According to a source familiar with the situation, the House select committee investigating the events of January 6, 2021, is expected to announce that it will refer at least three criminal charges against former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department. These charges include insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the federal government.
According to the source, the committee’s conclusions may include further accusations proposed against Trump. At a committee meeting on Monday, the referral recommendations will be presented, and the final report will provide reasoning from the panel’s investigation for recommending the charges.
It is not yet apparent what effect the referrals from the House could have because the special counsel inquiry being conducted by the Department of Justice is already looking into Trump as part of its comprehensive examination into January 6.
But the committee chairman, Bennie Thompson, informed reporters that the panel might issue five to six other categories of recommendations in addition to criminal referrals. These referrals could include ethical referrals to the House Ethics Committee, bar discipline referrals, and campaign finance referrals.
The allegations that the select committee made against Trump and his elections attorney John Eastman in a previous court proceeding seeking Eastman’s emails are identical to the charging recommendations currently under consideration for being charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the federal government.
According to the court proceeding, a judge had sided with the House and decided it had the right to access Eastman’s emails regarding his work for Trump’s 2020 election campaign. This was because the judge believed Eastman and Trump were likely planning to defraud the United States and engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct Congress.
The Guardian was the first publication to break the news that the committee was investigating the allegations. A spokesperson for Donald Trump named Steven Cheung issued a statement in which he referred to the committee as a “kangaroo court” and claimed that it held “show trials by Never Trump partisans who are a stain on this country’s history.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a committee member, explained on Friday to CNN’s Jake Tapper that the group has “been extremely diligent in formulating these recommendations and anchoring them to the facts that we’ve unearthed.”
“We spent a huge amount of time not just on what the code sections are and the bottom line recommendation, but the facts,” a Democrat from California stated on “The Lead,” adding, “I think it’s essential when we discuss whatever it is we are going to do, and we’ll have a vote on it, that people understand the facts that are behind the conclusions we reach.”
When charging suspects in connection with the attack on the US Capitol, the Justice Department has focused chiefly on criminal crimes relating to the violence, including for impeding a legislative proceeding and, in some limited circumstances, for seditious conspiracy.
According to Thompson, the committee will convene its last public meeting on Monday, and the panel’s full report will be made public on Wednesday. The Democrat from Mississippi stated that the board would vote on and approve its final report on Monday and make pronouncements regarding criminal referrals to the Justice Department; however, the information will not be made public until two days later.
According to multiple sources, CNN reported that the panel has also considered filing criminal referrals against a number of Trump’s closest allies. These allies include Eastman, the former chief of staff at the White House, Mark Meadows; a former official at the Justice Department, Jeffrey Clark; and Trump’s former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Another source warned that while names were being considered, there was still discussion to be had before names were approved. Even though words were being considered.
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