By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Jan. 6 select House committee voted Monday to refer former President Donald Trump to the Department of Justice for potential criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The House Select Committee - tasked with investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol - concluded there was “more than sufficient evidence” for the criminal referral of Trump “for aiding and assisting those at the Capitol who engaged in a violent attack on the United States.”
The committee’s raft of criminal referrals was based on four recommendations; alleging that Trump obstructed an official proceeding, conspired to defraud the government, made materially false statements to the federal government, and incited or assisted an insurrection.
If convicted and charged with insurrection, Trump could be banned from holding Federal office again, according to U.S. legislation.
No person having previously taken an oath can “hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State” if they then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,” according to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
A criminal referral is a just a recommendation from the committee to pursue an investigation. The DoJ, however, isn’t obligated to pursue criminal charges.
Jack Smith, who was appointed special counsel for the DoJ in November for the government’s investigations of Trump, will now decide how the Justice Department is to proceed with the committee’s recommendations.