Mr. Raskin, for the opening
statement.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I want to thank you for your
extraordinary leadership of this
committee.
Generations to come will praise
you and the vice chair for your
unswerving devotion to the rule
of law.
Several months ago you tasked
several of our members in a
subcommittee with bringing
recommendations to the full
committee about potential
referrals to the department of
justice and other authorities
based on evidence of criminal
and civil offenses that has come
to our attention over the course
of our investigation.
We are now prepared to share
those recommendations today.
Mr. Chairman, let me begin with
relevant background
considerations to our criminal
referrals.
The dangerous assault on
American constitutional
democracy that took place on
January 6, 2021, consists of
hundreds of individual criminal
offenses.
Most such crimes are already
being prosecuted by the
department of justice.
We proposed to the committee
advancing referrals where the
gravity of the specific offense,
severity of its actual harm, and
the centrality of the offender
to the overall design of the
unlawful scheme to overthrow the
election compel us to speak.
Ours is not a system of justice
where foot soldiers go to jail
in the mastermind -- and the
master minds and ring leaders
get a free pass.
Mr. Chairman, as you know, our
committee had the opportunity
last spring to present much of
our evidence to a federal judge,
something that distinguishes our
investigation from any other
congressional investigation I
can recall.
In the context of resolving
evidentiary privileged issues
related to the crime fraud
doctrine in the Eastman case,
U.S. District court judge David
Carter examined just a small
subset of our evidence to
determine whether it showed the
likely commission of a federal
offense.
The judge concluded that both
former president Donald Trump
and John Eastman likely violated
two federal criminal statutes.
This is the starting point for
our analysis today.
The first criminal statute we
invoke for referral therefore is
title 18, which makes it lawfnl
for anyone to corruptly
obstruct, influence or impede
any official proceeding of the
United States government.
We believe the evidence
described by my colleagues today
and assembled throughout our
hearings warrants a criminal
referral of former president
Donald J. Trump, John Eastman
and others for violations of
this statute.
The whole purpose and obvious
effect of trump's scheme were to
obstruct, influence and impede
this official proceeding.
The central moment for the
lawful transfer of power in the
United States.
Second, we believe that there is
more than sufficient evidence to
refer former president Donald J.
Trump, John Eastman and others
for violating title 18, section
371.
This statute makes it a crime to
conspire to defraud the united
States.
In other words, to make an
agreement to impair, obstruct or
defeat the lawful functions of
the United States government by
deceitful or dishonest means.
Former president trump did not
engage in a plan to defraud the
United States acting alone.
He entered into agreement,
formed aal and informal, with
several other individuals who
assisted him with his criminal
objectives.
Our report describes in detail
the actions of numerous
co-conspirators who agreed with
and participated in trump's plan
to impair, obstruct and defeat
the certification of president
Biden's electoral victory.
That said, the subcommittee does
not attempt to determine all of
the potential participants in
this conspiracy, as our
understanding of the role of
many individuals may be
incomplete, even today, because
they refuse to answer our
questions.
We trust that the department of
justice will be able to form a
far more complete picture
through its own investigation.
Third, we make a referral based
on title 18, section 1001, which
makes it unlawful to knowingly
and willfully make materially
false statements to the federal
government.
The evidence clearly suggests
that president trump conspired
with others to submit slates of
fake electricker toes to
congress -- electors to congress
and the national archives.
We believe this evidence we set
forth in our report is more than
sufficient for a criminal
referral of former president
Donald J. Trump and others in
connection with this offense.
As before, we don't try to
determine all of the
participants in this conspiracy,
many of whom refuse to answer
our questions while under oath.
We trust that the department of
justice will be able to form a
more complete picture through
its own investigation.
The fourth and final statute we
invoke for referral is title 18,
section 2383.
The statute applies to anyone
who incites, assists or engages
in insurrection against the
United States of America and
anyone who gives aid or comfort
to an insurrection.
An insurrection is a rebellion
against the authority of the
United States.
It is a grave federal offense,
anchored in the constitution
itself, which repeatedly opposes
insurrections and domestic
violence and indeed uses
participation in insurrection by
office holders as automatic
grounds for disqualification
from ever holding public office
again at the federal or state
level.
Anyone who incites others to
engage in rebelling, assists
them in doing so, or gives aid
and comfort to those engaged in
insurrection is guilty of a
federal crime.
The committee believes that more
than sufficient evidence exists
for a criminal referral of
former president trump for
assisting or aiding and
comforting those at the capitol
who engaged in a violent attack
on the United States.
The committee has developed
significant evidence that
president trump intended to
disrupt the peaceful transition
of power under our constitution.
The president has an affirmative
and primary constitutional duty
to act to take care that the
laws of faithfully executed.
Nothing could be a greater
betrayal of this duty than to
assist an insurrection against
the constitutional order.
The complete factual basis for
this referral is set forth in
detail throughout our report.
These are not the only statutes
that are potentially relevant to
president trum trump's conduct
resulted to -- related to the
twebt election -- 2020 election.
The presidents a actions could
-- president's actions could
certainly trigger other federal
violations.
Nor is president trump and his
immediate team the only people
in our investigation.
We asked multiple members of
congress to speak with us about
issues critical to our
understanding of this attack on
the 2020 election and our system
of constitutional democracy.
None agreed to provide that
essential information.
As a result, we took the
significant step of issuing them
subpoenas based on the volume of
information particular members
possessioned about one or more
-- possessed about one or more
parts of president trump's plans
to overturn the election.
None of the subpoenaed members
complied.
And we are now referring four
members of congress for
appropriate sanction by the
house ethics committee for
failure to comply with lawful
subpoenas.
Mr. Chairman, we understand the
gravity of it each and every
referral we are making today.
Just as we understand the
magnitude of the crime against
democracy that we describe in
our report.
But we have gone where the facts
and the law lead us and
inescapably, they lead us here.
Accordingly, Mr. Chairman, in
light of these facts, I ask
unanimous consent that the
chairman be directed to transmit
to the United States department
of justice relevant select
committee records in furtherance
of these criminal referrals.
>> Without objection, so
ordered.