A report from POLITICO identifies three specific criminal charges that will come up in conclusions on which the House committee will be voting on Monday in public proceedings: insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. The panel will vote on whether to refer Trump for prosecution on these charges.
It seems fairly safe to assume the outcome of the vote will be a yes. After Kevin McCarthy opted against further participation in the committee, it’s comprised only of those who have shown an interest in holding Trump accountable — and who (more concretely) were selected by Nancy Pelosi. In a recent interview, committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said members were broadly in agreement about strategy for the path forward as the committee’s work draws to a close with this Congress. Referrals for Trump and any of his allies who have also reportedly been under consideration won’t force action by the Justice Department. Instead, they’re more of a recommendation for prosecution — but the committee’s findings will include expansive supporting evidence.
A subcommittee on the panel previously examined the question of issuing criminal referrals, and some of what those four members settled upon was carried over into the findings that panel members will be voting on approving early next week. There may be other recommendations for action, including referrals to the House Ethics Committee of Republicans in the House who resisted subpoenas from the panel and referrals for attorney discipline implicating lawyers who were involved in some of what investigators examined.
Among other pieces of the committee’s final findings likely to soon be approved by members, the conclusions note Trump didn’t have to personally participate in or direct the violence at the Capitol to be guilty of violating federal prohibitions on involvement in insurrection. He also could have simply given the rioters “aid or comfort” through something like his lengthy inaction. If there was an understanding on his part that the rioters could help his self-serving cause while riot leaders eagerly picked up that mantle, that is a rather direct connection!
Predictably, Trump sounds worried. In comments posted earlier this week, he said: “HOW CAN THE JANUARY 6TH UNSELECT COMMITTEE MAKE CRIMINAL REFERRALS WHEN THEY HAVE’NT SPOKEN ABOUT, OR STUDIED, THOSE THAT RIGGED THE 2020 ELECTION, THE TROOPS NOT BEING BROUGHT IN BY PELOSI, OR NOW, THE ELECTION FRAUD DETERMINATIVELY REVEALED BY TWITTER? THESE ARE THE REAL CRIMINALS!!!” As has been comprehensively discussed elsewhere, Pelosi wasn’t the one solely in charge of any element of Capitol security that could be reasonably approximated as “bringing in troops.” She just wasn’t. She did not have the authority to block a deployment of the D.C. National Guard by the president, and a security official approved in the House for the Capitol Police board who was involved in discussions about keeping the building safe served alongside an official from the Senate, which Republicans controlled on January 6. Donald’s desperation just doesn’t work.
