DC Attorney General investigates whether he can charge Trump with inciting violence for urging MAGA mob to march towards Capitol prior to siege
The District of Columbia's Attorney General is considering potentially charging President Trump and others for inciting violence in the speeches they gave to MAGA supporters prior to the US Capitol siege.
AG Karl Racine said his office is investigating last week's breach of the Capitol and is weighing whether he could bring charges against Trump and others, including his son Don Jr. and lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
'I'm looking at a charge under the DC Code of inciting violence and that would apply where there's a clear recognition that one's incitement could lead to foreseeable violence,' Racine told MSNBC on Monday.
He noted that the Justice Department has already said they can't bring charges against a president.
District of Columbia's Attorney General Karl Racine said his office is investigating last week's breach of the Capitol and is weighing whether he could bring charges against Trump and others, including his son Don Jr. and lawyer Rudy Giuliani
Racine is looking at whether that still applies once Trump is out of office.
'As it turns out the president has about nine days left of office and, of course, the investigation is going to go on for more than nine days,' Racine said.
'It will be another legal question as to whether the president can be prosecuted after his term of office. I think the better weight of authority answers that question affirmatively.'
Racine described the comments made by Trump, his son and Giuliani during the crowded Save America Rally that directly preceded the Capitol riot were 'outrageous'.
The trio were among those to give speeches to the raucous crowd of Trump supporters right before they stormed and overran the Capitol building.
'Those were outrageous comments that those individuals, including the President of the United States made,' Racine said.
Racine described the comments made by Trump , his son and Giuliani during the crowded Save America Rally that directly preceded the Capitol riot were 'outrageous'
'Clearly the crowd was hyped up, juiced up, focused on the Capitol and rather than calm then down or at least emphasize the peaceful nature of what protests need to be, they really did encourage these folks and riled them up.'
Trump used his speech to rail against the election and called the vote in Congress to certify Joe Biden's election results an 'egregious assault on our democracy'.
He urged his supporters to 'walk down to the Capitol' in a 'Save America March'. Trump had promised to march with his supporters but didn't actually go with them.
Meanwhile Giuliani had called for 'trial by combat' and Don Jr., like his father, urged MAGA supporters to fight.
Racine has denied that he is specifically targeting Trump.
'I'm not targeting the president or anyone else... we're going to follow the facts and go exactly where the facts lead,' he said.
It comes after Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin said last week that he was going to investigate all 'bad actors' and the New York State Bar Association considered removing Giuliani for telling the crowd to use 'trial by combat'.
Trump had urged his supporters to 'walk down to the Capitol' in a 'Save America March'. Trump had promised to march with his supporters but didn't actually go with them. They ended up breaching the Capitol