By Steve Neavling
Cassidy Hutchinson’s dramatic testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee has “jolted” the Justice Department to begin discussing whether former President Donald Trump was criminally culpable for the insurrection, The New York Times reports.
“For the past year and a half, the Justice Department has approached former President Donald J. Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results with a follow-the-evidence strategy that to critics appeared to border on paralysis — and that limited discussions of his role, even inside the department,” The Times reported.
“Then came Cassidy Hutchinson.”
Since the committee has no authority to criminally charge Trump, it will take action from the Justice Department to hold the former president accountable.
Discussions about Trump’s role in the Capitol riot have gained momentum in the Justice Department, with conversations about it occasionally occurring in the presence of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco.
“Overt discussion of Mr. Trump and his behavior had been rare, except as a motive for the actions of others, a subtle but significant change that was underway even before Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony,” The Times wrote.
Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C. are investigating a scheme to use fake state electors in an attempt to overturn the results of the elections.
