According to media reports, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots has identified not only former President Donald Trump, but at least four additional people associated with him, as well as a 2020 We are considering a criminal referral to efforts to overthrow the election.
Among them are former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, attorney John Eastman and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clarke.
CNN and Bloomberg reported.
Rep. Benny Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the panel, said a virtual meeting will be held on Sunday to make a final decision. It is unclear what charges the commission is considering against the five individuals.
Thompson previously told reporters the committee would publicly vote on criminal charges on December 21.
He also recently confirmed that at least one person will be sent to the Justice Department.
At its final hearing in October, the committee voted to serve a subpoena calling Trump a “main figure” in the riots, but the former president did not cooperate with the investigation.
Meadows has previously been accused of insulting Congress over his January 6 decision to stop working with the commission. He handed over thousands of text messages and emails after being subpoenaed in September 2021, but has since stopped engaging with the panel and urged the committee to take action. decided not to.
Giuliani reportedly sat down for an interview with the members on Jan. 6 in May, complying with previous subpoenas for testimony and documents. The commission said Giuliani had uncovered allegations of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and “attempted to persuade state legislators to take steps to overturn the results of the election.” He said he would contact Trump and members of Congress to find a way to delay or stop vote verification.
Eastman is seen as one of the key architects of the fake electoral college scheme that called for using pro-Trump electors to replace Joe Biden in key battleground states won by the current president. I’m here. He was also accused of pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the vote.
Clark, a former environmental attorney in the Justice Department’s Civil Division, was threatened with congressional criminal contempt for refusing to answer questions during an interview with the panel. held another deposition granting the Fifth Amendment to The subpoena sent to Clark said he “tried to involve the Justice Department in an effort to impede the peaceful transition of power.”
