- The January 6 committee is set to ask the DOJ to prosecute Trump in connection to the Capitol riot, per the Washington Post.
- The panel will recommend 3 charges: conspiracy to defraud the US, obstruction of an official proceeding, and inciting an insurrection.
- The criminal referral does not itself carry any legal weight, but committee chairman Bennie Thompson said he hoped the panel’s work would provide a “roadmap to justice.”
The House select committee investigating the Capitol riot is expected to ask the Justice Department to prosecute former President Donald Trump in connection to the deadly siege, according to the Washington Post.
It’s set to recommend three charges against Trump at the conclusion of a public meeting Monday: conspiracy to defraud the US, obstruction of an official proceeding, and inciting an insurrection.
The select committee’s criminal referral for Trump has been widely anticipated. It formally subpoenaed the former president in October, saying it had “overwhelming evidence” that he “orchestrated and oversaw” efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney — the panel’s chairman and vice chairwoman, respectively — said last month that Trump had “failed to comply” with the subpoena and added that they would evaluate next steps in connection to Trump.
The panel previously said in a court filing that it had evidence suggesting that Trump committed several crimes related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Specifically, lawmakers said they believed Trump tried to obstruct an official proceeding; conspired to defraud the United States; and engaged in common law fraud.
With respect to obstruction of Congress, the filing noted that six judges "have addressed the applicability" of the relevant statute "to defendants criminally charged in connection with the January 6th attack on the Capitol."
"Each has concluded that Congress's proceeding to count the electoral votes on January 6th was an 'official proceeding' for purposes of this section, and each has refused to dismiss charges against defendants under that section," the filing said.
The committee also believes Trump and members of his campaign "engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States," in violation of federal law.
To prove such a violation, the filing said, prosecutors must establish that "the defendant entered into an agreement … to obstruct a lawful function of the government … by deceitful or dishonest means, and … that a member of the conspiracy engaged in at least one overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy."
Moreover, that agreement doesn't have to be explicit, the filing said, and can "be inferred from the conspirators' conduct in furtherance of their common objectives."
The early March filing from the select panel said "the evidence supports an inference" that Trump and his allies "entered into an agreement" to defraud the US by interfering with Congress' election-certification process, "disseminating false information about election fraud, and pressuring state officials to alter state election results and federal officials to assist in that effort."
It pointed specifically to Trump's attempts to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally reject slates of electors from battleground states that Joe Biden won — something Pence does not have the constitutional authority to do.
Trump has repeatedly denied responsibility for the violence that unfolded at the Capitol on January 6. He's also accused the bipartisan congressional select committee of going on a politically motivated witch hunt.