Jan. 6 Congressional Committee Makes DOJ Criminal Referrals Against Trump

Donald Trump broke the law during the attack on the U.S. Capitol -- so says the Jan. 6 congressional committee ... which is now asking the Department of Justice to prosecute.

The House select committee made criminal referrals to federal prosecutors Monday, suggesting they've found evidence of criminality throughout their months-long hearings ... and are now pointing out specific crimes they feel the DOJ could pursue, if they're inclined.

The charges they feel are warranted here ... obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to make a false statement, conspiracy to defraud the United States and straight-up insurrection. If the DOJ were to prosecute (and if Trump was convicted of all this) ... he could face up to 35 years in prison.

Of course, Congress's recommendation to the Justice Dept. is simply that ... a proposal, which is largely symbolic in this case -- and may not really amount to much big picture.

Fact is ... the DOJ is already running its own investigation into Trump on multiple fronts, including for his involvement on Jan. 6 -- for which they've already appointed a special counsel. Their probe(s) have been running parallel to the congressional hearings for a while, and they've been keeping tabs on the proceedings. It's unclear if they've become aware of any major new bombshells against Trump that they weren't already aware of.

With that said ... the fact Congress is officially looking to have a former Prez prosecuted -- even if it is out of their hands -- is a major statement ... as it's never been done before.

Whether Trump ends up being personally charged/prosecuted for any alleged wrongdoing -- and there's a lot he's been accused of lately -- remains to be seen, especially since he's running for office again and is about to be in the thick of his 2024 campaign very soon.

Trump's alleged malfeasance on or around Jan. 6 has been well-documented throughout the hearings -- there's been claims that he fought with his own Secret Service in an attempt to arrive and meet the coup crowd at the Capitol ... not to mention the allegation that he asked to have metal detectors removed in hopes of people being able to sneak in weapons.

Of course, there's also the fact that he explicitly called his VP, Mike Pence, a traitor ... and essentially left him for the wolves, along with the other lawmakers that day. Trump was also very soft on condemning the attack, and is reported to have prolonged his response.