Jan 6 Committee Weighing Criminal Referrals For Trump And His Close Aides, Sources Say

The Jan. 6 committee, which is investigating the Capitol riot, is reportedly considering criminal referrals for at least four people apart from former President Donald Trump.

The committee is weighing criminal referrals for former Department of Justice (DOJ) official Jeffrey Clark, right wing lawyer John Eastman, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sources told CNN. Sources said that the panel has not officially decided whom to refer to the Justice Department for prosecution and for what offenses.

According to The New York Times, representative Bennie Thompson said that his committee had not yet agreed on who would be the subject of the criminal referrals or what the charges would be.

The criminal referrals would mostly be symbolic in nature as the panel lacks prosecutorial powers. The DOJ also does not need a referral from Congress to investigate crimes as it has its own criminal probes into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack ongoing.

One source said that panel members see criminal referrals as a vital part of their work. It will put their views on the record in order to complete their investigation, and not as a way to pressure the Justice Department.

Talking about the riot, another source said that the committee wants to make sure nothing falls between the "cracks and make an emphatic statement who it has identified as key organizers."

Panel members met Tuesday evening to further discuss criminal referrals. But sources said that right now, they don’t expect the committee to release the names of who would be subject to a criminal referral.

Thompson said that when the committee makes referrals, it will be a separate document from the panel’s final report that will be sent to the Justice Department.

Thompson told reporters Wednesday that the Jan. 6 committee is aiming to release its final report and vote publicly on criminal referrals on Dec. 21. He said that there will be some form of public presentation, but they "haven’t decided exactly what that would be."

Criminal referrals will be “considered as a final part” of the panel’s work, a select committee spokesperson said. The spokesperson shared that the panel has determined that referrals to outside entities should be considered as a final part of its work, and that the "committee will make decisions about specifics in the days ahead."