MATERIALS IN SUPPORT OF H. RES. 24, IMPEACHING DONALD JOHN TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
REPORT BY THE MAJORITY STAFF OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
Prepared for Chairman Jerrold Nadler
U.S.
UNITED STATES JANUARY 2021 Majority Staff
Amy Rutkin, Chief of Staff Perry Apelbaum , Staff Director and Chief Counsel John Doty, Senior Advisor AaronHiller, Deputy ChiefCounsel David Greengrass , Senior Counsel John Williams, Parliamentarian and Senior Counsel ShadawnReddick-Smith, CommunicationsDirector Moh Sharma, Directorof MemberServices and Outreach & Policy Advisor Arya Hariharan, Deputy ChiefOversightCounsel James Park, ChiefCounselofConstitutionSubcommittee Sarah Istel, Counsel Matthew Morgan, Counsel Madeline Strasser, Chief Clerk William S. Emmons, Legislative Aide Priyanka Mara, Legislative Aide Anthony Valdez, Legislative Aide Jessica Presley , Director of Digital Strategy Kayla Hamedi, Deputy Press Secretary MATERIALS IN SUPPORT OF H. RES. 24 , IMPEACHING DONALD JOHN TRUMP , PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
HOUSEJUDICIARYCOMMITTEE
MAJORITYSTAFFREPORT
JANUARY 12, 2021
INTRODUCTION 2 FactualBackground 4 A. Conduct Leading Up to January 6, 2021 4 B. The January 6, 2021 “Save America Rally ” 8 C. The Attack on the Capitol 11 D. President Trump’s Response to the Insurrection... 15 E. The Events of January 6th Were a Result of and Incitedby the President's Course of Conduct..... 18 II. The Need for the House to Impeach President Trump 21 A. Standards for Impeachment . 21 B. Application of Impeachment Standards to President Trump's Conduct ...... 22 1. The Article ofImpeachmentCharges an ImpeachableOffense 22 2. President Trump Committed the Charged Impeachable Offense.. 26 3. President Trump's Conduct Harmed Core National Interests ... 31 The Irrelevance of the Criminal Code and the Brandenburg Test III The Need for ImmediateConsideration of Impeachment...... A. ImminentThreat to the United States..... 37
1. President Trump Failed to Protect the Capitol, the Vice President and Members of Congress During the Joint Session ofCongress 37 2. President Trump Has Demonstrated No Remorse Since January 6th 40 3. President Trump's Actions Are Consistent with His Past Pattern of Undermining the Public Peace and Orderly Operation of Democracy 44 B. The Need to EstablishPrecedentThat Such Conductby a PresidentIs Unconstitutional and Contrary to Our Democratic Values CONCLUSION . 50
APPENDIX .... 51 INTRODUCTION
The Constitution grants the House of Representatives the sole Power of Impeachment ,” not merely as a safeguard for the nation between elections , but also in cases where the removal of the President is urgent and necessary to preserve the security of the constitutional order . The House must invoke this power now to impeach President Trump for inciting an insurrection on January 6,2021. President Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors when heurged his supporters to storm the United States Capitol Building and then failed to stop the ensuing violence . His actions marked the culmination of an extensive and unprecedented effort to overturn the results of the presidential election .
As allegedin the ArticleofImpeachmentanddescribedin this report, PresidentTrumphas acted in a manner grossly incompatiblewith self-governance and the rule of law . His continued hold on the Officeofthe Presidency, even for only a few more days, representsa clear andpresent danger to the UnitedStates.
President Trump has engaged in a prolonged effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and maintain his grip on power . He has spent months spreading disinformation about the results falsely claiming that he “ won by a landslide,” that the election was being “ stolen ,” and that the reported results are somehow fraudulent . He has stated that it would be illegitimate to accept the results of the election as certified by state officials and upheld by state and federal courts, and he has implied that accepting those results would pose an existential threat to the country, its democracy , and the freedoms of his political supporters . He has directly threatened government officials to find ” lost votes or face criminal penalties , encouraged his own Vice President to unlawfully overturn the election results and, ultimately , incited his supporters to take violent action and prevent the counting of the election results .
President Trump invited his political supporters to Washington , D.C. on January 6 , 2021, the day fixed by law for the counting of electoral votes . The crowd that gathered in Ellipse that morning was large, angry , and widely reported to be preparing for violent action. At that rally, the President delivered an incendiary speech to his supporters. Among other statements , President Trump reiterated false claims that “ we won this election , and we won it by a landslide.” He stated that “ if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore .” And then he exhorted his supporters to “ walk down Pennsylvania Avenue” to prevent the Congress from