The House select committee probing the events that culminated in the Capitol riot is considering recommending criminal charges against Donald Trump and several of his associates, according to The New York Times.
The outlet reports:
According to people briefed on their efforts, investigators for the committee are looking into whether a range of crimes were committed, including two in particular: whether there was wire fraud by Republicans who raised millions of dollars off assertions that the election was stolen, despite knowing the claims were not true; and whether Mr. Trump and his allies obstructed Congress by trying to stop the certification of electoral votes.
Last week, Rep. Liz Cheney (WY), one of two Republicans on the committee, alluded to the latter charge, saying a “key” questions facing investigators is “Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’ official proceeding to count electoral votes?”
POLITICO points out that “Cheney’s statement includes precise terminology from the criminal obstruction statute.”
In addition, Congressional investigators are trying to determine if conspiracy theories spread by the Trump campaign and other groups – including one run by Stop the Steal enthusiast Sidney Powell – amounts to illegal fundraising. Earlier this year, the Times reports, the committee sent a letter to Trump’s campaign chairman, Bill Stepien, “raising the possibility that he was aware that the campaign was raising money by making false claims about election fraud.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told the Times that most criminal referrals from congress involve perjury, “but it’s not unprecedented for Congress to make referrals when we are aware of evidence that people engage in other criminal activity. I wouldn’t exclude that possibility.”
A criminal referral from Congress has no legal weight, but it could increase pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to introduce charges. So far the Department of Justice has arrested 700 people involved in the January 6th attack on the Capitol, but no major political figure has faced consequences.
The Times adds:
The department appears to be building its cases from the ground up, starting with those it can accuse of definable crimes and looking for potential links to others. But it remains unclear whether prosecutors are trying to build cases against people further up the political hierarchy or connecting the attack to Mr. Trump and the aides and supporters who worked with him to overturn the results.