SAY WHAT?

Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Says They Won’t Refer Trump to the DOJ for Criminal Charges

Rep. Bennie Thompson’s remarks were soon disputed by other panel members, including Rep. Liz Cheney.

A rare public disagreement between members of the select House committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol occurred on Monday, with Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and his fellow panel members apparently split on whether or not they would be criminally referring former President Donald Trump or anyone else to the Justice Department. Responding to reporters, Thompson said, “No, that’s not our job. Our job is to look at the facts and circumstances around January 6, what caused it and make recommendations after that.” His remarks were first disputed by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who tweeted that “The January 6th Select Committee has not issued a conclusion regarding potential criminal referrals. We will announce a decision on that at an appropriate time.” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told CNN’s Anderson Cooper later that he had thought “we were deferring that decision until we concluded our investigation.” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) came out against Thompson more strongly, tweeting in part, “If any criminal activity occurred, it is our responsibility to report that activity to the DOJ.”