WASHINGTON — One of the many things noted throughout the course of the Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack on Congress is that those still with the good graces of Donald Trump were giving conflicting statements to those who were not still being supported by Trump.
It was something that was evident in the final meeting Monday in which Hope Hicks gave a different account than White House lawyer Eric Herschmann and text messages exchanged between Hicks and another press aide about Trump refusing to promote peaceful behavior on Jan. 6. Herschman had approached the president about the potential for violence and put out a statement to encourage non-violent protest. Hicks was told that Trump refused the idea.
There were four criminal referrals sent to the Justice Department for Donald Trump. Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said that there could have been more, but these four were the ones the committee could agree on.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that he wouldn't comment on a particular witness, "but we are providing the material that has raised concerns, so the credibility of witnesses in general, as well as the role that some of the lawyers representing the witness' interest played in trying to influence testimony. So, we'll let the record speak for itself."
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Speaking to MSNBC after the hearing, a fellow committee member, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), was asked whether the committee would be making any other referrals to state or local courts as well as to Bar Associations that have ethical requirements to be a licensed attorney. The implication is that some of the lawyers that the committee believes could have played a role in witness tampering could be disbarred, but only if complaints are filed with those associations.
Raskin told MSNBC that they won't make those determinations as a committee but that all of the information will be provided online for anyone to read and draw their own conclusions. So, individuals could use that evidence published to file complaints against lawyers.
With additional reporting by Matt Laslo