As the House Select Committee investigating the attack on the U.S. government at the Capitol Building prepares to release their final report, which will include transcripts of the interviews they conducted with witnesses to the circumstances surrounding the insurrection, they further announced on Tuesday their intention to also file criminal referrals.
The question of whether criminal referrals would be issued has surrounded the investigation since its inception. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who chairs the committee, said that further criminal referrals may come following the first list. When asked whether he believed any witness had committed perjury during their interviews, Thompson answered by saying “that’s part of the discussion.” He did not indicate whether that discussion was related to the first list of criminal referrals or would be discussed further later.
It is difficult to imagine that the twice-impeached ex-president who lost the popular vote twice and tried to stage a coup, Donald Trump, will be included in those criminal referrals. Much of the committee’s public hearings have focused on the actions, or inactions, of the former president. Most particular, they have focused on the actions of Trump prior to the insurrection and his inaction during the more than three hours during the attack.
According to CNN:
‘The decision of whether to issue criminal referrals has loomed large over the committee. Members on the panel have been in wide agreement that former President Donald Trump and some of his closest allies have committed a crime when he pushed a conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, as they’ve laid out in their hearings.’
As of the date of the announcement, Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, continues his investigation into both the actions of Trump on Jan. 6 as well as his alleged mishandling of highly classified materials found by the FBI at Mar-a-lago, where Trump currently resides.
Twitter had a big reaction to the news of upcoming criminal referrals, particularly the possibility of Trump being referred to the Department of Justice. Read some of their comments below.
