Cheney Says Jan. 6 Committee Has Enough Evidence to Bring Trump Up On Criminal Charges

Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who is the Vice-Chair of the House Committee Investigating the Capitol Attack, recently appeared on CNN and confirmed that the committee does, in fact, have enough evidence to bring Donald Trump up on criminal charges.

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But whether the committee will actually make a referral to the Department of Justice is another story.

"We have not made a decision about referrals on the Committee," Cheney said on CNN's State of the Union program. "I think it's absolutely the case. It's absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing, what a number of people around him were doing - that they knew it was unlawful. They did it anyway."

Cheney said that it was obvious what happened that day was illegal, based on the words of Judge Carter who said "it was more likely than not that the President of the United States was engaged in criminal activity."

"I think what we have seen is a massive and well-organized and well-planned effort that used multiple tools to try and overturn an election," Cheney said.

Cheney referenced the plea agreement that Charles Donohoe, one of the leaders of the Proud Boys terrorist organization, reached with prosecutors.

He pled guilty to conspiracy and assaulting and impeding police offers, for his role in the January 6 Capitol attack.

According to CBS News, "The maximum charges are 20 years for conspiracy and eight years for the assaulting and impeding police charge, although he's expected to receive a lighter sentence for pleading guilty and cooperating with prosecutors."

Cheney said the story Donohoe told "lays out in really chilling detail the extent to which violence was planned, the extent to which the message went out on December 19 about the planning, about the rally in Washington. And don't forget, Donald Trump tweeted out that message: 'Be there, be wild.'"

Cheney said that the day after that message came out is when the planning of the Capitol attack started.

"They understood, they knew, that they were going to attempt to use violence to try and stop the transfer of power," Cheney said. "That is the definition of an insurrection and it is absolutely chilling."

The Committee does allegedly have enough information to bring Trump on criminal charges, but they are divided on whether or not to actual make a criminal referral to the DOJ.

According to a report from The New York Times, "The debate centers on whether making a referral — a largely symbolic act — would backfire by politically tainting the Justice Department’s expanding investigation into the Jan. 6 assault and what led up to it."