The Jan. 6 committee is planning to hold its final public meeting on Monday, where it is expected to approve its final report and make announcements about criminal referrals to the Justice Department. If those criminal referrals include former President Donald Trump, as ABC News is reporting, it could force the Supreme Court to decide on his political future. The House panel investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol is considering recommending the unprecedented criminal charge of insurrection against Trump, along with charges of obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.Politico was the first to report that charges against Trump were under consideration by the committee. If the charges are ultimately filed, analysts say they would be the most serious case ever brought against a president or former president in history. The charge of insurrection, in particular, could force the Supreme Court to decide whether his 2024 campaign can continue. “Under the 14th Amendment, it says you don’t have to be convicted of a conspiracy against the United States — or treason, in this case, insurrection — its pretty vague,” said Thomas Whalen, associate professor of social sciences at Boston University. “The fact that you were accused of it could be enough to prevent you from going for the highest office in the land.”Trump appointed three of the nine justices currently on the Supreme Court. They make up half of the six conservative justices on the nation’s highest court. The momentum toward issuing criminal referrals is not unexpected. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the vice chair of the committee, has for months been hinting at sending the Justice Department criminal referrals based on the extensive evidence the nine-member panel has gathered since it was formed in July 2021.”You may not send an armed mob to the Capitol; you may not sit for 187 minutes and refuse to stop the attack while it’s underway. You may not send out a tweet that incites further violence,” Cheney said about Trump on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ in October. “So we’ve been very clear about a number of different criminal offenses that are likely at issue here.”The committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., detailed possible referrals last week as falling into a series of categories that include criminal and ethics violations, legal misconduct and campaign finance violations.While many elements of the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation have been public, the DOJ has been conducting its own investigation outside of public view. Federal prosecutors are not obligated to act on any referrals from the committee, but recommendations by the committee would add to the political pressure on the department. Over the course of its investigation, the committee has made recommendations that several members of Trump’s inner circle should be prosecuted for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas. One, for Steve Bannon, has resulted in a conviction.The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
The Jan. 6 committee is planning to hold its final public meeting on Monday, where it is expected to approve its final report and make announcements about criminal referrals to the Justice Department. If those criminal referrals include former President Donald Trump, as ABC News is reporting, it could force the Supreme Court to decide on his political future.
The House panel investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol is considering recommending the unprecedented criminal charge of insurrection against Trump, along with charges of obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Politico was the first to report that charges against Trump were under consideration by the committee.
If the charges are ultimately filed,…
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