The January 6 committee, in its final act, has voted to refer President Trump for criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice for precisely the same charge of which the Congress itself has already acquitted him, incitement to insurrection.

That charge was among four counts for which the January 6 committee voted to refer Mr. Trump for prosecution. They mark the final salvo of a tribunal that has for months made its case — to millions — on camera. 

The recommendations of the body are not binding on Attorney General Garland’s Department of Justice, whose decision it will be to charge Mr. Trump. Responsibility for building the case and making a recommendation to Mr. Garland rests with the special counsel, John “Jack” Smith.

The J6 committee’s referrals covered a host of statutes. Representative Jamie Raskin referenced the “magnitude of the crime against democracy” and accused Mr. Trump of obstructing an official proceeding, conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to make a false statement, and inciting an insurrection. The vote to refer was nine to zero.  

Mr. Trump has already been tried for incitement to insurrection, albeit in the Senate rather than a court of law. That was the sole article of impeachment on which the second effort to remove him from office rested. That case, managed by Mr. Raskin, resulted in an acquittal, meaning a finding that the former president was “not guilty.” 

The vote was the first time in history that a former president has been criminally referred by Congress. In addition to Mr. Trump, his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, a top adviser, Rudy Giuliani, and lawyers John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, and Kenneth Chesbro were also named as targets for potential prosecution. 

The referrals were accompanied by an executive summary released by the committee in advance of the publication of its final report. That summary asserts that the “central cause of Jan. 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed.” It goes on to claim that “none of the events of Jan. 6th would have happened without him.  

Four Republican congressmen — Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, and Scott Perry — were referred to the House Ethics Committee for dereliction in complying with the J6 committee’s subpoenas. The report suggested that Mr. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, had not been entirely forthcoming in her testimony. 

The committee’s chairman, Representative Bennie Goodman, began the session by recalling that Mr. Trump “summoned a mob to Washington” and marked the moment as a “time of reflection and reckoning.” He said that “accountability that can only be found in the criminal justice system.”

Mr. Goodman expressed the hope that the J6 committee would provide a “roadmap to justice” for both the country and the DOJ. He then handed the microphone to Representative Elizabeth “Liz” Cheney, who recalled that her “great-great-grandfather” fought through all four years of the Civil War. She presented herself as heiress to his warrior courage.  

Ms. Cheney invoked her forebearer’s legacy, as well as the precedent of President Washington stepping aside as the chief executive, to add gravitas to her claim that  “every president has defended orderly transfer of authority except one,” Mr. Trump.  She expressed the hope that the work of her committee, which has now concluded, would help “right the ship.”