Jan. 6 committee votes to refer Trump to DOJ on multiple criminal charges

The Jan. 6 committee is eyeing multiple alleged crimes for a referral of former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department, CNN reported last week.

According to a source familiar with the matter, they include:

For the latter two, the lawmakers can rely on an opinion from a federal judge in California, who wrote earlier this year that there was evidence that Trump and his allies were plotting to defraud the US government and to obstruct an official proceeding. The opinion was handed down by US District Judge David O. Carter in a dispute over whether the House could access certain emails sent to and from former Trump attorney John Eastman.

The judge cited emails discussing Trump’s awareness that certain voter fraud claims being made in court were inaccurate as evidence of a plot to defraud the federal government. To explain his finding of evidence of obstruction, the judge pointed to emails that showed that the Trump team was contemplating filing lawsuits not to obtain legitimate legal relief, but to meddle in congressional proceedings.

A House referral for an insurrection charge would be a more aggressive move. It’s a crime to assist or engage in “in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws.” Judges have used the term “insurrection” to describe the January 6 attack on Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election.

But the Justice Department has not opted to bring the charge in its hundreds of US Capitol riot cases. Instead, prosecutors have relied on criminal statutes related to violence, obstruction of an official proceeding, and, in some limited cases, seditious conspiracy.

Who else could be referred? The panel has also weighed criminal referrals for a number of Trump’s closest allies including, Eastman, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, multiple sources told CNN earlier this month.

Another source cautioned at the time that while names were being considered, there was still discussion to be had before they were finalized.

CNN's Evan Perez and Katelyn Polantz contributed reporting to this post.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, said Sunday the panel is considering how to hold accountable the GOP lawmakers who defied their subpoenas.

Schiff said the committee would be considering this on Monday, noting that the panel has weighed whether it is better to criminally refer members of Congress to other parts of the federal government or if Congress should “police its own.” Such congressional mechanisms could include censure and referrals to the House Ethics Committee.

Five House Republicans have been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel: GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.

The select committee is set to hold its final public hearing today and release its full report on Wednesday. The panel is expected to announce it will refer at least three criminal charges against former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department, including insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the federal government, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The impact House referrals could have remains unclear because the Department of Justice special counsel investigation is already examining Trump in its extensive probe into the Jan. 6 riot.

But in addition to criminal referrals, Jan. 6 committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told reporters that the panel could issue five to six other categories of referrals, such as ethics referrals to the House Ethics Committee, bar discipline referrals and campaign finance referrals.

“Censure was something that we have considered. Ethics referrals is something we have considered,” Schiff said Sunday, noting that the committee will disclose its decision Monday.

CNN previously reported that the panel has also weighed criminal referrals for a number of Trump’s closest allies, including former Trump attorney John Eastman, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, according to multiple sources.

Nearly two years removed from the violent attack on the US Capitol, the House select committee tasked with finding out exactly what happened is about to show its hand.

The panel will hold its final public meeting on Monday, followed by the release of its full report on Wednesday.

Unlike previous gatherings of the committee, Monday’s is a business meeting rather than a hearing as no witnesses are set to testify.

What to expect from the session: The public meeting, scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, is expected to see the panel announce that it will refer at least three criminal charges against former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department.

The committee will release an executive summary of the investigation’s report on Monday after the meeting, a committee aide said Sunday. The final report, to be released two days later, will provide justification from the panel’s investigation for recommending the charges.

Why now? Republicans are expected to dissolve the panel when they take over the House in January.

The House select committee’s October hearing on the Capitol Hill insurrection used testimony and evidence to demonstrate how former President Donald Trump knew he had lost the election but still went forward with efforts to overturn the results, leading to the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Here's a recap of what unfolded at the hearing:

Read more here.

The House select committee investigating the Capitol riot is dropping several of its pursuits for Jan. 6-related phone records, according to court filings last week, as the panel winds down before it expires at the end of this year.

The committee sent out dozens of subpoenas seeking call logs, including to major phone companies, as part of its investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election result. But several Trump allies sued, contesting the committee’s authority, and Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile agreed not to turn over any data to the House while those lawsuits were litigated in court. Few of the cases have been resolved.

That means the House select committee will not be able to incorporate in its final report some of the information it long sought about the communications of top witnesses around Donald Trump and the White House in late 2020 and January 2021. The panel plans to release the report next week.

Last week, the committee withdrew its phone-records subpoenas related to Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, White House aide Stephen Miller, elections attorney Cleta Mitchell, conservative political activist Roger Stone, some Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants and Amy Harris, a photojournalist who spent time with top members of the Proud Boys around Jan. 6, 2021, according to filings in seven House subpoena challenges that were pending in the DC District Court.

