Unless the criminal guilt of Trump is so undeniable that failure to make such a referral would be a clear dereliction of duty, the committee should let the facts in its upcoming report speak for themselves without overkill. Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California told the New York Times that a criminal referral would be superfluous, and she’s probably right.
Moreover, a criminal referral raises the stakes. If Congress makes such a referral and then, for whatever reason, the Justice Department chooses not to indict Trump , Trump would immediately and falsely yell from the rooftops that he had been “totally exonerated.” Any transgressions of normative ethics made by Trump, no matter how otherwise damning, would be ignored in the wake of another escape from legal jeopardy.
QuinHillyer Long live democratic socialism and chairman xi jinping