January 6 committee recommends criminal charges against Donald Trump

Published

2 years ago

December 19, 2022

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The committee investigating the January 6 storming of the US Capitol is recommending criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

They include conspiracy to defraud the United States; obstructing an official proceeding (the certification of Joe Biden‘s election victory); conspiracy to make a false statement and inciting or assisting an insurrection.

The recommendation is mainly symbolic – with the US Justice Department responsible for deciding whether or not to prosecute Mr Trump.

But committee chair, Bernie Thompson, said: “We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide the road map to justice.”

A number of recommendations are made in the final report, which accuses Mr Trump of engaging in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the election.

Mr Thompson said “accountability” is the most important focus.

“We will also show that evidence we’ve gathered points to further action beyond the power of this committee or the congress to help ensure accountability in the law,” he said.

“Accountability that can only be found in the criminal justice system.”

Mr Thompson also criticised Mr Trump for “breaking” faith in the democratic system, telling the committee: “If we are to survive as a nation of laws and democracy, this can never happen again.”

Describing Mr Trump’s behaviour on the day of the riots, vice chair Liz Cheney said: “In addition to being unlawful… this was an utter moral failure and a clear dereliction of duty.

“Evidence of this can be seen in the testimony of President Trump’s own White House counsel and several other White House witnesses.

“No man who would behave that way, at that moment in time, can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again.

“He is unfit for any office.”

Ms Cheney said the committee’s work is only at the beginning, describing it as an “initial step” in addressing Mr Trump’s “efforts to remain in office illegally”.

Prosecutors are now considering the implications of the conduct described in the committee’s report, Ms Cheney added.

Trump’s daughter ‘not forthcoming’

Mr Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, a White House advisor during her father’s tenure, apparently knew more than she was prepared to divulge, the committee believes.

The executive summary of the report said Ms Trump was “not as forthcoming” as other aides, including then-White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, about the former President’s conduct.

The committee accused her of showing a “lack of full recollection of certain issues”.

Portions of former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s testimony “seemed evasive” and did not seem as forthright as other press office staff, the committee said.

Ex-Trump advisor, Hope Hicks, was also accused of not being forthcoming when grilled about whether she told the president he needed to encourage supporters to be peaceful.

‘A big scam’

Mr Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, claimed voting machines had flipped votes to President Biden.

However, the committee report alleges that Mr Giuliani admitted during his deposition: “I do not think the machines stole the election”.

Other Trump lawyers and supporters invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination when asked to show proof they found the election was stolen.

The committee panel said: “Not one of them provided evidence raising genuine questions about the election outcome.

“In short, it was a big scam”.

Trump ‘tried to contact witnesses’

The committee said it was aware of “multiple efforts” by Mr Trump to contact unnamed witnesses during the probe, with the Department of Justice made aware of at least one incident.

Some witnesses were also described as “unnecessarily combative” while testifying, with some failing to be credible when pleading ignorance of certain circumstances – in particular those whose jobs or income were linked to Trump-affiliated organisations.

Mr Trump has already launched a campaign to seek the Republican nomination for a second run in the White House in 2024.

Making an address from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said: “America’s comeback starts right now.”

He announced his leadership bid in November despite facing a number of investigations into the riot, which claimed the lives of five people including a police officer.

Mr Trump is said to have watched the violence unfolding on television in the White House dining room instead of intervening as supporters stormed Congress.

More than 140 police officers were injured during the disorder, which caused millions of dollars to the Capitol.

World

Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I lost my husband… I don’t want to lose her’

Published

3 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says 'I lost my husband... I don't want to lose her'

In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.

“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.

Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing

Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.

But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.

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“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.

“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”

Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.

“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.

At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.

Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.

The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.

Children are the worst affected.

Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.

Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.

Lethal spiral

Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.

Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.

It’s a lethal spiral.

“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.

“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”

“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.

“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”

Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.

The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.

Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.

World

Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station

Published

3 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Police launch 'major operation' after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station

Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.

A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.

The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.

Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.

Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Israeli embassy shooting suspect ‘fired repeatedly after victims hit the ground’

Published

18 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Israeli embassy shooting suspect 'fired repeatedly after victims hit the ground'

The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.

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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.

It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.

Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.

‘I did it for Gaza’

It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.

Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.

The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.

The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.

The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.

According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.

He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”

Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest

The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.

An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.

The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.

Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.

The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.

Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.

Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.

During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.

He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.

He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.

He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.

Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’

Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.

Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.

“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.

He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.

“They were perfect for each other, he said.

Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”