Jan. 6 committee unveils criminal referrals against Trump

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol unveiled criminal referrals on Monday targeting former President Trump, recommending that the Department of Justice investigate the ex-president for inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement and obstruction of an official proceeding.

The referrals mark the culmination of the committee’s 18-month probe of the Jan. 6 attack and the role Trump played before, during and after the riot. They are a crescendo in the panel’s central case that Trump was at the center of a conspiracy to keep himself in power.

Investigators on the committee said they decided on criminal referrals against Trump based on sufficient evidence showing that he violated various statutes: inciting, assisting, or aiding and comforting an insurrection; obstructing an official proceeding; conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to make a false statement; and other conspiracy statutes.

The recommendations themselves, however, are largely symbolic, as the Department of Justice is not required to look into referrals from congressional committees. They also come as the agency is conducting its own investigation into the Capitol riot that was recently put under the purview of an independent special counsel.

But the referrals nonetheless mark a significant escalation in the political fight between the committee and Trump, especially as the former president wages his third bid for the White House.

The Justice Department will now have to decide whether it wants to pursue any prosecution based on the panel’s recommendations. It is unclear how the agency will proceed.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the panel, said he believes evidence exists for Trump to be prosecuted.

“I think that the evidence is there that Donald Trump committed criminal offenses in connection with his efforts to overturn the election,” Schiff, a former prosecutor, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “And viewing it as a former prosecutor, I think there's sufficient evidence to charge the president.”