UPDATE - US Jan. 6 committee recommends criminal charges for Trump

ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol recommended on Monday the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

In what is its final public hearing after 18 months of investigating the violent assault, the bipartisan committee's nine members voted unanimously to ask the Justice Department to pursue charges against Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The lawmakers are asking the department to prosecute Trump for obstructing of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and inciting, assisting or providing aid and comfort to an insurrection.

The committee's action, conducted in tandem with the release of a summary of its final report, marks the first time in history that Congress has referred a former president to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Committee member Jamie Raskin noted the landmark nature of the panel's decision, saying the lawmakers "understand the gravity of each and every referral we are making today, just as we understand the magnitude of the crime against democracy that we described in our report."

He further left the door open to prosecutors pursuing additional charges against Trump and his allies, noting the committee "does not attempt to determine all of the potential participants in this conspiracy."

"Our understanding of the role of many individuals may be incomplete even today, because they refuse to answer our questions," he said. "We trust that the Department of Justice will be able to form a more complete picture through its own investigation."

The former president has long denied the validity of the 2020 election, which he lost by some 7 million votes, claiming rampant fraud. But in the two years since, he has not put forth any evidence to substantiate his claims, and has lost over five dozen court cases. His allegations were further rejected by his attorney general, William Barr.

Trump called his supporters to the US capital on Jan. 6, urging them to march on the federal legislature as lawmakers prepared to carry out their constitutionally-mandated duties of certifying election results.

"At the beginning of our investigation, we understood that tens of millions of Americans had been persuaded by President Trump that the 2020 election was stolen by overwhelming fraud," Liz Cheney, the panel's top Republican, said.

"Our legal system functioned as it should, but our president would not accept the outcome. Among the most shameful of this committee's findings, was that President Trump sat in the dining room of the Oval Office, watching the violent riot at the Capitol on television for hours, and would not issue a public statement instructing his supporters to disperse and leave the Capitol, despite urgent pleas from his White House staff and dozens of others to do so," she added.

Trump's inaction, Cheney said, was tantamount to "an utter moral failure and a clear dereliction of duty."

In addition to Trump, the committee is also recommending that the Justice Department prosecute John Eastman, the former president's personal attorney, and others for conspiring to defraud the US.

The panel's vote is largely symbolic, and does not compel the Justice Department to act. The agency will now decide whether it will take up any charges against Trump or his allies for their actions.

Five people died as a result of the violence on Jan. 6, and the Capitol itself was badly damaged. Four law enforcement officers died by suicide in the aftermath.

The attack marked the first time the Capitol had been occupied since British forces torched it during the War of 1812.

The committee further referred four members of Congress, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, to the House Ethics Committee for "appropriate sanction" after they refused to comply with subpoenas issued by the panel, Raskin said.