The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on our Capitol will take up criminal referrals against former President Donald Trump. The panel will urge the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against the one-term President, including insurrection. The other two charges that will be pursued are obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Via Politico:
The report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon, described to POLITICO by two people familiar with its contents, reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential criminal referrals. Among the charges that the subcommittee proposes for Trump: 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection; 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding; and 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government.
Insurrection.
To justify incitement of insurrection, the report references U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta's February ruling saying Trump's language plausibly incited violence on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters besieged the Capitol in a bid to disrupt congressional certification of his loss to Joe Biden. The report also cites the Senate's 57 votes in last year's impeachment trial, Trump's second, to convict him on an "incitement of insurrection" charge passed by the House.
The select panel's report also notes that, in order to violate the insurrection statute, Trump did not need an express agreement with rioters — but rather, simply needed to provide "aid or comfort" to them.
Trump is going to lose his little mind over this. The former President has never been held accountable for his actions, so it's about time. I feel a trumper tantrum coming.
