Jan. 6 committee refers Trump to DOJ for criminal charges

Rep. Pete Aguilar, in his opening remarks, focused on how Trump attempted to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally overturn his 2020 election loss.

Aguilar said Trump "embraced an illegal scheme" proposed by attorney John Eastman that claimed the vice president has the power to reject electoral votes during the joint session of Congress to certify the votes.

The scheme, Aguilar said, culminated in a "dangerous threat to Mr. Pence's life on Jan. 6."

"Rioters at the Capitol were heard chanting, 'Hang Mike Pence' through the afternoon," Aguilar said. "As a result of this unrest, Vice President Pence was forced to flee to a secure location."

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., outlined Trump's pressure campaign on state officials to stop Biden's certification, as members took turns linking the actions of Trump and his allies to potential criminal charges.

Schiff displayed images of fake elector certificates alongside real ones, telling how the "intentionally false" certificates were "transmitted to multiple officers of the federal government" and "were intended to interfere with the proper conduct of the joint session."

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., emphasized how Trump was repeatedly told there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the presidential election, including three times from Attorney General Bill Barr, who called the claims "bull***."

But that didn't stop Trump from going to extreme lengths to stay in power, Kinzinger said.

"It was only after the threat of mass resignations that President Trump rescinded his offer" to one loyalist, Jeffrey Clark, to replace Barr as attorney general.

Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the panel found evidence that Trump raised hundreds of millions of dollars on false elections claims, some of which was used to hire lawyers to "provide and offer employment to witnesses."

Lofgren said that a female witness was offered a job from entities "linked" to Trump, and the offer was withdrawn once reports of her testimony circulated.

"We are concerned these efforts may have been a strategy to prevent the committee from finding the truth," she said.

Lofgren also played a new clip of a recent interview with former Trump adviser Hope Hicks, who said she expressed concern Trump was damaging his legacy with false fraud claims.

Hicks recalled Trump saying, "'Nobody will care about my legacy if I lose, so that won't matter. The only thing that matters is winning.'"

"Donald Trump knowingly and corruptly repeated election fraud lies, which incited his supporters to violence on January 6," Lofgren said. "He continues to repeat his meritless claim that the election was stolen even today."

For Americans who might have missed some of the hearings, the committee played a montage of highlights from its hearings and closed-door videotaped depositions to hammer home their findings that Trump was told he lost the election but pushed forward with an attempt to remain in power anyway.

That included deposition from former Attorney General Bill Barr, who told the committee that he thought Trump's claims of fraud were "bull****." Also played again Thursday was deposition from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who told the committee he described Trump's plan to install a loyalist to be acting attorney general as a "murder-suicide pact."

Moments from Cassidy Hutchinson's bombshell testimony were also played, including her comments about Trump's desire to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6.