Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday issued a response to the House Jan. 6 select committee’s official decision to send a criminal referral to the Department of Justice against former President Donald Trump and several of his allies. McConnell noted that “the entire nation” knew who was the one responsible for the incident that took place that day. He said that beyond that he did not have any other observations he could make.
On Monday the House panel voted to have four criminal charges against Trump referred to the Justice Department regarding the former President’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The committee which has seven Democratic and two Republican members recommended that the Justice Department conduct a thorough investigation into Trump regarding his attempts to incite insurrection, obstruct an official proceeding, conspire to defraud the United States, and conspire to make a false statement.
The panel also recommended ethics investigations against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) over both their role on Jan. 6 and their failure to comply with the committee’s investigations.
McConnell’s statement was considered by many to be bolder than the statements made by other members of the Republican party.
Retiring Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (Mo.) had said that he “had no idea” regarding the details of the referral while incoming Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said that she had never heard of such a referral being made to the Justice Department before which makes it even more clear that the committee had been poeticized.
