The Jan. 6 Committee, responsible for investigating the events of the Capitol Hill riot, is considering filing criminal referrals to the Justice Department against former President Donald Trump during its final public meeting on Monday.
A criminal referral represents a recommendation that the Justice Department should investigate and consider charging the individuals in question. The committee's final report, which will be released on Wednesday, will provide justification for the panel's long-running investigation for recommending the charges.
Criminal Referrals Against Donald Trump
However, any move by the Jan. 6 panel to approve a criminal referral would be largely symbolic since a referral does not obligate federal prosecutors to bring such a case against the individual/s in question.
Currently, the federal investigation is being led by special counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department's investigators appear to be already looking at much of the conduct that the House Select Committee has highlighted, as per CNN.
But the question of whether the Justice Department brings criminal charges will be based on the facts and the evidence that support a potential prosecution said Attorney-General Merrick Garland. Ultimately, it would be the attorney general that would make the final call on the charging decisions.
On top of the criminal referrals, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the chair of the select committee, said that the panel could issue five to six other categories of referrals. These include ethics referrals to the House Ethics Committee, bar discipline referrals, and campaign finance referrals.
According to The Hill, on top of the potential referrals against Trump, a member of the select committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said that the panel would be considering the appropriate solution for Congress members who ignore a congressional subpoena.
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Capitol Hill Riot Investigation
He said that the committee had considered censure and ethics referrals for the lawmakers that were found to have conducted such acts. The remarks come after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his fellow GOP Reps. Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Mo Brooks all ignored subpoenas from the committee and may face such ethics referrals.
A decision from the panel is expected to be disclosed on Monday when the committee meets for a potential vote on Trump's criminal referrals. In an open letter, more than 30 former House lawmakers called for ethics investigations into lawmakers "who played a role" in the Capitol Hill riot and the run-up to the unprecedented incident.
The committee is considering insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the United States for criminal referrals against the former president. While the panel's deliberations continued through late Friday, no final decision was made for the referrals to the Justice Department.
The decision to file criminal referrals against Trump does not come as a surprise as committee vice chair Liz Cheney has, for months, hinted at sending the Justice Department such referrals based on the extensive evidence that the panel has gathered since it was first formed in July 2021 following the horrific events of the Capitol Hill riot, the Associated Press reported.
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