Schiff: Trump Allies Who Fail to Cooperate with Jan. 6 Committee Will Be Prosecuted
Schiff said the committee 'has engaged lawyers' to secure the testimony
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Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff warned that Trump associates who do not cooperate with the committee examining the January 6 riot would be referred to the DOJ for prosecution.
Schiff said the committee "has engaged lawyers" to secure the testimony of the four Trump associates following subpoenas.
Those individuals include:
- Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows
- Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Daniel Scavino
- Former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel
- Former Trump advisor Stephen Bannon
Schiff told CNN:
"I can't go into the communications."
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"But we have engaged with lawyers that are representing them to try to secure their testimony," he continued.
"But also to make it very clear that those who don't cooperate with our committee are going to be the subject of criminal contempt."
"We will vote on it in the House at the appropriate time, and we will refer to the Justice Department for prosecution.
"So we're not fooling around. We expect people to fulfill their lawful duties."
“If there are legitimate questions that are raised, we'll answer them, respond to them, but we want to make sure that we provide all this information to the American people."
"And these four witnesses, in particular, are really in a position to know exactly what the president was doing, what the response was like, why we weren't better prepared, and the role of the administration in this attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
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Schiff added there is now a new attorney general and a “new” Justice Department "dedicated to the principle that no one is above the law."
He then warned Bannon, who is refusing to testify, he "is in a completely different situation now."
Schiff said the committee expects the DOJ under Merrick Garland to "act with expedition" to enforce committee subpoenas.
"And at the end of the day, it will be a test of our justice system, and our democracy, and whether we're living up to that principle that no one is above the law."
Schiff said that those who "refuse to cooperate and have no basis for their refusal" will get criminal referrals.
Earlier this week, Schiff said Republican lawmakers claiming Trump won the 2020 presidential election are “insurrectionists in suits and ties.”
"Frankly, in the days, after when the trauma for a lot of us became even greater, I was most angry with these insurrectionists in suits and ties."
