U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | beautiful pictures
The congressional committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, said on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump may have committed a crime to overturn his defeat in the election. .
“Evidence and information available to the Committee establishes a good faith belief that Mr. Trump and others may have engaged in criminal and/or fraudulent acts,” the committee said in a filing. court.
“The Selection Committee also had good grounds to conclude that the President and members of his Campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States,” the filing said.
Court documents were filed in federal court in Los Angeles as part of the U.S. House Representative Selection Committee’s dispute with John Eastman, an attorney who advised Trump on plans to repeal. Election results in key battleground states.
Eastman sued the committee in December, seeking to block a congressional subpoena asking him to turn over thousands of emails.
Members of the Selection Committee said they would consider turning evidence of Trump’s criminal conduct to the US Department of Justice. Such a move, known as a criminal referral, would be largely symbolic but would increase political pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to impeach the former president.
Representatives for Eastman and Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The committee’s leaders said in a statement that “Eastman’s emails may indicate he helped Donald Trump conduct a corrupt plot to obstruct the electoral college vote count and a conspiracy hinder the transfer of power.”
Law enforcement agencies in California on Tuesday said they were investigating Eastman and whether he acted unethically while working for Trump. The investigation could lead to disciplinary action against Eastman, such as the suspension of his license to practice law.
