(TheRedWire.com) – The House January 6 Select Committee held its last televised meeting on Monday, December 19. It came as Republicans prepare to take over the House majority on January 3. In the summer of 2021, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) created the 9-member group to investigate the January 6, 2021, riot on Capital Hill and make recommendations on how to prevent another one from happening in the future. In the concluding hearing, the panel asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute former President Donald Trump on four charges.
The committee voted unanimously to conclude that Trump committed crimes while allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential elections. They referred the following charges to the DOJ:
- Conspiracy to make a false statement
- Obstruction of an official preceding
- Conspiracy to defraud the government
- Inciting, comforting, assisting, or aiding an insurrection
BREAKING: The January 6 Committee have voted unanimously to refer Donald Trump to the Department of Justice for four criminal charges, including insurrection.https://t.co/Mk56pHL57u
— Truthout (@truthout) December 19, 2022
When Congress forwards criminal referrals, the DOJ isn’t obliged to act on them and can investigate them independently as the agency sees fit. Still, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) claimed the committee found evidence Trump tried to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.
The group also voted to refer House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Scott Perry (R-PA), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) to the House Ethics Committee for ignoring subpoenas the panel issued to them.
Copyright 2022, TheRedWire.com
