Jan. 6 Committee May Vote To Criminally Charge Trump

Topline

The House January 6 committee is considering asking the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports, ahead of releasing the final findings of its investigation into the storming of the Capitol.

Then-President Donald Trump speaks from the press briefing room with members of the White House … [+] Coronavirus Task Force on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The committee is expected to take up a vote on making criminal referrals at its 1 p.m. meeting Monday, which will reportedly include three charges against the former president.

Insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government are the charges reportedly being considered, according to sources familiar with the committee.

The moves are largely symbolic, as the DOJ holds the final decision on whether to bring charges or not.

Chief Critic

Trump 2024 campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement: “The January 6th un-Select Committee held show trials by Never Trump partisans who are a stain on this country’s history. This Kangaroo court has been nothing more than a Hollywood executive’s vanity documentary project that insults Americans’ intelligence and makes a mockery of our democracy.”

What We Don’t Know

It’s not clear whether the committee might vote on making criminal referrals against others at its Monday meeting.

Key Background

Trump is already the subject of two federal criminal probes, which have been under the direction of a special counsel since shortly after he announced his 2024 presidential bid. One of the investigations is into his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, while the other is reviewing his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his term as president expired. Trump is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Georgia over alleged election interference and in New York over potentially fraudulent financial statements. The former president was the focal point of January 6 committee hearings earlier this year, which painted him as the instigator, and in some ways planner, of an angry mob’s insurrection attempt. The hearings, which were carefully choreographed and scheduled to ensure maximum viewership, focused on Trump’s criminal culpability in the lead up to January 6 and throughout the riot, while the investigation seemed intent on collecting evidence to supplement Justice Department probes involving the former president.

Tangent

The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting Tuesday where they could decide to publicly release Trump’s tax returns.