Trump could face three criminal referrals after final Jan. 6 committee meeting: Report
Ryan King
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Members of the Jan. 6 committee are expected to vote next Monday on whether to issue a criminal referral for former President Donald Trump on three different charges, according to a report.
Among the charges currently slated for consideration are: insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the United States government, two sources told Politico, which noted that it was unclear if there could be additional charges as well.
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Those three charges reportedly stemmed from a subcommittee evaluation of whether to make a referral to the Department of Justice. The panel has been widely reported to be mulling criminal referrals for Trump, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, attorney John Eastman, and onetime DOJ official Jeffrey Clark.
Referrals are nonbinding, and it will be up to law enforcement to decide whether to bring forward charges. Additionally, the committee is also expected to release its final report next week, with the full findings due up online by Wednesday and possibly portions of it released early on Monday, according to committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS).
Some members have preempted the vote and publicly surmised that Trump should face criminal charges.
“I think he is absolutely guilty. And if he is not guilty of some kind of a crime, I mean, what we’ve basically said is presidents are above the law and they can do everything short of a coup as long as it doesn’t succeed,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said during a recent interview.
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Trump, meanwhile, has publicly denied wrongdoing and blasted the panel as a “witch hunt.” Last month, following Trump’s 2024 campaign launch, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to spearhead the DOJ’s investigations that may implicate Trump on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and coinciding efforts to overturn the 2020 election, as well as the Mar-a-Lago document saga.
The Washington Examiner reached out to a committee representative for comment.