January 6 Committee Recommends Criminal Prosecution Of Donald Trump On Four Counts

The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol referred Donald Trump to the Justice Department, asking for criminal charges to be brought on four alleged crimes. 

The committee recommended criminal complaints against Trump for inciting insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an act of Congress.

The referral against Trump is a significant escalation for the bipartisan committee as it attempts to implicate a former President and current Presidential candidate. 

“The whole purpose and obvious effect of Trump’s scheme were to obstruct, influence and impede this official proceeding, the central moment for the lawful transfer of power in the United States,” committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin said. 

The committee also suggested charges for five other Trump officials – Rudy Giuliani, Jeffrey Clark, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro and Mark Meadows.

They also referred for punishment to the House Ethics Committee four Republican representatives who refused to cooperate with the investigation – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (California) and Reps. Andy Biggs (Arizona), Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Scott Perry (Pennsylvania). 

The referrals are mainly symbolic, as the Justice Department does not need to take any legal action based on Congressional referrals. The symbolism does send a powerful message that some Republicans and Democrats are willing to hold Trump accountable for January 6.

The findings were released Monday as the committee submitted its final report on its investigation of the Capitol riot. The summary categorized 17 specific results, 15 of which centered on Trump’s involvement in the insurrection. 

“None of the events of Jan. 6th would have happened without him,” the report said. 

The report illustrates how Trump repeated election lies, sowing the violence that killed two Capitol police officers and three rioters. It also implicates the people around Trump, whose inaction enabled the riot. 

“With painstaking detail, this executive summary documents the sinister plot to subvert the Congress, shred the Constitution and halt the peaceful transfer of power,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. 

The committee also backed legislative recommendations, including an endorsement of revisions to the Electoral Count Act. 

The Justice Department has not yet commented on the referral.