Fmr. President Donald Trump faces criminal referrals from Jan. 6th Committee

DELMARVA – The House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection has released its final report and recommendations. All eyes are on the Department of Justice to see if Former President Donald Trump will be charged.

Committee Recommendations

After an exhaustive, 18-month-long investigation, the Committee made several recommendations:

1. The Committee cited the 14th Amendment, recommending Former President Trump be banned from holding federal or state office ever again. The group also recommended that a “formal mechanism” be created to take a closer look at if others involved in the insurrection should face the same ban.
2. Congress should create stronger criminal penalties for those who obstruct a peaceful transfer of power, says the Committee.
3. The Committee recommends federal penalties for those who threaten election workers.
4. New legislation should be created to enforce House subpoenas in federal court, according to the Committee.
5. The Committee recommends more oversight over the Capitol Police, including improved training, equipping, intelligence gathering, and response protocols.

The final report, which is more than 800 pages long, contains evidence from thousands of pages of witness transcripts, and more than 1 million pages of source material. In that evidence, the Committee made several key findings:

1. Former President Trump planned to declare victory regardless of the results.
2. The former president was aware of the potential for violence when he called on supporters to march to the Capitol. Within that group of supporters were members of the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers, which have both been identified as extremist groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
3. Former President Trump knew of the violence taking place at the Capitol for more than three hours before he intervened.
4. Top aides to the former president were aware that investigations into election fraud would not change the outcome of the 2020 election. The Committee says Former President Trump and his allies lied about election fraud, and asked supporters for money to fight lawsuits over election results.

Criminal Referrals

The four criminal referrals made by the Committee include obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the government, making knowingly and willfully materially false statements to the federal government, and inciting or assisting an insurrection.

Dr. Samuel Hoff, professor of political science and constitutional expert at Delaware State University, says it’s a unique situation not seen before in American history.

“We really haven’t seen this kind of action taken against a former president. We know that while they’re in office, we’ve had the last seven presidents have been sued by members of Congress,” said Dr. Hoff. “These are criminal charges. I mean, presidents are sued civilly, and most of those are thrown out of the courts.”

Pressing Charges?

The big question now: Will the Department of Justice press charges? Dr. Hoff says getting to that decision won’t be simple.

“Charging someone is one thing. Proving it in a court of law is another. The Justice Department, if they would bring those charges, would have to be convinced that those charges could hold up in federal criminal court,” said Dr. Hoff. “You might also say that it would cause a political backlash that could result in even greater violence. In another sense, you could say that if they don’t do it then they’re letting someone off the hook.”

If Former President Trump is charged and ultimately convicted, Dr. Hoff says that could lead to a ban on him ever holding public office again.

“Another tool that could be used pursuant to conviction for criminal offenses might be the language for the 14th Amendment, which excludes someone holding office if they commit treason or insurrection,” said Dr. Hoff.

Setting a Precedent

Regardless of the outcome, Dr. Hoff says the Committee’s findings and recommendations will likely set a precedent not just in politics, but American history as a whole.

“The lesson would be a strong one if Former President Trump was charged and convicted, because we always say ‘This couldn’t happen’. Now, we say ‘This can’t happen again,'” said Dr. Hoff.

Former President Trump criticized the Committee’s report, calling it “highly partisan”. He also accused the panel of engaging in a “witch hunt”. The former president also falsely claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser refused to deploy the national guard on January 6th at his request. Former President Trump announced his run for re-election last month.