January 6 committee unveils criminal referrals against Trump
We ran the numbers:
There are 1,788 news articles covering this topic.
90% (1,608) are left-leaning, 8% (153) are centrist, and 2% (27) are right-leaning.
On Monday, the House select committee investigating the riots on the Capitol in 2021 released an executive summary recommending that the Department of Justice investigate former President Donald Trump for four crimes relating to the insurrection on Jan. 6. Left-leaning articles highlight that this is the first time a former president has been referred to the Justice Department by Congress for a criminal investigation, while right-leaning articles highlight that the committee, made up of Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans, called Trump’s conduct “unlawful.”
The Hill published a centrist article reporting that the committee's Monday report and criminal referral of Trump represents the culmination of an 18-month investigation by the committee on the former president’s role before, during, and after the 2021 insurrection. Trump’s campaign attorney, John Eastman, was also referred to be investigated for obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
A left-leaning article by The Washington Post highlighted that the House committee’s criminal referral marks the first time this kind of referral has been made regarding a former president. The Justice Department is not obligated to act on a referral by the legislative branch, but in this case, the department has already begun its own investigation of Trump’s involvement in the January 6 riots.
A right-leaning article by Fox News highlighted that the 154-page executive summary, which included criminal referrals for Trump and Eastman, was authored by seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans. The committee argued that Trump’s conduct before and during the Jan. 6 insurrection, falsely declaring victory and calling for the polls to prematurely close, was “premeditated” and “unlawful.”