Topline
The House January 6 Committee disclosed in a legal filing late Wednesday it has a “good-faith belief” that former President Donald Trump committed crimes in his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election—potentially presaging a criminal investigation into the ex-president and adding to Trump’s slew of existing legal troubles over his post-election efforts.
Key Facts
The January 6 committee found there’s enough evidence to suggest Trump and his allies potentially violated laws that prohibit obstructing an official U.S. proceeding and engaged in a “criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States” and common law fraud.
The committee can’t undertake a criminal investigation into Trump or charge him with a crime itself, but they can refer the issue to the Department of Justice, which could then launch an investigation into the ex-president.
That would be the second known criminal investigation Trump faces for his post-election campaign, along with one from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who’s probing whether Trump committed crimes in his effort to overturn Georgia’s election results.
A grand jury in the Georgia investigation will be convened in May, and Willis told CNN in February she will start subpoenaing witnesses in May and over the summer.
A federal district judge ruled in February that three lawsuits blaming Trump for the January 6 attack can move forward, finding Trump’s behavior leading up to the riot could constitute “plausible conspiracy.”
At least four other lawsuits over Trump’s role on January 6 brought by Capitol police officers are still pending, as are two civil lawsuits from voting machine company workers challenging Trump’s fraud allegations involving their machines.
Tangent
Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine’s office said in the aftermath of the January 6 attack that he was also investigating whether the president’s behavior violated any D.C. laws, though it’s unclear if Racine’s investigation is moving forward.
What To Watch For
Whether the evidence established by the January 6 committee of Trump’s alleged wrongdoing will put enough pressure on the Justice Department to open an investigation, though it’s still unclear whether or not they will. The DOJ has drawn criticism from many Democrats for its refusal to take up any probes into the ex-president so far, with House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) saying in October he believes U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has a “real desire … not to look backward” by litigating Trump’s presidency. Criminal investigations into Trump could carry more hefty punishments like prison time, while the civil lawsuits against him would result in consequences like having to pay monetary damages to the plaintiffs.
Chief Critic
Trump has opposed the investigations and litigation against him and continues to assert baseless claims that the 2020 election was “rigged,” despite a lack of evidence of any widespread fraud. The president’s attorneys have also alleged that Trump’s statements at a rally ahead of the January 6 attack constitute protected speech under the First Amendment and Trump has legal “immunity” because his statements were made as part of his presidential duties—though the judge overseeing the January 6 lawsuits found these arguments to be unpersuasive.
Key Background
Trump and his allies undertook an extensive campaign after the 2020 election to try and overturn the results, including through dozens of failed lawsuits, appeals to state officials, a pressure campaign for Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to approve the results—and ultimately culminating in the January 6 riot. The legal liability the ex-president now faces for his election efforts is part of a broader mountain of legal issues Trump faces after leaving the White House, which also include multiple investigations into the Trump Organization and a defamation lawsuit from E. Jean Carroll, who has accused Trump of sexual assault.
Further Reading
January 6 House Panel Alleges Criminal Conspiracy By Trump In Court Filing (Forbes)
Tracking Trump: A Rundown Of All The Lawsuits And Investigations Involving The Former President (Forbes)
Atlanta DA investigating Trump’s election interference: ‘We’re not here playing a game’ (CNN)
