The disagreement reflects a debate within the committee over the best strategy to hold the former president and others accountable.
about Trump ignoring advisers who had informed him that claims of election fraud were unfounded — that the committee would not be making a formal criminal referral to the Justice Department of the former president, or anyone else.
Rep. Elaine Luria went further, tweeting, “If criminal activity occurred, it is our responsibility to report that activity to the DOJ.” Legally, there is little substantive difference. A congressional referral would carry no weight in court and leaves the decision on whether to charge Trump or others where it stands today: with prosecutors.
This year, the committee argued in a legal filing over whether it should be able to access emails from John Eastman, Trump’s attorney, that the former president broke multiple laws. In response, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter issued an opinion that argued that the former president “more likely than not” committed crimes to stay in power.
“I’m not a lawyer and the purpose of our committee is legislative, not criminal prosecution,” said Murphy. “I will leave that to the Department of Justice and their able staff to build the case or investigate if that is necessary. What I am trying to do is to make the case to the American people that our democracy is fragile.”