Schiff says Trump broke the law, refusing to disclose specific criminal referrals ahead of Jan. 6 meeting

[ad_1]

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday that the House committee on Jan. 6 has evidence that former President Donald Trump broke the law, but declined to ask about criminal referrals it may have made before the final panel meeting on Monday.

In an interview on CNNs State of the Union, Schiff, a member of the committee, cited Trump’s many efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including insisting that state officials go along with his false claims of mass election fraud. If that’s not criminal, I don’t know what is, he said.

Schiff, however, declined to comment on possible referrals the committee might make, saying the panel is set to vote on them and reveal its decision on Monday, as well as release its final report later this month. .

But I can tell you that our process is to carefully look at the evidence and compare it with different laws. Is there sufficient evidence about each element of a particular crime? he said. We don’t refer, or at least vote to refer, everything we think might have evidence, because we want to focus on those where we believe there is the strongest evidence.

The committee, predicting the possibility of referring Trump to the Justice Department for a crime, is actively considering charges of insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy.

While all three are possible, the panel has yet to make a final decision, three sources involved in the committee’s deliberations told NBC News last week. These potential recommendations are not necessarily reserved for Trump and could also include referrals to other government agencies or the House Ethics Committee.

Schiff reiterated that he thinks the former president violated many criminal laws and should be prosecuted like any other American who breaks the law.

Asked if the panel would refer members of Congress who ignored subpoenas from the panel to the ethics committee, Schiff said its decision on the appropriate remedy for lawmakers including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Scott Perry, R-Pa. will also be made public on Monday.

We have weighed: What is the remedy for members of Congress? Is this a criminal referral to another branch of government, or is it better for Congress to police itself? he said, adding that the panel considers censorship and ethics referrals.

Summer Concepcion is a political reporter for NBC News.

Ryan Nobles, Haley Talbot, Ali Vitali, Jonathan Allen and Garrett Haake contributed.

[ad_2]