Letters to the Editor: The Jan. 6 committee can’t let itself be turned into another Mueller report

To the editor: I think it would be a huge mistake for the House Jan. 6 committee not to recommend that the U.S. Department of Justice file criminal charges against those responsible for the insurrection. (“How I learned to stop worrying and love the Jan. 6 committee,” Opinion, June 14)

Refusing to recommend charges raises the question of why so much time and money were spent investigating this. Some say the purpose of the committee is to inform people about the facts of what happened. That’s fine, but does anyone really think former President Trump’s far-right followers will change their minds?

Remember the Mueller report? Failing to recommend charges will just allow Republicans to run with the argument that Trump did nothing wrong.

I urge Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and the rest of the committee to consider the overall implication of simply telling the factual story of the insurrection and Trump’s involvement without taking the crucial step of urging the Justice Department to make a criminal inquiry.

Marlene Bronson, Los Angeles

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To the editor: The second Jan. 6 hearing focused on Trump’s refusal to let go of fraud claims. Former Atty. Gen. William Barr testified that Trump became “detached from reality” after he lost the 2020 election. Testimony and evidence detailed that Trump had no interest in actual facts.

After the election, Trump was obviously in crisis, and the descriptions of his behavior are consistent with someone who was psychologically decompensating and not able to uphold his constitutional oath of office. What more evidence do we need that he is not fit to run for any public office?

If not prosecuted by the Justice Department, at the very least Trump should be prevented from running for president again.

Eduardo Escobar, Glendale