Jan. 6 committee makes four criminal referrals for Donald Trump and others

Daily Kos Staff

Monday December 19, 2022 · 9:55 AM PST

2022/12/19 · 09:55

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 6: Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. - Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

The select committee to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol will hold its final meeting on Monday at 1 PM ET. A link to the livestream is embedded below.

YouTube Video

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 7:32:02 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Raskin says the criminal referrals were based on the gravity of the offense, centrality of actors, and evidence available. There were others besides John Eastman they considered for criminal referrals but they were CERTAIN of the evidence of his crimes.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 7:31:39 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Rep. Raskin also said today that the committee will make a referral to the House Ethics Committee for four congressmen who refused to cooperate with subpoenas from the select committee.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 7:21:14 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

The committee voted unanimously to adopt its final report. That report should be published Wednesday.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 7:20:17 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Now, the committee announces its intent to make criminal referrals for Donald Trump and John Eastman:

1. Obstruction of an Official Proceeding

2. Conspiracy to defraud the United States

The committee also said it would make a criminal referral for Donald Trump alone for:

3. Conspiracy to make false statements tied to his efforts to submit fake certificates to the National Archives as genuine

4. Insurrection, or providing “aid and comfort” to those who disrupted the certification.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the panel, said the committee would make a referral to the House Ethics Committee for four congressman who refused to cooperate with subpoenas from the select committee too.

I will have more details in a full, separate report to come for Daily Kos.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:59:11 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Rep. Adam Schiff spoke on the fake elector scheme (the creation of bunk electoral certificates for Trump after the required deadlines). These false recommendations were transferred to multiple officers in government and were intended to interfere with the joint session. It was a bunk pretext, he explains.

Trump baselessly accused election workers of fraud prompting harassment, death threats. Trump threatened state officials with legal action if they wouldn't act as he requested. He terrorized people with his lies about the election.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger spoke of Trump’s interference and attempted capture of the DOJ. Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr told Trump there was no evidence to support his claims of fraud. (Three times)

Former assistant attorney general Jeffrey Rosen under Trump and Rosen’s deputy Richard Donoghue, told the committee under oath that Trump urged them to "just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me.”

Knowing existing department leadership wouldn't accept his claims of election fraud, Trump angled to have his lackey at DOJ Jeffrey Clark, installed as AG. (Clark was raised to Trump's attn by Rep. Scott Perry).

Rep. Pete Aguilar discussed the advice and strategy put forward by right-wing attorney John Eastman to subvert the election results.

Eastman authored a 6-point memo on this; offering guidance on how to have Pence intervene despite a total lack of constitutional authority.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy: It was 2 years ago today that Trump sent a tweet urging supporters to come to DC.

From 12/19/20-1/6/21, he repeatedly urged supporters to come. It galvanized domestic violence extremists, she notes.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:50:58 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Here is a montage of the critical details the committee uncovered at its hearings this summer and over the course of its investigation:

YouTube Video

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:42:00 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Panel member Zoe Lofgren says the committee has reached a series of findings in its investigation (she notes much of this has been developed with the help of their legal victories against Trump world officials).

Trump planned to declare victory and call for vote counting to stop weeks before the election. He raised 100s of millions with false representations made to online donors. The proceeds, the committee found, were used in concerning ways, like hiring lawyers or to employ witnesses.

One lawyer told a witness,"a witness could tell cmte she didn't recall facts that she actually did." A witness was offered potential employment that would make her 'v. comfortable' as the day of her testimony approached. Those offers were withdrawn as contents of testimony went public.

A clip of former Trump White House aide Hope Hicks is shown and she is seen testifying to the committee about doubts she raised about his claims of fraud.

She said Trump told her no one would care about his legacy if he loses the election. The only thing that matters is winning, she recalled him saying.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:30:28 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Chairman Thompson enters a video montage into the record of key evidence that the committee has uncovered in its 18 months of investigation.

So far, it is clip after clip of Trump White House officials and members of the Trump-era DOJ testifying about how they informed Trump explicitly: there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

We see clips of committee witnesses discussing the pressure campaign on former VP Pence; we hear clips of Jan 6 defendants like Eric Barber and Stephen Ayres saying they were "following" what Trump said when he urged them for over an hour to march on Capitol.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:21:28 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

Every president in our history has defended this transfer of power except one, committee vicechair Liz Cheney says.

In 18 months, the committee has recognized its obligation to ensure that this never happens again.

Our legal system functioned as it should, Cheney adds.

All manner of fraud claims were explored and put to the test in court. They failed. After Trump incited the insurrection, he sat in White House idly and did nothing for hours to help.

Law enforcement officers were attacked, injured. The Capitol was invaded. The lives of those inside were put at risk while Trump failed to act. It was an utter moral failure, a clear dereliction of duty. It was the bravery of a few that saved us from a grave constitutional crisis, Cheney adds.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:14:02 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

The Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack has begun its final hearing and they announce they will release deposition material presented during today's meeting and for those records accompanying the final report.

As anticipated, much of what we will hear today before the vote to adopt the final report, is what we have heard before during the committee's many public hearings. And, Thompson notes: Most non-sensitive records will be public by the end of this year.

Beyond any details or recommendations the committee will present, Thompson says there's one factor that is most important in preventing another 1/6: Accountability. Accountability can only be found in the criminal justice system, Thompson says.

The criminal referrals and report are a roadmap for the Justice Department.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:07:46 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

The chairman and members of the Jan. 6 panel are now taking their seats for their final meeting. The committee has been investigating Jan. 6 for more than a year and has conducted over 1,000 interviews.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec 19, 2022 · 6:01:32 PM +00:00 · Brandi Buchman

The hearing will get underway shortly. After today’s hearing, I wil post an extensive report detailing the meeting as well as the criminal referrals the committee is expected to issue today for former President Donald Trump.

Jan. 6 committee makes four criminal referrals for Donald Trump and others

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