Former President Donald Trump scoffed Monday at the Jan. 6 committee’s referral of four criminal charges against him over his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying “what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
“These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me. It strengthens me,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.
He said Democrats on the committee recommended that the Justice Department charge him with crimes because they want to stop his campaign for president in 2024.
“The people understand that the Democratic Bureau of Investigation, the DBI, are out to keep me from running for president because they know I’ll win and that this whole business of prosecuting me is just like impeachment was — a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party,” he said.
He compared the “fake charges” by the committee to his second impeachment, which ended with the Senate failing to obtain enough votes to convict him.
“I WON convincingly. Double Jeopardy anyone!” Mr. Trump said.
The former president also claimed that he “pushed for 20,000 troops to prevent violence on Jan 6, and that I went on television and told everyone to go home.”
While Mr. Trump was involved in discussions before Jan. 6 about the National Guard response, he did not issue any orders for troops before or during the rioting, deferring to reluctant Capitol Hill Democrats and D.C. city officials.
The committee voted unanimously Monday to refer four charges to the Justice Department for prosecution: inciting the attack on the Capitol, obstructing an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the government, and making false statements on fake presidential electors.
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