Raskin: Jan. 6 panel’s report will include ‘crimes that have not yet been alleged’

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, expects crimes that have not yet been alleged to be in the committee’s report.

Committee members are hopeful that hearings will occur in May and June, Raskin told The Washington Post on Wednesday, with an interim report concluding their findings expected this summer. 

While the committee itself cannot prosecute those who played a role in the riot, Raskin said the report will be about what happened on that day and how to prevent it from happening again.

Much of the committee’s work so far has been behind closed doors. However, it is known that some ex-Trump aides have met with the committee. They also have obtained texts and documents to figure out what former President Trump was doing during the riot and who else was involved in inciting it. 

The committee celebrated a huge victory when a federal judge ruled that John Eastman, Trump’s legal adviser, had to turn over his private communications to the committee. In a court filing, the committee alleged that Eastman and Trump worked together in attempting to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the election results.

The Department of Justice has already charged hundreds of people involved in the attack, but Attorney General Merrick Garland said earlier this month he won’t rush the investigation.

“As in most mob-style investigations, the Department of Justice seems to be working its way up from the bottom to the top,” Raskin told the Post. “So that’s why I’m telling the people who are despairing over the fact that the people at the top always seem to get away with it to be patient because I do think they are working their way up.”