Rep. Adam Schiff said 'facts support' indicting Trump and that the January 6 panel will make its evidence public so the GOP can't 'cherry-pick' and 'mislead the country'
- The January 6 committee is set to release its final report this month.
- Rep. Adam Schiff said the "facts support" indicting Trump but didn't name specific charges.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, said Wednesday facts gathered by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack support an indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Schiff, a member of the committee, made the comments in an interview with NPR. The committee is set to dissolve at the end of the year and is highly unlikely to be renewed in a Republican-controlled House. Their final report is expected sometime this month, with sources telling NBC News it could be released on December 21.
NPR's Steve Inskeep asked Schiff if he believed Trump had committed "specific prosecutable crimes on January 6."
"Yes, I do," Schiff said. He alluded to a federal judge who ruled in March that Trump had likely "corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021" — which could amount to felony obstruction.
"I think that illustration I gave, that example I gave is just one instance, one particular offense that I think the facts support a potential charge against the former president," Schiff added.
He also said the committee is still deciding on any referrals it may make to the Justice Department for potential criminal prosecution.
CNN also reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that the committee was considering criminal referrals for Trump and some of his allies. Those referrals could include people who refused to cooperate in the committee's investigation or for specific crimes committed on January 6, Schiff said.
The congressman added the committee plans to release the evidence it has gathered before Republicans take over the chamber.
"We intend to make our evidence public and in that way make sure that is accessible to everyone, to the Justice Department, so that when the Republicans take over, they can't cherry-pick certain evidence and mislead the country with some false narrative," he said.
A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.