WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol assault will vote Monday to approve its final report and whether to refer any individuals for prosecution by the Justice Department or other sanctions.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee’s chairman, told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that the panel is considering referrals covering five or six “subject matter areas.”
He didn’t specify the potential targets or crimes under consideration, but the committee has been looking into recommending prosecution of former President Donald Trump and at least four of his associates for their actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the Capitol, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
Options for the committee include asking the Justice Department to prosecute the people for crimes or to pursue civil penalties. Referrals could also be made to the House ethics committee or state bar associations for other sanctions, including several members of Congress who did not comply with committee subpoenas.
“At this point we are” contemplating referrals to multiple entities, Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said.
Such referrals aren’t legally binding on the Justice Department or other agencies to follow through on. But they would represent a significant public statement about where the committee believes there is enough evidence to warrant prosecution or other sanction.
The panel met virtually on Sunday to discuss the matter and adjourned without announcing any decisions.
Thompson said the committee will conduct a “presentation” at the public session at 1 p.m. on Monday and vote on the referrals and final report. The committee is expected to release the report, which Thompson has said is currently eight chapters with an introduction, on Dec. 21.
“We looked at the schedule and it appears we can complete our work a little bit before that, so why not get it to the public as quick as we can,” Thompson said.
The committee faces an end-of-year sunset to its charter and authority and Republicans who won control of the House in the midterm elections are likely to disband the panel.
With a U.S. Justice Department investigation also under way, criminal referrals by the panel “aren’t necessarily something that is going to wake DOJ up to something they didn’t know before,” Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “But I do think it will be an important, symbolic thing that the committee can do.”
