Washington — House Jan. 6 The committee is expected to hold its final meeting on Monday, when members will vote on formal adoption of the committee’s final report and potential criminal recommendations to the judiciary.
The actions mark the culmination of a nearly 18-month investigation by the panel Attack on the US CapitolIt featured testimony from dozens of witnesses and a series of high-profile hearings examining the attack and former President Donald Trump’s role in inciting his supporters to blockade the building.
The panel is expected to make criminal recommendations to the Justice Department for possible prosecution, though it has not confirmed who the members will refer.
Congressional recommendations are recommendations only, and the Judiciary is under no obligation to press charges against those nominated for prosecution. Still, the committee’s recommendations could increase political pressure on the department, and lawmakers could reveal new evidence in their final report that federal prosecutors haven’t yet had access to.
The committee has already made recommendations to appear before the committee for several Trump associates who have refused to comply with subpoenas, including former adviser Steve Bannon, who is under investigation. Convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress.
In November, Attorney General Merrick Garland was named Jack Smith as Special Counsel To oversee the Justice Department’s own investigations into former presidents, including attempts to interfere with the transfer of power in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
Rep. Adam Schiff of California, one of the committee’s members, said Sunday CNN’s “State of the Union” As a former prosecutor, he believes the department has gathered “enough” evidence to indict Trump. Skiff “Face the Nation” he said. On December 11, he said he believed the Justice Department had “used up” the evidence presented in the committee’s hearings and would do the same for information included in its report.
Trump said on Jan. 6 that he had done nothing wrong and that the investigation into what he called an “unelected group of political hacks” was a “witch hunt.”
The group sunsets before the next Congress takes office in January. Four of its members did not return to Congress: Rep. Liz Cheney; He lost the Republican primary in Wyoming to a Trump-backed challenge in August; Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria He lost the general election November; And Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy are not seeking re-election.
