Jan. 6 committee considering criminal referrals for four Trump allies
Brady Knox
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The Jan. 6 committee is reportedly considering criminal referrals for at least four of former President Donald Trump’s close allies.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyer John Eastman, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani are all being considered for criminal referrals, sources within the committee told CNN. What exactly they would be charged with is still not clear, and the sources stressed that a final decision hasn’t been reached yet. The referrals would be largely symbolic in nature, as the committee doesn’t have the legal authority to try them.
JAN. 6 COMMITTEE TO MAKE CRIMINAL REFERRALS TO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MI) announced earlier in the week that the committee would certainly issue some criminal referrals.
“We will make referrals. As to how many, we’ve not decided that yet,” he told reporters.
“The gravest offense in constitutional terms is the attempt to overthrow a presidential election and bypass the constitutional order,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told reporters on Thursday, promising some referrals. “Subsidiary to all of that are a whole host of statutory offenses, which support the gravity and magnitude of that violent assault on America.”
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Meadows had already been issued a criminal referral for criminal contempt of Congress over his refusal to testify before the committee, despite a subpoena. The Justice Department declined to pursue charges.