Jan. 6 committee refers Trump to DOJ for criminal charges
Criminal referrals on multiple charges were approved unanimously.
The House select committee examining the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol has held its final public meeting.
The panel voted to approve criminal referrals for former President Donald Trump regarding his failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Here's how the story developed:
- Trump responds to the Jan. 6 committee's criminal referrals
- Committee releases 160-page executive summary of final report
- Who is John Eastman?
- Panel refers four Republican lawmakers to the House Committee on Ethics
- Committee votes to approve referrals, final report
- Committee approves four criminal referrals for Trump
How Trump has responded to the Jan. 6 committee
The House Jan. 6 select committee in a matter of hours will consider its final report, which is expected to reveal how far it will go in accusing Trump of deep involvement in what it says was a plot to overturn the 2020 election.
Even before it began a series of high-profile public hearings in June, Trump repeatedly railed against the panel, dubbing it the "unselect" committee and casting it as a partisan "witch hunt," attacking witnesses and denying wrongdoing, all while making false claims of widespread election fraud two years ago.
The committee, meanwhile, has interviewed scores of witnesses and heard their dramatic testimony in front of TV cameras, delivering a slate of bombshells about the inner workings of the Trump White House leading up to Jan. 6 and on the day itself.
Click here for some of what Trump has said.
-ABC News' Tal Axelrod
Expect 'five or six' categories of referrals: Chairman
The most important business at hand when the select committee meets this afternoon is the committee's highly anticipated decision on criminal referrals.
Sources familiar told ABC News the committee is preparing to urge the Department of Justice to prosecute Donald Trump for obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Another criminal charge under discussion is insurrection, the sources said.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., tasked a subcommittee to make recommendations on criminal referrals and to also explore enforcement options for the five Republican lawmakers who ignored subpoenas to testify: Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Andy Biggs, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry and Mo Brooks.
Thompson has said to expect "five or six" categories of referrals, which means there could be referrals to several different entities such as the Justice Department or the House Committee on Ethics.
The extent of the criminal referrals, and who will be targeted, will be made clear in a matter of hours when the committee releases a separate, shorter report on the matter. Any referrals would be a largely symbolic move, though, as it's ultimately up to federal prosecutors whether to pursue charges.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders
Liz Cheney's mission: Keep Donald Trump out of the White House
Rep. Liz Cheney will make a last high-profile stand against Donald Trump when the Jan. 6 committee holds its final public meeting in a matter of hours -- as sources say it's preparing to recommend the first-ever criminal charges against a former president.
It's cost the Wyoming Republican her political career to take on Trump, but she's said she has no regrets -- making the case she has a higher mission: to keep him from ever regaining the White House.
After voting to impeach Trump, and then accepting an invitation to serve on the select committee, she lost her No. 3 House GOP leadership position and ultimately, her congressional seat.
But in doing so, she also won unlikely supporters as she exposed what she called Trump's seven-point plan to steal the election and admonished her Republican colleagues who, she said, lacked the courage to do the same.
Committee to release summary of final report
The Jan. 6 committee is expected to release an executive summary of its findings after Monday’s meeting concludes.
"Following the business meeting, the Select Committee is expected to release certain materials, including an executive summary of the report, details on referrals, and additional information about witnesses who have appeared before the committee,” a select committee aide said in a statement on Sunday.
Select committee members have not yet provided DOJ investigators with copies of the committee's transcripts and witness interviews -- with members opting to do so at the end of their investigation.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders
Final committee meeting begins
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.