PRESS RELEASE Contact: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Date: December 19, 2022
Washington, DC – Today, Norm Eisen, an expert on law, ethics, and anti-corruption, Barbara McQuade, former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan Law School, and Leslie Dach, co-chair of Defend Democracy Project, joined a virtual press briefing hosted by Defend Democracy Project to discuss the criminal referrals announced by the January 6th Committee to the Department of Justice for Donald Trump, John Eastman, and others for their involvement in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Throughout the past year, the bipartisan House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding January 6th has been collecting information and details regarding what Donald Trump knew, when he knew it, and other substantial evidence of criminal activity conducted by him and his team, all in an attempt to undo the results of a fair and free election, overturn the will of the people, and incite a violent attack on the Capitol.
“The Committee was disciplined in not naming a laundry list of individuals — but identifying a few and pointing out that there are additional names that should be the subject of further review by prosecutors who have powers that the Committee does not to get at the truth,” said Former Ambassador Norman Eisen, expert on law, ethics, and anti-corruption. “I think, together with the Watergate Committee, this committee will go down in history as one of the most impactful in the long annals of Congress. What we see now is a powerful call for accountability. And I think Mr. Trump and his co-conspirators are going to face that accountability in 2023.”
“You can really see the fingerprints of the former prosecutors who were on the counsel staff on this document because it looks just like the documents I would receive as a US attorney,” said Barbara McQuade, former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan Law School. “[The committee report] is an impressive piece of work. And I think Merrick Garland has said the Justice Department will certainly review all of this. I think they’re eager to get their hands on all of these transcripts and documents to the extent they don’t have them already.”
“The American people have a lot of faith and trust in this committee. The committee has earned it through its bipartisan, fact-based, and professionally run investigation over the last several months,” said Defend Democracy Project co-chair, Leslie Dach. “So now it’s up to the Justice Department and the courts to hold those responsible for these criminal activities to be held accountable. While today’s a very important day for accountability, the threats to our democracy remain.”
Watch the full briefing here.
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