Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the House panel investigating January 6, was unequivocal during a new interview on CBS about his belief regarding the involvement of criminal acts in schemes that have been under investigation by the committee.
Schiff didn’t confirm some specific details about the steps the committee would be taking or recommending, like the identities of those who members may soon be recommending for prosecution, although another member of a group on the broader committee working on the question of criminal referrals, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), has spoken broadly in support of issuing referrals, and Schiff said there’s agreement among investigators. “You know, I think we are in common agreement about what our approach should be,” Schiff told CBS host Margaret Brennan. “But I think we’re all certainly in agreement that there is evidence of criminality here. And we want to make sure that the Justice Department is aware of that.”
Asked about some of the specific justifications for referring potential targets like Trump and Giuliani for prosecution, Schiff was emphatic about the seriousness of the situation. “Well, look, we have been far out ahead, in most respects, of the Justice Department in conducting our investigation,” he said. “I think they have made use of the evidence that we have presented in open hearings. I think they’ll make use of the evidence that we present in our report to further their investigations. And I think it makes an important statement, not a political one, but a statement about the evidence of an attack on the institutions of our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power, that Congress examining an attack on itself is willing to report criminality. So, I think it’s an important decision in its own right, if we go forward with it, and one that the department ought to give due consideration to.”
In other words, although Schiff didn’t provide the specific plan for action by the committee, he insisted serious and criminal acts were seemingly committed, and he and the panel will be reacting accordingly — so the rest is easily imaginable. The committee may be releasing its final report as soon as next week, and its recommendations for prosecution would also be coming on that short of a timetable. A referral would not force action by the Justice Department, although it would no doubt come with substantial evidence outlining some of what’s at issue here, as the Congressman indicated. The House will soon be changing hands with the GOP taking narrow control, although it’s still not confirmed who will even be Speaker considering the struggles seen by House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to lock down the necessary level of support with incoming House members.
Check out Schiff’s interview below:
