The committee's expected move on Jan. 6 to officially request that the Department of Justice prosecute former President Donald Trump for his role in the U.S. Capitol uprising will make history, whether or not charges are ever filed.
In its carefully planned hearings, the committee - with its seven Democrats and two Republicans who parted with their own party to take part - depicted scenes of awful violence and intense efforts by Trump to steal Joe Biden's presidency.
In its final public meeting, the committee, which saw its task as crucial to preserving U.S. democracy, is anticipated to strongly encourage the Justice Department to file charges against Trump and perhaps some of his allies for trying to rig the 2020 election during one of the most tumultuous periods in modern political history.
Criminal referrals would only be symbolic because the committee lacks the authority to bring legal action on its own. A special counsel is now in charge of the Justice Department's internal federal investigation concerning Jan. 6, 2021.
Referrals, though, would signify a stark moment of accountability for January 6 if supported by the mountains of data gathered during hundreds of interviews and a summer of dramatic televised hearings.
The rare recommendation of prosecuting an ex-president would also set a precedent for future elections and renegade leaders following an unprecedented attack on democracy.
The panel is set to be demolished next month by an incoming Republican House majority comprised of scores of legislators who voted not to certify the previous presidential election and who continue to whitewash that infamous day over two years later.
However, the panel's final report is likely to be released on Wednesday.
Each committee hearing contributed to a larger argument against Trump. The panel attempted to demonstrate that he lost the 2020 race, that he was aware Biden won, and that there was minimal fraud, but that he still tried to sway the outcome by intimidating poll workers and pressuring state GOP leaders to steal votes.
According to sources cited by CNN, the committee is considering three conceivable but seldom prosecuted criminal accusations against the former president, including insurrection, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to defraud the federal government.
The conclusion of the committee's work, regardless of its immediate effects on Trump, the 2024 presidential race, or the Justice Department, marks a turning point in history when Americans had to decide whether to confront an unprecedented attempt by a deviant commander-in-chief to ignore the voice of the people and the succession of peaceful handovers of power.
