The House January 6 Committee announced it will issue referrals to the Justice Department recommending former President Donald Trump be criminally prosecuted.
The first referral recommended by the committee is for Trump’s obstruction an official proceeding of Congress. The committee will also refer Trump to DOJ for conspiracy to defraud the federal government, making a false statement and inciting, assisting, or aiding and comforting an insurrection.
In what is expected to be its final meeting on Monday, the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6 said it will formally ask the DOJ to pursue charges after a nearly 18-month probe into the former president’s involvement in the activities that lead to the Capitol breach on January 6, 2021.
The committee’s unprecedented criminal referral holds no official legal weight, and a final determination in whether to pursue the charges will be up to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department.
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Over its 18-month tenure, the committee obtained access to tens of thousands of documents, the committee has conducted nearly 1,000 interviews related to the Capitol protests.
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At Monday’s meeting, the committee’s members, seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, each presented a portion of their findings against Trump before taking the vote to issue criminal referrals.
The former president, who launched his 2024 White House bid last month, was subpoenaed by the committee last month but defied the panel’s requests for information.
Fox News’ Haris Alic contributed to this report.
