January 6 panel chair says Trump ‘broke the faith’ of US elections in final session
The House January 6 select committee has officially voted to refer former president Donald Trump to the Department of Justice for prosecution on charges stemming from alleged violations of at least five separate sections of the United States criminal code, bringing an end to a 18-month investigation into his role in the Capitol riot.
Monday’s meeting marks the culmination of a year of exhaustive investigations and witness interviews by the House select committee as they investigated what happened that day and how it was fuelled by the former president’s ongoing lies about the 2020 presidential election.
By unanimous consent, the committee voted to transmit the panel’s findings to Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who in addition to supervising the probe into Mr Trump’s possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, is overseeing ongoing investigations into the ex-president’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Ethics charges were also recommended for four Republican lawmakers for failing to comply with subpoenas issued by the committee. The panel also voted to adopt their final report, outlining its justification for recommending charges, which will be released on Wednesday.
