The House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection in the Capitol will soon make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, Reuters reported.
Chairman of the Jan. 6 committee Rep. Bennie Thompson confirmed the panel agreed to make the criminal referrals.
The targets and details about the referrals were not immediately clear, and the panel’s chairman Bennie Thompson affirmed to reporters only that the panel would issue citations.
A referral does not necessarily mean that the Justice Department will decide to file charges.
But the decision to move forward with referrals comes days after a special four-member subcommittee established to consider the issue recommended that the full committee seek prosecution from the justice department for a number of individuals connected to January 6.
The referrals could follow two tracks. First, they could be citations for things that Congress can request prosecution by statutes, such as perjury or witness tampering. Or secondly, they could be wider-ranging recommendations such as making the case that Donald Trump obstructed an official proceeding on 6 January, The Hill reported.
The Jan. 6 Committee has spent more than a year investigating the attack on the Capitol when thousands of supporters of then-president Donald Trump stormed the capitol after he gave a fiery speech claiming he did not lose the election, and his defeat was due to fraud.
Trump’s supporters attacked the Capitol to stop the certification of Democratic Joe Biden, who won the election.
A subcommittee of the panel has been studying whether to issue criminal referrals for Trump and some of his closest associates.
The panel is expected to issue a report on its findings this month. Announcing that criminal referrals will be made will heighten tensions ahead of the release of its final report.
The panel was established by a Democratic majority House. Because the Republicans will have control of the House beginning in January, the panel is expected to be dissolved.
The DOJ is also conducting its own investigation into the insurrection.
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