Adam Schiff says 'evidence is there' to charge Trump over Capitol riot

Adam Schiff says ‘evidence is there’ to charge Trump over Capitol riot: January 6 committee member does NOT rule out ‘criminal referral’ for GOP lawmakers accused of helping ex-president overturn 2020

  • Schiff is the House Intelligence Committee chairman and a Jan. 6 panel member
  • He declined to go into what referrals the committee will make on Monday 
  • The Jan. 6 committee is widely expected to refer Trump for criminal charges 

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said on Sunday that he believes the ‘evidence is there’ for the Justice Department to charge Donald Trump with ‘multiple’ crimes linked to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

He spoke with CNN’s State of the Union a day before the likely final public meeting of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Lawmakers on the panel are reportedly going to vote on referring criminal charges against Trump to the Justice Department.  

Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman and a January 6 committee member, also did not rule out criminal referrals for his Congressional colleagues who were accused of helping Trump with his plan.

‘I think that the evidence is there that Donald Trump committed criminal offenses in connection with his efforts to overturn the election. And viewing it as a former prosecutor, I think there’s sufficient evidence to charge the president,’ Schiff said in his Sunday interview.

‘This is someone who tried to interfere with a joint session, even inciting a mob to attack the Capitol. If that’s not criminal, then – then I don’t know what it is.’

He confirmed the panel would be voting on its next steps on Monday but refused to elaborate on what kind of referrals will be made.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) tells CNN host Jake Tapper why the Jan. 6 committee believes former President Donald Trump committed criminal offenses in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election

The January 6 committee is also expected to release a final report later this week summarizing its findings.

Across nine public hearings, the committee outlined its case against Trump and his allies using hundreds of hours of testimony – both public and private – as well as video evidence and thousands of pages’ worth of communications. 

The lawmakers claim that the January 6 attack was not a sudden, violent incident but rather the last-ditch effort by Trump to stay in power.

They have also detailed efforts by some allies of Trump in Congress – including House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry – to help him by pressing their state’s officials to delegitimize unfavorable election results.

None of the sitting House Republicans who were subpoenaed by the committee complied with it.

Asked about reports that the panel is considering ethics referrals for those lawmakers, Schiff said, ‘We will also be considering, what’s the appropriate remedy for members of Congress who ignore a congressional subpoena, as well as the evidence that was so pertinent to our investigation and why we wanted to bring them in.’

The committee, which Schiff is a part of, is holding its final public hearing on Monday

They’re expected to vote on whether to send the Justice Department criminal referrals about Trump – and possibly his allies

‘So that will be something we will be considering tomorrow,’ he continued.

‘We have weighed: what is the remedy for members of Congress? Is it a criminal referral to another branch of government, or is it better that the Congress police its own?’

He added, ‘Censure was something that we have considered. Ethics referrals is something we have considered. And we will be disclosing tomorrow what our decision is.’

And while he refused to give specifics on what crimes Trump himself is expected to be accused of,  Schiff indicated that he believes the ex-president ran afoul of the ‘criminal statute’ of insurrection.

‘If you can prove that someone incited an insurrection, that is, they incited violence against the government, or they gave aid and comfort to those who did, that violates that law,’ Schiff said.

‘And if you look at Donald Trump’s acts, and you match them up against the statute, it’s a pretty good match.’

He added, ‘I realize that statute hasn’t been used in a long time. But, then, when we had a president essentially incite an attack on his own government?’

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