WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol is expected to vote Monday to urge the Justice Department to take the unprecedented step of pursuing several potential criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, including insurrection.
The referral of a former president to the Justice Department for criminal charges would be a first in American history. In addition to recommending Trump’s prosecution for insurrection, the committee is expected to vote on at least two other charges against the former president: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The committee’s 18-month investigation and nine public hearings placed Trump at the center of the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to assemble a mob he directed to Capitol Hill to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.
“I think that the evidence is there that Donald Trump committed criminal offenses in connection with his efforts to overturn the election. And viewing it as a former prosecutor, I think there’s sufficient evidence to charge the president,” panel member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The committee is also expected to make referrals for other people involved with the scheme to the Justice Department and other entities with the authority to punish them, including state bars and the Federal Election Commission.
The committee is expected to refer California attorney John Eastman for criminal charges. The panel has argued in court that Eastman, the architect of the legal theory that the vice president could reject certain states’ electors, which Trump attempted to use, most likely violated two federal laws: obstructing an official act of Congress and defrauding the American public. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who is based in Santa Ana, California, concluded that Trump and Eastman likely conspired to overturn the election, an act which the judge described as “a coup in search of a legal theory.”
Republican lawmakers who didn’t comply with committee subpoenas may also be referred to the House Ethics Committee. It is unlikely that panel would take up the referrals with just weeks left before Republicans take control of the House.
“Censure was something that we have considered,” Schiff said. “Ethics referrals is something we have considered.”
Though the committee referrals do not carry legal weight or compel any action by special counsel Jack Smith, who is conducting his own wide-ranging investigation, they signal that the congressional committee believes it has evidence that crimes were committed.
Four committee members who are also attorneys — Schiff and Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md. — were tasked with determining who to refer for potential prosecution by the Justice Department or punishment by other entities.
Monday’s hearing is also likely to include a preview of the committee’s final report, which is expected to be released in full Wednesday. Raw evidence, transcripts and appendices are slated to be released by the end of the year.
