Criminal referrals in January 6 attack investigation considered: Rep. Schiff According to Reuters
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Representative Adam Schiff, D-CA, speaks as members share recollections of the first anniversary of the Capitol attack in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2022. Mandel Ngan / Pool via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat on the special committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, said he would likely support approving the referral. crimes against those involved in violence, but it will take the unanimous decision of nine members.
The Committee has focused much of its year-long investigation on the actions of then-President Donald Trump and his associates in the aftermath of the November 2020 presidential election with a culmination of was a deadly storm on January 6 in the Capitol.
Trump made false claims with no evidence that widespread voter fraud affected the election results and he should have been declared the winner.
“I think, obviously, there’s evidence that Donald Trump was involved in breaking some of those laws” in connection with the January 6 attacks, Schiff told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
He did not provide further details, but criticized the Justice Department for being “slow” in its independent investigation into the attack.
Representative Liz Cheney, an outspoken Trump critic and one of two Republican members of the committee, this summer also raised the possibility of the Justice Department charging Trump with criminal conduct, even before Council finished its work.
The committee will meet on Wednesday, which Chairman Bennie Thompson said will likely be the final investigative hearing after a series of eight such sessions this summer.
Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar told CBS-TV “Face the Nation” that Wednesday’s hearing will reveal new details about the investigation. He did not say clearly.
When asked about the possibility of former Vice President Mike Pence being subpoenaed to testify, Aguilar said: “I think it’s important that we hear from the vice president, but it’s the committee’s job. We haven’t decided where we’re going with the vice president in particular.”
Pence was presiding over the official congressional confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election as Trump supporters stormed through barricades, battled police and broke into the Capitol.
Trump repeatedly urged Pence to refuse Biden’s endorsement of victory. Pence refused, saying he had no such power.
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, also a panel member, told NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press” that there could be an additional hearing to publicize the legislative recommendations resulting from the hearing. its check.
“I hope … that we will have a hearing that sets out all of our legislative recommendations on how to prevent, coup, insurrection, political violence and election sabotage in the future. future because it’s a clear and present danger that continues to this day,” Raskin said.
Raskin said he does not know if that report will be completed before the November 8 congressional elections, which will determine whether Democrats will continue to control the US House of Representatives and Senate. .
“Our plan is to finish our report before the end of the Congress” in December, he said.
