Trump Lawyers Could Face Prosecution After Jan. 6 Referral

Facts

• The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots has referred four of former Pres. Trump’s lawyers for possible prosecution by the Dept. of Justice (DOJ), which some legal experts say could increase their chances of facing criminal charges.
• The panel said John Eastman, Jeff Clark, Rudy Giuliani, and Kenneth Chesboro gave Trump erroneous advice while the former president was contesting the results of the 2020 election. The committee linked that advice to the events at the Capitol.
• Last month, the committee referred Trump to the DOJ on multiple charges relating to the aftermath of the 2020 election. Referrals hold no legal weight and don't necessarily compel the DOJ To take action.
• Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former attorney, was subpoenaed by a federal prosecutor in late 2022. The subpoena requested documents regarding payments Giuliani received while he was filing lawsuits contesting the 2020 election results.
• The subpoena was presented before Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith to lead Trump-related probes. People familiar with the matter say prosecutors are looking into Trump’s post-election fundraising organization, the Save America PAC.
• Giuliani has come under fire recently, with a Washington, DC attorney ethics committee saying he violated at least one attorney ethics rule while working for Trump. He also had his New York state law license suspended in June 2021 for making "demonstrably false and misleading” statements.

Sources: Guardian, Improve the News, CNN, Yahoo Finance, and Reuters.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Vanity Fair. Finally, Trump’s cronies are closer to being charged for their role in an attempted coup to overthrow American democracy. Trump’s lawyers, most notably Giuliani, added fuel to the fire by giving wildly inaccurate advice and filing frivolous lawsuits with the explicit goal of obstructing the peaceful transfer of power. Everyone involved must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Trending Politics. Between the sham Jan. 6 House committee and the biased Special Counsel appointed by Biden’s DOJ, the American people cannot trust justice to be fairly served. Jack Smith has demonstrated a clear political bias, as he was involved in the IRS targeting of conservative nonprofits, and now he’s heading up the latest phase of the witch hunt against Trump and his lawyers.