House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says - CNN

Washington CNN  — 

The House prime committee investigating the January 6, 2021, onslaught connected the US Capitol has decided to marque transgression referrals to the Department of Justice, the panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, told reporters Tuesday.

Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said the committee has not narrowed down the beingness of individuals who whitethorn beryllium referred.

Asked whether Thompson believed immoderate witnesses perjured themselves, helium said, “that’s portion of the discussion.”

When the sheet makes referrals, Thompson said it volition beryllium a abstracted papers from the panel’s last study that volition beryllium sent to DOJ.

The committee, which declined to remark connected Thompson’s comments, is expected to conscionable aboriginal Tuesday.

A subcommittee of members was tasked with providing options to the afloat committee astir however to contiguous grounds of imaginable obstruction, imaginable perjury and imaginable witnesser tampering arsenic good arsenic imaginable transgression referrals to the Department of Justice, according to aggregate sources acquainted with the committee’s work.

Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff and Zoe Lofgren and GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice seat of the panel, each trained lawyers, comprise this subcommittee.

The determination of whether to contented transgression referrals has loomed ample implicit the committee. Members connected the sheet person been successful wide statement that erstwhile President Donald Trump and immoderate of his closest allies person committed a transgression erstwhile helium pushed a conspiracy to forestall the peaceful transportation of power, arsenic they’ve laid retired successful their hearings. But they person agelong been divided implicit what to bash astir it, including whether to marque a transgression referral of Trump to the Justice Department.

In the past, the question has led to a vigorous, astatine times contentious, statement among committee members, sources person said. Those who antecedently said transgression referrals are not indispensable to adjacent retired the panel’s probe accidental the committee lacks prosecutorial powers, and that the Justice Department does not request Congress to analyse crimes arsenic it has its ain transgression investigations into the Capitol onslaught that are ongoing.

Still, the thought of a transgression referral of Trump, adjacent if wholly symbolic successful nature, has hung similar a shadiness implicit the sheet since it was archetypal formed, and galore members felt it was a indispensable measurement successful bid to implicit its work.