Open Civil War Breaks out on the January 6th Committee After Statement on a Possible Donald Trump Criminal Referral – Opinion

Multiple members of the January 6th Committee declared on Sunday that there was enough evidence for a criminal case against Donald Trump. That sent the media into a frenzy as another “the walls are closing in” moment unfolded. The former president was walking in their dreams.

That was…until Monday evening arrived. A sudden twist of events saw Rep. Bennie Thompson (chair of the January 6th committee) announce that they will no longer make criminal referrals to Trump or anyone else.

Here’s the news via two separate sources.

NEW – @BennieGThompsonAccording to Jan. 6, the select cmte won’t refer Trump or any other criminal matter to the Justice Department.

— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) June 13, 2022

Here’s the money quote per CNN.

Pressed again on whether the committee would ever make a formal referral to the Justice Department, the Mississippi Democrat said, “No, that’s not our job. Our job is to look at the facts and circumstances around January 6, what caused it and make recommendations after that.”

The January 6th committee has lived this story since it’s inept, illegal creation. They over-promise and underdeliver — every single time. We’ve been hearing about bombshell evidence proving Trump engaged in a criminal conspiracy to cause the Capitol breach for over a year now. Is it there? How will they link the dots that they continue insisting they have? With two hearings down, there’s no sign any such evidence is coming.

Now, Thompson basically says “Well, yeah, we’ve got the goods, but we won’t be making any criminal referrals.” Does that pass the smell test for anyone? It shows that they can expect even more from the hearings where they are leaving. There will be more emotional speeches and interviews with irrelevant people, like Chris Stirewalt. But there is no evidence to support their claims.

And before some on the left try to cope by saying it’s not Congress’ job to make criminal referrals, the committee absolutely has the power to do so. Its members also stated that they are able to do so. How can I find out? Because after Thompson’s comments, Rep. Liz Cheney immediately fired back, saying there has been no decision on any criminal referral regarding Trump.

Rep. Liz Cheney, who serves as vice chair of the committee, released a statement contradicting the chairman’s comments. “The January 6th Select Committee has not issued a conclusion regarding potential criminal referrals. We will announce a decision on that at an appropriate time,” the Wyoming Republican tweeted.

This comment was a rare break in public between the leaders of the committee.

Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Elaine Luria also tried to walk back Thompson’s proclamation, with the latter directly undermining the chairman.

“You know, I haven’t seen the chairman’s statements,” Schiff told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “We haven’t had a discussion about that, so I don’t know that the committee has reached a position on whether we make a referral or what the referrals might be. I assumed we would defer that decision until the end of our investigation. At least that’s my understanding.”

Rep. Elaine Luria, a Virginia Democrat, went a step further, tweeting, “Our committee has yet to vote on whether we will recommend criminal referrals to the Department of Justice. If criminal activity occurred, it is our responsibility to report that activity to the DOJ.”

Although there is no evidence to link Trump to the Jan 6th riot coordination, the committee that was supposed to make this connection seems to be in serious trouble. It is not an indicator of where internal affairs are at the moment that they felt the need for them to all make their differences public. This could be a good time, especially if they stick to their guns.