What To Expect From The Jan 6 Committee’s Long-Awaited Report

While many of the details — including the exact date the report will be released — are still unknown, committee members for the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 gave a few hints this week of what we can expect from the report.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) told CNN in an interview that aired Wednesday the Jan. 6 committee’s report will include information “about Republican National Committee fundraising directly after the 2020 presidential election, what Secret Service knew ahead of the attack and the response by the National Guard.”

“Those are all important aspects that we look forward to highlighting and sharing at the conclusion of our work,” the California Democrat said.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Jan. 6 select committee, also made news about the long-awaited report on Tuesday, telling  reporters the panel will make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.

While Thompson said the panel is still working on who exactly will be on the list of referrals, CNN reported that the committee is weighing criminal referrals for former President Trump and a number of his closest allies.

“We’re all very mindful of who is responsible. We have laid out in our hearings the role that the former President played in Jan. 6,” Aguilar said in the CNN interview. 

“That’s not lost on any of us,” he added. “But we have some work to do and we want to make sure that we get this right.”

A committee spokesperson confirmed to CNN that criminal referrals will be “considered as a final part” of the panel’s work.

“The Committee has determined that referrals to outside entities should be considered as a final part of its work,” the spokesperson said. “The committee will make decisions about specifics in the days ahead.”

A criminal referral is, of course, largely symbolic as Congress or members of Congress do not have any official say in what the Justice Department does. But while symbolic, a criminal referral on the former President would be a significant move from the members of the select committee. 

“There are some aspects that are law enforcement sensitive that may be redacted in some small ways, but our intention is to ensure that this material gets out into the public and that people get to see the material by which we have made conclusions and recommendations on,” Aguilar added.

When asked about former Vice President Mike Pence declining to talk to the Jan. 6 committee but considering a request from the Department of Justice, Aguilar said, “it’s sad that he didn’t want to come to us… It’s a co-equal branch of government.”

“That he didn’t want to share his story with us, that he was comfortable doing it in town halls, on TV or in his book, and potentially as you mentioned with DOJ, but he didn’t want to share it to the American public in what we have to share?” he added. “That’s too bad.”