The final public hearing of the January 6 House Select Committee was held on Monday afternoon—with committee members revealing criminal referrals for numerous individuals involved in the planning of last year's insurrection attempt.
Chief among those individuals was former President Donald Trump, the first president in American history to be the subject of such criminal referrals. As committee member Jamie Raskin laid out during the hearing, Trump is being referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for charges of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and inciting, assisting, or aiding and comforting an insurrection.
Who Received Criminal Referrals For The Jan. 6 Insurrection Attempt?
Other figures in Trump's orbit during the lead-up to the Capitol riots were also singled out in the committee's final report as co-conspirators involved in crafting the scheme to overturn the election. In total, five men were referred to the DOJ for criminal charges for their part in the insurrection, though not all for the same charges:
- John Eastman,
- Mark Meadows,
- Rudy Guiliani,
- Kenneth Cheseboro, and
- Jeffrey Clark.
As broken down by New York Times congressional reporter Luke Broadwater, Trump is the only one being referred for a charge of insurrection. All six individuals are being referred, for conspiracy to defraud the United States. All except Giuliani and Meadows were referred for obstruction of an official proceeding. Lastly, Trump, Eastman, and Cheseboro were referred for conspiracy to make a false statement.
Who Is John Eastman?
Eastman is a lawyer who closely advised Trump during the days between the 2020 general election and the attack on the Capitol. The select committee's findings indicated that he played a key role in crafting the plan presented to Trump which incorrectly asserted that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to throw out the results of the election during the certification process.
Who Is Kenneth Cheseboro?
Cheseboro was another lawyer advising Trump at the time and was said to be involved with conversations between the former president at Eastman. At one point, CBS News, among others, reported that Cheseboro suggested that Pence could recuse himself from the certification count, allowing a different senior Republican to take over and count false alternate electoral slates to help Trump keep power.
Who Is Rudy Giuliani?
The former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani served on Trump's legal team starting in 2018. He notably appeared at the rally prior to the riots and called for a "trial by combat."
Who Is Mark Meadows?
Mark Meadows was Trump's White House Chief of Staff during roughly the last nine months of his presidency and was heavily implicated by the select committee for playing a part in the conspiracy to overturn the election. He was held in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the committee's investigation, but the DOJ declined to pursue charges.
Who Is Jeffrey Clark?
Clark was Assistant Attorney General at the time and notably worked on a draft letter that would have called for the DOJ to investigate "irregularities in the 2020 election" in contested swing states, the goal being to alternate electors slates for Trump. The proposal was dismissed by acting DOJ leadership.
Trump's Response
Trump's immediate response to the news of his criminal referral was a brief post on Truth Social, stating "...But Liz Chaney lost by a record 40 points!" Committee member and outgoing Republican Representative Liz Cheney received praise on social media for her address near the start of the hearing, in which she said that Trump was "unfit for any office."
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
