Jan. 6 committee refers Trump to DOJ for criminal charges

Chairman Bennie Thompson, in his opening statement, said he believes committee's work over the past 18 months can help hold those responsible for the Capitol attack accountable.

"We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to justice and that the agencies and institutions responsible for ensuring justice under law will use the information we provided to aid in their work," Thompson said.

"This committee is nearing the end of its work, but as a country we remain in strange and uncharted waters," Thompson said. "We've never had a president of the United States stir up a violent attempt to block the transfer of power. I believe, nearly two years later, this is still a time of reflection and reckoning."

"If we are to survive as a nation of laws and democracy, this can never happen again," he warned.

After gaveling in the committee's meeting, Chairman Bennie Thompson said Donald Trump broke the "faith in our system" when he failed to accept the results of the 2020 election.

"He lost the 2020 election and knew it, but he chose to try to stay in office through a multi-part scheme, overturn the results and blocked the transfer of power," Thompson said.

"In the end, he summoned the mob to Washington knowing they were armed and angry, pointed them to the Capitol and told them to fight like hell," Thompson added. There's no doubt about this."

The final business meeting of the Jan. 6 committee is underway, bringing members’ 18-month-long investigation to a dramatic and televised close.

After ten public hearings and hundreds of hours of closed-door depositions on what led to the Capitol attack, the committee is meeting publicly one last time to present referrals and vote to approve its final report.

Members are expected to release an executive summary of their report following the meeting including details on expected criminal referrals as well as more information about witnesses who have appeared before the committee, according to a committee aide. Sources tell ABC News members are expected to recommend criminal charges against Trump.

Monday’s executive summary comes ahead of a fuller release of the committee’s final report on Wednesday. The select committee is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2022, just days before Republicans take back control of the House.

Going into the committee room on Monday, Chairman Bennie Thompson told reporters the committee plans to transmit the criminal referrals to the Department of Justice shortly after they "take care of business today."

Thompson also said he has no plans to meet with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the Justice Department's major Jan. 6 cases as well as the department’s investigation into classified documents taken from the White House by Trump.

-ABC News Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin