Investigators for the House’s Jan. 6 committee are reportedly weighing the possibility of pursuing criminal referrals against Donald Trump and his allies for wire fraud and obstruction of Congress. Citing sources briefed on the matter, The New York Times reports that investigators are zeroing in on any behind-the-scenes conversations Trump had with his allies following the Nov. 3 election last year, in the hopes of determining whether there is evidence to warrant a criminal referral for the disruption of Congress’ certification of election results. The charge is the same one federal prosecutors have used against hundreds of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol, apparently spurred on by Trump’s repeated claims of the election being “stolen.”
In addition, according to the Times, investigators are looking for evidence of any wire fraud by Trump or his GOP allies in the millions of dollars they raised off of baseless election-fraud claims. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a member of the committee, said it was “certainly possible” the investigation would lead to criminal referrals for people involved, the Times reports. “I wouldn’t exclude that possibility,” he said. The congressional committee has no power to file charges against any subjects of their probe, but they can send the matter to the Justice Department and recommend federal investigation.
Read it at The New York Times
