WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee is considering criminal referrals against former President Donald Trump, his chief of staff Mark Meadows and at least three other key allies involved in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Those referrals are being suggested by a subcommittee of the panel and have not officially been approved by the full committee. They also include unofficial former Trump legal adviser John Eastman, Trump’s former lawyer and ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark.
The person, who asked not to be identified discussing information not yet made public by the panel, did not specify what criminal counts would be referred against Trump and the other four. It was also unclear whether others might also be targeted for referrals.
CNN earlier reported on the potential referrals.
Such a referral would be just that — recommendations that are not legally binding on the Department of Justice or other agencies to follow through.
The committee had already claimed in a legal filing in March in federal court in Santa Ana, California, that “evidence and information available to the committee establishes a good-faith belief that Mr. Trump and others may have engaged in criminal and/or fraudulent acts” and that Eastman’s “legal assistance was used in furtherance of those activities.”
—With assistance from Mike Dorning.
