US House panel investigating Capitol riot releases final report

WASHINGTON -- The US House select committee investigating the Capitol riot released its final report late Thursday night.

The 845-page report listed a series of specific findings after 18 months of investigation, a process interpreted sharply along party and ideological lines in the United States.

The committee said Donald Trump, then US president, refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, in which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

"Rather than honor his constitutional obligation to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed,' President Trump instead plotted to overturn the election outcome," the findings read.

The report was released three days after the House panel referred Trump to the Department of Justice for four criminal charges, including inciting an insurrection.

The criminal referrals are not legally binding, and it is up to the Department of Justice to decide whether to pursue charges, according to US legal pundits.

The Department of Justice is running its own probe into the Capitol riot, which broke out on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump's supporters disrupted a joint session of Congress to affirm Biden's victory.

Trump, who launched a third bid for the White House last month, has repeatedly lashed out at the Jan. 6 committee and described the investigation and other inquiries related to him as politically motivated.