(NewsGlobal.com)- According to “sources” who spoke with the New York Times over the weekend, the January 6 select committee is concerned that making a criminal referral to the Justice Department against former President Donald Trump could backfire on them politically.
Sources who spoke to the Times said members of the committee believe they have enough evidence to show Trump committed a crime, but are concerned that the optics of criminally referring him to Justice would make the select committee’s investigation look even more politicized than it already does.
The select committee has no prosecutorial powers which is why they can only vote on sending a referral to the Justice Department. So instead, they’re debating on whether the actions they take against Trump would taint the ongoing investigation into the 3-hour riot that happened over 15 months ago.
Committee member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) argued that a referral was unnecessary because it carries no legal weight. Lofgren instead pointed to a recent federal judge’s ruling that the former President “more likely than not” tried to “corruptly” obstruct the certification of electors on January 6.
The remarks were made by US District Judge David O. Carter while ruling on whether the committee could obtain 111 emails written by a former law professor, attorney John Eastman. Eastman is accused of being the author of the so-called “coup memo” that encouraged Vice President Mike Pence to violate the Electoral Count Act.
In his ruling, Carter had written that the “illegality of the plan was obvious” and asserted that President Trump had “vigorously campaigned” for Pence to “single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election.” Carter argued that Trump “knowingly tried to subvert” the “fundamental principle” that “leaders are elected, not installed.”
In a recent interview on CNN, committee member Liz Cheney (turncoat-WY) said that the select committee hasn’t made a decision about sending a criminal referral, but added that she believed it was “absolutely clear” that former President Trump and those around him knew what they were doing was “unlawful.”
