The Department of Justice (DOJ) will be charging Donald Trump with the four crimes that the House January 6 Select Committee revealed on live television Monday, according to Chair Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS). In an CNN interview, Representative Thompson spoke decisively about where he believed the DOJ would go.
Chair Thompson factored in the Select Committee’s 1,000 interviews, eight other legally powerful representatives, and mountains of paper when the committee chair said that he has “no doubt” the DOJ would charge Trump:
‘I have no doubt that once the investigation proceeds and is concluded, if the evidence is as we presented it, I’m convinced the Justice Department will charge former President Trump. No one — including a former president — is above the law.’
Each member of the Select Committee voted positively on the four charges, but they did not move in haste. Representative Thompson said the entire January 6 Committee “looked at it long and hard:”
‘The committee looked at it long and hard, and from my vantage point, we couldn’t do anything except make the referral.’
The charges included inciting an insurrection, obstruction of an official Congressional proceeding, conspiracy, and inciting an insurrection, NPR reported.
The January 6 Committee turned all of its information over to the DOJ. At the same time, the panel released all of its documents to the American public, with redactions only to protect the witnesses.
Another Select Committee member, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), concurred with Thompson’s evaluation of the referred crimes, and said that there was “sufficient evidence.” Representative Schiff appeared on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday and told Co-host Jake Tapper:
‘Viewing it as a former prosecutor, I think there’s sufficient evidence to charge the president.’
Thompson told CNN after the panel’s hearing on Monday that the Select Committee “uncovered” evidence:
‘It was clear in the evaluation of the evidence uncovered by our committee that those actions taken by … former President Trump, clearly created a problem for this country.’
Then, the Select Committee chair added that he was “convinced” the DOJ would use the information the committee gave it and “proceed:”
‘I’m convinced that now that our committee has released our information, they will take the information that we’ve shared with them and proceed with the investigation.’
Of course, any Congressional referral would not require the Department of Justice to move on it. But Thompson was firmly convinced the DOJ would do so. While the January 6 Committee cannot press charges, which is the reason for the referral, the DOJ has been eager to obtain the vast amount of information the Select Committee has gleaned over the past 18 months.
The committee already produced a 154-page document that summarized the 1000-page report to follow. It was made available on NPR as well as other sites. The Select Committee defined 16 key findings in the summary including the previous president “plotting to overturn the election outcome,” according to The Axios.
Trump came out right after the midterm elections and said that he intended to run again for president in 2024, perhaps to avoid prosecution.
Gloria Christie is a political journalist for the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Find her here on Facebook. Or at Three White Lions her book written in her own unique style with a twist of humor on Amazon Kindle Vella and the Gloria Christie Three White Lions podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery (in progress).
