By Todd Lassa
The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has issued to the Justice Department four referrals for criminal charges against former President Donald J. Trump over attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The charges did not include seditious conspiracy, the charges for which two Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes III, were found guilty last month for their involvement in the attack.
The charges are: I.) Obstruction of an official proceeding; II.) Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; III.) Conspiracy to Make a False Statement; and IV.) “Incite,” “Assist,” “Aid or Comfort” an insurrection.
The fourth referral, if prosecuted by the Justice Department, would prevent Trump from running for any federal or state office.
“He is unfit for any office,” committee Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) said.
John Eastman, the attorney who allegedly advised Trump that Vice President Mike Pence could reject the Electoral College results on January 6, also was named in the referrals. All referrals may be applied to “others” identified in the Justice Department’s investigation, panel member Adam Schiff (D-CA) noted in comments to reporters after the hearing.
Additionally, four Congress members will be referred to the House Ethics Committee for ignoring subpoenas to testify before the 1/6 committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said. They are Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Scott Perry (R-PA), Roll Call reports. A fifth, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) is retiring and was left out of the referrals.
The House Ethics Committee currently has four Democratic and four Republican members, NPR says, and is unlikely to take actions against the four members before a new Congress convenes next month.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said the panel has evidence of attempted witness tampering. An attorney for Trump told a witness to say under testimony that she didn’t “retain facts” and in exchange would be offered a job that “would make her very comfortable.”
In his post-hearing comments, Schiff said there was evidence that some witnesses may not have been completely forthright with the committee. Asked whether the panel has evidence backing star witness Cassidy Hutchinson’s second-hand testimony that Trump physically attacked a Secret Service agent who would not drive him to the Capitol as the insurrection began
https://thehustings.news/surprise-witness-cassidy-hutchinson/
Schiff said; “I found Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to be entirely credible and I leave it to you to assess the witness’ credibility.”
The 1/6 committee released the first part of its final report here:
https://january6th.house.gov/report-executive-summary
The panel will release the full report before the end of this year, Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said.
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