The House Jan. 6 committee is amping up pressure on the Justice Department to speed up charges against Trump officials who refuse to cooperate with the committee’s investigation of the Capitol riot.
The Democrat-led panel urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to expedite the process for indicting those held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify to the committee.
The House has issued criminal referrals against several Trump administration aides, with the committee on Monday sending the full House contempt charges against Trump White House officials Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino.
The House is expected to vote on the referrals against the two men next week.
“Attorney General Garland, do your job so we can do ours,” said Rep. Elaine Luria, a Virginia Democrat on the Jan. 6 committee.
The House can’t charge an individual with a crime, but they can make referrals to the Justice Department to do it.
Lawmakers investigating the Capitol riot have grown increasingly frustrated over the lengthy review that has stalled a possible indictment of former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, whom the House voted to hold in contempt in December.
The committee members also cited a bombshell court ruling this week by U.S. District Court Judge David Carter that said former President Donald Trump likely broke the law to obstruct Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican and outspoken critic of Mr. Trump, said the ruling was a call to action to hold Mr. Trump accountable for the Capitol riot in which a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol to prevent the certification of President Biden’s election win.
“Judge Carter put it this way. [Had] President Trump’s plan worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy, and the Constitution,” Ms. Cheney said. “If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the court fears Jan. 6 will repeat itself.”
So far, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is the only member of the Trump administration to be indicted by the Justice Department. He is awaiting a criminal trial this summer.
The committee also voted to hold former Justice Department staffer Jeffrey Clark in contempt but the vote failed to reach the full House because he agreed to be interviewed by the panel.
In his interview, Mr. Clark pleaded his fifth amendment right over 100 times.
Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican on the Judiciary Committee, cast doubt on the Justice Department hastening the process of any criminal review because Democrats want it.
“I don’t remember the last time an official was indicted based on a congressional recommendation. It would be rare for that to happen,” Mr. Buck said. “We’ve had plenty of referrals, withheld people in contempt, and they haven’t been prosecuted. So, it would surprise me in this circumstance if these folks were indicted.”
Rep. Pete Aguilar, the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and a member of the Jan. 6 committee, said he wants to ensure the Justice Department is “committed to democracy.”
“We know that they have acted on that with the Steve Bannon contempt citation. We hope that they act on it with the Meadows citation and others that could follow,” Mr. Aguilar, California Democrat, told reporters.
He said, however, that there are major differences in the criminal referrals against Mr. Bannon and Mr. Meadows which may be delaying the process.
“Bannon was very clear. He didn’t show up. He didn’t acknowledge us. He didn’t do anything or lift a finger to engage with us,” Mr. Aguilar said. “Meadows did engage and gave us thousands of texts … we think there is other information that he has published in his book that is relevant to the committee’s work and we wanted him to come in.”
The Justice Department, which has charged over 800 people in connection to the riot, did not respond to a request for comment.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
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