JAN 6TH COMMITTEE RECAP: Trump and four House Republicans get referrals
The final public presentation of the House Select Committee on January 6th was predominantly a recap of the evidence released in hearings over the past several months, but also included a few new pieces of evidence, as well as a vote on criminal referrals for Donald Trump — four of them — and referrals to the House Ethics Committee for four Members of Congress.
Chairman Bennie Thompson opened the hearing with a bit of foreshadowing, telling America that the Committee believes accountability is necessary to prevent a repeat of the violence of January 6th, and that criminal charges are one of the most vital parts of that accountability.
Vice Chair Liz Cheney added that Trump should never be allowed to hold any office again.
The Committee ran through a recap of both the previous hearings and the attacks on the 2020 election, sharing again clips from previously-shown testimony, and discussing aspects of Trump’s efforts, such as one failed court case after another (they counted 61 losses!) and some of the meetings in which he was given legal advice regarding the illegality of some of the schemes.
They reminded the world of the efforts by Trump’s family, advisors, and even Fox News allies, to convince the then-president to call off the attack.
New evidence came, too, including texts from Hope Hicks that showed her discussing with former deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley the need — before January 6th — to call for nonviolence.
She testified that Trump had been advised of this repeatedly and refused to do so.
There’s also a newly-released clip from Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump’s media liasons, whose testimony was used to bolster allegations that, even after the violent attack, Trump spoke in support of the mob. She said:
Conway: I just said that was just a terrible thing…I said it’s crazy.
Interviewer: What did [Trump] say?
Conway: “Ah, no, these people are upset, they’re very upset.”
You can see that clip below.
In the days after January 6th, Trump spoke to several different advisors, and in those conversations, he minimized the seriousness of the attack.
Here is new testimony from another one of the President’s senior advisors, Kellyanne Conway. pic.twitter.com/l4u7NRWVpW
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 19, 2022
Ultimately, the Committee reached the conclusion that criminal and ethics referrals were necessary and warranted.
Donald Trump and John Eastman, an attorney who advised him on some methods, would both be referred to face indictment on two charges. Trump is also being referred to the DOJ for two additional charges.
The Committee tweeted these charges out after the meeting, as seen below.
The first is obstruction of an official proceeding, for Trump’s efforts to prevent Congress from confirming the electoral vote.
The second is conspiracy to defraud the United States, based on the fake elector scheme and other efforts to falsely convince the voters that Trump had won the election.
Second, we believe that there is more than sufficient evidence to refer former President Donald J. Trump, John Eastman, and others for violating Title 18 Section 371. pic.twitter.com/A3PjtlnpE2
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 19, 2022
The other two referrals for Trump are for conspiracy to make a false statement to the U.S. Government, and for inciting, assisting, or providing aid and comfort to those attempting an insurrection.
The fourth and final statute we invoke for referral is Title 18 Section 2383. This statute applies to anyone, who incites, assists, or engages in insurrection against the United States, and anyone who “gives aid or comfort” to an insurrection. pic.twitter.com/pgEALKK2Vp
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 19, 2022
There was no referral announced of any Members of Congress to the Department of Justice for their roles, but four House Members were referred to the House Ethics Committee for sanctions, for their refusal to comply with a Congressional subpoena.
The four individuals were not named in the hearing but afterward revealed to be:
- Jim Jordan (R-OH),
- Kevin McCarthy (R-CA),
- Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and
- Scott Perry (R-PA).
MSNBC reported, as seen in the clip below, that Chairman Thompson said before the meeting was aired that his team intended to hand over the referrals to the DOJ very quickly after the day’s presentation wrapped up.
Criminal referrals to be handed to Justice Dept. "shortly after we take care of business today." #Jan6Justice pic.twitter.com/cKlvST774U
— Lesley Abravanel 🪩 (@lesleyabravanel) December 19, 2022
Now all eyes are turned towards Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice to see how they respond to the referrals: with immediate indictments or more dithering.
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
