Former US President Donald Trump has blasted the congressional inquiry into the Capitol riot as a “Kangaroo Court”.
In a 12-page statement, he said the investigation was designed to distract Americans from the “disaster” of Democratic-led governance.
It came after the committee held two public hearings accusing Mr Trump of an attempted coup to remain in power.
The panel on Monday detailed evidence of divisions among Trump aides over whether to accept his election loss.
Supporters of Mr Trump stormed Congress on January 6, 2021 in a bid to thwart certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. A separate ongoing criminal investigation has led to more than 800 arrests in nearly every state.
“Seventeen months after the events of January 6th, Democrats are unable to offer solutions,” Mr Trump, a Republican, said in a statement released through his Save America PAC.
“They are desperate to change the narrative of a failing nationwithout even making mention of the havoc and death caused by the Radical Left just months earlier,” he continued, alluding to the rioting that erupted during US racial justice protests over the summer of 2020.
“Make no mistake, they control the government. They own this disaster. They are hoping that these hearings will somehow alter their failing prospects.”
Mr Trump accused the “unselect pseudo-committee” of treason, referring to the Democratic-led House of Representatives select committee that has been conducting the inquiry for the past year.
For much of the statement, Mr Trump reiterated his unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud. A handful of such cases, representing a tiny number of ballots overall, have been prosecuted since the November 2020 election, but nothing on any scale could have tipped the election either way.
Mr Trump labelled the current president as “Basement Biden”. “Our country is in a nosedive,” he concluded, dismissing the congressional inquiry as a pretext to prevent him from running again for the presidency in 2024.
Earlier on Monday, the House committee was shown video testimony on its second day of public hearings from former campaign manager, Bill Stepien, who said the aides had split into two teams after the election.
He described a “team normal” of those who accepted the results of the election, and “Rudy’s team”, who followed the claims of election fraud peddled by Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. -BBC