“On December 12, 2022, Plaintiffs were informed by counsel for the Select Committee that the Select Committee will be withdrawing the subject subpoena issued by the Committee,” one court filing, from lawyers representing members of the Oath Keepers extremist group, wrote in one recent request to drop a lawsuit.

Some of the subpoenas were issued a year ago.The committee declined to comment.

While these witnesses and some others successfully blocked the committee from obtaining their phone records, the panel was able to access unprecedented amounts of information in their investigation, including through other phone records subpoenas, other document requests and witness interviews. Some of that information was on display in a series of public hearings over the summer.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, told reporters last week that the panel will make announcements about criminal referrals to the Justice Department in Monday's meeting.

What this means: Criminal referrals would largely be symbolic in nature. The committee lacks prosecutorial powers, and the Justice Department does not need a referral from Congress to investigate crimes as it has its own criminal investigations into the Capitol attack ongoing.

Committee members see criminal referrals as a critical part of their work, putting their views on the record in order to complete their investigation – not as a way to pressure DOJ, sources have told CNN.

Thompson told CNN that the panel is looking at five to six categories of referrals beyond those deemed criminal, but has not decided on the specific number of individuals.

Thompson said that in addition to criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, there could be other categories of referrals the committee makes such as ethics referrals to the House Ethics Committee, bar discipline referrals and campaign finance referrals.

Thompson told reporters last Tuesday that Monday’s public meeting will include a presentation and cover the names of people facing criminal and other referrals, as will as the basis for those referrals.

A subcommittee of members has made recommendations to the full committee about various referrals. During the public meeting, the full committee is expected to vote on adopting the subcommittee’s recommendations.

CNN reported earlier this month that the committee is considering criminal referrals for at least four individuals in addition to former President Donald Trump,

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol is set to lay out its findings in a final report. When and how the events occurred that day have been a key part of the committee’s probe since the panel formed in July 2021.

Supporters of then-President Trump breached the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, engulfing the building in chaos after Trump urged his supporters to protest against the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes to certify President Biden's win. 

Here's how key events unfolded throughout the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump’s speech: 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement earlier on the evening of Jan. 6 that congressional leadership wanted to continue with the joint session that night. 

Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the floor that the "United States Senate will not be intimidated. We will not be kept out of this chamber by thugs, mobs or threats." 

It took until deep in the early hours of Thursday morning (Jan. 7, 2021), but Congress eventually counted and certified Biden's election win. 

See the full timeline of events here. 

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, told reporters the committee will hold its final public meeting on Monday and that the panel’s full report will come out December 21.

Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, said the committee will approve the panel’s final report on Dec. 19 and make announcements about criminal referrals to the Justice Department, but the public will not see the final report until two days later.

“We will do all of the business of the committee on the 19th,” Thompson said, which includes voting on the final report.

Members of the committee have promised to have the committee’s report released before the end of the year, as Republicans are expected to dissolve the committee when they take over the chamber in the next Congress.

Read more here.

Former President Donald Trump, whose third White House bid has already become mired in controversy, is facing a myriad of legal issues, alongside his business and allies.

Aside from the Jan. 6 committee's probe, here are some other notable investigations involving Trump:

Tax returns.The House Ways and Means Committee finally got access to the former president’s tax returns after the Supreme Court dealt a massive defeat to Trump, paving the way for the Internal Revenue Service to hand over the documents to the Democratic-led House. The committee's chairman, Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, first sought the tax returns from the IRS in 2019, and the agency, under the Trump administration, initially resisted turning them over.

Mar-a-Lago documents. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed special counsel Jack Smith to oversee the Justice Department criminal investigations into the retention of national defense information at Trump’s resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

The Justice Department investigation continues into whether documents from the Trump White House were illegally mishandled when they were brought to Mar-a-Lago in Florida after he left office. A federal grand jury in Washington has been empaneled and has interviewed potential witnesses to how Trump handled the documents.

2020 Election. The Justice Department has an investigation of its own into the post-2020 election period. While DOJ has not acted publicly during the so-called quiet period leading up to the midterms, a grand jury in Washington has been hearing from witnesses.

Meanwhile, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis is overseeing a special grand jury investigating what Trump or his allies may have done in their efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia. The probe was launched following Trump’s call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he pushed the Republican to “find” votes to overturn the election results.

Trump Organization. New York Attorney General Letitia James, after a lengthy investigation, sued Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization in September, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former president used to enrich himself.

James alleged the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.

Read more about other investigations here.