During an appearance on ABC News on Sunday, House select committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney said the panel investigating the January 6 insurrection could issue multiple criminal referrals, including for former President Donald Trump.
“We’ll make a decision as a committee about it,” the Wyoming Republican told the network when asked about the prospect of referring Trump for prosecution and saying “yes” when asked whether a referral of Trump was possible.
“The Justice Department doesn’t have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral, and there could be more than one criminal referral,” Cheney said.
The January 6 panel has been split on the issue of criminal referrals, even as members are in wide agreement that Trump committed a crime when he pushed conspiracies about the 2020 election.
But Cheney told ABC News it was probable that the panel would take a stance on whether Trump should be prosecuted.
“We may well as a committee have a view on that,” she said. “If you just think about it from the perspective of: What kind of man knows that a mob is armed and sends the mob to attack the Capitol and further incites that mob when his own vice president is under threat?”
“It’s very chilling, and I think certainly we will continue to present to the American people what we’ve found,” she continued. “The committee has significant evidence on a whole range of issues, including the President’s intense anger,” she added. “You will continue to see in coming days and weeks additional detail about the President’s activities and behavior on that day.”
Cheney also said the Republican Party would not survive if Trump is selected as the GOP presidential nominee in 2024.
Watch the interview below:
Liz Cheney tells ABC it's possible the January 6 committee makes a criminal referral recommending to the DOJ that Donald Trump be prosecuted pic.twitter.com/jgNN3GGd2K
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 3, 2022
