US Congressional Committee investigating the deadly January 6 riot at the Capitol has referred former President Donald Trump for four criminal charges related to an insurrection that he inspired because “he couldn’t publicly accept that he’d lost an election.”
In the face of it all, Trump has already announced he is running again to win back the job.
The 18-month probe, however, comes a little too late. Republicans are set to take control of the House, and the committee is expected to dissolve. So, the legal ball will now be in the Justice Department’s court, while the political one rests with the voters.
The nine-member committee, two Republicans and seven Democrats, recommended that prosecutors pursue four charges against Trump.
These include: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the US, inciting or assisting an insurrection and conspiracy to make a false statement.
This is an unprecedented moment in the history of the United States. For the first time the Congress has convicted a former President and if the Justice Dept takes up the referral, Trump will face a prison sentence. Above all, he will be debarred from the Presidential race.
“Accountability can only be found in the criminal justice system,” Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, said. “We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to justice and that the agencies and institutions responsible for ensuring justice under the law will use the information we’ve provided to aid in their work.”
However, the Committee has no power over what the Justice Department does. The Justice Department has its own investigation of Trump that’s been ongoing and currently run by special counsel Jack Smith.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith once Trump announced he was running for President again as a way to show independence from the investigation.
Four Republican Congressmen have been referred to the House Ethics Committee. They include: Kevin McCarthy of California, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Andy Biggs of Arizona. All are close allies of Trump, and their resistance in the face of the rules has been emblematic of the antagonistic style of U.S. politics that was growing even before Trump came on the scene.
Whether anything happens to them, though, is unclear since Republicans will control the iteration of the Ethics Committee in the next Congress and McCarthy is in line to be the next speaker.
All said and done, whether the findings will matter politically is unclear. And the members of this committee — some of whom won’t be returning to Congress because of the wrath, or potential wrath, of Trump’s base — certainly hope voters respond.
“The future of our democracy rests in your hands,” Thompson added. “It’s up to the people to decide who is deserving of the public trust.”
