Capitol riots panel says Republicans, family did not believe Trump's election fraud claims

It was a stormy day for ex-US President Donald Trump as the committee investigating the Capitol attack found that several of his Republican ministers and even his family had rejected his claims of 2020 election fraud. Despite facing objections from nearly all flanks, the committee said that Trump contended that his "bogus" claims were "true", the committee investigating the January 6, Capitol attack was told on Monday. During the testimony held on June 13, the committee revealed how the former President laid out steps to malign the democratic structure of the country.

It claimed that Trump had even ignored his own campaign team’s data that flaunted the victory of the Democratic Party candidate and now US President Joe Biden. The committee said despite the team illustrating a number of assertions that clearly mentioned the triumph of the Democratic candidate, Trump spread his own theories on media and social media platforms. The panel said he made several conspiracy theories, court cases and his own declarations of victory rather than admitting his defeat. "He’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff," said former Attorney General William Barr, who called the voter fraud claims “bull——,” “bogus” and “idiotic,” and resigned in the aftermath. “I didn’t want to be a part of it.”

Here are some social media posts of Trump claiming election fraud:

In a major revelation, the committee noted that Trump's statements were "big lies" related to election fraud and added it eventually escalated and transformed his supporters to storm the Capitol building. Trump's former campaign manager Bill Stepien, in a pre-recorded message, described how the 45th US President was unhappy and refused to accept the reality on the election night.  The panel also provided details about how Trump’s fundraising machine managed some $250 million with his campaigns to “Stop the Steal” and others in the aftermath of the November election. One plea for cash went out 30 minutes before January 6, 2021, insurrection. "Not only was there the big lie, but there was also the big ripoff," said Republican Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

What happened on January 6?

It is worth mentioning the United States had witnessed a black day for democracy as a group of supporters of the former President attacked the US Capitol following the victory of Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. The protestors entered the US Capitol in a bid to protest the lawmakers from certifying the 2020 election results from several states, which Trump said were fraudulent. One protester was shot dead during the incident and, the law enforcement authorities charged over 700 people for engaging in the riots.

Image: AP