Donald Trump's Niece Says Ex-President May Feel 'Walls Close in' Over Capitol Riot Probe

On Thursday, US media outlets reported that a number of Democratic lawmakers are considering using the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution to stop former President Trump from holding office again in light of the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.

Mary Trump, the niece of the 45th US president has claimed that her uncle may feel pressure from the 6 January House Select Committee not ruling out that they will conclude the ex-POTUS committed a crime during last year's Capitol riot.

"I don't want to overstate this, because we've seen Donald get away with so much, but even he at this point must be feeling the walls close in. If he has any sense, he would feel that way", she told the US broadcaster MSNBC.

She said that she believes the committee investigating the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot is doing "an extraordinary job of putting the pieces together".

"There's no doubt in my mind, if they are discussing making such a referral [to prosecutors at the Department of Justice], they have everything nailed down", Trump's niece said.

The 56-year-old referred to Republican Liz Cheney, vice chair of the 6 January House Select Committee, telling CNN earlier on Thursday that the panel does not exclude the possibility of concluding that the actions of former President Donald Trump and some of his associates during the Capitol riot constituted a crime.

Mary Trump also slammed her uncle over his remarks related to the anniversary of the Capitol siege, in which he accused Democrats of using the occasion to "stoke fears and divide America".

"Almost everything Donald says recently is some form of projection or another, which suggests there is some level of knowledge about his own guilt here", she asserted.

Mary Trump is known for being an outspoken critic of her uncle. Last year, she dubbed him a "fascist" and - on a separate occasion - a "loser".

Her latest comments came after President Joe Biden accused his predecessor of trying to thwart a peaceful transfer of power in the US a year ago by hesitating to calm the storming mob and saying lies about the "rigged" 2020 US election.

Trump, who cancelled his planned press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, instead released a statement criticising Democrats for trying to exploit the events of 6 January 2021 for political gain.

“Biden, who is destroying our nation with insane policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates, and devastating school closures, used my name today to try to further divide America”, the former president argued.

In a separate development on Thursday, The Hill reported that a host of Democratic lawmakers, pro-democracy activists, and scholars "have been quietly exploring" the possibility of using Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution to disqualify former President Trump from holding office again in light of the Capitol riot.

On 6 January 2021, at least five people died after hundreds of Trump supporters broke through Capitol security in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying the results of what the 45th president described as "the most corrupt" elections in US history.

Trump used his now permanently banned Twitter account to later urge his supporters "to go home". He was then impeached for an unprecedented second time over "incitement of insurrection", but managed to evade conviction in the Senate.