The Hill reports a top federal prosecutor as stating that it is still possible that former President Donald Trump could face criminal charges for the Capitol riot that occurred on January 6th.
This suggestion was made by Michael Sherwin during an appearance Sunday on CBS News’s “60 Minutes.”
For those not familiar with Sherwin, he is the federal prosecutor who has been leading the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into the January 6th riot. That investigation, so far, has resulted in the arrest of more than 400 people.
“Unequivocal”
During Sunday’s edition of “60 Minutes,” host Scott Pelley asked Sherwin if former President Trump was being looked at as part of the DOJ’s investigation.
This led Sherwin to inquire as to whether Trump is “criminally culpable for everything that happened during” what he referred to as “the siege” or “the breach.”
Sherwin, in answer to his own question, said that it is “unequivocal” that Trump was “the magnet that brought the people to D.C. on the 6th.”
Here, Sherwin seems to be referring to the fact that Trump decided to hold a rally on January 6th, the day that Congress held a joint session to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, in protest of that election.
“Criminally culpable?”
Despite his belief that it is “unequivocal” that Trump brought supporters to D.C. on January 6th, Sherwin went on to suggest that whether Trump is “criminally culpable” for the riot is a different story.
Sherwin noted that “we have plenty of people — we have soccer moms from Ohio that were arrested saying, ‘Well, I did this because my president said I had to take back our house.” This Sherwin said “moves the needle towards” the direction of Trump being criminally culpable.
On the other hand, though, Sherwin went on to note that at least two people arrested have said, “ ‘You know what? We did this because Trump just talks a big game. He’s just all talk. We did what he wouldn’t do.’” This, Sherwin suggested would lead to the conclusion that Trump is not criminally culpable.
Accordingly, Sherwin left the question as to whether he believes Trump is criminally culpable open.
Sherwin did confirm, however, that the DOJ has “people looking at everything,” which presumably would include Trump’s role, if any, in the January 6th riot. And, based on what we have seen over the past four years, if they see their opportunity, they will go after Trump.
The post Top prosecutor: Trump could still face criminal prosecution for Capitol riot first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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