The House January sixth committee is wrapping up its investigation of the violent 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection. The panel declares it has assembled a “roadmap to justice” to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his allies. As they cap one of the most exhaustive and aggressive congressional probes in memory, the panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans are recommending criminal charges against Trump and associates who helped him launch a multifaceted pressure campaign to try to overturn his 2020 election loss.
The panel also subpoenaed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Mo Brooks of Alabama. The panel has investigated McCarthy’s conversations with Trump the day of the attack and meetings the four other lawmakers had with the White House beforehand as Trump and some of his allies worked to overturn his election defeat.
The committee referred four of these House Republicans who ignored congressional subpoenas from the panel to the House Ethics Committee. Alabama Republican Mo Brooks came under scrutiny for his actions prior to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The GOP lawmaker is leaving Congress after a failed run for the U.S. Senate. The Committee did not name Brooks for referral to House Ethics.
The committee alleged violations of four criminal statutes by Trump, in both the run-up to the riot and during the insurrection itself, as it recommended the former president for prosecution to the Justice Department. The charges recommended by the committee are conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to make a false statement and insurrection.
