The House Select Committee responsible for investigating the events leading up to the unprecedented Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot on Wednesday said that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that former U.S. President Donald Trump was part of a "criminal conspiracy."
The statement alleges that the Republican businessman and his allies conspired to commit fraud and obstruction by misleading Americans about the results of the 2020 election. The panel also claims that the former president tried to overturn the results in his favor.
Trump's "Criminal Conspiracy"
The committee's lawyers laid out their theory of a potential criminal case against the former president in a court filing in a civil case in California. The legal experts said that evidence pointed to Trump, conservative lawyer John Eastman, and many of the Republican's allies could be charged with obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the American people.
The filing also claims that the individuals involved may have broken a common-law statute against fraud through the former president's repeated lies that the election was stolen from him. The committee's filing disclosed only limited new evidence and they asked the judge in the civil case to review the relevant material behind closed doors, as per the New York Times.
No federal or state prosecutor has accused Eastman and Trump of any crime and they have not charged any top advisers around the former president for Jan. 6-related crimes. While the White House does not have the ability to bring criminal charges, it pointed to Trump's actions to overturn the elections.
Lawyers for the House said that the former president called and met with several state officials, multiple times with Department of Justice officials, tweeted and spoke about the issues publicly, and engaged in a personal campaign to persuade the public of widespread voter fraud.
According to CNN, the document claimed that evidence supported the accusation that Trump and members of his campaign were aware he did not win the 2020 election. Nevertheless, they continued to use then-Vice President Mike Pence to manipulate the results.
Another Legal Battle
The situation comes as Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Don Jr., are fighting another legal battle with New York Attorney General Letitia James. They are trying to avoid testifying in the AG's investigation into the Trump Organization that has been given a deadline of next week by a Manhattan judge.
Trump's lawyers have filed to appeal the judge's order, which could delay testimony for several months. One of the former president's lawyers, Ron Fischetti, said that the Republican businessman and his two children will not be testifying by Mar. 10. He argued that no one believed they were going to testify by that date.
Fischetti said that Trump's legal team was working on filing an appeal and requesting for a stay, saying that such a process was "routine." He added that the former president's notice of appeal, and his request for a stay of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's compliance order, will be filed with the state's appellate division early next week, Business Insider reported.
Related Article:
Ketanji Brown Jackson Meets With Senators on Her Way To Face Senate Confirmation Hearing on Mar. 21
