Jan. 6 Panel Recommends Criminal Charges Against Former President Donald Trump

Unanimously, the committee recommended four criminal charges against Trump: obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the government, conspiracy to make a false statement, and inciting or assisting an insurrection.

Monday, December 19th 2022, 6:14 pm

By: Alex Cameron

WASHINGTON, D.C. -

The select House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in its final public hearing Monday, unanimously recommended the Department of Justice pursue criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in the violent attempt by his supporters to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election.

The Justice Department is, of course, already prosecuting hundreds of individuals who stormed the Capitol January 6, 2021 but the committee members said their investigation -- more than a thousand witnesses interviewed over 18 months -- has made clear those people are not the only ones with culpability in the attack.

"Ours is not a system of justice where foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and ring leaders get a free pass," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) during his opening statement Monday.

The nine-member committee, charged with investigating and reporting "upon the facts, circumstances, and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack," will release its final report to the public this week.

In Monday's hearing the committee members presented a consolidated version of its findings -- what it calls a 'roadmap to justice' for the failed effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power following Joe Biden's victory.

One by one, the members reviewed evidence and testimony showing how then-President Trump made knowingly false claims of a stolen election, riling up his base, put pressure on state elections officials, the Justice Department and his own Vice President to overturn the election, before finally calling for a mob that he knew was armed to march on the Capitol. And then did nothing to stop the violence that ensued.

"No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again." said Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the committee's Vice Chair. "He is unfit for any office."

"Depending on evidence developed by the Department of Justice," said Raskin. "The president’s actions could certainly trigger other criminal violations."

The Department of Justice is under no obligation to act on the referrals.

The committee also referred four Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the likely next Speaker of the House, to the House Ethics Committee for possible sanctions related to their failure to comply with the committee's subpoenas.

The former president slammed the committee on social media, calling on his supporters to rally to his side: "Republicans and Patriots all over the land must stand strong and united against the Thugs and Scoundrels of the Unselect Committee."

In a statement, Oklahoma's Kevin Hern said, “It’s no surprise that a politically-motivated panel made yet another politically-motivated move.”

No other member of the Oklahoma delegation has yet commented on the committee's actions.