Trump is finally being held to account for Capitol Hill riots

The work of the January 6 committee proves that presidents don’t exist beyond the reach of the law — even if they are powerful and wealthy, writes Timothy L O’Brien

An image with information about the criminal referral of former president Donald Trump to the Department of Justice is displayed as the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol holds its final meeting on Monday. Picture: Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool Photo via AP

Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who may have torched her own political career by upholding the rule of law and the Constitution, didn’t hesitate during a January 6 committee hearing last autumn to identify the primary force behind the 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol.

“The central cause of January 6 was one man: Donald Trump,” she pointed out. “Our nation cannot only punish the foot soldiers who stormed our Capitol. Those who planned to overturn our election, and brought us to the point of violence, must also be accountable.”