Congressional riot committee recommends three charges against Trump

A House panel investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., is considering recommending that the Justice Department bring three criminal charges, including insurrection, against former President Donald Trump.

The January 6 panel is also considering recommending that prosecutors pursue charges of obstruction of official process and conspiracy to defraud the United States, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The committee’s deliberations continued late Friday without formally deciding what specific charges the committee would bring to the Justice Department.

Those considerations were confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity and speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another person familiar with the deliberations confirmed that the committee is considering three charges.

The decision to publish testimonials was not a surprise. Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice chair, has been hinting for months that a criminal case could be brought to the Justice Department based on the trove of evidence the nine-member panel has gathered since it was formed in July 2021.

While Congress can refer criminal cases to the Justice Department, ultimately it is up to federal prosecutors to bring charges.

During the course of its investigation, the committee made recommendations that several members of Trump’s inner circle should be prosecuted for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas.