Capitol hill riots:Trump slams inquiry as 'Kangaroo Court'

Former US president Donald Trump on Monday blasted the congressional probe into the riot by his supporters last year at the US Capitol as a "mockery of justice". In a rambling, 12-page missive, Trump said that instead of focusing on the country's larger problems, the Democratic-led panel was "a Kangaroo Court, hoping to distract the American people from the great pain they are experiencing. "Seventeen months after the events of January 6th, Democrats are unable to offer solutions," Trump, a Republican, said in a statement released through his Save America PAC. "The truth is that Americans showed up in Washington, DC in massive numbers... on January 6th, 2021, to hold their elected officials accountable for the obvious signs of criminal activity throughout the Election," Trump added.

"They are desperate to change the narrative of a failing nation, without even making mention of the havoc and death caused by the Radical Left just months earlier," he continued, alluding to the rioting that erupted during US racial justice protests over the summer of 2020. Trump accused the "unselect pseudo-committee" of treason, referring to the Democratic-led House of Representatives select committee that has been conducting the inquiry for the past year. Trump labelled the current president as "Basement Biden". "Our country is in a nosedive," he concluded, dismissing the congressional inquiry as a pretext to prevent him running again for the presidency in 2024.

It came after the committee held two public hearings accusing  Trump of an attempted coup to remain in power. The panel on Monday detailed evidence of divisions among Trump aides over whether to accept his election loss. Supporters of Trump stormed Congress on 6 January 2021 in a bid to thwart certification of Joe Biden's election victory. A separate ongoing criminal investigation has led to more than 800 arrests in nearly every state.