What’s the Final Message of the January 6 Committee?
They’ll write a report, maybe make a criminal referral—but what does it mean?
Ever since the U.S. House of Representatives formed a select committee on the January 6 attack on the Capitol, journalists and commentators have left open the question of whether the committee will ultimately recommend that the Justice Department open a criminal investigation into former president Donald Trump. The committee itself doesn’t have the power to bring criminal charges. It can only make a formal statement saying it hopes the Justice Department will do it.
Whether they’ll make such a statement remains a question. It’s an odd question, because for these seven Democrats and two Republicans to serve on this committee in the first place, they had to believe that something was very wrong. They are, after all, making a serious inquiry into the former president, his inner circle, and many of their contacts, including the committee members’ own colleagues in Washington. During a year and three months (and counting), they’ve interviewed over a thousand people. What they’ve learned in the process has strengthened their initial suspicions that Trump committed crimes. The committee has called January 6 a “criminal conspiracy,” and more specifically, it has called Trump’s attempts to overturn the election…
