.

It’s the kind of talk that Rep. Peter Aguilar (D-Redlands), who served on the Jan. 6 committee, answered “yes” when asked

or

he is preparing for the possibility that Trump will follow through on threats to punish political rivals.

Aguilar was unwilling to provide details, saying only that “we all need to be prepared for what Donald Trump might do if he is ever blamed.”

guard

power again.”