WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., stated Sunday that the House committee probing the assault on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has enough evidence to recommend President Donald Trump for criminal prosecution.
“It’s absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing — what a number of people around him were doing — that they knew it was unlawful. They did it anyway,” Cheney, the panel’s vice chairperson and one of two Republicans on the panel, spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union” after host Jake Tapper questioned if the committee had enough evidence to submit Trump to the FBI for criminal investigation. Cheney stated that the panel has yet to make a judgment on whether or not to pursue the referral.
According to the New York Times, the panel has determined that it has sufficient proof to file a criminal charge, but its leaders are split on whether to do so.
She cited a verdict last month in a civil complaint regarding the panel, in which a federal court determined that, according to evidence, Trump most certainly sought to disrupt the joint session of the House the day of the assault, which would be criminal.
“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” said US District Judge David Carter of Trump and lawyer John Eastman’s plot to have former Vice President Mike Pence decide the 2020 election outcome.
In a judicial filing last month, the committee said it had good-faith grounds for reaching the conclusion that the President and affiliates of his Campaign committed a “criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
Trump has disputed any wrongdoing despite the fact that he has still not been convicted of a crime.
The committee has stepped up its inquiry in recent months in preparation for public hearings next month.
Former Trump staffers Dan Scavino and Peter Navarroto were referred to the Department Of justice for criminal disobedience of Congress by the House on Wednesday after they failed to appear and give over documents in response to subpoenas from the committee.
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon was previously referred to the Department Of Justice for contempt of Congress after refusing to participate with the inquiry. A grand jury charged him in November, and if found guilty, he could risk a year in jail and a fine of approximately $100,000.
In December, the House decided to submit Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, to the Department Of Justice for a criminal contempt prosecution. Meadows’ referral has gone unanswered by the Justice Department.
