A committee is a group of people subordinate to a deliberative assembly (like a parliament or board of directors) that conducts research and makes recommendations on a subject to the larger body. A committee may be temporary or permanent and can have a wide variety of functions depending on the needs of the body it is part of, such as an audit committee, an elections committee, a finance committee, or a program committee.
When a committee completes its work, it provides the results in a report to its parent body. This report includes the methods the committee used, the facts it uncovered, and the conclusions and recommendations it reached. The report is often read and voted on in the assembly, but it can also be published for anyone to read online.
The committee that investigated the alleged election interference has released its final report. It contains new details about the campaign’s efforts to interfere with the electoral process, including a plot to put forward fake slates of electors and an attempt to pressure Congress to intervene in the certification of the Electoral College votes on January 6. The report names outside legal adviser Kenneth Chesebro as the leader of the conspiracy. The committee’s investigation relied on a series of emails and phone records, which the panel obtained by successfully fighting in court.
Investigators say Trump and his team believed their claims of foreign interference in the election were true. They were even prepared to use them in fundraising pitches, but they weren’t verified before they were sent out. One such pitch, based on a false statement from Sidney Powell, the president’s former election lawyer, was widely viewed as “crazy” by White House staff, according to the committee’s report.
The report also suggests that Trump was aware of the fraudulent voter fraud allegations his campaign was pushing, but he continued to amplify them. It reveals that emails from Tom Fitton, the head of the conservative think tank Judicial Watch, show that he and other members of the committee were encouraged to promote them.
A final vote in the committee determines what action to take on the bill or resolution. The committee can decide to report it as is, to report it with extensive amendments, or to table the bill. A full list of committee votes can be found here.