J. Scott Applewhite/AP
- Rep. Schiff said there’s evidence to criminally charge Donald Trump for his 2020 election interference.
- The Jan. 6 committee plans to vote on three criminal referrals for the Justice Department, per reports.
- On CNN, Schiff said Trump’s actions are a “pretty good match” to the criminal definition of insurrection.
Rep. Adam Schiff said he believes there is enough evidence to criminally charge former President Donald Trump for his attempts to subvert the 2020 election.
Schiff’s comments to CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday come after reports that the House January 6 Committee, of which Schiff is a member, is expected to recommend three criminal charges for Trump to the Justice Department, Insider previously reported.
“I think that the evidence is there that Donald Trump committed criminal offenses in connection with his efforts to overturn the election, and viewing it as a former prosecutor, I think there’s sufficient evidence to charge the president,” Schiff said on CNN Sunday.
“I don’t know what the justice department has. I do know what’s in the public record. The evidence seems pretty plain to me,” The California Democrat added.
The January 6 committee is expected to publish a final report next week, urging the Justice Department to charge Trump with insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the US government, POLITICO and other outlets reported on Friday.
“This is someone who in multiple ways tried to pressure state officials to find votes that didn’t exist. This is someone who tried to interfere with the joint session, even inciting a mob to attack the Capitol. If that’s not criminal, then I don’t know what is,” Schiff said.
—CNN (@CNN) December 18, 2022
The congressman said the committee would vote on which referrals to make to the DOJ, as well as to approve its overall report.
“I think the president has violated multiple criminal laws, and I think you have to be treated like any other American who breaks the law, and that is you have to be prosecuted,” Schiff said. “If you can prove that someone incited an insurrection, that is they incited violence against the government, or they gave aid and comfort to those who did, that violates that law. And if you look at Donald Trump’s acts and match them up against the statute, it’s a pretty good match.”
“I realize that statute hasn’t been used in a long time but then when have we had a president essentially incite an attack on his own government,” he added.
