The January 6 select committee is outlining a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy to sabotage the 2020 election, with Donald Trump at the center.1
But it seems there’s still debate within the committee over what their next move should be after the hearings. While the committee can investigate and share its evidence with the public, it does not have the power to prosecute, a power that sits with Attorney General Merrick Garland or state prosecutors.
Many have expected the committee to make a “criminal referral” after the hearings—a formal, public statement to Attorney General Garland and other law enforcement officers with the recommendation that the Department of Justice prosecute Trump and his accomplices. However, the committee has not yet decided. On Monday, committee Chair Bennie Thompson told reporters that the committee would not be making a criminal referral, but other members of the committee have pushed back on this.2Public outrage over Trump’s criminal conspiracy could show that we demand not only information but action! The attorney general will make his own determination of the case, but if the committee has found legal wrongdoing, they should say so explicitly by formally handing over their findings and conclusions for the Department of Justice to take action.
The House committee investigating January 6 has amassed a complete and damning case about Donald Trump’s wide conspiracy, which led to the deadly insurrection. The committee should take one more step: Submit a criminal referral to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The committee has done important and compelling work bringing to light the truth about this historic and horrific set of events. But they shouldn’t stop there. While it is critical that we all learn the truth, we also have to act on it—and prosecute Trump and the members of his inner circle who were central to this coup attempt.
Some caution that a criminal referral from the committee would cloud any prosecution with the appearance of politics. But the opposite is true. The committee is bipartisan, and Liz Cheney, one of its Republicans, appears to be the most vocal supporter of making a criminal referral. It would be partisan to let MAGA Republican threats and scare tactics prevent the committee from fulfilling its duty to articulate the full range of the ongoing threat to American democracy.
If we don’t prosecute Trump, then the attempted coup following the 2020 election will end up being only a rehearsal for a next attempt, as people will see there are no consequences for attempting to overturn our elections.
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