Despite the two ongoing Department of Justice investigations into former President Donald Trump, it is unlikely that there will be a formal indictment within 2022. However, the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack recently issued four criminal referrals against Donald Trump that could help the DOJ if they chose to proceed with criminal changes.
During their final public hearing, the House select committee tasked with looking into Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection recommended that the DOJ pursue four different criminal charges against Trump, who has already launched his presidential campaign for 2024.
While ultimately, the referrals are symbolic and it will be up to the DOJ to decide whether or not they will pursue any further investigations or criminal charges, the final report released by the committee contained more evidence that prosecutors can use in order to build up a solid case against Trump.
Former federal prosecutor and state elected attorney Michael McAuliffe told Newsweek that the likelihood of federal or state charges against Trump in 2023 is “increasingly high.” He added that the lawmakers’ referrals would not sway Special Counsel Jack Smith on whether or not he will or will not charge Trump under either of the two investigations that he is leading. However, what the House report does help prosecutors with, is by giving them access to testimony, which could potentially be used as part of the evidence used in creating a case against Trump.
McAuliffe added that both the DOJ and state investigators will need to be willing to look through the hundreds of interviews taken by the House committee in order to determine whether any individuals in those files could act as a good witness against Trump.
