Trump calls Jan. 6 panel members ‘Thugs and Scoundrels’ ahead of Monday hearing

Former President Trump on Sunday slammed lawmakers on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, calling them “Thugs and Scoundrels” as the panel prepares for a final public hearing and report this week.

The panel has also expected to issue symbolic criminal referrals on Monday, with multiple members arguing there is plenty of evidence that Trump is guilty of crimes.

“Republicans and Patriots all over the land must stand strong and united against the Thugs and Scoundrels of the Unselect Committee,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “It will be a dark period in American history, but with darkness comes light!!!”

The House panel, which investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election for more than a year, will hold a final public hearing on Monday before releasing a report Wednesday on what led up to the Jan. 6 attack.

Its criminal referrals would not be binding but could increase pressure on the the Department of Justice (DOJ) to indict Trump or others in his orbit. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel last month to oversee the ongoing probe into the role of Trump and his allies in the Capitol attack.

Trump, who has repeatedly called the House probe a witch hunt, did not specifically reference the expected criminal referrals or final report in a series of Truth Social posts on Sunday, attacking the committee and its mostly Democratic members.

“These thugs spied on my campaign!” the former president wrote in all caps. “The Unselect Committee of political hacks are the same group that came up with the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX, not to mention many others. They are Corrupt cowards who hate our Country!!!” he wrote.

Trump continues to claim the 2020 election was stolen and insists he did nothing wrong on Jan. 6, sharing on Sunday old tweets from the afternoon of Jan. 6 in which he told rioters to stay peaceful and respect law enforcement.

The House committee said Trump sat idly by and even escalated the riot that day by posting an incendiary tweet about former Vice President Mike Pence as pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of the 2020 election.

Pence was at the Capitol to certify the election is his ceremonial role as vice president.

Lawmakers also allege Trump did not make any effort to de-escalate the rioting on social media until he saw the attack was going to fail.

The former president sued last month to resist a subpoena from the House panel, which formally subpoenaed him in October after holding a series of public hearings on the Jan. 6 attack earlier this year.

Those hearings shined a light on how Trump and his allies allegedly attempted to overturn the 2020 election through pressuring state election officials and the DOJ, among other tactics.